The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 1:9-12, “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching

to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If

I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is

not according to man.

12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a

revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Teachers encounter a lot of things from students. I shall never forget one young man who was assigned to my class. From right out of the starting block, it was obvious that his goal was to convince everyone in the class –including the teacher– of the absolute correctness of his theological position. There might have been a good discussion, except for one thing: it was not a class in theology!

At that particular time, one of America’s leading ministerial voices was emphasizing a position that was neither mine nor that of the school where I was teaching. But, the student had read the pastor’s books, and had become enamored with his theological position. To some, whatever is “new” is right. Had the Apostle Paul been alive, he would have excoriated that pastor’s position and chastised him for misleading my student.

All that is to say that erroneous thoughts quite often come from the pens of men who want their views to be embraced, notwithstanding that those views are often contrary to Scripture. Just be careful!! Excellent biblical scholars “enlighten” our thoughts about Scripture; but they never take exception to it!

All preachers and teachers have favorite commentaries, upon which they rely to “enlighten” their understanding of various, difficult passages. Rarely, however, do the better commentaries ignore studies in the original languages. Paul’s gospel was not according to man. He didn’t even cite Gamaliel, his own Jewish teacher, who was arguably the best of his day. The Gospel came to Paul “through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

So, be careful whom you read; be careful whom you follow. Not all books are best burned in the fire –just some! Stay with the Bible! Pray to understand passages that seem unclear. The LORD has given us the Scriptures for our enlightenment. When they seem dark to us, He will bring them into the light! He will give us understanding! For it is through our clear understanding and forthright witness of His saving grace, that the LORD Himself is glorified. And that is what we’re left here on Earth to do!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

NOTE: Thank you for bearing with me while my modem was being replaced.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”