
The Great Benefit of Suffering for Christ by F.B. Meyer
F.B. Meyer, Joseph
The Great Benefit of Suffering for Christ
Of sufferings and as it related to the life of Joseph, son of Jacob, F.B. Meyer wrote:
“But besides all this, his religious notions added greatly to his distress. He had been taught by Jacob the theory which comes out so prominently in the speeches of Job’s three friends, and which was so generally held by all their teachers and associates in that olden, Eastern, philosophic, deeply-pondering world; that good would come to the good, and evil to the bad; that prosperity was the sign of the Divine favour, and adversity of the Divine anger. And Joseph had tried to be good. Had he not always kept his father’s commandments and acted righteously, though his brethren were men of evil report, and tried to make him as bad as themselves? But what had he gained by his integrity? Simply the murderous jealousy and hatred of his own flesh and blood. Had he not, in the full flush of youthful passion, resisted the blandishments of the beautiful Egyptian, because he would not sin against God? And what had he gained by that? Simply the stigma which threatened to cling to him of having committed the very wickedness it was so hard not to commit; and, in addition, an undeserved punishment. Had he not always been kind and gentle to his fellow-prisoners, listening to their stories, speaking comfort to their hearts? And what had he gained by that? To judge by what he saw, simply nothing; and he might as well have kept his kindness to himself.
Was it of any use, then, being good? Could there be any truth in what his father had taught him of good coming to the good, and evil to the bad? Was there a God who judgeth righteously in the earth? You who have been misunderstood, who have sown seeds of holiness and love to reap nothing but disappointment, loss, suffering, and hate – you know something of what Joseph felt in that wretched dungeon hole.
Then, too, disappointment poured her bitter drops into the bitter cup. What had become of those early dreams, those dreams of coming greatness, which had filled his young brain with splendid phantasmagoria? We these not from God? He had thought so – yes, and his venerable father had thought so too; and he should have known, for he had talked with God many a time. Were these imaginings the delusions of a fevered brain, or mocking lies? Was there no truth, no fidelity, in heaven or earth? Had God forsaken him? Was he to spend all his days in that dungeon, dragging on a weary life, never again enjoying the bliss of freedom: and all because he had dared to do right? Do you wonder at the young heart being weighed almost to breaking?
And yet Joseph’s experience is not alone. You may have never been confined in a dungeon; and yet you may have often sat in darkness, and felt around you the limitation which forbade your doing as you wished. You may have been doing right, and doing right may have brought you into some unforeseen difficulty; and you are disposed to say, “I have been too honest.” Or you may have been doing a noble act to someone, as Joseph did to Potiphar, and it has been taken in quite a wrong light. Who does not know what it is to be misunderstood, misrepresented, accused falsely, and punished wrongfully?
Each begins life so buoyantly and hopefully. Youth, attempting the solution of the strange problem of existence, fears nothing, forbodes no ill. The minstrel, Hope, keys her chords to the loftiest strains of exultation. The sun shines; the blue wavelets break in music around the boat; the sails swell gently; Love and Beauty hold the rudder-bands; and though stories of the wreckage of the treacherous sea are freely told, there is no kind of fear that such experiences should ever overtake that craft. But presently disappointment, sorrow, and disaster overcloud the sky and blot out the sunny prospect; and the young mariner wakes as from a dream, “Can this be I, who imagined that I should never see ill?” Then come several tremendous struggles of the soul to wrench itself free. The muscles are strained as whipcord; the beads of perspiration stand on the brow: but every effort only entangles the limbs more helplessly. And at last, exhausted and helpless, the young life ceases to struggle, and lies still, cowed and beaten, as the wild denizen (citizen) of the plains, when it has lain for hours in the hunter’s snare. Surely there was something of this sort in Joseph’s condition, as he lay in that wretched dungeon.
II. THESE SUFFERINGS WROUGHT VERY BENEFICIALLY. – Taken on the lowest ground, this imprisonment served Joseph’s temporal interests. That prison was the place where state prisoners were bound. Thither court magnates who had fallen under suspicion were sent. Chief butler and chief baker do not seem much to us, but they were titles for very august people. Such men would talk freely with Joseph; and in doing so would give him a great insight into political parties, and a knowledge of men and things generally, which in after-days must have been of great service to him.
But there is more than this. Psalm 105:18, referring to Joseph’s imprisonment, has a striking alternative rendering, “His soul entered into iron.” Turn that about, and render it in our language, and it reads thus, Iron entered into his soul. Is there not a truth in this? It may not be the truth intended in that verse, but it is a very profound truth, that sorrow and privation, the yoke borne in the youth, the soul’s enforced restraint, are all conducive to an iron tenacity and strength of purpose, and endurance, a fortitude, which are the indispensible foundation and framework of a noble character. Do not flinch from suffering. Bear it silently, patiently, resignedly; and be assured that it is God’s way of infusing iron into your spiritual make-up.
As a boy, Joseph’s character tended to softness. He was a little spoilt by his father. He was too proud of his coat. He was rather given to tales. He was too full of his dreams and foreshadowed greatness. None of these great faults; but he lacked strength, grip, power to rule. But what a difference his imprisonment made in him! From that moment he carries himself with wisdom, modesty, courage, and manly resolution, that never fail him. He acts as a born ruler of men. He carries an alien country through the stress of a great famine, without a symptom of revolt. He holds his own with the proudest aristocracy of the time. He promotes the most radical changes. He had learned to hold his peace and wait. Surely the iron had entered his soul!
It is just this that suffering will do for you. The world wants iron dukes, iron battalions, iron sinews, and thews of steel. God wants iron saints; and since there is no way of imparting iron to the moral nature than by letting his people suffer, He lets them suffer. “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Are you in prison for doing right? Are the best years of your life slipping away in enforced monotony? Are you beset by opposition, misunderstanding, obloquy (contemptuous speech), and scorn, as the thick undergrowth besets the passage of the woodsman pioneer? Then take heart; the time is not wasted; God is only putting you through regimen. The iron crown of suffering precedes the golden crown of glory. And iron is entering into your soul to make it strong and brave.
Is some aged eyes perusing these words? If so, the question may be asked, Why does God sometimes fill a whole life with discipline, and give few opportunities for showing the iron quality of the soul? Why give iron to the soul, and then keep it from active service? Ah, that is which goes far to prove our glorious destiny. There must be another world somewhere, a world of glorious ministry, for which we are training. “There is service in the sky.” And it may be that God counts a human life of seventy years of suffering not too long an education for a soul which may serve Him through the eternities. It is in the prison that Joseph is fitted for the unknown life of Pharoah’s palace; and if he could have foreseen the future, he wold not have wondered at the severe discipline. If only we could see all that awaits us in the palace of the Great King, we should not be so surprised at certain experiences which befall us in the earth’s darker cells. You are being trained for service I God’s Home, and in the upper spaces of the universe.” F.B. Meyer, Joseph, p. 44-48
In His book Joseph, F.B. Meyer captures and conveys a treasure chest of truth concerning the blessed benefits of suffering.
“JOSEPH’S COMFORT IN THE MIDST OF THESE SOFFERINGS. – “He was there in the prison; but the Lord was with him.” The lord was with him in the palace of Potiphar; but when Joseph went to prison, the Lord went there too. The only thing which severs us from God is sin; so long as we walk with God, God will walk with us; and if our path dips down from the sunny upland lawns into the valley with its clinging mists, He will go at our side. The godly man is much more independent of men and things than others. It is God who makes him blessed. Like the golden city, he has no need of sun or moon, for the Lord God is his everlasting light. If he is in a palace he is glad, not so much because of its delights as because God is there. And if he is in a prison he can sing and give praises, because the God of love bears him company. To the soul which is absorbed with God, all places and experiences are much the same. “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night (of sorrow and of confinement) shall be light about me; yea, the night shineth as the day.”
Moreover, the Lord showed him mercy. Oh, wondrous revelation! … God our Father has often to turn down the lights of our life because He wants to show us mercy. Whenever you get into a prison of circumstances, be on the watch. Prisons are rare places for seeing things. It was in prison that Bunyan saw his wondrous allegory, and Paul met the LORD, and John looked through heaven’s open door, and Joseph saw God’s mercy. God has no chance to show his mercy to some of us except when we are in some sore sorrow. The night is the time to see the stars.
God can also raise up friends for his servants in most unlikely places, and of most unlikely people. “The Lord gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” He was probably a rough, unkindly man, quite prepared to copy the dislikes of his master, the great Potiphar, and to embitter the daily existence of this Hebrew slave. But there was another Power at work, of which he knew nothing, inclining him towards his ward, and leading him to put him in a position of trust. All hearts are open to our King: at his girdle swing the keys by which the most unlikely door can be unlocked. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” It is as easy for God to turn a man’s heart, as it is for the husbandman to turn the course of a brook to carry fertility to an arid plot.\
There is always alleviation for our troubles in ministry to others. Joseph found it so. It must have been a welcome relief to the monotony of his grief when he found himself entrusted with the care of the royal prisoners. A new interest came into his life, and he almost forgot the heavy pressure of his own troubles amid the interest of listening to the tales of those who were more unfortunate than himself. It is very interesting to notice what a deep human interest he took in the separate cases of his charges, noticing the expression of their faces, inquiring kindly after their welfare, sitting down to listen to their tale. Joseph is the patron of all prison philanthropists; but he took to this holy work not primarily because he had an enthusiasm for it, but because it gave a welcome opiate to his own griefs.
There is no anodyne (medicine) for heart-sorrow like ministry to others. If your life is woven with the dark shades of sorrow, do not sit down to deplore in solitude your hapless lot, but arise to seek out those who are more miserable than you are, bearing them balm for their wounds and love for their heart-breaks. And if you are unable to give much more practical help, you need not abandon yourself to the gratification of lonely sorrow, for you may largely help the children of bitterness by imitating Joseph in listening to their tales of woe or to their dreams of foreboding. It is a great art to be a good listener. The burdened heart longs to pour out its tale in a sympathetic ear. There is immense relief in the telling out of pain. But it cannot be hurried; it needs plenty of time; it cannot clear itself of its silt and deposits unless it is allowed leisure to stand. and so the sorrowful turn away from men engages in the full rush of active life as too busy, and seek out those who, like themselves, have been “winged,” and are obliged to go softly, as Joseph was, when the servants of Pharoah found him in the Egyptian dungeon. If you can do nothing else, listen well, and comfort others with the comfort wherewith you yourself have been comforted by God.
And as you listen, and comfort, and wipe the falling tears, you will discover that your own load is lighter, and that a branch or twig of the true tree – the tree of the Cross – has fallen into the bitter waters of your own life, making the Marah, Naomi, and the marshes of salt tears will have been healed. Out of such intercourse you will get with what Joseph got – the key which will unlock the heavy doors by which you have been shut in.
And now some closing words to those who are suffering wrongfully. Do not be surprised. You are the followers of One who was misunderstood from the age of twelve to the day of his ascension; who did not sin, and yet was counted as a sinner; concerning whom the unanimous testimony was, “I find in Him no fault at all”; and yet they called Him Beelzebub! If they spoke thus of the Master of the house, how much more concerning the household! “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
Do not get weary in well-doing. Joseph might have said, “I give all up; of what profit is my godliness? I may as well live as others do.” How much nobler was his course of patient continuance in well-doing! Do right, because it is right to do right; because God sees you; because it puts gladness into the heart. And then, when you are misunderstood and ill-treated, you will not swerve, or sit down to whine and despair.
Above all, do not avenge yourselves. When Joseph recounted his troubles, he did not recriminate harshly on his brethren, or Potiphar, or Potiphar’s wife. He simply said: “I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the hole.” He might have read the words of the apostle, “Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.” “If when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” We make a great mistake in trying always to clear ourselves; we should be much wiser to go straight on, humbly doing the next thing, and leaving God to vindicate us. “He will bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the noonday.” In Psalm 105:19 there follow words which, rightly rendered, read thus: “The word of the Lord cleared him.” What a triumphant clearing did God give His faithful servant.
There will come hours in our lives, when we shall be misconstrued, misunderstood, slandered, falsely accused, wrongfully persecuted. At such times it is very difficult not to act on the policy of the men around us in the world. They at once appeal to law and force and public opinion. But the believer takes his case into a higher court, and lays it before his God. He is prepared to use any means that may appear divinely suggested. But he relies much more on the divine clearing than he does on his own most perfect arrangements. He is content to wait for months and years, till God arise to avenge his cause. It is a very little thing for him to be judged adversely at the bar of man: he cares only for the judgment of God, and awaits the moment when the righteous shall shine forth in the kingdom of their Father, as the sun when it breaks from all obscuring mists. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Ah! what a clearing-up of mysteries, what dissipating of misunderstandings, what vindication of character shall be there! Oh, slandered ones, you can afford to await the verdict of eternity; of God, who will bring out your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noon day.
In all the discipline of life it is of the utmost importance to see but one ordaining overruling will. If we view our imprisonments and misfortunes as the result of human malevolence, our live will be filled with fret and unrest. It is hard to suffer wrong at the hands of man, and to think that perhaps it might have never been. But there is a truer and more restful view, to consider all things as being under the law and rule of God; so that though they may originate in and come to us through the spite and malice of our fellows, yet, since before they reach us they have had to pass through the environing atmosphere of the Divine Presence, they have been transformed into his own sweet will for us.
It was Judas who plotted our Saviour’s death, and filled the garden with the capturing bands and flashing lights; and yet the Lord Jesus said that the Father was putting the cup to his lips. And though He was murdered by the chief priests and scribes, yet He so thoroughly acquiesced in the Father’s appointment, that He spoke of laying down his life, as if his death were entirely his own act. There is no evil to them that love God; and the believer loses sight of second causes, so absorbed is he in the contemplation of the unfolding of the mystery of his Father’s will. As the dying Kingsley said, “All is under law.” F.B. Meyer, Joseph, p. 48-53
The More I Suffer, the Freer I Become
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Apostasy
Concerns about the writings of C.S. Lewis [podcast]

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105
It’s a dangerous proposition to attempt to convey the divine doctrine, the truth, via fiction. Such an undertaking begins on skaky ground. The saints of Christ must get all their doctrine strictly from Scripture, and Holy Scripture only (Deut 4:1-10; Isaiah 34:16; John 5:39-40; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:12-21, etc.). The writings of CS Lewis have zero divine inspiration and zero divine authority. Anyone who spends their time reading the writings of men, especially those which include very little Scripture (as in the case of Lewis), are inevitably going to be deceived. God gave us His Word to know Him and warned us that “MANY false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).
Beware. CS Lewis never even claimed to be born again and yet still has a cult following.
Being born again means one “is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God…” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Yet Lewis asserts that “there are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.” So, the most profound divine miracle can happen to a person, they can be changed from the inside out, freely forgiven and regenerated, and not even know it? Such a statement from Lewis alone moves me to conclude that he was never born again. And this isn’t even to mention that he was at least in bed with the works-based antichrist Roman Catholic church.
Something to think about, to help you: Why would you be so strongly defending a mere man if that man and his writings didn’t mean so much to you? There seems to be a cult fiction following of Lewis involving people who seem to spend more times of a mere sinner’s fictional musings about God than they do reading about God for themselves in His own Word.
Of CS Lewis, one pastor notes problematic things in Lewis’s writings:
“(1) he was not an inerrantist; (2) he viewed the Protestant Reformation as avoidable; (3) he remained in the Church of England, despite his largely Protestant beliefs; (4) he allowed for “at least some people to be saved through imperfect representations of Christ in other religions”; (5) he gave little attention to the doctrine of atonement.” Then he says: “Lewis is not a writer to which we should turn for growth in a careful biblical understanding of Christian doctrine … There is almost no passage of Scripture on which I would turn to Lewis for exegetical illumination.”
CS Lewis stated: “I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside.” Lewis, “The Problem of Pain,” 538.
One minister notes of Lewis’ doctrine that “Lewis never believed in a literal hell, but instead believed hell is a state of mind one chooses to possess and become.” In other words, CS Lewis believe hell was not literal but rather a fiction.
Of CS Lewis, Rick Miesel wrote the following 15 conclusions about the beliefs of CS Lewis:
1. Lewis indicates that shortly before his death he was turning toward the Catholic Church. Lewis termed himself “very Catholic.” His prayers for the dead, belief in purgatory, and rejection of the literal resurrection of the body are serious deviations from Biblical Christianity.
2. His contention that some pagans may “belong to Christ without knowing it” is a destructive heresy…, as was his statement that “Christ fulfils both Paganism and Judaism …”
3. Lewis believed that we’re to become “gods,” an apparent affirmation of theistic evolution.
4. He also believed the Book of Job is “unhistorical” (Reflections on the Psalms, pp. 110), and that the Bible contained “error” (pp. 110, 112) and is not divinely inspired.
5. Lewis never believed in a literal hell, but instead believed hell is a state of mind one chooses to possess and become…
6. On heaven: “All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible.”
7. C.S. Lewis’s most outrageous misunderstanding was about the purpose of the death of Christ, which of course mars all subsequent propositions about the effects of the cross and salvation.
8. In his speculations on the hereafter, Lewis is to be criticized for being so extra-biblical.
9. In spite of what many believe to be brilliant exegesis on Christian apologetics (In light of the above, one wonders which of Lewis’s books these people have been reading?), there appears to have been in C.S. Lewis a seemingly irresistible attraction to the shadow world of occult fantasy — a mingling of darkness with light evident in writings apart from his apologetics.
10. Lewis’s early favorite literature included E. Nesbit’s trilogy: Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Wishing Carpet, plus The Amulet — all occult fantasies.
11. So much was Lewis’s life steeped in fantasy that he wrote, “The central story of my life is about nothing else” (p. 17). From Nesbit and Gulliver he advanced to Longfellow’s Saga of King Olaf and fell in love with the magic and pagan myths of Norse legend. By the age of twelve, there had grown in Lewis’s mind an intense relationship with the world of fantasy and elves… Although one would expect childhood fantasies to subside after a time, in Lewis’s case they became more a delight as he grew older.
12. After advancing to preparatory school at Wyvern, Lewis gradually “ceased to be a Christian.” He became interested in the occult and embraced an attitude of pessimism about what he considered a faulty world. His taste for the occult was nurtured and grew as he became enthralled with Wagnerian operas and their Norse sagas derived from Celtic mythology.
13. It was during their long association that both Lewis and JR Tolkien developed their most prestigious “sword and sorcery” material.
13. It is argued that in presenting a blend of fantasy with analogy to Christian truth, Lewis hoped to encourage his readers to search out the truth further. This, however, was not Lewis’s intention in writing his fantasies… Many of Lewis’s characters in his fantasies depicted as “good” are in reality associated with witchcraft, pagan mythology, and the Norse mysteries.
14. One of the more pronounced confusions of good and evil is Till We Have Faces, Lewis’s retelling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, written just a few years before his death. In this work, several ungodly concepts are espoused as valid truths.
15. In fact, there has developed a cult of sorts which venerates the fantasies of Lewis along with those of other writers who do not claim to be Christians. Evidence of this is the fact that Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia is listed along with other occult writings as recommended inspirational reading by the makers of the demonically-oriented game Dungeons and Dragons!
CONCLUSION
According to Miesel, Lewis is also heretical on the depravity of man, how salvation works, being “Born Again,” and animals in heaven. He concludes,
“While there may be insights into life that are profitable to be found in the works of C.S. Lewis, we think it not wise to encourage young or untaught Christians to feed on such a presentation of so-called Christian truth. Some may be readily attracted to Lewis’s style and logic, but let us not be blinded and thus miss the plain and simple truth of Scripture.”
Support | STORE | | Podcasts | More on Satan here. | “I Beheld Satan as Lightening Fall from Heaven” | Overcoming that Old Serpent, Called the Devil, and Satan [podcast] | Conquering the Enemy [podcast] | Witchcraft Uncovered



Articles
How to Spot a Fake Bible [podcast]

Please don’t balk till you read these 3 verses. This is indefensible to the sane mind! “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” (Proverbs 18:13)
Satan loves to borrow from the authentic. This is so he can attempt to borrow credibility from the real and he pawns off, he promulgates his counterfeits. This is why one of his fake “bibles” is called the “New King James Bible.” The Word “Berean” immediately evokes the truth of the disciples there who stood on God’s written Word and compared everything to it to prove it was true or false (Acts 17:10-11). In 2016 the Berean Study Bible (BSB) was introduced. Sounds good, right? Not! There are 4 verses we use to acid test “bibles”: Matthew 17:21; Acts 8:37; Romans 8:1; and Colossians 1:14
As usual, this BSB was taken from the known corrupted manuscripts instead of the Textus Receptus from which the KJB comes from. In the BSB, typically, we find:
- Matthew 17:21 was removed and so was Acts 8:37,
- Romans 8:1 was chopped in half, and
- The blood of Jesus was removed from Colossians 1:14.
Many times I hold people’s feet to the fire on Colossians 1:14 and ask them if they truly believe they are washed in Christ’s blood and if they believe they could be saved without His blood (Hebrews 9:22). Then when they agree that our LORD’s blood is the only way they could have been and are saved, I ask them how they could possibly agree with, condone the removing of His precious blood and bring in Revelation 22:18-19.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psalms 12:6-7
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6
People are constantly bragging about “their” translation they love and swear it’s the best. So, all you have to do to blow up their little deception is to go online and find that version and go to the following 3 verses: Matthew 17:21, Colossians 1:14, Romans 8:1
IF you are going to dare still argue to defend the fake news new “bibles” after being told that the BLOOD of Jesus is removed from Colossians 1:14 and Matthew 17:21 is removed and Romans 8:1 is chopped in half…. I have no more responsibility to communicate truth to you according to (Matthew 7:6; Titus 3:10-11; Revelation 22:18-19; Proverbs 30:5-6). You are not a man of truth.
You have to wonder if professing Christians actually know and take this severe warning seriously by the crass attitude we see concerning the fake “bibles” which deliberately butchered God’s words and changed major doctrines (Revelation 22:18-19). Where O where is the holy fear of God?
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19
Compare to the KJB which came from the Textus Receptus manuscripts which make up 98% of all manuscripts in existence and agree with each other. The underlying manuscripts are most important. When you compare these 3 verses you immediately see if their version is accurate. There’s more to it though because apparently some of the fake “bibles” use both sets of manuscripts. Yet, usually the fake “bibles” come wholly from the corrupted manuscripts and comparing these 3 verses reveals such.
The new versions of the Bible are rooted in rebellion no matter what the sales pitch they put on gullible minds. They are man’s thoughts and philosophies inserted into God’s (Isaiah 55:8-9). Total rebellion. Read Revelation 22:18-19. They are cursed at the root. The Holy Ghost is our Teacher not the Hebrew, Greek, or supposed, self-appointed “experts.”
90% of the time you will find that their “bible” version came from the corrupted manuscripts.
Personally, I cannot endorse what are clearly Satan’s CORRUPTIONS, cheap substitutes, and counterfeits of God’s Word and therefore cannot recommend them. I definitely encourage any and all believers, no matter the maturity level, to read the King James Bible.
Support | STORE | Podcasts | H.O.T. Bible Study [podcast] | Bible Agnostics Exposed | How to Spot a Fake Bible [podcast] | WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO CAN’T UNDERSTAND THE KJB? [podcast] | New American Standard Version “Bible” NASV Catastrophe Exposed | The Audacity of Defending the New Versions | Do We Have God’s Word or Do You Need to Know the Original Languages? [podcast] | Bible Versions Category |




Abiding
How do We Know Who is “of God” and Who is “Not of God”? [podcast]

Scripture vs Subjectivity/Human Reasoning
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8
There are many people pretending to be representing Christ. Many pretend to speak for God but how do we know who is truly “of God” and who is “not of God”? Jesus gave us the answer to this important question because He desires His people to be protected by proper discernment. He has warned us repeatedly to “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know (discern) them by their fruits. … And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 7:15-16, 24:11).
Jesus says to use that we shall “know” (discern) others “by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16, 20)
“You’re taking things out of context” is what unrepentant heretics throw at you when you state the Word. And they say “rightly divide the word of truth,” using it out of context for their own self-serving agenda because they don’t like what the plain truth of God states in His written Word. They are clearly “not of God” according to Christ who also said “by their fruits” we are to “know” (discern) others (Matthew 7:16, 20).
Here’s the clear proof that most of the “church” is not Christ’s church, not His people at all. They falsely claim to be, as did the Jews of Jesus’ day. Memorize John 8:47 – who is “of God” and who is “NOT of God.”
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47
Simply put: We know who is truly “of God” and who is “NOT of God” by how they treat God’s Word.
True Heaven bound disciples of Jesus follow God according to the Bible (Psalms 119:105). All others follow a false god they concocted in their own deceived imagination (John 8:47).
One of the examples in this late hour of those who pose a threat to believers is the New Apostolic Reformation movement which has produced and sent forth an army of false prophets. Their false insinuations and claims include that their prophetic words, visions, apostles, prophets, and prophecies are equal to the divine authority of Holy Scripture. More on the New Apostolic Reformation Cult and its false teachings and false prophets is here.
When you or I or any other mere human claims to be hearing from the Holy Spirit, such is purely subjective and must be tested against the Holy Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 John 4:1, etc.). THAT’s WHY we have the written Word – to protect us from being misled from the “MANY false prophets” who are deceiving “MANY” as Jesus forewarned would be the case (Matthew 24:11). Final divine authority is the written Word, not some mere sinful man or woman posing as God’s voice.
The LORD gave us His Word in order that we could know Him who is “the truth” and not be “led away (from God) with the error of the wicked” by following “cunningly devised fables” (John 14:6; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:17).
2 Peter 1:16-21
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a MORE SURE WORD of prophecy (the written Word); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The Word of God is sure and steadfast as is its Author who is eternally perfect and unchanging in His divine nature. Our faith is not based on mere fables or stories, but rather on the Word of the very One who created and sustains all life in His vast Universe (Colossians 1:16-17).
“The apostasy is here. Everyone is a Christian until it gets biblical.” F.
You wanna know who is really “of God” and who is “NOT of God”? John 8:47 – memory truth.
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47
Every person who is “of God” has their conscience captive to His Word. Any person who is casual about God’s Word instead of fervently attentive, is “not of God.” When the true follower of Jesus hears Scripture, they hearken, are comforted, corrected, edified, etc. They love God and therefore change to conform to the Word. His words are the highest authority of their lives.
Is God’s Word your final authority or not?
IF God’s WRITTEN Word is not the final authority of your personal life, we have nothing in common – you are not saved. Jesus says you are “NOT of God” (John 8:47).
LOTS of biblically-illiterate guys hanging out on social media arguing using subjectivity, lies, and false notions when they should be diligently studying and speaking only the Word. The problem is not only “lack of knowledge” but also the pride that underlies their refusal to be teachable (Hosea 4:6).
The godly man will own the truth – he will surrender and allow it to own him – even when it is correcting him (Proverbs 1:5; 15:32; Romans 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, etc.).
IF you refuse to allow God’s Word to correct you, you are “not of God” (John 8:47).
The righteous declare with Christ’s apostle Paul to “Let God be true and EVERY man a liar” (Romans 3:4).
IF you don’t love God enough to voraciously study His Word, you do not love Him!
“Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12
We know who is truly “of God” by their resolved, unwavering love for God’s Word.
Those who preach the Word of God continue sending a whole slew of ungodly men packing! These ungodly men who vainly believe they are of God, prove their rebellion by their refusal to be corrected by God’s Word (Romans 3:4; Matthew 7:6; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Titus 3:10-11; 2 John 7-11).
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17
IF it is discovered that God’s written Word is not your absolute final divine authority, you will be rebuked and sent packing if you don’t repent. You are “NOT of God” (John 8:47). Time to clean house! Time to flip the tables of the hypocrites.
The only way to be rooted and grounded in Christ is to be an ardent student of His Word. There are no shortcuts and all who are not rich in His Word will be misled for not loving Jesus enough to prayerfully, daily pour over, learn, apply, and walk in His Word.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:6-10
We are “complete in Christ” and Christ is revealed to us in His Word (John 5:39-40, etc.).
IF you are living by human reasoning instead of strictly by God’s written Word, you are a lost soul in need of repentance. Repent now and when you do, the proof will be that God’s Word will become the authority of your life (John 8:47). Those who truly repent are in Christ and live by His Word and nothing else.
There are so very many people today acting like they know Jesus while His Word is not the final divine authority of their lives – which clearly proves they have either never repented or have since backslidden and are lost!
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Satan is able to master the lives of those who “received not the love of the truth. … for this cause God shall send them strong delusion.”
Not getting into God’s Word will cost us everything. Those who do not love God’s Word, clearly prove they do not love Him.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6
Many modern “pastors” are little more than those who entertain goats/counterfeits and we know this because they are not fervent but rather casual about the Holy Scriptures and most of them use fake “bibles.”
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:2-4
Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep (John 21:15-17). Christ never instructed Peter or anyone else to merely hold church services. Of course believers are to gather and yet, when we gather, what’s most important is feasting on God’s word (Nehemiah 8:8; Acts 2:42, etc.). Instead though, today most gatherings called “church” are little more than an hour of empty entertainment, void of the fear, the holiness, and the Word of God.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (abundantly) in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
Hireling wolves aren’t getting people into the Word for themselves because they want people to need, to depend upon THEM instead of God so they can build their own brand, church, club! They are using people, building a busine$$ on the gullibility of their prey! (John 21:15-17; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:2-4; 1 Peter 4:11).
Sink or swim! Get into God’s Word daily for yourself and stop trusting entirely on your Sunday morning gathering – which if you attend such, should be just one of many times you are fellowshiping with God and His people in a week’s time frame and not an end in itself -which inevitably it becomes!
After Pentecost, the birth of the New Testament church, the earliest believers are seen in temples (Jewish church buildings) for a time. They are also seen fellowshiping “house to house.”
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (the Word) and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:42-47
Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Perhaps more like “Go feed them” as Jesus and His apostle did. They went to the people (Matthew 9:35-38; Acts 1:8; 8:4; 10:38, etc.), and not “Go get them to come to you for their weekly entertainment and so you can fleece them with your church membership program and system you’ve set up to catch unsuspecting souls.” Gathering together is God’s will and yet, being corralled to be preyed upon is something about which we see warnings throughout God’s Word.
Corralling and entrapping unsuspecting souls is one of the schemes, devices used by beguilers. In my opinion, this is what the apostate modern church world has become – a baited trap, a stage performed on by pied pipers who use music, bands, and story-telling to seek to capture, to ensnare souls.
Those who allow themselves to become indoctrinated and ensnared in this system become “twofold more the child of hell” and continue this campaign of evil for generations (Matthew 23:15).
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:2-4
PRAYER: Holy Father in Heaven, I come to You now solely on the basis of Christ’s perfect sacrifice for my sins. Please forgive my sin of self-idolatry and spiritual adultery where I have not put You first but had other false gods before You. In this very instant, right now, I repent. I turn back to You dear Jesus and ask You to wash my sins afresh in Your precious blood. I love You LORD Jesus and from this moment forward, I am relishing, worshiping, loving, obeying, and seeking Your holy face relentlessly. Please fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit and use me dear LORD. Also, please give me the deep desire for more of You and for a photographic memory of Your words. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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