“So then we must ever come to this point, that the Sacraments are effectual and that they are not trifling signs that vanish away in the air, but that the truth is always matched with them, because God who is faithful shows that he has not ordained anything in vain. And that is the reason why in Baptism we truly receive the forgiveness of sins, we are washed and cleansed with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are renewed by the operation of his Holy Spirit.

And how so? Does a little water have such power when it is cast upon the head of a child? No. But because it is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ that the water should be a visible sign of his blood and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore baptism has that power and whatsoever is there set forth to the eye is forthwith accomplished in very deed.”

[John Calvin, Sermons on Deuteronomy, p. 1244.]

A few days ago, I sent the following email to the church (I still have yet to receive a response) :

To Whom It May Concern:

Two years ago, I attempted to persuade Clay Williams, then temporary pastor of Courts of Praise, of the dangers of 501c3 status. He then proceeded to state, using satire, that he knew a church that wouldn’t change its status (implying that he would ensure that the church continued to file as 501c3).

Well, now the IRS is requesting that pro-lifers stop protesting or lose their 501c3 status. I strongly recommend that Sovereign Grace Church reconsider their status as a 501c3 church (unless it already has rejected 501c3).

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=103459

Please do not ignore my warnings. Criminal elements within the federal government have already declared patriots and freedom loving Christians to be terrorists. This trend will only worsen unless the churches in America wake up. I am also still awaiting a response from Clay Williams about his thoughts concerning FEMA response team. The previous pastor, Dr. Stephen Duke, stated his stance by saying the church would reject federal funds. Will Clay Williams do the same? http://blog.puppetgov.com/2009/02/03/church-organization-refuses-to-divulge-if-pastors-are-on-fema-payroll/

Sincerely,

Rashad Tatum

“New Age Bible Versions” by Gail Riplinger

Responses to some of the critics:
www.avpublications.com/avnew/content/
Critiqued/james1.html

www.avpublications.com/avnew/content/
Critiqued/cloud1.html

Below is a brief description of the book from avpublications.com:

QUESTIONING THE WORD OF GOD came first with the serpent’s skeptical query, “Yea, hath God said…?” (Gen.3). Questioning today’s Holy Bible is just as rebellious as questioning ones gender. God did it right the first time. A man-made makeover brings “confusion” and defaces and mutilates God’s creation. Only pride and perversion would propel men to presume that they could improve upon God’s own handiwork. This book will bring Greek and Hebrew study out of the closet for the first time. Tumbling out come the starving skeletons of the authors of Greek and Hebrew study tools, lexicons and editions, the sordid sources from which new versions, such as the NIV, TNIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, and HCSB take their corrupt words. These are the very same study ‘aids’ which kill a sermon or Bible study when used to ‘define’ a word in the Holy Bible. Lexicon and Bible dictionary authors dug down into the depths of pagan lore, then ransacked the English dictionary to find a match which could burn the Bible word-by-word. The smoke darkens the directing light of the holy scriptures. This book will document that men who want to change and redefine the Holy Bible are likely to want to change anything – even Bible doctrine, their own gender, and their god. For example, Luciferian connections shadow Trench’s New Testament Synonyms and Ginsburg’s TBS Hebrew Masoretic text.

• You can’t judge me

  • Response:

    • The word judge has several definitions. To judge does not necessarily imply to condemn. The scriptures instruct us to judge righteous judgement.

• You are not always right.

  • Response:

    • And I am not always wrong. I am a sinner like everyone else. I acknowledge my sin and proclaim no righteousness of my own but that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• You are claiming to be “holier than thou”.

  • Response:

    • We are all sinners, but the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse of our iniquity. I do not boast of my own righteousness but that of the Lord God. Instead of making an excuse for my sin, I have chosen to accept God’s free gift of salvation and live a godly life.

• That is your opinion, so don’t “force” it on others.

  • Response:

    • :You are ignorant of the concept of private property. To use force of would be a violation of someone’s property rights. By explaining and debating my beliefs, I am only using my God given freedom of speech.

    • No, it’s not merely an opinion. I have solid evidence and proof of my religion.

• The Bible was written for rich and powerful men.

  • Response: Actually, the bible condemns trusting in riches. Below are a small portion of scriptures that condemn trusting in riches:

    • Psalms 37:16, “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.”

    • Psalms 49:6-7, “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:”

    • James 5:1-6, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”

    • Matthew 13:22, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

    • Luke 18:18-29, “18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? 27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. 28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,”

  • The Bible also condemns trusting in power.

    • Ephesians 6:11-13, “11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

    • 1 John 2:15-17, “15 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. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

    • Ecclesiastes 9:14-18, “14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.”

• The Bible was written by men and is fiction.

  • Response:

    • Yes, God used godly men to pen the scriptures in spite of their flaws.

    • The historical accounts of the scriptures have been reaffirmed by historians.

    • The text of the scriptures has been preserved in the Hebrew Masoretic, Greek Textus Receptus, and the scriptures written in numerous languages (KJV for English.)

    • The mathematical impossibility of someone fulfilling all 300+ prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah is slim to none. Yet, the Lord Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies.

    • The scriptures exhibit literary perfection that leaves even secular scholars in awe.

Our society has become decadent. Our country depraved. Friends, in the name of being “friendly”, are now so passive that they refuse to constructively rebuke their friends in fear of losing them.

Even Christians have succumbed, somewhat, to the passive attitude so prevalent in today’s society. We must stand up for what is right and true, even if our friends disagree. Truth is not dependent upon popular consent. Truth stands even if the whole world falters from it.

Friends must once again begin to sharpen their friends’ countenances; “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17).” We must not succumb to being passive, for “[o]pen rebuke is better than secret love (Proverbs 27:5).” Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

I will detail several additional reasons why the State of Israel should not exist.

The nation of Israel came to be after the people of Israel acquired land in Canaan.  Leviticus 25:38, ”I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”  However, the Jewish people constantly rebelled against God.  God, in his love and mercy, decided to establish a new covenant.  Hebrews 8 discusses the new covenant,

[1] Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
[2] A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
[3] For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
[4] For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
[5] Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
[6] But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
[7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
[8] For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
[9] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
[10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
[11] And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
[12] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
[13] In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

In the old covenant, there were certain laws detailing the distribution of the land to the Jews.  The Levites were given cities among the inheritance of the other eleven tribes.  Deuteronomy 18:1-2 explains why the Levites had no inheritance with Israel, 

[1] The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
[2] Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

 However, the Levitical priesthood of the old covenant has been done away with.  Thus, the laws of the old covenant governing the distribution of the land have been done away with also.   The apostle Paul stated in Hebrews 7:11-12,

[11] If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
[12] For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

What is the new priesthood?  It is the priesthood of believers, sanctified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Revelation 1:6-7,

[5] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
[6] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 2:11-15 explains that the wall between Gentiles and Jews was broken by the Lord Jesus,

[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
[12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
[13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
[15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

So, the Jews are those who are of Christ and not after the flesh.  Romans 2:28-29,

[28] For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
[29] But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The Lord Jesus makes it clear that he does not seek to establish an earthly kingdom to be ruled by fleshly Jews.  John 18:36,

[36] Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

The apostle Paul also explains, in Hebrews 12:22-29, that the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is heavenly not earthly,

[22] But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
[23] To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
[24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
[25] See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
[26] Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
[27] And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
[28] Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
[29] For our God is a consuming fire. 

Instead of knowing that the Lord is present with them, they now claim to merely “feel” his presence. (Notwithstanding, God’s presence can affect our physical bodies. ) This heresy shifts men away from focusing on the spiritual to focusing on their flesh. What’s more is that the word “feel” is only mentioned in the scriptures nine times, but there are numerous references to knowing and understanding the Lord and his commandments.

We must know God’s doctrine and not walk by sight but by faith. We must not fall prey to the gospel of sensationalism and think that whatever we “feel” that is of the Lord is. Rather, our lives should be guided by careful study of the word of God and the Holy Ghost. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV).

from www.veoh.com posted with vodpod

Genesis 25:22-24

[22] And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
[23] And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
[24] And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

Genesis 38:27

[27] And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.

Isaiah 44:2,24

[2] Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

[24] Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Psalms 22:8-10

[8] He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
[9] But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
[10] I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

Psalms 71:5-6

[5] For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.
[6] By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Psalms 127:3

[3] Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Psalms 139:11-17

 [11] If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
[12] Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
[13] For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
[14] I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
[15] My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
[16] Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
[17] How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

I recommend that you read Dr. Ron Paul’s article Being Pro-Life is Necessary to Defend Liberty.