Welcome to Truth Time, where you'll get a shot of the truth with no chaser.
And now your Truth Time host, Trey Searcy.
Well, let's look at Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9.
Most people are familiar with these verses.
You hear these verses a lot.
But let's make sure to see just what they're saying to us.
You know, it says here, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
I think our eyes and ears are automatically drawn to the By grace are ye saved through faith.
Which is important, but don't miss the next part.
Not of yourselves.
Not of yourselves.
The not of yourselves defines the previous by grace.
So, salvation cannot be of yourself.
Interesting, huh?
I mean, the next time the guy comes on the television and says, you've got to do something.
Next time the TV preacher looks into the camera and says, you've got to turn from your sin to be saved.
Grab your remote.
Pause the DVR for a moment and get your Bible.
Open to Paul's book to the Ephesians.
Turn to chapter 2 and read verse 8.
For by grace are ye saved through faith.
Faith is invisible.
Faith has nothing to do with a physical action.
And read on.
And that not of yourselves.
So there you are.
You're looking at the Bible, looking back at the TV, looking back down at your Bible, looking back up at the TV.
They both can't be right.
Either the preacher's right and the Bible's wrong, or the Bible's right and the preacher's wrong.
If you've got to turn from sin to be saved, that's of yourself.
And you just read, By grace through faith you're saved, not of yourself.
And then when he proceeds to tell you that you need to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness in order for God to forgive your sins, look back at the verse again.
For by grace are ye saved through faith.
Not asking for forgiveness, through faith.
And that not of yourselves.
Opening your mouth, confessing your sins, and asking God to forgive you is of yourself.
That is yourself doing the confessing.
That is yourself doing the asking.
But salvation is not of yourselves.
And if you keep reading, the verse says, It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
If you had to work for your salvation by remembering your sins, confessing them, and asking God to forgive you, if you had to work for your salvation by turning away from sin, then you would have something to boast about.
But remember, it's not of yourself.
For by grace are ye saved through faith.
Faith is what you believe.
It's your belief, your faith, you standing with God, believing that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ was enough and God is satisfied with that.
And 2 Corinthians 5:21, It was Christ that was made to be sin for you.
The Bible becomes clear if we simply rightly divide the word of truth.
Rightly divide the gospel of your salvation.
You see, God's truth will always uncover Satan's lies.
Always.
And listen, this will greatly help you in understanding Scripture.
There are three distinctive groups of people in your Bible, and three distinct destinations for those three groups.
There is Israel, and they get the earthly kingdom.
2 Samuel chapter 7, beginning at verse 12.
And there are unsaved Gentiles, and they get the judgment.
Matthew 25:41 and Revelation chapter 20, beginning at verse 13.
But once a Gentile is saved, God no longer sees you as a Gentile.
We then become the church, the body of Christ.
Our destination, heaven.
Philippians 3:20 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Israel required 1 Corinthians 1:23, signs and miracles.
The Gentiles, 1 Corinthians 1:22, seek after wisdom.
But we who are saved and members of the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:23, we preach Christ and him crucified.
We need not signs and miracles, we preach Christ and him crucified.
Unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto us who are called both Jews and Greeks in the body of Christ, we preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
We rightly divide the gospel of our salvation.
Israel's hope, Matthew 6 verse 10, is the kingdom to come.
The Gentiles, Ephesians 2:12, have no hope.
And we, the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:4 and Titus 2:13, we, praise God, have the blessed hope.
Israel stumbled concerning the crucifixion of Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:23, and to the Gentiles the preaching of Christ being crucified was nothing more than foolishness.
However, if you'll just read the next verse, you'll find that to us, the body of Christ, the preaching of Christ being crucified, is the power and the wisdom of God.
Think about it, Israel needed baptism by water.
And not for a show, they needed it to be saved.
John 1:31-33, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, and 1 Peter 3:21.
Gentiles' baptism, Matthew 3:11 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8, is not so pleasant.
Instead of a dip in some cool, refreshing water, it's the scorching hot baptism with fire.
Israel's baptism with water, you could see.
The Gentiles' baptism with fire, you can also see.
But ours, the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:13, is invisible.
The twelve were sent to Israelites only, while Christ instructed Paul to go to the Gentiles and the unbelieving Israelites.
Acts 9, together the twain, the two are made one, an unbelieving circumcised Jew and an unbelieving uncircumcised Gentile.
These two groups are who Paul was commissioned to preach his gospel to.
And when someone from either of these two groups trusted Christ by believing Paul's gospel, they were spiritually baptized into the body of Christ.
The two became one, and are now who constitute the Ephesians 2:15, one new man.
Oh, that's good music right there.
I didn't want to interrupt that.
Hey, it could be a sin to interrupt Santana.
Okay, we're looking here at another question sent to us.
What is saving faith?
What is saving faith?
Well, saving faith is placing your confidence in the finished cross-work of Christ.
Saving faith is simply standing with God in agreement that what his Son did on your behalf was all that was needed for your never-dying soul to be saved.
That's saving faith.
You know, it's sad, but a lot of what you get in church today is what I call empty fluff.
Fluff.
It's the empty fluff distraction.
And some preachers are pros when it comes to executing the empty fluff distraction.
And what I mean by this is, you sit there listening to someone tell you a fluffy little story, they add a little comedy, and it ultimately gets your mind off of, and takes away from, the real issues, things that really need to be addressed and focused on today.
And God forbid you think for yourself and maybe question the powers that be.
Too much of that, and pretty soon you'll be targeted and labeled as a thought criminal, someone who thinks for themselves, and refuses to drink the Kool-Aid.
Listen, just use your logic.
God gave you logic.
When using your God-given logic, be mindful of the law of non-contradiction.
The law of non-contradiction basically says that two opposites can't both be correct at the same time.
Something cannot be both true and not true at the same time when dealing with the same subject.
And so is the case with the subject of salvation.
We all know the Scripture when the man came to Jesus and asked Him how to be saved.
It happened on the other side of the cross.
It was before the cross, and the answer Christ gave him involved works.
It involved human effort.
His answer was to keep the commandments because it was before the cross.
It was before Christ made the sin payment for all humanity.
But now, on this side of the cross, oh it's beautiful, on this side of the cross, the same question has a different answer.
Now that's not hard to understand.
Now, it's not by works of righteousness which we have done, Titus 3:5, but according to his mercy, he saved us.
While Matthew 19:17 says to be saved you've got to keep the commandments, and Titus 3:5 says the opposite, both these statements are true and can be harmonized by utilizing what Paul instructs us to do in 2 Timothy 2:15.
The simple solution is to rightly divide the gospels.
That's two different gospels.
We rightly divide them and find where we fit.
We find which one was written to us, the body of Christ church.
Paul said to rightly divide the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when we simply do that, the fog disappears.
Religion, along with all its doctors and theologians, well it only serves to distort the Bible, making simple issues seem complex.
And I think the reason some do this is to, well, gain control over their followers.
Think about what your apostle Paul wrote to you concerning this same issue, 2 Corinthians 11:3.
He said, I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The simplicity.
People talk about easy believism.
Yes it is.
It is easy.
Or I should say it should be easy, but it's really hard.
It's difficult because you let pride stand in the way.
You let pride stand in the way of you trusting Christ alone.
It's pride that will make you insert self in the salvation equation.
Now, this stuff is not hard.
It's simple.
Get your Bible down and compare Matthew chapter 19 verses 16 and 17 with Galatians chapter 5 verse 4.
In Matthew 19 we have the man ask Christ what good things shall I do that I might have eternal life.
And in verse 17 Jesus gives him a clear, easy to understand answer when he says keep the commandments.
He does not mention anything about having faith in his finished cross work.
His cross work wasn't finished.
Matter of fact, it hadn't started yet.
He told the man if you want eternal life, keep the commandments.
Now, unless you do as God commands you to do in 2 Timothy 2:15 and rightly divide the gospels,
when you then turn over to Galatians chapter 5 verse 4, you've got a very large problem.
Here, Paul said, and listen closely, Christ has become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.
Now wait a minute, Christ just told the man he could be justified by keeping the law.
You see, without rightly dividing the word of truth, the Bible sounds crazy.
On one hand a man asks Christ how to be saved and Christ says keep the law.
And on the other hand you've got Paul saying that anyone that attempts to be justified by the law has fallen from grace.
Paul, did you mess up there?
No, Christ told me what to say.
So, what you really have here is Christ saying one thing before the cross, coming back to Paul and saying another after the cross.
So which is the truth?
Both.
Both are truth, but only one is true for today.
And that's what Paul means when he says to rightly divide the word of truth.
And by doing this is what allows the Bible to make sense.
So I ask you, are you saved?
Which one are you trusting in?
Are you trusting in self and keeping the commandments?
Are you trusting in self and turning from your sins?
Are you trusting in self and confessing and asking for forgiveness?
If so, you're religious, but you're not saved.
You'd be wise to listen to the good news of what Christ did on your behalf at Calvary.
No one today can be saved by doing what Christ told this man back here prior to the cross.
What was good enough to save then is not good enough to save today.
For those who have just joined us, you're listening to Truth Time Radio.
I'm Trey Searcy, mic-side on a beautiful day as we celebrate God's wondrous grace.
Hey, listen, I'm here to present a formidable presentation of Paul's gospel.
And we're careful, we're very careful not to be verbose while doing so.
Not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
That demonstration of Spirit and of power is in God's words.
Not the speech of them which are puffed up, but by using great plainness of speech, sound speech that cannot be condemned.
God's given us through the word of truth rightly divided everything needed to convince the gainsayers.
This information contained in Paul's revelation of the mystery is strong and deserves serious attention.
You know, I'm often reminded of a movie called The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
It's about a doctor who had, well, he won a bet with the devil.
After doing so, he possessed a unique ability to guide the imagination of others.
Hey, listen, you better be careful.
They're out there.
There's a Dr. Parnassus on every corner.
And Satan is beating him like a drum, using him to hide things, things that are hidden to most, but need to be brought to light.
They're hidden in plain sight.
Truth exposes.
Truth sheds light on lies.
Sometimes those who are seen to be in the upper echelon, having a place of authority, are the very ones who will abuse their power.
They're the spider that controls the web, so to speak.
We need to take a fastidious look at the details surrounding the subject.
As Paul said, let's prove all things and hold fast to that which is true.
And it sometimes gets messy.
Hey, discovering the truth, well, it often leads to you having to break rank.
But oh well, seeing the distinctions in your Bible and the grace gospel that was revealed to Paul
will help to cure spiritual cataracts.
You've got many out there today that make the claim that the body of Christ's church began in Acts chapter 2.
It's extremely disingenuous to make such a claim when you don't do what those in Acts chapter 2 did.
Logic would dictate that if the church started in Acts chapter 2, then you would be doing what those in Acts chapter 2 did.
Well, does these words sound familiar?
And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, Acts 2:43.
This church that you claim to be your church had members that were in fear, not some part or most, but all its members were in fear.
Is that your church?
Do you and the rest of the members of your church have all things in common?
Have you and the rest of the members of your church sold all your possessions?
Or do you own a few things?
If you haven't sold all your possessions, are you in fear of the Holy Ghost taking you out?
No time for games, let's get real.
So, fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, next verse.
And all, how many?
All, everybody.
Well, last time I checked, that's what all meant.
All that believed were together and had all things in common.
And what did they do?
Sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.
You who claim this is where the church as we know it today was birthed, you that believe it started in Acts chapter 2, question, why aren't you practicing your church doctrine?
Why don't you practice what you preach?
You know, when you go to a church website, they'll often have a link that describes what they believe.
So it came to me the other day, why is it that these who say the church today as we know it got its start in Acts chapter 2, why is it, just why is it that when you go to their website, on their statement of belief, they don't list, sell all your possessions and goods?
Why not?
Why do you list Acts 2:38, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, but not list, sell all you have, which is only six verses later?
Saying this is your church doctrine but ignoring it is immensely hypocritical on your part.
Through years of conditioning, you've come to accept substandard teaching.
You're operating under a faulty methodology.
And for those who make excuses and attempt to explain it away, you know who you are, the ones that refuse to let the Bible stand on its own, the ones who refuse to believe the black letters on the white page, and they constantly add or take away.
They say things like, well, what this really means is..., hey Sherlock, this means just what it says.
In fact, selling everything was nothing new.
The man came to Jesus in Matthew 19 and said, what must I do to have eternal life?
And part of Christ's answer was to Sell all you have.
He said, Keep the commandments and sell all you have.
And here we are, clear over in Acts chapter 2, and the same thing, the same theme continues.
And that's not all.
Flip over one chapter, chapter 3, for those of you who make up stories, I've heard them say, well, the reason that Christ said that to the man in Matthew 19 is because he was testing him.
He just wanted to see if that man would give up his wealth.
Exactly!
That's precisely what he was doing.
Why?
Because that was a requirement before entering into Israel's earthly kingdom.
You had to forsake your home, forsake your land, give up all your money, as in Matthew 19.
The verses we just read in Acts 2, and listen to this, Acts 3 verse 6.
Peter here speaking says, Silver and gold have I none.
Well, that don't really mean that.
It means some.
No.
It means what it says.
None.
N-O-N-E. Peter didn't have any money regardless of what your pastor tells you.
Just believe the Bible.
And that's not all.
Let's try again.
Flip two more chapters to chapter 5.
I mean, folks, this isn't hard.
This is Bible study 101.
The kind of Bible study you've been missing.
You're over there where these simple truths are going unnoticed.
They're getting hid by all the church programs.
They're being hid by all the fluffy storytelling sermonettes.
Hidden by all the so-called worship services where you lift your hands and praise the light bulbs.
You've got a bus service and a plethora of youth outreach programs, but you haven't even been taught basic truth yet.
Well, it's never too late.
Acts chapter 5 starting with verse 1.
Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the cash.
What did they do wrong?
They only brought part, part, part of the money and turned it in to the apostles.
Peter looked at Ananias and said, Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost.
He was deader than 4 a.m.
But you claim the words don't really mean what they say.
And look at verse 5.
And great fear came on all of them that heard these things.
Great what?
Great fear.
The same fear we read clear back in Acts chapter 2 verse 43.
And in verse 11 we see the word "fear"again.
It says here, Great fear came upon all the church and upon as many as heard these things.
Verse 12, And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.
Listen, part of the signs that this Jewish, oh yeah, and by the way it was an all Jewish church, not a Gentile in sight.
But part of the signs that they were witnessing were people dropping dead from having money on their person.
Not Peter, silver and gold have I none.
Members of this church wouldn't be caught dead with money in their pocket.
Well, actually they would be caught dead with money in their pocket.
Anyway, this is Truth Time Radio.
Check out the website TruthTimeRadio.com
I'm Trey Searcy and now you know the truth.
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