BibleFood.com is authored by Robert T. Jones III, assistant
pastor-teacher of Northside Bible Church, Jacksonville Florida.
(No connection with Bob Jones University of Greenville South Carolina)
Retired in 1999 and would love to study and answer your questions, or discuss the Scriptures with you.
What I consider to be very important:
1. There should be no argument concerning Bible truth and spiritual
information in general. God the Holy Spirit is our teacher, 1 Jn 2:27.
All we can do is tell each other what we believe and why we believe it,
the result is God's business.
2. When we study any particular subject in the Scriptures, we do not
have a complete understanding of that subject, until we have examined
all the locations in the Scripture where that subject is addressed,
including the pictures, shadows and types found in the Old Testament.
If all Bible teachers did this, there would be no "denominations".
3. God is sovereign. As Isaiah 55:11 states, God's Word will "not
return unto me void, but shall accomplish that which I please, and it
shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it". Eph 1:11 states that
God "worketh (is presently working) all things after the council
(decree) of his own will". Rev 4:11 states "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to
receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are (presently exist) and were created".
4. True Christianity is not a "religion". "Religion" is man's way of
trying to please God. True Christianity is a personal relationship with
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and a "supernatural" life.
The
word "church" in the New Testament is the Greek word "ekklesia",
meaning "the called out ones". New Testament references to the "church"
are directed to God's "called out people", or to local groups
of God's "called out people".
5. Instant confession of all known sin, directly to God the Father, in
accordance with 1 Jn 1:9, to maintain constant fellowship with God.
This is God's grace method of maintaining the control and motivation of
the Holy Spirit in our life.
6. The "two dog" illustration: We are like two dogs locked in mortal
battle. Our "natural side" is one dog, and our "spiritual side" is the
other dog. The dog we feed the most will be the stronger dog, and be
winning the conflict. Problem is, our natural side is surrounded by
natural food; radio, TV, movies, internet, video games, and all the
world has to offer, but our spiritual side is fed by Bible study, and
fellowship with God and His people. (Yes, Satan is real, but our most
powerful enemy is our own self!)
7. The Grace of God. By means of God's grace, all the work for our
salvation was done on the Cross by Jesus Christ, and we freely RECEIVE
the benefits of our salvation. God does not ask His children to DO
anything that He does not give us ABILITY to do. He does not ask us to
BE anything that He does not give us the power and motivation to BE.
Eph 2:10 states that "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto (resulting in) good works, which God hath before (before we do the
works) ordained that we should walk in them." The only works that are
rewardable, and please God, are the works that the Spirit of God
motivates us to do. The works we do from OUR own will, no matter how
"good" they are, do not please God, and are described in 1 Cor 3:8-15
as "wood, hay, and stubble". Jesus said in John 15:5 "without me, ye
can do nothing." Stay in fellowship, take in God's Word, seek to do His
will, and you will find yourself joyfully pleasing God and doing His
work!
8. The fruit (production) of the Spirit of God in our lives, stated in
Gal 5:22 & 23, is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience),
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (self control).
These are the things the people of the world are struggling to obtain,
but they are the natural character of the Christian under the control
of the Spirit of God.
9. I believe the Scriptures are clear that God's people should gather
together in local Church groups, or Assemblies. Tapes, books, and TV,
radio and internet ministries are valuable, but there is no substitute
for "gathering together and exhorting one another", (Heb 10:25), even
if it is just "Two or three gathered together". (Matt 18:20)
10. To my knowledge, only the King James Version and
the New King James Version Bibles are translated from the correct original language Hebrew and Greek Manuscripts.
Bob Jones
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information about the:
Original
Manuscripts and Bible Translations
