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SALVATION - INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

There is NOTHING in this life that is more important for you to do than to decide where you will spend eternity.

 

If you have everything that this world can offer you - an easy life, family, friends, money, and pleasures - but you decide by default to spend eternity in Hell, then your life will have been a complete failure.

 

On the other hand, if you have practically nothing in this life of esteemed value, but you choose to seek God and to spend eternity with him in Heaven, then your life will have been an enormous success.

 

The difference isn't so much in what you have or don't have; it's in what you choose and don't choose. Jesus said, "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

 

List of Articles:

 

What does it mean to be "Born Again"?

 

Is Baptism part of Salvation?

 

Who is God? - Make it Simple (links to our Doctrine Article by this title)

 

A Personal Message from Our Family to You

 

 

BIBLE VERSIONS - INDEX

 

 

King James?                   New Bible Versions??

List of Articles:

 

FOUNDATIONAL ARTICLES

 

The Nature of War

 

What About the Septuagint?

 

Antioch and Alexandria

 

NIV Says to Reject Jesus

 

AN Excellent Reference for King James Bible Believers - By James L. Melton

 

NIV Quiz - by Rex L. Cobb

 

Bible Memorization Test - by Pastor James Knox

 

Personal Pronouns - Thee, Thou, Ye, Thy, Thine, etc

 

Believing God’s Word

 

Errors in the King James Bible

 

An Open Letter to Cheryl

 

DEFENDING GOD'S WORD ONLINE

 

How We Know the King James Bible is God's ONLY Word in English

 

LOST In the Confused Mind of A Pentecostal Bible College Student (A Series)

00 - LOST - Intro

01 - LOST - First Email Exchange

02 - LOST

03 - LOST

04 - LOST

05 - LOST - SUMMARY CHART

06 - LOST

Is The King James Bible Wrong About Easter at Acts 12:4?

 

Is Eugene Peterson's book "The Message" a true copy of God's Word, the Bible?

 

CONTRADICTIONS IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE

 

01 - I Sam 17:50; II Sam 21:19: WHO KILLED GOLIATH?

 

02 - Gen 1:27; Gen 2:7, 20-30: The Timing of Adam and Eve's Creation

 

03 - Judges 4:21; Judges 5:25-27: How Did Sisera Die?

 

04 - I Sam 31:4; II Sam 1:10; II Sam 21:12: WHO KILLED KING SAUL?

 

05 - Joshua 15:21-32: HOW MANY CITIES - 29 or 36 or 38?

 

06 - II Sam 24:9; I Chron 21:5-6: David Numbers How Many Men of War in Israel?

 

07 - Acts 20:35: Did Jesus Really Say This?

 

08 - Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; John 2:1-11: Was Jesus in the Wilderness or at the Wedding?

 

 

 

 

SOUND DOCTRINE - INDEX

 

 

In this series we intend to examine doctrines with the intent of establishing which are sound and which are false.

 

Sound doctrine unites believers in Christ, false doctrine divides people from Christ, and conflicting doctrine disrupts unity and fellowship in Christ.

 

Therefore, each of us ought to purge ourselves of false doctrine and earnestly seek sound doctrine.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(I Thess 5:21)

This is not a matter of personal opinion - nor one of one-upmanship; it is a matter of personal righteousness and of right-standing before God.  Ultimately, we must be willing to let God’s Word speak to us, and we must be willing to conform ourselves to that Word.

 

Question: How much false doctrine can one believe and still be saved? 

 

At the Berean Research Institute, we are not willing to be comfortable with any false doctrines - no matter how few they are, nor how little they may be, nor what cost we may face to rid ourselves of them.

 

For good reason, Jesus warns us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.  (Matt 16:6)

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (Matt 16:12)

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. (Gal 5:9)

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. (I Cor 5:7)

Therefore, as we examine various doctrines, we do so not to be confrontational or disagreeable with others, but to be obedient to these specific commandments of God and to be faithful to his scriptures, overall.

 

Let's Be Scriptural, In Determining Sound Doctrine.

 

 

List of Articles:

 

OK…. So, you’re a "CHRISTIAN"...

What’s Wrong With Being a “Christian”??

 

Who is God? - Make it Simple

OK…. So, you’re a "PENTECOSTAL" - Let’s Be Scriptural About:

Pentecost and the Modern Pentecostal Movement

Examining the Pentecostal Statement of Faith, “What We Believe”

 

Pentecostal Feminism

 

Why I left the Tongues Movement - Alfred H. Pohl (Opens in New Window)

 

“Slain in the Spirit”

 

“Speaking in Tongues”

 

My Pastor, the "Spiritual Hippie"

Fake Healers, Apostles & Prophets

Smith Wigglesworth - A Book Review - by Mike Wright

 

Benny Hinn - "Man of God"?? - Videos

 

Benny Hinn - Outrageous Claims

 

Benny Hinn - Politics with China

United Pentecostal Church International

Is Water Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

 

Is the UPCI Gospel True?

OK…. So, you’re a "BAPTIST" - Let’s Be Scriptural About:

The Eternal Security of the Believer

The Eternal Security of the Believer

 

Eternal Security

 

The “Carnal” Christian

The Local Church

The “Local” Church - A Review of Dr. Kirkland's Book

 

Bible Verses Refuting the "Local Church" doctrine (Opens in New Window)

Calvinism and Arminianism

Calvinism and Arminianism

 

The god of the Calvinist

 

Calvinism and Modern Bible Versions

 

OK…. So, you’re a "CATHOLIC" - Let’s Be Scriptural About:

Salvation for Catholics

Can a “Catholic” be a “Christian”?

 

A Warning to Catholic Christians !!

 

Catholic Booklet - “Be Careful of Protestant Teachings”:  a Review

Catholic Doctrines

The Virgin Mary

 

The Mass - Transubstantiation

 

Roman Catholic Responses - Refuted

The Judgment of Rome

The Judgment of Rome - The Mother of Harlots

 

OK…. So, you’re a "JEHOVAH'S WITNESS" - Let’s Be Scriptural About:

Questions For Jehovah's Witnesses

Questions For Jehovah's Witnesses - Intro

 

Question For Jehovah's Witnesses

 

 

 

ENDTIME PROPHECY - INDEX

 

 

In this series we intend to examine  eschatological (study of endtime) teachings with the intent of determining which are true and which are not.

 

Perhaps as much as one third of the bible is prophetic, and God said (in reference to those living in the last days), that the wise shall understand (Dan 12:10).

If we knock, the door shall be opened unto us. (Matt 7:7)

It is true that Endtime prophecy has been interpreted in many different ways and by many people, but this is not a matter of personal opinion - the scriptures are not of any private interpretation.

 

We must earnestly seek to understand God’s interpretation of prophetic scripture. Despite what others say, for some, this may become a matter of salvation - a misunderstanding of this subject may result in the loss of their soul.

 

At the Berean Research Institute, we believe that God does not waste his words and that he wrote in his Word precisely what he wanted to say to us, even in this matter of prophecy.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Rev 19:10)

It is equally important then, in this area of eschatology, that we study to shew ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (II Tim 2:15)

 

Therefore, as we examine various eschatological views, we do so not to be confrontational or disagreeable with others, but to be obedient and faithful to his Word.

 

 

List of Articles:

Bible Prophecy - Relevant Today:

Understanding the Book of Revelation

 

Where Are We Today in Bible Prophecy?

 

What Should We Expect Next?

Preterist/Historicist/Amillennial:

Our Letter to an Historicist

 

Refuting Preterism/Historicism - Conclusively - Page 1

 

Refuting Preterism/Historicism - Conclusively - Page 2

 

Refuting Amillennialism

 

Although we do not agree on some issues (in particular with his soteriology), we appreciate the work and research of Irvin Baxter of Endtime, Inc for assembling many of the pieces of our understanding of the Book of Revelation for us.

 

 

 

OTHER ISSUES - INDEX

 

 

In this series we intend to address several controversial subjects. As the men of Berea did, we want to receive the word with all readiness of mind and to search the scriptures daily, whether these things are so. (Acts 17:11)

 

For us, this is not a matter of personal opinion nor one of one-upmanship; it is a matter of personal righteousness and of right-standing before God.

 

Ultimately, we must be willing to let God’s Word speak to us, and we must be willing to conform ourselves to that Word.

We know that we have liberty in Christ Jesus.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor 3:17)

But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. (1 Cor 8:9)

So, (at the least) we must be careful in exercising our liberty.

Further, the bible teaches us that liberty in Christ Jesus makes us free FROM sin. It does not make us free TO sin.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Rom 6:1,2)

Moreover, we are commanded to:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (John 2:15)

So, our hearts shouldn’t even desire those things in the world from which we have been saved.

 

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. We who were dead in trespasses and sins he hath quickened.

Why then would we willingly go back into trespasses and sins?

 

Why would we wander away and become lost again?

(For those who believe in eternal security - please read the articles on OSAS, but in the meantime - why would we even ’behave’ as if we were lost again?)

The question then would be…...are the things we will discuss matters of sin, or are they legitimately matters of personal conscience?

 

Let’s find out.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (I Thess 5:21)

List of Articles

 

Issues Common to Most Fellowships:

“Church” Membership

 

"Brother" Bill and "Pastor"

 

Lisa's Thoughts on the Depravation of Literature

 

Social Drinking/Use of Alcohol

Holidays:

Christmas:

 

Questions About Christmas

 

Is Christmas Scriptural?

 

Every Green Trees to Worship False gods?

 

Explaining to Friends - What is ‘wrong’ with Christmas

 

Comparison Between the Lord Jesus Christ and Santa Claus

 

Easter:

Television and Movies:

Watching Television

 

Mel Gibson - Our “Christian” Hero?

 

Mel Gibson - Our "Christian" Hero - The Passion of the Christ - Summary

Creation vs Evolution:

Creation, Evolution and the Gap Theory

 

Evolution - Fact or Fiction by James L. Melton - (Excellent !)

 

Robert Howie - Geologist - A Book Review by Mike Wright

 

 

 

 

 

Questions For Jehovah's Witnesses - Questions

 

 

QUESTIONS:

 

1. The Watchtower Bible (The New World Translation) has many contradictions in it. One of the contradictions pertains to perhaps the most important of Watchtower doctrines - that is, the name of Jehovah. What name does Jehovah use in reference to himself? Here is the contradiction in the Watchtower bible:

a. In Gen 28:13, Jehovah revealed himself to Jacob saying, “I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.”

 

b. But in Ex 6:3, Jehovah said to Moses, “I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them.”

 

Questions:

1) These verses completely contradict each other in the New World Translation. Which one of them is true?

 

2) Is it possible that the translators of the NWT were overzealous in wanting to include the name “Jehovah” and so they inserted it in Genesis without realizing the contradiction they were creating by doing so?

 

3) Did the translators make a mistake?

 

4) Because it only takes one error to be imperfect, how can the Watchtower claim that the NWT is God’s pure and perfect word?

2. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about the memorial service in remembrance of Jesus’ death.

a. God’s word says in I Cor 11:26 that ”For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

 

b. The Watchtower today teaches that Jesus returned in 1914 and that he will not physically return at a second coming. (Live Forever pages 147-149)

 

Questions:

1) If Jesus returned in 1914 and will not physically return to earth again, then why does the Watchtower teach Witnesses to continue remembering the Lord’s death when Paul commanded us to remember it only until Jesus came back?

 

2) Does it make sense to continue having memorial services for someone who is already with us here and now?

 

3) How do we know from God’s word alone that Jesus returned in 1914?

3. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about the Lake of Fire.

a. God’s word says in Rev 20:10 that “the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

b. The Watchtower teaches that eternal hellfire does not exist (1995 Watchtower tract - Hellfire: Is It Part of Divine Justice?) and that any references to it are figurative (Reasoning: pgs 172-173 and Live Forever: pgs 85-89)

 

Questions:

1) How do we know from God’s word alone that hellfire does not exist and that it is only figurative?

 

2) Instead of making it figurative, if God had REALLY MEANT to say that the devil would be tormented day and night for ever and ever in the lake of fire, how SHOULD he have said that to us? What words SHOULD he have used instead of the words that are written in Rev 20:10?

 

3) Does forever mean forever, and does torment mean torment, and does “day and night” mean “day and night”?

a) If not, then how do we know that we can live “forever”?

 

b) How do we know when “forever” is figurative and when “forever” really means “forever”?

4) According to God’s word in Rev 20:10, where will the Devil be “tormented”, “day and night”, “for ever and ever”?

5) According to God’s word in Luke 16:24, was the rich man “tormented” in a “symbolic flame”? If so, how is that possible to be tormented in a symbolic flame?

 

6) It is difficult to understand why Jesus would have Abraham talking with a rich man who really didn’t exist. But if that is what the story is about, why should we care if a man who doesn’t exist is tormented in a flame that is only symbolic?

 

7) Are God’s words true - exactly as they are written - or are the Watchtower publications true?

4. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about the Holy Spirit.

a. God’s word says in Acts 13:2 that the Holy Spirit refers to himself as a person by use of personal pronouns (“I” and “me”). God’s word says in Acts 5:3.4 that the Holy Ghost is God. God’s word says in I John 5:7 that there are three that bear record in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

 

b. The Watchtower teaches that God was simply speaking through the Holy Ghost as a person would use television to convey a message. The Watchtower teaches that the Holy Ghost is “God’s Active Force”. (Reasoning with the Scriptures pages 381 and 407). The Watchtower teaches that the Father and the Son are separate persons but that the Holy Ghost is not a person.

 

Questions:

1) How do we know from God’s word alone that the Holy Spirit is not a person?

 

2) How do we know from God’s word alone that the Holy Spirit is “God’s Active Force”?

 

3) If the Holy Ghost is merely a force, like electricity, how can it be an independent witness as stated in I John 5:7?

 

4) Why would I John 5:7 make a list of witnesses that include the Father (who is a person), the Word (who is a person) and the Holy Ghost (a force like electricity)?

 

5) Doesn’t it make more sense that God’s word is making a list of three persons, all of whom are witnesses - The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost?

 

6) God’s word says in Acts 5:3,4 that Ananias lied to God, the Holy Ghost. If he actually lied to God, why would it say that he lied to the Holy Ghost unless the Holy Ghost was God?

 

7) If the Holy Ghost is only a force through which God acts, how could Ananias have lied to that force? Can a person lie to electricity? Can a person lie to gravity?

 

8) How do we know from God’s word alone, that the Holy Ghost is not the third person of the one Godhead called “God” who refers to himself with words that connote a composite unity? (From “us” and “our” in Genesis, through many passages depicting plurality of personhood, Godhead, three witnesses, etc.)?

 

9) Knowing that the Holy Ghost is the greatest teacher for us today (I Cor 2:13), would you say that it was the Holy Ghost who taught you that he is not a person, or was it man who taught you that?

5. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about the saints being caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thess 4:15-17).

a. God’s word says in this passage that when Jesus returns, we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 

b. The Watchtower teaches that only the 144,000 will be caught up to heaven to rule with Jesus from heaven.

 

Questions:

1) How do we know from God’s word alone that only the 144,000 (specifically) will go to heaven?

 

2) How do we know from God’s word alone that all of these 144,000 saints had been selected by 1934, and that - after 1934 - no more people would be allowed into heaven?

 

3) If the faithful saints were resurrected from the dead in 1914 at Jesus’ return and the remnant of the 144,000 will all be resurrected from the dead immediately upon their death, then who are the people in I Thess 4:17 “who are alive and remain” that shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air?

6. There are many verses, phrases and words missing in the Watchtower bible (the New World Translation), including:

Mark 9:44 A verse that describes hell as a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched

 

Mark 9:46 A verse that describes hell as a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched

 

Matt 18:11 A verse that tells us “the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” This is a very clear and important verse about Jesus’ purpose.

 

Acts 8:37 A verse that tells how the Ethiopian eunuch expressed his faith in Jesus to the extent that he became saved.

 

I John 5:7 A verse that proves the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are the three persons in heaven who are witnesses. The NWT does not include this verse but pretends to include it by splitting verse 8 and making it look like there is a verse 7.

 

Questions:

1) If the NWT is God’s word, then how do we know from God’s word alone any of the doctrines expressed in these and many, many other verses, when so many of the verses, phrases and key words have been removed from it?

 

2) If these verses never existed in the original manuscripts, then why have blank numbers been inserted in these places in the NWT as if a verse is supposed to be there?

3) If I John 5:7 had been left in the NWT, how would the Watchtower teaching about the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be affected?

 

4) Which bible is actually God’s complete, pure and perfect word - the Authorized King James Bible, or the NWT of the Jehovah’s witnesses?

7. On page 13 of the Watchtower study book, “What Does the Bible Really Teach?” it says that God’s personal name is Jehovah. (Ps 83:18)

Questions:

1) What is the Hebrew word in Ps 83:16 that the NWT translates as “Jehovah”?

 

2) What is the Hebrew word in Ps 83:18 that the NWT translates as “Jehovah”?

 

3) Why would the translators of the NWT translate these two different Hebrew words both as “Jehovah”(one in Ps 83:16 that means “LORD” and the other in Ps 83:18 that means “Jehovah”)?

 

4) Why is the name “Jehovah” inserted 237 times into the New Testament when there are no Greek manuscripts at all that have the name “Jehovah” in them?

 

5) Why are the Hebrew and Greek words meaning “LORD” and “Lord” inconsistently translated hundreds of times in the New World Translation - sometimes as “Jehovah” and sometimes simply as “Lord”?

 

6) God’s word calls Jesus the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” in Rev 19:16. Because names are so important, why does the NWT not accurately translate the name of Jesus (the Word of God) when it translates his name as the “King of kings and Lord of lords” instead of translating it as “Jehovah” like it does in other passages where LORD and Lord are translated as “Jehovah”?

 

7) Why is it that every time where these words appear in reference to Jesus (which would prove that Jesus is ‘Jehovah’ God) these same words are translated in the New World Translation simply as “Lord” instead of being translated as “Jehovah” like they are translated hundreds of other times when they are not referring to Jesus?

a) For one example, in Rev 22:5, why does the NWT translate “Lord God” as “Jehovah God” but in Rev 22:20 it translates “Lord Jesus” as “Lord Jesus”?

 

b) For another example, in James 1:1, why does the NWT translate “Lord” Jesus Christ as “Lord” Jesus Christ, but just a few verses later in James 1:7 it translates the same word “Lord” as “Jehovah” ?

 

c) One final example: In Phil 2:10 the bible says that God exalted Jesus so that, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So, why does the NWT say that Jesus is “Lord” here instead of saying that he is “Jehovah”?

8) Is it possible that the translators of the NWT did not want people to think that Jesus is God?

 

9) Who is “God” in Genesis 1:1? Is he “Jehovah”? Why doesn’t the NWT use the name “Jehovah” here?

 

10) Who is “God” in Phil 1:3? (And in hundreds of other verses). Is he “Jehovah”? Why is his name “Jehovah” not used here?

 

11) In Rev 22:6, why does the NWT translate the title “the Lord God” and re-arrange it as a name “Jehovah the God” when it didn’t do the same in the immediately preceding verse?

 

12) Why does Acts 4:12 say that Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved? If “Jehovah” is our only saviour (Is 43:11) then why doesn’t Acts 4:12 say that “Jehovah” is the only name by which we must be saved? Shouldn’t such an important doctrine - the one that determines our salvation - identify the only and most important name for salvation - Jehovah?

 

13) The NWT says in Acts 2:21 that “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” But as we just reviewed, Acts 4:12 tells us that there is no other name than “Jesus” whereby we must be saved. So, did the NWT translators make a mistake when they inserted “Jehovah” into Acts 2:21? Or is Jesus actually Jehovah God?

8. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. God’s Word says that Jesus was the creator of all things and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)

 

b. The Watchtower teaches that Jesus was created himself and is Michael, the archangel. (Reasoning with the Scriptures, pg 218)

 

Questions:

1) Did Jesus make himself?

 

2) If Jesus was actually made by God, then how is it that “without him was not any thing made that was made”?

3) How do we know from God’s word alone that Jesus is Michael the archangel?

 

4) How can Jesus be an angel when God’s word says in Heb 1:5, “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?”

 

5) Why would Jehovah say to Jesus in Heb 1:8, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:”

 

6) Is Jesus God?

 

7) Why did the Jews pick up stones to kill Jesus in John 8:58? Was it not because he claimed to be God by saying, “I am”?

 

8) In this same verse, why does the NWT have Jesus saying, “Before Abraham came into existence, I have been”, translating “ego eimi” as “I have been” when in all other places in John it correctly translates “ego eimi” as “I am”, which is the name of God (Ex 3:14)?

 

9) Why did the Jews pick up stones to kill Jesus in John 10:31-33? Was it not for blasphemy, for making himself God? (Verse 33)

9. There is a contradiction between what God’s word says and what the Watchtower teaches about whether Adam and Eve will be resurrected.

a. God’s word says that there are two resurrections - the first, a resurrection of the just unto eternal life, before the 1000 years (Rev 20:5); and the second, a resurrection of the unjust unto eternal death, after the 1000 years (Rev 20:13-14).

 

b. The Watchtower teaches that Adam and Eve will not be resurrected. (Salvation (1939) p. 43 - Rutherford; and in Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained p. 236)

 

Questions:

1) Were Adam and Eve just? If so, why does the Watchtower say they won’t be in the first resurrection?

 

2) Were they unjust? If so, why does the Watchtower say they won’t be in the second resurrection?

 

3) If Adam and Eve are dead, and Rev 20:13 says that death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them, then where have Adam and Eve been so that they could escape being delivered up for judgment?

 

4) Because we know it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment, - the just to eternal life and the unjust to eternal death - how do we know from God’s word alone that Adam and Eve will not be resurrected?