The Strand Study Bible

Written From Rome During Paul’s Second Roman Imprisonment II TIMOTHY do theses things; he is charging Timothy to do these things. Honoring the Word of God is a must , not a mere suggestion. 4:2b As God-called servants of God, we are admonished to become “seasonless” ( out of season ) Christians. That is, we are not to allow the different seasons of life to affect our service for God. Like the changing of the seasons, sometimes life can be warm and fuzzy, while others times it can be cold, harsh and dry. As servants of God, we need to learn to allow the different seasons of life to make us, not break us. Charles Swindoll in Season’s of Life notes: The Master is neither mute nor careless as He alters our times and changes our seasons…Seasons are designed to deepen us, to instruct us in the wisdom and ways of our God. To help us grow strong…like a tree planted by the rivers of water… And let’s not fear the winds of adversity! Roots grow deep when the winds are strong. 1 4:3 False teachers rarely exist in a spiritual vacuum. They begin appearing because people desire to hear and act on their flesh- stroking ( own lusts ) doctrines. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in Are We Living in the End Times? note: In other words, the people demand to hear ungodly fables, and soon false teachers start appearing to supply the demand–like flies to a garbage dump. 2 The Word of Faith Movement ( Prov 16:8 ), as believed and taught by many, can be traced back to Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003) and William Marrion Branham (1909-1965). Branham personally denied three essential doctrines of the Christian faith: 1. The doctrine of the Trinity – William Branham called the doctrine of the Trinity, “a doctrine of demons” adding that “believers baptized by a Trinitarian formula must be re-baptized in the name of Jesus only.”He went on to say, “…not one place in the Bible is trinity ever mentioned…It’s Catholic error and you Protestants bow to it.” 3 How is it that “pro” Trinitarian Word of Faith Movement enthusiasts 4 , and health and wealth prosperity-type people, 5 keep referring to William Branham as a great prophet of God? According to the clear teachings of the Scriptures, anyone who denies the doctrine of the Trinity, and Christ a part of it, cannot be saved ( Gen 1:1 c ). NOTE - The Oneness Movement (people who believe Jesus plays all three roles within the Trinity) is the product of men like William Branham. Harold L. Willmington in Signs of the Times notes: 2041 Perhaps, however, the greatest danger coming from the charismatic movement is the subtle (but sure) elevation of personal experience over the Bible. If one believes that God continues to speak today through dreams, tongues, and revelations, then it becomes so easy for personal visions to be favored over Scripture verses. 6 2. The doctrine of the Bible – William Branham believed the Word of God was given in three forms: the zodiac, the Egyptian pyramids, and the written scripture. 7 The Apostle John said in Revelation 22:18-19: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things , God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book : And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book . To say that God has revealed more information than what is in the Holy Scriptures is to add to God’s Word. 3. The doctrine of salvation – William Branham believed in salvation by “works.” In The Spoken Word , Branham believed that going to Heaven depended upon three factors: justification, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost (and even then you weren’t guaranteed Heaven). Listen closely to what he said: And I was saying that a person has to come by these three steps (justification, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost), to be able to walk that highway (i.e., go to heaven). Branham then goes on to tell the following story: There was a lady that came by. Now, you know what kind of shoes people wore thirty-five years ago. There was a lady come by, had on a great big pair like they wear today, spike-heeled shoes. And she come by. And I said, “Wait a minute, sister. You can’t walk that highway (i.e., go to heaven) with that.” And I said, “You-you, you can’t do that.” And she said, “Ah!” She said, looked around at the rest of the women, said, “Don’t believe him. He’s a madman. See? Don’t believe him. I’ll show you I can be justified, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost, and still walk that.” And she…I just let her go. Couldn’t do no more about it, couldn’t stop her… And mother said (Branham’s mother told him that she had a dream about that lady), “The horriblest screams that I ever heard in my life, was that woman falling into those flames and smoke, going down, down like that. 3 According to Branham, this lady went to Hell simply because she wore a pair of shoes that “he” didn’t think God approved of. Branham also preached that you had to be baptized in Jesus’ name in order to be saved. NOTE - This “oneness baptismal regeneration doctrine” has led to the United Pentecostal Movement ( Jn 4:24 ). 4:7a Like Paul, I can live with losing the good fight of faith, but I cannot live without “fighting” it. 4:7b THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Don’t wish you had; thank God you did ( I have ) ( II Sam 18:33 ) 4:8 The third crown mentioned in the Bible that can be earned is the “ crown of righteousness .” This crown is bestowed upon those The most casual viewing of the many charismatic TV programs, or the reading of their various magazines reveals an amazing theological hodgepodge of practices and beliefs. For example, one need not believe in the Trinity nor necessarily ascribe to the deity of Christ to experience the tongues event. After experiencing it, he or she may continue to pray to Mary, work in night clubs, and give up no worldly habits whatsoever. A number of this group–by their own testimony–are either against the local church or, at best, simply not interested in attending and supporting a centralized body of believers.