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To all those in Batemans Bay and afar, who believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of the one, true living God, and that salvation comes through Him alone.
The purpose of this website is to remind all believers of the importance of knowing Scripture. It is God's word, given to teach us. It is not to be 'interpreted' in a way that fits in with our thinking, or culture, or denominational traditions. The Lord clearly told the Jews who believed him, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31,32). God's word is to be believed and obeyed. For Christ charged his apostles with, "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt. 28:20) And we are reminded, "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22)
This is the challenge for each, individual believer. The reformation of God's church is not a period in history (as is commonly taught) during which, the 'protestants' split from the Roman Catholic church. The apostles of the Lord Jesus were working to reform God's church in the very first century of it's existence. This was long before men invented the Roman Catholic Church, or any other denomination. What I mean is simple - the apostles were calling believers to repent.
God is still calling for repentance! “For God is not slow in keeping his promises as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) Repentance (or reformation) will not come through those who see themselves as authorities in denominational institutions. Repentance is a personal choice. The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not found in any building; “For, wherever two or three come together in my name, there I am with them” (Matt. 18:20).
Where and when a believer chooses to meet together with others for prayer and fellowship is a choice for the individual believer to make. Whether this is on a Sunday morning, or on a Tuesday afternoon, in the dining room of a believer's house does not matter. Our conscience towards God and the promotion of His truth is what matters. Regardless of where and when we meet, God's word should always be the authority. If God's word is not the authority - then we are with the wrong people! "Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Cor. 15:33)
The purpose of this website is not to promote one denomination (division) over another.
As you become more familiar with the truth (God's Word), you will become less comfortable with the preaching in 'mainstream churches'. These organisations are not preaching the same message that the apostles preached! And it is through believing the message of the apostles that we come to have faith in the real Jesus Christ. And the Lord made this very clear!
In John 17, when the Lord Jesus was praying shortly before his arrest, he made a clear distinction between those who believe in him through the message of the apostles, and the rest of mankind. First of all, he made it clear that he was not praying for all mankind, but only for those whom God had given him. "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word." (John 17:6) "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, for they are yours." (John 17:9) The Lord Jesus then declares emphatically, that the apostles do not belong to the world. They are not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:16-17) He then declares that he is praying for others as well (but still not for the world). "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one." (John 17:20-21)
The apostles believed and obeyed the word - they were sanctified (separated from the world) by the word. We come to believe in Christ through their message! This is how we also become separate from the world. "Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16) Once again, in this verse, the Lord is speaking to the apostles about the message they will preach to mankind and the separation between believers and the world. This is the only distinction among men that truly matters! Whoever believes their message and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe their message will be condemned.
Those who believe this message are not called to a myriad of slightly different gospels which are promoted by the traditions of men, but to a single truth. Paul writes to the baptised believers in Corinth to warn them in this regard: "Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." (1 Cor. 15:1-2) If we are not holding firmly to the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was preached by the apostles; then our belief is in vain!
The worst thing that we can do as believers, is test one man's preaching by checking it against another man's preaching! Everything should be checked against Scripture! Not just a single verse, or a small passage, but the entire context of "all Scripture". For "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16)
This is what the Bereans were commended for: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)
Repentance is in the individual believer’s attitude towards our Creator, rather than our relationship with any Priest or Pastor. So, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). The Lord Jesus does not customise our faith – He perfects it! “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.” (Psalm 18:30)
The beginning of our repentance is the casting aside of our own ideas, perspectives and traditions, in favour of what the word of God actually tells us. With so many variations of the gospel being preached; it is our duty as believers to find out what Scripture really says about topics such as the church, baptism, tithing, the law, marriage, judgement, and even what Scripture says about Scripture. It is my hope that this website will cause you to turn to God’s word even more.
