Born of the Spirit with life from above
Into God's fam'ly divine
Justified fully thru Calvary's love
O what a standing is mine
And the transaction so quickly was made
When as a sinner I came
Took of the offer of grace He did proffer
He saved me, O praise His dear name.
John W. Peterson
No credible person believes that the bible contains one solid stream of edicts and commandments for believers that has remained unchanged from Adam until today. It is obvious that God has inserted transitional times into his 6000 year dealings with his saints upon this earth. In my last post I documented the astounding change that took place in Israel when the Lord withdrew his glory from the temple as he had warned in Jeremiah 6 and fulfilled in Ezekiel 10. It is important enough for the Lord to keep track of the years involved and to write them in scripture, but too unimportant for most preachers to highlight in their teachings, writings and charts.
Fundamentalist theologians travel in flocks. They see themselves as distinct from their fellows, and in minutes senses they probably are. I am reminded of my dealings with street kids when I kept a regular street ministry. Each saw themselves as a unique person. Indeed they each were! What made them unique among people was their personalities, achievements, character and conduct. That is not how they sought to portray their uniqueness.
They wanted to be seen as unique in their tattoos, piercings, hair, and dress. If you cared to take the time, they certainly were a bunch of individuals who had carefully crafted minute differences in their choice of tattoos and the placement of their tattoos. Their clothes, piercing and hairstyles were designed to distinguish themselves as apart from their fellows. What they couldn't see was that there was not an individualist among them. They were just a big bunch of mixed up kids who sought to identify themselves with body piercings, tattoos, hair styles and clothing. In that regard their little signals of uniqueness meant almost nothing to someone who would study humans from a distance. A biologist might see differences in a flock of crows when they study each individual DNA signature, but the rest of us just see a flock of crows.
When a young man dressed in a shirt and tie accompanied me, they mocked him as a conformist. When I pointed out to them that he was the only one so garbed out of thirty or so young people, and that he was the only one not conforming they became silent. He was the true non-conformist. If they had bothered to look at any cross section of 100,000 young people their age, they would have seen that our young man was not only unique in character, personality, accomplishment and conduct. He dressed to let that be known.
Today's theologians want us to see them as distinct. They are about as distinct as our young street people. If you want to see a unique man, a believer in the absolute integrity of the King James Bible who has not sold Israel down river and who is unafraid to boldly proclaim what the bible says and to publish thereof, follow the ministry and writings of Dr. Timothy Luchon of the Hilltop Baptist Church in Hunker, Pennsylvania. I don't currently agree with everything that he writes but I have loved the fearlessness of his writing.
His church is filled with people who passed from death unto life through his preaching and ministrations. That is missing in almost all other ministries among men who strive to distinguish themselves in minute alterations to the same blah, blah, blah narratives. Show me a church filled with people in love with the word of God, the hymns of faith, and a people who exhibit changed lives and can lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting and I might concede that there is some power in what you teach. Until then, you are just one of the street kids straining to be seen as an individual by some tiny little alterations which are indistinguishable from afar.
That doesn't mean that I kowtow to Dr. Luchon's writings. It does mean that I keep an eye on his thoughts because I know he reads this and I have gained a deep respect for his opinion on things that I write and keep him in mind as I write. I applaud all men who show real fruit, fear to tamper with a King James Bible and who write clearly and plainly.
Another man with whom I have disagreements in certain conclusions but for whom I have gained such respect that I tiptoe carefully in my writings is Will Kinney of Brand Plucked Webs. His fruit is in the most complete and comprehensive collection of defenses and justifications of the King James bible with historical research to back it up. It is unparalleled on this earth.
I say all of this because I see a great need to believe the King James Bible just as it is written, and to fearlessly apply its doctrinal teaching exactly as they are written. The lack of churches with any real evidence of soul winning counted in converts striving to live for Jesus Christ at various stages of growth, and who acknowledge the current pastor of their church as having been instrumental in their conversion is such a profound lack that it should be a red flag for the fruitlessness of what they teach. Whereof by their fruits ye shall know them, Matthew 7:20.
I intend to use the phrase "born again" to illustrate the bankruptcy of some dispensational writings. I get a pretty constant stream of Facebook Messenger posts, emails, and other communications by various people seeking to make their brand of dispensationalism known. Some have good and valid points and I don't lightly dismiss anything sent to me. I will however take umbrage with those who claim that "born again" is not for the dispensation of grace committed to the Apostle Paul.
I will take some time in the next few days to demonstrate that it was impossible for people to be born again prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, that to be born again is a true and viable transition in God's dealing and dwelling with man, and that it still absolutely necessary to be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God regardless of who your apostle is. It will be exactly what a King James Bible says and in context.