Staying Committed To the Truth

October Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and greetings in Jesus’ precious name! Christ came into this world “in the fullness of time” to redeem mankind from sin and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father (Galatians 4:4,5). And what a great salvation it was and is that God wrought for us in Christ (see Hebrews 2:3-18)! Denise and I and our family wish you a warm and wonderful Christmas season and the best new year of your life in 2022.

Today I want to talk to you about opportunities and adversaries, but first I want to say thank you for being such a faithful partner with our ministry. As I told you in my letter last month, our ministry is bursting at the seams, and I am so humbled that God would use Denise and me, our family, and our team to minister to the many people who are reaching out to us every day.

Every soul is precious, and it is our heartfelt desire to convey that truth to every person God brings to us — that they are precious to Him and to us. And your gifts are so vital to our ability to touch every one of these treasured souls! So today I want to say a special thank you for all you do with us to take the trusted teaching of the Word of God to people in Russia and all over the world. From the depths of our hearts, Denise and I THANK YOU!

This month is the last month of the year — and I know you are probably preparing for Christmas and many different kinds of gatherings. But in addition to Christmas, it’s also almost 2022. As we come to the end of this year and to the beginning of a brand-new year, the Holy Spirit keeps telling me to “stay on track” with the assignments He has given us. I hear Him saying that even if we hit bumps along the way, everything will be all right if we’ll just stay on track and maintain our God-assigned territory — the many opportunities and assignments He has given us to inspire, strengthen, and equip believers with the sound teaching of the Bible.

But I’ve learned over the years that opportunities and adversaries usually go together — and today I want to encourage you to undergird yourself so that you can stay on track with what God has asked you to do this month and in the coming year.

Over the course of our ministry, we’ve had many great, effectual doors open to us to do the work of the Gospel. I’ll never forget when I received an opportunity to minister on television in the former Soviet Union. It was as if a great door had suddenly swung open to an entire vast territory — a door that had never before been opened for anyone else — and I knew I was experiencing something miraculous. By faith, Denise and I stepped through that door and began to preach the Word of God on television in this spiritually starved corner of the world.

Given the former socialist-communist campaigns against the Gospel in this particular region, this opportunity was as miraculous as the Jordan River dividing for Joshua and the children of Israel. But with this great open door also came a slew of adversaries, specifically dispatched by Satan to instill fear and doubt into my heart. The devil desperately wanted to prevent me from touching the lives of spiritually oppressed people, so he positioned evil people with insidious plans to try to block my view of what God had in store for our ministry.

I’m telling you that it was like the children of Israel looking at the Promised Land from the far side of the Jordan River. From that perspective, they saw only the fruitful land of blessing that lay before them. But once they entered the Promised Land, they had to fight giants of every kind before they could possess that land and enjoy the blessing. In much the same way, if Denise and I had taken our eyes off the Lord during that tumultuous period — or if we had focused only on the problems and forgotten about the fruit we were pursuing for God’s Kingdom — I’m sure we would have backpedaled to get out of the situation!

But we knew this was a God-given opportunity and worth the fight, so we fixed our gaze squarely on the Lord. Girded with the armor of God and the power of the Spirit, we pushed through every obstacle and possessed the ground that God called us to take. As a result, millions of souls began to hear the Gospel for the first time. We knew that only God could have opened this door!

In First Corinthians 16:9, the apostle Paul wrote about the strategic doors of opportunity that open for the Gospel and the adversaries that usually accompany them. He said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” Notice that Paul used the words “great,” “door,” “effectual,” and “is opened” to describe the opportunity that had been set before him.

The word “great” in this verse is translated from the Greek word megale, which means gigantic. The word “door” is the Greek word thura, which typically refers to a door, but in this context, denotes a rare opportunity. The word “effectual” is the Greek word energes, and it depicts something that is powerful and ready to be set into motion. Finally, the phrase “is opened” is the Greek word anoigo, which describes something standing wide open. In other words, the door in question couldn’t be any more open! Thus, an alternate translation of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 16:9 could be rendered, “A gigantic, powerful opportunity is already set in motion and standing wide open….”

Paul continued by saying, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me….” You see, Paul knew that the particular door he was referring to had never been opened to anyone else, and he stood in awe of the unprecedented opportunity. Walking through these kinds of doors is impossible without divine assistance, and Paul was fully aware of God’s role in the matter. That is why he specified that this door had been opened “unto me.”

Paul’s prayer request in First Corinthians 16:9 was not for a door to open because it had already opened. His prayer request was to receive God’s wisdom to deal with the numerous adversaries who were trying to come against him. Paul used the Greek word antikeimenoi to describe the vast number of “adversaries” that were sent to attack him. This Greek word describes something that was piled high and lying all around him. In other words, he was dealing with more than a few minor opponents. On the contrary, it felt like opposition was stacked high on every side!

I’ve learned that the enemy will try his best to keep you from stepping through the gigantic doors of opportunity God desires to open for you. Satan is afraid of what will happen when “his” territory is invaded by someone fully equipped with a full arsenal of spiritual weapons. So know this: God will open doors for you — but He needs you to make a determined decision that you will walk through them, no matter the opposition, with the help of His Spirit.

By opening the door, God has already done His part, which would have been impossible without His assistance. Now He beckons you to come, dressed in the whole armor of God and in the power of His Word — and proceed through that effectual door into new territory. It may look like enemies are everywhere, but it is simply a fact that the devil and his forces flee and collapse when they are subjected to a show of strong faith!

As I mentioned earlier, many great and effectual doors have been opened to us over the years to do the work of the Gospel. In each case, we knew these doors were unique to us and had never before been opened for anyone else. And just as Paul experienced opposition, there were plenty of enemies that came against us with each opportunity. But because we obeyed God, the devil was forced to move out of the way, and we walked right into the virgin territory that God had opened for our ministry.

Even if you think your situation looks threatening right now, I want to tell you that God is with you. He wants to supernaturally open new doors for you — doors that have never before been opened for you. He is not beckoning you to walk through these doors so you can fail. He is with you every step of the way, and He will empower you to defeat every foe and bring Him glory in that new territory that is yours to possess in Jesus’ name!

Your open door may be an opportunity to shine the light of God’s Word and God’s love to your family or friends during this holiday season. It may be a door that will open to you in the new year. Regardless of when it is or what it is, the same God who opens doors will empower you to walk through them — and then He’ll be right with you to give you the wisdom and strength needed to overcome any giant that tries to meet you on the other side.

I know this is not a typical December, “Christmas-style” letter, but this is what was on my heart to share with you today. I want you to always know that if we can join you in prayer, we would be delighted to do so. To be honest, we are praying for you anyway, but when we are alerted to know exactly “how” to pray, it increases our effectiveness as we pray for you. So if you have a special need, please either call or write to let us know how we can get in agreement with you for God to show Himself mighty to you according to Jeremiah 33:3, which says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

And please pray for us as we continue marching forward by faith to push back darkness, to shine the light of God’s Word, and to take territory for the Kingdom of God. Together — as partners — we can make a difference in the lives of throngs of people who are crying out to God for help. They are waiting for God to respond to their prayers, and God wants to use us — you and us together — to bring them the answers they desperately need.

But before I close, I want to say we are specifically asking God to do something special for you this month and before the end of the year. I don’t know what it is, but that is what we are praying. We are asking God to do something special that will bless your life! And please, please pray for us as we continue pushing ahead to build our studio in Moscow, to finalize the purchase of our new headquarters in Tulsa, and to continue to minister effectually to every precious soul Jesus brings to us!

Merry Christmas!

We love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel and their families|Dear Friends,

I am so excited to write to you and to share with you a warning from Scripture about something we need to pay serious attention to in these last days.

But before I get into the teaching, Denise and I want to express our heart-felt thanks for your amazing partnership with our ministry. Every day I pray fervently for our partners — and not just once, but many times a day. In the past month, when Denise and I were speaking across the U.S.A., it was such a joy to meet so many partners in our meetings. I really want you to know how much we love you and thank God for you!

Today I will be writing from the footnotes and commentary in my new Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of the book of Jude. I call it the Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) — A Study Bible for People of Faith. It is literally packed with treasures from the Greek New Testament!

Every day on my TV program this month I am teaching the whole book of Jude from the RIV with commentary, and I want to go into a little of what will be covered in that series today. Let’s get started and take a deep dive into Jude 3 and 4. You’re about to find amazing truths in these powerful verses!

Jude 3 says, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

In this verse, Jude begins by saying, “I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation.” The words “gave all diligence” would be better interpreted as “fully intended” and is from a form of a Greek word that means to do something with eagerness; to do something with diligence; acting responsibly, quickly, and with attentiveness; or one so diligent, excited, and energetic that he puts his whole heart into the principle or task before him.

The words “common salvation” in Greek pictures what is commonly or mutually shared. By using this Greek word to describe salvation, Jude acknowledges that salvation has many benefits that mutually belong to all believers. Jude was so excited to share about all the benefits contained in our salvation that he was ready to put his whole heart into writing an epistle about it.

But something happened that caused Jude to change his plan. It seems likely that someone had just passed a copy of Peter’s second epistle to him, and when Jude read what Peter wrote about false teachers in the Church, it so stirred him that he abandoned his plan so he could join Peter in addressing the problem of error that was emerging in the Church.

Jude wrote that he found it “needful” to write and encourage his readers to earnestly contend for the faith. The Greek word for “needful” depicts an urgent necessity. Something so sinister was happening that Jude felt urgently pressed to address the issue as quickly as possible. Without hesitation, Jude dropped his prior plans to write an epistle about salvation and instead raised his voice with Peter to alert the saints of a danger that was lurking nearby and to give instructions regarding how to confront the problem.

Jude also wrote of a need to “exhort” the saints — and us — to earnestly contend for the faith. The word “exhort” is from a Greek word that was used militarily to picture a commander who stood in front of his troops to exhort and prepare them for battle. Because the battlefield held intense conflicts, the commander took time to earnestly “exhort” his troops to hold their heads high, to throw their shoulders back, and, if needed, to face the enemy eyeball to eyeball. As a spiritual general, Jude declared to the Church — and us — that we must be soldiers of truth who are ready to defend the Word of God with every ounce of our being.

In fact, Jude went on to urge his readers “to earnestly contend” for the faith because it was under assault. Forgive me for going into a lot of intricate Greek, but the words “earnestly contend” are translated from a compound of epi and agonidzomai. The word epi means for or over, and it is used as an intensifier. The second part of the word is agonidzomai, a word that denotes an intense struggle and is where we derive the word agony. The word agonidzomai was used to picture two wrestlers who agonized to win over the other in a wrestling match. Both wrestlers worked to gain the advantage and hurl their opponent to the ground, exerting every ounce of their strength and skill to win a very intense physical contest.

When epi and agonidzomai form a single word, which Jude used here, it depicts those who are fighting with all of their might to win a match of some type. The use of this word tells us Jude was urging his readers to intensely fight for truth, and it also implies that false teachers were trying to wrestle the faith to the ground and subdue it and modify it to suit their own ends. Because deception was attempting to trounce truth, Jude told his readers — and us — that they had a responsibility to do everything they could to defend, fight for, and guard the purity of the faith.

Jude then wrote that the faith was “delivered,” or “entrusted,” to us by God. The word “entrusted” in Greek means to entrust for safekeeping. Jude used this word to confront each of us about our God-given responsibility to guard, defend, and do everything in our ability to present the Word in its purest form and as close as possible to the original message from generation to generation. No one has the right to change it!

This is why I am so committed to correctly understanding and teaching the meaning of the Bible. God expects you and me to do everything in our power to keep the Word of God as close as possible to what God meant for it to say to us.

Jude went on to affirm the Word of God was “once” delivered to us, which is a Greek word that means “once and for all.” In other words, when the Word of God was given, it was complete, final, and so complete that it needed nothing more to be added to it. Jude said that the Word of God was delivered “once and for all” as a finished, completed, perfect work. As it stands, the Bible is complete, final, authoritative, and life changing.

Here is the Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of Jude 3:

Beloved — I call you that because it’s the only word I know to express how deeply I love and cherish you — I fully intended to write to you about our mutually shared salvation, and I was really eager to write about this exciting subject, ready to engage all my abilities to dive deep into all the benefits that our salvation entails. But as I was about to get started, I found myself gripped with a sense of urgency and a deeply felt need to address another subject that came to my attention. I felt someone needed to come alongside the troops — to urge them to hold their head high, to throw their shoulders back, and, if necessary, look the enemy eyeball to eyeball and to earnestly contend for the faith because it is under assault. God entrusted the faith to us once and for all and expects us to guard it and maintain its integrity in the same form it was delivered to us. God has given us the responsibility to impart it to others in the same form it was given to us.

But then in verse 4, Jude went on to describe the kind of perpetrators that were worming their way into the Church and twisting the Scriptures. He wrote, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice the words “crept in unawares.” This is translated from a form of the word pareisduo — a triple compound of para, eis, and duno. The word para means alongside, the word eis means into, and duno means to enter and settle down into a place. But as a compound, this word pictures those who clandestinely enter into a certain place and who settle down and function right alongside others. It denotes covert activity. It gives the impression of those who secretly make their way into the ranks and who use a disguise or stealth to conceal their wrong activities. And we should have known that this sinister group was coming — that is why Jude added that we were warned about them “of old.” The Greek word for “of old” means long ago, of old, in times past, or in former times, and the use of this word tells us the Holy Spirit has been warning about this event for ages.

Jude also wrote that this group was “ordained to this condemnation.” What “condemnation” was he talking about? To answer that, we must look at the original word used in the Greek text, which is a word that depicts a judicial verdict of judgment. Here, Jude wrote that God will investigate the activities of those who use spiritual influence incorrectly and that Heaven’s court will pass a damning judgment upon such individuals as those described in these verses. The Judge of the earth has been watching all along and has observed this category of errant leaders, and in the end, Heaven’s court will issue a final verdict of judgment against them.

What is shocking is that many who are in error, actually started out good, but somehow along the way, they got off track. This fact is made clear by the word “ungodly” — which depicts what was once holy that has become unholy, what was once reverent that has become irreverent, what was once God-fearing that has lost its fear of God. Jude was talking about people who were once anointed and upright, but now they have regrettably gone in a wrong direction.

These individuals are now so far off track that Jude said they are “turning” the grace of God into something it was never meant to be. In Greek, the word “turning” pictures an alteration, change, or modification. Jude used it here to refer to those who are altering, changing, and modifying teaching about the grace of God to suit the whims of the times.

And these perpetrators can’t claim ignorance or innocence about what they are doing because the Lord faithfully corrected them and told them to get back in line. We know this because Jude added that they are in a state of “denying the Lord.”

The words “denying” and “Lord” are really important at this juncture. The word “denying” is from a Greek word that means to knowingly deny, to knowingly disown, to knowingly reject, to knowingly refuse, or to knowingly renounce. It undoubtably refers to one who knowingly disavows, forsakes, walks away from, or washes one’s hands of another person or group of people. It depicts something done with one’s full consent and understanding of what is being done. In this verse, it depicts those who hear what Christ has to say but then reject His counsel. Rather than obey, they knowingly choose to go on a different path. It means this category of erring individuals are knowingly rejecting the authority of the Lord and they are knowingly ignoring the warning signals given to them by the Holy Spirit.

But the word “Lord” is not the normal Greek word for “Lord.” It is from another word that depicts a chief executive officer or one with authority over others in the executive department directly under his control. It was a technical term used to describe the chief steward of large households who had authority over all the other servants in a household. Those who were under such a “lord” reported to him, received instructions from him, were paid by him, and, if the need arose, they were dismissed by him.

By using this word, Jude was describing those who have been called by Christ into leadership positions in the Church, those who relate to Jesus not only as their Savior but also as the Chief Executive Officer who called them. But in this case, although they are answerable to the Lord, they are instead “denying” His explicit directions. These individuals are genuinely God-called ministers who knowingly divert from the authority and instructions of the “Lord” who is over them.

Because of the various Greek meanings assembled in this verse, I have interpreted the Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of Jude 4 as follows:

Unfortunately, we are now confronted with a certain category of individuals who have craftily, clandestinely, as in a stealth operation, wormed their way right into the middle of our ranks. Long ago it was foretold and written in advance that a day would come when such individuals would show up. But in the end, Heaven’s court will issue a damning verdict of judgment and condemnation on them due to their activities. I’m talking about people who were once reverent and God-fearing, but now have obviously lost their fear of God. These are individuals who go about altering, changing, and modifying the grace of our God into a teaching that says everything is okay, and that teaching leads to sinful living especially marked by immoral and indecent sexual activities along with other base behaviors. They can’t claim ignorance about what they’re doing because the Lord God — that is, our Lord Jesus Christ — has spoken to them and warned them to get back in line. But in spite of these warnings issued by the Lord, they knowingly are denying and walking away from His authoritative covering.

Most scholars count the book of Jude not only to be commentary about what was happening when Jude wrote it, but also as a prophetic book about events that will take place again at the end of the age. We know from multiple New Testament verses that there will be an assault on truth in the last days — and my dear friend, we are seeing that assault in society today and, unfortunately, even in parts of the Church. But rather than bend to the spirit of the age, we are to dig our heels into the bedrock of truth and refuse to budge from it!

This is why RENNER Ministries is COMMITTED to bringing the trusted teaching of God’s Word to people everywhere — and that is why we refuse to bend, mitigate, or negotiate the truths of the Bible. And because you are a partner with us, I want to say THANK YOU for standing with us as we battle for truth in our times. People need the truth, and people need the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit anoints the Word of God, it unleashes a mighty spiritual blade that slices through darkness and sets hearts and minds free!

I know this letter has gone a little deeper into the Greek text than usual, but this is what was on my heart to share with you this month. I pray it has been a blessing to you. You are a blessing to this ministry! Again, I thank you from the depths of my heart for being a friend and a God-called partner!

Next month I will be writing to you about what to do when your prayers seem to be hindered or delayed, and I believe it will really encourage you. However, if you need prayer for anything right now, please reach out to us at prayer@renner.org or call us at 1-800-742-5593 . I sincerely mean it when I say we will pray scripturally for you and will release our faith for God to move powerfully in whatever situation or need that is on your heart!

Denise and I, our family, and our team love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel Renner and our entire ministry team

P.S. Click here to view the new interactive Ministry Update page or click here to download the printable pdf flyer.

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