Over half of all the six billion people on our planet believe in Him, the One True God of Abraham, yet the majority of them feel extreme hatred toward others of His followers. Why? Because each of the many different religions and Denominations HAVE MADE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING EXACTLY WHAT HE MEANT TO TEACH US, and therefore each chooses to teach selective, and sometimes distorted information about all other belief systems. Can the Lord be Pleased with this sort of behavior?
It is said that there are 485 denominations in the United States not including the “non-denomination” denominations who have their own doctrine but don’t or won’t realize it. How can we have so many doctrines when it is very clear how Jesus intended for His church (body of Christ) to be conducted in Acts? How did we get to the point of having so many views on how God wanted us to run His church? Answer: We fail to follow what He said in His word that has been around from the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2. Man has taken it upon himself to add to God’s word to fit his thinking when it clearly says in the Bible not to add to His word. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:18-19.
The church is preaching a surface message when they should be preaching warnings to the flock as the Old Testament prophets did. The doctrine of men has allowed the gods of this world to dominate our lives and the church should teach against the gods (an image of a deity; an idol) of this world.
Examples:
Carved images – So many of us think that crosses, Jesus bracelets, statutes, etc bring us closer to God when in fact He says To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman molds an image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains. Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter (to shake or tremble). Isaiah 40:27. Isaiah mocks the fact that man thinks God’s greatness can be captured in a carved image. This is the essence of the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4-6). Carved images are the doctrine of man and not of God. Yet we ignore God’s instructions.
Idols: 1.An image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed. 2. An image of a deity other than god. 3. Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion
This is an interesting subject and we don’t fully comprehend the scope of this sin in our lives. This is God’s first commandment. You shall have no other God’s before Me. Exodus 20:3. These false gods take away from your relationship with God. There is only one God and He wants us to worship Him only.
Let’s list some of the gods we are in bondage to.
Consumer gods.
Money gods
Power and position gods
Media gods – TV, magazine, movies.
Video gods – Games, cell and PDF phones. How many hours are your children wasting on video games?
Sports gods – Not that sports are bad. But do you give at least equal time to God as you do with sports?
Celebrity gods – Do you know how many Christian women follow Oprah? Oprah believes in self help that is rooted in the New Age movement. She looks to herself rather than God the creator.
Entertainment gods – We even want to be entertained in church.
Conclusion: When we rely on man’s thinking rather than God’s instruction, we become prideful like Satan who as a result was thrown out of heaven. We cannot compromise the Word of God with man’s doctrine.
1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Titus 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Titus 2:1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.
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