Greetings once again from the Breakers,
I can’t believe it’s already a brand new year! And boy has it started off on an ominous note with headlines like: “Meteors whizzing closely by the earth,” “Record Snowstorms,” “Locusts in Egypt,” “Looming global economic collapse,” “New Pope to be elected and he could be the anti-christ” and more. Could it be the Lord is coming back this year? I sure hope so. But until then we are busy occupying until He comes.
PRESENTATION OF CREATION VS EVOLUTION
Most of you know I’ve been working with Creation Science Evangelism in Pensacola, Florida in trying to finish their Spanish teaching sessions which we recorded in Honduras way back in 2005. I’m happy to report that these last two months I’ve finally finished the last of it with DVDs # 6 and #7. I also finished translating the Spanish workbook that goes along with that presentation for people to fill out as they watch. It was a lot of work rechecking slides, writing questions in Spanish, and making a workbook on my computer. But now it’s finally done, and I’m looking forward to seeing it go out to the Spanish-Speaking world! Please pray it will be greatly used by the Lord! There are many people who want it, and have been waiting patiently for it. Evolution truly is a great enemy of the Gospel, and it’s wonderful to have something like this available to the Spanish-Speaking people so they might see through that satanic teaching, and come to Jesus for salvation.
PRINTING TRACTS
Of course our small printing press has been going well, and we’ve been busy printing tracts in both English and Spanish. We’ve had some people order some of our tracts and distribute them, but mostly we print them ourselves and pass them out wherever we go. My latest tract is entitled, “The Gospel in the Acronym of C.O.B.R.A.” I’m enclosing it with this prayer letter for you to read. I hope it might be a blessing. If you desire more, please let me know.
PERSONS FROM THE PAST
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met these last two months from my past. Some called me on the phone, others just showed up at the house to visit with me, while others I just happened to see in town. It’s been a real blessing to see these folks. I also had an opportunity to witness to some people I’ve known over the years but haven’t talked to in a long while. Please pray for these folks and their salvation. Jesus said “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country.”
SOME PEOPLE I’VE MET LATELY
As we witness, we meet some very strange people. What’s stranger is that many of them claim to be Christians, while the things they SAY or DO would make one think otherwise. For example, not too long ago we met a lady who used to be a Church Secretary for many years, but her Pastor recently died. Because of this, she got a tattoo on her wrist of a heart with the date of the death of her Pastor inscribed inside. My wife and I looked at each other in wonder. Later Laura reminded me of the verse in Leviticus 19:28, which states: “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh FOR THE DEAD, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.” I know this is in the Old Testament, and we are under grace, but still. Should a Christian get a tattoo, especially when they do it FOR THE DEAD?
We are seeing more and more things like this. Recently, I received an introduction email from someone who claims to be a Christian who is in a rock ‘n roll band, claiming he was “playing rock music for Jesus.” (Oh, did I forget to mention he said he was an “Independent Baptist?” Yep. He sure did!) He had long hair and all, and really thought he was fulfilling his God-called ministry. (I guess he took that verse “I become all things for all men” a little too literally!)
Now, I don’t want to be Phariseeical or judgmental, but there are things we are seeing in Churches today that are simply atrocious. Shouldn’t Christians be a “peculiar” people, separate from the world, and trying to be a testimony of Christ, and a witness of Him? Why then does it seem so many who claim the name of Jesus seem so worldly today?
PROCLAIMING THE MESSAGE OF PAUL
When I was in Bible School, I was taught that the heart of New Testament doctrine was the Pauline Epistles. And, since he was the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13), we were to follow him, his preaching, and his message. This was called “Rightly Dividing the word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Thinking on this, I’ve been studying Paul a lot more lately, and I found something a little surprising, as I now see Paul as he really was, called of God to show others the right way. You see, Jesus came first, and he came to the Jews (Matt. 15:24). When he died, he chose his disciples to preach his message, and they did. But the Jews rejected it too, and so God turned towards Paul, using him to take the Gospel message to the Gentiles.
(Note: Paul preached to Jews too! The book of Acts proves this. But God said that he was to be the apostle of the Gentiles, and eventually, he went only to the Gentiles with the message of the Gospel).
After God saved Paul, he revealed to him some things, and these things Paul had to go to the disciples of Christ and explain. Peter even said that some of the things Paul spoke about were “hard to be understood” (2 Peter 3:16). So, Paul was sent by God and used of God to straighten out the brethren, and get them preaching the RIGHT thing, to the RIGHT people, rather than something preached only to the Jews
. (Note: What Peter preached in Acts 2:38 is NOT the Gospel. We today are not saved by water baptism.)
With this stated, Paul’s preaching is something that we in the Church age today desperately need to follow. Especially since we are in a time of apostasy, in which many who claim to be Christians have “fallen away” from the great truths of Scripture. Thus, we are not only supposed to go to the lost and witness to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which we should always be busy doing), but we also are supposed to try to reach those who claim to be Christians who are mixed up in their doctrines and try to help them come to a better understanding of the Scriptures. In other words, we are supposed to point people to the right doctrine and reprove them when they preach things contrary to word of God. This is not an easy job, especially when many people don’t want to hear that they are wrong.
(Even harder still we don’t want to be viewed by others as “holier than thou” or an “I told you so” or “I’m right, you’re wrong” type of person).
To point out a person’s false beliefs and/or teachings and refer them to the scripture does not make many friends. And if you remember, Paul didn’t have too many friends himself! In fact, in one verse, he said that he once answered a question, and then his other brothers in Christ “ALL forsook him” (2 Tim. 4:16). Why? Because he spoke the truth no matter the cost, not trying to please men, but rather to please God. He cared about TRUTH above all else! And would not compromise no matter what for anyone! (Would to God we had more men like this today!!!)
Thinking on this, I want to be more like Paul. But I also want to have the right balance. I don’t want to ever get to the point where I come across as a “know it all.” However, there are important doctrines of the faith that should be defended, and if someone preaches something else, then like Paul, we should point that out, and then show why it’s wrong according to the scriptures.
There are things in our day that are absolute Gospel truth that are now being downplayed, omitted, or even preached against by many so-called Modern ministers. And if Paul were here, I know what he’d do! He would not stand for it! Rather, he would show them the scriptures and tell them they are wrong!
This isn’t always fun, but it needs to be done. Especially when you think about how many people today are deceived. If we really cared about them, then we should try to reach them with the truth! But we need to do it with the right attitude. It’s easy to tell people they are wrong. But it’s harder to tell them why and to teach them with a humble and meek spirit, showing that you truly care about them and want them to come to the truth. This compassion is the key to reaching others.
Sadly, there are many today who think they are right and everyone else is wrong, and this leads to them having a “haughty” attitude. And it shows forth. Paul knew how to tell such people the truth and was always ready to give SCRIPTURE and not his own opinion. For only the word of God is truth, and it is our final and absolute authority.
Paul wasn’t interested in following men, or compromising to get along with others. His basis of fellowship was the Gospel, and preaching the truth of the Scriptures, even if it cost him fellowship, financial offerings, and even his own life. What a man!
Are you a Paul? Are you preaching the truth no matter what the cost? Are you pointing lost people to Christ Crucified? Are you then trying to show others who claim to be Christians with false doctrines the error of their ways and pointing them to the truth of the scripture?
Because of Christ Jesus our Great Lord and Saviour,
Robert Breaker
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE APOSTLE PAUL
It’s amazing to me to see so many minsters today avoiding the Apostle Paul and his epistles, instead running to the Gospels, Acts, James, and many other books to try to find their gospel, and even at times trying to find their salvation message. Could it be they just don’t know how to “rightly divide” the word of Truth?
It’s further clear that Paul is our Apostle according to Romans 11:13, and he said three times that we are supposed to follow him. The references for this are found in:
1 Cor. 4:16
1 Cor. 11:1
Philippians 3:17
Paul further said in 2 Thes. 3:9, that he made himself our example to follow. So we are to follow Paul, and by so doing, we are following Jesus.
Paul speaks of the Gospel three times in saying “my gospel.” The references are found in:
Rom. 2:16
Rom. 16:25
2 Tim. 2:8
What is Paul’s Gospel? It is THE GOSPEL he mentions in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4! This is what we are supposed to preach today! Salvation by Christ Jesus’ DEATH, BURIAL, and RESURRECTION, according to the Scriptures.
Why then do many who call themselves Christians preach something else? Today it’s common to hear that salvation is by: water baptism, church attendance, repeating a vain prayer, doing good works, following the beatitudes, etc. But where is the Gospel in these? Someone is not “rightly dividing” the word of God, and understanding where our doctrine for today comes from. It’s from the Pauline Epistles, which teach us that salvation is by GRACE through FAITH in the finished work (i.e. Shed BLOOD) of Jesus Christ! It is NOT of works lest any man should boast. We are saved by what JESUS did, not what WE do to try to justify ourselves to God. Many claim to know this simple truth, but often they omit Paul and his epistles. Why?
Paul himself warned us of such a time, and I believe we are now living in that day. In 2 Tim. 4:2 he writes:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Let’s get back to living like, preaching like, and following the Apostle Paul. For his example to us is a great example of what a true Christian is, what he should believe, what he should preach and how he should act!
