Archive for the ‘greed’ Category

Friendship with the World Makes you an Enemy of God

Posted: January 31, 2024 in greed, hate, holiness, James, Lord fighting for you, lust of the flesh, Lying, Making Friends
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James 4:4-9 NLT

You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. [5] Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. [6] And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [7] So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. [9] Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

This verse may mean that because of our fallen nature we have a tendency toward envy and must keep it in check, or it may mean that God, who puts his Spirit in believers, wants intimate friendship with us. James is not quoting a specific verse or passage—he is summing up a general teaching of Scripture. (For more on the human tendency toward envy and discontent.

Romans 6:6-8 NLT

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. [7] For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. [8] And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

The power of sin over us, as well as the penalty for sin, died with Christ on the cross. Our “old self,” our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The “body ruled by sin” refers to our rebellious, sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, the desire to do so comes from our old nature. And it is this power of sin at work in our lives that is defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, having been declared not guilty before God. Here Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin’s power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots—we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ.

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, his followers need never fear death. That assurance frees us to enjoy fellowship with him and to do his will. This affects all our activities—work and worship, play, Bible study, quiet times, and time spent caring for others. When you know that you don’t have to fear death, you will experience a new vitality in life.

Galatians 5:17-21 NLT

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. [18] But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. [19] When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, [21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Paul describes the two forces in conflict within us—the Holy Spirit and the sinful nature (our evil desires or inclinations that stem from our bodies; also see 5:16, 19, 24). In this world, we face constant tension between the Spirit and our sinful nature, but they are not equal, opposite forces. In Christ, we have a victorious and new resurrection life. We shouldn’t be surprised when we experience resistance as we follow the Spirit’s leading. Satan is a persistent agitator for rebellion and has had centuries of practice. When we do what the Holy Spirit instructs, we can expect our sinful human nature to flare up in opposition. When we share our faith with others, it will make us feel foolish; when we serve others, it will attack our motives. Satan uses our nature to thwart the leading of the Spirit. Fortunately for us, each time we follow our sinful human nature we will receive reminders from God’s Word, from the Holy Spirit, or from other believers not to give in. The Holy Spirit will give us dependable guidance. Listen to him and ask for his power to help you experience the joy and freedom that come from letting him rule in your heart. (For more on the conflict between the Spirit and our sinful nature, see Romans 8:5, 9; Ephesians 4:23-24; and Colossians 3:3-8.)

We all have evil desires that we must not ignore; instead, we must deal with them decisively (in Paul’s terms, crucify them; 5:24). These desires include obvious sins, such as sexual immorality and witchcraft. They also include less obvious sins, such as selfish ambition, hatred, and jealousy. Here are four steps to help you deal with your selfish desires:

(1) Admit that you have a selfish, sinful nature—don’t be too shocked or too proud to acknowledge it.
(2) Surrender all your bad tendencies to Christ and ask God to do whatever is necessary to set you free.
(3) Commit your actions, thoughts, passions, and capabilities to Christ, asking the Spirit to help you restrain your evil desires and angry reactions.
(4) Make serving others a top priority, which will help you become more like Jesus.

GOD TOLD ME TO TELL YOU?

Posted: March 14, 2020 in False Doctrine, False Preacher, False preachers, false teachers, greed, Uncategorized
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God Told Me to Tell You?

We all know these people, and the first thing comes to mind is, why didn’t God tell me.

Let’s see what the word of God has to say about this.

2:1-3 Peter gives three warning signs for identifying false teachers:

(1) Depraved conduct. Do their lives contain or condone immoral practices? Does the group listening to the false teachers have a lot of immoral sexual relationships?

(2) Greed. Teachers have a right to financial support (1 Corinthians 9:1-14; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18), but is money the teacher’s or group’s prime motivation? Before you send money to any cause, evaluate it carefully. Is the teacher or preacher clearly serving God or merely promoting his/her own interests? Will the person or organization use the money to promote valid ministry, or will it merely finance further promotions or extravagant lifestyles?

(3) Lying. Is the leader offended when you ask for the scriptural backing behind his/her statements? Does he/she fudge on the facts when asked for evidence?     Believers today would do well to heed Peter’s warnings against false teachers; the danger is great.

2 Peter 2:1-4 False Teachers and Their Destruction

   1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Peter had heard these words, and at this time he was seeing them come true. Just as false prophets had contradicted the true prophets in Old Testament times (see, for example, Jeremiah 23:16-40; 28:1-17), telling people only what they wanted to hear, so false teachers were twisting Christ’s teachings and the words of his apostles. These teachers were belittling the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Some claimed that Jesus couldn’t be God; others claimed that he couldn’t have been a real man. These teachers allowed and even encouraged all kinds of immorality, especially sexual sin. We must be careful to avoid false teachers today. Any book, tape series, or TV message must be evaluated in the light of God’s Word. Beware of special meanings or interpretations that belittle Christ or his work.

Matthew 24:11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people

The Old Testament frequently mentions false prophets (see 2 Kings 3:13; Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 23:16; Ezekiel 13:2-3; Micah 3:5; Zechariah 13:2).

False prophets claimed to receive messages from God, but they preached a “health and wealth” message. They said what the people wanted to hear, even when the nation was not following God as it should. There were false prophets in Jesus day, and we have them today. They are the popular leaders who tell people what they want to hear, such as “God wants you to be rich,” “Do whatever your desires tell you,” or “There is no such thing as sin or hell.” Jesus said false teachers would come, and he warned his disciples, as he warns us, not to listen to their dangerous words.

1st John 4:1-3    Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 

“Do not believe every spirit but test the spirits” means that we shouldn’t believe everything we hear just because someone says it is a message from God. There are many ways to test teachers to see if their message is truly from the Lord. One is to check to see if their words match what God says in the Bible. Other tests include their commitment to the body of believers (2:19), their lifestyles (3:23-24), and the fruit of their ministries (4:6). But the most important test of all, says John, is what they believe about Christ. Do they teach that Jesus is fully God and fully man? Our world is filled with voices claiming to speak for God. Give them these tests to see if they are indeed speaking God’s truth.

Read the Story below from the Bible, this guy who was a Profit from God and got it confused of what God told him and it cost him his life.  It is so important that when God gives you instruction, you follow it and not let anyone else tell you differently. 

1st Kings 13:07-32 A Man of God from Judah

7The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.” 

8But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came. 10So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

 11Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

      “I am,” he replied.

     15So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17I have been told by the word of the LORD: “You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.” 18The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ (But he was lying to him.) 19So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’  23When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 

13:7-32 This prophet had been given strict orders from God not to eat or drink anything while on his mission (13:9). He died because he listened to a man who claimed to have a message from God, rather than to God himself. This prophet should have followed God’s Word instead of hearsay. Trust what God’s Word says rather than what someone claims is true. And disregard what others claim to be messages from God if their words contradict the Bible.