Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;

Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.  Jeremiah 9:23-26

What Is Ruckmanism?  By John P. McGraw, M.A.

Ruckmanism:  An obscure heresy mainly contained to southeastern United States and several midwestern states.  This heresy gets its name from Dr. Peter Sturges Ruckman (Ph.D., religious history) who has founded his theology on extreme antinomianism (the possibility of inner salvation without outward, visible holiness), a dedication to Bibliolotry, and many radical interpretations of the Bible.  Devotees of this heresy will stand for the most extreme interpretations of controversial subjects if they come from their leader, but under no circumstances will they stand for a critique of the underlying foundations of the heresy itself.  Among other heresies Ruckman teaches divorce and remarriage of Christians as Christian institutions.  Ruckman contends that all those partaking in physical union (“flesh joined to flesh” as he calls it) have been married, though maybe their marriage is not recognized in the eyes of man.  This of course is polygamy in a twisted form.  The clear teaching of the New Testament is that marriage is (1) a ceremony, John 2:1-10, (2) a spiritual union, Ephesians 5, and (3) a physical union, Hebrews 13:4.  Also the New Testament speaks of the marriage of Jesus to the church, certainly something other than “flesh joined to flesh”.  This aspect of ruckmanism is similar to early Mormonism which contended that indeed marriage is polygamous, and was even partaken in by Jesus Christ.

Though maintaining an orthodox pretense in the Baptist tradition, ruckmanism is clearly outside the tradition of both historic and Biblical Christianity.  Another aspect of ruckmanism is the concept that restricts the deity of Christ to Jesus being the manifestation of God in the flesh and not actually God, in that Christ the man was capable of sin and could have fallen.  Should Christ have sinned the universe it is surmised, might have exploded.  It is felt that were Jesus above the capacity to sin, His testing on the earth would have been a hoax.  This of course is a denial of the Godness of Christ just as so called Apostolic (Jesus Only) doctrine is a denial of His humanity.  The fact is that there was no possibility of Jesus falling for He was truly God.  His testing is a willing one to reconcile man to Himself, not of any necessity whatsoever to the blessed Trinity.  Other aspects of ruckmanism are: the English King James Version of the Bible is superior to the original Greek manuscripts, the antichrist may land in a spaceship in the Vatican, there are no women in heaven (all resurrected saints will receive bodies identical to the resurrected body of Jesus), and a vicious badgering and name calling of those who do not submit to Ruckman’s authority.  Another interesting innovation is that Judas Iscariot was not human, even though the New Testament shows Judas betraying human emotions, repentance and suicide.  Ruckman takes Christ’s statement, “one of you is a devil” to mean that Judas was not human.  Of course Jesus no more meant that Judas was not human than He meant that the Pharisees were not human when He called them serpents and children of vipers.  Interestingly enough Ruckman’s teachings on the non-humaness of Judas is a denial of the traditional and Biblical teaching of the antichrist, whom Ruckman thinks Judas was and is and will be.  For the Pauline teaching on the antichrist is that indeed the antichrist is human, specifically the “man of sin.” (2 Thessalonians 2:2)  In that the distinct element of this teaching revolves around a man, ruckmanism can be accurately described as a cult.

When I study Scripture, I am constantly asking what does this word or phrase mean?  For example, Ephesians 5 talks about being filled with the Spirit, but instead of defining what it means to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5, Paul gives characteristics of one who is being filled with the Spirit. 

In the book of Proverbs, much is written about wisdom and understanding, but wisdom and understanding are not clearly defined in Proverbs.  We are just told to get wisdom and to get understanding.  

Psalm 37:4 says; Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  What does it mean to delight oneself in the Lord?  How do I do that?

In John 6 Jesus is the bread of life.  He says to the Pharisees; Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53&54)   What does this mean?  How can we eat His flesh and drink His blood!?  

At times the Scripture appears to be speaking in riddles by saying; this is what you need to have and this is what it looks like.  The Scripture also teaches that if you search for it, you will find it!  The wonderful thing about studying and searching the Scriptures is that somewhere in Scripture, the riddles are defined. 

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  Prov. 2:1-6

Being filled or controlled by the Spirit is defined in the parallel passage of Colossians chapter 3 as letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly. 

Wisdom and understanding are clearly defined in Job 28:28.  And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Isaiah explains what it means to delight in the Lord; …….honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD;  Isaiah 58:13b&14a

Jesus explains His statement concerning eating His flesh and drinking His blood a few verses later in John 6; Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

The Lord continues; What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  It is the spirit that quickeneth (makes alive); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  John 6:60-63

…….let the word of Christ dwell in you richly……. 

KJV or King James Authorized Version of the Bible refers to the 1611 English translation of the Bible. This translation was commissioned by King James of England, head of the Church of England.

There are a couple of legitimate reasons that a Christian may claim to be King James only, in reference to good Bible translations:

There are pastors that prefer that their congregation all use the same translation.  A pastor may preach only from the KJV.  In order to avoid confusion, particularly for new believers, that pastor may encourage his congregation to use the same KJV translation that he does.  He may be referred to as KJV only and this is well and good.

There may be pastors who believe, out of personal conviction, the KJV is the best translation available.  These pastors would encourage their congregation to use what they consider the best translation. They could therefore be referred to as KJV only.   This is also well and good.

There are also some that believe that the KJV translation itself is inspired or God breathed per II Timothy 3:16.  This would mean that the KJV is a perfect translation with no mistakes and no inadequacies of any kind.  The logic of this thinking leads to the faulty conclusion that the original languages can be corrected by the KJV and that all other translations of the Bible should be checked by the KJV translation.  The individuals that hold to this teaching are also known as KJV only, but this is not well and good.  As good as the KJV translation is, it is not a perfect translation.

The KJV translators were Anglicans.  The Anglican Church or the Church of England was a state church closely akin to the Roman Catholic Church.  King Henry the VIII of England requested that the Roman Catholic church annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon who was unable to give him a male heir.  The Pope declined.  The breach with Rome came to a conclusion when King Henry replaced the Archbishop of Canterbury in order to have his marriage annulled.  As a result of the breach with the Roman Catholic Church, King Henry the VIII became head of the church in England.  

King Henry VIII, as head of the Church of England and head of state subsequently used his power to dispose of other wives, either through annulment of their marriage or by execution.  If a wife of Henry’s was dead or their marriage was annulled, the King would be free to remarry.

What does this have to do with the KJV?  Barely 70 years after Henry VIII died, King James used his authority, as head of the church and head of state, to commission the 1611 translation of the Bible.  The translators were conscientious and scholarly men, but they were also under the influence of a monarch with absolute power.  Would the king’s absolute power influence the way the KJV was translated?

I believe the king’s absolute power influenced the translators in a subtle way.  Keep in mind that if the KJV translation was inspired of God as per II Timothy 3:16, the KJV translation would be perfect and unblemished, without even a scribal error.  I believe there is adequate evidence in the KJV text to show the influence of the King’s absolute power.  The following is one example of a weak translation.

Christ speaking to Peter – King James Translation:

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Matthew 16:19 KJV

The “future perfect periphrastic” structure in the Greek shows us that instead of giving Peter unlimited authority in the church, the Lord Jesus has limited his authority to what has already been decided in heaven.

The most understandable translation of this passage would be as follows:  And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you forbid on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven: and whatever you permit on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. (Williams)*

Rather than a blank check to the church over which the King has become head, the Matthew 16:19 passage correctly translated is actually a warning and a restraint upon the church and it’s power.  

The blank check translation of this passage in the KJV reveals, in my opinion, the political influence of the state church upon the translators.  If the KJV translation is inspired (God breathed) this passage would have been accurately translated.  

If the KJV English translation is not inspired, what does II Timothy 3:16 mean when it says; All scripture is given by inspiration of God,…?  It means  that when the Scripture was given, the Scriptures were God breathed as to source.  As such the initial  writings were a perfect rendering of God’s word to mankind when uttered and recorded in the prophet’s and apostle’s manuscripts.

 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Peter 1:21).  The verses above were written by Paul and Peter in the first century during the time the NT Scriptures were being given to the church.  The biblical doctrine of inspiration applies to the original manuscripts as the perfect revelation of God.  Their being God breathed refers to how they were given, when they were given and what we were given in the first place (originally).

If we no longer have the original manuscripts of the prophets and apostles, how do we know that we have the infallible Word of God?  Do not those things that are handed down from generation to generation get distorted and muddled by oral tradition?  The answer is yes, things are muddled by oral tradition, but the Bible is an exception to that and here are reasons why:

• Scripture has not been handed down by oral tradition.  The Scriptures have been written and copied by those who believed that the Bible was exactly what it claimed to be……..the Word of God.  They treated it as such.  God worked through these people to preserve His Word.  Many paid with their lives.
• The volume of manuscripts for the New Testament; some full, some partial, some in bits and pieces have enabled Bible scholars to verify, through constructive criticism, the contents of each NT book.  In many cases there is more historical evidence to support Bible content, than there is for much of the secular history predating Christ.
• In addition, before the discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest manuscripts of the OT were dated from about 1000 AD.  After the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, we suddenly had OT manuscripts that predated Christ.  Careful study of these manuscripts by Bible scholars indicate that the oldest manuscripts we had prior to the Dead Sea scrolls were 95% plus accurate.  The 5% or less discrepancy has nothing to do with Bible doctrine and can be attributed to scribal error and changed spellings.

 God has preserved His Word.  It is not necessary to make up a  doctrine to support the Scripture as the infallible Word of God.  Bible believers have always accepted the infallibility of Scripture by faith and that was long before the 1611 KJV translation.

 Inventing doctrine to support or defend legitimate Bible doctrine does not serve God’s purpose.   

Note:  Whether or not you may agree concerning the King of England’s power to influence the KJV translators, an honest evaluation of the KJV will reveal weak translations of certain passages which deal with state church doctrine that is not biblical. Weak translations are not perfect translations.

It is not my intent in this article to disparage the KJV  translation.  If you check my blog articles, you will find that when I quote  the Bible, the majority of the time I quote from the KJV.   When I refer to a weak translation, I am referring to passages that could have been translated more clearly, but they were not more precise, in my opinion, because of the established practices of the state church at that time.

The point of this article is simply this; if the 1611 KJV is God breathed in the sense of II Timothy 3:16, then it must be perfect in every way.  The KJV is not perfect in every way. 

Those who hold that the 1611 KJV is perfect find themselves in the irrational position of believing the KJV can be used to correct the original languages and all other translations of various languages.  This kind of thinking does not edify believers, defend the faith or advance the cause of Christ.  

Inventing doctrine to support or defend legitimate Bible doctrine does not serve God’s purpose.   

*See blog article entitled Settled in Heaven.

 …….let the word of Christ dwell in you richly……

Have you ever said Good Morning to someone, only to have them reply suspiciously; what do you mean by that?  Whenever it happens, it is always a good laugh.

On the other hand, when engaging someone in a conversation about spiritual things, people often respond; I am a Christian.  This would be a good time to ask seriously; what do you mean by that, what do you mean when you say; I am a Christian?

Regardless their response to the question, a follow up for the believer can be; This is what I mean when I say, I claim to be a Christian:

  I am a poor lost sinner who deserves hell.  There is nothing I can do to make my heart clean.  I am trusting Jesus Christ as my only hope of salvation and you can hold me accountable to anything Scripture says.  Is this what you mean when you say; I am a Christian?

Anyone can say I believe (the demons believe and tremble), but few are willing to be held accountable.

Note: The evidence of salvation, not the cause of it, is obedience to the Word of God.  What is lacking today in those who profess to be Christians is confidence in and obedience to the Bible. 

……let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…….

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.

 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.

 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.  Psalm 66:16-20

ISAIAH 53

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

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.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28:28

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Up to the birth of Christ there had been 400 silent years in Israel since the glory (the manifestation of His presence) of God left the temple.  The Messiah had come preaching, teaching and healing to authenticate His message to the unbelieving Jews that He was indeed the Messiah.  They rejected Him and slew Him on a cross and He rose again from the dead.  Here speaking in tongues (other languages) was a sign to the unbelieving Jew.  A sign which authenticated the Messiah’s message and warned of impending judgment.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues (languages), as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).  

The context here is the coming of the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) whom the Lord promised to the church (the body of believers).  Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the OT believer would change in His relationship to NT believers.  In the OT He came upon believers to enable them for a specific task.  In the NT He would indwell believers and seal them until the Day of Redemption.  The change in the Holy Spirit’s ministry was a special event (Pentecost), accompanied by a sign to unbelieving Jews.

Initially the coming of the Comforter was manifested by sound (of a mighty rushing wind), sight (cloven tongues like as of fire), and sign (speaking in tongues).  Remember that the definition of tongues is defined in this same passage (Acts 2) as the ability to speak another language without ever having learned it.

Later in Acts, when the first Gentiles were converted to Christ, their receiving of the Holy Spirit was manifested by speaking in tongues as well.  This again, was a sign to unbelieving Jews in fulfillment of OT prophecy (Isaiah 11:10).  After the initial conversion of Gentiles (Acts 10) and Paul’s instruction to disciples at Ephesus on the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6), one will be hard pressed to find speaking in tongues in any NT book other than the first letter to the Corinthians who were abusing the gift.

We must remember that Acts is a book of history and transition. It is not an establishment of standard practice in the church. 

Concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians; For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (I Cor. 12:13).  The key word here is all.  All believers have been baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

Having established that all believers are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, we must ask; do all believers receive the gift of speaking in tongues?  

To answer that question we need to go to I Corinthians 12 where Paul is teaching on the spiritual gifts.  In verses 4-11 he talks about the diversities of gifts given to believers by the same Spirit.  To one is given the word of wisdom, to another the gifts of healing, to another the discerning of spirits, and to another divers kinds of tongues.  The point here is that not everyone receives the same gift.  Not everyone receives the gift of tongues.  There are diversities of gifts.

Later in the same chapter Paul uses the word some.  Some describes how many get certain gifts.  Some receive diversities of tongues, but not all.  In verses 29 & 30 of I Corinthians 12, Paul asks these rhetorical questions; Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?  The answer is an understood No!

 Since Scripture says that all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit but not all believers speak in tongues, then speaking in tongues cannot be the manifestation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the church today.  If speaking in tongues is the baptism of the Holy Spirit then all believers should speak in tongues (languages).  The apostle Paul proves that is not the case.  

 You cannot be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit.  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9b).  Therefore, all Christians are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit upon believing. 

To say that one can be a Christian but not have the Holy Spirit, until evidenced by speaking in tongues, is a contradiction of biblical instruction concerning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the distribution of spiritual gifts.  This teaching is not sound bible doctrine.

…..let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…. 

Note:  If you have not read Speaking in Tongues Part I, you should pull it up for review, because it lays a foundation for Part II.  You may find it by going to the top of the left hand column and typing the title into the Search Box.

For a more complete study of this topic please read The Corinthian Catastrophe by George E. Gardner; copyright 1974 by Kregel Publications.

To be Continued…..See Part III

       My Testimony

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.  Psalm 66:16

I claim to be a Christian.  This is my personal testimony of how I came to the Lord. Every Christian’s testimony is different, but the plan of salvation always includes the following:  the realization of the need to be reconciled to God; a conviction of sin; repentance (changing the mind); a willingness and desire to accept Jesus Christ as personal Saviour; belief in His death, burial, and resurrection; and faith in Christ’s merit alone. 

This is how God worked in my life to bring me to salvation.

While growing up I attended church with my family every time the doors were opened.  I was taught Bible stories and knew the plan of salvation from an early age.  I was baptized as a youth.  I served as janitor of the church, cleaning it every week with one of my siblings.  In addition, I mowed the church yard and shoveled the sidewalks.  I was in the youth group and sang in the church choir.  At times I even participated in church services, but through all of these things I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The fact that I did not have a relationship with Christ was manifested by my eagerness to sin as I struggled to get out from under my parent’s authority.  My life became characterized by the things done by those whom the Scriptures describe as being alienated from God, but I was having a great time or so I thought.

The difficulty with living in disobedience to direct commands of Scripture and enjoying this lifestyle, was the emptiness left within.  While a student at a small college in the Midwest, I wrote the following: Love is eating away at my soul, and I can do nothing for its control.  I wish someone could help me, but no one can.  I’m destined to die a lonely man.

There were two things wrong with that statement.  First, it wasn’t love eating away at my soul, it was sin. Second, it wasn’t true that no one could help me, the Lord could.  He heard my cry but He had to put me in a position where I would want His help.

The tragic deaths of four young men got my attention.  They died doing things that I had done under similar circumstances.  Something would happen to me and then it would happen to one or two of these young men resulting in death.  The first events were over a year apart, the second set of events were months apart, and the last events were just seven days apart.

When those last two young men died, a fraternity brother said to me: That was you and me last Friday night!  His words became the writing on the wall.  I wasn’t ready to die.

I knew something had to change in my life, but I wasn’t exactly sure what or how.  My sister was home for Christmas, so I asked her if I could go back to Florida with her after the holidays.  She consented after a couple of days of prayer!  I had no job, no money, and no wheels, so I attended church with her where I heard the plan of salvation again.

One night in the spring of 1973 I got on my knees beside my bed and read through the Romans Road in my Bible (see blog article entitled The Romans Road).  I admitted to God that although I knew how to be saved, my life gave no evidence that I had a relationship with Him through His Son.  I told God that I wanted to be saved, and it was then that He not only changed my heart, He began a work in me which would change my life.  That is my testimony of how God brought me to Christ.  What is your testimony?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.  II Corinthians 5:17

                                             Monty McCoy

If you are unsure about your relationship to God, I would like to invite you to read the blog article entitled; How to Become a Christian.  Just go to the column on the left hand side and type How to Become a Christian into the search window to pull it up.  If you still have questions, you may contact me at: mccoymonty@gmail.com.