You're listening to Truth Time Radio with Trey Searcy. Bible questions? Email us from
our website, TruthTimeRadio.com.
Welcome back to another edition of Truth Time Radio. Our goal is to simply bring you to
a place of sound reasoning, a place where you can pick up God's word and begin to enjoy
it, to remove the confusion that has come via all the denomination divisions.
On one corner, they'll tell you, God showed them something in a dream. On another corner,
they'll tell you, an angel appeared unto them saying this and that. And down the street,
they're telling their audience that God has a special message from them to you, enticing
words to fill the pews. Come here, go there, and receive a message that can't be found
in Scripture.
Listen, we do not need visions to get a message from God. We don't need a
visitation from an angel. We have all the messages we need in his written Word. Israel
needed angels. They didn't have his completed Word. Paul, our apostle, needed visions from
the Lord. That's how he received our gospel for today. But hey, it's finished. It's completed.
We have God's word written down in its entirety. A listener heard me mention the fact that
we have no such thing as the original text. You know, there's always someone who will
say, In the original Greek, or, In the original Hebrew. What they don't tell you is there's
no such thing. No such thing as the original on earth today. You can't find it. And you
can't find it because it's not here. We don't need the original. God didn't. Do your own
research and you'll find that all throughout the Bible, they depended on copies, not the
original.
Get a King James Bible and do a word search on the word copy, or copies, and
you'll quickly discover this truth for yourself. In Psalm 12 verses 6 and 7, God promises to
preserve his words. That's a promise from God. And preserve them he did. And his words
were preserved for how long? The passage says forever. God promised to preserve his words
forever, and I believe him. Did he promise to preserve the originals? No, the copies.
But anyway, a listener heard me say that there are no originals, and they asked, why not?
Why didn't God preserve the originals? My answer is this. If I had the original, let's
say Truth Time Radio had in our possession the only original. What could we do? If we
had bad intentions, what could we do with that original? We could alter it, right?
I mean if I had the only one, I could make alterations, and would you know? No one would know. But
let's say some of you listening today, if you had a copy, and you over there, you had
a copy, and they had a copy, and down the road they had a copy, and on and on it goes,
and I changed my copy, it wouldn't be hard to recognize who had the counterfeit. Me.
It could be easily proven by all who had a copy. I could then be held accountable. All
those with copies could compare theirs to mine and quickly discover who the liar is.
By not preserving the original makes it easier to preserve the original. God's ways are not
our ways.
We must remember that when reading Scripture, we're not just reading a record
of what God said in the past. No, God is actively speaking to us today in the here and now.
How does he do that? By the words, his words, that we find here in this outstanding book.
You and I can hear the voice of God speaking to us unmistakably and authoritatively when
we hear or study the Scriptures. You want to hear from God? Read his word. You want
to hear from God out loud? Read it out loud.
Many who find Truth Time Radio are surprised to find out that many things they were taught
are not even biblical. And surprised to learn how many things that are biblical but not
written to be followed today. And we come to that understanding by rightly dividing
the word of truth. We want to teach you how to separate the mama said, daddy said, preacher
said from what the Lord said. And more importantly, from what the Lord said to you to be applicable
for today. I want to encourage you to test Christianity. Put Christianity to the test
and make sure it's not twisty-anity. Twisty-anity is always looking at the flesh, how things
appear outwardly. Test things and prove them to be true or not.
Have you ever been to a
church and heard, Will all the first time visitors please stand? We promise not to embarrass
you. What? You just did. And don't be fooled. They're not asking you to stand for your sake.
It's for their sake. It's for numbers' sake. Religion glories in the flesh. It's about
putting rear ends in the pews. Truth has taken a back seat to roll call. What about this
one? Every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around. Well, the preacher just
told three lies right there. Three lies all at once. And what about, There's someone here
today that God wants me to tell..., and just fill in the blank. They'll come up with all sorts
of things they claim God told them to tell you. They might say, God wants you to know
that your car payment is on the way. Praise God, hallelujah.
Or your empty bank account
is getting ready to be filled and running over. Your healing is on the way. Or he told
me to tell you that you're getting ready to meet the love of your life. God didn't tell
them to call out, to single out any individual and tell him or her anything. Let me remind
you that God has already said everything he needed to say and preserved his words in a
book, Psalm chapter 12. We have them all, all of his words written down in a book. That
book many claim to love but spend very little time in. Meanwhile, they allow a preacher
to be a substitute for God and stand up and tell him, I've got a word from the Lord. And
they decide to rely on his words instead of God's words that were written down and preserved
to last throughout all generations forever.
So now the preacher, he, tells them things
he claims God is saying to them outside the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, how did
God get his word to the people? He spoke to who? The prophets. What did they do? Wrote
it down. So if these men and women today who claim to be getting special revelations from
God, if that be true, if they really are, then why are they not writing it down like
the prophets did? Why isn't it being added to Scripture? You see, 2 Timothy chapter 3
verses 16 and 17 makes it clear. God's written Word covers everything, everything we need
to know. It covers it all. Verse 16, All Scripture is given by what inspiration of God and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Verse 17,
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
We may be perfect
and throughly furnished by the TV preacher who has a word for us? Maybe he had a dream,
especially for his congregation, or especially for you on the other side of the TV camera.
Maybe an angel appeared at his bedside to tell you what your next step in life should
be. No, all Scripture was given by inspiration of God and has been written down, preserved,
and it's there for you for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, that you
may be perfectly and throughly furnished unto everything you need to do here on earth
for God. Throughly furnished, and no need to add to that, no need to add to throughly,
it's perfect. So if someone claims God gave them a word to tell you, run, run away from
them and to the Scriptures, away from their words and to God's words. That's what a preacher,
a teacher, a pastor is to be delivering to you in their sermons, Bible words, words they've
studied over, words that they have rightly divided.
They claim God gave them a message
to profit you, but we just read it. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.
There it is. The Scriptures are where you find your prophet. Your prophet is in the
Scriptures and not in a man on TV. And if he's sincere, he'll tell you that. If he's
doing his job correctly, he's not adding anything to God's word. He's a workman that studies,
he makes proper divisions in the word of truth and conveys that to you. He believes the Bible
is God's perfectly preserved word, and he wouldn't dare add anything to it. He doesn't
wait for a visitation from an angel. He doesn't need a dream or vision. He doesn't need a
sign or a wonder. He understands that it's only an evil and adulterous generation that
seek after a sign. We don't need one.
If God told the preacher something to tell you,
then the preacher should be writing it down and adding it to the Bible. That's where God's
word belongs. You see, their logic is nonsensical. It's nonsensical and unbiblical. It goes against
Colossians 1:25 too, by the way. That's where Paul said, I am made a minister according
to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God.
Did you catch that? To fulfill the word of God. What Paul was given from the Lord fulfilled
the word of God. The word fulfill is a verb and means to make full, to complete. Webster
says to bring to an end. Remind the preacher of that next time he tells you he has an extra
outside of scripture word for you and your life. It's not true. It's been fulfilled,
completed and brought to an end. It's in a book and preserved for you, so go read it.
If the preacher has a word from the Lord, how come that rascal Paul went and said he
brought God's word to an end? I dare he. Did he not know that God wasn't through speaking?
That he would speak through the likes of Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Paul and Jan Crouch? And
judging from our listener correspondence, even some of you attend a church where the
preacher claims he hears from God. He heard him in the bedroom, in his car, on an airplane.
He hears from God everywhere but in the Bible. And we have those who claim to have had visions
and angel visitations. Listen, we don't need visions to get truth from God. We don't need
an angel to receive a message from God. We have all the messages we need and they're
written here in this book called the Bible.
Some of you will remember when almost half
a million people flocked to Lakeland, Florida. It was back in, I think it was early 2000,
maybe 2008 or 2009, but they did so to hear a televangelist, Todd Bentley. It was there
that he claimed God told him to kick a woman in the face in order to heal her. He said,
There was this old lady worshiping right in front of the platform. The Holy Spirit spoke
to me. The gift of faith come on me. And the Holy Spirit said, Todd, kick her in the
face. You see what problems are brought on, don't you, when we go outside the parameter
of scripture to get our beliefs. When we allow someone to do this, who's to say if he's wrong
or right? You see, there's no certainty. There's no absolutes when you venture off into crazy
land.
However, when we stick to what God said in his word and we make sure to do as we're
instructed and rightly divide the word of truth, we no longer have this problem. We've
eliminated the guesswork. I recently had someone ask what I thought of Jimmy Swaggart and his
ministry. Well, Jimmy also claims that God speaks to him personally, outside of scripture.
The Bible's not enough for Jimmy. God's still telling us things and using Jimmy Swaggart
to do it. Hey, Jimmy, add this to my word. You know, because I forgot and left this part
out. He claims he first heard the Lord speak to him at age eight while standing in line
at a movie theater. He said that he, and I quote, Remember the incident vividly. The
Lord spoke to me and said, Don't go in there, but give me your heart. I want to save your
soul and set you apart as a chosen vessel used in my service.
And Jimmy said, I gave
my heart to the Lord. Jimmy to this day claims that if you'll give your heart to God, he'll
save you. Wrong. That's a false way of salvation. That's counterfeit. How many is going to be
in hell because of this? Salvation is not giving the Lord anything. It's not giving,
it's receiving. There's only one way to be saved, not two or three, but one. Salvation
is a gift, and you're saved by receiving that gift through faith and not giving him anything,
not giving him your heart. He also says you can say the sinner's prayer to be saved. Wrong
again. Jimmy disagrees with God's word, which clearly says, Ephesians 1:13. Go read it.
You're saved after you hear the gospel of your salvation and then believe it, plain
and simple. Do we believe God or Jimmy?
No giving your heart, no reciting a prayer. You
hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and you place your trust in Jesus
Christ and his finished cross work by believing it. Any other way, any other so-called way
of salvation is a counterfeit. You don't ask Jesus into your heart to be saved. You don't
give him your heart to be saved. You don't confess your sins to be saved. You don't ask
for forgiveness to be saved. You don't turn from your sins to be saved. You don't recite
a prayer, say a few Our Fathers and some Hail Marys. You, Ephesians 1:13, hear the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation. You believe the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. And it's at that moment God seals you. He baptizes you into the body of Christ
and seals you until the day of redemption, until he returns to get what he purchased.
Now what is the true message of the cross? The gospel of your salvation, the only gospel
that will save you today? That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself
and is no longer imputing any sins to anyone. He died for them all. He died for all your
sins. He was buried, and three days later he arose to give you eternal life in him.
That is what you have to hear and that is what you have to believe. That's the gospel
of your salvation. Don't believe the counterfeit. You see, Jimmy claims to preach the message
of the cross. As a matter of fact, I think that's the name of his program. And let me
add this. He's come a long way. I worked with his ministry indirectly, that is, indirectly
back in the 80s when I was working at a Christian television station at the time. Jimmy's ministry
had purchased airtime on the station. I did some voiceovers, a few commercials, and some
intros and outros for his program. And at that time he was preaching very little about
the cross. Matter of fact, most of his program consisted of entertainment.
So, in comparison
to that, yes, his program has come a long way. It has improved. But his claim, what
I'm refuting here today, is his claim is that he preaches the message of the cross. Well,
that claim falls short. It falls short of what actually took place at Calvary. He's
preaching partial cross work, but not the cross in its fullness. It's twisty-anity.
It's a counterfeit. You have some ministries that are far out, so far away from the truth.
And then you have some ministries who almost get it right. And which of those are false?
Which of those are a counterfeit? Both. If you're not preaching the cross in its completed
fullness, your message is counterfeit. Period. Doesn't matter if you missed by a mile or
missed by a yard. A miss is a miss, and it's a counterfeit. Satan didn't go way out there
when he tempted Eve, did he? No, he did not. He was pretty close to God's word. Matter
of fact, he only changed one word of what God actually said. And that one word is enough
to poison the truth.
If Jimmy preached the cross in his fullness, he would not tell you
that you can lose your salvation. That's not finished cross work preaching. Those who preach
that are preaching Jesus as a co-savior, co-savior with them, part Jesus, part them. That is
another gospel. You see, you can preach the cross, but if you add a work, you make the
preaching of the cross void. It has no effect. 1 Corinthians 1:17. If he preached the cross
in its fullness, he wouldn't tell you that salvation depends on a prayer, depends on
you giving the Lord your heart, or on you asking for forgiveness. That is another gospel.
Hey, forgiveness was completed at the cross, and it's why 2 Corinthians 5:19 says they're
not being imputed to anyone today.
You see, they're not preaching that. They're preaching
partial cross work. If he preached the cross in its fullness, neither would he tell you
that there is still a sin, the unforgivable or the unpardonable sin that you hear preachers
preach. Hey, if he preached the cross in its fullness, he'd know that Christ took care
of that one also. He didn't miss any sin, not even that one. The Lord's work was very
thorough. Perhaps Jimmy missed Colossians 2:13. Listen to the good news. Listen to how
perfect the blood of Christ was, and listen to the real message of the cross, the cross
in its fullness. Colossians 2:13, And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, have he quickened together with him, now don't miss it, listen, having
forgiven you all trespasses.
To the Jimmy Swaggard ministry and all other ministries
out there who preach partial cross work, the Bible says, on this side of the cross and
through the revelatory information that was given to our apostle Paul, we've been forgiven
all trespasses. All simply means all, even in the Greek.
Except the sin of blasphemy? Did it say that? No, it did not. You see, Jimmy has written
his own Bible. Now, maybe his Bible says that, but not mine. The sin of blasphemy would be
included in the Colossians 2:13, all trespasses, would it not? The word all is not hard to
understand, but you see, for some it's hard to believe. I mean, if Christ forgave me of
all my sins, then what's left for me to do? My pride and ego wants to do something. Just
give me a little credit, please.
In my Bible, a King James, large print, no commentary,
2 Corinthians 5:19 says, God was in Christ. What was he doing? Reconciling the world into
himself. And the result? He is not imputing anyone's trespasses into them.
Now maybe Jimmy's Bible adds the words, Except for the trespasses of blasphemy. I'm also
not sure if his Bible contains 1 Timothy 1:13, or maybe he just missed it, but it's there
that we read where Paul says, He was before a blasphemer. But then he goes on to say,
I obtained mercy. Now maybe one of you scholars out there can explain to me how that if by
the time Christ gave Paul his gospel, if there was still an unforgivable sin, as some would
have us that believe, then how come, just how come Paul received forgiveness? Huh? He blasphemed.
He was standing there. Hey, he even ordered the murder of Stephen in Acts chapter 7, and
the Bible says, Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost.
Paul was a blasphemer who received
mercy. He was forgiven, even though in your Bible, now this is what happens when you don't
rightly divide. In your Bible, at one time, the sin of blasphemy was an unforgivable,
unpardonable sin, just as Jimmy Swaggart and many others say today. But they're not rightly
dividing the word of truth. Things changed. And you have to go to the writings of Paul
on this side of the cross before you'll come to the knowledge of the truth.
You see, this thing about rightly dividing the word of truth that some don't want any
part of is the only answer to the supposed conundrum.
Back to Jimmy's story at the movie theater, he went on to say that he plunked down a quarter
for his movie ticket, but the ticket machine jammed, and the ticket wouldn't come out.
He then said, I heard the Lord again, got my quarter, and left. These fanciful tales
from a man who has written his own Bible. Sad. His ministry claims to be King James
Bible believers, but on his broadcast, when he comes to a word he don't like, in his King
James Bible, he'll say, Should have been translated. In other words, he's correcting God. Not the
translators, no. Remember, God promised to preserve his words in copies.
Make no mistake about it, there's a lot of people who call themselves, Reverend, that don't
believe God. Did you know that? And it's evident they don't believe him because they stole
his name. Psalm 111 verse 9. You ever read that?
There's actually people out there who wear God's name, as if it's theirs. The Bible says
he sent redemption unto his people, he hath commanded his covenant forever, and don't
miss this next part, holy and reverend is his name.
Now, just how is it, this has always baffled me, just how is it that the word reverend
is only found in Scripture one time, and in that one time it plainly says it is God's
name? Yet men, in their vanity, take God's name and use it for themselves. How can anyone
mess this up? It's only used one time.
Be careful not to fall for the counterfeit. These fellows can speak with high platitudes
and Biblical vocabulary, but that doesn't make them authentic. And make no mistake about
it, it's not just Jimmy. The list can get real lengthy real quick when we begin to look
at all the wrong doctrines preachers continue to spread even today. And listen, we're not
grading people on intentions. Most who teach these errors don't do it on purpose. But hell
is paved with good intentions. And it's why Paul in the book of Thessalonians tells us
to prove all things.
How many books do you know that you can go out today and purchase
that in the book, in that very book, it says we are to prove all things?
So the question is, I guess, why are so many wrong doctrines being taught? Well, there's
more than one answer, but the number one reason is not seeing, not recognizing the distinction
in God's word that he made between Old Covenant Israel, New Covenant Israel, and us, the church,
the body of Christ.
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