August 2001

Dear Readers,

“Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Timothy 1:2) I pray the Lord is blessing you with all spiritual blessings. The West Virginia camp meeting was wonderful! I received many spiritual blessing. I would like to thank each of you who came, it would not have been the same without you. Be sure to read the report on page six. By this time next month Howard Williams, of Restoration Ministries in Jamaica, and I will be in Africa visiting some of our brethren there. Please pray that the Lord will use us to bless many souls while we are there. Pray for the work in Africa also. They are very hungry for the gospel, but the work is going forward through much hardship and with very little resources. We will publish a full report upon our return.

Some Thoughts on Redemption

by Lynnford Beachy

“For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) The Greek word swthria (soteria) that was translated salvation in this verse was translated “deliver” or “save” other places in the Bible. What are we to be delivered or saved from? The Bible gives us the answer in Matthew 1:21. Of Mary, Gabriel said, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.”

God tells us that now is the day of salvation; now is the day that we can be delivered or saved from our sins. God is extending His invitation to us right now and He wants us to accept the deliverance from sin that He provides. He says that now is the accepted time. He doesn’t say that tomorrow or the next day is the accepted time, but right now, this minute. Don’t let a minute pass between now and the time that you accept the deliverance from sin that God has provided for you.

Now we will take a look at how this deliverance takes place. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)

The Greek word exagorazw that was translated redeemed means, “By payment of a price to recover from the power of another. To buy up for one’s self, for one’s own use.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) By payment of a price, Christ has recovered us from the power of Satan. Christ has paid the price for us, He has bought us by becoming a curse for us, and He wants to use us for His purposes, because He owns us.

“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Christ was made to be sin for us; He took our sins upon Himself so that we could receive His righteousness upon ourselves.

All of our life history, with all the sin and guilt, is transferred to Christ as if He had done it Himself. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

All of Christ’s life history, with His righteousness and love towards God, is accounted to us as truly as if we had done it ourselves. To the repentant and believing sinner, is offered full remission of sin. “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26)

The Purchase

“Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” (Galatians 1:3, 4) The Bible teaches us that Christ gave Himself for our sins, and in Galatians 2:20 God tells us that Christ gave Himself for us. “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

We see from these verses that Christ gave Himself for our sins and for us. What happens when you give money for something? When you do this you have bought whatever you gave the money for. This is what Christ has done, He has bought each one of us with His own life. God the Father gave up His only-begotten Son for you.

Let’s think about it in another way. Suppose you worked your whole life to save enough money to buy a piece of gold. How much would that be worth to you? Then suppose you took that gold, and traded it for a new house. Which would be worth more to you, the gold or the house? Obviously the house, or you would not have traded the gold for it. God gave up His only-begotten Son for you. God values you as much as He values His only-begotten Son. Jesus said to His Father, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:23) You are worth as much to God as His only-begotten Son. Let that thought sink deep into your mind, and don’t let it leave.

Suppose you went into a big department store and gave your life savings, that you had worked long and hard for, to the man behind the counter. Then you asked him to give you the item that you came to purchase, and the man behind the counter said to you, “Thank you for the money you’ve given me, but I’m not going to give you what you came to buy,” and he keeps your money! How would it make you feel? You would feel like the man was steeling from you! And that is exactly what he would be doing.

This is essentially the same thing we do to Christ when we do not give Him what He came to buy (us along with our sins). When Christ came to redeem us, He didn’t come to purchase people who had no sin, but to purchase people who were yet in their sins, so that He could cleanse them.

Jesus said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17) God does not expect us to be free from sin before we come to Him. We are helpless to deliver ourselves from sin. Only God, through His beloved Son, can free us from sin.

An Illustration

There is a wonderful illustration of how God cleanses a sinner in the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel. God says, “When I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.” (Ezekiel 16:6)

Blood, in this context, is referring to sins as it does in Isaiah 4:4. “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”

God is telling us that when He passed by us we were polluted in our own sin, and He then gave us eternal life. After we are given this eternal life (it could be none other because we already have physical life), then God offers to cleanse us from our sins.

Reading on in Ezekiel, “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” (Ezekiel 16:8) God considers us His, even when we are yet in our sins, and He enters into a covenant with us.

After God calls us His very own people, then He proceeds to cleanse us; and we read on: “Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood [sins] from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.” (Ezekiel 16:9)

God passes by us and sees that we are polluted in our own sins, and with perfect love He accepts us, although we are in our sins. Then God washes away the filth that pollutes us. He chooses to wash us with the water of His Word. Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” (Ephesians 5:25, 26)

Don’t let yourself think that you have to be good before you come to God, because if you think this way you will always be trying to get “good,” and the day will never come when you think you are good enough to come to Jesus. Christ says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) Christ will not turn any away who come to Him with sincerity, no matter what condition they are in, or how sinful they appear.

An Appeal

We no longer belong to ourselves, for Christ has bought us, and desires to have that which He bought, which is ourselves along with our sins. Paul wrote, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20) “For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.” (Isaiah 52:3)

The love that God has for us is so much greater than we realize. With a heart full of compassion for this dying world, God yearns to cleanse us from every sin. God knows that sin has never done anyone any good, and He is seeking to do what is best for His children. There is no reason that any should perish except that they are not willing to give Christ what He has already bought and paid for.

God wishes to redeem everyone from their sin. “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

There is another verse in Romans 4:5 which is very meaningful to any poor, distressed soul. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” The Greek word dikaiow that was translated justifieth means, “To render (show or regard) just or innocent.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) Another dictionary says, “To declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)

The first thing that we must believe in order to obtain the promise in this verse is to believe that we are ungodly. The second thing we must believe is that God justifies us. If we will come to Him, He will cleanse us from all sin, and forgive all of our iniquities. John wrote, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

God’s words to you right now are these, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) Let us say with David, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” (Psalms 103:2, 3) Heed well the wonderful words of Jesus, and forget them not. “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Matthew 9:2)    ?

Questions and Answers

by Lynnford Beachy

Question:

“For my own understanding, may I ask your perception on the following Scripture? John 16:13-14: ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.’ Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as first person singular [third person singular Editor], not just as the Spirit or a spirit. I would really like your input on this subject.”

E-mail

Answer:

The Greek word that was translated “he” in John 16:13, 14, and in some other similar verses referring to the Spirit of God, is ekeinoV — ekeinos (with the Strong’s number of 1565). Ekeinos is found 251 times in the New Testament and was translated in the KJV in the following manner: that 99, those 40, he 40, the same 20, they 14, miscellaneously translated 38.

There are several other places in the Bible where the Spirit is referred to as “he” and the Greek word autoV — autos (with the Strong’s number of 846) was used. Autos is found 5785 times in the New Testament and was translated in the KJV in the following manner: him 1952, his 1084, their 318, he 252, her 242, they 121, same 80, himself 58, miscellaneously translated 1678. This word was translated something other than “he, him, her, they, their, his, same, himself” 1678 times. Many of those times it was translated “it” or “itself” as found in Romans 8:26 referring to the Spirit of God. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself [autos #846] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

Here are a few verses where this Greek word was translated “it.”

Matthew 5:15 “put it [autos] under a bushel.”

Matthew 7:14 “few there be that find it [autos].”

Matthew 10:11 “who in it [autos] is worthy.”

(Also see Matthew 10:12,13,39; 12:39,41,42; 14:12; 16:18; 21:19,34; 23:18,20,21; 26:27,29,61; 27:59,60; Mark 4:7,32,37; 6:28,29; 9:50. The list goes on and on.)

It is obvious that the Greek words ekeinos and autos are not gender specific of themselves. In other words we cannot determine personality or gender based upon the fact that these words were used.

The reason the Greek words autos and ekeinos were translated into any pronoun, whether it was a personal pronoun or not, is that the distinguishing factor was determined by the type of noun the pronoun supported. For example, if the noun was a male person, the pronoun “autos” should properly be translated “he” and if the noun was a female person, the same pronoun “autos” should be properly translated “she.” If the noun was impersonal, or neuter, such as a “city,” “salt,” “candle,” etc. then the pronoun “autos” should properly be translated “it.” So to determine which English equivalent is accurate we must examine the noun which the pronoun supports. If the noun is masculine the pronoun should be translated “he,” if it is feminine it should be translated “she,” but if it is neuter (neither masculine nor feminine) then it should be translated “it.”

This is important when we look at verses which refer to the Spirit of God as “he” when there are other verses that refer to the Spirit of God as “itself,” i.e. Romans 8:16, 26. The fact is that the Greek word pneuma pneuma (translated Spirit) is neuter, being neither masculine nor feminine, and therefore every time the pronouns “autos” or “ekeinos” are used in the Bible in reference to God’s Spirit they must be translated “it,” rather than “he” if we are going to translate them accurately. I hope this helps to answer your question.

Question:

“Which baptism is good for a Christian?”

Ghana

Answer:

The baptism we are most familiar with is the baptism of water for the remission of sins. The Bible says that John baptized “in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there.” (John 3:23) It is obvious that baptism requires much water. A few sprinkles on the head is not the type of baptism described in the Bible. The word baptize, itself, means submersion.

In the book of Acts we read, “And as they [Philip and the eunuch] went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:36-38)

Biblical baptism requires at least two people going down into the water; one to baptize, and the other to be baptized.

Jesus also baptizes us with His Spirit and with fire. John said, “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” (Luke 3:16) The prophet Isaiah had declared that the Lord would cleanse His people from their iniquities “by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” The word of the Lord to Israel was, “I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” (Isaiah 4:4; 1:25) To sin, wherever found, “our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29) In all who submit to God’s power His Spirit will consume sin. In this way Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Question:

“Are all fishes and meats good for a Christian?”

Ghana

Answer:

Fish and meat were not part of the diet given to man in the Garden of Eden, nor will they be a part of our diet in heaven. God permitted meat eating after the flood due to a lack of other things to eat, and as a means to shorten man’s life span, to keep them from becoming as evil as they were before the flood. God did not provide meat to the Israelites in the wilderness until they murmured and complained about their diet. When God finally sent them meat to eat it proved to be a curse to them rather than a blessing.

If we wish to maintain optimum health, to keep our minds and bodies pure, then we would do much better if we avoid eating meat altogether. However, if we choose to eat meat, God, in His wisdom and love for us, has forbidden us to eat unclean meat. (See Leviticus 11.) He has also forbidden us to eat fat or blood. “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:17) That would exclude most hamburgers, which contain a large amount of fat and blood. In fact I have been told that meat without fat or blood does not taste very good.

Some unclean animals which God has forbidden us to eat include swine (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.), lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters, crab, catfish, rabbit, dog, cat, snake, etc.

Clean land animals must have cloven feet, part the hoof, and chew their cud, such as deer, cattle, sheep, etc. Clean animals in the water must have fins and scales, such as salmon, cod, bass, etc. Clean flying creatures include chicken, turkey, pheasant, etc. For a complete list of clean and unclean animals see Leviticus chapter 11.

Question:

“Which types of dresses are good for Christians to wear?”

Ghana

Answer:

The Bible says, “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” (1 Timothy 2:9) It also says, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5) Cross dressing and immodest clothing are forbidden. God has given each of us a conscience that will aid us in determining what is immodest and what is not. Many men and women have fallen into sin because of the immodest clothing of others. There are many Christian women who are guilty of wearing immodest clothing. Men are not immune from immodest dress either, though it is more prevalent and dangerous among women, due to the increased visual stimulation among men.

I cannot be conscience for anyone regarding what clothing is immodest. To me, some very obvious immodest types of clothing are miniskirts, shorts, low-cut tops, high slits in dresses or skirts, tight or form-fitting clothes of any kind, etc. I don’t believe any of these could fit the Biblical requirements of “modest apparel.” I hope this helps to answer your question.

Question:

“Does God create human beings in His own image? If so, what shows that we are created so? How do we resemble God and in which ways?”

Ghana

Answer:

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:27) Yes we are created in the image of God. We resemble God in form and features. Of course He is much more glorious, “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” (1 Timothy 6:16) We know that God can sit on a throne, He can stand, He wears a garment, He has hands, feet, a head, hair, a mouth, eyes, ears, a mind, a spirit, a soul, and a heart. The following texts demonstrate these facts quite clearly: Revelation 5:1; Daniel 7:9; 1 Peter 3:12; Genesis 28:13; Exodus 24:10; Psalms 89:34; Genesis 8:21; Genesis 6:3; Jeremiah 5:9; Romans 11:34. Originally, in the Garden of Eden, mankind also resembled God in character. God is seeking to restore this resemblance in us.

God has always been much higher and more exalted than man. God said, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)    ?

2001 West Virginia Camp Meeting Report

By Allen Stump

Last year our camp meeting began with a house fire. This year, the week before camp meeting was scheduled to begin, southern West Virginia was ravaged with severe flash flooding. For days many roads were blocked and access to basic services were restricted. Yet, the Lord in His goodness and mercy saw that the camp meeting was able to begin on time!

From only a few people who had already arrived by Tuesday morning, we had about 100 people set up and ready for the first meeting Tuesday evening. By the end of the week the crowd had swelled to over 200. Brothers and sisters had come from several states. The extremes of the United States were represented (Maine, Florida, California, and Washington), as well as several points in between. Brethren from Jamaica and Poland were also present to receive the blessing of God.

Many shared the testimony that this was the best camp meeting they had ever attended. While this might sound like boasting, do not the Scripture admonish us to testify of God’s goodness?

The theme of the camp meeting was: “To Inspire and Equip.” Our goal was to provide inspirational messages for God’s people as well as to have seminars to help equip the saints to be able to witness and share Christ with those they come in contact with.

The first meeting Tuesday evening was “Knowing the Love of God” with Lynnford Beachy leading out. This inspiring talk set the atmosphere for the rest of the week.

The early morning meetings were inspirational and left all who came not fully awake—AWAKE!

The midmorning meetings began with Pastor Bob Habenicht sharing more of his Berean Experience. Then Brother Gary Richmond shared the gospel with his unique insight and approach.

Elder S. T. Lewis from Columbus Ohio had the 11 o’clock meetings dynamically speaking on the righteousness of Christ with an emphasis on the simplicity of the gospel and “Why we do what we do!” The tapes from this series are a must.

The evening meetings were conducted by Pastor David Clayton of Jamaica. Brother Clayton’s subjects were: “Just What We Need,” “Relative Perfection,” and “The Holy Spirit.”

The afternoons of Wednesday through Friday were devoted to instructive seminars to help equip the saints in the ministry of sharing the three angels’ messages.

The first seminar was on homiletics, the science and art of preaching the gospel. Elder Lewis and Pastor Stump teamed up to give these presentations. Any layman who has the opportunity to preach the truth will be greatly blessed and benefitted by the instruction provided in these messages.

The second seminar given by Pastor Ben Vela of Miami, was on medical missionary work. These sessions were especially well attended and very practical in their content. Years of training and service, combined with the blessing of God, have helped Ben to be not only an excellent medical missionary, but an excellent teacher as well.

Pastors Willis Smith and Richard Stratton teamed up for the the last seminar on home Bible studies. With many years of combined service, these men gave theoretical as well as practical counsel. Both Richard and Willis have a “home spun” personality and they conveyed that atmosphere to the students. Shortly after camp meeting one believer shared with me a renewed sense of duty after being at the meetings.

In addition to his preaching duties, Brother Gary Richmond provided the youth with some of his naturalist expertise. Bringing along some of his “critters,” Gary presented object lessons based on God’s creation in a manner that was simply unforgettable!

Special music and song was shared before most meetings. Pastor Clayton and his wife, Jennifer, along with brother Howard Williams and his wife Karleen led out in the singing of the theme song, “He is Here.” A quartet composed of Howard Williams, Melvin Stewart, David Clayton, and Dr. Stephen Burks provided some really inspiring old fashioned singing.

The messages of the camp meeting were all recorded on video tape and will also be transferred to audio tape for those who prefer just audio. Also there is a compilation tape of just musical presentations.

A list of the tapes available from the camp meeting are on page seven of this issue. Please indicate whether you wish to receive video cassettes (suggested donation of $7.00 plus postage per tape) or audio cassettes (suggested donation of $2.00 plus postage per tape).

We would like to thank all who came and helped make this camp meeting such a success.

Lord willing, camp meeting photos will be published next month.     ?

Digital Video Project Update

The next digital video in the series, “The Good News About God,” is now finished. “The Father and the Son” by Lynnford Beachy is ready for distribution. This message details the truth about the nature of the Father and Son relationship. This is a must-see production! Tapes 1-5 in this series are now complete. All of these tapes are available in video and audio cassette format. We are sorry for the long delay in getting these out. The process is quite time consuming.

There are three more tapes in this series that are still awaiting production. They are: “Answers to Trinitarian Objections,” “The Roots of the Trinity” and “The Spirit of Antichrist.” We have each of these messages available in PAL format (for use in Australia, Europe, Africa, and many other countries around the world) or NTSC format (for use in the USA, the Carribean, Mexico, and a few other countries).  For those who are able and wish to help with the expenses, the cost of video tape production is $7.00 plus actual postage. The cost of audio cassette production is $2.00 plus postage. For those who need multiple copies of a video tape with the same title, we are requesting a donation of $3.00 for each additional video tape. For example, the suggested donation for one video is $7.00 plus shipping, the suggested donation for two videos is $10.00 plus shipping, the suggested donation for three videos is $13.00 plus shipping, etc. For each additional audio cassette, please add $1.00 plus shipping. However, the audio and video tapes, as with all of our materials, are provided free upon request. Anyone who sincerely requests materials and cannot help with expenses will be sent materials as we are able.

As with all of our literature that we print here, duplication of these tapes is not only permitted, but strongly encouraged.    Editor

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