Posts

Showing posts from June, 2016

The Prosperity Gospel is a Pyramid Scam!

Image
The problem isn't tithing but taking Malachi 3:10 out of context. The prosperity gospel loves taking verses out of context just to fill their needs. There is blessing in tithing but the problem is when the preacher says something like, "Tithe and your problems will be over. Tithe and you will get your best life now! Tithe and God will make you a millionaire. That's what Malachi 3:10 means that there won't be enough room to receive it!" It's already turning the tithes and offerings into crookery that giving your offerings means God will exempt you from the trials of life. No such verse teaches or suggests otherwise! Let's take a look at the context of Malachi 3:10 with the rest of the Bible. The more I think of that there'st not enough room to receive it that it means you're to share your blessing with others. But it doesn't mean that God exempts the faithful from trials and tribulations in exchange for faithfulness. On the contrary, the mor

Christianity Has NEVER Been About Having Your Best Life Now!

Image
Joel Osteen preaches positive psychology and prosperity gospel. His followers can go ahead and brag that they're "right" because they have thousands of followers at Lakewood Church. They can go ahead and accuse those who stand by the Gospel truth as "bitter and jealous" individuals. But it's the truth that Christianity is never about having your best life now. The whole idea of "Your best life now." is nothing but speaking according to the lusts of the flesh. Jesus already warned ahead that if you follow Him then expect that it won't be your best life now. Matthew 10:22 and 24:9 has His warning that if you follow Him, you will be wrongfully persecuted. Following Christ has never been about attaining worldly wealth. It may also mean losing your worldly blessings. 2 Timothy 3:12 warns that living a godly life means you'll be suffering wrongful persecution from the world. John 15:18-19 and James 4:4 contrasts the Christian from the rest

Charles Spurgeon on Anxiety

Image
There is one thing we can be certain that anxiety doesn't empty tomorrow of sorrows but only makes people more and more weak. The more anxious people get, the more it drains them. When a person is anxious, they're bound to have faster heartbeat rate, lack of concentration, stress, headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, compulsive behaviors, lack of appetite, procrastination, negligence and paranoia are but a few of what can happen during the anxiety cycle. The Lord Jesus stated in Matthew 6:25-34,"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider

The Bigger Question by Charles Spurgeon

Image
The statement is that anybody could go ahead and ask, "Will the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved?"  That's a good question and the answer is no, they won't be saved.  But there's one bigger problem behind the problem is this, "Are you who has the Gospel giving it to others so they can know how to be saved?" It's a problem when Christians think that what if the person rejects the Gospel.  Yes, it's a problem that people rejects the Gospel.  Even if you're going to preach the full Gospel as nicely as possible there are people who will reject it.  Jesus wasn't rude towards the rich young ruler.  The problem was with the rich young ruler's pride in himself and his accomplishments.  The apostles preached without compromise as nicely as possible but they still encountered rejection from the heathen. It's a problem when people decide to water down the Gospel and make it look as non-offensive as possible.  Such peopl

Be Thankful That You Have a Bible!

Image
Psalm 119:27 declares, "The Law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver." The problem that worldly people think is that, "Well, nobody becomes a billionaire from reading the Bible."  I would agree with them that yes, that's true.  But there's a huge problem behind a lifestyle where money comes first.  Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 warns that the more money you earn the more you want to earn more and more money.  Now nothing's wrong with earning money because it's part of one's daily living but the problem is when one's goal in life is only to make money.  But as much as possible, focus on Proverbs 30:7-9 that says to have neither poverty nor riches. Every day, one can read in the newspapers that a lot of people who ended their lives also included rich people.  Back then, I remembered I said that if I had all the money in the world then my problems will be over.  But such thinking is shown that some rich people because of

Christianity Is Not About Being Happy, Happy, Happy but Being Holy, Holy, Holy

Image
One of the biggest lies of the Devil is, "Do whatever makes you happy."  While it's not wrong to be happy or to seek happiness but life isn't always about happy, happy and happy.  Neither is the Christian life all about happy, happy and happy.  Instead, it's all about holy, holy and holy just like the hymn that sings of "Holy, holy, holy." because the Bible says, "Holy, holy, holy." to show the true nature of God.  Everything He does is based upon His holiness. Many people today thinks that  pastor who tickles their ears are the best pastors.  It's no wonder such pastors always get to get luxury cars, some even have a private jet and are well-loved by the world but they're not men of God.  John 15:18-19 and James 4:4 warns that friendship with the world makes one enemies with God.  If you're a friend of God then you're an enemy of the world.  Pastors who are popular are not right with God.  Jeremiah 5:31 warns that people lo

Prosperity Gospel Pastors Are Not According to God's Own Heart!

Image
Jeremiah 23:1-2 warns about the pastors who have scattered the flock.  That's why way back in Jeremiah 3:15, God already promised, "And I will give you pastors according to Mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."  The prosperity gospel pastors are not even real pastors of God and they're dead set for condemnation not too long ago.  What did pastors of the prosperity gospel do?  They don't seek God and they just seek to devour the flock.  They are not born again Christians they claim as they're just false converts pretending to be Christians. It's really something when a pastor is not according to God's heart.  Pastors who are promised by God to feed with knowledge and understanding are rejected.  If the Old Testament prophets didn't get any better treatment then why should the apostles, evangelists and pastors expect any better treatment from people who rebel against God?  Jeremiah 5:31 has already warned ahead of ti

It's NEVER Okay to Pray That Wicked People Would Go to Hell!

Several years ago during the Obama Administration, one may remember how Steven Anderson fails to show any quality of true Christianity.  While it's good that he's intolerant about sin but he hardly shows any genuine love for the sinners.  True that sinners must be rebuked but one can't deny this fact that it's NEVER okay to pray that wicked people would go to Hell.  2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Ezekiel 33:11 says, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the L ORD God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"  As much as God will punish the wicked but He has no pleasure in doing it.  He's not a sadistic monster who laughs when the wicked are punishe

Part of the Christian Life is JUDGING YOURSELF FIRST

Image
Christians are called to judge what's right and what's wrong but they're not called to be the final judge. Now the problem is that sometimes people can get too self-righteous without realizing that there's a huge beam in their own eye while noticing the mote in the other's eye. In the Christian growth, while they're indeed called to go against sin but it's very hypocritical if they at times fail to really judge themselves first. That's why Jesus warned His followers to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Being a Christian doesn't make you 100% sinless. Even if you're not living like the rest of the world, there's still sin to combat. Romans 7:14-25 has Paul mention that he does struggle with sin. 1 John 1:8 says that we can't say we have no sin. The new nature can't sin but the old nature still sins.  1 Corinthians 6:11 says that Christians were removed from a lifestyle of sin but they're still being sanctified. The Chris

The Importance of the Ministry of Reconciliation For REPENTANT SINNERS in the Church

There's a statement that the church is not a museum of saints but it's a hospital for sinners.  The statement can be very misleading because what kind of sinners is the church a hospital for?  Isn't the church also a museum for the righteous saints that have gone before the forgiven sinners who are still alive in this world?  The statement might be best said as, "The church is both a museum for saints who's gone before as while it's also a hospital for repentant sinners." Why should the word repentant be emphasized?  Remember in Matthew 18:15-18 talks about the ministry of reconciliation.  While true Christians will not completely fall away but there are seasons that they fall away.  Just because Christians can't live like the rest of the world doesn't mean that they can't backslide for a season.  Righteous saints are repentant sinners saved by the grace of God.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 2:8-10 and Titus 2:11-14 shows how God's gra

Homosexuality Is a Psychological Disorder!

Image
Homosexuality defies biology. If your DNA is male then you are male and if your DNA is female then you are female. You can't change the fact that you're born a man and you're born a woman. It's a sad truth for those who think homosexuality is okay should think more than twice before they continue in their sinister lifestyles. So why do these homosexuals insist that they're the other sex when they're not? The answer is simple. Homosexuality deviates from God's design. You're born a man or you're born a woman stick to what you're born as. The problem is that homosexuality is utter rebellion against God. They think those against them have a psychological disorder but they're the ones. They see their bodies are obviously designed as either male or female but they still choose to go against God's design. Now who's being unscientific? Those who say that men and men and women are women or those who want to go against the laws of nature a

It's Not Enough to Just "Read the Bible", You Must Study It!

Image
Many cultists say that they read the Bible daily but the question is do they even bother to understand it or study it in context?  Reading the Bible also requires you to STUDY it.  In Joshua 1:7-9, God has commanded Joshua 1:7-8 says, "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.  This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." This prosperity doesn't mean life without trials, temptations and winning every competition but this is godly prosperity.  This is about prospering in one's Christian life in the midst of all trials and persecution.  Don't buy it for a

Never Say It's Just a Little Sin!

Image
Many times we think that what's small won't kill but many times, we fail to see that what's small may also kill.  A small leak sinks a big ship.  A small spark can set a forest or a neighborhood or even a city on fire.  Likewise, sin even if it's just small damns the person for all eternity.  Words can't describe how heinous sin is and why it must be hated and why people require salvation from it.  Nobody can say, "But L ORD it was just a small sin!" on Judgment Day.  Instead, He'll say what He said in Matthew 7:23 to let such people depart from Him, He never knew them because they weren't saved to start with. Do you know how severe even one tiny sin is?  One sin was enough to damn the human race.  Adam and Eve didn't have to murder anybody nor do all the sin they wanted.  All they had to do was just commit that just one sin.  Likewise, everyone on this Earth is condemned even for just one sin that they commit.  Romans 5:12-14 warns that i

Reminder: God Will Melt Down Christians to Make Them Better

Image
After reading "Fool's Gold" by John F. MacArthur a few years ago, I felt like that I wanted to write something on real gold. Christians are real gold, not the fool's gold of false converts. Like because they're the branches that bear fruit, they should expect pruning and the false branches can only expect to be burned into the fire. When a person has become at true convert life will be full of difficulties and never a life of ease. Gold starts out as something that's got impurities so that's why it must be smelted down before it becomes pure gold. In making weapons, why is it that there's still the process of heating the metal? It's because any impurity in the metal can make faulty weapons. Any amount of slag in the metal can create a sword that easily breaks. To get rid of the impurity there is the need for high heat. No high heat then no getting rid of such impurities. If you don't want to pass through trials and temptations then how can

Leonard Ravenhill on What Do You Have to Do to Go to Hell

Image
When people are asked, "What do you have to do to go to Hell?"  Most of them say you have to be as bad as you possibly can.  That's really dead wrong considering this one truth that once you've committed your first sin, you've really sold your soul to Satan as a result.  Satan holds everyone and if sell your soul isn't the right term, it's probably better to say, "You can't sell your soul to Satan because you already belonged to him to start with." Why I believe Leonard Ravenhill said, "Just do nothing... that's all." is because to be damned, you don't need to be the most wicked person alive.  All you need to do is to simply coast on without Jesus and you don't need to blaspheme Jesus or shake your fist at God, just coast on without Jesus.  From the worst sinner to the most morally good person, without Jesus you're really on your way to the burning Hell. The worst sin of all?  It's best summarized as, "

The Bible is Complete, Case Closed!

Image
I can agree that apparitions, revelations, dreams and visions are biblical. The prophets had them, the apostle John got a vision and revelation in the Book of Revelation. But there's one problem today with people who still continue to claim that you can't be a "true church" if it there aren't any continuing dreams, visions and revelations. I remembered an argument I had with an Iglesia ni Cristo missionary and a Roman Catholic priest in two separate occasions that say if my church doesn't have any more signs and wonders then that church is false. While dreams, visions and revelations were given to those who wrote the Bible but what does the Bible have to say about them today? Do we still need them or are we really in the danger of satanic deception? Revelation 22:18-19 warns,"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in t

Leonard Ravenhill on Intimacy with God

Image
It's only natural to have the fear of men because of the flesh. But there's a solution to that which calls one to be intimate with God. Do you know why fear of man can momentarily overcome the Christian? It happens when one spends less time with God and more time with the world. Do remember how Peter fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane and when he denied Jesus thrice? He was intimidated by men because he lacked that intimacy. No man can say they won't deny Jesus if they don't have deeper intimacy with Christ. Do you know why as Christians grow the bolder they become? It's because they become more and more rooted in Christ. Every fruit bearing Christian has enough root but the question is are the roots becoming deeper and deeper? Are the branches pruned whenever they're needed? Remember the parable says that there's some that bore more fruit and others less fruit and these are all believers. As Christians have varying degrees of fruit bearing and matu

The Truth Offends and Will Keep Offending

Image
Galatians 4:16 has the Apostle Paul saying, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" In this world today, many prefer to have a comforting lie over the bitter truth.  It's very common to have people who just want to feel good all the time, they want to be happy all the time so that's why prosperity preaching is very popular.  Do you know why Jeremiah was not popular?  It's because he spoke the bitter truth.  Why are the false prophets popular?  Jeremiah 5:31 states the whole truth, "And my people love to have it so."  They love the prophets prophesying falsely so it's only expected that anybody who's going to stand by the bitter truth will be hated. Today's world are occupied with a bunch of sissies.  Tell them they're wrong and they're more than ready to cry foul or accuse the other person of hatred.  While it's possible to tell the truth but not in love but one can't love without telling the tr

The Gospel According to Jesus Has NEVER Been About Saving People From Life's Problems but Salvation From the Power of Sin

Image
It's really stupid how so many quack preachers claiming to be born again Christians preach this message, "Believe in Jesus and He will fix all your problems, your finances, your health problems, He will make you rich..." because that is NOT the Gospel.  The Christian has NEVER been promised a life free of trials.  The more one reads the Scripture, the more one sees the truth that the Christian life will be full of tribulation before the triumph.  There's no reason for the Christian to be surprised when trials and tribulations come because Jesus already warned about it. Try to carefully read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and you won't find any promise that being a Christian on this Earth means to be saved from life's trials.  Instead, the Christian is promised the bitter truth that if anybody who's going to walk for Christ will be hated by the world.  If anybody is going to conform to Christ-like behavior then that person is never going to be loved by th

Believing in Christ Is Not Just Superficial Belief

Image
Many times the word "believe" is so confused with just merely believing without realizing what the Greek stands for.  The Greek word used is pisteon which means complete reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ.  It's not just merelya ffirming the truth of who He is that He's the Son of God.  James 2:19-20 warns that the devils do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and tremble but that's mere superficial belief.  It's a warning against inauthentic faith or that faith without works is not real faith, it's useless because it's not real faith.  Now this doesn't mean it's a faith plus works salvation but rather that if you're truly saved then your faith ought to show it. Many accuse the Reformed of believing that faith is all there is and works have no place in the Christian life.  On the contrary, the Reformers like John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Knox, Huldrych Zwingli and others taught that faith that doesn't produce works is not

We Need More Christians Need to Stand up Against the Hamans of This World Like Mordecai Did

Image
Esther 3:4 says, "Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. " There is a lot of lessons to be learned from Esther and Mordecai. In contrast to what some nutjob conspiracy theorists say about the Book of Esther, one must realize there was a deeper reason why Mordecai didn't bow down to Haman. Would have it been just simple respect, he would have given it but it was more than that. Haman was demanding worship and people to tolerate such idiotic bullying. I'm afraid but any conspiracy theorist who accuses Mordecai of arrogance has to reread the Book of Esther. If a Christian is forced to bow down to an arrogant bully like Haman, they need to stand up like Mordecai. There are people today who are like Haman. While they may not necessarily demand worship but they can bully others. You can have them in schools,

Be More Christlike, Be Ready For More Persecution!

Image
It's stupid to say, "If you're more like Jesus, everybody will love you."  That really makes any good Christian say, "Well did you read John 15:18-19?  Did you know why Jesus was crucified?"  The truth of the matter in Scripture is that if you're going to live like Christ, the world is going to hate you.  It's never going to love the Christian.  They hated Christ and so are they going to hate the Christian.  The Christian will be falsely accused together with those who deserve it.  One can even expect that if you're going to follow Christ, march for Christ then the world will march against you. The more I read the four accounts of the Gospel by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the more I'm convinced that true Christians will be hated.  The Foxe's Book of Martyrs had shown how Christians were always hated.  Nominal or false Christianity can be so-well loved and the Roman Catholic population has one of the largest numbers of followers, if n

The Fight for "Gender Equality" in Restroom Usage Also Hurts Women

Image
If the Feminazi movement or female supremacy movement actually hurts women aside from men, then any movement in the name of "rights" has also hurt women too.  Chauvinism hurts women then so does a wrong notion of gender rights.  With how "liberals" are in this world today they just focus on their selfish agenda without realizing who's really getting hurt! Do people really know why men and women have boundaries in some areas?  Like there are some things men shouldn't tell women and women shouldn't tell men.  Then there's the separate quarters or men's and women's comfort rooms.  It's all about a respect of privacy.  Just because a woman claims to be a man and a man claims to be a woman means that they can violate that privacy.  Like do you know why a wife is a wife and a husband is a husband?  Do you know why men and women have been made for each other?  It's all about filling in the blanks because both genders have their differenc

Sorry, the Government Cannot Make Moral What God Has Declared Immoral

Image
While Romans 13:1-4 say that submission to government is part of the Christian life but there are times that Christians need to politely turn down the government. The problem today of majority of the world's governments today is that they're legalizing certain sins just to please man. While crimes like stealing, murder and assault remain punishable but other sins are legalized in the process. Just because something is legal is not necessarily moral. The problem is that there's people who think that as long as government approves of it then God approves of it. Going back to the Bible, one can see how the problem of legalizing sin occurs and how it affects mankind. During the books of 1 Kings to 2 Kings, it can be seen how sins have been made legal. The worst example of making sin legal as mentioned is Ahab and his wife Jezebel. The wicked Ahab supported his wife's worship of Baal and even before that, he was already a very wicked king. Sure, Ahab made the evils of Ba

John Calvin on the Self-Deceiving Heart

Image
Jeremiah 17:9 declares, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"  With the heart being so deceitful, the worldly mantra of "listen to what your heart says" is really foolish.  The human heart when it's unregenerate is so full of evil sometimes you never know what evil is there until you fall into sin or God reveals it in so many ways.  Job was a righteous man but later he realized he had a certain degree of self-righteousness.  David was a righteous man but his heart was so fickle towards the opposite sex it later led to him committing adultery with Bathsheba. How does the heart deceive itself?  It's because the heart is fallen.  Satan doesn't need to be there and considering Satan isn't omnipresent that he may require his demons to tell them what Christians are doing, he doesn't even need to be there.  Satan is a dangerous and cunning adversary but he doesn't even need to be there to make the pe

Repentance is the Christian Life

Image
John 1:8-9 is the Christian life.  If we way we have no sin, there is no truth in us but if we confess our sins to God, He will not only forgive but also cleanse the forgiven Christian from their unrighteousness.  Like it or not, sanctification is never instantaneous, the repentance of one's sin during salvation is not perfect and it's still growing. With this video of Paul David Washer, I really admire how he preaches against false conversion but also gives a guarantee to true converts.  There are many times true believers can doubt their salvation so it's best to tell them, "Look, you repented, you'r bearing fruit.  Just because your flesh is not 100% nailed to the cross doesn't mean you're not saved.  You experience church discipline every time you foul up and you do good works because you love God.  Your repentance is being perfected.  It's not just the start, you repentance is still continuing.  Struggling with sin is a healthy sign.  Being e