WARNING TO GEN-NEXT-ers by Gary Miller

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The following is a reprint (with his permission) of Gary Miller's (Grace Harbor Church) message to the Generation-NEXT gracers present at this year's annual retreat:

I was filled with joy during my time at the conference in Pennsylvania as I saw youth taking initiative to preserve the truth of Pauline dispensational teaching. “Generation Next” has a good foundation and great start. I talked with them about the future of their group as well as the grace movement. We looked at Paul and his warnings to the Ephesians about their future.

Acts 20:29-31 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not towarn every one night and day with tears.

Paul is speaking to the church at Ephesus prior to his departure. His farewell was one of warning. Paul warned against men who would speak “perverse things." He warned that these men would come from the outside as “grievous wolves” and “also of your own selves shall men arise." These men would “not spare the flock” and “draw away disciples after them” – away from Jesus Christ and the sound doctrine of Paul. The fact that these events were to happen was not a question as Paul states “for I know this”.

It would be some of the elders who were with Paul at that time who would teach “perverse things." These men would have been Bible believing, dispensational, and Pauline; but Paul knew some of them would be enticed by seductive heresies and bring these perverse teachings into the assembly.

Paul knew the severity of what was to happen in the church and “by the space of three years ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Paul gave the saints instructions to “watch, and remember." They were to watch for these men and remember Paul’s warnings.

The saints were to compare the teaching of any man in the church to the scriptures. The saints needed to “mark” the corrupt men who taught perverse doctrines and “avoid” them.

Rom. 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Failure to do so would result in utter destruction of their assembly. How sad it is that those saints did not take heed to Paul’s warnings and instructions as the assembly at Ephesus has been utterly corrupted and destroyed.

The teaching of Paul to the saints at Ephesus is true for any assembly or group of believers. We as saints need to be constantly on the “watch” for those who would teach “perverse” doctrines. These men will corrupt the truth of God’s word, cause division, and destroy assemblies. The future of the “Generation Next” or the grace movement is dependent on the watchfulness of the saints. We need to watch our own elders, as it will be some of them who will teach these “perverse things." We must not overlook any man’s sayings, regardless of the man, no matter how powerful or influential they are. We are not to be respecters of men. As Paul withstood Peter to his face we should have the courage to withstand anyone.

Gal. 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

I warned about some of the heresies that are enticing grace elders today. The heresy of universalism is one such “perverse” teaching. There is also the heresy attacking the deity of Jesus Christ, denying His absolute knowledge of everything. This “perverse” teaching destroys the very foundation on which our faith stands.

1 Cor. 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

I told them they need to be strong and prepared for the battles to come against the men who teach “perverse things." They need to be good soldiers for Christ and fight this battle against “doctrines of the devil” which will infiltrate their grace works. They need to “mark” and “avoid” those who teach “perverse things." They need to stand up for the truth. I pray and urge wholeheartedly that this “Generation Next” will stand for the truth and that they will not give into the heresies that will be brought into their midst.

Thank you so much, Gary, for addressing an important topic in these diverse times! – Deborah

NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSAL CAN BRING OPPORTUNITY TO PREACH THE GRACE GOSPEL

Photo found at blog.al.com

You're probably aware by now that the Roman Catholic Church made some changes to their missal, which is the official handbook of how to conduct oneself at Mass and the exact words to say at proscribed times. Many longtime Catholics are upset about this as it will force them to learn to recite different words by rote or risk embarrassment from their peers. I've spoken to a couple of Catholics about this myself who said that even with the "cheat sheet" pew card, they found themselves repeating the old mantras. Knowing the R.C.C. considers itself to be the "new Israel" and applies the words of Christ to that nation directly to itself, I had to bite back a reference to Matthew 6:7: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Knowing that would be counterproductive, I used the conversation, in one case, to share the good news of a salvation free from works and ritual: by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he died for the sins of the world, was buried and rose again to justify us from all things (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

and that is what the risen, ascended Lord Jesus Christ returned from glory to tell Paul to tell us.

Rita Bauschard of Bible Ambassadors has for many years had a heart for Catholic souls to be reconciled unto God through his Son, Jesus Christ; and she likes to keep an eye on what the Roman System is doing. She recently sent me this Huffington Post article, along with her incisive comments (below):

"The attitude of this gal is just one reason I don't usually recommend reading the Huffington Post. Seems to be a lot of sexist females there. Putting aside her feminist attitude and her lack of scriptural support for her printed insight, the article does address issues regarding the new R.C. missal, which is why I was reading it after a search for information on it.

"I have always been an advocate of 'equal pay for the same work;' but other than that, I am perfectly willing to accept my role as a female as God Almighty has ordained it (i. e. no women clergy); and I have no doubt that the word, 'man' applies to me when speaking of salvation. It would have been well for Michele Somerville to quote God's words on the matter of salvation today, those words are the power of God. (Note: the R.C. Church is using a word - 'many' - from the Old Testament Scriptures when they framed the new response: 'Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.' God DID only come for 'many' when he came to earth over two thousand years ago: He came for the Jew only.)

"Matthew 26:28: 'For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'

"Matthew 10:5-6: 'These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

"Matthew 15:24: 'But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

"God's words have a lot more influence on me than a sour feminist's words. When God says something, I perk up! But, neither has the R.C. Church learned that the O.T. scriptures are written TO the nation Israel and that the following words of Christ from 1 Timothy 2:4 are written to ALL men today:

"1 Timothy 2:4: 'Who will have all men to be saved, AND to come unto the knowledge of the truth (emphasis mine).' (From a book that needs no imprimatur -- the King James Version.)

"When the R.C.C. tries to steer you away from something, beware. It's usually because they have changed something in their own teaching or wish to teach it differently.

"As a writer herself, Michele should know that 'men' in this verse means, 'mankind' and includes me as a female. There is another scripture passage I would recommend to her:

"2 Corinthians 6:17-18: 'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

"Come out from among whom? From among the idol worshipers. Mr. Ratzinger is an idol worshiper. The context of the passage tells us who to come out from among. Mankind today in 'Christendom' is making the same mistakes the nation Israel made; and God set them aside, causing them to be blind as a nation, and is offering salvation to ALL mankind (individual Jews and Gentiles). But God will not always strive with men. HE has a plan. Are you a part of it? Verse 18 tells us that if we obey the words given to us today, God will then be our father, rather than what he said in the O.T. scripture in:

"John 8:44: 'Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.'

"Versus: 2 Cor. 6:17-18: '...and I will receive you, And be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

"(For those who question the inclusion of Matthew in the 'Old' Testament, the events and messages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were under the Old Testament program and the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Nothing had changed as far as God's people being the 'Jew Only' -- the nation Israel. But, after that, God, through the victorious RISEN Lord Jesus Christ, gave a new message for ALL men to the Apostle Paul...See Romans through Philemon.)

"Serving, in Christ,

Rita"

Thank you, Rita, for cutting to the heart of the problem! The Roman System, by ignorance (or design?), chooses to keep their members under the thumb of Israel's now-set-aside gospel of law and works. It's undeniable that playing on people's guilt makes them easier to manipulate and fleece. The old saying that religious institutions such as this, "Wet 'em, whip 'em, and work 'em," springs to mind... I hope and pray that those caught in religious bondage, as Catholics are, will come into contact with a believer who loves them enough to tell them the good news of God's grace to all today that will set them free to truly "go in peace to love and serve the Lord"!

WHY DIDN'T ADAM DIE THAT DAY?

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17).

Well, they did eat of it and they didn't die that day! Theologians for centuries have gotten around this one by stating that Adam and Eve died spiritually the moment they ate the forbidden fruit; but could there be another simpler, more elegant explanation? "The wages of sin is death;" and we understand that to mean physical death, do we not? My sister in Christ, De Trefethen, has posted an article on her Departure Ready Forum (a truly interesting one to join, btw!) that offers a different solution to the dilemma that may sound an inner chord in your spirit as it did in mine! She also offers an opportunity to explore the subject of soul-spirit-body and to join the discussion.

Here's that link once again. I hope you'll take a look; you will be prompted to look at this scripture (and others) in a fresh, perhaps more literal light.

TRADITIONS OF MEN

Fellow grace believer Rita Bauschard of Bible Ambassadors shares her insights on how easily the errors of religionists can creep into the thinking of even genuine believers who seek to honor the word of God in all they do, say, and write. Thank you, Rita, for this and everything else you do so tirelessly for the gospel of Christ.

Here's Rita's post:

"Satan (diabolos, devil) means "something that is thrown between." He is a separator; He is an adversary; He’s someone who tries to separate you from God."

The above quote is another example of something that editing has helped me learn. But not only editing. Learning where various Bible translations come from impacted me so much that I CANNOT simply ignore capitalization of every pronoun that may refer to our Lord Jesus Christ or God in the writings of men. Why? Re-read the above sentence and notice that doing so becomes such a habit we do not even notice when we have attributed the "honorary" (religious type honor) capitalization to Satan.

At first I merely looked up the verses in question, or the words in question, and learned that the King James Version (the Bible we claim to be our authority) had no such capitalization.

Then I decided to look further into this and found that the 'tradition' seems to have embedded itself into our minds before we adopted the KJV as our only trustworthy authority. Are we hanging on to a 'religious tradition' that came to us through the Roman influence in modern translations?

Col. 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Read Chapter 7 of Mark's gospel to learn how God feels about the "traditions of men." These of course refer to 'religious' kinds of traditions which become rituals. It seems very definitely to have become a ritual to use capitalization of all pronouns when writing of God or his Christ.

But, praise be to God, we can change it! It was easy for me to make the decision to stop giving honor to Satan by following a tradition passed on in apostate writings. How about you?

Think about it.

Additional comments from Rita (2/14/11):

Some have read my "rantings" on over-capitalization of pronouns as dictates against grace and as establishing law in writing. They were not intended in that way, but as an encouragement for each to examine his own heart motives when about to capitalize the pronouns "he, his and him," etc. believed to refer to God or the Lord Jesus Christ mid-sentence or mid-paragraph.

In our human wisdom and human good, we think we shall honor God if we capitalize these words. Or we may think it will clarify of whom we write. I am not against honoring my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and Jehovah God. Regardless of which reason, what I have endeavored to point out is a recognition that this act of human good leads to HABIT and habit leads to error, as demonstrated previously in several paragraphs quoted from non-secular writings.

I am presently reading a secular book that attempts to educate the un-educated (which is why I am reading it ) about the Muslim world. And again, I have come across a sentence that demonstrates my point about our "human good" habits.

The following is from the book, The Grand Jihad by Andrew C. McCarthy:

"Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor (sic) evaded. Allah has ascribed great importance to Jihad and has made the reward of the martyrs and fighters in His way a splendid one. ... "

I am willing to bet the author did not intend to honor "Allah" by capitalizing "his" in that sentence as it is a book exposing the errors of Islam.

GRACE ON WHEELS

When I first met Allen Bradley, we were both just kids. My family was moving into my Grandma's house after she passed away. Allen's cerebral palsy and extreme poverty forced him to have to scoot himself along the sidewalk on the seat of his pants using only his very strong arms and understandably dirty hands. We didn't have much money ourselves, but my parents immediately took up a collection around the neighborhood and bought Allen a little red wagon at cost from my Uncle Bob's hardware store. That sure saved wear and tear on the little guy's pants!

My own brother, Dick, had recently died also, from the Muscular Dystrophy that had put him first in a wheelchair and then in a hospital bed; so to me, it was almost like God gave us Allen to love and protect in Dick's place. Coincidentally or not, as I grew up and moved to different parts of the city, Allen never lived far from me, although he also moved.

When I married my husband John three and a half years ago, I didn't realize it, but I was giving Allen the best friend he ever had! John is retired and it is truly his pleasure to drive Allen to the doctor, grocery store, bank, do his laundry, and even take him with us to our grace church followed by lunch at a restaurant. The two of them have an almost Laurel and Hardy (or Abbott and Costello) comedy act going on all of the time!

Al, who has the IQ of maybe a twelve-year-old, may not know a lot about theology or right division, but he does treasure having God's word in his lap in his big old King James Bible with extra-large print. During the message at church, he does his best to flip to the right passages and sometimes cheers when he finds one. He especially loves fellow-shipping with the saints, holding his large hand out and saying in his falsetto voice, "Hi, I'm Al! What's your name?" And he more often than not will remember it! (Which is more than I can say!)

If you haven't met him here on earth, don't worry, you'll meet him in heaven; for, since he was a little boy on the sidewalk, he's been waiting for the Lord Jesus to come and get him, transform his weak and wasted body into a glorious body like unto his own, and show him the beauties of the universe. He's known since then that the Lord Jesus Christ died for his sins and rose again just for him. When he sees injustice or unkindness in his fellow men, Allen likes to say, "They don't know the Lord Jesus!" Well, Allen sure knows him and trusts him with his life with a childlike faith that comes straight from his heart...and he's not afraid to make him known!

Whether he gets there first, or you get there first, there will come a day when he'll say to you, "Hi, I'm Al! What's your name?"

TONGUES, HEALINGS & PROPHECIES -- WHEN AND WHY DID THE GIFTS CEASE?

I've been remiss in the fact that I've never posted anything on the controversial subject of the gifts of the Spirit such as were exhibited by the grace churches such as at Corinth. Paul wrote about these gifts and the assemblies he established did exhibit them, so are they still for us today or did they cease at some point? If they ceased, why did they cease?

Here I'm going to defer to Pastor Dennis Kiszonas of Grace for Today Ministries who wrote an article on the subject for the Berean Bible Society's Searchlight Magazine a few years back. There's simply no way that I can improve on his logical and simple explanation regarding this divisive subject. Here's the link:

When Did the Gift of Tongues Cease?

Read, learn, and enjoy!

SOMEONE NEEDS YOUR TESTIMONY!

We who've been saved by simply trusting that the Lord Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation love to share that news with those who so desperately need to hear it! So, here's a great way to get your testimony down pat in your own mind and put it somewhere where somebody who needs it can find it: my new Grace Testimony Site!

Please consider sending me a couple of paragraphs (or more) sharing under what circumstances you got saved by Paul's gospel of the grace of God, and how and when you became aware of the need to rightly divide that gospel from the gospel God had for his covenant nation of Israel. For some grace saints, the two things happened simultaneously; for others, it took years to recognize the divine boundaries in God's word.

My own testimony will go on the site shortly, but I hope you will visit and take time to read through the testimony of a man who recently contacted me to share with me his joy in finally understanding the true mechanics of his eternal salvation in Christ.

Please help me put together a source of encouragement for seekers on the Internet to access when they search for the truth of which gospel we're saved by today: Peter's...or Paul's?

Send your grace testimony to me at deborah.kuzenski@gmail.com, and I'll publish it to the site after checking for spelling, etc., if you'd like. Also, please feel free to provide a link to your own site and/or your church's site.

Thank you for taking the time to be an encouragement to someone who needs it!