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Things that God Forbids us from Doing (1st Part) |
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WE ARE GOING to study God’s prohibitions.
There are people who do not want to be prohibited. Many religious leaders today are preaching in conformity with the tune of this world. They are preaching in accordance to the mood of this world. They are preaching in conformity with what the people want.
Nowadays, what most people want are riches, money, and comfort. That is why those are the things that many preachers promise to their members. They do not set restrictions and prohibitions because that will hinder people from joining their groups. Prohibitions will prevent the growth of their membership. That is why they do not bother to tell their members the prohibitions that God, Himself, set.
We must always remember what our view of religion is. Here in our group, we do not believe that religion is a mere outlet to one’s ill feelings. Religion is not a place where the sick are healed. Religion is not a place where businessmen who suffered from bankruptcy will be given hope to regain his losses. Religion is not like that.
First and foremost, religion should not be thought of as a source of material gains because religion’s main concern is not materialism. This is what our Lord Jesus says in John 6:27—
“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life . . .”
Our Lord Jesus said, Labor not for the meat that perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life. This is the reason why His preaching focused more on spirituality, and not on the material. Not for the meat that perishes, but for the meat that endures. And He wanted His disciples to be motivated by the same objective. Christ Himself discouraged His disciples from being engrossed with the desires of this world. This is what Colossians 3:1-2 says—
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above . . . Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Christ is taking us away from the fancies of this world. He said, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” If our hope, our intention and our objective in doing things is focused on worldly things, then, all our efforts are useless. This is what II Corinthians 4:18 says—
“While we look not at the things which are seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
The Apostle Paul is showing us the great difference between the material, or the temporal, and the spiritual things. He said they look at things which are not seen because the things that are seen are temporal while the things which are not seen are eternal. And that is how we would like our followers to understand the religion of Christ.
There are many religious groups now which look only at the material things, or at the things that concern this world. In fact, there is a religious group that believes that this is the very world that the meek will inherit. They believe that if you will be saved, you would still live in this world and you will hunger no more because you will enjoy a bountiful harvest. There is another group that believes that God will give a very happy life to those who will be saved. And there, they can have as many husbands and wives.
That only shows that their cares still concern the matters of this world. But the Bible has something to say about it. Philippians 3:19 says—
“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”
They think only of earthly things. That is why Paul warned that their end is destruction because their god is their belly. Whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things. There are many religions today that promise their members of material blessings like money, cars, etc. We need not enumerate them all; otherwise, we might earn their ire. Actually, we do not mind naming names if only they would play fair and square. However, they bank on connections and they use their influence over the management of television stations to pester us. Nonetheless, they should be cautious in imputing lies on my person because, definitely, I will not take those things sitting down. I will surely protest. And I challenge them to do the same should they find me saying things which are not true.
I just want to instill the consciousness of my fellowmen that the authenticity of a religious organization is not based on the stylized and air-conditioned chapels. As Christ said, we should not set our minds on things which are on earth. Our being of God is not dependent on the number of beautiful chapels that we have. Let us read what our Lord says in Luke 12:15—
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which He possesseth.”
He said that, a man’s life is not all of abundance of the things which he possesses. It doesn’t mean that if you are living abundantly you are already of God. No! There are people who are of God who practically have nothing. And yet, they are still alive. However, there are people who have lots of money but are already dead. There are people who manage to recover from their illness despite financial difficulties. But there are people who never recover from their illness despite the fact that they have the means to buy the most potent medicine. It is because their illness is incurable.
In other words, being of God is not based on the riches that a person possesses. No! Actually, the poor are even more favored by God. In James 2:5 it says—
“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith . . .”
Didn’t God choose the poor of this world? Remember, among the 12 original apostles, only one was educated. Who was he? Levi, or Matthew, the tax collector. Peter and John were unlearned. Let us read Acts 4:13—
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they wee unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled . . .”
Most of the Apostle – Peter, John, James, Simon – did not study. Perhaps, they were even illiterate. Perhaps, they did not even finish grade one. But they became apostles.
Today, a lot of preachers brag about having studied in a Bible school. It doesn’t follow that when a person studied in a Bible school he already develops understanding of the Bible. In fact, those who studied in a Bible school could not even recite a verse without reading the Bible. And it takes them so long locating a particular verse. It is absurd to brag about having attended a Bible school, yet they do not have mastery of the Bible. Studying in a Bible school is not a basis. Understanding the Bible cannot be offered by any Bible school. It is a gift from God. Let us read Matthew 19:11—
“But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.”
It is being given as a gift. That is how the word of God is understood. It cannot be received from a Bible school. The truth is, those who have studied in a Bible school did not develop understanding the word of God. This is what Matthew 11:25 says—
"At the time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent . . .”
Ironically, those who have attended bible schools remain ignorant of the Words of God. The Words of God have been hidden from the wise and the prudent. That is why for us not to be influenced by the wickedness of this world we have to know, first and foremost, the things that God forbids us from doing. What are the things that are against the will of God? The will of God has “do’s” and “don’ts”. At this point, let us try to study the don’ts of God.
Please do not be surprised. Perhaps you have not heard these things from your respective religious leaders. I do not want you to grow old saying, “Praise the Lord” without you realizing that what you’ve been doing are against the will of God. Let us not begin studying the things that God forbids us from doing.
What does a preacher usually do before he begins with his work? He prays. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:5—
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be . . .”
What does the expression “thou shalt not” mean? It means you are forbidden from doing something. For example, “Thou shalt not kill.” That means, you are forbidden to kill. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” That means, you are forbidden from committing adultery. All the commandments that say, “thou shalt not” imply that we are being forbidden from doing those things. Where can you see that a forbidden thing could still be done? If you had been asked not to do something, you are in effect, being forbidden from doing it. God is a God of truth and justice. If He said, “Thou shalt not,” that is how He really meant it to be. He is not a joking God. When He said, “Thou shalt not,” He is forbidding you from doing it. Now, what are those things that God forbid us from doing? Matthew 6:5 says—
“Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are . . .”
Why? What are the hypocrites doing that He doesn’t want us to imitate? Let us continue—
“... for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.”
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
