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The Faith that we ought to Possess |
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continuation...
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which ye have received, and wherein ye stand. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
There is also such a thing as believing in vain, according to St. Paul. That is why you must not readily grab any faith. Do not readily believe pastors who tell you that you just have to believe in Jesus and you will be saved. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watch these pastors on television, who make their members believe that by merely raising their hands they are already born again, and are, therefore, saved. You have to be careful. For all you know, the faith that you are accepting might be one of those that we have talked about. There are faiths that are of the devil; there are dead faiths; there are wrong, or erroneous, faiths; and there are faiths that are useless. What else is the other kind of faith? James 2:22--
“Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.”
But if faith is without works, how does the Bible call it? In James 2:20 it says--
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead.”If your faith is without works, it is considered dead and fruitless. And that is hateful to God.
Perhaps, at this point, we have proven to you that faith is something which we implant in our hearts, and this is something that should be handled with care. You are not supposed to accept any faith that is introduced to you by anybody. Do not believe everything that pastors say; do not put into your heart everything that you heard. Otherwise, you will end up polluting your whole being. Be cautious. Exercise caution. Try to find out if the faith you have simply came from other people, like the Chinese. What do the Chinese believe in? ... No loans during Mondays. Chinese do not grant loans during Mondays. Perhaps, you have also adopted some of the superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos like you are no longer supposed to collect or pay loans once the sun has set. It is as if the paying of one’s loan has something to do with the setting of the sun. What if you die that evening without you paying your financial obligation?
We believe in so many things; we adopt so many beliefs from different people. “This is what our elders said ...” “This is what the scientists said ...” “According to ...” And there you are, accepting everything that they said. It is like eating chicken wholly, without discarding the bones, the feathers, and the intestines. But you must realize that we cannot just take everything. When you eat food, you do not swallow the food right away. You chew it; you use your teeth to grind it. Before you swallow the food, you eliminate all the non-edibles; they are harmful to the body. A person should be able to discern which should be, and which should not be, put inside the mouth. He can always spit out whatever he finds to be non-edible. Now, if it can be done to the literal act of eating food, the more we can do it in matters concerning faith. We have our ears, our minds, and our hearts. We have discernment; we have the reasoning power, which we can exercise for us to be sure if the faith that we are accepting really comes from God. If you will notice, there are faiths that came from the devil, so, you have to be cautious. But the question is, how can we be sure that the faith that we are injecting in our beings is right? This is what I Corinthians 2:4-5 says--
“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
There is a right basis of faith, and once your faith is founded on this, you can never go wrong. And that is the faith that stands in the power of God.
“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.”
Therefore, it is very clear that the basis of our faith should be the power of God. If music is based on the musical notes, if our computations are based on the fundamental Arithmetical operations, then, our faith should stand on the power of God. Now, which is that power of God, where our faith should be based? In Romans 1:16 it says--
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”
That is very clear. Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. And which is that power of God, wherein our faith should be based? According to St. Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”Therefore, our salvation is dependent on your faith in the Gospel. But if your faith simply stands on the blabber of your pastor, you will not be saved. Our salvation can be attained if our faith is based on the power of God, which is the Gospel, or the teachings of the Bible.
So, if you are going to sing, what song will you sing? You will sing songs of praises to God. What will be your basis? The Bible! are not supposed to sing a disco music. God will not be pleased. If you will sing for God, you have to be particular about the lyrics. It should be based on the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone that believes. Your songs should be correct; your prayers should, likewise, be correct. If you will notice, there are incorrect prayers. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but pity St. Mary whenever people pray to her. “Holy Mary, mother of God ...” They call her mother of God, but if she is, indeed, the mother of God why are they ordering her to do a lifetime work, “Pray for us sinners, now, until the hour of our death!” That is ridiculous! Imagine, they are not giving Mary any respite. While they do not stop sinning, she also never stops praying for them. Whereas, what the Bible wants is, we are the ones who should pray. This can be read in Romans 12:12--
“Rejoicing a hope; patient in tribulations; continuing instant in prayer.”
A Christian should be patient in praying. You have to pray yourself. Do not task another person to pray for you. But what are you doing? You are passing the responsibility to another.
“Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of ivory, pray for us.
Mystical rose, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us. Etc.”
You have commanded everything and everybody to pray for you, including the tower of David. Can it pray for you? God said, pray. You have to pray. So, in praying alone, you no longer meet the standard of the Bible. Do you know that the worst thing that a person can do is to mislead other people? It is like this. If I commit adultery, I destroy myself. If I commit suicide, I also lead nobody but myself to destruction. But if I teach people wrong doctrines, how many souls do you think will I be leading to perdition? There are a lot of them. That is why the worst that a preacher can do is to teach people wrong doctrines. He can lead people to destruction. And for us not to be misled, we ought to have a basis. In the songs that we sing, we should have a basis. In our manner of dressing, we should also have a basis. Actually, even in our manner of dressing, the Bible is giving us a basis. 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.”
God does not want a woman to wear garments that pertain to a man, and neither should a man wear a woman’s garment. That is an abomination in Him. But are the priests teaching this doctrine? No! They do not care whatever you wear. You can wear anything you want. But if we really want to be saved, read what the Bible teaches. It is the power of God which will save everyone who believes. If you know what the Bible says, you will never give tithes to the pastors of the devil, especially the ones who collect money in streets and in market places. They cheat people by telling them that what they are collecting is for God. What a pitiful God they have! Do not give anything to those people; you are only making them richer.
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