Serve God And Not Religion!

I love God over all things and I desire to serve him with all my heart, “in Spirit and in truth” ().

I want to preach the Gospel as Jesus commanded us to ()

I want to proclaim “the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah” (, , ) as the only solution to humanity’s problems.

I want to be part of a brotherhood in which we are all equal, like in early Christianity.

Obeying the Bible as our authority and not “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” ()

Serving God and neighbour with sincere love and not hypocrisy or selfish ambition.

Not making money from the Word of God nor living off tithes and offerings.

Doing good, consoling others with the Word and giving to poor as our Lord did.

Not asking for anything, but giving generously.

Not judging, but consoling.

Not ordering others about, but encouraging them in love.

Not tearing down, but building up.

No more religion!!! Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (), only He can lead us to the Father and only His sacrifice can make the forgiveness of sins possible.

Religion is guilty of inciting people to kill and hate each other ().

Religion is the lair of false prophets and charlatans ()

Religion is like a shop that sells salvation, but without a guarantee.

Religion enjoys “excessive luxuries” (), making a profit from the faithful. It proclaims itself to be “the house of God and the gate to heaven”, “Noah’s ark”, the way to salvation. However, her corruption is self-evident and we know that “God has remembered her crimes”. This is why the Bible warns us to “Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes”. ()

If you share my thoughts or some of them, please write to:
May the grace of God the Father, the love of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit illuminate and guide us!

http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/
 
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I love God over all things and I desire to serve him with all my heart, “in Spirit and in truth” ().

Amen ..

I want to preach the Gospel as Jesus commanded us to ()

Amen .. as we should have been all along ..

I want to proclaim “the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah” (, , ) as the only solution to humanity’s problems.

Amen .. as we should have been all along ..


I want to be part of a brotherhood in which we are all equal, like in early Christianity.

we are all different parts of the body, with different functions .. some heads, some hands, some feet .. but equal nonetheless .. it is no different today then it was then ..

Obeying the Bible as our authority and not “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” ()

you mean scripture I assume ..
some bibles are not very good .. I have seen some newer ones that are watered down really bad ..


Serving God and neighbour with sincere love and not hypocrisy or selfish ambition.

Amen ..

Not making money from the Word of God nor living off tithes and offerings.

Jesus did .. some of that money actually came from King Herod .. lol

Doing good, consoling others with the Word and giving to poor as our Lord did.

Amen ..

Not asking for anything, but giving generously.

Jesus told us when we ask, to ask like we have already received ..

Not judging, but consoling.

Jesus and the Apostles said we should sometimes ..

Not ordering others about, but encouraging them in love.

Amen ..

Not tearing down, but building up.

Amen ..

No more religion!!! Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (), only He can lead us to the Father and only His sacrifice can make the forgiveness of sins possible.

being a little hard on denominations ???
even ACTS speaks of them as "The Way" ..


Religion is guilty of inciting people to kill and hate each other ().

wrong .. Jesus says those things comes from the hearts of men .. so to blame organized Faith for men's sins is not right ..

Religion is the lair of false prophets and charlatans ()

that's a bit over the top .. false prophets and wolfs in sheep's clothing are in every corner of the world in which you live in ..

Religion is like a shop that sells salvation, but without a guarantee.

salvation has no guarantee .. God is faithful .. but humans are not ..

Religion enjoys “excessive luxuries” (), making a profit from the faithful.

that is evil men you are speaking about ..

It proclaims itself to be “the house of God and the gate to heaven”, “Noah’s ark”, the way to salvation.

I concur with "house of God" .. but the rest of that, I have never heard claimed ..

However, her corruption is self-evident and we know that “God has remembered her crimes”.

Jesus is an exacting man .. but as you see in Revelations, not all churches are guilty of evil deeds .. furthermore, most of the evil deeds perpetrated, are by members who call themselves Christians .. you know, your brethren ..

This is why the Bible warns us to “Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes”. ()

I have never read that .. chapter and verse please ..
 
I am non-denominational ..
but Churches serve a very good purpose ..
edification and fellowship ..
if most people are left to their own spiritual growth, I think many would not even know what is in scripture .. and if most people are left to their own interpretations, we would have 10,000,000 different understandings .. so I think 30,000 or 40,000 denominations is a much better choice ..
 
Hi! Of course church serves a very good purpose, and it's unscriptural not to seek fellowship with other Christians. However, what I criticise is RELIGION, which is a distortion of Christ's purpose for the church, IMHO.
 
Hi! Of course church serves a very good purpose, and it's unscriptural not to seek fellowship with other Christians. However, what I criticise is RELIGION, which is a distortion of Christ's purpose for the church, IMHO.

I had you in my heart all morning ..
I want you to know I do agree somewhat with you ..
indeed, we are IN THE WORLD, but NOT OF THE WORLD ..
Jesus NEVER meant for us to be separate physically (tares and wheat together) but separate spiritually ..

having said that, I am non-denominational .. but that actually works for very few ..
you are an idealist, and I applaud that ..
however, we must also be realist, to operate in the world and preach the Gospel ..
the Apostles from the very beginning instituted churches and positions in these churches .. this was by the HS that this was done ..

denominations were an INEVITABLE occurrence as the population of mankind SKY ROCKETED .. Jesus would have known this would happen as man in his "self-esteem" would seek power as well .. see Jesus Parable on the prophets he sent and they killed .. so you see, these things are inevitable, but as the parable goes, those that are obedient are saved .. so IF you are taught by the HS .. then within Churches and Denominations are a FINE place to preach as well .. do we only have compassion on those who do not believe ??? .. part of my ministry is to the newbies who seek .. so do not play a blame game on denominations .. but look at them as fertile fields to work ..

BTW: for most it is good because you do not have the abuse of the rocks (haters) of unworked fields ..

God Bless you ..
 
I love God over all things and I desire to serve him with all my heart, “in Spirit and in truth” ().

I want to preach the Gospel as Jesus commanded us to ()

I want to proclaim “the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah” (, , ) as the only solution to humanity’s problems.

I want to be part of a brotherhood in which we are all equal, like in early Christianity.

Obeying the Bible as our authority and not “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” ()

Serving God and neighbour with sincere love and not hypocrisy or selfish ambition.

Not making money from the Word of God nor living off tithes and offerings.

Doing good, consoling others with the Word and giving to poor as our Lord did.

Not asking for anything, but giving generously.

Not judging, but consoling.

Not ordering others about, but encouraging them in love.

Not tearing down, but building up.

No more religion!!! Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (), only He can lead us to the Father and only His sacrifice can make the forgiveness of sins possible.

Religion is guilty of inciting people to kill and hate each other ().

Religion is the lair of false prophets and charlatans ()

Religion is like a shop that sells salvation, but without a guarantee.

Religion enjoys “excessive luxuries” (), making a profit from the faithful. It proclaims itself to be “the house of God and the gate to heaven”, “Noah’s ark”, the way to salvation. However, her corruption is self-evident and we know that “God has remembered her crimes”. This is why the Bible warns us to “Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes”. ()

If you share my thoughts or some of them, please write to:
May the grace of God the Father, the love of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit illuminate and guide us!

http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/

Very good, Beloved.
"Pure religion and undefiled before God [even] the Father is this To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to to keep himself unspotted from the world." To "visit in their affliction" means that we are to give to their needs: it's not just a visit, folks! And we are called to keep ourselves "...unspotted from the world." So when we do visit the fatherless and the widows, we should not have ulterior motives but the salvation of their souls at heart...and yes, give them food and clothe them against the elements.
I share you thoughts. You are choosing the best of only two churches in the world: the true Church, as opposed to the false church. And I would have you know that there are only three religions in the world: the many gods religion (the most common, with two or more gods); the no god, religion (atheist); and the One God religion, which I espouse.
May the peace off the Lord rest in you.
 
Hi Ixoye!

Yes, I do think we agree on a lot fundamentally :) It's wonderful that you are ministering to the "newbies who seek", that is so precious and important.

It's interesting that when I speak of "Religion", you have interpreted it as "denominations", a word I did not use in my post. To me, Religion is legalism, Religion is Pharisaical, it is concerned with exterior appearances rather than inner transformation. Rather than denominations, I would like to think of "congregations". It will depend a lot on the leader, of course. A pastor who is a hard, money-loving seeker of human glory and recognition has walked down the road of "Religion" and will lead others down it too. Another pastor from the same denomination who is servant-hearted, full of love and Biblical wisdom can lead a congregation in the ways of Christ, without falling into the trap of Religion.

For this reason I would not like to "name and shame" denominations or even doctrines that constitute "Religion", only to encourage all people to seek with open eyes and look for the fruits of love, which is the only real way to determine which congregation to belong to.
 
is legalism a bad thing ???
or is lawless preferable ???
I am bound under the Law of Christ ..

Hi Ixoye,

No need to be irate; I was under the impression that we were having a mutually edifying interaction, but you seem somewhat ruffled, so to speak.

Of course it will depend on the definition of legalism, and lawnessness is to be eschewed of course, but I would say that yes, legalism is a bad thing. I actually wrote a post about it in my blog: http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/legalism/
 
Not making money from the Word of God nor living off tithes and offerings.

Doing good, consoling others with the Word and giving to poor as our Lord did.

Not asking for anything, but giving generously.

Not judging, but consoling.

Not ordering others about, but encouraging them in love.

If you would actually get more scriptural and keep out of religion then I might agree all all your points.

Nothing wrong with a Pastor making a great living off Tithes and offerings. As it is written, don't muzzle the ox.
Jesus said ask that your Joy may be full. You have not because you ask not............
We are to judge right those given to us and within ourselves. Paul said that.
Babies in the Lord, Children are under rulers and instructors. Pastors are over their sheep.

Fix that and I can agree. If you need scriptures, I'll give a bunch.
 
Hi Ixoye,

No need to be irate; I was under the impression that we were having a mutually edifying interaction, but you seem somewhat ruffled, so to speak.

Of course it will depend on the definition of legalism, and lawnessness is to be eschewed of course, but I would say that yes, legalism is a bad thing. I actually wrote a post about it in my blog: http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/legalism/

nope .. you misinterpreted me .. all I did was ask 2 questions, and I was smiling as I typed it :)

well Jesus was not against legalism, because it was God who instituted it ..
and Jesus said He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it ..

nonetheless .. I am now under the law of Christ, which Jesus also instituted ..
and he also sends people to hell for being "lawless" (see Mat 25) ..

so I like legalism .. and I am a law unto myself within that legalism on that which is not enumerated explicitly .. so yes .. I guess you can call me to be a legalist under the Covenant of Faith .. and it is a VERY GOOD thing ..

God Bless you ..
 
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If you would actually get more scriptural and keep out of religion then I might agree all all your points.

Nothing wrong with a Pastor making a great living off Tithes and offerings. As it is written, don't muzzle the ox.
Jesus said ask that your Joy may be full. You have not because you ask not............
We are to judge right those given to us and within ourselves. Paul said that.
Babies in the Lord, Children are under rulers and instructors. Pastors are over their sheep.

Fix that and I can agree. If you need scriptures, I'll give a bunch.
Hi Ixoye,

No need to be irate; I was under the impression that we were having a mutually edifying interaction, but you seem somewhat ruffled, so to speak.

Of course it will depend on the definition of legalism, and lawnessness is to be eschewed of course, but I would say that yes, legalism is a bad thing. I actually wrote a post about it in my blog: http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/legalism/
Hi Ixoye,

No need to be irate; I was under the impression that we were having a mutually edifying interaction, but you seem somewhat ruffled, so to speak.

Of course it will depend on the definition of legalism, and lawnessness is to be eschewed of course, but I would say that yes, legalism is a bad thing. I actually wrote a post about it in my blog: http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/legalism/
Very good post, Beloved. My reflection sometimes wants to get stuck in the Mirror!
 
Hi Ixoye,

No need to be irate; I was under the impression that we were having a mutually edifying interaction, but you seem somewhat ruffled, so to speak.

Of course it will depend on the definition of legalism, and lawnessness is to be eschewed of course, but I would say that yes, legalism is a bad thing. I actually wrote a post about it in my blog: http://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/legalism/

Why would we think that the Church is a bad thing?

Ephesians 5:32
"This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church".

Have we forgotten that Christ died for the church! Christ is called the Bridegroom and the believers that make up His church are called the Bride of Christ.

Ephesians chapter five is Paul's assertion that the husband and wife are to love each other as Christ loved the church and is actually a part of the body of Christ.

Religion is actually what is practiced inside of the Church by its members. Religion is IMO the best weapon that Satan has today, and YES, legalism is very bad. Legalism has its roots in rituals, and rites and secret things which is not what the church of God is about.
 
religion and denominations are synonymous ..
a denomination exists because as Michael said, we DO need those put in place by God to interpret scripture for those who God is not directly teaching (and in many cases those who teach do so in ignorance of self-reasoning) .. each denomination has it's own doctrine (some even a different Gospel) ..

so many doctrines do represent denominations, and the many denominations do represent religion .. does God have 44,000 truths or 1 truth ???
this means the VAST MAJORITY are NOT taught by God, but delude themselves by their own self-esteem that they are ..
 
religion and denominations are synonymous ..
a denomination exists because as Michael said, we DO need those put in place by God to interpret scripture for those who God is not directly teaching (and in many cases those who teach do so in ignorance of self-reasoning) .. each denomination has it's own doctrine (some even a different Gospel) ..

so many doctrines do represent denominations, and the many denominations do represent religion .. does God have 44,000 truths or 1 truth ???
this means the VAST MAJORITY are NOT taught by God, but delude themselves by their own self-esteem that they are ..

God has allowed the denominations: but that is most certainly not His will! But "...I beseech you, Brothers, in the NAME of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no division among you; but [that] you be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment."
The Lord Jesus has established a Church, which is His body: and He is not divided. We have divided ourselves, saying: "I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas..." etc. Or should we say, I am a Baptist, a Methodist, a Christian...? I say this: we are all of Christ although we are not all the same, whether we like it or not. He has bought us all with a price, and not with gold and silver. Did the Apostle to the Gentiles not write: "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself...whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." So whether one believes or not; whether we agree or not; whether we are Christians or atheists, it is the Lord who will judge our destination: and His judgment is righteous.
Joseph had a coat of many colors, but he also had a right to seat at table with his brothers. Don't you understand that in the end, although he was the king's right hand man, he served his father and his brothers? So he was disrobed of the coat (of many colors) of a son, so that he could be dressed upon with the robe of a servant. So you, take off your denominational robe and clothe yourselves with the robe of servants...if that's what you have been called to do!
 
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