Monday 031025
Ephesians 2:8 ‘…For by GRACE you have been SAVED through FAITH; and this is not of yourselves, it is a GIFT of God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Let’s together, open the Word of God this morning, and study what we have been given. Allow me to help you in your study and search the Bible what God has intended for us to hear.
The verses we are going to study tonight:
Acts 9:15; 2 Peter 3:15-16; Galatians 1:15-16, :12; Acts 22:3, :25; Philippians 3:4-6; 2 Timothy 2:2.
Now in our previous study, I spoke of some things that others have said over time.
This is going to be about those things in this lesson.
My intention in doing this lesson is to give you the ammunition you are going to need when this type of garbage is put in front of you in the future. You will have the knowledge how to get around this wastefulness and find the truth in the Word of God.
So, as I was online, searching for material on the apostle Paul, I came across several sites that claimed Paul was a forgery and he was a fake and a false prophet.
Before we get to wound up and out of place, let’s look at what the Word tells us.
My number one (1) defense always:
Acts 9:15
‘…But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)
‘…But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
‘…The Lord said to him, go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel…’ GNT (Good News Translation)
‘…But the Lord said to Ananias, go now to Saul! I have chosen him to work for me. He will go to those who are not Jews and to their rulers. He will tell them about me. He will also tell the people of Israel about me…’ EASY (Easy English Translation)
Jesus, from inside the Holy Bible, tells us that ‘He chose Saul.’
In the ‘RED LETTER’ Bible, the words are printed in RED, the words came from Jesus’ mouth.
If Jesus chose Saul, how can there be ‘ANY’ man that can honestly defend anything that’s different?
Jesus’ choice has been written by Luke, that authored one of the synoptic gospels, Luke is writing that Jesus chose Saul.
The apostle Simon Peter, he is identified as knowing that the writings by Paul, though hard, are indeed, true.
2 Peter 3
AKJV
vs15 ‘…And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you…’
vs16 ‘…as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)
NASB
vs15 ‘…and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you…’
vs16 ‘…as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
GNT
vs15 ‘…Look on our Lord’s patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear friend Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him…’
vs16 ‘…This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So, they bring on their own destruction…’ GNT (Good News Translation)
EASY
vs15 ‘…Remember that our Lord wants to save people from their sins. That is why he is now waiting patiently for people to turn to him before he will return. Paul has also written to you about these things. He is our friend that we love like a brother. God helped him to understand these things…’
vs16 ‘…He wrote about them in all his letters. Some things that he has written are difficult for people to understand. Some people have weak minds, and they are not sure about what they believe. They explain Paul’s teaching in a way that deceives people. They also explain other things in the Bible wrongly. As a result, those people will destroy themselves and God will punish them…’ EASY (Easy English Translation)
So, these people that claim all of Paul’s writings should be removed from the bible, are they too claiming that Luke’s gospel, the Book of Acts, and all of Peter’s writings should also be removed from our Bible’s?
These individuals, instead of fitting the ‘word’ they want to keep in their lives, they need to start adjusting their lives to fit around the Word that God has given us.
Now in my studies of the Word, I have been searching, looking for an explanation why God chose Paul to be the apostle to teach the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel rather than use the remaining apostles He already had trained through His ministry.
I begin my questioning as always with Acts 9:15:
I’ve looked on google.com for a possible answer, and even though google came up with several answers, I still remain with the same question as to why.
From google:
Chosen before birth.
Galatians 1
vs15 ‘…But God had chosen me to serve him even before I was born. He chose me to be his servant because he is very kind…’
vs16 ‘…He decided to show his Son clearly to me, so that I could tell the Gentiles about him. When God chose me to do that, I did not talk about it with any person…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
This is the apostle Paul writing.
Taught directly by Jesus.
Galatians 1:12 ‘…It wasn’t given or taught to me by some mere human. My message came directly from Jesus Christ when he appeared to me…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)
Knowledge of Greek.
Paul was fluent in the Greek language and Greek culture and learned in Greek literature, which enabled him to relate to the Greeks (Gentiles) on their level. In some cases, he cited their poets to get his foot in the door as a prelude to revealing God to them.
Acts 22:3 ‘…I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today…’ NIV (New International Version)
Roman citizenship.
Acts 22:25 ‘…But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Jewish background.
Philippians 3
vs4 ‘…Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more…’
vs5 ‘…circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee…’
vs6 ‘…concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)
Ability to teach.
2 Timothy 2:2 ‘…The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful people who will be able to teach others also…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
We must ALL be aware of false teachers out there in this world today.
Teaching what ‘they’ believe in and what they want you to believe in also.
If the words from these teachers’ mouths cannot be backed up by what has been written in the Word, throw their misguided words away.
They are spring nothing but lies in front of you.
Lies that could affect your future.
And because we are running a little long, I will address why Jesus didn’t just keep the remaining eleven to teach the Gentiles.
Keep your Bible’s open and continue studying the words He has given to us.
Time around us stops as we are learning about Jesus and the events about to happen in our future.
So many people claim they don’t have time to sit down and read the Bible and I claim, time will cease to exist as you’re reading the Word of God.
I love ALL of y’all.
Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen
InHIM. ><)))o>