Bible Doctrine

One of Satan’s oldest and most convincing arguments against God’s truth is “all these people can’t be wrong!” It is an argument he has employed down through the ages. He has not abandoned it, because it is so effective with many. “Billy Graham can’t be in error,” many argue. “Look at how marvelously God used this much respected minister for decades, drawing hundreds of thousands into the church through his ministry.” So the argument goes. It never dawns on such minds that a similar argument could be made for many popes! Look at the charismatic John Paul II. He touched millions of lives, was adored and respected around the world. Surely he was divinely anointed of God and a modern-day spokesman for God and the truth. Yet Billy Graham’s Baptist doctrine and Pope John Paul’s Roman Catholic doctrine differed widely in what was actually God’s “truth.”

A well-meaning, honest-hearted, clean-cut, seminary trained minister surely cannot be in error in what he teaches, can he? Well, if all such “ministers” were in absolute agreement with one another in what they teach and see as Bible truth that argument might hold some water. But they aren’t. You have Baptist ministers, Methodist ministers, Episcopalian ministers, Pentecostal ministers, etc., etc., etc., all differing widely with one another as to what the scriptures teach.

“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets (the preachers) that steal my words, every one from his neighbor” (See Jeremiah 23:29-30). God speaks the truth through one of His legitimate spokesmen only to have some self-appointed teacher of the Word woefully ignorant of what God’s Word actually says come along and dispute and oppose God’s truth. “Behold, I am against the prophets (preachers), saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, ‘He (God) saith” (verse 31), claiming that God gave them their message or that God is speaking through them.

God is going to hold each of us individually responsible for what we accepted as truth. There is a judgment of believers that lies ahead of us all. We will give account to the One who knows us best. He just might hand us a Bible and say, “Show me why you believed as you did. Show me why you held firmly to your religious practices.” How would you fare?

Remember, with God ALL things are possible. Time holds no limitations for God. He is able to judge billions of individuals one at a time, examining every moment of our lives and do so at a point when time is no more. We will not be judged for our sins. Jesus Christ took care of that. We WILL give account for all else – and, brother, that’s going to cover a lot of territory.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

Remember, the Lord inspired the apostle Paul to write, “Sin NOT….neither give place to the devil” (See Ephesians 4:26-27). Jesus warned the Jews,”My word has no place in you,” because of their continuing to sin. (See John 8:31-37). God cannot get the truth into the mind of one who continues in sin. It’s that simple. Keep sinning and you will continually embrace spiritual error. Oh, you will have a lot of company that’s for sure. You will have plenty of preachers who will assure you that you have and know the truth while simultaneously telling you humans can’t stop sinning and assuring you, “Don’t worry about it. God doesn’t see your sins anyway. When He looks at you all He sees is the righteousness of Christ. Rest easy. All is well with your soul.”

Folks, there are going to be a lot of surprised preachers at the judgment of believers. And they will probably look around and see a lot of former members of their congregations staring at them in anger as they realize their trusted spiritual guides led them into profound error and thereby robbed them of great eternal rewards. Pathetic, ain’t it?

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them, for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (their own fleshly appetites by earning a good living as “ministers”), and by good words (yes, quoting scripture) and fair speeches (artful, convincing sermons) deceive the hearts (minds) of the simple (those not well acquainted with God’s Word).” (See Romans 16:17-18).

It is pointless trying to get the disobedient to see and accept the truth. They are blinded by their sins. One might as well hand a Bible with an underlined passage to someone totally physically blind and ask them to read the marked passage. They shouldn’t be surprised when that blind person says, “I can’t see it at all.” Therefore, I am not surprised when someone reading one of my articles says the same thing, “I can’t see it at all.”

Oh, well, it is not my task to open blind eyes. My task is to write the truth plainly and clearly. One can lead a horse to water, but he cannot make him drink. And I can lead someone to the truth, but I cannot make him accept it. And God won’t force-feed the truth. Jesus said again and again, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Or, He would say, “If you can receive it…” and would then speak forth the truth, knowing that the majority of those to whom He spoke would reject His words. So, I am not cast down or greatly disappointed when the hundreds of pastors to whom I send my printed articles do not respond. I would be floored and much concerned if the majority of them wrote back, “God bless you, brother. You sure opened my eyes..”

Yes, the majority of my spare time is spent sending forth God’s truths. Those times when I slacked up in doing so my world started to fall apart and I had no peace. It is only when I came back to doing that for which I have been anointed that I enjoyed uninterrupted peace and exceedingly good health. So, I’ll keep keeping on. I know quite well what Jeremiah meant when he wrote, “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stop.” (Jeremiah 20:9).

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

Now don’t you think that would go without saying?  Yet how many preachers, Bible teachers, and especially “lay” Christians make that mistake?  “But as it is written, ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart (mind) of men, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him,’ but God hath revealed them unto us (the apostles, as well as those chosen by God to be teachers of the Word in the various congregations) by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth ALL things, yea, the deep things of God’. (Isaiah 64:4).  For what man knows the things of a man (human knowledge), save the spirit of man which is in him?  Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but (by) the Spirit of God. (I Corinthians 2:9-11).  You wouldn’t expect an English speaking person to understand a manual written in Mandarin Chinese, would you?  So don’t expect someone without God’s Spirit to understand spiritual truth!  It is only the mind that has been renewed in Christ Jesus that can grasp spiritual truth.  I am not at all surprised when, from time to time, someone reading one of my postings makes the one word comment, “Nonsense!”

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God” (I Corinthians 2:11).  Without the Spirit of God illuminating the mind much of what one reads in the Bible is just plain unbelievable, if not viewed as utter nonsense.  The Spirit of God teaches spiritual truth to spiritual minds – a mind that has been truly converted.  “But the natural (unconverted) 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.” (See I Corinthians 2:13-14).  Spiritual truth cannot be force-fed.  One can quote every pertinent Bible text that even remotely addresses the issue of sabbath observance and it will go right over the head of the natural man.  And even a truly converted man, one who actually does have the Spirit of God imparted to him, can fail to see God’s truth in a given matter if that person is allowing sin to continue in their life.  The apostle Paul implored the Ephesian congregation, “SIN NOT….neither give place to the devil” (See Ephesians 4:26-27).  If a believer does not immediately confess and forsake a sin they might commit, then immediate place is given to the devil to move and draw the offender deeper into sin as well as deceive them, blinding them from seeing God’s truth in a given matter.  That is why there are scores and scores of differing denominations in Christianity.  Trying to impart God’s truth to an unrepentant sinner is an exercise in futility.  No man has the mind of Christ who continues in sin.

Never forget the prophet Daniel’s confession: “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God THAT WE MIGHT TURN FROM OUR INIQUITIES, AND UNDERSTAND THY TRUTH” (See Daniel 9:13).  Don’t try to rightly understand and comprehend any doctrine of God’s church while continuing to sin.  God’s Word clearly says that ain’t happening!  Revelation and obedience are conjoined twins.  They cannot be separated as the twin of truth, or revelation, will quickly die if the twin of obedience disobeys its Lord.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” (Genesis 2:7). The first major truth our Creator shared with the human family was this: “Dust you are and to dust you shall return!” He let Adam and Eve know up front that they were mortal beings and would someday die, returning to the earth from which they were taken. He further told them that if they were disobedient to Him and His instructions and counsel that they would someday surely die, that is they would die a death from which there would never be a resurrection, the second death! God then built upon that sure foundation of eternal truth generation after generation through enlightenment given His prophets and chosen spokesmen. Revelation was progressive and never contradictory. If and when one hears a doctrine, a teaching that runs counter to the foundational statements of truth uttered early on by our Creator, then Satan has “entered the garden,” once again, so to speak, and is sowing seeds of confusion.

“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence (i.e., the grave)” (Psalm 115:17). George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and Frank Sinatra are not sitting around God’s throne singing their hearts out. Redeemed or unredeemed when they died – they DIED! They, and all others born human who have passed away, are dead, awaiting a resurrection to restore them to life! “His (a human’s) breath goes forth (he breathes his last breath), he returns to his earth. IN THAT VERY DAY HIS THOUGHTS PERISH!” (Psalm 146:4).

Jesus warned, “The scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:35). It is what it is. ‘He (God) remembers that we are dust” (Genesis 103:14). Due to false teaching, men are prone to forget that. God does not! In the mind of God, as well as in the mind of every truly informed believer, death is nothing more than a profound sleep – a sleep from which the one at rest will someday be awakened by none other than His Lord and Savior! Why fear sleep? Sleep is the welcome rest at the end of a long and trying day. Life, to those of us who have been granted many years, is nothing more than a long and trying day. We look forward to taking our rest in sleep, knowing that when we awaken we shall be clothed in immortality and enjoying incorruptible spirit bodies far more real and lasting than our failing physical frames. We know, also, that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And, just as in the flesh we sometimes have a bit of trouble in falling to sleep, so, too, some may have some difficulty in entering their final rest. But God gives grace and strength to meet every pain, every discomfort, every difficulty along the way.

Our Creator wants us to trust Him, to rely upon Him, to depend upon Him, and to believe Him even when every one of our physical senses is leading us to doubt and to fear. It took me many decades to learn that perfect trust comes from perfect obedience. The more obedient we are to our Lord, the more real He becomes in our life. Daily, or continual, disobedience pushes the spirit world further and further away and reduces Jesus Christ to nothing more than an historical figure. Those of us who are in, or have passed our eighth decade of life, have much to be thankful for. Billions never made it this far! At the judgment God might well ask, “What did you do with the added years? Did you realize their value and their scarcity? I invested much time in you; where are my dividends?” I, for one, want to answer Him well.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

There is a Dayton, Ohio radio station that plays a recorded message each day that they believe tells one how to be “saved” in very few words.  This is what the message says: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (See Romans 10:9).  Of course, that is a true statement, but many fail to comprehend just what Paul was really saying in that statement.  Notice that he says it is someone who confesses Jesus as LORD, believing in their heart (that is to the depth of their being) that God has raised Him from the dead, thus they have a LIVING LORD, they shall be saved, as that living LORD will guide, nurture and instruct them in all matters of a spiritual nature.

Paul used similar language when he wrote to the believers at Philippi, “Wherefore God has highly exalted Him (Jesus Christ), and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (those now dead and buried), and that every tongue (of both living and dead) should confess that Jesus Christ IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father” (See Philippians 2:9-11).  And WHY confess Him as Lord? “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke (having no sin in our lives to be condemned), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (verse 15), as that living LORD is leading, guiding and empowering you to walk as He walked.

If we confess that Jesus is our LORD, then it naturally follows we are going to honor Him as Lord, allowing Him to dictate to us how we are to conduct our lives.  The most important word in that verse in Romans 10 is the word “LORD!”  All that verse is saying is that if we allow Jesus Christ to be LORD of our lives we most certainly will be saved.  Millions miss that simple truth and, hence, miss out on salvation.  Those who glibly quote Romans 10:9 to others, telling them this is how to be saved, need to emphasize what God Himself emphasizes again and again throughout the holy scriptures that in order to be saved by Jesus Christ we must accept Him as our LORD!  Jesus Himself asked, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).  One cannot accept Jesus as their Savior while rejecting Him as their Lord.  He is both.  That is rightly dividing the Word of God.  Something few do.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

In the 37th chapter of Jeremiah, we read these words in the first two verses of that chapter: “But neither he (King Zedekiah), nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.” So I am not bowled over or surprised by the silence, the nonresponse, I receive from the hundreds of pastors to whom I send some of my articles. I am a bit perplexed by the fact NONE have ever responded correcting me for something I have written – NONE, not one! One would think that if a dedicated Christian pastor discovered error in what he reads that I have written he would respond and, in Christian love, correct me. After all my articles when sent to pastors via the U.S. Mail contain my address, my email address AND my telephone number. Yet not once has some pastor communicated with me showing me how I have erred in something I have written.

I serve the same God as Jeremiah. God says nothing through my “pen” or lips contrary to what He uttered through the pen or lips of Jeremiah, or the apostle Paul, or any other spokesman through whom He ministered His word. Paul warned of that “other Jesus” who would be presented to the world. I do the same. Jeremiah quoted the real Lord as saying, “You shall search for me, and you shall find me, when you search for me with all your heart.” I do the same. The real Jesus said, “If you will enter into life, keep the commandments!” I say the same. The real Jesus warned, “You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” I do the same. The real Jesus said, “This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” I say the same.

“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit” (Matthew 12:33). Don’t call me a good man and my teaching evil or error. If I am a true follower of the Lord, then my teaching is from the Lord. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.” (Matthew 12:35). My mind is filled with the good treasure of God’s Word. That is what I bring forth daily.

Jesus said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother.” (Matthew 12:50). Jesus is not only my Creator and Lord, He is also my Elder Brother. We are members of the same family – the God family, not the human family. As He was once human, so am I. During His earthly sojourn, He lived without sin. During my earthly sojourn, I sinned many sins, but my Elder Brother’s blood washed them all away. “If we (younger brethren of the Lord) confess our sins (and abandon the same), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness!” (I John 1:9). We then stand beside Him as pure and clean as He Himself!! “We are of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (I John 4:6). God help you to understand.

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

There is a prophecy made by the prophet Isaiah that when read by an open-minded person is quite startling in the profound truth that is contained therein. Here is that prophecy: “And He will destroy in this mountain (Mt. Zion – Isaiah 24:23) the face of the covering cast over ALL people, and the veil that is spread over ALL nations. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from off ALL faces, and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth, for the Lord has spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, ‘Lo, THIS is our God (not Allah, not Shiva, not Vishnu). We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This IS the Lord. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (See Isaiah 25:7-9).

Those preachers who say they don’t get their doctrine out of the Hebrew scriptures lock themselves into horrible error, and they do a great disservice to their congregations – men and women who trust them to know what the Bible teaches, to really know the goodness, mercy and wonderful love of God for all born human. So, yes, I do get testy and somewhat intolerant when speaking of their many errors and false doctrines. Instead of standing with pride in their respective pulpits each Sunday morning, they should be hanging their heads in shame and asking for forgiveness from those they have deceived.

Look at that text in Isaiah 25 one more time. Notice that it says the enlightenment of ALL nations is future and that it coincides with the time of THEIR resurrection from the dead, not the time of the redeemed righteous dead, who will have been resurrected a full thousand years before them. He will then take away the rebuke borne by the Jewish people for thousands of years for God shall save Judah first and then turn His hand to grant salvation to the other nations of the world, nations that have formerly embraced Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism and many other false pathways. Notice it says that these nations will state that they have indeed waited for His salvation, but when offered the same by having their blindness removed they will be glad and rejoice in that salvation.

Jesus declared that “the scripture cannot be broken.” (See John 10:35). It says what it says and means what it says. All prophecies uttered by any and all of God’s prophets must come to pass. Satan deceives the WHOLE world right now – even the professing Christian world. That is why Christianity has Roman Catholics, Mormons, Amish, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, etc., etc., etc. (See Revelation 12:9). Many of these denominations have some truth, but most of them embrace a great deal of profound error.

“For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same (from the eastern hemisphere to the western hemisphere) my name shall be great among the Gentiles (all nations), AND IN EVERY PLACE (Saudi Arabia, China, Portugal, America, Nigeria, etc.) incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathen (the previously unconverted), says the Lord of Hosts!” (See Malachi 1:11). There is your authority for that statement, that prophecy, that truth – SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS! Don’t believe your deceived preachers – BELIEVE GOD! And the pure offering made to God will be the truly heart broken and repentant men and women offering themselves to Jesus Christ and imploring His forgiveness for their sins and spiritual ignorance.

“And the Lord shall be King over ALL the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one” (See Zechariah 14:9). Billions won’t be worshiping Allah, while billions of others are worshiping Jesus. ALL will worship God the Father through His Son, the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ!

“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (the Jews) for sin and for uncleanness” (See Zechariah 13:1). It is not being offered to them now, save for a very small remnant. They are cursed and cut off from Christ in this present era. (See Romans 9:3 and Romans 11:5). That is why one can live a long life, fellowshiping with a multitude of believers and never once encountering a converted Jew!

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (See Zechariah 12:10). “And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ‘You are not my people,’ there shall they be called the children of the living God” (See Romans 9:26). “And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob'” (Romans 11:26) .

“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion…. The Lord is good TO ALL, and His tender mercies are over all His works. All your works shall praise you, O Lord…..The eyes of all wait upon you, and you give them their (spiritual) meat in due season (yes, He has a time table for opening the minds and hearts of His creation). You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. LET ALL FLESH BLESS HIS HOLY NAME FOR EVER AND EVER” (See Psalm 145:8, 9-10, 15-17 and 21). God help you to understand.

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

A gross misinterpretation of Genesis 1,2, and 3 threw a giant monkey wrench into the truth of God early on. There is another passage of scripture that has also been grossly distorted and misunderstood by millions down through the years and has also clouded the meaning of God’s Word. That passage is Romans Chapter One. That is the passage that contains the words “they are without excuse” (See verse 20). If one does not look at the full context in which those words appear, they might erroneously believe that Paul is here speaking of all mankind of all ages – the pagans, the unenlightened – well, everyone without exception. Many think Paul is here saying that men are without excuse who do not bow before the true Creator God and give worship to Him alone. But Paul is not speaking of all humanity in this passage. He is speaking of the Jews only. Notice that in verse 16 of Romans 1 Paul clearly says that salvation and spiritual truth was offered to the Jew first! Then he speaks of how the wrath of God has been revealed against those “men who hold (or, suppress or hold back) the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them.” (See verses 16 and 18, Romans 1). Again, here Paul refers to the Jews alone. Paul goes on to say these people knew God. They once had a relationship with Him (verse 21). “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge (verse 28). They knew the judgment of God (verse 32). “Behold, thou art called a Jew!” (Romans 2:17).

“Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, ‘YOU ONLY HAVE I KNOWN OF ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (See Amos 3:1-2).

Again, “He shows His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments UNTO ISRAEL. HE HAS NOT DEALT SO WITH ANY (OTHER) NATION, and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise you the Lord” (See Psalm 147:19-20).

Again, “Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion” (Psalm 114:2). That’s as far as God revealed Himself. All other nations were left in darkness and gross ignorance of the Eternal God of glory. They had no knowledge of whether God was a spirit being, the blazing sun high in the heavens, or the tall mountain barely visible in the distance. They just didn’t know. That’s why they worshiped all such and the early inhabitants of South America even came to believe the giant anaconda snake was a god as well as the great rivers and many other things animate and inanimate.

When the prophet Isaiah said, “Verily, you are a God that hides yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior” he spoke the truth! (See Isaiah 45:15). And when he wrote, “The people that walked in darkness (having abandoned God for idols) have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined,” He was speaking of Israel alone! (See Isaiah 9:2). Matthew alludes to this passage in Matthew 4:13-17, applying it to the various tribes of Israel.

At the present time, and throughout all the centuries past, scripture says there is a “covering over all people,” and a “veil spread over ALL nations!” (See Isaiah 25:7). Satan has blinded them quite effectively. And Jesus said, “If you were blind, you should have no sin” (See John 9:41). Oh, ALL have sinned alright, but Paul writes that “where no law is, there is no transgression” (See Romans 4:15). The eternal consequences of their sins is not charged against those spiritually blinded by Satan. Only when men must honestly say, “We see” does Jesus say “therefore your sin remains!” (See John 9:41, last part). God help you to understand.

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

The average Christian has no idea how Satan operates, what are his limitations and what are his abilities.  Few suspect what his primary objective might be.  Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant, because YOUR adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may DEVOUR, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (I Peter 5:8-9).  Yes, Satan’s primary target is YOU!  And he is very, very good at what he does.

The apostle Paul, speaking of himself and his fellow apostles, said, “We are not ignorant of his (Satan’s) devices.” (See 2 Corinthians 2:11). It was the knowledge these apostles had of Satan’s operation that prompted Paul to make that declaration.

Our Lord cautions us “My thoughts are not your thoughts.”  But Satan’s thoughts are quite often our thoughts as we many times mirror his thinking in decisions we make or in choosing a course of action.  Instead of being led and guided by the Word of God, we use faulty human reasoning.

If you were experiencing problems with your heart and the nearest cardiologist was 20 miles away, yet there was a gynecologist less than a mile from your home, would you think it wise to go to the gynecologist?  What if the cardiologist was a rather stern sort and the gynecologist was super friendly and exhibited a warm personality?  Many Christians use the wrong criteria in deciding where to fellowship with fellow professing Christians.

Some years ago I lived in Houston, Texas for a time.  I was a member of no local church, but I did have some super friendly Mormon missionaries visit my apartment again and again, eventually persuading me to accompany them to a Sunday service at a nearby Mormon church.  In short order, I realized the Mormons embraced gross error in most of their beliefs.  It mattered not that, as with the Mormon Tabernacle choir, these Mormons also sang beautifully, they believed and taught doctrines utterly contrary to God’s Word.

God’s Word warns, “If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).  If God’s Word reveals and teaches the opposite doctrines believed and taught by some congregation then that differing body of believers are scattering the Lord’s sheep, not bringing them closer and closer to the Lord.

Concerning such God commands His faithful sons, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17).  And Paul asked, “What communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

The prophet Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I did eat them (allowing God’s Word to become fixed in his mind), and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts.  I sat not in the assembly of the mockers (fellow Jews who rejected God’s truth)…I sat alone, because of your hand (guiding this faithful prophet into following the Lord in all matters, large and small), for you have filled me with indignation (toward those who rejected the Most High’s counsel to go their own way, do their own thing, and follow faulty human reasoning)… “Therefore, thus says the Lord (to Jeremiah), ‘If you return (to fellowshipping with those who walk in error), then will I bring you again (out of their company), and you shall stand before me (to answer for your rebellion).  Let them return unto you, but don’t you return unto them'” (See Jeremiah 15:16-17, 19).

When given the choice to follow human reasoning and argumentation or follow the enlightenment of God’s Word I long ago decided to always and ever follow God’s Word.  And for this I make no apology even if I stand alone.

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley