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Is it God’s Will that We Join or Become a Member of
the True Church of God in the Bible? |
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continuation...
Are we commanded to “cleave” to that which is good? Yes! In the way that we are commanded to abhor evil. In other words, we really need to integrate ourselves and cleave to what is good. But there are people who prefer joining elite and prestigious organizations because most of the people that they will mingle with in those groups are the rich and the professionals. Normally, the rich join the group of the rich also. In the first place, the worth of an organization does not depend on the number of rich members it has. But do you know that their ending is very pitiable? Luke 6:24-25,20 says--
“But woe unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Therefore, greater is the number of poor people who would become worthy of the kingdom of God. That is why, in a way, I am delighted that most of the members of our group are poor. It is a proof that the word of God in the Bible cannot be broken. The majority of our members are poor. They are without cars so they just walk; they eat on plates made of plastic. But despite that, I am very proud to tell everybody that our faith is real. We do not cheat each other, and that, we can prove to all.
God said, abhor the bad, and cleave to that which is good. And the only way by which we can be under the leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ is by making ourselves members of the "body,” or the Church. This why there is no truth to the belief of others that you can still be saved regardless of your religious affiliation. The Bible said, we need to affiliate ourselves with the church which is being mentioned in the Bible. This is what I John 1:3 says--
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.”
With whom shall we have fellowship? With the Apostles? They are all gone; they are all dead. Stephen was stoned to death, while John the Baptist was beheaded. So, with whom shall we have fellowship? I John 1:4 says--
“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
With whom shall we have fellowship? We can have fellowship with the Apostles thru their writings – thru the doctrines. Man will die but the word of God will remain. Christ said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).
And it is in the Word that shall not pass away that we should cleave at. That is what you are supposed to accept. It doesn’t matter if St. Paul and St. John are gone because the doctrines of Christ, which they taught, shall live forever. These doctrines and teachings are what you should accept. In Philippians 2:12, it says--
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.” Paul was telling his brethren to always obey, not just in his presence but most especially in his absence. This only proves that, indeed, a preacher may pass away, but the doctrines and the teachings shall not pass away. So, what are you supposed to do now? Let us continue the verse: “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Work to the fullest; work incessantly. What work are you supposed to do? Do all the teachings and doctrines taught to you – fully and completely. That is why, despite the physical absence of Christ and the Apostles, the doctrines have remained intact. They had been written. Everything that the Apostles saw and heard had been written down “for your joy may be full”. Therefore, it is the teachings that you should accept and have fellowship with.
Isn’t it that one of the admonitions of the Apostles is not to aggrieve the poor? They do not want the Christians to aggrieve the poor. Are there still poor in our society today? Yes! That means that such a doctrine should still be observed despite the fact that the Apostles who taught it are already dead. That particular doctrine continues to be a doctrine that a servant of God should follow. It remains.
The church began in Jerusalem. In the course of time, it reached Judea. Later, it also reached Thessalonia. Because the Thessalonians wanted to be saved, what did they do after hearing the word of God? I Thessalonians 2:13-14 says--
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when he received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus:”
The Thessalonians accepted the word of God. And after accepting it, they became one with the brethren in the church of God in Judea in Christ Jesus. Therefore, if we will also accept the word of God which the Apostles preached, we will also be the same with the Church of God in Judea in Christ Jesus, in the same manner that the Thessalonians became like the Church of God in Judea. The same will happen to other people in other places who would accept the word of God. They will be one in their obedience to the doctrines. If the brethren in the Church then did not engage in thieving, those who would accept the word of God today will do the same. They will not also engage themselves in thieving.
Have you come across an apostle who is asking money from everybody? They call it an offering. Have you read any verse in the Bible that permits a preacher to collect money, or offering, from just anybody? Proverbs 15:8 says--
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD ...”
The offering of an unrighteous person is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. But the disciples of today’s false prophet accept money even from prostitutes. And they have fooled a lot of people by saying that the money, which they solicit, is for the Lord. How impoverished their god must be, that he would accept money from just anybody! Where in the Bible can you read that you can collect and accept money from all people? You cannot read any verse that tells that the Apostles collected money from passers-by.
Let us take our case for instance. If you are a person of at least a little self-esteem, you will not borrow rice from all of your neighbors. Of course, you will just borrow from people whom you think are kind-hearted and trustworthy. But definitely, you would not borrow from all of them. Otherwise, of course, you have no “delicadeza”. We need to accept what the Apostles heard, which they declared to us thru the Bible. And once we accept it, St. Paul said in I Thessalonians 2:13-14--
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the Churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus:”
So, if you want to experience what happened to the Thessalonians, there is a “pattern” that we need to follow for us to be molded as one. We could be molded like one person, with a way of life similar to that of the first Christians. This “pattern” refers to the word of God in the Bible – the teachings of the Gospel. That is why, if the youths then did not become drug addicts, if they behaved with meekness and modesty, if they feared God, and if they loved their fellowmen, that would be the very same attitudes that those who would accept the word of God would develop. Why? Because they will be molded using the same “pattern.”
It’s just like producing pairs of pants in big volumes. Whether a thousand pairs will be sewn, there wouldn’t be any discrepancy in their lengths and widths so long as the pattern was followed faithfully. What do I mean to say? Where ever the word of God reaches, so long as the people who would receive and believe it, they will be molded in the same pattern just like the first Christians, like the first Disciples of Christ who preached the Gospel. They bore hardships and difficulties, they made sacrifices, they did not enrich themselves, nor did they build palaces for themselves. They all died poor. Unlike the present day preachers who, after preaching for three years, have already built a palace for themselves. Why? . . . because they did not follow the pattern. If only they will follow the pattern faithfully, they will not enrich themselves. An honest-to-goodness preacher will never be rich! Look at me … I began preaching since I was 17. But have I grown any richer? No!
That is because I know in my heart that if you will truly preach the Gospel, you will never grow rich. How will you become rich when you do not collect all sorts of contributions like, contributions during the Thursday gathering, during the “Santa Cena”, during baptism, etc? There are no such things in the Bible. What Christ said was, “freely you received, freely give.”.” If a preacher will abide by Christ’s admonition, will he become rich? No! Instead, they will even incur lots of debts. But why is it that there are preachers who keep on getting very rich? They collect payment for baptism, confirmation, wedding, chords, candles, masses, etc. Actually, they also make money out of the dead. Even if you are already dead and your grandson wants to offer mass for your soul in purgatory, your grandson will still have to pay for it. Religion has become a very lucrative business for some pastors. Where do you think these pastors will lead you? . . . To hell!
You will never be saved with such kind of teachings. They are not biblical. They are all profit-oriented.
If you want to be saved, be a part of the church that is being mentioned in the Bible. And this is what we are preaching to all. We do not have to build another church. That is why it is a must that we make ourselves members of that Church. You can never serve God just anywhere. Do not be misled. The teachings of God that could save man are in the Church being mentioned in the Bible. That is why it is necessary that we accept these teachings for us to lead a righteous life. There are laws that man must follow, and these laws are all beneficial to man.
We are not encouraging you to join us. Instead, we are inviting you to join the Church that the Bible mentions. There is a Church wherein we must integrate ourselves. How can we do it? Accept the teachings that were preached by the Apostles. Lead a life which the Apostles led. If they endured all kinds of persecution, if they denied themselves of worldly pleasures, if they did not engage themselves in drinking intoxicating drinks, if they did not womanize, if they did not gamble, you will do as they did. You will abide by everything that the Bible teaches. That is where we shall have fellowship with one another – in an organization built by God, not by man. Make yourselves a part of the Church being spoken in the Bible.
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Bible
Finding
the True Religion
