Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth


What does it mean to rightly divide the Word of Truth?

Taking scriptures out of Paul's letters and, miss applying them, has been the cause of many new and false salvation messages. Paul was NOT writing a bible - he was just sending letters to churches that he established.

So, you are quoting scriptures like most people like to do but, there are a few things you need to know about scriptures before you can understand their true meaning.

1. Who is doing the writing.
2. Who is the letter intended.
3. What does the person believe that is writing the letter.
4. What do the people believe that are receiving the letter.

If you know this information you will quickly learn that if you DO NOT believe the way all these people believed, then the letter does not apply to you. Pulling scriptures out of letters that are not meant for you is a remedy for disaster and confusion. Apostle Paul is sending his letters to the churches that he had established, all based on the foundation of baptism into Jesus' name. This is the most important factor you need to know when reading Paul's letters to the churches. IF YOU ARE NOT BAPTIZED INTO JESUS' NAME THEN PAUL IS NOT TALKING TO YOU. THIS IS AN UNDISPUTABLE FACT OF TRUTH! These are letters to people in his churches that have been saved according to Paul's teachings on salvation - it's the same massage that all the disciples taught.

In the book of Timothy Apostle Paul is writing a letter to Timothy knowing that he has had disputers and disrupters challenging him in the word. Paul makes this comment to him in:
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - This was a message sent to Timothy, even though it is good advise for all of us to follow.

16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. - I think we have all experienced babblers in our day. People that talk without substance or without understanding.
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; -- Paul identifies the culprits that are troubling Timothy.
18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Timothy should have been able to correct Hymenaeus and Philetus if he was more knowledgeable in the truth as Paul was saying to him. The two men new that the saints from the old testament rose with Jesus at his resurrection and they were telling everyone that the resurrection has already happened. Timothy was unable to correct these men, but he should have been able to correct their error by explaining the facts about the second resurrection for those in Christ.

Paul was also warning Timothy not to get caught up in vain communications, especially regarding salvation. Paul was encouraging him to be aware of people that challenge the truth of God and pervert His word to the detriment of the believer's in Christ. We are not required to argue with people that have erred AND will not accept correction - just asked them to be on their way. This reminds me of when Apollos was preaching in Ephesus and Aquila and Priscilla heard him preach in error regarding baptism. They took him aside and showed him a more perfect way and Apollos gladly accepted the new truth. He did not argue with them or challenge them in any way - unlike the challenges I have had to deal with constantly when I try to correct people by showing them a more perfect way. Apollos was still preaching baptism of repentance as John preached but since the resurrection a more perfect way came into effect and that is baptism into Jesus' name. God sent Aquila and Priscilla to correct his error and later Apollos became a great helper to Paul. Apollos had a great zeal for God but just the wrong message so, correcting people is a noble cause.

Correcting people is also our responsibility, for many have been led astray by false and lying preachers which are not being led by the Holy Ghost. If you are not being led by the Holy Ghost, then by what spirit is guiding you? The Holy Ghost does not lie yet, if you are teaching in error and your heart is right, God will send someone your way to set your path straight. If you reject the correction then you also will be rejected of Him and, become a cast away into outer darkness. Jesus stated, you must become like a child to enter his kingdom - have a child's attitude and disposition, joyfully accepting the truth that has come to you with excitement.

You must have the right attitute to be saved. You must be willing to learn more and put a great value on his word. When you are given truth and you value that truth then you will be given more truth. Some people are not great studiers and that is okay, for there is a place for everyone to be saved. Salvation is not complicated, Jesus would not make it too complicated or too hard for us to understand, the process is quite very simple such as in Acts 2:38. The people asked the right question to Peter and he gave them a simple yet truthful answer for salvation. So simple that 3000 people were saved that day alone and more every day since. So, who changed the clear and simple message of salvation that Peter taught to 5000 people one day, into a lie? Are you preaching a lie? Are you certain? You better be certain, for if you are teaching a lie then hell is your destiny, for all liars goes to hell. I am not talking about white lies here, I am talking about people that are spreading lies about salvation, that's what it means when it talks about liars.

Satan is the great deceiver, he has been twisting the scriptures for centuries and that is why we have so many denominations today when there should be only one. Satan has accomplished this by influencing or even possessing people solely to disrupt the truth, such as what Paul was talking to Timothy about when he said in verse 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: If you are not grounded in the truth in your salvation journey with a solid foundation, then everything you build on it will fail. That foundation is Christ. You must start your journey with Christ as your foundation and this means the very first thing you need to do is to have Christ in you and this comes by way of Peter's message in Acts 2:38 repent and be baptized into Jesus Christ AND receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Christ). Today we have preachers teaching entirely different salvation messages; do they not understand scripture? - No, they don't.

Rightly dividing the word of God is to follow it one step at a time. Peter started preaching salvation slowly and precisely, he started talking about Jesus, which is the first step. Let people know that Jesus is the Son of God and he came to make a way for us to be saved. He was sacrificed on the cross for the curse/sin of the world which is death, then he made a way for us to have this curse/death nature remitted from our lives through Him by baptism into His name - by doing this we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost from the Father, which is Christ in you! This is your foundation to LIFE. This is the simple version of salvation that anyone can understand therefore, anyone can be saved to enter God's kingdom. Furthermore, even if you do not understand why you need to be baptized for whatever reasons such as age (young or old) or mental health issues, someone can take you to the waters of salvation and have you baptized in Jesus' name, you must be regenerated and converted to be saved - yes even children. Salvation is not limited, as everyone MUST be saved using His name and that saving name is Jesus. Even though there is a much greater understanding of salvation of which, I have been privileged and blessed to know, it is not required to know it all before you get saved - I did not know it all at my baptism. Once you are saved and filled with the Holy Ghost he will help you to learn more about salvation with the help of teachers in Christ, but for now, salvation for new people is the milk of the word, the meat of the word will come in due time.

Paul also taught baptism into Jesus Christ for salvation as well and he established all the churches this way and this is what people have failed to understand when it comes to Paul's writings. IF Paul had NOT gone into great depths of understanding in his teachings via his letters to the churches, then there would be less confusion about how to be saved. Unfortunately, by taking Paul's letters out of context and miss-directing them away from his churches, many new and false salvation messages have surfaced because so many people have not rightly divided the word of truth. Theologians are the most likely cause of all the false salvation messages we have today for they have been easily deceived by Satan, the goal of a Theologian is to break down the word as if they have a special gift based on their higher education in Theology. They try to lead the Holy Ghost into their way of thinking rather than to be led by the Holy Ghost. Sounds like satanism is at work for all the false salvation messages that Theologians and false Preachers have created. Taking scriptures out of context is called the twisting of the scriptures and Satan is the master mind behind such deeds of deception.

Let's look at some of the damage that has been created when taking Paul's writings out of context

Let's start with Ephesians 2:8 as this is one of the biggest deception in the world. I have already written a more in-depth article about this, you can find it on another page on this web site therefore, I'll be concise and to the point. Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus that he established - everyone in that church was baptized into Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Ghost - this is the most critical mistake people make when reading Paul's letters - they don't take into account whom Paul is speaking too. Then they pull verses out of Paul's letters that are not meant for them and so the confusion begins.

Paul says to the church in Ephesus - WE are saved by grace, through (The) FAITH, and not of yourselves. (personal faith) -- personal faith cannot save you - you can only be saved through 'The Faith' which is the gospel of salvation as taught by the disciples including Paul. That gospel is baptism into Jesus' name and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

By taking this scripture out of context, and away from the church in Ephesus, then applying it incorrectly to yourselves means, you have just created a new and false salvation message. Now people are repeating this lie by saying we are saved by grace and nothing else, which is supposed to mean to them, that we don't need to be baptized for salvation. Can you now see why we have so many false salvation messages? All the false salvation messages all start by failing to rightly divide the word of truth and when you do that you change God's truth into a lie. Even worse, you then repeat that lie thereby making people believe they are saved when in fact, they are not saved yet.

Paul writes letters to all the churches that he has established - remember this very important fact. Paul was baptized into Jesus' name by Ananias - Paul established all the churches with that very same foundation. Paul teaches what happens to us during baptism in the book of Romans chapter 6. All the disciples taught baptism into Jesus' name and there are many examples to verify this truth - the best example is Peter's message in Acts 2:38. Baptism in Jesus' name and the receiving of the Holy Ghost is called being born again by regeneration and conversion. You cannot believe your way into God's family - you MUST be born into it by receiving the seed of LIFE from the Father during your new birth, it's this seed (Holy Ghost) that quickens us and converts us from death to LIFE. We are changed from a corruptible seed to an incorruptible seed - we are the good seed which also makes us children of the kingdom. We are then called PERFECT. Everything I said is scriptural - what does your pastor teach?

If you have not been baptized into Jesus' name and filled with the Holy Ghost, then Paul is NOT talking to you in any of his letters to the churches. This is a fact, furthermore, people are actually stealing Paul's letters and using them to start false salvation messages of which and without a doubt, will lead you straight to hell. Paul states, if anyone teaches any other gospel than what we have preached then you are still accursed - still in a sinful state, and you are headed straight into outer darkness. Paul and the disciples taught baptism into Jesus' name as commanded to them by Jesus.

Now here is the clincher - I am truly saved by grace and that grace is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus said to follow him through death, burial and resurrection, also called being born again. I am saved by regeneration and conversion by baptism into his name and then receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. You are not saved by grace until after you have been saved the way the disciples taught salvation. At least 99.9% of you have not been saved according to scripture because you have believed lying preachers over the Word of God. Get baptized into Jesus' name today and then and only then can you say you are saved by grace and by his mercy.

John
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Acts 2 Peter is preaching about Jesus and His kingdom and the people asked - and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter had the keys to the kingdom and he preached salvation by water and spirit just as Jesus stated when he said you must be born again. Paul taught this same message for salvation for that is how Paul was saved by Ananias. If you want any hope of seeing the kingdom you MUST be saved using the name of Jesus or to say, calling on the name of the Lord during your baptism.

In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul is talking to the people in the church of which he established in Corinth. He is NOT talking to you unless you have been saved by baptism into Jesus Christ just like all the people in this church group.

2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
Note: to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus only happens during baptism when we receive His name.
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this chapter Paul references baptism, for that is the foundation of the true church of God. There was a division within that church where people were saying I was baptized of Paul and another said he was baptized of Apollos and another said he was baptized of Cephas. Notice the most important factor here is baptism - they were all baptized for salvation regardless of who did the baptizing. (Cephas is Peter)

Only regarding this church does Paul makes the following statement: In verse 14: I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; -- Note here that Paul did baptize at least two of them and the others were baptized by different helpers of Paul. Paul only made that statement, so his name would not be made above Jesus Christ by the people, as they were losing their focus, for they were all baptized into the body of Christ and this is what Paul was trying to convey to them. We are all of one body and that body is not divided - we are one in Christ - we are the church - one church. We are baptized into Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? No they were not, they were all baptized in the name of Jesus! Paul does get annoyed with their foolish behaviour as you can see by his comment.

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. - Paul being sarcastic.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. (in that church group only)
Paul does remember baptizing the entire household of Stephanas as he is writing this letter. The point is that Paul did teach and conduct baptisms in Jesus' name. Paul further goes on to tell them and I will paraphrase; I established all the churches with the foundation of baptism into Jesus' name and yes, I have conducted many baptisms in my day. My main mission now is to preach the word of God regarding Christ, for I have, since my beginnings, established other qualified people in your church group and in my other churches to conduct all the baptisms. So please stop boasting about things that have no relevance to the real purpose of salvation. In other words - grow up!

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: NOW, people come along and say even Paul didn't baptized for salvation based on this scripture alone. Foolish preachers and theologians are doing the will of Satan by trying to eliminate salvation by baptism into Jesus' name, when in fact, this was the main salvation message taught by Paul and all the disciples in Christ. Stop believing lying preachers, for if they do not have this very important foundation of salvation, then everything they build upon a false salvation message will fail, and lead you to hell. They are not hearing from God through the Holy Ghost and this should give you great concerns.

It's just another case of taking Paul's teachings out of context and I must say that it makes be very angry when I see so-called men of God miss quoting scriptures.

Confirming baptism does save you:
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Paul is clearly saying here that baptism in Jesus' name is what saves you and nothing else! To preach the cross is to preach salvation, through Jesus' name in baptism. The same is true when preaching the Kingdom of God - The Faith - The Doctrine of Christ - The Gospel of Salvation - The Faith of Christ - Gal 1:16 - we might be justified by the faith of Christ.

Galatians
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Here is a great scripture that references the new birth by Paul.
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

After we get baptized into Jesus' name and we are filled with the Holy Ghost we are called new creatures in Christ. Paul is saying when we are baptized into Christ Jesus we are born again as new creatures and this is what we become and this is what really matters when we are saved by applying the saving name of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. - This all comes through the new birth called being born again.

I am just trying to get you saved before it is too late. Do not ignore truth when it comes your way, for it came to you for a reason.

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