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continuation...
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.
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
