James 4:1-17, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
I learned many years ago that the proper way to study the Bible is to never lift a particular Scripture out of context; but rather, interpret that verse within the context of the entire surrounding passage. The main Bible verse that I wanted to use to write this blog is from James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” So I then looked at the adjacent verses, to make sure I got the correct interpretation.
But as I went verse by verse, adding more surrounding Scriptures to go along with my text verse from James 4:8, I realized the the entire chapter of James chapter 4 needs to be included, because it is all applicable. And of a truth, I suppose we would need to include the entire cannon of 66 books of Scripture, since all of the Bible must be considered when interpreting any particular Scripture. When our suggested interpretation agrees with all of the Holy Bible, then we know we've found the correct meaning. But if even one verse in the Bible disagrees with our suggested interpretation, then we know that we must keep looking, because we have the wrong interpretation.
For example: Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” At a glance, a person might errantly conclude that water baptism is required to go to Heaven. But if we look at 1st Corinthians 1:17, we know this is not accurate, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” Clearly, if water baptism were required to be saved, then Paul never would have made these statements. Please also consider that God authored the Epistle of 1st John so that each believer can “know that ye have eternal life” (1st John 5:13b). Yet, John never mentions any form of baptism in his epistle.
So in James 4:8 we have a solemn PROMISE from God almighty, that if we will simple draw nigh (near) unto Him, then He also will draw nigh unto us. The reason why we must draw near first is to show that we are humble. James 4:6-7, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” God avoids proud people. The churches today are filled with proud and arrogant pastors and members.
You can tell when someone is proud by how they respond to broken sinners. How do they treat them? When I attended Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, Pastor Jeff Redlin mistreated me horribly. One of my ministry's bitter enemies had sent him some slander about me on the internet to the Campus Church, to attack me. As a fool, Jeff Redlin believed the slander and mistreated me as a result. At first he wouldn't respond to my emails, shunning me away. But then when I persistently asked him what was wrong, he told me that someone had sent him gossip, and he believed the untrue rumors as only a fool does. Jeff Redlin is a wicked person, a fool, an abusive clergy who has no business standing behind any pulpit. Pastor Jeff Redlin is sinfully proud, arrogant, a holier-than-thou hypocrite, who shamefully condemned me based upon unfounded slander. That is a really bad pastor!
DRAW NIGH UNTO GOD the Bible promises, and HE WILL DRAW NIGH UNTO YOU. But please notice the conditions in the surrounding verses. We are commanded in verses 8-10 to “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” If you want to get close to God, you need to share His yoke, that is, His burden over rampant sin in American society today, and God's burden for the lost to be saved. It is no different than with earthly friends. If you want to get closer to a friend, you share their interests and hobbies. You find out what is important to them and you learn about those things. That is what a good friend does! Many people do not know the differenced between a friend and a mere acquaintance (someone you know). A friend is a gift from God.
The world always wants top party hardy and have a good time. You will need to break away from all that if you want to draw nigh unto God. You don't find God in the crowd, you find Him alone at home or in nature. You don't find God in the churches, you find Him in the body, soul and spirit of every born-again child of God (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). I love the blessed Holy Spirit, who is God living inside of me (and every believer).
The Bible tells us also in James 4:11 not to slander our Christian brother or sister. You cannot draw near unto God vertically, while slandering and being at odds with your earthly brethren horizontally. Being right with God CONDITIONALLY requires being right with man on earth. Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” It does matter how we treat others. No one can walk with God who mistreats people. I know Pastor Jeff Redlin doesn't walk with God, because he was mean, abusive, uncaring, inconsiderate, indifferent and calloused toward me and THE TRUTH that I gave him.
Campus Church preaches blatant heresy about Bible repentance. The deadly lie of “repent OF YOUR SIN” to be saved has crept into 90% of Baptist churches across the world. You cannot show me any such teaching in the inspired King James Bible. It is truly sad and tragic, causing millions of people to perish in their sins and spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBA) alone has 45,000 member churches, all of which cling to the Devil's heresy that to get to Heaven you must turn away from your sinful ways. That cannot be a gift! A gift by every definition of the word means something freely received WITHOUT COMPENSATION OR OBLIGATION. So how can a person be saved if they must keep the law (don't steal, don't commit adultery, don't bear false witness, et cetera)?
Jesus plainly told the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” You absolutely CANNOT worship God in heresy! The Satanic Roman and Orthodox Catholic church worships God in vain, worshipping Him with ceremonies and rituals, but not in spirit. If you have ever attended a Catholic church mass, then you know exactly what I mean, the place is totally devoid of the Holy Spirit of God. The spirit of Satan permeates the entire Catholic religion, from the top to the bottom!!!
The entire chapter of James 4 tells us how to draw close to God. We read at the beginning of the chapter about the friendship of the ungodly world, which is enmity (enemies) with God. Verse 4 says that to be a friend (to assist) the world is to become GOD'S ENEMY!!! Most pastors today are God's enemy and don't even realize it, because they support the Devil's counterfeit Bible revisions, and they preach the Devil's damnable lies of Lordship Salvation and Wrong Repentance (aka, “turn away from your sins” to be saved garbage).
Although it is true that in order to turn TOWARD Christ, you must also turn AWAY from someone, that something is not committing sins; that something is UNBELIEF. The only requirement to be saved is that you first know what you are being saved from, and that is from THE WAGES OF OUR SINS, which is Hell. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You don't need to forsake your sinful living to be saved; but contrawise, Jesus came to die for your sins so that you could be forgiven of them! Whatever changes God wants to see happen in your life will be dealt with by the indwelling Holy Spirit AFTER you are in Christ, and you can rest assured that God will attend to that department of your life. God is not an absent parent (Hebrews 12:6-8).
Bob Jones University (BJU) today is a dangerous religious cult! BJU in 2022 is very different than when Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) was at the helm. “Dr. Bob” as he was known was 100% right on the Gospel, teaching that we simply “believe” to be saved. BJU teaches something very different today, requiring that you also repent and turn from your sins to be saved, which is exactly what the Mormons teach! First here is what BJU teaches in their official statement of faith. Bob Jones University is pulling on the same rope as the Devil! Here is a deceptive quote from their college's website:
With regard to the doctrine of Soteriology:
Now look at what the Mormon's teach on their official website:We believe Scripture teaches that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph. 2:4–10; Rom. 3:21–26; Titus 3:5) and apart from any human work of righteousness (Phil. 3:9). God offers this salvation freely to all men who are willing to repent and turn from their sins (Acts 3:19, 17:30) and place their full faith and trust in the atonement Christ made by His finished work on the Cross (Luke 24:46–48, Heb. 9:11–15, 10:10–14). [emphasis added]SOURCE: BJU Statements of Faith
That is 100% Lordship Salvation! That is exactly what Harvest Baptist Church on Guam and Bob Jones University are sinfully preaching these days, for which God's curse is upon them! Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Pastor Marty Herron is cursed! Pastor Gary Walton is cursed! BJU is cursed! Pacific Garden Mission and their 'UNSHACKLED' are cursed! Pastor John MacArthur is cursed, to whom Moody Bible Institute, BJU and the Bob Jones' crowd all bid Godspeed, making them partaker of his Calvinist counterfeit gospel! These men are devils in the pulpit today!!! The Mormon website further heretically states concerning repentance:“Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel and is essential to our temporal and eternal happiness. It is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments.” [emphasis added]
I couldn't show you a clearer example of the heresy of partial faith in Christ, plus works. Nowhere does the Bible teach that we must “repent of our sins,” and continuing repenting of our sins as a lifestyle, to be saved. Evangelist Ray Comfort teaches this nightmare theology, that you must continuing repenting of your sins your whole life to be saved. Getting saved is not a process, it is a new birth! You don't get cleansed of sin as you make an effort to turn from them, and rely on Jesus' saving grace while you are doing it. This is a counterfeit gospel based upon works, and not faith alone. Do you see friend how evil Lordship Salvation is? It is a false Gospel that adds to faith. Whereas the Bible simply teaches to “believe” to be saved, proponents of Lordship Salvation require that you make an effort to turn from your sins, and then secondly trust Christ. That is NOT the Gospel which the King James Bible teaches!“Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Father in Heaven has provided the only way for us to be forgiven of our sins. Jesus Christ suffered the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven if we sincerely repent. As we repent and rely on His saving grace, we will be cleansed from sin.” [emphasis added]
Dear friend, you cannot draw nigh unto God until you are first His redeemed child. That is, you must experience the second birth. This happens only by faith alone in the Good News (Gospel) of Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day. I am wearied with all the Satanic heresy in churches today!!! The Bob Jones University crowd have infected thousands of churches with their spiritual rat-poison! Sadly, Pensacola Christian College has also been infected with the virus of Wrong Repentance.
God desires to draw near unto each of His children. The Lord is no respecter of persons. Simply be humble. Don't come to God with a critical spirit toward your brother or sister in Christ. God knows that I have often prayed for the ungodly pastors (e.g. Marty Herron, Gary Walton, Jeff Redlin, Sean Quinlan, Joe Hansen, Jared Baldwin) who have despitefully used me, cast out my good name as evil and persecuted me for contending for the faith. All of those names I mentioned are shameful leaders in apostate churches today! But I do not hate them, I hate their rotten attitudes! I hate what God hates, their arrogance and haughty pride. When I humbly handed them THE TRUTH, they sinfully rejected it (Hosea 4:6). Dr. Tom Ferrell rightly said that: “A friend helps a friend to see.” But when I befriended them with THE TRUTH that Lordship Salvation is not the Gospel, and repentance does not mean to “turn away from sinful living,” and the modern Bibles are perverted of the Devil, they spat in my face as they did Christ also. God will be my Judge (Romans 3:4). I have faithfully TOLD THE TRUTH!!!
So if you want to draw nigh unto God, you MUST walk in truth dear friends. 3rd John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Do you walk in truth friend? If you don't have a King James Bible, then you do not walk in truth, because you don't have THE TRUTH. Make sure to use ONLY the inspired King James Bible. Please don't let anyone tell you different.
We are also admonished in James 4:13-17 never to boast of our future plans without saying: “If the Lord will” or “God willing.” I always talk with those phrases, knowing what the Bible teaches in James. People sometimes look at me funny, but that is okay, I am obeying what God told me to do. It is a sin that Bible says to plan for your retirement someday, without including the fact that you might not be around to enjoy that day (Proverbs 27:1). We live in an unpredictable world. The world is full of wicked, greedy, adulterous and heathen infidels (1st John 5:19). PAYDAY SOMEDAY!!! I am glad to be on the winning side in Jesus Christ.
In this blog I am NOT speaking about getting saved, except to say that you cannot draw near unto God if you are not saved (1st Corinthians 2:14-16). I am speaking about WALKING WITH GOD. If you want to be close to God, you don't have to be perfect, He just wants you to GROW. 1st John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Simply confess your sins and weaknesses to God, which means being honest with yourself first. You cannot fool God.
Walking with God should be a buddy type friendship, but a respectful one. We ought to fear God as we would a godly Father. The only time we need to literally be afraid of God is when we hurt others, because Matthew 7:1-2 warns that God will judge all men according to how we judge others! 2nd Corinthians 5:11 warns of the TERROR OF THE LORD!!! Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Can you imagine when George Harrison of The Beatles died in 2001, and fell into the hands of God almighty? I am saddened for George, who made it very clear that his Savior was not Jesus Christ, it was Hara Krishna. The Bible warns that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:10-12). Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The dearest thing to God is SOULWINNING!!! So if you really want to be close to God, then start sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Treat people the way you want to be treated, with love and honesty (Matthew 7:12). Start sharing the Gospel with the people in your life, and those whom you meet (Luke 8:15). Abide in the Word of God day and night (Psalms 1: John 17:17; 2nd Timothy 3:16). Let Jesus live the Christian life through you (Galatians 2:20).
Present your body as a living sacrifice unto God, to serve Him with the talents, resources and gifts which He has entrusted to you (Romans 12:1). Let your light (good works and holy living) shine before men, so that your Father in Heaven may be glorified (Matthew 5:16). Do these things are you will become close to God. Pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17). Spend time each day with the things of God, and just like a musical instrument, over time you'll become good at it. No one feels like they know God overnight.
I have been saved for 42 years, since 1980 when I was 13 years old. I feel closer to God today than I ever have. He is my Friend, my God and my Savior. I having a loving relationship with the Lord. We laugh and I am constantly sharing the humorous things in my life with Him. I know that Jesus loves me, not because I always feel it (and I sure do), but moreover because the Word of God tells me so (John 3:16). So many people make God out to be their worst enemy. But friend, it doesn't have to be that way. Let God love you, and then you will begin to love yourself, and only then can you let that love of God flow through you to others.
When I met Pastor Jeff Redlin in July of 2021 at Campus Church in Pensacola, Florida, I discerned right away that he is a shallow, immature and cold believer. John 5:42, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.” Mr. Redlin was fortunate to be chosen as the pastor of Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College(PCC), but unfortunately FOR THE STUDENTS at PCC, Jeff Redlin doesn't have God's love in Him. I felt nothing but contempt, hatred and despisement from him for the summer of 2021 at Campus Church. John 5:42, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.”
When you have God's love inside you, as I humbly do from walking with Jesus, you know quickly when someone doesn't have Christ's unconditional love for all humanity. I would expect the heathen world not to have God's love, but that is inexcusable for the pastor of any church, especially a giant place like Campus Church. PCC is not wise to hire and keep Jeff Redlin, a fool, because he does not have God's love in him. You show me a bad pastor who mistreats people (as Jeff Redlin did to me), and I'll show you a shallow man who DOESN'T walk with Jesus! John 5:42, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.”
When you walk with the Lord, He rubs off on you! Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” When you walk close to the blessed Savior, you WILL become bold to speak THE TRUTH. That is why I preach without apology or compromise against the ungodly Bob Jones University camp today. BJU is a cesspool of Lordship Salvation (i.e., Calvinist heresy). BJU promotes the Devil's corruptible seed (false bibles). BJU preaches Wrong Repentance (requiring people to keep the law to be saved).
Sadly, Pensacola Christian College (PCC) sinfully bids BJU Godspeed, which makes them partaker of their evil deeds (2nd John 1:11). I am BOLD to expose both of these wicked religious groups today, who combined are corrupting thousands of New Testament churches with their spiritual filth. BJU and PCC are carnally-minded, full of arrogant blinded supporters who are indifferent toward THE TRUTH. Therefore, they foolishly attack and criticize me and my faithful ministry of telling the truth for God. Romans 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
“If
there's one thing I want you to have, I want you to know God!” —Dr. Jack Hyles, a
quote from the MP3 sermon, “How
To Walk With God”
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