No government, no power of man, nor any power of Hell can command us to stop serving the Lord as the Lord has commanded us. We ought to obey God rather than men! Think about it, who would want to stop the churches? Who would want to try to alter and dictate to us our faith and tell us how and when we should be allowed to gather together? God Almighty has instructed us to to follow His decrees, not man’s. Any rule, law, or mandate that man creates that even remotely contradicts the Word of God is of the devil and not of God and we are not to listen or follow said contradictory decree. When the laws of the land oppose the commands of God, we ought to obey God rather than men – and only fearful goats will agree with man over God.
Acts 4:19-20) “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 5:29-32) “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
Man has always tried to understand and institute rules, regulations, and so called righteous works in order to please God and lead others. This inadvertently leads to an exalted state of mind, and through this, a corruption of power and authority, and a pollution of the Gospel. Adding to, or manipulating scripture to fit one’s own thoughts or ideas of how scripture should be seen, is specifically warned about in the Bible. God said that this action is accursed and that if it is done, that even all the plagues in this book would be added unto them.
Man is fallible, our hearts and minds are full of sin. We cannot trust our own actions and intentions, for this flesh is corrupt and the heart of man is deceitfully wicked, and the only escape is through the Lord Jesus Christ in forgiveness of sins and accepting Him as Saviour.
Every ordinance of man must be challenged by scripture, regardless if you have good intentions or think you understand your own motives, for as the Bible says
1 Corinthians 10:12) “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
If our thoughts and ideas do not line up with the Bible, if there is any contradiction, then the Bible is right and we are wrong. Every thought, every action, every word must be challenged and tested in accordance to what Jesus taught us in this book. We cannot demand our ideas, doing so is challenging the very word of God.
Romans 3:4) “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
Romans 3:10-12) “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
If the word of God is so powerful and trustworthy, then man needs not try to protect it and add to it. We only need to read and believe it. It is faith, faith in that Jesus Christ will do as he has promised.
Titus 1:2) “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
John 14:12-15) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Keep the commandments of Christ, not the ordinances of man. So many people are eager to follow those who appear confident, or are already in a place of supposed authority, and these same people are not watching and searching the word of God to see if these things be so.
Jesus asked us to ask of Him all things, this includes not only physical needs, but spiritual and mental. Every request and every burden we face are to be laid at His feet, and He promises to answer them. If Christ did not say it, if anything raises a doubt, then it must be subjected to a cross examination of the teachings of the Lord Jesus.
It is easy to become confused, and the devil is a master of confusion and deceit. He even tried to confuse Jesus Himself, he knows no boundaries.
Luke 4:1-13) “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
Even Satan used and twisted scripture to try and get his way, but Jesus tested and challenged all that was said and showed Satan how he was wrong. The word of God is infallible, and all things are subject to it. The Lord said that we are to test and examine all things in our lives.
2 Corinthians 13:5) “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”
1 John 4:1-6) “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
Many in that day shall cry Lord Lord, many claim to know and understand the truth. Many think that they have the answers, and there are many that don’t even care. Many will try to confuse and frustrate the word of God, and some may even be persuaded. But if we hold fast to that which we have heard, then no manner of false doctrine will confuse our understanding. Jesus said that if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.
Jesus said that His Grace is free and cannot be earned, that all men can freely be saved. All that call on His name in repentance, and acknowledging that He is the savior and that He is God, that one will be saved. The wisdom, instruction, and all teachings of Jesus and the Gospel are written in this book, and no man should ever twist it to fit his ideas. The Bible is the exact, literal, and Holy Word of the Living God, and no additional teaching or manner of added instruction is needed.
Revelation 22:18-19) “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 this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Many teach that “right action and a good heart” will keep you in favor with God, and that if you are not constantly behaving in a Christlike way, you could loose your salvation. But as we see, Christ taught us to be as Him, that we are to act out our salvation in fear and trembling. Acting and behaving as Christ so that others will see Christ through our lives.
Philippians 2:10-13) “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Jesus said many times that He would never leave us, and that nothing could ever remove us from His hand, and that any sin we make will be forgiven. These are all promises made by a God that cannot lie, and if this is what the Bible says, than anyone that says otherwise is a blasphemer and an antichrist. It clearly says that those that confess the Lord Jesus, are then to live a life of reverence of the Lord in all our works. But as the Bible teaches, that the understanding of the scripture is given by interpretation of the Holy Spirit. Those that have not confessed the Lord Jesus will not understand. Satan will then twist the scripture to suit his desire, blinding the minds of them that do not believe.
Scripture can be twisted, bent, and misused. Many can misunderstand it, or not even care. Those of us that confess Christ must be vigilant, always ready to test the spirits, and always examining our own lives and minds to see if we are in the faith. We ought to obey God rather than man.