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The Salvation that is being taught by the Bible |
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 RE YOU AWARE THAT from the enemies may emerge a very good friend? Like what a popular saying says, “The worst enemy is he who was once a friend.” And it could also work the other way around. One’s best friend may later on become his most bitter enemy.
Just like what happened to Apostle Paul. His opposition against our Lord Jesus Christ was so strong, to the extent that he wanted to kill the Christians. Let us read a particular verse from the Holy Scriptures. Acts 22:4 says--
“And I persecuted this way unto the death …” …”
Paul’s style of persecution is different from today’s kind of persecution. That time, persecution in religion was stiffer. The Christians were being killed. As St. Paul said, “And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.”
Just imagine how stiff it was? Even the women were not spared. Normally, in times of dissention, only the men get involved. But in the case of St. Paul, in his effort to persecute the early Church, both the men and the women were bound and delivered to prisons. It only shows the extreme persecution that Jesus experienced in the hands of St. Paul, who, at that time, was a leader of the Pharisees. The extent of persecution that St. Paul did may be read in Acts 22:6-7--
“And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecute thou me?”
He heard the voice of our Lord Jesus, who appeared to him at about noon. He asked him, “Saul, Saul, why persecute thou me?” And Saul answered. What did he tell Him? Acts 22:8--
“And I answered, who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.”
Jesus answered him: “I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.” Up to what extent did Paul persecute the Christians? Until death! In fact, this is what Galatians 1:13 says--
“For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.”
He said, he persecuted them beyond measure, and he worked for the annihilation of the Church of God. But when the time came that Paul was called by God, and was converted, they became the best of friends.
There was even an instance that he made this confession that we can read in Galatians 2:20--
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me; and gave himself for me.”
I told you, the worst of enemies could be the best of friends; in the same manner that the best of friends can become the worst enemies. That is why I don’t really get offended if some people are against me. I do not prejudice people. In the first place, people are bound to change; they can be transformed. It is possible that an insane becomes sane; an enemy can be transformed into a friend. And only God can do all those wondrous things, thru His words.
This is the reason why we are going to talk about the word of God. We did not come here to gossip, or to do some acting here, or wave our hands. No! What we are going to do is, open the Bible, and discuss with you a topic that is frequently requested by many for me to tackle. It is all about SALVATION. That will be the core of the study that we are going to make. We will talk about SALVATION.
Not that I am undermining your respective pastors, but I am presuming that all failed to make you realize that SALVATION IS AN EXACT THING What I mean to say is it is not a “trial and error” thing; it is not a question of chance, or luck, like a lotto game. No! That is not God’s style. The God of the Bible, who offers salvation to all people, is a God of love. And He is offering salvation to all. Contrary to the claim of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) of Mr. Felix Manalo that only they who will be saved; and there is no salvation to those who do not join their church. As if they had bought salvation, on wholesale or as if Manalo had purchased it wholly, so that only they have the exclusive right to it. That is not true! To teach that those who do not join their church will not be saved is a cruel and heartless doctrine. Actually, the grandfather of Manalo did not even become a member of the INC. He was already dead at the time that the INC was established in 1913. If they claim that those who did not join their church will not be saved, that would mean that they had sentenced Manalo’s grandfather to be tormented in hell! That is cruel! That is not what the Bible is saying. Let us read II Peter 3:9--
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish …”
God does not want anybody to perish, or to be led to destruction. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering and not willing that any should perish. God does not want any man to perish. What does He want for them? In II Peter 3:9, we could read--
“… but that all should come to repentance.”
It is necessary that a person be led to repentance for him not to perish. As far as God is concerned, He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed or to perish. But if you are going to ask the INC, they will tell you that those who would not join their church will be roasted in Hell. Obviously, the INC is opposing what the Bible says. God doesn’t want anyone to be led to destruction, and being so, what must we suppose to do? Let us ask God. “God, we do not want to be punished, so what must we do? How can we be saved?” That is our topic today. And this concerns all of us. It involves all of us, irrespective of our religious affiliation. Even if you have grown old and gray in Catholicism, you still are involved in this study. I will discuss with you the salvation, which is spoken in the Bible. I repeat, salvation is an exact thing. And when I say salvation is exact, it means, it is not based on chance. And since salvation is exact, one can neither add nor deduct anything from it. One need to abide by the Lord’s commandments completely – no more, no less!
That is what God wants us to do: Obey His commandments as exactly as He had commanded them – no more, no less. The question is, If He had prohibited us from adding to it and deducting anything from it, will be fine with Him if we will add just a little and deduct just a little also? Will He permit us from doing that? For example, Deuteronomy 22:5 says--
“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
Nowadays, it is quite hard to abide by that commandment, because, today, women prefer to wear men’s garments. And there are also men who do not simply use women’s garments, they also pluck their brows like women do. Could we possibly discard that commandment? Can we possibly make a bargain to God, and tell Him, “God, can I delete this particular part, although you said, whatsoever you have commanded must be observed without adding or deducting anything from it? Your commandment said that, a man must not put on a woman’s garment, and a woman must not wear a man’s apparel, and whoever does this is an abomination to the Lord, but can I make an appeal that this particular commandment be set aside? If you will notice, it’s a trend today that women wear pants and sport short hair, while it is fashionable among men to wear long hair.” Do you think God will grant your petition? Let us read Revelations 22:18-19--
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” .”
Therefore, God is not approving the petition. If any man shall add (to what had been written), God shall add unto him plagues. If any man takes away, God shall also take away his part in the book of life and out of the holy city, and from the things that had been written in the book. What, for example, if it’s going to be a smaller item like eyebrows, for instance. “God, it’s just an eyebrow. Will you agree if I shave it and draw another? I do not have a beautiful pair of eyebrows; I want them a little higher.” Do you think God will allow you to do that? Let us ask Him. Listen to what Matthew 5:19 says--
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so …”
Please note of Christ’s warning. “Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments …” Does God allows you to disobey even the minutest of the commandments, and teach the others to do the same? In Matthew 5:18 it says--
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
So, you should not shave your brows. He commanded that neither one jot nor one tittle “shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” God is very specific. We are not in any way wiser than Him, that we should delete, or add, anything to what He wants. Let us learn how to obey, my fellowmen. I am calling your attention. I am challenging you. You may get angry with me if I am not telling the truth!
Isn’t it that when the doctor tells us to take one tablet, three times a day, we comply with his orders? Why is it that we are abiding by the doctor’s prescriptions? Why is it that when it comes to religion, we are altering (to our favor) what God wants us to do? God said--
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
But what did you do? You made a graven image! Don’t get offended but I will read it from a Catholic bible . This was signed by Rufino Cardinal Santos, Archiepus Manilensus, and it has a Nihil Obstat by Mario Baltazar, and with an Imprimatur by Rufino Cardinal Santos. This is what Deuteronomy 5:8 says--
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image in the likeness of anything in the heaven above, or the earth beneath, or the waters beneath the earth. Thou shall not vow down unto them nor shall worship them. For I am the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”
This is a prohibition coming from God. But why do we keep on doing still what God has prohibited us from doing? When the doctor prohibited you from eating pork, liver, and other internal organs because you are suffering from high blood pressure and arthritis, you immediately ordered your wife not to cook pork anymore. The doctor ordered you to stop smoking because it could trigger high blood pressure. You agreed right away. In fact, you even thanked the doctor before you left his clinic. But remember that, God is also prohibiting you from smoking, but you ignored his commandment. It seems that you revere and believe your doctor more than God because you followed exactly what he ordered you to do – no more, no less. It would be fatal if you take more than what the doctor prescribed. You religiously obeyed every doctor’s order. For you the doctor is very powerful. How about God? Perhaps, many consider Him as the most powerful of all, but not for you! You do what you want to do, but not what God wants you to do! That is what you are showing.
That is why, if we are going to study religion, or about salvation, the foremost thing that we need to understand is the salvation that God teaches is for all. Not for them to delete, or add, anything but for them to observe to the fullest. No more, no less. How does the Bible call those who deduct and add to what God had taught us to attain salvation? In Proverbs 30:6 it says--
“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”
Those who add to the words of God are liars. God said, do not add and do not take away. “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall also take away his part out of the book of life...” ...” These verses prove how exact salvation is because God is an exact God. Perhaps, some of you might ask, Are we a part of salvation? God doesn’t want any man to perish. He doesn’t want anyone to perish; He wants you to be one of those who would be saved. I Timothy 2:4 says--
“Who will have all men to be saved …”
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