With my own individual section at the end
The underlined statements of the following two passages seem to be contradictory statements or commands. Luke 9:49-50 says, “And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” Luke 11:23-26 says, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” One statement implies a person doesn’t have to be in complete agreement and the other implies there must be absolute agreement. One implies that nine out of ten ain’t bad and the other implies nine out of ten is bad.
In basketball, nine out of ten is extremely good. It is very good when a player makes nine out of ten free throws. The best percentage of free throws in professional basketball is usually around 90-93%. In bowling, nine out of ten is extremely bad. It is not good to knock down nine pins in the ten frames of a game. Nine out of ten in bowling yields a score of 90 out of a possible 300. In one sport nine out of ten is professional quality and in another sport nine out of ten warrants failure.
These two passages are recorded twice in the Scriptures (Matthew 12:22-30; Mark 9:33-40). They are dealing with two separate reactions in two separate circumstances. As true worship of God entails two aspects (John 4:24 – spirit and truth), so the work of God entails two types of reactions during two types of relationships. One reaction is toward man (Luke 9:50) and the other reaction is toward unclean spirits (Luke 11:23).
The first reaction is a gracious reaction toward people regarding the knowledge of truth. In regards to people and their knowledge of truth nine out of ten ain’t bad. If I agree with someone on nine out of ten beliefs, that ain’t bad. I know this may be shocking, but fundamental Baptists do not have a hold on the truth and they do not know or disclose all truth. Colossians 2:2-3 reveals that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in the Lord Jesus Christ.
One should not limit himself to the fundamentals of the Baptist faith. The Pope is a Catholic fundamentalist. The Muslims are fundamentalists of Mohammed. A Calvinist believes in the five-point fundamentals of Calvinism. Campbellites are wet fundamentalists. Hyper-dispensationalists are dry fundamentalists. Every denomination or sect are fundamentalists in some form or variety. All of these fundamentalists limit themselves to a set of beliefs or fundamentals of their faith. A Bible-believing preacher proclaims all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27) and all wisdom of the Scriptures (Colossians 1:28). Blameless means to obey all that you know to be true (Luke 1:6), but you should continue to search for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth until you die (Ecclesiastes 12:9-12; 1 Timothy 4:16; 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:15). Self-righteous fundamentalists usually refer to a true Bible-believer as a cultist or a heretic (Acts 24:14).
Since God is gracious toward our lack of knowledge or foolishness (Ex. 34:6; Ps. 116:5), we should be gracious toward the lack of knowledge or foolishness in others (Titus 3:2-4). I’ve learned many wonderful truths from others who are not Baptists. Ain’t that something? I’ve learned sound doctrine from true Bible-believers, but I didn’t learn much about the family and home from them.
I’ve learned much about the home, home-schooling, and spiritual music from Bill Gothard and his ministry. Do I agree with everything? No, but nine out of ten ain’t bad; in fact, eight out of ten ain’t bad either. The ministry of Michael and Debi Pearl offers many wonderful principles of the training of children, proper relationships in the home, and many Bible teaching tapes. I have learned much about the laws of the individual states and jurisprudence from a born again man of a conservative Lutheran denomination. I have also learned about graciousness and other truths of life from this fine gentleman. Many truths of the Authorized King James Bible will be revealed when you understand the foundation of the laws of the individual states because the constitution of each state was created by the people to limit public servants and the laws of these states were based upon the common law and the King James Bible.
I have learned some fantastic archeology information from a born again man who was partial to the Seventh-day Adventist persuasion. I toured the land of Israel with this man and he requested that I teach about the perfection of the King James Bible on that tour. What a blessing that was! I’ve learned proper health and nutrition outside of the Baptist persuasion because the Baptists were too busy shoveling junk food down their throat. Kent Hovind has many wonderful ideas for any open minded individual about creationism and the flaws of evolution. Truths about spiritual warfare are rarely taught by fundamental Baptists. If you are wondering about the evil conspiracy of the new world order, you won’t find much from the fundamental Baptists. You may want to remain in the “security” of your camp, but you will see more of nature when you get outside of the commercial campgrounds. Truth is truth no matter who says it.
How should you respond when you do not agree with everything that a man declares? The standard reaction about a disagreement of beliefs is contention about the one or two areas of minor disagreement (Prov. 13:10). I’ve seen people leave a church because they had one or two minor disagreements and they transferred to a church that they had four or five disagreements from the start, but they won’t go back to the original one because of PRIDE. The main reason for the bone of contention is usually immaturity (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). You can only be young once, but you can be immature all of your life. The self-righteous defender of the faith will justify his contention as his bold stand for the truth or your perception of truth. God would have never gotten along without his zealous attention to the truth.
Truth is nutrition for the soul. The words of God are portrayed as bread (Matt. 4:4), fruit and vegetables (Prov. 8:19; 25:11), milk (1 Peter 2:2), water (Ps. 1:2-3), meat (Heb. 5:12-14), and honey (Ps. 19:10). Job referred to the discernment of truth as similar to the tastes of the mouth. Job 12:11 says, “Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?” Job 6:30 repeats this same thought by asking, “Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?” If you were provided a meal with ten different kinds of food and you liked nine of the ten, would you gripe about the one kind of food that you disliked? Would you make a big deal about the one kind of food that you disliked? Would you get in the face of the one who prepared the meal and pointed out your wisdom of food and why the one kind of food that you disliked should never be served? Would you cease to eat a meal at that place again? Would you make your big bold stand against the type of food that you dislike? Will you spread the news amongst your campground friends why they should never eat at the place that served one kind of food that you did not prefer? Will you break fellowship with the hostess because she served one kind of food that you did not appreciate? I would hope that you would express your gratitude to the hostess for her efforts. If your preferences or tastes were requested by the hostess, a kind and gracious respond would be in order.
Preaching publicly is to be delivered according to 2 Timothy 4:2, but personal work is to be delivered according 2 Timothy 2:24-26, which says in pertinent part, “[T]he servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves...” Paul wrote the saints of Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:1a, “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ...” I have never had to make a big bold stand against a fundamentalist of any brand; they’ve always left me. I have quietly withdrawn from a few (1 Timothy 6:5) and I have ceased sending support to some (2 Thess. 3:14-15). I’ve purposefully avoided some men (Rom. 16:17). I’ve exposed false beliefs and may even reveal the false teacher’s name (3 John 9-11). A sincere seeker of truth can learn truth from anyone, but that doesn’t mean we have to believe everything the “teacher” believes.
Has the news industry ever offended your beliefs? Do you agree with the news industry on every issue? Why do you not avoid the daily newspaper or news broadcast? Has Hollywood ever offended your beliefs? Do you agree with the promotion of sodomy by Hollywood? Will you cease to ever watch anything from Hollywood again? Why is it that Christians have more grace toward the world than they do toward fellow believers in Christ? Why did not the liberal feminists accuse Bill Clinton of exploiting women with his acts of fornication? They have a major agenda regarding the control and perversion of the people. Conservatives usually fuss about the non-essentials while the liberals accomplish their agenda of perversion and control. The accuser of the brethren is almost out of business because the brethren are busy fulfilling his tasks (Rev. 12:9-10). Protestant popes are copy-cats the Catholic Pope.
Is there a time when one must break fellowship with another? There are two basic areas when a person should break fellowship with a church, a preacher, or a professing Christian. One area is fornication (1 Cor. 5) and the other area is false doctrine like post-millennialism (1 Tim. 1:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:16-18) or Hyper-Calvinism, but usually I will simply say to the Calvinist, “I am sorry, but it was predestinated before the foundation of the world that I would not be a Calvinist.” If the Lord directs to correct the person, say what the Lord directs you to say. The unrepentant fornicator and the self-righteous heretic must be removed from the church and your fellowship. Why? Both of these areas are connected with the second reaction in another relationship regarding unclean spirits.
The second reaction is a righteous reaction toward the unclean spirits regarding the spirit of error. The context of Luke 11:23 is dealing with unclean spirits. Nine out of ten is bad when a man is dealing with unclean spirits. One unclean spirit can ruin or hinder any man, woman, or child. Paul warned that Satan can take up residence in a place (Eph. 4:26-27) and he can build a stronghold in an area (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Satan can hold a born again believer captive to sin (2 Tim. 2:26) and one should not be ignorant of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11). The wise soldier of Christ puts on the whole armour of God daily (Eph. 6:10-20), resists the devil (James 4:7), and overcomes him by the blood of the Lamb of God (Heb. 9:14; Rev. 12:11).
There are four basic areas of absolute agreement with the Lord. The first truth is salvation by grace through faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9). No water, wafer, or any kind of work can be added to the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). Jesus Christ said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The first commandment of the Ten Commandment states in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The context of Acts 4:12 refers to the name of Jesus Christ by stating, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
The second area of no compromise is the written word of God. The Bible is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. The Bible means one Book. The word “is” means present tense; therefore, there must be ONE BOOK that is available today that I can hold in my hands for my final authority. Since the Lord Jesus is called the Word of God seven times in the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus is pure and holy today, there must be a pure and holy written word of God today. The 1611 Authorized King James Bible is the only Bible that meets the above qualifications. Galatians 5:9 states, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” All of the bibles of Alexandria (NIV, NASV, RSV, Living Bible, etc.) and the New King Jimmy bible are satanic bibles with unclean spirits. A satanic translation is revealed when one compares the misquote of Satan in Luke 4:10-11 with the original quotation in Psalm 91:11-12. Satan has been extremely busy since 1880 with all the new bibles that subtly promote his agenda of a new world order (Rom. 1:25; 2 Cor. 2:17).
Does this mean that a man who uses an Alexandrian bible knows nothing? No, the truth of the preservation of God’s word may not have been disclosed to him. Do you believe that Aquila and Priscilla zealously got in the face of Apollos in order to straighten him out? A gentle approach is appropriate in personal work. Apollos declared what he knew at that time, but Aquila and Priscilla revealed more light to him (Acts 18:24-28). James 3:13-18 says, “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. ” Truth can still reprove without the excessive volume of your voice, angry countenance, and intimidating hand gestures. Is it your motive to prove you are more right and that rightness makes you more spiritual or closer to God, or is it your motive to humbly declare your understanding of what is right in the eyes of the Lord in order to draw this person closer to God?
The third area of watchful vigilance is spiritual music. If the words are right and the music is fleshly or satanic, the entire song is filthy. As the music of David’s harp drove away unclean spirits (1 Sam. 16:23), so contemporary and other fleshly music draws unclean spirits like flies to filth. Does your music move the foot or speak to the heart? Does your music glorify God or your flesh? Do the words of your songs teach good solid Bible truths and doctrine? Is the melody the primary focus of your music or is it the beat? See Ephesians 5:19. The old hymns about the blood of Jesus Christ repels the unclean spirits and their influence. Wholesome classical music calms the spirit of man. Music is the universal language that Satan will use to unite the world under his kingdom. Are you subtly being deceived by your emotional attachment to your music?
The fourth and final area of absolute purity is your conscience. 2 Timothy 1:3 states, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience...” There are four major areas of defilement of the conscience. Satan and his ilk attempt to divide and conquer the will of man by severing his conscience or personality into several parts. When an individual opens the door of defilement, Satan and his ilk claim the territory. Paul warned about this in Titus 1:15, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
The first area of defilement is caused by generational sins. Numbers 35:33 says, “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.” Deuteronomy 5:9 states, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”
The second area of defilement is caused by personal sins. 1 Corinthians 8:7 states, “Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.” The third area is caused by spiritual sins like jealousy, envy, and bitterness. Hebrews 12:15 says, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” The fourth area is called ungodly soul ties through fornication. Leviticus 18:24 says, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you.” 1 Corinthians 6:18 warns, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
These defilements can be manifested through split-personalities or multiple personalities, but the glorious power of the pure blood of Jesus Christ can purge one’s conscience from all of these defilements. Hebrews 9:14 declares, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” 1 Thessalonians 5:23 reveals, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Lord can restore your soul. If the Lord has nine parts of your heart or conscience and an unclean spirit has one part, that is like bowling with a score of 90. The unclean spirits of fornication and false doctrine will grow like a cancer until they defile the whole body. The Apostle Paul testified in Acts 24:16, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” Can you honestly give this testimony?
In closing, nine out of ten in regards to the beliefs of people ain’t bad. The proper reaction toward your fellow believers in Jesus Christ is graciousness. Nine out of ten in dealing with unclean spirits is bad. No unclean spirit should have any part in your life, music, or work. Why was Joshua and Caleb allowed to enter the promise land, which typifies the victorious Christian life? Joshua and Caleb wholly followed the LORD (Num. 32:10-12). Paul admonished Timothy, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1 Timothy 4:15-16) Save yourself from deception and destruction by taking heed unto thy spirit (Mal. 2:15-16) and searching the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth with all of thine heart.
On a personal note -
Outside of the bible believing preachers and teachers on the channel - as all my publications state:
"The Dispensationalist men of God who have taught me so much in their studies, sermons, teachings, and literature. All of which can be found linked on my website."
My version of this would be;
A Presbyterian minister showing me how to have true grace against 'enemies' (In a very roundabout way however!)
A British Israelite teaching me about zeal (by example) and how to thank God in tragedy (he suffered a stroke) all the while being on fire for reaching sinners.
A Pentecostal taught me about spiritual courage and fearing God instead of man (yes seriously he is a member of a Pentecostal church!)
A 5 Point Calvinist father figure I had taught me about masculinity, money management and family.
Another British Israelite taught me about the states inner workings and deceitfulness against its populations - as did yet another Presbyterian - from a Christian perspective. (Remember, I'm not American just in case I get angry complaints!)
On a day to day basis God has used Christians of all stripes to boost/rebuke/exhort me when I needed it, which I thank them all for. I'll see them at the judgement seat - even if half of them don't believe in such a thing lol!
That also includes the jealous carnal heretics who would follow me just looking for a sword-sharpening session (Eph 6.17, Heb 4.12, Psalm 119.65-72) which they got (Psalm 144.1, Jer 48.10)
The denominations mentioned here have taught me what NOT to be like as a Christian. I do thank them for it, its a good check up regarding your walk (Psalm 26.2,1 Cor 11.28 2 John 1.8) The hotbeds of formalism, sin and liberalism that they are actually had people in them that were nice, polite and decent, but when word got around about my books (and the rebukes contained therein) 99% were acting, to put it bluntly, 'as guilty as sin' including those who hadn't even been thought of in my books. I guess its a matter of 1 Cor 8.12, 1 Tim 1.19, Matt 15.12, 24.10 and Rev 3.17. Which is a pity. By the way, It was God that laid on me where to leave the BBT tract knowing that one of those denominations' 'higher ups' would find it after knowing who exactly who had left it. Thus, and honestly surprising to me at the time, the local Pharisees and Sadducees started their ecumenical movement (Matt 22.34) against this silly ass whom God decided to use. (Job 39.5-8, Amos 7.14, Isa 6.8, Ezek 22.30)
James 3.16 and especially Psalm 101.5 sum it up sadly.
Imagine those in the linage of Puritans now working together* ** with an Anabaptist sect to slander (and worse) a Bible Believer just like Paul in Acts 24.14. Actually think that through. You see, they unite greatly over lifestyle, as doctrine isn't important to them, as 2 Tim 3.16 isn't paramount to those that refuse to study their bibles similar to Psalm 119.97-100, (never mind 2 Tim 2.15!!) and just like Amos 7.10 they get the state involved - like a child running to its teacher in the playground because the baddie said something... bad! (Psalm 35.20)
Gal 4.16 and Jer 20.10-11 both exist for a reason.
Check my pastoral epistles commentary for more thoughts on the effeminacy of the average western professing christian nowadays..!
When Ruckman said many times 'When a man messes with THE BOOK, God messes with his mind" he wasn't wrong. In my future projects I get into some of their hilarious (albeit terrifying) messes they got into when trying to disprove Bible believing dispensationalism (Neo - Orthodoxy anyone?)
Just check the footnote on page 875 of Hoffmans Common Mans Reference Bible to see what actually goes on in the tail end of laodicea. It disgusts me as much as it does The Lord Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless I'll follow Andy's advice.
(P.S. The 4 local denominations I speak of know who they are. They read these posts too.)