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Things that God Forbids us from Doing (1st Part) |
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continuation...
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.
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
