Members of evangelical and other religious communities in the United States of America and elsewhere in the world have fallen into the grip of the egregious fallacy that operating spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophesying is proof positive that they are in union and in harness with God, the Lord Jesus the Christ, the Holy Spirit. However, the truth is that only human beings who constantly steer clear of the things which defile human beings and who continuously put into practice all the teachings of the Lord Jesus the Christ are God´s allies. Most of those who like flaunting their spiritual gifts are not even connected to God.
By: Mathias Victorien Ntep II | Frankfurt – upon – Main, Germany
Frankfurt/Main, Germany — A couple of years ago, I got ahold of a man who called and probably still calls himself a prophet of the Lord Jesus the Christ. I kindly called his attention to the Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus the Christ because I wanted to urge him to strive to always put into practice the whole Sermon on the Mount of the Lord Jesus the Christ so that he may “ be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work “ ( 2 Timothy 2:21; NKJV). The man got crossed with me; he told me that praising God was and is more important than first of all trying to discipline oneself in order to purge or cleanse oneself from the things which defile human beings and make them unfit to worship God ( see Mark, Chapter 7, verse 20 through verse 23). Now then, the Word of God explains this:
“ What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God “ ( Gospel according to Mark , Chapter 7: 20-23; Contemporary English Version).
I left that man alone. A couple of days later, he came back and posted a message in which he stated that the Lord Jesus the Christ had reminded him of Matthew 7/21-23: “ Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’ ” ( New Living Translation). The man added that he started trembling when the Lord Jesus the Christ reminded him of Matthew 7/21-23.
All human beings on earth ought to understand that the Lord God (our Creator) had long ago decided of his own volition that he would pour out his Spirit in the last days on all flesh or mankind: “And afterward,/I will pour out my Spirit on all people./Your sons and daughters will prophesy,/your old men will dream dreams,/your young men will see visions” ( Joel 2: 28).
That is the reason why people prophesy, have dreams and see visions, among others. However, this does not mean that all those who prophesy, have dreams, speaks in tongues or see visions will inherit or enter the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus said and is still saying: “ Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again “ ( Gospel according to John 3:3). To be “born again” means to be “born of the Spirit [of God]” ( John 3: 8). Now, the main prerequisite one should fulfil(l) in order to be “born again” or to be “born of the Spirit [ of God]” is to repent of ( to rue and to get rid of) the things which make human beings unclean or unfit to worship God ( Mark 7: 20-23), and to believe the Gospel; in this regard, the Lord Jesus said and is still saying: “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” ( Mark 1:15) [ “At last the time has come!” he [Jesus] announced. “God’s Kingdom is near! Turn from your sins and act on this glorious news!”; Living Bible]. This is the gospel (put) in a nutshell: “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life ” ( John 3: 16).
The Lord Jesus said and is still saying that humans beings should “obey everything “ he commanded his disciples ( Matthew 28: 19-20). Let us always keep in mind or recollect this fact and truth: “ Now the Lord [Jesus the Christ] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom [from the law of sin and death] ” ( 2 Corinthians 3:17). And: “ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit “ ( Romans 8: 1). This means that those who do not walk after the Spirit are not in Christ Jesus even if they prophesy, have dreams, speaks in tongues, work or perform miracles and see visions. Whoever walks after the Spirit [the Lord Jesus the Christ] always puts into practice the teachings by the Lord Jesus the Christ and steers clear of sins.
The Word of God states: “ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. /For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” ( Romans 8: 13-14).
Last year, I was discussing the scourge of rampant sins (which have pervaded the individual lives of those who claim to be believers) with two believers. The two believers contended that believers can´t avoid sins. I told them that there is a difference between being tempted and yielding to temptation. As long as we are in this world, we will be tempted. But as believers, we must not yield to temptations (to sin). Even the Lord Jesus the Christ was tempted; but he never sinned, he never yielded to any temptation. I added that believers yield to temptations and commit sins because they don´t walk after or by the Spirit [the Lord Jesus the Christ]:
“ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God “( Galatians 5: 16-21)
There is another false belief which has mislead many people in the United States of America and elsewhere in the world. Many people fancy that a great man or woman of God is someone who speaks to large crowds, proclaim the gospel in front of large crowds, speaks in tongues, works wonders /miracles or prophesies. However, the absolute, sober and plain truth is that a great man or woman or God is rather someone who always puts into practice God´s commandments and teaches other folks to abide by, act upon and put into practice God´s commandments. That´s the reason why the Lord Jesus the Christ said:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5: 17-20 ).
Some rabbis often argue that the Lord Jesus the Christ abolished God´s commandments. The Lord Jesus the Christ didn´t abolish God´s commandments; the Lord Jesus castigated and is still castigating the cancellation of God´s commandments and the replacement of God´s commandments by human traditions and rules.
The teachings of the Lord Jesus the Christ are often distorted, truncated or discarded by many pastors, priests, prelates, clerics, “prophets” and “apostles” whereas the Lord Jesus said and is still saying: “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away “ ( Matthew 24:35). The Word of God declares that the “ wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness […]” ( Romans 1:18).
Although the Lord Jesus the Christ teaches not to be avaricious and/or greedy, most self-styled believers and/or Christians nowadays worship money, material wealth and/or worldly riches. The Lord Jesus the Christ said and is still saying: “ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [the demon of greed and avarice] “ ( Matthew 6:24). The Lord even warned against all greed: “ Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions ” ( Luke 12:15). Also, the Word of God states: “ For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Therefore, I call on all believers, Christians, human beings, clerics in the United States of America and elsewhere in the world to always steer clear of all things which make human beings unclean and unfit to worship God. Moreover, we advise all humans to always walk after/by the Spirit. To walk after/by the Spirit means to heed and to act upon the teachings of and by the Lord Jesus the Christ, for the Lord God, our Creator, said and is still saying: “ This is My beloved Son [Jesus the Christ], My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” ( Luke 9:35; Amplified Bible). Thus, whoever walks after or by the Spirit will always avoid partiality, because “[…] if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors./For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” ( James 2:9-10). Eventually, I admonish all human beings to shun gluttony and to refrain from regarding eating and drinking as the be-all and end-all of human existence, for “ the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit “ (Romans 14:17). A spiritual man or woman is someone who always walks after or by the Spirit [of God].
Email address of the author of this article: mathias.victorien.ntep.ii@global-thunder.info
