The word of the Lord teaches that no one should commit murder (Matthew 5:21; Romans 14:9, 1:29; 1 Timothy 1:9; Galatians 5:21). Since the Lord is perfectly clear, why is man so disobedient? There are people today who will kill a person for not believing what they believe. It is bad every time we hear about it, but it is truly horrendous when this is done in the name of religion!
Consider what I say and don’t enter any religion that teaches such dogma. The doctrine is damnable and pitiful, and pathetic are the souls who would follow such teachings (2 Tim. 3:13). There is nothing wrong with evangelism, for Jesus himself did such (Mark 2:13). But when people refuse the message one must move on and allow others to live and let live (Acts 18:5-7). To kill someone because they won’t convert isn’t the work of the Lord, it is the work of Satan and all who do his work will go to Hell! “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” Galatians 1:8-9
With what the scripture just said, it is amazing that several religions started from the claim that some guy saw an angel who told him that he was to write a new book and build a new church, etc. And lo and behold, these religions have grown to huge numbers, and they all begin in violation of the scripture listed above. The Bible is God’s word, and it is efficient to save the soul of man, so we need no new Bible, nor do we need a new church other then the one listed in the Bible. Just because a person is always talking about the Lord, that is no evidence the Lord is pleased with that person (Matthew 15:7-8). The reason being, many people speak a great deal about God, but they aren’t doing what He commanded (Luke 6:46).
They don’t live their lives in the manner God wants and they aren’t even in the right church (Isaiah 59:1-3; Mark 7:7-13; Matthew 15:9-14; 2 John 9-11; Matt. 7:21-27). A person who carries a Bible and quotes the Bible and lives like a dog, is not a child of God. That person is a fake. A person who goes around saying “blessed,” “God is good,” “praise the Lord,” etc, etc, etc. Then teach and practice doctrine that isn’t found in the Bible, is a false teacher (2 Peter 2:1-3; Matt. 7:15-20). Protect yourself against such people by learning what the Bible teaches yourself. You can understand the word of God if you apply yourself to learn it (John 8:31-32). Once you know what it teaches you can expose fakes just like the people did in the old days (Revelation 2:2; Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1-3). This is a quote which came from the monologue of former Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, which he told as a joke. However, it makes a great point.
“With hurricanes, tornados, and fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up this country up from one end to another and also with the threat of swine flu along with possible terrorist attacks. Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?” (end of joke) Thank you Mr Leno. It is never, ever, a good time to show God the door. Instead, tell God to pull up a chair sit down and stay a long, long, time (Psalm 33:12). Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Church is where we learn to please God and not ourselves. Church is where we learn about the beliefs of God and not our beliefs. Church is where we go to serve God by doing what He wants and not what we want. Church is where we should hear the preacher give book, chapter, and verse for all that he teaches.
At church, no preacher or church leader should be teaching the opinions of himself or anyone else. Church is the place were we come to worship the Creator and not the minister, choir, church building, etc. Some churches put up signs saying, “A church for your beliefs.” or, “We believe in tolerance.” I question what those beliefs are and I question what a church may tolerate. And I wonder if God is pleased with what those churches are doing (Revelation 2:18-20). Everything a church does must be according to the scriptures or that church will be wrong (2 John 8-9; Matthew 15:13-14; John 4:24; 1 Timothy 4:16; 1 Tim. 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; Galatians 1:8-9; John 8:31-32; 1 Tim. 4:13). Don’t waste your time, money or support with a church that is wrong (Matt. 7:21-27). A denomination is an organized group of congregations under headquarters which governs each church and divides the area into dioceses, parishes, etc. But according to the Bible there is no such thing as a denomination (2 John 9-11; Matthew 15:13-14; Galatians 1:6-9; Matt. 7:15-29; Mark 7:6-9; 2 Peter 2:1-3).
Jesus built His church, and it was established on the first Pentecost after his resurrection (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:1, 2:40-47). This church is called the body of Christ, with Jesus as its head (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 4:4, 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Romans 16:16). Denominational churches don’t follow this example, but set up cities to serve as headquarters, and men to serve as head of the church. The Bible also teaches that each church is autonomous under the oversight of it’s bishops, who are Pastors or Elders (Acts 20:28. 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3). There are some in Philadelphia who have killed people and didn’t get caught. These criminals watch TV coverage of grieving relatives crying for justice, but they will never turn themselves in to the authorities.
The Bible teaches that men will reap what they sow, and the Bible doesn’t call it “karma,” instead God said it is reaping ones due reward (Galatians 6:7; Proverbs 11:5, 26:27). Now, with that being said, I will comment on this fact. Read the newspaper every week, and there will be stories about men getting gunned down in the streets at every hour of the day and night. I wonder if any of those men were criminals getting a dose of the medicine they have dished out on others? Remember, the Bible said, “he that sows to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). You read about a guy shot dead in a car, well, he quite possibly could be the one who killed the little old lady who was going to the bank to deposit her monthly check. Never forget, we reap what we sow. Water is important in a man’s life. God created water first, then He created man out of dust. Without water, dust wouldn’t stick. There is power in the water.
There’s water in a car. There’s power in that water. If you don’t believe it, try going home without it in the radiator, and you’ve got a burnt up car. Now, try to get a man to go to Heaven without water, and you’ve got burnt up man. Try going to Heaven without water, and you’ve got a burnt up church. Some say you’re saved before baptism. Christ said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Now, you can’t say you’re saved before baptism; you’re calling God a liar. You can’t go to Heaven calling God a liar. You can call me a liar, but not Him. Some say, “A man is not saved and then baptized.” A woman doesn’t wash clothes because they are already clean. I’ve seen a lot of smart women, but not that smart. She washes clothes because they are dirty. Man is baptized because he’s dirty and needs to be cleansed. The gospel is made up of five "pills" that will cure anything: first pill–hear; second pill–believe; third pill–repent; fourth pill–confess; fifth pill–baptism. Take ’em with water, and they’ll cure sin. Would you like to get away from useless people? If so, consider these Bible verses.
Get control of your life by dumping dead beats and your next step should be going toward the Lord. If you want to get your life right, and if you are willing to let the word of God guide you, we want to hear from you. Make the effort to salvage your life and soul (Acts 2:40). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. We have heard it many times before, a house burns down and people suffer injury or death. But then we hear a fireman saying “there were no working smoke detectors in the house.”
Those words cause us to lament the lost of life or health, because no one took the time to do what was needed in order to protect themselves. Well, let me use that example in another way. The Bible, which is the word of God, is our smoke detector. Do you have one? And as for batteries, are you doing what His word commands you? You see, it is one thing to have a Bible in your house, but a totally different thing to be doing what it teaches (Luke 6:46; John 15:14, 8:31-32). If we can be of help to you in learning God’s will for your life, let us help you with a Bible study (Acts 8:26-40, 16:11-15, 17:11). |