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Is religion still needed? Who practices pure
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continuation...
We know very well that our words would hurt a lot of people. But, does it mean that, simply because others are hurt by our pronouncements we must already shut our mouth? Would you rather let us keep the things that we know to ourselves simply because others are hurt by what we say? And those who get hurt will eventually get mad to us? Must we prevent ourselves from talking even if the things that we say are all written in the Bible? Will you let us do that? Do you think God also wants it that way? Let us read what is written in Jeremiah 26:2--
“Thus saith the Lord. Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.”
Should we just keep it to ourselves? Must we no longer speak simply because others will be hurt with our pronouncements? God did not want it that way! He said, “All the words that I command thee to speak unto them, diminish not a word.” .” What must be the principle of a true preacher of God, who wants to express the truth, but in the process, he would be offending the feelings of others? Let us read in Numbers 22:18--
“. . . If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do other good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak.”
That is the guiding principle of a true preacher. He would still speak even if Balak bribes him with a house full of silver and gold. That could actually make him richer than Ka Erdie. Are you familiar with Balak’s house? Balak was a false god of the Egyptians, and of the early pagans. They used to build big houses and temples for their false gods. You can just imagine if you are going to fill that house with gold and silver!? Today, a kilo of gold costs 3 million. And a kilo of gold is just a small piece of gold. But Balak’s house was big, and it would be filled with gold. If you are greedy of money, your eyes would surely be dazzled. But the Bible said a true preacher of God would never be tempted by gold. He said, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak.”
Perhaps, that is more than enough. You see, it is just like performing a surgery. For the patient not to feel the pain, he is injected with anesthesia. That is exactly what I am trying to do with you so that you won’t get mad us. And that is how it should be. It is also biblical. We are going to study religion. And we are going to speak. For all we know, our words are already hitting your faith, and you are already mad to us. Please don’t. Just like in a surgery, you are first given a dose of anesthesia. After that, you would no longer be conscious that you are already cut into pieces. But in undergoing this process, your illness will be cured. That is the doctor’s main intention. If a tooth is to be extracted, you will first be given an anesthesia. Otherwise, you might kick the dentist while he is extracting your tooth because of severe pain.
That is also my intention why I am trying to tell you all these. There are teachings in the Bible, which would, inevitably, be mentioned. So, if we want to remain true to what God said, nothing must prevent us from speaking – even if you get mad to me! In the first place, why do I have to study the Bible if I would only be intimidated by your feelings? We better throw the Bible away. We will recount to you a story instead. If you want, I will tell you the stories of Lola Basyang or the story about Kapitan Kidlat, a folkloric super hero of long ago. Or, perhaps, if you prefer a more contemporary story, I will tell you the story of Luis Fernando and Maria Del Clemente of a famous Mexican television novella. If we are just going to tell each other stories, we will surely have lots of fun, but we will not gain anything, except a little laughter, which will also vanish after a while. Sooner or later, they will also be forgotten, because everything has an end.
But, if we are going to talk about the word of God, there is something about the preacher that we must first realize. A true preacher speaks of things that God wants him to say, irrespective of who is going to be affected. Now, if a preacher simply wants to please other people, and he doesn’t want his listeners to get mad at him, it could be because he has a vested interest. There are, indeed, preachers who do not want to displease other people. Do you know why? We will read Jude 16. This is what it says--
“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own hurts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”
Did you see the reason why they are respectful? They show respect to other people because of personal gains. That is what Judas/Jude Thaddeus said. He is the better Judas/Jude. There were two Judases. Do you have any son whose name is Judas (Jude)? You see, due to the people’s ignorance of the Bible, parents no longer want to name their son Judas (Jude) anymore. They only name their children Mary (Maria), Peter (Pedro), and John (John), but not Judas (Jude). Had I been given the chance to father some children, perhaps my firstborn would be named as Judas/Jude. Why? . . . It is because the name Judas (Jude) is not at all bad a name. In fact, there was a good Judas in the person of Judas Thaddeus. So, who was the bad Judas? He was Judas Iscariot . . . and this is the name that should not be given to a child. It is just like the name Simon. There was a good Simon, and there was also a bad Simon. Who was the bad Simon? He was the one, who after recognizing the God-given gifts in the Apostles, also wanted to possess the same gifts.
For this reason, he approached the Apostles to buy from them the same gifts. From that gesture, the word “simony” was derived. If you pay a certain amount of money in exchange of some powers, or authority, that is simony. Simony refers to the practice of buying a power/authority. Therefore, there was a bad Simon, and there was also a good Simon. Did you know who helped Jesus carry his cross? Do you know his name? What was his name? In other words, parents do not want to name their son Judas because they were only thinking of Judas Iscariot, and not Judas Thaddeus. The same is true with the name Simon. There is a good Simon; there is also a bad Simon. Even Peter is also Simon. He was called Simon Peter.
There are preachers who show respect to people because of personal gains. Why? Let us read in Romans 16:18--
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceived the hearts of the simple.”
This is the reason why, whenever he speaks, nobody gets hurt. They speak fairly, but they are deceiving the hearts of the simple. Why? It is because they are not really serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. No wonder, they make sure that the people they serve will never get angry. But if you are truly serving God, what should be your guiding principle whenever you speak? Galatians 1:10 says--
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ..”
Are we persuading God, or men? Are we trying to please God, or men? If we are only pleasing men, we will never be a servant of Christ. Why?Galatians 1:11 says--
“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.”
St. Paul said that, the gospel that he is preaching is not in conformity with what man prefers. What the Gospel wants is different from what man wants. Man wants pleasure; the Gospel is against it. Man wants to have as much as 5, or 8, or even 10 wives. There are men who really change their partners monthly. Why are we saying these things? It is because there are person known to us who frequently changes his wife. That is why, he has so many firstborns. Man wants to change his wife from time to time. Man does not want to be fatigued; but the Gospel is not tolerating laziness. In other words, if you will truly preach the Gospel, you really could not help but hurt the feelings of some people. And if a preacher can be easily intimidated and harassed by other people, he can never preach the Gospel faithfully. But God’s instruction was clear--
“Speak unto all cities all the words that I command you to speak unto them; diminish not a word.”
Are you all set now? Perhaps, we have given you enough “anesthesia” for you not to get hurt and offended to whatever we are going to say that might touch your wrong beliefs.
Eddie Villanueva said that, religion is no longer needed. We have recorded Wilde Almeda also claiming that religion is no longer needed. There was also another pastor who shared the same belief. Pastor Louie also believes that religion is not needed. However, the Bible states that, religion is needed. The Bible is teaching us a pure religion. And from the book ofJames 1:27we have read that--
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
So, pure religion displays charity and holiness. And charity is manifested by showing compassion to the orphans/fatherless and to the widows. On the other hand, holiness means keeping oneself unspotted from the world. Therefore, the essence of true, or pure, religion in the Bible is charity and holiness. That is why, religion is indispensable. You can never be saved without the true religion, which is upheld by the Bible.
Our topic for this edition is: Who is practicing, or exercising, the true religion in our time? The Bible can be compared with a script. Will you agree to that? A script is dramatized; it is reenacted, while the word of God is kept within one’s heart, and then, it is lived. So, who is exercising true religion nowadays? We have read earlier that a true religion is made up of charity and holiness. Charity and holiness! Now, which among the religions nowadays is exercising charity and holiness? Are you interested to find out? Try to examine the practice of many religions today. Will they qualify to the standards of the Bible about a true religion? Do they show charity to the fatherless and the widows, and to the so-called less fortunate brothers and sisters? Do they take the necessary precautions that they may not be contaminated and be dominated by the “world”? Let us find out the answers to these questions from the studies that we are making. Let us begin.
Why must a true religion exercise charity? Let us readI Corinthians 13:13. It says--
“And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, but the greatest of these is charity.”
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