For God Will Have Mercy on Whom He Will Have Mercy

Calvinism is often misunderstood. There are some non-Calvinists who have embraced Calvinists as brethren. I pretty don’t want to make Calvinism a divisive issue. Some great preachers weren’t Calvinists. The late Bob Hughes, for example, wasn’t a Calvinist. Yet, what’s often ignored is that Calvinistic scholars have been involved in hymn-writing and the translation of the King James Version (KJV). Today, we use the 1769 version of the KJV. Some will confess they know of the Calvinist contributors but still feel the doctrine of election is hard to accept. It’s like, “We respect these Calvinist scholars but Calvin is just a man.”

When the Sin of Unequal Yokes Becomes Inevitable

It’s already been the strict commandment of God to be never unequally yoked. It’s annoying how often told that Catholics and Evangelicals are just the same never mind the crucial differences such as salvation. There are times I felt Catholics are brethren in one second and not my brethren in another second in my younger years. I had to get a lot of chastising. Ironically, reading Chick Publications (which I no longer did) didn’t stop me from pursuing unbelieving women (then making u-turns). I wouldn’t say that these unbelieving women were like Delilah, Jezebel, and Athaliah (the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel)–women who are obviously wicked as they can get. Athaliah was a blatant Baal worshiper and may have defiled Yahweh’s temple while Jehoram was king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Maybe, that’s why only Ahaziah remained while his older brothers were all massacred. They might be humanly-speaking, good people, like Ruth and Orphah. Ruth was a Moabite idolatress who came into knowledge from the worship of Chemosh to the worship of Yahweh.

The Gospel Must First Be Preached Before the End Shall Come

It’s very easy to get lost in the end-times hype, right? Some people start to look at almost every sign listed in Matthew 24. We have the signs like wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, people claiming to be Christ, false prophets, persecution, betrayal, an increase in lawlessness, and the love of many will grow cold. We try to read through Revelation, especially with regard to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The signs have been showing throughout the decades such as two major world wars, economic crisis (and the Great Depression was much worse than today), pandemics (and there have been worse than the recent COVID-19 pandemic), a lot of false religions on the rise, and the ecumenical movement of the Second Vatican Council. People tend to speculate when the Lord Jesus will arrive again. Yet, Matthew 24:36 says none may know!

Repentance of Sin is Really Needed Before a Man Can Truly Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

It’s a real issue when some Baptist and Protestant churches today have abandoned the Gospel their predecessors fought for. Before the Reformation, we had the Baptists who were called by the enemy as Baptists. During the Reformation, we had men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Knox–all men who didn’t want to be reformers but only wanted to be biblical. The name Protestant was an insult given by the Papacy to those who protested. Yet, they all gladly took labels such as Baptists and Protestants–names meant to insult them but they gladly bore the reproach. Now, we’re seeing the battle for repentance. Yes, this also means that in believing that repentance of sin is necessary for salvation.

Why Was the Man Stoned to Death for Gathering Sticks on the Sabbath?

As I was listening to another message by Pastor Mel Caparros of Living Word Christian Church–today’s sermon was about the heavy burden of the Pharisees. This topic made me think of where a man was stoned for gathering sticks (Numbers 15:32-36). The Pharisees did place very incredibly unreasonable orders during the Sabbath. Just thinking how they forbade medication beyond a certain amount, how they forbade the disciples from gathering corn to eat, and they were not wrong at all.

1 John 5:7 and Some Older Manuscripts

I remembered several comparisons made in defense of the KJV Only stand. Sadly, the KJV Only movement has become an issue especially when KJV Only pastors become judgmental, fight with pastors who don’t use the KJV (instead of convincing them) and have not been too friendly. One issue I had with the newer translations (such as the NIV and ESV) has been the 17 verses found in the KJV but not found in modern translations. Take note that books of the Bible weren’t originally written in chapters and verses. Instead, they were one long narrative in the form of a scroll.