Jeremiah 3:15, “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 10:21, “For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.” Jeremiah 12:10, “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.” Revelation 3:2, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.”
We are living in perilous times. That sadly includes our dead churches, shallow pastors and corrupt Bible colleges today. The Bible exhorts us to STRENGTHEN THE THINGS THAT REMAIN, THAT ARE READY TO DIE. The King James Bible has already died in many churches. When I visited the First Baptist Church of Pensacola, Florida in downtown Pensacola city in late 2019, they had New International Version (NIV) Bibles in all the pews. The pastor read and preached from an NIV. There wasn't a King James Bible in sight. To no surprise, if you go check their Statement of Faith, they teach Calvinism. Here is a quote:
“All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.”
SOURCE: https://fbcp.org/our-statement-of-faith
The First Baptist Church of Pensacola are caught up in the same Calvinist heresy as Dr. Steve Pettit and Bob Jones University. They view justification, sanctification and glorification as a package deal that cannot be separated. They are in woeful error, not understanding the Scripture. Matthew 22:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” The famous preacher John Bunyan (1628-1688) got it 100% correct, making this beautiful statement:
“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” [emphasis added] —Evangelist John Bunyan
The First Baptist Church of Pensacola, and Dr. Steve Pettit at BJU, fail to understand what John Bunyan said. One of the main culprits is the Devil's modern Bible revisions. There is a direct link between Calvinism and the modern Bible revisions. For example:
KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - 1st John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NV) - 1st John 3:9, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”
There is a world of difference between the two preceding statements. Things that are different are not the same. It is obvious that all believers still commit sin. So what does this verse mean? It can only mean one thing—that the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot sin. The Apostle Paul made very clear in Romans 7:14-25 that he struggled with sin daily. Paul said he did the sinful things that he didn't want to do. So according to the NIV Paul wasn't saved! 1st John 3:9 is explained by Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” As you just read, it is impossible for a believer who is walking in the Spirit to sin. No one ever sins in the Holy Spirit, we sin in the weakness of the flesh.
Since we are still stuck in this fleshly body, we won't always choose to walk in the Spirit, sometimes we will choose to walk in the flesh. Romans 8:8-9, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” It is impossible for the Spirt-filled believer to sin. When we sin, we do so in the flesh. No believer can persevere to walk in the Spirit all the time. Every believer walks in the flesh at times, evidenced by Paul's admission in Romans 7:14-25 that he frequent battles with not wanting to sin. WE ALL SIN ALL THE TIME (1st John 1:10; Romans 3:10-23).
Here is another example of how the Devil's modern Bible revisions are linked to Calvinism:
KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,”
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NV) - Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,”
Again, things that are different are not the same. “Dead works” is not the same as “acts that lead to death.” Since Romans 6:23a says, “For the wages of sin is death,” this corrupt rendering of Hebrews 6:1 in the NIV implies that the reader must “turn away from sinning” to be saved. That is absolutely NOT what the King James Bible teaches. “Dead works” here refer to the works of the Old Testament law.
Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” This Bible very is so important, and I love it. Romans 3:20 explains to us the purpose for which God gave the law in the first place, so that humanity would obtain the knowledge of sin. Romans 7:13, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” The law is a measuring stick, by which when men compare themselves, they see their guilty condition and desperate need for the Savior. Galatians 3:25-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” The law was given to bring us to Christ!
Therefore, we now understand the true meaning of Hebrews 6:1. Repentance unto salvation is not turning away from sin; but rather, ceasing from our own efforts to be saved. The NIV is confusing and totally misleads the reader. The sad and shocking ugly truth is that the translators and publishers of the modern Bible revisions aren't changing the Bible to improve it, make it easier to read, nor any other seemingly good reason; they are butchering the Bible to sell it! 2nd Corinthians 2:17, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”
The newly released 2020, Literal Standard Version (LSV), changes this verse to read: 2nd Corinthians 2:17, “For we are not as the many, adulterating the word of God, but as of sincerity—but as of God; in the presence of God, in Christ we speak.” Adulterating the Word of God? What nonsense in the LSV! The NIV rewords it this way: 2nd Corinthians 2:17, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” No, they all CORRUPT the Word of God!!! The following picture speaks volumes. Truly a picture is worth 1,000 words...
To Get A Copyright, Not To Accurately Translate God's Word Into English
The above photo ought to disgust you dear reader, as it does me. Ungodly men and women are changing the Bible to make money. By law, if they want a legal copyright, they have to make creative and substantial changes to all existing texts. So they have to change it, whether it needs changing or not. That is theological fraud of the worst sort! Look what the New Life Version (NLV) changes it to in Zachariah 13:6, “If someone asks him, ‘What are these sores on your back?’ he will answer, ‘They are the sores I received in the house of my friends.’” Well is it Jesus' back, chest, hands, body, arms or hands? Are they sores, deep cuts, wounds or scars? If you want to some some fun, while being disgusted at the same time, search BibleGateway for the different renderings of Zechariah 13:6 and see how insane and evil all this is.
Dear reader, I sure hope my writings are getting across to some people. I don't make any money from my seven ministry websites. I don't make any money serving God. My blogs are from my heart. I even sent a $200 check back to a godly pastor years ago, who kindly wanted to show his gratitude toward me for promoting his ministry. I explained to him that I will never take a penny for my labors for Christ. It is not wrong to do, but I want people to know where my heart and intentions rest—in genuinely serving Jesus Christ and loving people by giving them THE TRUTH. I love my ministry. I love you, whoever you may be.
I enjoyed visiting the First Baptist Church of Pensacola. I was hoping to move to Pensacola and join their church, which is why I visited in late 2019. Sadly, they are wrong on the Bible and the Gospel. You don't have to persevere to get to Heaven. Just because you receive God's free gift of eternal life doesn't mean you will persevere in holy living and service to Christ, which is service (discipleship) and not salvation (sonship). I agree with Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) that it is the indwelling Holy Spirit Who preserves in every believer, and not the believer persevering until the end. We are saved because GOD is faithful, not because WE are faithful. Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) makes this excellent distinction between salvation and discipleship...
"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." DeHaan, M. R. Hebrews. Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).
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