THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD!

(HEBREWS 4:12) “THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE, SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, PIERCING TO THE DIVISION OF SOUL AND THE SPIRIT, OF JOINTS AND OF MARROW, AND DISCERNING THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART.”

(JESUS SAID IN JOHN 17:17):  “SANCTIFY THEM IN THE TRUTH, YOUR WORD IS TRUTH.”

(1 PETER 1:22-25) “HAVING PURIFIED YOUR SOULS BY YOUR OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH FOR A SINCERE BROTHERLY LOVE, LOVE ONE ANOTHER EARNESTLY FROM A PURE HEART, SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, NOT OF PERISHABLE SEED, BUT OF IMPERISHABLE, THROUGH THE LIVING AND ABIDING WORD OF GOD;  FOR ‘ALL FLESH IS GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWERS OF GRASS.  THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD REMAINS FOREVER.”

AND THIS WORD IS THE GOOD NEWS THAT WAS PREACHED TO YOU (capital letters and italics are mine for emphases).”

I’m faced with a dilemma.  My dilemma is this.  I’m a Bible Christian, born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture.  Herein lies my dilemma: I have family and friends in various churches, both Catholic and Protestant, who are caught in the mire of works oriented “Christianity.”  In other words, they believe that they are either saved entirely by works, or must add works to the sacrifice the Lord Jesus made for our salvation on Calvary.  Over the years I’ve been hesitant to witness to them in a definitive way, for fear of hurting their feelings.  How foolish I’ve been, to think that bruised feelings are equal to souls lost eternally; or, to put it another way, “What does it  profit a man  to gain the whole world, and to lose his own soul (Mark 8:36).”  My thinking was, in fact, this: “Bill, don’t hurt the feelings of those you love most in this world!  Even though it means losing all association with them for eternity.”  However, God has convicted me of my foolishness; and, now I realize, it’s better perhaps that they should hate me now, for a while, than for us to be separated for eternity.  You may say, “Who are you to think that you are right, and we are wrong?”  But, I don’t think I’m right and you’re wrong.  In fact, I would know nothing about the True and Living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if it were not for His Holy Word.  I speak as I do, because He has spoken to me through His Holy Word, and has given me faith to believe Him.  God alone is right!  Read His Word!  Pray for enlightenment and guidance.  

Jesus prays to His Father, and our’s in John 17:17:  “Sanctify them (Set them apart) by thy truth, thy word is truth.”  In that prayer, He prays for Himself; for His disciples then; and for those of us who will believe in Him through their Word (The Bible.)  

Come to Him today!  Cast yourself by faith into the Everlasting Arms of the Lord Jesus Christ!  He alone, can and will save you by His “Amazing Grace!”  

From one who has decided to fear only God, and not to keep on fearing men,

Bill

 

JESUS CHRIST, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

“FOR OUR SAKE HE (GOD THE FATHER) MADE HIM (GOD THE SON) TO BE SIN WHO KNEW NO SIN, SO THAT IN HIM WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (2 CORINTHIANS 5:21.”

Jesus Christ is proved to be righteous by the truth that He knew no sin.  Consequently, the grave could not hold Him.  Think of that!  Read Romans the fourth chapter.  In it, Abraham was declared to be righteous, because the righteousness of Jesus Christ was imputed to him.  So it is with God’s children today!  We are justified by the sinless life, the vicarious death, and the glorious and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ.  “He saves us, not by works of righteousness which we have done; but, according to his mercy he saves us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).”

Not by sacraments; not by oft repeated words of penitence; not by confessing sins to another human being; not by anything conferred on us by a mere man, nothing but the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ!  On Calvary His precious blood flowed freely to cover us for the propitiation of our sins; and, only His blood, administered by the power of God’s Holy Spirit can save us from the power of sin and death!  There is no other way!  The work of Jesus Christ that secured salvation for all who believe, does not require subsequent effort by men to be made perfect!  If that were so, then God would not be God!  He would not be, as He is in fact, the Sovereign, Almighty, Alpha and Omega of all things!

If you have been taught that Jesus Christ  is anything less than He is in Truth, cast that erroneous thinking and teaching away, and come to the Christ of Scripture today!  Call on His Name as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:13; Acts 4:12), and be saved!

For the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His glorious Gospel of love and grace,

Bill Biza

 

 

LET’S PUT OUR HANDS TO THE PLOW

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and turning back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).”

Recently I’ve found an excellent site with many articles on the history of Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), the home of my paternal grandparents.  Bohemia is a land rich in cultural and religious history.  It is the land of Jan Huss, who is often referred to as “The Forerunner of the Reformation.”  Jan Huss was a man who was steeped in the teachings of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and a man who preached the Word of God faithfully, resulting in literally thousands of people coming by grace through faith in Christ to God, the Father, and being saved.  He was brutally murdered; burned at the stake, by the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.  He prayed for his killers as the flames engulfed him, and asked God to forgive them.  The year that this happened was 1415, a full century before Luther, Calvin, Melancton, Zwingli, and others, turned Europe upside down with the marvelous doctrines of free grace.

The Hussites, or the Bohemian Brethren, have a wonderful history.  Some historians claim that much of the teachings which Huss espoused, came from the Waldenses, who dwelt mainly in the Southern part of France in the Piedmont Mountains.  The truth is: Huss’ teachings came directly from the Holy Scriptures, especially as diligently and prayerfully translated and expounded by John Wycliffe.  The ancestors of the Waldenses dated back to before Constantine bought his way into Christendom, making Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, and ushering in the Dark Ages of Roman Political/Ecclesiastical power.

The desire of the Roman Catholic Church, was to eradicate the Waldenses, and the Hussites; and, through extreme brutality, they did a pretty good job of that.  But, in 1725 Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf in Moravia, made a haven for Bohemian Christians on his estate.  There was an immense awakening of the Spirit, and a revival that resulted in missionaries going to nearly every country on earth, including America.  There are Bohemian Brethren yet today, and the Moravian Church is still extant, despite being heavily persecuted down through the centuries.  I am a descendant of Moravian or Bohemian Brethren believers.  My paternal grandmother, though suppressed in her belief by an atheistic spouse, was a Moravian believer.  Nevertheless, I claim no connection to God, except through Jesus Christ, and the salvation that He purchased on Calvary with His very own blood.

 

My prayer is for a Holy Spirit inspired revival at this present time (2 Chronicles 7:14).  Why is evil so prevalent, and apparently victorious in the world today?  Why, it’s because we who name the Name of Jesus Christ can scarcely agree on a single thing.  Consequently the Church is weak, and has very little moral or ethical influence on the world around it. 

 Jesus is the foundation on which we must stand as Jesus’ Church, and no other (Acts 4:12), or we are not Christians at all.  What is needed is a renewal of absolute abandonment to the Person of Jesus Christ, and to His teachings.  Nothing, absolutely nothing other than that, will suffice.  To that end, I put my hand to the plow!

In Jesus Holy, Precious, and Sovereign Name,

Bill Biza (Bluegill Bill)

THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES

In the Bible, Matthew 14:17-21, Jesus feeds 5000 men, plus the women and children who were with them.  Quite possibly more than 10,000 people, in toto.  He did this with five loaves of bread and two fish,  which makes this one of the most fascinating miracles that He ever did in His earthly ministry.  What did this miracle really entail; and what was necessary to have happened for Him to perform this miracle, which is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John?

In John, 1st Chapter, Jesus is revealed to us as the Creator of all things (John 1:3).  Therefore it’s quite logical to think, or to realize, that Christ, the Creator, created these fish, and the fragments of bread, as He handed them to the disciples, and, subsequently, the disciples gave them ,to the people who were seated in groups of 50 and 100.  All of the people, men, women, and children ate, and all were satisfied and filled (Mark 6:37-44).

Beloved; what should this tell us in regard to the providential care of Christ for His children?  Why, it tells us that there is no end to what He alone can provide.  God, in whom all things live and move and have their being doesn’t run out of anything, because He is the One who makes all things new.  There is no limit to His ability to supply all of your needs, and mine.  He is the manufacturer, and the distributor of everything that we need; and he freely gives to all according to His sovereign will.

Not only is He the provider of all of our material needs; but He is the administrator of all of our spiritual needs.  He, who now sits on His throne at the right hand of God, the Father, is the One who gave His all for our redemption, who became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him ( 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21).

Believe in Him, trust in Him, receive Him today.  He will save to the utmost, all who come to God the Father, through Him (Hebrews 7:25).

Francis Chan the Bud-Light Calvinist

via Francis Chan the Bud-Light Calvinist

All of Grace

“All of Grace,” is not a new title, nor is it a new theme: In fact, I may have written something by the same name myself, on this blog heretofore.  Charles H. Spurgeon, the great theologian and preacher, wrote a book years ago by the same title; and I won’t pretend to exceed what he astutely said at that time, for indeed I’m a mere pauper, and he is, as he was called, “The Prince of Preachers.”  My suggestion is, that you obtain Spurgeon’s book and dig its gems for yourself.  You’ll find it full of blessings, as Spurgeon never wrote anything that wasn’t inspired by his study of Scripture.

My purpose now, is rather to share with you of a recent experience, something I’ve come to learn about myself.  Though I’ve been a Christian for a long time; and answered some time ago God’s call to ministry; I have been, nonetheless, a haphazard Christian, with “fightings and fears, within without.”  This has resulted in a (for want of a better word),  backslidden state in which I’ve wallowed for the last several years.  I’ve become sloppy, fearful, depressed, and just plain mean, and hateful.  I’ve tried and tried to dig my own way out of this, knowing full well that I couldn’t.  Nevertheless, pride, which reigned supreme in my being, demanded this of me, and I could not, in the least relieve myself from a most distressing state of being.  Prayer didn’t seem to help, of course, because I was hanging on to much more than a shred of self-pity; and, as I’ve said before, sinful pride.

Having been awakened from my idiocy by the grace of God.  I’ve come to God the Father in repentance, and by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Not that I hadn’t come to him in a pseudo manner many times before.  But, I always brought a notion of solution to my problems, and some kind of a plan before.  E.i., I’d do this or do that, and by so doing drag myself out of the muck.  Let me tell you!  It doesn’t work that way.  God is the One who works all things after His Own will.  He’s the One who knows the end from the beginning, and  has purposed it all out.  He has spoken to my heart to leave all of my “wonderful” solutions, and wait for him in prayerful expectation.  He has lifted me, once again, out of the cesspool, and set my feet on the Rock, who is Himself.

Oh, how I long to serve Him, not as in the recent past, in a muck of uncertainty; but, rather in newness of life.  Can one be renewed at the near age of 80 and still be used as an instrument in God’s hands.  I’m counting on it.  Not as before, with some puffed up idea that God’s really lucky to have somebody like me; but with the knowledge that God can take the dregs of society (that’s me!), and use them for His glory.  How blessed I am.  I wanted to share this with my family, and with all of you, my friends.

My intended “modus operandi”  is the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22; and of course, I realize, this is “All of Grace.”

From a sinner who has been rescued by grace,

Bill

 

 

SHOULD CHRISTIANS FIGHT?

Down through the ages there has been this question debated by Christians of various denominations and doctrinal views: “Should Christians fight to defend their nation, their families, and their neighbors?”

I myself have pondered this question often; and have always been (as my son often pointed out) too pugilistic. This is partly due to my own personality, and partly due to where I was raised and lived growing up.  In Overlook Homes Government Housing Project in the East End of Dayton, Ohio, you either fought, or lived a miserable existence.  I neither picked fights, or enjoyed fighting; but, nevertheless, I would fight to defend myself, or my friends.  Some of my friends and I would spend hours practicing defense; take downs; holds; and different attacks; sequences of punches, etc.  Consequently, we became fairly adept at defending ourselves; and didn’t get picked on like the kids that wouldn’t, or couldn’t fight.  If the old saying, “The end justifies the means,” is true, we were a success.

Later on, I served in the Army, and didn’t have a problem with the thought that, if placed in a combat situation, I might have to defend myself and others, possibly to the death.

It was later on, after I became a Christian, and read the teachings of Jesus in the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5-7, that I began to ponder whether taking a human life, or even fighting, was ever justified.  I must confess that I hedged on this question quite a bit, and, as a result, read all of the New Testament many times, for the specific purpose of arriving at a position I could live with.  In the Gospels, and the Epistles, and the Psalms, I believe I’ve arrived at something I can live with.  Admittedly, the fact that, if I live until June 21st, I’ll be 80 years old, adds quite a bit of temper to my contemplation and conclusion.  Following, I’ll share what I’ve come to believe is right:

1.  Never fight over words, or over a personal insult.  Christ didn’t, and as His followers, neither should we.
2.  Never fight if it’s possible to walk away without endangering someone, i. e., if walking away won’t leave someone at a bully’s mercy.
3.  Whatever is right, true, just, and godly:  We must fight for these things.
4.  It’s a husband’s duty to fight for his wife and children.  At home or on a battlefield.
5.  If you must fight for the right reason, fight as “Unto the Lord,” with everything you have, and with winning in mind.
6. If you think fighting’s fun, don’t fight, get help.

I hope this will be helpful to whomever reads it.  By the way.  If you’ve never believed in your heart that Jesus is Savior and Lord, do so today, because He truly is.

With love and prayers for all.

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

SOMETHING I’VE COME TO REALIZE

BAPTIST = NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIAN!

If you say that to someone, they sometimes will say, “What kind of Baptist are you talking about; because there are at least 300 kinds of Baptist.

Now, there is some truth to that; but I’m not speaking of Baptist of different kinds, or if you will, denominational types of Baptists, of the watered down kind.  No, I’m speaking of Baptists who are distinctively Baptist, i. e., spiritual descendants of the first century Bible believing Christians, from the apostles on down.

• They believe in The Trinity, not in word, like works orientated churches of many different names, but in the sense that the first Christians did.  In God, who is our Father, our Savior, and our Comforter and Teacher,
• They believe that Salvation is by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  That His blood cleanses the sins of those who are born again of the Holy Spirit,
• They believe that each one who is born again can interpret the Bible for themselves with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
• They believe that there is no need for a “priesthood” distinct from the priesthood of every believer, nor for an individual or a hierarchy that is over more than one local church body; but rather they believe in the autonomy of each local body of believers,
• They believe that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father, making intercession for us.
• They are a missionary people, not taking beliefs of their own, or of some supposed authoritative church, but the Gospel according to Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Holy Bible, to the lost.
• To them the Holy Bible is peculiarly unique, being the Written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to many different authors or agents to record.
• Of all people on earth they are most persecuted, hated, and derided, as were the Apostles, who preached the same gospel in the first century.
• They believe that Christ is coming again.  That He will judge the living and the dead, and that those whose names are written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life,” will abide with Jesus Christ forever.

COMPARISONS ARE ODIOUS

IT IS QUITE NATURAL, GIVEN THE DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE, THAT PEOPLE WILL COMPARE ONE WITH ANOTHER, AS IF BEING GREATER, OR MORE GIFTED THAN ANOTHER, MIGHT BE A FACTOR IN GAINING AND SECURING THE FAVOR OF GOD .

And so, people compare themselves to others: Which one is prettier, who has the best education, who has the highest IQ, who has the most money, etc., etc.  I maintain that all such comparisons are odious; and are of no value whatever.

There is one comparison that is absolutely worthy of our attention.  It’s the comparison that God, the Holy Spirit, makes through the Apostle Paul, when He declares in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  This statement, from God’s Holy Word, puts everything in perspective: None of us is good enough in and of ourselves, that we should ever think that we are better than anyone else.

What we have, any and all of us, that is invaluable throughout eternity is totally and completely from God.  It is a gift from God: “Not a result of works, so that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8.9).”

Do you hear, through God’s Word, the voice of Jesus Christ saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28).”  You are blessed if you hear the Lord Jesus’ call today.  He is calling you by His irresistible grace, “Come to Me!”  Therefore come and take Him as your Savior and Lord by calling on His Name today.

A simple: “Jesus, please be my Savior and Lord,” will do.

From one who cares immensely where you spend eternity,

Bill

 

THE TRUE CHURCH – CHRIST’S BODY

“IT’S A BIRD; IT’S A PLANE; IT’S SUPERMAN!”

So the people proclaimed when they saw Superman flying through the air!  They weren’t quite sure what it was that they saw.  Should God’s people be as nebulous about what constitutes the “True Church,” as the people were about Superman in that work of fiction?

There are many denominations or Christian sects who claim to be the “True Church.”  I’ll cut right to the chase and say that none of them that make that claim, are what they claim to be.  It is “Bible Christians,” rather, who are the Body of Christ.  To more adequately define this, it is those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Bible who are the “True Church.”  That is what Jesus taught (John 3:16-19; John 5:24; John 6:35-37) and what the Holy Spirit taught through the Apostle Paul (Romans 10:9-13; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:3-7, 2:8-10; Colossians 1:1-20), and myriads of other Scriptures, all declaring the Sovereignty of Jesus Christ.

Why am I writing this?  That those who have been duped by false teachers may turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.  There is salvation in no one or nothing else.  Especially those who make erroneous claims about being the “One True Church,” that teach another way of salvation other than by “Grace through faith” in Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Bible.

The Sovereign of the Universe declares in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the Lord: that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”  Can you honestly and truly imagine that Almighty God; He who is “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, who is, and was, and is to come, The Almighty,” has given authority to one group, or to one man who claims to be His representative?  According to Holy Scripture, He cannot, will not, and has not!

If you haven’t trusted in Christ, by grace through faith, do so today!  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

From a rank sinner, saved by grace,

Bill