REDEEMING THE TIME

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

( I have placed this one before, but it is one of my favorites. I hope it is a help. Maybe, at least, it will help us to reflect on how we use our time. Use time wisely, dear friends. Comments welcome).
On certain days we are more time-conscious than on other days. For instance, in the spring of the year on a
certain date at 2:00 a.m. it suddenly becomes 3:00 a.m.! Then in the fall on the last Sunday morning in October the process is reversed. At 2:00 a.m. it becomes 1:00 a.m. and we get our time (one hour) that we have had in the "bank" for seven months, returned to us. Another day, perhaps, we are very aware of time is on February 29th. This date only comes once every four years. The reason being that the earth actually requires 365 and 1/4 days to make one revolution around the sun. So in leap year we have an extra day.

International travelers to the Orient are often confused by crossing the International Date Line when suddenly a whole day is lost or gained, depending on direction.

All these things are man-made divisions in time made for the convenience of living in this present world. The Bible tells of two times in the past that God has stopped time. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and "for about a whole day'' neither the sun or the moon moved, "freezing time," as it were (Joshua 10:12-14). Hezekiah was allowed to choose, as a sign that God would heal him, whether the sun's shadow would go forward or backward 10 degrees on the dial of Ahaz. Of course, he asked the "impossible" that the sun would come back 10 degrees. Isaiah prayed to the Lord and it was done (2 Kings 20:8-11). Recently I read an article that stated scientists had confirmed both these biblical events by space age computer. Whether they did or not, God's Word still stands!

TIME IS TEMPORARY

In Revelation 10:5, 6 we read these words: "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer."

There you have it. Time is temporary. That commodity that we value so highly—that which with every tick of your wristwatch is moving toward the event—“that time should be no more.” That precious thing that we of Adam's race are so prone to waste as if we had ‘‘all the time in the world.'' But we don't, because we are each warned that even if this event of the end of time is so far off as to be of little concern, now it is still “appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Time for repentance from sin will then be past. As far as this earthly life, it will be over and the judgment will be ahead. The shortness of life, the fragileness of it, is to show us the temporary nature of time.

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).

“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

TIME IS TRANSITORY

In time we find there are many changes taking place. An example is the rising costs we all face in everything we purchase. Items that once cost very little (such as a loaf of bread) are now expensive. One of the factors involved in this change is time. Nothing stays the same. There are so many new inventions replacing the old. The automobile has been both a blessing and a curse. It has certainly reduced the time it takes to get from one place to another. The evangelist George Whitefield once set out on a preaching journey in America traveling mostly by horse from Philadelphia to Savannah. It took him 43 days (counting the time he had to go by ship from Charleston, S. C. to Savannah—a distance of only 100 miles, but there was no road!). Now the same 800 mile journey from Philadelphia to Savannah can be driven by automobile in less than 24 hours!

And what of the airplane? Atlanta to Los Angeles is only four and ½ hours, and half-way around the world takes less than 24 hours! Time has seen some changes! How many other things can you think of that have "changed with the times?"

Certainly sin hasn't changed although we are seeing it manifested in a greater way now. It is more open, more widespread, perhaps more ugly.

"In the last days perilous times shall come. Men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud," etc. (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

There is One who has not changed, neither has His hatred of sin.This One is the Lord God! "I am the LORD I change not (Malachi 3:6) Although time is transitory, and things change in the course of time, there is an unchangeable God called "The Ancient of Days" who does not change. He does not dwell in time, but in eternity. "From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Psalm 90:2b). He is the Creator of time and the Lord of time.

TIME IS TELLING

You have probably heard the expression "Time will tell.'' This goes with an attitude of "wait and see." Often in our earthly circumstances this is what we in great patience must do, wait and see because time will tell. We look at things in this way that we have no control over. Everything from new marriages to serious operations are placed in that category. The plans of men and nations, of kings, presidents and paupers must all be put to this test. Only time will tell about someone's professed conversion. Too often we see those who "did run well" that later fall by the wayside. There are so many spurious conversions today. Many say they will follow Christ, but these have not counted the cost. Many profess with their mouth, but the heart is left untouched. Many, many have had some kind of church related experience, but few, relatively speaking, are really born from above! “Many are called—few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).

It is popular now for movie stars, sports figures, politicians, etc. to declare "I am born again." We can only say "Time will tell!"

How close are we to the second coming of Christ? We seem to be in those "perilous times" previously mentioned as being in the last days. John said in his epistle that we were in the last days and that was over 1900 years ago. Surely we are now in the last days of the last days! But wait—no date setting! Time will tell!

TO REDEEM THE TIME, WE MUST BE AWAKE

"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:14-16).In this passage we are clearly told to redeem the time. This means to buy up the time, to use it wisely for the Lord. "Ransoming the Opportunities" is a rendering given by some. Since God is timeless, He is not the One concerned with redeeming time. It is we mortals that are told this. But you cannot buy up time if you are sleeping it away.

SLEEPING SAINTS

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11).

Here, saints are told it is high time to awake. This is addressed to those that "know the time"; not to lost, unregenerate men, but to the saints. Our current day crop of Christians would rather “kill time'' than redeem it! People are bored today if they don't have something exciting to do. That is why it is no problem to fill the football stadium, the dance halls, and the amusement parks, but you have great difficulty getting anyone to just about any church during the middle of the week (or even Sunday night in most cases). Even in weeks of so-called "revival meetings" it is hard to get folks to come unless you offer some give-away program or award. Brethren, these things ought not to be! The professing church is asleep as sure as the five virgins in Matthew 25 and it is going to take a loud call to awaken it!

SLEEPING NATIONS

The nations are seemingly unconcerned that (as Karl Marx said) “A spectre is haunting Europe [and now the world], the Spectre of Communism”. When in Moscow in 1978, 1 saw banners that proclaimed in Russian, "Our Goal is Communism." This goal was not just for Russia and east Europe, but for the entire world. Communism is still a danger, don’t be fooled. But in our new century there has arisen a danger that may be greater at this time. The danger of radical Islam that seeks not only to destroy Israel, but America and the western nations as well. No one is exempt from their goals. They say in their own words they will destroy the White House, and even the United States. How far will God let them go? I don’t know, but America is being judged for her collective sins, and unless there is a turning to God I fear for her. (See my article “What Is a True Revival?”. (Link to The Highway at this URL: http://www.the-highway.com/index.html ; then Calvinism and the Reformed Faith; then click on Evangelism).Our own nation seems to be asleep, unheeding to the danger. May God shake her as only He can. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)

SLEEPING SINNERS

They that are "of the night" are said to be asleep and only the voice of God can awaken them. (See I Thessalonians 5:4-8). Just as Lazarus was said by the Lord Jesus to be asleep (John 11:11). Sinners are not only asleep; they are “dead”, and even “stinking” in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).Men are commanded to preach the gospel and trust God to awaken the sinner. We are not to use human manipulation and psychology to get “converts”, but believe that God's Word will not return void. His hand is not shortened. It would behoove each of us that are awake to cry unto the Sovereign of the universe to “give us children lest we die” (Gen. 30:1), but we are content to be barren! Often we are not doing our job of persevering in prayer and a strong gospel witness. God will save, but we must pray.

TO REDEEM THE TIME WE MUST BE AWARE

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Eph. 5:15). The Christian life is often spoken of as a walk. We walk through this world and leave a testimony everywhere we go. We are told here to see that we walk circumspectly. The Greek word translated “circumspectly” here is rendered in most of the modern translations as “accurately”, “carefully,” etc. Here I think we have a good example of the God-given wisdom of our King James Version translators. The Greek word here can be rendered "exactly" and be true to the Greek, but it loses some of the force of "circumspectly." The Latin origin of the word is evident: "circum" (around); "specere" (to behold or look). So what you have is to walk—looking about on all sides. To be aware. This is consistent with other scripture. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Because "we are not ignorant of his (Satan's) devices" (2 Cor. 2:11), we have to be extremely careful on all sides for the enemy is working night and day. (Research mostly from Vine's and Strong's dictionaries)

Also these words from the Puritan, Paul Bayne (died 1617): "That we walk avoiding every extremity (both to the right and left); for this circumspection doth keep us, that we fall not into one vice while we fly another. Walking cautiously, that we be not deceived with false colors, for the devil doth sometimes dye vice in the color of virtue. Walking providentially; for he that walketh circumspectly must be double faced; he must not only see things present, but have eyes behind eyes to look before him, to procure and provide good things, to prevent evil, impediment to good—again, circumspection" (Commentary On Ephesians).

See how much rich thought is involved in the word "Circumspectly." It is a great mistake of modern Christians to be so quick to change the KJV. Sure, there are some archaic and obsolete words in the book, but most of the problem is that our 20th Century English has deteriorated and we are too lazy to study unfamiliar words. This is to our shame and detriment! From verse 15 here, and also from verse 17 we see that to redeem the time you must understand the will of the Lord. You must be aware. Awareness (spiritual understanding), comes from study of the Word of the Living God.

TO REDEEM THE TIME WE MUST BE ALERT

“And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).

We looked at awareness, which comes not from reading the newspaper. That will only give you awareness of the world. We need awareness of God to understand His will. This also requires being Spirit-filled. As in 1 Cor. 2:14: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.”

I have already stated that a sinner must be awake. The Holy Spirit awakens him and comes to dwell. Every believer is baptized by the Spirit into the body, the church. Every believer is not filled, but every believer is commanded to be! The same God that says it is sinful to be drunk says it is sinful not to be filled with the Spirit (this means to be controlled by the Spirit). You see, a drunk is controlled by wine or other liquor. Have you ever seen a truly drunk person alert? Of course not! On our highways one of the greatest dangers we face is getting in an accident because of some drunk. Drunks are the opposite of alert. You had better stay out of their way!

When we are Spirit-controlled the world may count us as more unusual than drunks, perhaps more dangerous, because if we are preoccupied with God we are a threat to the complacency of the world. But God says to be drunk is excess. It opens the door to all kinds of sin. By contrast, being filled with the Spirit opens the door to spiritual alertness and enables us to truly redeem the tune. The evidence of this Spirit-fullness, this alertness, is not said to be speaking in tongues! The evidence of the Spirit filled walk is found here in Eph. 5 as follows:

1. The inward evidence, verses 19, 20—a singing heart.

2. The churchward evidence, verse 21—patience and submissiveness.

3. The homeward evidence, verse 23—God's proper order as in the church, so in the home. Husbands who

are leaders and love their wives (w. 25, 28) and wives that reverence their husbands.

ARE YOU REDEEMING THE TIME? Originally published for Free Grace Broadcaster in 1982 and revised by the author for this issue of Word of Truth 11/25/2006. Re-edited 8/3/2009 and 3/11/2011

GRACE--By Charles Woodruff

If you have already read my article on Grace, bear with me. I revised it a little with a better format than before. I hope it helps someone. I last published it in 2007.
“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2: 8-10).

Dr. James A. Stewart referred to Ephesians as the Alps of the New Testament Surely the teaching found here in chapter two is very lofty. Every evangelical Bible teacher in the world teaches on this passage, and on the subject of grace. All of us say we believe in salvation by grace “plus nothing, minus nothing.” This is the core of fundamental and evangelical doctrine, but do we really grasp its full meaning?

We must examine the meaning of the Bible word grace. The Greek word for grace is charis. Most of us simply say grace is unmerited, undeserved favor. The definition is good, if incomplete. Strong’s Greek Dictionary gives this definition: “Figuratively, literally and spiritually, especially the divine influence on the heart, and its reflection in the life.” Grace bestowed from God is a free gift of divine favor in contrast to doing good works seeking to find favor with God. It is even in contrast from the works of the law, freely forgiving the sinner who has broken the law, solely on the merits of another who kept the law perfectly. Remember, law allows no failures, no mistakes: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2: 10).

I was privileged to preach a series on the book of Ephesians at the Lakewood Presbyterian Church in Atlanta about 25 years ago. It is over 50 messages, and is on our Sermon Audio site. (You can find them, beginning with Ephesians One, Alps of the New Testament by clicking the link at bottom). Most of my ministry has been as a missionary worker, and evangelist, with some supply pastor work. As such, most of my preaching has not been in series on certain full books of the Bible, or continuing themes. So it was a real thrill for me to do a somewhat detailed exposition at that time. In the course of two years I was able to cover Ephesians, as well as study of the Seven Churches of Revelation. I enjoyed it immensely. In that time I was not able to exhaustively study Ephesians, but we covered much ground even though they only had me at that church an average of two or three times a month. (I am trying to cover Philippians now).

There are basically three types of preaching. The first is textual preaching. This is where you take a text from the Bible, and either explore (expound) the text, or build a theme around it. The second is subject preaching. You take a Bible subject and preach a message on it from all over the Bible, and other resources. The third is expository preaching which takes a book of the Bible, or a chapter, or good sized portion, and attempts to mine the material as deeply as is practical in the allotted time. This is the best kind for a pastor to use because the people can learn much about the Bible this way. Of course, there are many variations on these types of sermons, but these are the basics. To study the subject of grace, the second chapter of Ephesians is perhaps the best place to be. These verses encapsulate grace showing us what it is, and what it isn’t, in relation to law, works, death, life, God and man. It is not of yourselves. Nothing you could do from yourself to merit this salvation. You may say “What about faith? Isn’t that something I do?” You exercise faith as the vehicle to reach for salvation, but the context of the verse indicates that even the faith is a gift of God. It is not of works lest any man, or woman, should boast.

Paul, as in all his epistles, tells us from the start to whom he is speaking. In Ephesians 1:1 he says to the saints. Paul says it is by grace that we are saved. Sinners are made saints by the Lord. They are saved. This is another great Bible word. It means deliverance. It means life in contrast to the death he talks about in verse one. He says “You hath he (God), quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sin (the broken law)” (Ephesians 2:1). He is speaking of spiritual death here, and in the past tense. You were dead! Things are different now. You have been made alive! Our verse {by grace are you saved}, is also past tense. Inverting the words brings it clearer: by grace you are saved through faith. This is the meaning of the text.

John R.W. Stott puts it this way: “You were saved through faith, and even this faith by which you are saved is God’s gift. Theologically, this is true. We must never think of salvation as a kind of a transaction between God and us in which He contributes grace, and we contribute faith. For we were dead and had to be quickened before we could believe. No, Christ’s apostles clearly teach elsewhere that saving faith too is God’s gracious gift.” (e.g. Acts 18:27; Philippians 1:29). From The Message of Ephesians; IVP, Downers Grove, Illinois; 1979 edition (Emphasis mine).

Matthew Henry’s commentary on our text says: “Note, every converted sinner is a saved sinner. Such are delivered from sin and wrath; they are brought into a state of salvation, and have a right given them by grace to eternal happiness. The grace that saves them is the free, undeserved, goodness and favor of God; and He saves them, not by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, by means of which they come to partake of the great blessings of the gospel; and both that faith and that salvation on which it has so great an influence are the gift of God.” (Emphasis mine).

Paul says in Ephesians 2:1: “You have been made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins”. He goes on to tell us that these dead sinners were “dead men walking” according to the world system, which is against God, and following “the prince of the power of the air”, which is Satan. These dead also had “their behavior in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (verse 3). In other words, the apostle is saying that these saints mentioned in chapter one started out as everyone else, all “children of wrath” under God’s curse. In contrast to now being saved, they were lost.

He goes on in verses four and five to reiterate the quickening of God so that they are no longer dead in sin. Nowhere in these two chapters does he give one iota of credit to man regarding their salvation. It is all of grace! The making alive, the undeserved favor, the faith, the union with Christ, the good works that follow as God’s purpose, after salvation, are all the gift of Almighty God! Note that it has brought them (and all of us who are saved), to a position in heavenly places spiritually with Christ. In the entire Bible you do not find any scripture that indicates that any man or woman can be saved without Jesus Christ! This goes for elect and non-elect! In the OT; He is the coming Messiah. In NT: He is the realized Messiah. You see this “making alive” this grace, this faith we have been discussing has an objective, and the objective is Jesus Christ. This grace leads us to Him, who as Savior had to die for us. He procured our salvation for us. He is the salvation that this grace and faith lead us to. His very name, Jesus, means salvation. Remember: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me” (John 14:6). This grace leads people to Christ, and none other, and it is absolutely necessary to “look unto Him” by faith to be saved. The goodness of God exhibited in His Grace, leads us to repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 2:4). There is no other way! Praise to His Name! So we can say grace is:
1) Free Grace---the gift of God.
2) Saving Grace---it brings us to eternal salvation.
3) Sovereign Grace—not of ourselves, but by God’s sovereign will.
4) Sustaining Grace—created in Christ Jesus unto good works. He ordained beforehand that we should walk (move forward) in them.
(Written by Charles Woodruff May 27, 2006, and revised March 11, 2007, and Feb 5,2011)

Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see

T’was grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun
(Song by John Newton in 1779. The world’s best-known hymn. These are the four most commonly used verses, of possibly ten, six of which were definitely written by Newton. Click link for more. These are the ones we know so well in most churches in the South.)
http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html also see this site for more:
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/m/a/amazing_grace.htm

WHAT IS TRUTH?

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

Johnny Cash is said to have infuriated President Richard Nixon on one occasion- by performing his anti-authority song “What is Truth?” during a performance at the White House. Johnny wrote the song in 1970. He gave no answer to the question in the song, but essentially was saying somebody better tell the truth to the youth of that day, because they would be tomorrow’s leaders. Well, it is “tomorrow”, and they are the leaders of today! That may explain a little why we are in the mess we are in today.

Someone else much further back in history asked the same question that Johnny Cash asked. Bible historian Orville Nave tells us that by our calendar today it was the year 30 A.D. when Pontius Pilate asked Jesus this same question; what is truth? He had already asked Jesus if He was indeed the King of the Jews. Pilate, getting no satisfactory answer said “Art thou a king then? Jesus answered; Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all” (John 18:37-38).

Pilate could not discover the truth, even though the very embodiment of truth was standing before him! (See John 14:6). All Pontius Pilate wanted to do was wash his hands of this problem of what to do with Jesus. As we know, he really did wash his hands thinking this would free him of responsibility, but it did not. How could a man be so blind? He was willfully so. Also, consider for a moment the foreordained purpose of God in which Jesus was “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).Take a look at Isaiah 53:5-6: “But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one unto his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This definitely speaks of Christ, and was written over 700 years before his birth!

In those verses we see that long before Jesus was born, His death was described in perfect detail. Also, Psalm 2:2 says: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed.” Here His anointed is definitely Christ. Christ means Anointed One, or Messiah, and is spoken of Him over 1000 years before His birth! I urge you to compare Psalm 2:1-5 with Acts 4:25-28, and you will then surely “get the picture”.

These verses show us the divine plan of God, yet since Pilate was the government official involved, wouldn’t we say that Pilate was not looking at all the facts in this case? Yet so many through history have Pilate’s problem, they ask; “what is truth?”

So much is said about truth in the book of John. Not only the previously mentioned John 14:6, where Jesus says to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” Wow! Either Jesus was who He claimed to be, or He was the biggest egomaniac that ever lived! He said He is the only way, He said He is the only truth; He said He is the only life! He was saying no one, no matter how good, no matter how educated, no matter how famous, no matter how religious, no matter how much they prayed, no matter how much they gave to the synagogue, or the church, no matter how young or how old; No man(or woman) comes to God the Father except through Jesus Christ! Sounds like a King to me! And He is all the rest He claimed to be! He said: “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11); “I am the door” (John 10:9); I am the bread of life (John 6:35). He declared Himself to be God: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). I hear religious liberals today say Jesus never claimed to be God. It always makes me a little angry. I’ll let God take care of them though, not me. But just read this one scripture: “Jesus said unto them, verily, verily (truly, truly), I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Amplified Bible gives this rendering: “Jesus replied, I assure you, I most solemnly tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” When He said I AM, He was identifying Himself with God. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14). That was why the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus so badly. He was claiming to be God Almighty in the flesh! He was telling the truth! He is God in the flesh!

Well, Johnny Cash later gave testimony he had returned to God whom he had known and served as a young man. I hope he did. I know when he went into Sun Records in 1955; he wanted Mr. Sam Phillips to record him on some gospel music he wrote. Sam told him no, because he already had some black gospel groups, and they didn’t sell that well. He already had Elvis Presley, a new sound who had also tried to get into gospel music with his friend Bill Blackwood and the Blackwood Brothers. Sam wanted a new sound, so Johnny cut Cry, Cry, Cry with that deep voice and boom chica boom guitar, and the rest is history. Later, he recorded some gospel music.

Even though Johnny was testifying that he knew Christ, Pontius Pilate never did. Yet he was a man who stood in the physical presence of not only The King of the Jews, but also, The KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (capitalized because this is one of His titles). See Revelation 19:16.

There is another guy today making a bit of a stir, a Mr. Michael Baigent. He wrote a book more than 20 years ago titled Holy Blood, Holy Grail. In it he claimed that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, and fathered a child. He sued Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code (a book and movie that has made fairly recent news), which deals with similar, unproven, conjectures. Baigent lost his suit, but an article in The Atlanta Journal dated May 1, 2006, states that his latest book at that time, The Jesus Papers, has Baigent claiming Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. He thinks Pilate was involved in a plot to remove Him from the cross before He died to get Pilate “off the hook”. He claims to have seen a document owned by a businessman that was alleged to have been written by Jesus himself after he was revived and whisked away. Mr. Baigent said he only saw the document once during a 20 minute meeting with the businessman! No death, burial and resurrection in his story! According to Baigent, Jesus hadn’t died and arose before he wrote “the document”. This is not new, but essentially what Muslims teach about Christ’s crucifixion.

Okay, somebody needs to tell Pilate! He denied that the truth was standing in front of him, gave in to the mob, allowed Him to be crucified, and washed his hands of it all. He suffered a lot of things afterward, and history records that one of the most despised people that ever lived is Pontus Pilate. No one has more infamy, except maybe Adolph Hitler, or Judas Iscariot, and there are those who have theories that excuse Judas, such as in the movie; Jesus Christ Superstar.

I have recently heard interviews with several well-known show biz personalities talking about “my truth”, as if there are variations of the truth. This seems to be a popular concept today, maybe from Psycho- Babel. It sure doesn’t come from God’s word! What we must have today is not “my truth” or “your truth”. I trust you agree with me, dear reader; we need The Truth today more than ever, and we know who He is! It is Jesus Christ!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Originally written by Charles Woodruff May 4, 2006; edited and expanded February 25, 2010.

WHAT IS A TRUE REVIVAL?

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

I have placed this message on this blog before, but to find it you must scroll all the way down to some 2006 messages. I believe it is so important for our day that I updated it very slightly and brought it to the front for this week. I have a short companion message which I preached last Wednesday night, and it was placed at Sermon Audio today. If it does not yet appear on the left side here, go directly to Sermon Audio and look for it. Just type the title, or my name in the search directory. The title is Revive Thy Work. Ihope it a blessing to you.

“Revival! June 1- June 6th — Special singing each night.” How often we have observed similar advertisements in front of various churches. Also we have seen such wording in the media announcing the special meeting. Because of this type of promotion, the average American would equate having a special meeting with revival. But, is this a true definition? When the late missionary Dr. James A. Stewart first came to the U.S.A. from Scotland, he spotted such a sign in front of a church. He was riding on a bus at the time and was excited by a sign that said “REVIVAL— HERE EACH NIGHT THIS WEEK AT 7:30!” Upon seeing this, he grabbed his wife by the hand and went to see the pastor of the church. An explanation was given that here in the Southern U.S.A., it is the custom for a church, when it has a special meeting for a time, to call it a revival. Then Brother James Stewart asked a very valid question: “If what you’re having at 7:30 each evening is a “special meeting”, why don’t you call it that, instead of revival?” You see, he had been in a real revival in Europe for much of his ministry and to call a series of meetings a “revival” was shocking to this man. He called it prostitution of the word “revival”. He was right. Today, many things pass for revival. Sometimes a spirited gospel song is considered a revival. Perhaps when a few people shout, “Amen”, or “Hallelujah”, it is considered a revival. When several folks get saved in one meeting, some call that revival. These are all good things, but not necessarily revival. Others have had the audacity to proclaim that we are in a mighty revival now; called the “Charismatic movement”. Yet the major fruit of the movement has been a watered down gospel of ecumenism, hardly a true revival! Actually, the Charismatic movement has done more to bring about the one world church than any other force in history! Even when you consider that the Charismatics have called our attention to the work of the Holy Spirit, something often neglected in the churches, we are compelled to renounce it, as a movement. I say this because as a movement, the Charismatic movement has produced much division among true Christians, especially the current “name it and claim it” variety. Perhaps the most striking proof of its failure is the fact that there is generally little holiness, or biblical separation, or true godliness associated with the movement. Too often, standards are thrown to the wind! Some of the Charismatics’ own leaders have said this, so I am not trying to slander them. I do hasten to add that non-charismatics can’t throw any rocks here! When we speak of holiness, we all fall short! But shouldn’t a movement that sweeps the country and purports to be true revival be touching all around? Yet today we have more bars, more pornography, more prostitution, more homosexuality, more child molesting, more abortion, and more nakedness, more divorces, more illegal drugs, more rebellious children — in general, more sin, in spite of any movement! A real revival would certainly change all that! Study the history of the Great Awakening, and other revivals and you should see this clearly. The Foundation for Revival: Truth Since 1968 when I was called to preach, I have seen the need for revival. I titled my first awkward newsletter in 1970-71 “Revival for Survival”. I still believe revival is the only answer for our survival. There has been a resurgence of Puritan literature in our day. Also, the works of sound evangelicals of yesterday such as Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, John Brown, J. Gresham Machen and many others are abundant as perhaps never before in history if you know where to look for them. The average Christian book store doesn’t stock too much “meaty” reading. Some declare this abundance of good literature as revival. While I certainly count it as a wonderful thing to see all this good literature published at a time when we also have more shallow, carnal, religious books available, in itself, this is not revival. It is foundational to a revival! Before we can have revival, we must know who God is! We must see Him in His awesome majesty. He must be glorified in His attributes. These old writers have a way of pointing us to this omnipotent God. This has been strengthened by many present day writers such as J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Jerry Bridges, etc., who seemed to have picked up the torch from earlier writers now gone such as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, William Hendriksen, A.W. Pink, etc.. Because of this renewed interest, many preachers have come to appreciate the sovereignty of God. For many years this truth has been pushed aside. I have personally noticed that in the last 25 years there are many more churches and pastors boldly declaring the old paths. Churches have openly declared to adhere to the Westminster Confession (Presbyterian-Reformed), and the London, or Philadelphia Confessions (Baptist). These are definitely “Old Paths”, and is a reformation of sorts “in progress”, which must come before a real revival. It is hopefully a beginning. I am grateful to God for this revelation to His called servants, but this is not, in itself revival! Revival Is The Work of God! The book of Habakkuk is one book that deserves our careful study in these wicked days. It is not my purpose at this time to expound all three chapters, but I do want to take a brief look at the whole book. Chapter one deals with the prophet’s complaint. Sin and violence had covered the land. The situation was much as it is today. Evildoers needed to be punished, yet, justice is forgotten and the guilty go unpunished. God’s answer is startling. He tells the prophet in chapter 1, verses 6.and 7, “For, Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.” In verse 9 He goes on to say “They shall come all for violence.” The prophet cries out about the sin and God sends the Chaldeans! This is equivalent to us today in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and other free-world nations crying to God about our sinful nations, and having Him reply by sending the Russians or Chinese! A strange answer, we would say! Then in verse 12, Habakkuk cries to God again and asks the question, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity: Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” In other words, “God, can you use evil people to chastise those who are not as wicked as they?” Chapter two shows us the prophet waiting (something we all have a problem doing). He climbs upon his watchtower to wait upon God’s answer, but, indeed God does answer when we patiently wait upon Him. The reason Habakkuk could wait patiently on God is that he had an understanding of God’s attributes. He saw that: God is eternal — “Art Thou not from everlasting?” (1:12) As the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “He is forgetting for a moment the immediate problem, and asking himself what it was he was sure of about God. The first thing was, ‘Art thou not from everlasting?’ He is not like the gods whom men worship; He is not like the god of the proud Chaldean army. He is God from eternity to eternity, the everlasting God. There is nothing more consoling or reassuring when oppressed by the problems of history, and when wondering what is to happen in the world, than to remember that the God whom we worship is outside the flux of history. He has preceded history; He has created history. His throne is above the world and outside time. He reigns in eternity, the everlasting God”.1 God is self existent — “‘Art thou not from everlasting, O, LORD?’ — He uses the great name ‘Jehovah’ — ‘art thou not from everlasting, O, Jehovah?’ That name tells us that God is the self existing One, the eternal I AM.”2 God is holy. — “‘Art thou not from everlasting, O, LORD my God, mine holy One?’ He is sure, not only of His eternal existence, not only of His self existence, and His independence of everything and everybody, but that He is the ‘Holy One’, utterly and absolutely righteous and holy, ‘a consuming fire’ ‘God is light and in Him is no darkness at all’ and the moment you consider Scriptures like this, you are forced to ask: ‘Can the Lord of the earth do that which is unrighteous?’ Such a thing is unthinkable”.3 God is almighty. — “‘O, Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment and O, mighty God, thou has established them for correction.’ God can take care of all His enemies when it pleases Him.” God is faithful — “‘My God, mine Holy One, we shall not die.’ He is recalling that God is the God of the Covenant. Though He is independent and absolute, eternal, mighty, righteous and holy, nevertheless He has condescended to make a covenant with men. For those saintly men, the prophets, and all who had spiritual understanding in Israel, this fact was more significant than anything else. While believing in the eternal attributes of God, they might have been chilled by the thought that such a God might be far away in the heavens, and oblivious of their need. But what linked Him to them was the knowledge that He was a faithful covenant-keeping God. God had given His word and He would never break it”.4 So, because of these attributes which the prophet recognizes in chapter 1, we find that he is able to wait upon the Lord in chapter 2. In this chapter Habakkuk pronounces woe concerning seven major sins of his day. It really sounds like our day, though. Listen to this list: covetousness v. 9 murder v. 10 oppression v. 12, 13 drunkenness v. 15 adultery and/or homosexuality v. 15 violence v. 17 idolatry v. 18 While realizing the historical setting of this chapter, and that these sins primarily refer to the Babylonians, clear spiritual principles can nevertheless be found here. God is always against sin in every age and sin does not change. For instance, as Edward Marbury says “Drunkenness itself is a horrible sin; it is one of the fruits of the flesh” (Gal 5:21). “Drunkenness is confessed of all men to be a sin; and they who love it best and use it most will be very angry with you if you call them drunkards.”5 Also, drunkenness leads to immorality, as Edward Marbury recognizes. “Lot was drunk when he committed incest with his daughters (Gen 19) and so overcome with wine, that he neither knew of their coming to his bed nor of their going from him.”6 As in Leviticus 18, both heterosexual (outside marriage) and homosexual (abnormal) relationships are forbidden, so Hab. 2:15 could mean either. Sin never changes, it is always sin and exceedingly sinful! Habakkuk recognizes the awful problems of his day and future days and this brings him to the prayer room. Note that chapter 3 begins by saying a Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet on Shigionoth, “It was a prayer accompanied with music, neither mournful, nor joyful, but expressive of profound and strong emotion.”7 Like so many of the beautiful Psalms of David, this chapter is as much poetry as prayer, yet it has a profound theological lesson for us. Habakkuk heard God’s voice. Like others such as Isaiah, who heard, or saw a vision of God, He became afraid. Men are in our day so flippant regarding God. They are not afraid to take His Holy name in vain! Even professing Christians speak of the Lord Jesus in such casual terms as if to say “He’s my buddy.” They try to treat Him as a “spiritual bellhop,” catering to all their needs and wants. They speak of Him as if He were all sentimental, soft, lovey-dovey; as if He would even wink at sin! This is not the God of the Bible! The God of the Bible, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is majestic and Holy! He is angry with the wicked every day! As Habakkuk said. He will not look upon sin. My friend, if you ever see God, you’ll be in the dust before Him. Read of John the beloved in Rev, 1:17. No flippancy here! He fell at His feet as dead! Thomas, who got a glimpse of the resurrection glory, and who had been an intimate friend, a disciple, cried when He saw Him. “My Lord and My God!” One of the greatest problems today, even in our churches is that “there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18). A healthy fear of God is needed, even for Christians. In the old days a “God-fearing man” was a man who understood that “His commandments are not grievous”. Professing Christians today scoff at the commands of God, but I have news for you, even in the New Testament there are commandments. I realize we cannot keep them except in Christ, but “He worketh in you” and He says “if you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). It is awesome. There is a famine in the land “for the hearing of the word of God.” The word is here but we don’t hear it. It is preached in many places, but who takes heed? Ungodly humanist “law” is exalted above God’s law. Habakkuk heard from God. He was God’s prophet. Yet he was afraid. When is the last time you heard from God, preacher? I mean, really heard from God. We all need to hear from Him. The need for God is desperate! Revival Comes To God’s People “Revive thy work.” Revival is a restoration. It presupposes a declension. In times of spiritual lull, sin runs rampant and we need a renewal. It is a renewing of His work in the Church. Churches are dead without God’s breath, no matter how orthodox they may be! Renewal in the home — our homes are falling apart. What home in America has not been touched, either directly or indirectly, by divorce? Revival is a renewal in God’s people. To reach the lost, Christians must be renewed first in their prayers, then in their love for God, above all things. Then God becomes the number one topic. He is worshipped and appreciated and the ball games, the theaters and the other amusements and things of the world become “strangely dim”. In other words, God gets our worship and all our attention. How can we give Him less than all and claim to be Christians? Jesus said we are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. However we cannot do this in the natural man. We must be divinely enabled. Revival is awakening (Eph. 5:14). Oh, how we need to be awakened! It is bad enough that sinners sleep the sleep of death, but professing Christians also are sleeping, and it is going to take a loud voice, indeed, God’s own voice, to awaken them! Read the history of some of the revivals of old and you will find the same thing each time. Before an awakening swept through the heretofore unconcerned world, it first arrested the Christians. Even genuinely born again people need revival. They, too, have to be on fire for God. Hear these words of Duncan Campbell, who was used of God in the revival of 1949 and after, in the Scottish Hebrides Islands: “What have been the outstanding features of this movement? Three stand out clearly.” “First: an awareness of God. To be fully realized, this has to be felt. A rector of the Church of England, referring to his visit to the Isle of Lewis, said, ‘What I felt, apart from what I saw, convinced me at once that this was no ordinary movement.’” “Second: the main feature has been deep conviction of sin — at times leading almost to despair. I have known occasions when it was necessary to stop preaching, because of the distress manifested by the anxious, and many would find expression for the feeling in their hearts and burden of their guilty conscience, in the words of John Newton: ‘My conscience fell and owned its guilt and plunged me in despair: I saw my sins His blood had spilt and helped to nail Him there.’” “Third: Physical manifestations and prostrations have been a further feature, I find it somewhat difficult to explain this aspect; indeed. I cannot. But this I will say: The person who would associate this with satanic influence is coming perilously near to committing the unpardonable sin. Lady Huntingdon on one occasion wrote to George Whitefield respecting cases of crying out and falling down in meetings, and advised him not to remove them from the meetings as he had done. When this was done, it seemed to bring a damper on the meeting. She said, ‘You are making a great mistake. Don’t be wiser than God. Let them cry out. It will do a great deal more good than your preaching”’8 (emphasis mine). If you are really interested in revival, there are several books I will recommend. But if you read no other, you should read Jonathan Edwards’, Narrative of Surprising Conversions. Here is an excerpt from it: It was very wonderful to see how persons’ affections were sometimes moved — when God did, as it were, suddenly open their eyes, and let into their minds a sense of the greatness of His grace, the fullness of Christ, and His readiness to save, after having been broken with apprehension of divine wrath and sunk unto an abyss, under a sense of guilt which they were ready to think was beyond the mercy of God. Their joyful surprise has caused their hearts, as it were, to leap, so they have been ready to break forth in laughter, tears often mingling a loud weeping. Sometimes they have not been able to forbear crying out with a loud voice and expressing their great admiration. In some, even the view of the glory of God’s sovereignty, in the exercises of His grace has surprised the soul in such sweetness, as to produce the same effects. I remember an instance of one, who, reading something concerning God’s sovereign way of saving sinners, as being self moved — having no regard to man’s own righteousness as the motive of His grace, but as magnifying Himself and abasing man, or to that purpose, felt such a sudden rapture of joy and delight in the consideration of it: yet then he suspected himself to be in a Christless condition, and had long been in great distress for fear that God would not have mercy on him.9 (emphasis mine). “Revive thy work!” — It is God’s work and as the Sovereign of the universe. He controls the keys. “Ministers knock at the door of men’s hearts; the Spirit comes with a key and opens the door” (Thomas Watson). Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). This is true in the Salvation of a soul, of a preacher in the belly of a whale, and of His church. Did not Jesus say in Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”? When God begins a work, He will bring it to fruition. God is not abandoning His church. We must remember however that... Revival Comes in God’s Time Habakkuk says “Revive thy work in the midst of the years” — just as in the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. Christ came right on time, just at the exact moment God had chosen to fulfill all the prophecies of His first coming. He will come again and “will not tarry” — just at God’s appointed time the Son of Righteousness will appear with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2) God has also appointed times of refreshing for His people. The day of Pentecost came when God had decreed it should, and likewise revival will come in God’s time and in God’s way. The Great Awakening came at just the right time. Reliable reports are that in the 20th century Korea, Romania, Russia, Indonesia, and the Scottish Hebrides were places that experienced a measure of revival. Will God do it in Century 21? It is all in God’s time. You can’t work it up or even pray it down. But, prayer is the place to begin to be ready for revival. God controls the time. He has decreed that one day time shall be no more. As for now, we must “redeem the time for the days are evil” (Eph 5:14). “In the midst of the years make known!” Revival is God being really known, not just the abstract truth about Him. Systematic theology has its place, but theology cannot replace God! True theology is the study of God. We must see the veil lifted and really study God, not just about Him. Oh, to really know Him, and the power of His resurrection! Revival is a shaking of the dry bones. The dry bones were once alive, so we can apply it to today’s dead church. When the dry bones live, we can see the church again reap a harvest. True soul-winning can only be done in the power of the Holy Ghost. Why Is There No Revival? As the thundering preacher from Wales, John Elias, pointed out: “We don’t have revival because “The Church does not feel the need for revival as it should.”10 Elias, in one of his famous letters, makes it clear that the reason the word of God has so little effect in our lives is that we do not consider it is the Word of God. We can have revival in any age. There is nothing in Scripture to forbid it. We must, however, apply the word of God to ourselves, We must pray expecting great things from God. We can casually say we want revival without being also willing to pay the price. Can we really cry with Habakkuk, “Revive thy Work in the midst of the years.”? May this be our heart’s cry! Amen! Notes D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, From Fear to Faith (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1953), p. 29. Ibid, p. 29, 30. Ibid, p. 30. Ibid, p. 31, emphasis mine. (All headings, ‘a’ through ‘e’, also by Lloyd-Jones.) Edward Marbury, Commentary on Habakkuk (Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, 1979 reprint. Originally written 1650) p. 506. Ibid, p. 506. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, op. cit., p. 57. Duncan Campbell, God’s Answer (Belfast: The Faith Mission, 1960), pp. 88, 89. Hymn quoted, “In Evil Long I Took Delight”, John Newton. Jonathan Edwards, The Narratives (Asheville: Revival Literature, 1957 abridged edition, James Stewart, Editor) p. 55. John Elias: Life and Letters (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1980) By Charles Woodruff Email: oursong2000@yahoo.com Originally written in August, 1989 and published in Suffering Church Ministries newsletter by Simion Motz Edited by http://www.the-highway.com/ for Word of Truth, June 20, 2006. Click link for more articles on various subjects. This edition slightly re-edited. It may be copied and distributed freely as long as there are no changes made in the article. “Freely you have received, freely give”

REVIVAL NOTES

(Compiled by Charles Woodruff)

"REVIVAL is GOD'S FINGER POINTING AT ME !!"- D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"A Revived Church is the only hope for a dying world."-Andrew Murray

"The chief danger of the Church today is that it is trying to get on the same side as the world, instead of turning the world upside down. Our Master expects us to accomplish results, even if they bring opposition and conflict. Anything is better than compromise, apathy, and paralysis. God give to us an intense cry for the old-time power of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost!"
- A. B. Simpson

"Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind. We are useless."
- Charles Spurgeon

"The greatest need of this generation is a wholehearted return to the plan and purposes of God."
- Dr Richard Owen Roberts

"Revival is simply New Testament Christianity, the saints going back to normal."
-Vance Havner

"Revival is God revealing Himself to men in awesome holiness and irresistible power."- Arthur Wallis

"We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism...To your knees, man! and to your Bible! Decide at once! Don't hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God, quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and cowardly excuses. Enlist!"-C. T. Studd

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you“ (Hosea 10:12). Or in more modern language, "It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and rains righteousness upon you."

“If I hear about a true revival anywhere in the world, I want to be there. I don’t have much money, but I have a few credit cards which the Lord has allowed me to have for some reason. What better reason?” - Marion Price Sr.

“Revival and evangelism, although closely linked, are not to be confused. Revival is an experience in the Church, Evangelism is an expression of the church.”-Paul Rees

“One of those unusual visitations of God, in which a whole community becomes vividly aware of his immediate, overpowering presence.”- John R.W.Stott

“Revival is the going of God among His people, and an awareness of God laying hold of the community.”- Duncan Campbell

“Revival has always been, and remains to this day, God dealing with the sin of His own -- not the world.” -Henry Blackaby

"I see the churches expanding their building facilities; increasing their office space; adding a new wing or new building for a family center, or for educational or recreational purposes; but, I say again, I never see a church having to increase the size of the prayer room. This, I am convinced, is because the preachers themselves are shrunken in the habit of prayer. A revival of prayer in the pulpit would mean a revival of prayer in the pew."-Leonard Ravenhill

"I do not understand Christian people who are not thrilled by the whole idea of revival."- D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"When revival becomes a reality, it is always manifested in a devotion to be like Jesus.
What would happen in our day if believers were to get honest about their sin and serious about pursuing holiness? Might we not once again experience the manifest presence of God in our churches?"-author unknown

“The word revival means the gracious visitation of God to His people in the ordinances of the gospel and by the outpouring of the Spirit. The results of revival include the bringing to life of that which was spiritually dead and the converting of sinners. In addition, the work of the church (Habakkuk 3:2), the hearts of God's people (Psalm 85:6), the Spirit's sanctifying work (Isaiah 57:15), and the prayers, sermons, and worship of the church are profoundly benefited. There is no true revival except of God's doing. He "quickeneth all things" (1 Timothy 6:13, KJV). When the Holy Spirit works in a special way through the ministry of the gospel, then the unregenerate are raised to spiritual life, the sleeping are awakened, backsliders are restored, and lives are renewed and rearranged.”

“Some false things may pass under the name of revival: excitement unrelated to the fear of God; fear without a clear view of being lost without Christ; decisions apart from the power of spiritual life. Some may make a decision to join a denomination of Christians, yet they remain without the Spirit despite their profession of faith.”-From an article titled Revival by John Elias. (1774-1841)

NOTES FROM MY BIBLE-PART TWO

CHARLES WOODRUFF

Some of you enjoyed the notes from one of my old Bibles that I published last month, and I also enjoyed seeing them again. I found some more in another of my old Bibles. I thought I would share some of them as well, with some editing, as before. Most of these were found in my first “preaching Bible” I was given in 1968 after answering God’s call on March 15^th. It is an Old Scofield Reference Bible KJV. I hope you enjoy reading them. If so, please write and let me know. I have enough in other Bibles to publish a few more if you like them. Comments welcome.

Holy Bible = Sanctified Book, which means “set apart”. The Bible is set apart from all the world’s books. This is truly the word of God. The Bible stands alone. Since it is God’s word, when you stand on the Bible, God stands with you. (See 2 Timothy 3:16).

Crossing the sea will not make one a missionary, but seeing the cross will.

God is holy. The Seraphims did not say “just, just, just” or “loving, loving, loving” regarding the LORD of host, though He is these. Instead it is recorded “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). God’s holiness is uncompromising!

When it comes time to die; be sure all you have to do is die!

If anywhere in this Bible you should not find Jesus Christ (somewhere in each book), you have not studied it with your eyes on Him.

Warning to America (and all sinful nations): “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17); “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

 
Everything you find written in the front, or the back of this Book, or in its margins, may not be absolutely accurate; but everything you find in its text is the Word of God. Handle accordingly!

I used to have preachers sign my Bible. Many godly men did so. One who signed this one was the late Dr. James W Crumpton of Maranatha Baptist Missions of Natchez, Mississippi. He wrote under his name “John 3:30” which reads “He must increase, but I must decrease” I adopted that verse as my own “life verse”. My late son, Chuck, when he was in school, made a plaque for me with those words, which I still have, and treasure very much.

The Bible will keep you from sin-or sin will keep you from the Bible (Psalm 119:11; 119:105).

 
God can send a revival in any dispensation (James 4:2; 4:8).