I know a girl who praises God and loves Him dearly, but has never really realized that she is loving God in vain. She thinks because she goes to church, she is pleasing God. She thinks because she goes to a "Christian rock" concert, she is pleasing God. She thinks speaking in tongues or being "slain in the Spirit" will please God. This woman's motives, I believe are good--but the way she is going about them is dead wrong! She loves God, but that doesn't mean she's saved.
I know a man that loves God. But goes around making racial slurs to everybody. This man drinks, looks at disgusting filthy magazine, and swears like a sailor! But he thinks going to his local Catholic church is pleasing God! He thinks praying to God while living a heathen life will please God! This man surely has the right motives (as in that he "loves" God)--but the way he goes about doing them is DEAD wrong!
I know some people that believe you have live a life that is worthy enough for God to accept you into Heaven. They believe you can lose you salvation. Some go even as far to say that you can't get saved until you make Jesus Christ not only the Saviour of your life, but Lord, too! All these teachings are heresy, but I believe that all the people that have been suckered into Satan's trap (False religions) are good people that really want to serve God--but they way they are going about doing it is DEAD wrong!
Many people want to love God, to please Him, to trust Him for salvation. But the way these people go about pleasing God, they are making God angry with them! You can't serve God and Satan at the same time! You can't say you want to get saved and add some perversion of works to getting saved! Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Not religion. People will say you have to be a good person to get to Heaven, that's not true. The Bible says:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
If you believe that you have to do good works to keep your salvation, you are wrong! The Bible says, that the ONLY way to get saved is by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior! It's by faith you accept Him. If you really believe that you need to do good works to keep your salvation, then it's not by faith anymore that you are trusting God, but rather, your works. And that will get God very angry with you.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8
If you believe that speaking in tongues is the "initial evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit of God," you are dead wrong! Many people believe that once they have spoken in tongues, that is, being filled with the Spirit of God to give unto them literally utterances that no man can understand, that this "miracle" is a sign that they are saved. This is a lie of Satan! To believe you are saved when you speak in tongues, means that it is not by faith that you are trusting Jesus Christ to save you, but that of your own selfish gratifications! Which would lead me to question your salvation. To believe this, means you are not putting your faith solely in Jesus Christ to save you, but that of your own works! This grieves God that you aren't trusting Him only to save you! Your religion is in vain!
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," Titus 3:5
If you think your pleasing God by going to church just to go there, you are dead wrong! What's so special about going into a building and listening to some long-winded preacher talk if you aren't learning anything from it? I've seen people that go to church every chance they got, but they are so backslidden and carnal that you'd think I was lying! I've seen people who never go to church, but they are very godly and try their best to serve God! Going to church won't save you. Jesus will. You might have all your friends in that church, and happiness, but that doesn't justify the fact that if you aren't trusting Jesus Christ to save you, but that of another object! I tell you, if you are one of these people that think going to a church and tithing will save you, your DEAD wrong! You are worshipping God in vain!
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24
I write this to warn every one of you, that your religion will not please God. Your religion is in vain! ALL religion is in vain! Jesus never started a religion! So why in God name are you so foolish enough to join a religion and think you can get saved if you do what your religion tells you to do?! That's asinine behavior! Salvation is not found in religion, but rather, a Person, and that Person being the One who had Shed His Precious blood at Calvary for all of our sins, Jesus Christ! If you trust ANYTHING other than Jesus Christ to getting saved, you will have done this all in vain! Good works won't save you. Neither will thinking you can get salvation by your religions standards!
How hard it must be for a sinful world to accept such a simple thing from God! The world needs to add some kind of work so they can feel that their salvation was of saving themselves, than from God! The more religion adds works to salvation (that is, simple faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else), the more people want to join it because they feel they are worthy enough to obtain it! That is why the Bible goes on to mention, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:14). People love a religion that appeases to all five of their senses! Why do you think Roman Catholicism is so popular? What we should all stop doing is thinking we can obtain salvation by ourselves and start trusting in Jesus Christ to save us from Hell by simple faith in Him to save us! NOTHING can save you from Hell except the Saviour, Jesus Christ! Get saved today so that you will start worshiping God the right way! It's the first step to pleasing God tremendously!
Will you put your faith in Christ? Or will you continue to worship Him in vain?
God Bless,
Robert J. Stewart
