willingly ignorant

 by David Long

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water" (2 Pet. 3:3-5).

There are people who are "willingly ignorant" of the word of God. They don't know and they don't want to know and in their ignorance they mock the Bible. There are those who may be able to quote the Bible but they still don't know it. Ignorance of the Bible is dangerous (Hosea 4:6). 

Fact or fiction?

 by David Long

Well it’s that time of year when we see nativity scenes and church pageants about the birth of Christ or what the world refers to as “Christmas.” When it comes to Christmas what is fact and what is fiction? (1) Was Jesus really born on December 25^th? “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11). What day was “this day?” The Bible does not give the month or the day. It just gives us the event. The truth is, we don’t know. We do know it was during the time of year when Rome did a taxing of its citizens (Lk. 2:1-5). The problem is we don’t know the exact time of year that was. We do know it was a time of year when shepherds stayed with their sheep out in the fields (Lk. 2:8). It is a fact that Jesus was born. It is fiction that He was born on December 25^th. 

(2) Was there really three wise men who came to see Jesus? The Bible doesn’t tell us how many wise men came to see Jesus. The Bible tells us that there were three kinds of gifts presented (Matt. 2:11). It is a fact that wise men came to see Jesus. It is fiction that there were three of them. All we know for sure is that there was more than one. 

(3) Were the wise men kings from the orient? The Bible doesn’t say they were kings. The Bible just says, “There came wise men from the east” (Matt. 2:1). 

(4) Did the wise men visit Jesus in the manger? The Bible says they visited Jesus in a house (Matt. 2:9-11). By the time the wise men arrived in Bethlehem Joseph and Mary had moved out of the barn and into a house. In fact, by the time the wise men arrived Jesus was possibly two years old (Matt. 2:16). The only ones to visit Jesus as a babe in the manger were the shepherds (Lk. 2:8-20). 

(5) Did Mary ride a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem? The Bible doesn’t mention the mode of transportation. It just says they went. 

So, what do we believe about all this? First, we don’t believe or practice something just because the majority of people believe it or do it. God said to His people a long time ago, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil…” (Ex. 23:2). We want to believe and do it because the word of God teaches it. Second, we must beware of man-made religious traditions. “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” (Col. 2:8). Third, we don’t want to add to or take away from the word of God (Rev. 22:18-19).  Just because man puts Jesus in something doesn’t mean that He is in it. Just because man connects Jesus to something doesn’t mean He is connected. The word of God must be our standard (Rom. 10:17). We must be sure to do our own Bible study. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The Bible says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). So, we must ask ourselves the question, “Is what I believe and practice really what the Bible teaches? Can I prove it from the word of God? Dear reader, are you a Christian? Have you done what the Bible teaches to become a Christian or have you accepted what the majority of the religious world teaches to become a Christian? Know what the Bible teaches for yourself!

Traditions of men

by David Long

"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" (Col. 2:8).

Most of the religious world is made up of the traditions of men. They value the traditions of men above the word of God. Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition" (Mk. 7:9). Sounds like a lot of people today. They reject God's word for their traditions. 

Every knee shall bow

 by David Long

"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Rom. 14:11). You may not bow now but one day you will. You may not believe in God now but one day you will. You may not believe the Bible now but one day you will. You may not give an account for your actions now but one day you will.  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).

Not an after thought

 by David Long

There are those in the religious world who believe and teach that the church that Jesus built (Matt. 16:18) was an after thought of God. They believe that Jesus came to establish a kingdom on earth but because the Jews rejected Him, He had to build the church instead. The problem with that is, it is wrong. The church of Christ was not an after thought of God but His eternal purpose (Eph. 3:10-11). Establishing the church has always been in the mind of God. It's the vehicle by which God saves us (Eph. 5:23). The saved are in it (Acts 2:47). 

Not branches

 by David Long

Read  John 15:1-8. These verses are often used by those in the religious world to say that the branches refer to the denominations. But Jesus was talking to His disciples not denominations. In fact verse 6 says, "if a man abide not in me..." Jesus is the vine and His disciples are the branches. Denominations aren't connected to the vine. Denominations aren't planted by God, they are planted by the devil (Matt. 13:37-43). 

I thought

 by David Long

Read 2 Kings 5:9-14. Naaman thought that God should have done it his way. Naaman thought that the rivers of Damascus were better so why couldn't he wash in them and be clean. But when God says a thing must be done a certain way then that thing must be done the way God says (Lev. 10:1-2). This is something that the denominational world hasn't learned or don't care to learn. 

Worse and worse

 by David Long

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13). How do evil men and seducers wax worse and worse? By deceiving and being deceived. There are a lot of lies in the world today, to believe them won't make you better, they just make you worse. Only the truth of God's word can make you better (John 8:32). Reject every false idea (1 Thess. 5:21).

Common sense

 by David Long

"Every house is built by some man, but He that built all things is God" (Heb. 3:4). When you see a house you don't believe it just happened by accident. Common sense tells you someone built the house. You don't have to see the builder to know that someone built it. Evolution makes no sense and yet "wise" people believe it. Using their reasoning given enough time a tree would eventually become a house. But anyone with half a brain knows that's stupid and so is evolution. There is a lot of non-sense being taught in the world, don't believe it. Believe the Bible! 

Didn't come from a rock

 by David Long

Evolution teaches that life came from a rock and that our ancestors were fish. There is no evidence for it but evolutionists believe it. They believe something came from nothing. They believe dogs can produce cats and birds can produce dogs. Evolution is a big lie but they will do anything and say anything to protect it and if you don't believe it then they consider you stupid. The Bible says, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psa. 14:1). Who is the are stupid person? 

No literal 1000 years earthly reign

 by David Long

There are those in the religious world who believe that Christ is coming back some day to reign on earth for a thousand years. This false doctrine is taught from Revelation 20:1-6. But read that again. Where in those verses does it say that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years? It doesn't. And why are they taking the thousand years literal? Other things in the context aren't taken literal. Nowhere does the Bible teach that Jesus will ever set foot on this earth again. Jesus is reigning in His kingdom now and He will continue to reign till the end of time. 

No literal battle of armageddon

 by David Long

Does Revelation 16:12-16 teach a future literal battle of armageddon? No it does not! The book of Revelation is full of figurative and symbolic language. Why would we interpret the battle to be a literal? Other things in the context aren't interpreted literal? The battle that is being fought and will be fought till Jesus returns is a spiritual battle (2 Cor. 10:3-5; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 6:12; Eph. 6:10-17). 

No rapture

 by David Long

There are those in the religious world that teach something called the rapture. They teach that when Jesus comes back the saints will be raptured away and no one will know what happened. They use 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. But the word rapture is not found in those verses nor anywhere in the Bible. Those verses teach the return of Jesus will be with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. Sounds like we will know when it happens. The rapture is a false doctrine. When Jesus comes back all will be raised and stand before God in judgment (John 5:28-29). 

End times

 by David Long

When will the "end times" be? We are in the "end times" and have been since the first century (Acts 2:16-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Pet. 3:3-4). The problem is people are looking for some kind "signs" for the "end times." There are no "signs."  Read Matthew 24:36-39. The Christian age is the last dispensation of time on planet earth. When Jesus comes back it's all over (2 Pet. 3). 

No earthly kingdom

 by David along

Many believe when Jesus comes back He will establish an earthly kingdom. But Jesus said,  “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews” (John 18:36). The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom and it’s here. It’s the church of Christ (Matt. 16:18-19).

I will come again

 by David Long

Jesus said, “I will come again” (John 14:3). For the faithful child of God those are some of the sweetest words in the Bible. We don’t know when He will come again but He will come and when He comes it will be a glorious day for the Christian but a bad day for those who know not God and obey not the gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-9).