Eternal Security

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 The Encourager

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Should I be baptized again as an adult if I was baptized as a baby?

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"Take the Challenge"

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Fernando Medina

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10 Ways to Read the Bible

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Online Bible Text

Resources at the Gospel Hall for online Bible Text

Depending on your search for online Bible text, you may be looking for

• Online Bible Text Search in multiple versions.  You can read the text of the Bible in multiple Bible versions.
• Printed Texts for hanging on the wall.  We recommend www.textools.org
• Commentaries on the text for reference in Bible Study.
• Articles related to gospel themes found in New Testament Bible Study.

The Bible in various versions is available in the form of a full text Bible search. 

 Instructions for using the Full Text Bible Search in your Bible Study...

1. Select the following link -  gen 1:1-5" TARGET="_blank">gen 1:1-5&search=&ver1=kjv&ver2=bbe">Full Text Biible Search .

2. Type in a passage Bible reference such as John 3:1-5" TARGET="_blank">John 3:1-5 as pictured.

3. Choose the one or two Bible versions to search in the Bible text search form. 

4. Optionally, you may select the second Bible version to complete the full text search.  The second, optional parallel version, is not required to make a full-text search.

5. Click Search to launch the bible text query.

If you enter a text search for a word or phrase, the full text results of your  bible search will be different with each Bible version since the language in each Bible version is slightly different.

About the versions of the Bible

The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible text first published in 1611. The New Testament text was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) edition of the Greek texts, so called because most extant texts of the time were in agreement with it. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.

Modern English Bibles such as the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version decline to use the Textus Receptus, opting instead for what many modern scholars feel are more reliable critical editions.

The King James Version has had a profound effect on English literature. The works of famous authors such as John Milton, Herman Melville, John Dryden, and William Wordsworth are deeply inspired by it.

The Bible In Basic English (also known as BBE) is a translation of the Bible into Basic English. The BBE was translated by Professor S. H. Hooke using the standard 850 Basic English words. 100 words that were helpful to understand poetry were added along with 50 "Bible" words. The New Testament was released in 1941 and the Old Testament was released in 1949.

The American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible was first published in 1901. It has earned the reputation of being the Rock of Biblical Honesty. Although the English used in the ASV is somewhat archaic, it isn't nearly as hard to understand as some passages of the King James Version of nearly 3 centuries earlier. This translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain, since its copyright has expired. You are encouraged to download, copy, publish, and use this translation freely.

John Nelson Darby Version

First published in 1890 by John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher associated with the early years of the Plymouth Brethren. Darby also published translations of the Bible in French and German.

The English Standard Version (ESV) was Published in 2003 as a translation to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV.

The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation philosophy, emphasizing “dynamic equivalence” rather than the “essentially literal” meaning of the original. A “thought-for-thought” translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive opinions of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture.

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ASSEMBLY FELLOWSHIP

Would it be correct to say that there is only one Fellowship in Scripture, into which alt believers are brought upon accepting Christ as their Saviour? If this be so, how are we to understand the Fellowship of 1 John 2" TARGET="_blank">1 John 2? Again, does not the New Testament teach Assembly Fellowship, into which a believer can be received, and from which he can be put away? and are letters of commendation necessary? Further, does the local church in any district include all the Christians in that district? and should a professed believer who belongs to a sect, but who comes to our Lord’s Day Morning Meeting and expects to get breaking bread, be received, though he has no intention of severing his ecclesiastical association?

The statement that “There is only one fellowship in Scripture, into which all believers are brought on accepting Christ as their Saviour,” is absolute nonsense. The particular kind of fellowship implied in any passage where the word “Fellowship” occurs has to be gathered from the context there; and an examination of this will reveal that there are various “fellowships” spoken of in the New Testament. Moreover, it is to be remembered that the Greek word “Koinonia,” which is usually translated “fellowship,” in the N.T. is also rendered, “communion,” “communication,” “contribution,” and “distribution.”

The first occurrence of the word is in Acts 2:42," TARGET="_blank">Acts 2:42, where it is said that the new converts “continued steadfastly in the . . . fellowship.” Here we have a “fellowship” in which one may “continue” or not continue; and to apply it to the fellowship of life in Christ, in which all true believers cannot avoid continuing, is to make the statement in the verse meaningless.

It is next found in Romans 1:26" TARGET="_blank">Romans 1:26 (where in our English Version it is rendered “contribution”). Could it be said that every saint of the present dispensation, or even every saint then living, had fellowship in the gift which the saints of Macedonia and Achaia sent to those of Jerusalem?

The epistle to the Philippians supplies perhaps the most interesting examples of the various uses of the word “fellowship.” In Philippians 1:5" TARGET="_blank">Philippians 1:5 we read of their Fellowship in the Gospel. Are all saints in this? In Philippians 2:1 we have mention of Fellowship of the Spirit. If all have this, why does Paul say, “If there be any”? In Philippians 3:10" TARGET="_blank">Philippians 3:10 he speaks of the Fellowship of His Sufferings, which he himself desired to know. But could saints who never had the least experience of persecution for Christ’s sake, claim to be in that fellowship? Lastly in Philippians 4:15 (see R.V.) we get the

Fellowship of Giving.

As to the passage in 1 John 1:3-7," TARGET="_blank">1 John 1:3-7, in which we have the last four occurrences of the word “fellowship” in the Scriptures, the expression in verse 3, “that ye also may have fellowship with us,” implies a fellowship which they might or might not have, according to the extent of their knowledge of Christ and His Word; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, of which they might have more or less, according to whether they knew more or less of Christ and His Word. The further references in verses 6, 7, are clearly to a fellowship in which we can only claim to be, so long as we walk in the light. The man who says he is in it, while yet he is not walking in the light, is described as lying.

As to the next question—whether there is such a thing as “Assembly fellowship, into which a believer can be received, and from which he can be put away”—only a person of warped mind would deny this. When Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 5:13," TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:13, “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” and the Corinthians obeyed him, was the one who was so “put away” to continue in the circle and insist on breaking bread, as being a member of the so-called “local church?” And if, while yet in the position of having been “put away,” he goes to reside in another town, must the Assembly in that town also set him down at the Table, because since he now has his home there, he is a member of their “local church?” If these things are so, we may leave the first epistle to the Corinthians out of future editions of our Bibles.

With regard to the meaning of the word “church,” when used locally, I have to say what already I have said about that other word “fellowship.” What it includes or does not include in any particular case must be judged from the context there. In 1 Corinthians 10:32" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 10:32—it evidently takes in every saved person in the district, just as the other two terms in the verse, “Jews” and “Gentiles,” take in all the others in the district. But in the same epistle at 1 Corinthians 11:18" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 11:18 and 1 Corinthians 11:18, 28, 35," TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 11:18, 28, 35, it just as plainly means none but those who come to the Meeting; and this is made even clearer by 1 Corinthians 14:23," TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 14:23, in which, after the whole church has come together, there may still come in one who is spoken of as “unlearned,” yet who is distinguished (by the little word “or” that follows) from an “unbeliever.” In other words, he is a saved man, but not yet in the “local church,” in the sense in which the term “church” is used in this verse.
Moreover, not only can a person be put out of a local church when he deserves it, but according to 3 John io, he may be “cast out of the church” even when he does not deserve it. One might well ask, Who were still “in” this local church after Diotrephes had cast these brethren “out” of it? Or were the cast out brethren “out” and “in” at the same time?

As to “letters of commendation,” is it not clearly enough stated in 2 Corinthians 3:1" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 3:1 that some needed them, though Paul, being well-known to everyone, did not? How often would some require a thing to be stated in Scripture, in order to feel themselves bound to act accordingly?

With regard to the other matter—the case of a professed Christian who belongs to some sect, but comes to our meeting and expects to get breaking bread for one Lord’s Day only, and then returns to his own company—I would need a good deal of convincing that the one who wished so to act was an honest man. If he believes that we are right, why should he not come to stay with us? If he believes us to be wrong and his own sect right, why should he want to do wrong even for one Lord’s Day? And if he can do without “breaking bread” on fifty-one Sundays in the year, why should he be insistent on being allowed to do so on the remaining one?

W.R.

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What are the sacraments? Do I need to complete them to be a complete Christian?

The 7 sacraments are 7 ceremonial steps in the Catholic faith.  It is erroneously believed that sacraments can help a person to be saved or are the means by which someone “receives grace”, that is, the sacraments are the means by which someone receives salvation from sin.  In the Catholic system, salvation begins at baptism by which God makes the sinner righteous. Throughout his life, God helps the believer to maintain and increase this righteousness by his good works.  

The fundamental flaw in the thinking behind the sacraments is that they “help” in salvation.  The problem isn’t that Catholic traditions are harmful – water, bread, vows, classes, prayer – the problem is that Catholic preaching says that faith, plus some quantity of works, usually including the sacraments, will save a person. The discussion on the validity of the sacraments can stop right here.  No ritual or work will bring salvation.  Nor are sacraments the channel of salvation.

Faith and Works

The great debate between Catholics and Protestants since the days of the reformation centers on the role of good works. Is faith sufficient for salvation? or should it also be accompanied by personal good works - such as prayer, charity, baptism and obedience to the commandments?

Both Catholics and Protestants agree that true faith is always accompanied by good works. Protestants would generally teach that “the faith that hasn’t changed you has not saved you.” Catholics would say that “good works preserve and increase your personal righteousness for your final justification.”  Catholic teaching is quick to say “you really don't need to have all the Sacraments to gain salvation, but they will help lead you on the right path to salvation.”
Consider the following three phrases:

1. Good works are not necessary at all.
2. Good works are necessary to increase merit.
3. Good works always accompany true faith.

The Biblical teaching on works is #3.  Good works always accompany saving faith.  However, Catholic teaching agrees with statement #2.  Good works are necessary to increase one’s merit or righteousness.  Following the sacraments is the Catholic’s good works that he believes will help his case before God.

Good Works in the Bible

Here are some relevant verses from the Bible relating to good works and salvation.

1)    Faith alone in the Savior can save you.  Faith in him is not only necessary, it is sufficient.

John 3:36" TARGET="_blank">John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Romans 4:5" TARGET="_blank">Romans 4:5  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

John 1:11-13" TARGET="_blank">John 1:11-13  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  (12)  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  (13)  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 14:6" TARGET="_blank">John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2)    Works do not save.  There is one Work which saves, that is the work of Christ on the cross which “is finished” (John 19:30)." TARGET="_blank">John 19:30).

Ephesians 2:8-9" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 2:8-9  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  (9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Galatians 2:16" TARGET="_blank">Galatians 2:16  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
 
Galatians 3:11" TARGET="_blank">Galatians 3:11  Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."

Romans 3:28" TARGET="_blank">Romans 3:28  For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Titus 3:5" TARGET="_blank">Titus 3:5  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

3)    All work done by the believer is a result of salvation.  Works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation.

Ephesians 2:10" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Titus 3:5-8" TARGET="_blank">Titus 3:5-8  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,  (6)  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  (7)  so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  (8)  The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

The apostle Paul affirms that we are saved is "not by works of righteousness." Yet, he does not conclude that since we're not saved by works, we can ignore them. Just the opposite is true.  Paul tells the believers "to be careful to devote themselves to good works."

The Sacraments in detail

1.    Baptism is the initiation of a person into the Catholic Community.  Infants in Catholic families are often baptized, but one may be baptized later in life as an imitation to the Catholic faith

No instance of infant baptism is found in the Bible making this practice particularly misleading.  Secondly, baptism doesn’t save from sins at any age.   It creates false hope for salvation for the parents and the children alike believing that the act of baptism saves the person from their sins.  

Baptism as taught in the Bible is a practice for people who are already believers – that is, they are already saved.  It is a step of public confession that all believers should take to say “through Christ, I am dead to this world now.  I became Christ’s the moment I received him.” For a full explanation on baptism read the online book Baptism – What says the scripture?

2. Confirmation is the step of being fully initiated into the Catholic Church.  Usually sometime in adolescence the young person confirms his faith by studying church doctrine and making a confession of affirmation of the truth being taught.

If confirming one’s faith means to examine the foundation on which the faith rests, then one should look to the scriptures to see what they say about salvation.  Confirming something such as one’s faith can only be done if there already exists a saving faith in Christ.  If you can recall a time when you received what Christ died for sinful people and you remember that you trusted in Him for your salvation, then the following scriptures will indeed confirm your faith in him.  A believer will find rest and comfort in these verses, knowing that they speak of a secure salvation.

Romans 5:6-8" TARGET="_blank">Romans 5:6-8  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--  (8)  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 15:1-4  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,  (2)  and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.  (3)  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  (4)  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

2.    Communion is the taking of the Eucharist – the cup and the wafer.  The Catholic Church assigns saving power to participating in this ceremony saying that the Eucharist is the way that one receives Christ based on verses in John 6." TARGET="_blank">John 6.  

“So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  (54)  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:53-54)." TARGET="_blank">John 6:53-54).

The Lord gave the commandment to break bread and drink the cup as a symbol of his death near the end of each of the gospels just before his death on the cross.  The words in John 6" TARGET="_blank">John 6 do not refer to the practice of remembering Christ through the symbols of the Lord’s Supper for the following reasons:

1)    The word “drinking his blood and eating his flesh” refer to receiving Christ whole heartedly, without hesitation or reserve as to his person and work.  
2)    There is no saving merit in eating bread or drinking wine. If Jesus was referring to communion, then the passage would teach that anyone partaking of communion would receive eternal life.
3)    The teaching of the communion had not been instituted yet when Christ was speaking.

4. Reconciliation is the act of confessing one’s sins fully, in kind and in number.  Following confession the participant may do penance and make amends for his sin.  Forgiveness is then granted.  

There are a number of Biblical difficulties in obtaining salvation through this practice.  First, there is no such thing as a priestly mediator on earth between God and men except for the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)." TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 2:5).  Secondly, confessing sins is a practice for those who are already saved (1 John 1:7-9)," TARGET="_blank">1 John 1:7-9), not to obtain salvation.  Third, acts of penance do not atone for one’s sins.  Only the work of Christ brings atonement.

5. Marriage, of course, is the act of saying vows to one another before God.  According to the Bible, marriage is honorable, but nowhere does the Bible indicate that marriage brings us special grace or salvation.  Marriage “in the church” is no more valid that a ceremony performed in a hotel, a park or a courthouse.

6. Holy Orders is the process of taking the vow of becoming a priest or teacher.  The idea of creating a special class of priests is a doctrinal error since the scriptures teach that all believers are priests and have access to God.  Although studying or dedicating one’s life to teaching the scriptures is a noble aspiration, it is not the way to obtain grace from God.

7. Anointing of the Sick, Extreme Unction, is part of the “last rights” for a sick or dying person.  The sacrament is administered by a priest, who uses olive oil or another pure plant oil to bless (anoint) the patient on forehead and hands while reciting certain prayers. The anointing is believed to forgive the patient's sins and strengthen his or her soul to face the spiritual and physical challenges of the condition.  

This last act of forgiveness granted by the priest supposedly ensures that the dying person will enter heaven.  As mentioned before, salvation comes to an individual when he/she places his faith in Christ’s work on the cross. The Bible recommends that a person trust Christ without any delay (2 Corinthians 6:2)." TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 6:2).  Additionally, no priest or any person, apart from Christ, can grant forgiveness (Mark 2:9-11)." TARGET="_blank">Mark 2:9-11).

Conclusion

The seven sacraments are a series of good works that are believed to help in one’s salvation.  The Bible clearly states that good works do not save, nor do they add to one’s salvation.  Salvation is granted to the sinner the moment he recognizes his sinful, helpless state and rests his hopes on what Christ did for him at the cross.  Sacraments may be good activities, but they provide false security to those who do them.

Shad Sluiter

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In Exodus 4:10," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 4:10, Moses complained of “slowness of speech” but Stephen in Acts 7" TARGET="_blank">Acts 7:. says he was “mighty in words and in deeds.” Is there not a contradiction here?

Someone has said that Moses took forty years in Egypt learning all the wisdom of the Egyptians, then forty years in Midian learning that he knew nothing after all, and then forty years in the wilderness in learning what God could do with a man who had learned he knew nothing. There is no contradiction here, or anywhere else in the Scriptures. We read first what Stephen says of Moses, that he was “mighty in words and deeds,” that is, during his Egyptian period; then what Moses says of himself. Perhaps there are good speakers to-day who are genuinely diffident, and are quite unaware they are eloquent. It does not matter, if they think so, as long as they are all the more cast upon God and fulfil their ministry. Possibly the reverse is true of some of us. We think we can speak and would do well to be more often silent. In fact, the word is addressed to all “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

W.H.

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