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Transformation--A Personal Journey (Endnotes)

1. The last phrase of the verse, about “rightly dividing” or “correctly handling” the Word of truth, applies to both doctrine and practice. I am not rightly dividing the Word if I teach salvation by works, but neither am I rightly dividing it if I teach that sterling character is not important. Close

2. One thing that has contributed to people’s belief that God and the things of God are mysterious is that the Greek word musterion has been transliterated into most English Bibles as “mystery,” instead of being translated as “secret,” or better, “sacred secret.” A “mystery” is unknowable, hence the prevalent teaching that God is mysterious. A “secret” is knowable if we make the effort to find it out. The things of God may not necessarily be obvious, but they are knowable, which is why God says in His Word we are fools if we do not know Him. Close

3. When a person gets “born again,” at that time he or she becomes a Christian and is guaranteed everlasting life. We have much audio, visual and written material on this subject posted on our website, TruthOrTradition.com/sealed The February 2008 teaching of the month is “Our Guarantee of Salvation” (free on our website or available to order from STF). Also, Appendix C in our book, The Christian’s Hope: The Anchor of the Soul, by John Schoenheit covers the subject. Close

4. These quotations are from the Kindle version of The Two Natures, which has no page numbers. E. W. Bullinger was a godly man and a scholar of the first rank. He would never countenance ungodly living, or say there was no profit in obeying God’s rules and regulations. He was trying to point out that without salvation, no amount of good works were valuable. In his defense, without meaning to, I had pulled his statements out of their broader and more historical context. In my defense, Bullinger did not clearly understand the Millennial and Eternal Kingdoms of Christ, or the rewards in those kingdoms that saved people earn by good work. Thus to some degree he misunderstood and misapplied the Scripture he quoted about the flesh profiting nothing. Close

5. Spirit & Truth Fellowship has much material on this. See John Schoenheit, The Christian’s Hope: The Anchor of the Soul and the audio teaching of the month: “The Kingdom of God, Paradise Regained” (March/April 1992) on TruthOrTradition.com Close

6. There is a description and diagram of the layout of the future Jerusalem in relation to the Temple in The Christian’s Hope: The Anchor of the Soul, chapter 4, “The Two Future Kingdoms on Earth.” There is also a nice diagram in The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB version), by Nelson Bibles, in Ezekiel 45. Close

7. There will be death in the Millennial Kingdom because “natural people” will live there, people who survived the Tribulation and Armageddon and whom Christ allowed into the Kingdom (Matt. 25:31-46; Isa. 65:20). Close

8. These directives come from: Romans 12:16 and 17; 1 Corinthians 6:18, 13:4-6; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4: 25-29 and 31; and Colossians 3:8. Close

9. These directives come from Romans 12:9-14, 1 Corinthians 12:25, 13:4-6, 14:12, 16:2, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Galatians 5:22 and 23; Ephesians 4:32 and 5:4, Philippians 4:8 and 1 John 1:9. Close