Things that God Forbids us from Doing (1st Part)

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.”

They pretend to be of God. That is why Christ called them “hypocrites”. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets in order to be seen by other people. Definitely, if you are standing you can readily be seen by passers-by. Their main intention in praying is to be seen by others, and not to communicate with God. Their motive is to display their superficial holiness. No wonder, Christ called them “hypocrites”. They do not really intend to be holy; they just pretend to be holy. Their act of praying is a sheer hypocrisy. So, Christ said, do not do what they do. Do not pray the way they do, because whenever they pray, they stand up in synagogues and in street corners.

Have you seen religious groups that pray on the streets? There are a lot of these groups that do that nowadays. They love praying where there are many people who could see them. They pray even in market places. But, why do they pray in the street and in other public places? Let us read Matthew 6:5 again—

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

In other words, the reason why they pray standing is to be seen by the passers-by. What does this mean? They are after being praised and glorified by men. This is what Matthew 6:1 says—

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”

Christ does not want the Christians to show other people their acts of holiness. They should not brag about it. Why? It said, take heed that you do not show other people whenever you give alms. If you do, the Father in heaven will no longer reward you. You will be doing that thing in vain. Let us continue Matthew 6:2—

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.”

So, there are people who even blow the trumpet every time they give alms. When they donate 20,000 dollars they make sure that there are photographers around who would take their pictures, which later will be published in newspapers. They are making it known to the people. But Christ said, do not do the same. Instead, this is what we must do whenever we give alms. Matthew 6:3-4 says—

“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what the right hand doesth; That thine alms may be in secret and thy Father which seeth himself shall reward thee openly.”

Christ speaks of one main basic thing here. He doesn’t want those who follow His teachings to do as the hypocrites do. If you are going to follow Christ, He doesn’t want you to pray simply because you want to show it to others. He doesn’t want you to show other people that you are praying. But what He doesn’t want is what many preachers and ministers today love to do. In fact, there is even one preacher who would say, “Good evening, Yahweh!” before praying. As if there is ever a bad evening for Yahweh. In the first place, who is that Yahweh?

There isn’t any bad evening for God. That greeting should be used to man only, because you are expressing a simple wish for him. But when you pray to God, you do not have to say, “Good evening, Yahweh!” That is superficial. They do that only to be praised by men.

Personally, I do not want being praised. That is the reason why, sometimes, my language is hard. My language hurt many. That is because I only express my anger to pastors whose doings and teachings are wrong. They accuse me of being bad because, they say, I am always angry. Don’t I have any basis in becoming angry? It is God’s commandment. This is what Romans 1:18 says—

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men ...”

Is God wrathful of all unrighteousness, or not? The wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. How does He show His wrath? Romans 13:4 says—

“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God; a revenger to execute wrong upon him that doeth evil.”

The minister of God bears the sword. If you are a real minister of God, you will be against all that is wrong. This could be the reason why I am mad at all kinds of hypocrisy and “over acting” in religion.

I know that you’ve grown accustomed to being praised, so please don’t get me wrong. I am not the type who would give you praises despite your wrong doings. I do not praise people who brag about the tithes they have given. The Bible says that when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does. And yet, there you are on television, giving your testimony that after you had given your tithes, which amounted to 150,000 thousand pesos, God gave you 150 million in return. These people just boast to project a good impression. And they even say things which are against God.

Christ told the Christians, “Do not do as they do.” When you give alms, do not sound a trumpet. That means, you must not let anybody know about it. When you give alms, just secretly drop it inside the pocket of the person you are helping. Whenever you help a needy without being known by others, God will surely reward you. But when you brag each time that you give alms, the Father in heaven will no longer reward you because you have already earned the praises of men for your good deeds. That prevents God from rewarding you.

Actually, there are pastors who would really shower their members with praises that would encourage them to further increase their donations. They even announce the names of their leading donors during their congregational gatherings. The names of their members are listed, and they had been arranged based on the amount that they had donated. The names of the biggest donors are on the top list, and those, whose donations amounted only to a few pesos, are listed below. Too bad for those who were able to give only a peso, their names are only listed on the back page. And since the name of the highest donor is on the top list, the person next to him is therefore challenged to increase his donation next time so that his name now will appear on the top of the list. That gimmick spells more money for the pastors. They really device so many tricks just to solicit more money from their members. No wonder, they do not mind disregarding what God had commanded – when you give alms, you should not let your left hand know what your right hand does.

God also said, whenever you pray, do not let other people see you. Do not stand up. Do not stand in synagogues and in street corners so that other people may see you and praise you. DON’T! It is forbidden by God. But what are some pastors doing? They pray in front of a television camera. If you only understand what I have understood from the Bible, you’ll be angry also with your pastors for they do things which are against what the Bible teaches. Imagine, God forbids us to stand when we pray, yet they do not only stand while praying, but they stand in front of a television camera! And that is worse! How many people could see you if you are going to pray on the streets? When you pray, let’s say in Mango Street, you would definitely be seen by the residents of Mango Street. But when you pray on television, practically the whole would see you.

Watch television and you will see a host of preachers doing that thing every day. They are all the same. They have the same manner of praying; they have the same style of preaching. They tell people, “Accept Jesus, and you’ll be saved. Many misfortunes will befall you if you do not give tithes”

What manner of prayer does Christ want? We have learned what He does not want. Now, let us find out what He wants. Matthew 6:6 says—

“Be thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

So, He wants you to enter your room, and shut the door. Christ wants you to pray in secret. And it is in praying in secret that God will reward you. There are two things that happen whenever a pastor prays on television: God is angered, while the devil is jumping with joy. But that is what most people do. They pray in public so that the people would see their act of holiness. Apparently, that is the trend nowadays. Let us read what II Timothy 3:1 says—

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

The last days will be perilous. Why? Let us read II Timothy 3:5—

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Today, a lot of people pretend to be holy. They have the appearance of holiness; they only appear to be holy – they pray, they give alms, they give tithes. But they deny the power of holiness. Why? Because real holiness is not seen by man, but by God. Let us read what Ephesians 6:6-7 says—

“Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service as to the Lord; and not to men.”

If you will serve just to be seen by others, your service becomes useless. It is just a waste of time. You will never be saved at all. The Bible said, the Father in heaven will not reward you.

Therefore, if we are going to talk about the “don’ts” of God, with prayers alone, you are already wrong. Why? Because you pray in the streets. You even light firecrackers. Just try to think about it. Read the Bible. And if you find out that what you’ve been doing is wrong, get out of your respective religions. There is the Bible. You may check on what I am saying. The Bible forbids us from praying in the streets, but why are you praying in the street? It is your pastor who is cheating you, but why are you angry with me? There are indeed people who get angry with me for telling them the truth. Why do you keep on loving and following your pastor when he is just cheating you? Don’t ever think that I also want to be loved. Never! Why? I can go on without you loving me. As St. Paul said, “If God is with me, there’s nothing that a man can do against me, so long as I am following the will of God.” I could withstand the wrath of anybody, including my parents’, but not God’s.

Now, for God not to be angry, follow what He says. If you’ve read from the Bible that a certain thing is forbidden by God, then, do not do it anymore. But why are you disobeying Him? Are you trying to prove that you are really an anti-Christ? Because if you are pro-Christ, you will not get angry with what I say inasmuch as I only read if from the Bible. Remember that I was born in 1947, while the Bible was first printed during the 15th century. It existed 500 years ahead of me. 3,600 years before I was born, it was already recorded in tablets and papyrus. It was 3,600 years ago that the first book of the Bible was written.

I know how busy you are to read the Bible. I know how preoccupied you are with your businesses such that you no longer have any spare time to read it. Fortunately, I have read it. And the things that I have read there had already been written there before I began existing. And now, I am reading it to you for you to understand it, and for you to merit salvation. But why is it that, when you have understood what I read you became angry with me? Why will you be angry with me when I just read the truths which you take for granted? Is that the reason why you are angry with me? Let us read what Galatians 4:16 says—

“Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”

Is it because of the truth that I have spoken that you are angry with me?

Preachers today do nothing but flatter each other. You cannot expect any truthfulness from them. Do they criticize the wrong doings of other people? No, because they want to please them. Do you think you will be saved if you will let this kind of pastors lead you? You do not have the slightest chance of being saved. Those pastors will just lead you to hell. As Matthew 15:14 says—

“Let them alone; they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

How can those pastors save you when they do not even know how to pray properly? When they pray, they show it to other people in synagogues and street corners. God forbids us from praying in the streets. If we are going to pray, He wants us to enter our room and close the door. Let us try to study this thing further.

Others think that when Christ said, “when you pray, enter your room,” they thought that they have to enter a literal room. What if the person doesn’t have any room? There are shanties which do not have any room. If that is the case, which room is he going to enter? But the commandment says, “enter your room.” Which room is that? We shall study this in our other editions, because today our subject matter is the “do’s” and “don’ts” of God. And we have understood so far that we must not pray as the hypocrites do.

Here is another prohibition of God. Matthew 16:19 says—

“Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces.”

There are, indeed, people who disfigure their faces and put on a very sad countenance. For what reason? Let us read--

“... that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”

Whenever you are fasting, Christ does not want you to let other people know about it either. Do not disfigure your face. Do not let others suspect that you are fasting. However, nowadays, there are religions that announce on television that they are fasting. They try to show other people that they have become emaciated. That is what an anti-Christ do. Why? Let us read Matthew 6:16 again—

“Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”

Christ said, if you are going to fast ... (Matthew 6:17)—

“Be thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face.”

You have to conceal what you are doing. You have to keep it a secret. You have to show other people how vibrant you are. Do not appear as though you have become very weak because you have not taken anything, not even water, for the last five days. Instead, show them that you are happy, so that your fasting may remain a secret. Matthew 6:18 says—

“…that thou appear unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which see in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

God doesn’t want you to announce your fasting. However, there are those who even pose for a picture. They even announce on television that they are fasting.

Just consider when the Pharisees asked Christ why His Apostles were not fasting. See that? They accused the Apostles of not fasting. When Christ replied, He did not brag nor boast. He neither told them that their accusation was wrong. Let us find out in Mark 2:19 what Christ told the Pharisees—

“And Jesus said unto them, can the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.”

Why will they fast when the bridegroom is still with them? Instead of fasting, they should give joy to the bridegroom. They must offer him food; they should not fast. There is no time for fasting. That was Christ’s answer to them. But in truth, the Apostles really fast. It was just that Christ and the Apostles didn’t want the Pharisees think that they are not fasting. You see, there are people who tell everybody that they are fasting. That is no longer surprising because here on earth, there are really many anti-Christ. They do what Christ forbids them from doing.

But insofar as the Bible is concerned, Christ said, when you fast, anoint you hair; wear perfume; wash your face; try to look your best. Put on a happy countenance so that the others would not notice that you are fasting. And when you do this, the Father in heaven, who sees in secret, will reward you.

If only you will dig on all the “don’ts” of God written in the Bible, you will discover a number of truths. And in so doing, you will be rectified. You must realize that prohibitions are meant to correct you. Just like a mother who prohibits her son from playing matchsticks. Her prohibition implies a “don’t”. Why did she set that prohibition? Because she loves her son . . . because if she her son happened to light matchsticks where gasoline is stored, it may lead to explosion and conflagration.

If a father orders his child not to stay out late at night, especially his daughter, that means he is sparing her from any on toward incident, like being raped or molested.

The “don’ts” of parents are all meant to do good. For instance, “Child, do not eat that food because you might suffer from indigestion later on.” The child was told “don’t” because it will not do him any good if he does otherwise. Therefore, love is being expressed where there are “don’ts”. If there are no “don’ts”, that means the parent doesn’t care whether his child is poisoned or not. That implies that he doesn’t love his child. But if you are loved, there are many “don’ts” set before you. That is God’s way. That was why, when He forbade Adam from eating the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, because if he eats it, he will die, God, in effect, was proving that He loved Adam.

How many “don’ts” have we mentioned so far? Do not pray as the hypocrites do. Do not give alms as hypocrites do. Do not fast as hypocrites do. Actually, there are so many ”don’ts” in the Bible; although many “don’ts” in the Old Testament have been amended. For example, the Old Testament said, “Thou shalt not kill.” However, that particular commandment had been modified in the New Testament. There are more “don’ts” in the New Testament. And these are what we are going to study.

We do not want what the other churches do. They do not care about the welfare of their members. So long as they give tithes, they are at liberty to do as they please. Every time their pastors open their mouths, they always mention tithes. They make their members believe that when they give tithes, they will prosper. But if they do not give tithes, they are robbing God, and for that, they will be cursed.

This is the reason why we need to familiarize ourselves with the “don’ts” of God. And why do we have to study all these? This is what Proverbs 1:23 says--

“Turn ye at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”

That is God’s promise. If you obey His commandments, He will give you a spirit that will make you know His words. Therefore, we are making the right step in knowing, first, what the “don’ts” of God are.