And now your Truth Time host, Trey Searcy.
Okay, welcome into another Truth Time transmission.
I'm Trey Searcy.
We're going coast to coast as we rightly divide the word of truth.
We start out by answering a listener question.
The question is, what doctrines are we to follow?
What doctrines are we to follow?
Well, personally, I follow the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, I follow the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ through the pen of my apostle.
Now, who might that be?
The apostle Paul.
How do I know this?
Well, the Bible says it almost 20 times.
So it would be rather foolish for me to ignore that.
We would be wrong to attempt to follow Christ according to what he said during his earthly ministry.
Why?
Because it wasn't directed toward us.
It was to Israel.
We know this from Matthew chapter 2 verse 6, chapter 10 verse 5 and 6, Matthew chapter 15 verse 24, and Romans 15 verse 8.
We're to follow the gospel, the good news that Paul received from the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ from heaven.
And if you're a Bible believer, you'll follow Christ as Paul followed him, 1 Corinthians 11:1.
I do not worship Paul.
There is only one man.
Now, hear me when I say there's only one man that I worship, and that man came and gave his life for my sorry, filthy soul.
He's my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
However, this same man, this man that I worship, instructs me in his word to elevate, to magnify another man's office.
He's God's grace apostle, the apostle Paul.
Romans 11:13, Paul wrote this, "For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office."
So God commands us to do what with Paul's office?
To magnify it.
Everyone knows how a magnifying glass works.
I remember how excited I was as a child to play with my grandfather's magnifying glass.
Everything appeared larger, amplified, enhanced, more visible and easier to see and understand.
It put things in a different perspective.
It put things in a better focus, sort of like HD, high definition.
Paul's apostleship, his letters, Romans through Philemon, should be viewed by us in HD, high definition.
Why?
Because the Lord Jesus Christ told us to do just that.
Paul's letters contain our doctrine, our instructions for this present time in which we live.
And for those of you who take Paul's words and shrink them down while elevating other parts of the Bible, twisting things so they fit with your own personal interpretation, I have two verses for you.
I dare you to look them up.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 37 is where Paul said that the things that he wrote unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
Not suggestions, but commandments.
And in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20 we read this, No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
So magnifying Paul as being our apostle is a command, not a suggestion from the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a command that your denomination has most likely taught you to look over, but a command nonetheless.
For many, the Bible is not hard to read.
It's hard to believe.
When the Bible says that Israel stumbled and fell, guess what?
Israel stumbled and fell.
Just believe it.
It's written in easy to understand words in Romans chapter 11 verse 11.
Why is it that Israel's head apostle, Peter, disappears in the middle of the book of Acts?
Why?
Because of Israel's fall.
Think about it.
There's 28 chapters in the book of Acts, but Peter is unheard of after Acts chapter 15.
Trying to understand God's word while ignoring His commandments to rightly divide the word of truth
is about like trying to swallow a steak without first chewing it.
Hey, this is Truth Time, and we're not here to preach a false gospel that says walk the aisle and commit your life to the Lord, repeat the sinner's prayer, accept Jesus into your heart and serve in the nursery.
No, here you're going to get a shot of the truth with no chaser.
This program is not for everyone, but if you're the kind of person that likes the taste of truth, and are hungry for the word of the Lord, you're at the right place.
You see, there are many who don't even open this book and there are others who only read this book,
but Jesus made it clear that we are to study this book.
Once you receive this grace and understand who you are according to the finished work of Jesus Christ, not only can you then become an effective workman, but at the same time, when you study the word of truth, you'll be able to rightly divide it.
You can then eat the meat and throw away the bones.
If I were here today preaching you a message of salvation that contains 90% grace and 10% works,
I would be preaching a false works-based salvation message.
If I were preaching you a message that contains 99% grace and only 1% works, I would be preaching you a false works-based performance message.
And what does Paul say about this?
That person should be accursed.
Do you realize how many cursed ministries there are today?
No, not according to the world.
No, they see big numbers and large followings as being of God and being successful.
No, I'm talking about according to God's Word.
How many ministries are under this curse that Paul speaks of?
But the good news is that God is doing a mighty work through His ambassadors.
He's restoring the lost message of salvation by grace.
Not the part grace, part you gospel that has Satan's fingerprints all over it, but the complete grace gospel.
This restored message of grace that is ringing the heart bells of people everywhere has a title.
It's found in Acts 20 verse 24, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the grace of God.
A message that is not based on performance, a message that is not based on your own self-effort.
No, this message is entirely based on the finished cross work of Jesus Christ.
I'm running over with joy today and you should be, too.
I'm accepted in the beloved because of what He did.
I'm sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise because of what He did.
I've been reconciled to God because of what my Savior did.
I've been made righteous because of what He did.
I've been purchased because of what He did.
I'm blood bought because of what He did.
The Most High has shined His glorious favor upon me because of what Christ did.
What part of it is finished do you not understand?
You who are okay with feeding that monster ego by attaching your filthy rags fleshly works to your salvation, ought to be ashamed.
Trying to co-purchase your salvation will only leave you salvation less.
Religious and lost, a lost believer.
Oh, you believe, but it's what you believe that's the problem.
Truth Time is for those who demand proof, those who will run things through their baloney detector before believing it.
You have a baloney detector, don't you?
I think everyone has one, just not everyone uses it.
I hear some today who teach that God never had anything to do with religion.
They falsely teach that religion was man-made.
Wrong.
Religion at one time in history was of God.
God developed a religious "If" system with the children of Israel.
One that said, if you obey my laws and statutes, I will bless you, but if you disobey, I will curse you.
So for those of you today who claim that religion was man-made, perhaps you missed what God said through the Apostle James.
James chapter 1 verse 26.
Look it up.
Discover these truths for yourself.
James chapter 1 verse 26, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."
Did you catch that?
Those of you who claim that God never had anything to do with religion.
Notice here, James never said religion was bad.
James simply said that vain religion was bad.
Notice that James is keeping right in line with the Old Testament "if" system that God had with the children of Israel.
And it's why James begins the verse with the word, "if."
If any man among you seem to be religious.
The "if" here indicates that being religious was conditional.
Now, look what he says in the next verse.
Verse 27, Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James is also the one who wrote, Faith without works is dead.
Why did he write that?
Because of what I mentioned earlier.
They, unlike us today, were still obeying that "if" system.
James declared in James 1:1 that he was an apostle to the tribes of Israel.
Well, the gospel that James taught to them was if they performed and applied their works with their faith, they could keep their self unspotted.
They were accepted by God.
James preached the same thing Peter preached in Acts chapter10, verse 35.
Faith plus works for acceptance.
So it should be apparent to any saved Bible believer that James was not writing to you, but to the 12 tribes of Israel.
And he's addressing them concerning their religion, their "if" system.
And it's also apparent that James is describing their religion as something positive.
However, let's compare what James said about religion with what is later revealed to Paul about religion.
And while examining these verses, keep in mind what Paul wrote to us in Colossians 1:26.
Paul says, Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
So the reason James spoke of religion in a positive manner is that he wasn't privy to this information that was only later to be revealed to Paul.
In Acts chapter 26, verse 5, Paul says this, ...after the most straightest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
Now, anyone that has been around the church block a time or two knows that being a Pharisee is nothing to brag about.
Paul is most certainly not speaking of his former religious pharisitical life as anything positive.
So now, let's quickly review.
So far we have seen where James mentioned the word religion twice, both in a positive light.
And we just saw where Paul used the word once in a negative light.
Let's now look at the fourth usage of the word.
Because surely Paul must speak of religion in a positive manner, doesn't he?
Because, as most believe today, hey, he preached the same gospel as everyone else, didn't he?
Well, let's see.
Galatians chapter 1, verse 13.
Here Paul says this, For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.
Well, so far we've had no luck in making Paul agree with James.
It's important that you get this.
Paul says, In time past in the Jews' religion, not now, but in time past, when his name was Saul,
his religion caused him to persecute the Jewish church and had many of its members murdered.
And let's look at the next verse.
Verse 14, And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
So after receiving the revelation of the mystery concerning the grace alone, faith alone, without any religion or any works for salvation, Paul left his past Jewish religion.
And please do notice what he goes on to say in Philippians chapter 3, verse 8.
I count all things but loss for the excellency of knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
Wow, did you get that?
Paul says that even though he profited in the Jews' religion above many of his own nation, he gave it all up.
Christ revealed to Paul that through him something new was going to take place.
And what did Paul do?
He left his religion.
And as we just read, counted all the things that went along with his former religious life as dung.
The word religion is only used in the King James Bible five times and we just read them all.
Truth Time is here to teach you how to compare scripture with scripture, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We're here to present the Ephesians 3:9, Fellowship of the Mystery.
It's this kind of preaching, the kind you'll always find here on Truth Time, that is a threat to religion.
Religion teaches you to have blind faith.
Well, God is not pleased with blind faith.
Blind faith is not faith but rather presumption based on ignorance.
Today, there are only two types of churches on planet earth, the Church of the "do" and the Church of the "done."
In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 Paul wrote this, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Hath is past tense.
It's already done.
Saved people do not believe they're still getting their sins forgiven.
You can only be saved by trusting that your sins have already been forgiven.
They were dealt with at the cross.
Unsaved people today will not go to hell because of unforgiven sin.
Unsaved people today will go to hell because of unbelief, their lack of faith, their failure to believe that their sins were dealt with and put away at the cross.
Why has God already forgiven you?
For Christ's sake.
That's exactly what the verse said.
We just read it.
Ephesians 4:32 is where Paul said to forgive one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
So what did you do to merit his forgiveness?
The answer, nothing.
What did Christ do that was meritorious to garner God's forgiveness?
He died in your place.
He died in my place.
He took our sins, dealt with them and put them away at the cross.
Now what must an unsaved person do to be saved?
Believe God.
Take him at his word.
Just as I said earlier, for many the Bible is not hard to read, it's just hard to believe.
Here's one that many of you read and have trouble believing.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.
Here, Paul tells us that God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we can be made the righteousness of God in Christ.
Now, you say you believe the Bible?
This is one of God's truths that many of you just refuse to believe.
If you did, you wouldn't think you had anything to do with your salvation.
I mean come on, God made his son who knew no sin to be sin for us so we can be made the righteousness of God.
Stop letting those who are ensnared by religion drag you into their web of oppression.
You were deceived when you let them convince you that you'll go to hell because of sin.
That's a satanic lie from the lowest pits of hell, and Satan takes great pleasure in seeing you place your faith in yourself.
That's precisely what you're doing if you for one moment think you'll go to hell because of your sin.
You're trusting in missing hell by your own self-effort.
Your hard-headed stubborn rebellious attitude, which by the way is satanic to the core, will not allow you to accept the truth.
You'll not go to hell because you're a sinner, you'll go to hell because you're an unbeliever.
You've rejected the gospel of the grace of God.
You'll go there because you rejected God's gift that was bought and paid for by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Your sins were dealt with almost 2,000 years ago on Calvary's cross.
So, if you're a part of the church of the "do" that has you performing for your salvation, well you may have never had anyone be truthful enough with you to tell you the bad news, but here it is.
You have made the cross of Christ of none effect, 1 Corinthians 1:17.
You've gone about to establish your own righteousness and have not submitted yourself into the righteousness of God, Romans 10:3.
The religious church of the "do" has lied to you.
God tells you with great simplicity how to be saved.
You hear the gospel, you believe it, and God saves you by sealing you until the day of redemption.
Ephesians 1:13 and chapter 4, verse 30.
I'm continually amazed that this information is right here in the Bible, but there are those who continue to ignore it, looking past the truth and down the hallway of your own tradition and opinions.
By a study of the text, using some discernment, it is rather obvious that religion is not in operation today.
Anything you do religious for your salvation is a clear indication to God that what he said was a perfect sacrifice for your sin was just not perfect enough according to you.
Romans 4:5, not by works.
Romans 11:6 says grace and works are mutually exclusive.
Stop ignoring these passages.
I had a listener not too long ago call in and tell me that Jesus did his part, but now he must do his.
I said, well now, I'm intrigued.
You've pricked my interest.
Please make a list of your part, all the things that you must do to be saved, and send them to me.
And be sure to title it in big bold letters at the top of the page, here is why I'm going to hell.
Because whatever it is that you think you must do to complete the deal of your soul's salvation is actually what is going to escort you right into hell.
The religious church of the "do" will have you doing for the rest of your natural born life,
and you still won't know if you've done enough.
There will always be more sins to confess, another prayer to pray, more sins to turn from, more beads to pray with, another aisle to walk, and another altar to kneel at.
Always something left for you to do so that you can apply your fingerprints to your salvation.
You know, the bumper sticker shouldn't say turn or burn, it should say turn and burn.
We should not turn to be saved, we should turn because we already are.
I'm Trey Searcy, and now you know the truth.
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