Category: extortion in religion

Who Is a Sinner? #5

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

Religious tradition misleads us to believe that God is pleased with us as long as we appear religious and He is upset with us when we commit deeds of which the “church” or denomination disapproves (then, the church leadership urges us to give money to “make up” for our transgressions!). Going to church, praying, singing hymns, and giving can be God-honoring, but rarely is it ever understood that these activities can also be just as ungodly as the sins of the flesh.

Remember, “judge not a book by its cover”—appearance is not necessarily reality. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 7:11, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Despite our “good” works, we still have an “evil” nature!

The Bible explains in Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Notice the expression, “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” There exists in every human being a “spirit,” an attitude, which first appeared in the heart of Lucifer/Satan, “the prince of the power of the air.” This nature is completely opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ: it rejects His values, commandments, and will. That attitude, often called the Adamic (sin) nature, produces sinful behavior (sins, plural), the “desires of the flesh and of the mind.”

Indeed, our “good” works do not impress God, for our nature is evil….

Honest Samuel

Friday, August 9, 2013

“And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand” (1 Samuel 12:4 KJV).

How many politicians and church leaders could we say this to today?

About 1,000 years before Christ, Samuel (“heard of God”) served as a prophet, a priest, and a judge over the nation Israel for many years (although the Bible does not provide a numerical figure, it does tell us he served from “childhood” to him being “old and grayheaded” [1 Samuel 12:2]). His sons are wicked rulers in Israel, guilty of administering crooked judgment and accepting bribes—they “walked not in [Samuel’s] ways” (1 Samuel 8:1-5). Thus, Israel desires Samuel to choose his successor, which is Israel’s first king, Saul (1 Samuel chapters 8-10).

Later, after Saul is anointed as Israel’s king, Samuel addresses the nation (today’s Scripture). Let us see how this man of God ruled God’s people (1 Samuel 12:1-5):

“And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed [Saul]: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand. And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.”

Even the LORD Himself testified to Samuel’s honest reign! It was such a shame that his sons did not follow his example, for their corrupt administrations led Israel to reject Samuel, and more importantly, God’s wisdom by which he ruled.

Twice-Guilty Thieves #7

Saturday, January 19, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Today’s Scripture summarizes religion:

  • “If a man bring you into bondage.” Religion (<religare, ‘to bind’) shackles us, for we sinners can never perform enough to be perfect. The more rules we attempt to keep, the more we stumble and the more miserable we become.
  • “If a man devour you.” Religion consumes you; it gains your trust, making you believe you are “good enough,” but it only disappoints you because you can never be perfect.
  • “If a man take of you.” Religion extorts your time, treasure, and trust. Eventually, it will literally take away everything—your joy, your savings, your time, your liberty in Christ.
  • “If a man exalt himself.” Religion tries to dominate your Christian life (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:24). It demands that you keep rules, regulations, rituals, and rites. It threatens you, “Keep my ordinances, or God will not bless you.”
  • “If a man smite you on the face.” Religion abuses you. It disfigures the “face” of your inner man. You forget your identity in Christ, and you return to the “weak and beggarly” system of Law-keeping (Galatians 4:9). You forget that God has accepted you forever in Christ (Ephesians 1:6), not because of what you have done or what you have not done, but because you are in Christ, and Jesus Christ’s performance and finished crosswork on Calvary makes you forever pleasing in God’s sight!

Unfortunately, like the Corinthians (today’s Scripture), most Christians allow religion to deceive them. They do not study the Bible for themselves, and they do not study it “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15). They confuse themselves with Israel, and they ignore God’s Word to them (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), thereby making themselves vulnerable to church leaders who steal Israel’s verses in order to steal their purses!

Dearly beloved, beware of the twice-guilty thieves, and avoid them.

Twice-Guilty Thieves #6

Friday, January 18, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Today’s “name it and claim it” preachers instruct us to claim Israel’s verses for healing and material wealth. Did this work for our Apostle Paul and other members of the Church the Body of Christ?

Paul described his life: “In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:27; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 6:4,5). He knew what it was to “be full and be hungry, to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:12). Consider the Macedonian Christians who knew “deep poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Paul begged God for deliverance three times regarding his troubles, and yet they continued (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Verse 10: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Which “name it and claim it” preacher quotes those passages?! None! (They ignore them because they are not conducive to funding.)

Rather than temporary physical healing, as God promised Israel, today in the Dispensation of Grace, the Lord promises us everlasting spiritual healing. We have forgiveness of sins in and through Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). At the rapture, we Christians will be eternally delivered from these bodies of sickness and death, and we will receive new glorified bodies (Romans 8:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; Philippians 3:20,21). We are already “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Everything God can give us, He did so the moment we trusted Christ as our personal Saviour. We did not work for those blessings; Jesus Christ did!

Dear reader, let not religion take advantage of you by (mis)using Israel’s verse to gain the purse (today’s Scripture). Stand by faith in your identity in Christ, and be not moved. Do not confuse yourself with Israel.

Twice-Guilty Thieves #5

Thursday, January 17, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

“Name it and claim it” preachers urge us to “claim” 3 John 2, Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 6:33, Exodus 15:26, James 5:15, and Malachi 3:10. “Speak health and wealth into your life… God does not want you sick… Claim your healing through Christ’s atonement… It is a sin to be poor… Offer your tithes and be blessed of God 100-fold like Isaac!”

Tragically, since Bible verses are quoted, but not approached dispensationally, most professing Christians believe these claims are “God’s will” for them. They are never told that the program to which those verses belong is currently suspended. These preachers are simply mishandling the verse to rob the purse (today’s Scripture)!

For instance, despite the Bible’s healing promises, Paul wrote: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22,23). Surely, there is no “healing in Jesus’ name” according to that passage!

There was no miraculous healing for ill Timothy, whom Paul instructed, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23). One of the last verses Paul wrote was, “Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick” (2 Timothy 4:20). Where is Paul’s apostolic gift of healing? Why did he, Timothy, or Trophimus not claim those Old Testament healing passages? They knew they did not apply to them, just like they do not apply to us.

Unless we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we overlook the fact that God is doing something with us that is different from what He did with Israel in the past and what He will do with her in the future.

Twice-Guilty Thieves #3

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Many church leaders embrace prosperity theology (some to more degrees than others). Basically, this movement’s message is, “God wants you healthy and wealthy! Are you sick today? You have ‘unconfessed sin!’ Ask God for forgiveness. Claim your bodily healing in Jesus’ name! God says in Exodus 15:26, ‘I am the LORD that healeth thee.’ Give your ‘tithes’ to our church and God will rain down riches unfathomable as Malachi teaches.” Notice the Bible does say these things.

Malachi 3:10: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

James 5:15: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Read Deuteronomy chapter 28 for yourself. God does promise material blessings to those who obey Him (the verses “claimed” today)…. He also promises curses on the disobedient (the verses obviously ignored).

Indeed, these preachers are quoting Scripture, BUT they are handling the Bible “deceitfully” (2 Corinthians 4:2) in order to make a profit off of you (today’s Scripture). God never spoke Malachi 3:10 to us—Malachi 1:1 says Israel is Malachi’s audience. James wrote to “the twelve tribes [of Israel] which are scattered abroad” (1:1). Deuteronomy is God’s Word to Israel (1:1). We are not Israel. These verses do not apply to us. God tells us something different today through the Apostle Paul.

Again, the “name it and claim it” preachers simply “hijack the verse to acquire the purse!” (“The love of money is the root of all evil;” 1 Timothy 6:10.)

Twice-Guilty Thieves #2

Monday, January 14, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Members of the “name it and claim it” movement, despite their duplicity and heresy, are actually quoting the Bible (!). Prosperity theology does not simply appear out of “thin air;” it is found in God’s Word. Deuteronomy chapter 28 is one of the primary passages of Scripture used to teach that God will reward you with material blessings based on your religious performance. The Bible indeed teaches this, but it is speaking to Israel in time past. God declares no such thing to us today in the Dispensation of Grace (search Paul’s epistles in vain).

Note Deuteronomy 28:1,2: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.” We then read of dozens of blessings, which are often “claimed” today.

Now, read verse 15: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.” God lists dozens of curses, which everyone today ignores for obvious reasons.

“Claiming” part of the chapter to follow—the blessings—and willfully rejecting the rest—the curses—is dishonest. Nevertheless, the “name it and claim it” crowd—as does religion in general (today’s Scripture)—names the verse in order to claim the purse! This robs Christians of their identity in Christ, and it keeps them ignorant of what God teaches them through the Apostle Paul.

Twice-Guilty Thieves #1

Sunday, January 13, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Recently, I watched a Bible teacher on television who claimed, “God has material riches waiting for you, and you can discover all the details by buying my book. [Seems to me like he is going to receive the ‘material riches!’] Just send in a ‘seed of faith’ to my ministry and watch God give it all back… and more! Claim those promises in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and receive those material blessings from God!”

We cannot imagine the millions who are lured into this trap. This scheme is especially useful in times of financial instability, when people are seeking economic relief. Jesus Christ condemned the religious leaders of His day because they “devoured widows’ houses” (Matthew 23:14). He called Israel’s Temple “a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:12,13). Paul even admitted, when he was lost, he “profited in the Jews’ religion above many [his] equals” (Galatians 1:14). As Saul of Tarsus the Pharisee, he enjoyed a lucrative lifestyle.

It is certainly Scriptural to “name and claim” Israel’s material promises in the Bible. However, it is also dishonest and undispensational to “name and claim” Israel’s material promises in the Bible. Just because it is in the Bible does not make it God’s Word to you. Can you honestly expect God to honor your taking someone else’s possessions and claiming to do it in His name?! God forbid! Does God agree with these church leaders mishandling His Word so they can extort from their congregations?! God forbid!

Bluntly, “name it and claim it” preaching is summed up as, “Quote the verse and take the purse!” It was true of religion in the day of the Apostle Paul (today’s Scripture), and it is definitely true today. Dear saints, let not the religious system take you and rob you of your spiritual wealth in Christ. Give under grace—dispensationally, cheerfully, and carefully.

An Abomination and a Delight #3

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight” (Proverbs 15:8 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, we read of an abomination to the LORD and a delight of the LORD.

All too often, churches capitalize on vain religious performance. They encourage us to pray, but they never teach us how to pray in this the Dispensation of Grace as God’s Word instructs. We are begged to “support the program” monetarily, but they never teach us how to give in this the Dispensation of Grace as God’s Word instructs. They implore us to walk aisles and make “professions of faith,” “turn from our sins and then trust Christ” (?), and “follow Jesus in ‘believer’s baptism.’” Friends, it may come as a shock to you, but these “godly” activities are abominations to the Lord: they literally are wickedness.

Faith is first and foremost, and faith in God’s Word to us—Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon—does not lead us to walk aisles, it does not lead us to forsake our sins to be saved, it does not lead us to follow Israel’s legalistic tithe, and it does not lead us to be water baptized. These emphasize our performance, not Christ’s performance. Satan enjoys religious performance—he desires to rob Christ of His praise by getting us to boast in what we do!

We go contrary to what God is doing today when we promote denominational theology. Today’s Scripture speaks of “the sacrifice of the wicked” as “an abomination to the LORD.” This is someone doing what he or she wants in religion: offering a sacrifice, but doing it wickedly (no faith). Such activity does not honor the Lord.

If we want God to “delight” in our Christian service (today’s Scripture), let us first study and believe His Word to us—Paul’s epistles—and then, by faith, apply those Scriptures to our lives, daily speaking to God about our lives in light of what we read in His written Word (prayer). In doing so, we exalt not ourselves, but we magnify our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone deserves our delight. 🙂

Expect the Adversaries

Sunday, September 30, 2012

“For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9 KJV).

Hypothetically, if we are the Lord’s children, then we will have an easy life? Right? Wrong!

As one Christian brother expressed it, “God has not promised us Christians a rose petal pathway.” Contrary to the feel-good cliché “God wants you healthy and wealthy,” our membership in the Church the Body of Christ does not ensure our lives will be trouble-free.

While we Christians serve the Lord Jesus Christ, this world has never been and will never be His friend: “They hated [Jesus Christ] without a cause” (John 15:25; cf. Psalm 35:19). During His 33 years on earth, the world was very unkind to our Lord and Saviour. He was hated, belittled, and executed by His own people. The world will “love” Christ living His life in us to the same extent they “loved” Him living His life during His earthly ministry—not at all!

In the verse previous to today’s Scripture, Paul is staying at Ephesus until Pentecost. Today’s Scripture says that while Paul had opportunity to preach and teach in Ephesus, the satanic policy of evil had its men in place. Evil men, Satan’s cohorts, were eager to divide Paul’s audience and persecute Christians, including harming the Apostle himself. Today’s Scripture refers to Acts 19:21–20:1, when Paul preached against the pagan goddess Diana in Ephesus. Fearing financial ruin, the local idol makers anger the Ephesians and cause them to turn against Paul. This riot in Ephesus (present-day western Turkey) forces Paul to depart to Macedonia (present-day northern Greece).

The Philippian believers endured intense persecution, yet Paul encouraged them: “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God” (1:28). Do not fear or be intimidated by Satan’s evil world system. (“Satan” is a Hebrew word meaning “adversary.”) The devil is our adversary because he is God’s adversary. Thankfully, Satan’s tactics do not have to destroy us: God’s grace is sufficient for us to bear them (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).

Expect the adversaries, and expect God’s grace to endure them! 🙂