Tuesday, November 7, 2023

A Strange Teaching By Pastor Brad Strand

Hebrews 13:9, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

I love preachers! I was looking online today and found a video on YouTube by Pastor Brad Strand. I was delighted to have found a video with his personal salvation testimony. Please understand that I am not questioning Pastor Strand's salvation in this video. He nailed the Gospel exactly right, for which I commend him. Albeit, RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS and I humbly think he gets something wrong in his presentation.

Respectfully, I am a bit surprised by the following video. I don't find any teaching in the inspired Holy Bible that says the payment Jesus made was to give up His Spirit form and be stuck in a physical body forever. That is strange doctrine. Before I say anymore, here is the video if you'd like to watch it. Click here to go right to the heresy. ...

Pastor Brad Shares His Testimony

Nowhere does the inspired King James Bible say that the payment Jesus made was to give up His Spirit form, and be stuck in a resurrected physical body forever. The Bible does plainly teach in 1st Peter 1:18-19, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:9, Revelation 1:5, 1st John 1:7, Hebrews 9:12 and Revelation 5:9 that JESUS' BLOOD was the price that He paid for our sins. 

In his testimony, Pastor Brad Strand quotes the gentleman who led him to the Lord 47 years earlier, Frank Owens, as teaching him the following toxic theological garbage. Dear reader, this is NOT biblical. ...
Jesus said: It is finished, I am offering the entire universe certain aspects of my eternal authority. I will never go back to being Spirit form again. I will be confined to a resurrected body to all eternity future... that is the eternal payment. I will never go back to being Spirit form with the other two [God the Father and God the Holy Spirit], for all eternity past; I will never go back to being Spirit form again.” —Pastor Brad Strand, YouTube: Pastor Brad Shares His Testimony” (time: 19:19 in video)
And the place where Jesus made that payment was to sprinkle His literal liquid blood upon the heavenly MERCY SEAT according to Hebrews 9;12, 22-24; 12;24. The only thing that was "finished" on the cross, when Jesus uttered the words "it is finished," were all the Messianic prophesies concerning Him (i.e., they had all been fulfilled). It was finished after Christ said, "I thirst." Redemption could not have been finished, because Jesus had not yet, died, been buried or resurrected (which is the Gospel, as the preceding video correctly teaches).

Something else to consider is that God doesn't exist in Heaven in a Spirit form. Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Psalms 47:8, “God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” Psalms 103:19, “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Now, to sit down you need something concrete to sit upon (the opposite of something abstract).

Furthermore, God physically appeared to Moses in the Old Testament. ...
Exodus 33:17-33, “And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
That is an amazing story in the Bible. No man can see God and live. I do not know why. Perhaps it is because God is so holy that no man can see His face and live. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” I once heard a preacher say that God's very presence makes us nervous because He is so holy. I do not know if that is true, but I have at times felt nervous for no apparent reason, and I remembered what that pastor said. I have spent my adult life as a child of God seeking His face, enjoying God's blessed Holy Spirit presence while wallowing in His Word. What saith the Scripture? James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Having said all that, humbly said, I love the video by Pastor Strand. I wanted to share it with everyone I know, but I simply cannot because of the strange idea that Jesus paid for our sins by giving up His Spirit form to be stuck in a physical body forever. Kindly said, that is just weird. Nor does the inspired Scripture agree with such doctrine. I hope that Brother Strand will redo the video, because I would love to promote his testimony. The eternal payment which Christ made was not being stuck in a resurrected human body; but rather, it was the precious blood that He shed on Calvary's cross, and applied in the Father's presence to the Mercy Seat in Heaven's Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24).

I Highly Recommend: The Strand's Study Bible

I am so glad that Pastor Strand didn't tell people to "turn from your sins" or "submit to live for Christ" to get to Heaven, which heresies nearly every Baptist preacher today has succumbed to, preaching another gospel. I appreciate Pastor Strand for his service for our dear Savior. Brother Strand is one of my favorite Bible teachers. I highly recommend that you purchase his amazing: 'The Strand Study Bible' (new from Amazon.com).

Also, eBay has some used ones for a cheaper price. I guarantee you that soon you'll never be able to obtain this invaluable study Bible resource again. The reason why, I humbly think, is simply because Americans don't want the truth anymore; there is not enough interest to justify future publications of this resource. I saw this happen to, “The John R. Rice Reference Bible” (I have 5 of them thankfully), and other masterpieces of literature. GET IT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!

It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny. Brother Strand shows you every place in the New Testament where it quotes from the Old Testament, which is invaluable when studying God's Word. The study book is filled with Bible land photos, maps, commentaries how secular history parallels the Bible, and contains 2,368 pages. I love this guy as a Bible teacher!

Thirty-five years ago, in a classroom at HAC, I learned from Brother Strand about the Seven Kings Of Revelation, which blew my mind. Please don't think that I am critiquing Brother Strand as a Bible teacher, I am not; I simply disagree with his teaching brought to your attention in this blog. I learned long ago from Pastor Max D. Younce (1935-2023) that contending for the faith is one of the great joys of the Christian life. It sure is!

Pastor Strand was one of my favorite Bible teachers at Hyles-Anderson College in the late 1980's. I sat on the edge of my seat as a teenager, as he taught us. I got saved at age 13, but did not learn that Jesus is almighty God until age 18, at Hyles-Anderson College when Brother Strand taught me so in class. I had him for Deuteronomy and other interesting classes.

Please understand that my goal in writing blogs like this is never to be unkind, to upset people or shed a negative light on anyone, God knows my heart. My goal is to help teach others the truth (as I believe God has taught me). What saith the Scripture? ...
1st Corinthians 11:19, “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”
I love this Bible verse, because it tells us that we need false doctrines and false teachers, so that those who are learned in the Scripture can refute them and proclaim the truth. God is not a respecter of persons. It matters not if a pastor or Bible professor has been teaching Bible doctrine for 50 years, if he is wrong he is wrong! Pastor John MacArthur is 80 years old, yet still a hellbound infidel, the biggest teacher of the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation today. Hell is coming up to meet Dr. MacArthur (Isaiah 14:9), whose “many wonderful works“” and crying out “Lord, Lord” cannot save him from the judgment to come in the lake of Fire (Matthew 7:21-23).

I love something that Pastor Strand said in his video:
He [Jesus] has to know you. You can know Him, but He has to know you. And the only way He gets to know you, is through you accepting the Gospel. He makes it simple. He makes it plain. And He wants to do that, but not everybody wants to hear the Gospel. What they want to hear is what religious leaders tell them. —Pastor Brad Strand, YouTube: Pastor Brad Shares His Testimony” (time: 4:15 in video)
Bravo! Does Jesus know you dear friend? That is, does Jesus know you as one of His sheep? If you don't know 100% that if you died right now that you would go to Heaven, simply BELIEVE the Good News (Gospel) that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross. Simply BELIEVE that Jesus DIED in your place on the cross, to pay your debt of sin (and mine). Jesus was BURIED. And then three days later Jesus physically RESURRECTED from the dead for your justification. This is “the gospel,” by which all guilty sinners who BELIEVE IT are saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). 1st Thessalonians 4:14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Dear reader, I kindly encourage you to read the helpful book by my ministry friend, Michael P. Bowen titled:


Having said that, I realize that Pastor Strand is quoting Frank Owens, but Brother Strand is clearly agreeing with his heresy, repeating it to the lady in her late eighties (told by her doctor that she is about to die). To teach that the eternal payment Jesus made was to give up His former Spirit form, to be stuck forever in a resurrected human body, is strange doctrine. The bottom line is that you cannot take the Scripture and show me what Pastor Strand is teaching.

Here is what the Bible DOES teach, it is Jesus precious BLOOD that saves us...
1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
I admit that what Pastor Brand is teaching is intriguing, and I personally don't think it would hinder a lost sinner from being saved. I humbly think it is harmless. However, it is not biblical. It is a serious thing to embellish the Word of God, adding things that God didn't author. Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” If you disagree with this blog I have published, then I triple dog dare you to show me even one Bible verse to support what Pastor Brad Strand is falsely teaching.

As I mentioned, Pastor Strand was one of my favorite Bible teachers at Hyles-Anderson College (HAC) was Pastor Brad Strand. He opened my eyes to study the fascinating secular history that parallels the history recorded in the Holy Bible. It is hard to believe that is has already been 35 years since back then. Wow! As I said earlier, I learned first from Brother Strand that Jesus is almighty God, in a classroom at HAC. Thank you Brother Strand!

Here is more information about it. ...

The Strand Study Bible

Gratefully, Pastor Strand has authored a 2,368 page Bible Study book. To reiterate, I bought my own for $138 from Amazon, but you can get a used one cheaper on eBay. I highly recommend: "The Strand Study Bible," which uses only the King James Bible. This study Bible shows you every place where the New Testament fulfills a prophesy from the Old Testament, which is invaluable.

I caught a bad cold while in college. I was at home for a few days recovering. During that time, because of the truths that Brother Strand taught me in class about the word "Lord," I was fascinated. I was amazed so much that I took some colored pencils and started in Genesis with a Strong's Concordance, and went all the way through to the book of Revelation. In over 7,000 places were the word "Lord" is mentioned throughout the Bible, I studied its meaning, marking each word with a colored pen to learn the context of its use. Brother Strand didn't just teach us the Bible, he inspired us to study on our own, and I did. I love this guy!

Having said that, I am not saying that I agree with everything that Pastor Strand teaches, but his approach to studying the Bible is brilliant. He preaches a simple free grace Gospel. Jesus is precious! 
Again, my only intent is to refute unbiblical teaching, not to upset people or be unkind. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

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