There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true (Jewish fables and traditions of organization religion); the other is to refuse to believe what is true (the Word of God). ~ Titus 1:13-15
I, (the apostle Paul) therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ~Ephesians 4:1-5
God looks on the heart, not at the sign in front of the Church building.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ; from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. ~ Ephesians 4:11-16
I was brought up in a Christian denomination that claims to "speak where the Bible speaks". Not knowing any better, I fully trusted my parents, Sunday school teachers, and Pastors to rightly divide the Word of Truth. ~ 2 Timothy 2:15
Consider The Source
Finally, I understand why Jesus warned me to be careful what I believe and why I believe it. "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother (loves their false religion) more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me". ~ Matthew 10:35-38
Why don't Christian Pastors teach the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter using the correct definition of Hebrew and Greek words? Answer: Because their livelihood depends on upholding the traditions of their denomination. If Pastors started teaching the Bible correctly, they would lose 80% of their congregation and the 20% who remained would wonder why their Pastor suddenly went "off the deep end."
Organized religion is run as a business with paid staff, housing, car, medical insurance, paid
vacations, retirement plan... the whole nine yards. The gospel has become a
commodity to be sold by 501(c) preachers for profit. And Jesus said: "Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
~John 2:16
Every Word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. (not trusting the traditions on men) ~ Proverbs 30:5
But He (Jesus) answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ (not our parents, not our pastor) ~Matthew 4:4 When Jesus spoke those words, there was no written "New Testament." Did the Old Testament proceed from the mouth of God?
The apostle Paul told Timothy: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Whom will He (Yahweh) teach knowledge? And whom will He make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” ~ Isaiah 28:9-10
Let's Examine Some of the Popular Doctrines of Denominational Christianity
1. The doctrine of an ever-burning "hell". - False
Truth: The word hell means "the place of the dead or grave." People only have two choices - eternal life or eternal death. You cannot be alive and dead at the same time. The dead know nothing and feel nothing. ~ Ecclesiastes 9:5
In Matthew 25:46 we read the words of Jesus: “And these (the goat people) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” The word "punishment" means death or destruction which harmonizes with Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We
cannot be alive "in agony" and dead at the same time. The wages of sin
is death... not alive jumping from one hot rock to another. In verse 41,
the translators chose the word "fire" instead of destruction.
Truth: Sin is the transgression of the Law. ~ 1 John 3:4.
It's not a matter of Law or Grace, it's Law and Grace. ~ Matthew 5:17 and Romans 2:13. Only the Levitical priesthood, animal sacrifices, and the death penalty were done away.
Truth: Verse 16 of 1 Thessalonians clearly states this event is the first resurrection of the dead in Christ and those still living (the barley harvest) when Christ returns, not an escape. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection... Revelation 20:5-6. The second resurrection is the "wheat harvest" when Jesus separates the wheat from the chaff.
Truth: Matthew 24:12-14 (KJV)
And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the love (of the truth) of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure (truth) unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
5. The celebration on December 25th as the birthday of Jesus. - False
Truth: We do not know the exact date of the birth of Jesus, and even if we did, Christians are to remember His death, not His birth. The custom of decorating trees predates Jesus by a 600 years. God forbid it then and forbids it now. Birth of Jesus
6. The doctrine of the Trinity - False
Truth: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ~Deuteronomy 6:4
God does not have multiple personality disorder. Jesus is not his own 'father'. The key to understanding the trinity is to know the definition of the word "God" in Hebrew, the original language of the Bible. The English translation of God causes much confusion because it is singular, The original word is Elohim, a uni-plural word like team, church, family. The Body of Christ consists of many members, but all one body. God is not a trinity, God is a unity.
When Jesus said: "I and My Father are one (family),” He meant it. ~John 10:30
Jesus Revealed The Father
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
~ John 14:7 and Colossians 1:15
7. The doctrine that your "immortal soul" goes directly to heaven or hell when we die. - False
Soul and Spirit are not the same. We don't have a soul, we are a soul... and man became a living soul. ~ Genesis 2:7
Truth: Ezekiel 18:4(KJV)
Then shall the dust (the dead person) return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. ~ Ecclesiastes 12:7
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Note that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, not people. ~Revelation 20:14
8. The doctrine that the small country called Israel, established in 1948, is fulfilling Bible prophesy and the Jews are "God's chosen people." - False
Truth: Who was the Bible written to, for, and about? Here are a couple of clues in Matthew 10:5-7 and James 1:1
Jesus Sending Out the Twelve
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles (the word gentiles means nations), and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ~Matthew 10:5-7
"James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings."
9. Tattoos and Body Piercing are Okay with God. - False
Truth: You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.~Leviticus
Try to get 3 days and 3 nights from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. According to the false teaching of organized religion, Jesus was in the grave two nights and one day. Who are you going to believe... man's traditions or Jesus?
Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ~Luke 24:1-3
Why didn't they find the body of the Lord Jesus?... because HE rose Saturday night at the end of 3 days and 3 nights. There never was a Sunday sunrise resurrection. Two Kinds of "Sabbaths" led to confusion. As John tells us in John 19:31: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies [of those crucified] should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken [to hasten death], and that they might be taken away." Passover is a High Sabbath and is one day before the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ~ Exodus 23:15
Yahweh is God’s personal name (see Exodus 3:13-15 and Exodus 6:2-3), and is usually “translated” as LORD (in upper case). It’s not really a translation because Yahweh does not mean Lord. Rather, Yahweh means something like "I Am Eternal'', “I Am who I Am”, or “I will be who I will be”.
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,
By His name Yah,
And rejoice before Him.
13. The doctrine of a strict Saturday Sabbath. - True or False?
As I understand the Sabbath Commandment, the Sabbath is a day of rest after working six days, but I throw it in the mix for you to search it out. There is more to the Law of the Sabbath than just "going to Church." It was the custom to assemble on the Sabbath Day. Luke 4:16
Even strict Saturday or Sunday Sabbath keepers want the police, fire department, and hospitals on duty (and Walmart - lol). The whole world cannot shut down on the same day.The Sabbath is really about three things... Stopping, Resting, and Enjoying. Stop what you normally do the other six days, get some rest, and enjoy a day off.
List of the Feasts of the LORD
The annual Sabbaths are commanded assemblies. If you are not familiar with "annual sabbaths" they're listed in Leviticus 23. If your Church does not keep the Feasts of the LORD, find a group to fellowship with at Feast time... http://www.feastgoer.org/index.html
Notice in Exodus 31:13... Sabbaths plural is a sign that sanctifies us, not just going to Church on Saturday or Sunday.
In that future Kingdom, all people will worship before God on the Sabbath (Isaiah 66:23). The Sabbath was made for all of humanity, (not just Jews and Seventh Day Adventist). ~ Isaiah 56:6
Test your knowledge of the Bible.
The purpose of this post is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.
To
learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true
meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's
Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
