Tithe: Should Christians Give Or Not?

Tithe or tithing is one perennial issue in Christianity that has garnered several controversies among various churches and denominations. But should it be an issue in the first place? Or is it the case of compulsion, volition or that it shouldn’t be paid at all that draws this much polemics about it?

Tithe or Tithing in the Old Testament

Going down Biblical memory lane, we find the initial shadow of tithe paying in Genesis 4:3-7, where Cain and Abel presented a portion of their toils’ harvests to God. We see also in Genesis 14:1-20, the first instance where tithe was mentioned and observed by Abraham to Melchizedek, king of Salem (who was a foreshadow of Christ – Hebrews 6:19-20, 7:1-28).

The second instance surfaced in Genesis 28:10-22, where Jacob made a vow to give a tenth of all that God gave him. These instances captured were before the law given to Moses and they are so mentioned that we may understand the genesis of tithe or tithing. However, the emergence of the law gave a clearer explanation on who is entitled to tithes and how it should be administered. It is in this regard, I believe, the misconceptions on tithing ensue.

An argument raised by Christians who are on the opposing side of tithe paying is that, according to the law, tithes were meant for the Levites (Priests), and in our current dispensation of grace and not of law, where the supposed place of the Levites (Priests) no longer exists, there should be no need to pay tithes.

But what they fail to realize is that from inception, tithes weren’t for the Levites (Priests) but for God, and though the Old Testament’s priesthood was a presage of what Christ was to accomplish, the advent of the new covenant didn’t nullify the validity of tithe or tithing.

Leviticus 27:30-33 says, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD…” So, we understand that tithe was and is for God and no one else. That is why we see God in Malachi 3:8 requesting from the people of Israel and the Priests is due – “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”

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6 Reasons Why God May Not Answer Your Prayer

Prayer is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible. It attracts different interpretations, definitions, as well as misconceptions from people.

Some believe prayer is an avenue to express sentiments towards God, some other people believe prayer must be impeccably arranged for it to receive answers, but that's not the case. Prayer is a means through which we communicate our thoughts, intentions, desires and express intimacies towards God – it is a two-way flow of communication between man (humanity) and his Maker (Divinity) (Exodus 33:17-19).

In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus gave a blunt and direct assurance that those who ask, seek and knock through prayer shall receive their requests. Prayer is the most effective platform we communicate with the prayer-answering God (Jeremiah 33:3, Psalm 50:15). But the probing question here is, "If this is true and these scriptural passages about God answering prayers swiftly (James 5:17-18, 1 Kings 18:24) are potent, why are some prayers not answered?"

Some set of people argue that the manner or way at which prayers are presented could determine its possibility to attract answer or rejection from God. At this stage, it is highly imperative for us to know that God still answers the prayers and desires of anyone who believes and calls upon Him for help, in the same frequency He answered scriptural personalities.

Hitherto, He still answers, even at higher velocity. He is the same every time! (Hebrews 13:8). But obviously, there are times God seems to be "silent" or "late" in granting answers to some prayer requests, especially our major expectation, requests or desires, while others receive instant answers. The question here is what could be responsible for this?

We seem to experience this sporadically in our walk with God. We often think God gives preference to some prayer requests than the other or deliberately ignores some prayers. In tandem with this rumination, we consequently begin to doubt God's acceptance of the prayer or rather hold the devil liable as he did in Daniel 10:12-13.

Whatever is our resolves, we need to be conscious of the fact that there are scripturally proven reasons why God may choose not to answer your prayer, and here are six (6) of the reasons.

(1) The Lack of Spiritual Capacity to Handle Such Answer

God is our heavenly Father and He always desires consistent intimacy with Him. He is of full apprehension of the answers our spiritual status can handle per time, so he wouldn't give us what out spirituality cannot handle.

God is merciful and jealous, He wouldn't give us if there is an assurance of you using the money for sinful acts or derailing from Him.

(2) When God Has Something Greater Than Our Request

Most times, we pray consistently on a request and see no instant result. It could be that God has something greater than our demands which He would release at an appointed time.

When God says "No", it is because a bigger "Yes" will follow. Our minds are not configured to conceive beforehand God's thoughts and plans for us (1 Corinthians 2:9). We only know they are good (Jeremiah 29:11). This oblivious state of our mind about His better plans makes us pray for lesser things.

We're intimately aware of the certitude that God will never do what is lesser or contrary to His plan or will for our lives. He never wants His people to settle for less but for bigger things. So, He refrains from giving our lesser requests and grants His bigger plan(s).

Therefore, whenever we experience delay in getting answers to some prayers, check this!

(3) In Order to Clear Testimonies’ Devourers

We're of full understanding that we live in a world of battles, contentions and victory. The world is not for funfair but warfare (1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 2:14). There are possessed individuals, powers and diabolic operations targeted at aborting answers to our prayers and breakthroughs (Psalm 74:20, Daniel 10:12-13, 1 Corinthians 16:9).

Many people who pray fail to acknowledge the existence of testimonies' devourers whose agenda is to prevent the delivery of released answers to prayers. But our God who sees all (2 Chronicles 16:9) would destroy the devourers and then in His time, will release the answers to His children’s prayers (Luke 20:42-43).

(4) Intention of Prayer

Many answers to prayer requests are delayed or truncated because of the motive for the requests (James 4:3, Jeremiah 17:10). Intention determines possession. Some prayers are born out of strife, jealousy and intention to intimidate, while some to satisfy selfish, fleshy and sinful desires.

Though we serve a prayer-answering God, but He'll not give what will not bring glory to His name and kingdom. Intention is the raw material for answered prayers. If God does not give you what you want, it is because it is not what you need.

(5) If The Answer Would Cause Danger

God so much cherish and value us that He wouldn't give us what would endanger our lives (Zechariah 2:8). He knows what we don't know, He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 55:9) and He knows what is good for us and would never release what is injurious to our precious lives and destinies.

In prayers, out of desperation many ask for what they think is "good" for them which truly are not by God's analysis and omniscience.

(6) Iniquity

God's eyes can’t behold sin and the sinners' requests, let alone answer them (Isaiah 59:1-2). Those who access His Throne, His Court and His Hill are those with pure hearts and hands. Iniquity makes one inaccessible to God (Habakkuk 1:13).

The praise and prayer of a sinful man is an abomination to God. The Lord's hands are able to save, and His ears are receptive to hear but iniquity hinders His intervention (2 Chronicles 7:14)

We should, however, note that when God seems "late" in granting our desires, it is because He wants to come big. God does not do mega things in a hurry. Major scriptural miracles were not done in a hurry.

To intervene swiftly to Lazarus' ill state and heal him would have been a small miracle but waiting to let him die and raise him from the dead was a mega miracle (John 11:1-45). To have miraculously increased the quantity of the wine at the wedding in Cana would have been a small miracle, but waiting till it got exhausted and turning water to wine was a bigger miracle (John 2:1-11).

Also, consider the approval of Jesus' death and the mega miracle of raising Him from the grave. I say again, when it seems that God is late, wait for Him, He is coming bigger than you can ever imagine!

Do you know any other reasons not mentioned why God may not answer one's prayer requests? Kindly share with us and help fellow believers avoid the pitfalls of having their prayers unanswered.

Thank you greatly for taking time to read and please do share with others!

*** Written by Clement Oladepo ***

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Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus

Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!

Ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner,

It must not suffer loss:

From victory unto victory

His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed

Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!

The trumpet call obey;

Forth to the mighty conflict,

In this His glorious day:

Ye that are men now serve Him

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger,

And strength to strength oppose.

Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!

Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you,

Ye dare not trust your own:

Put on the gospel armour,

And watching unto prayer;

Where duty calls or danger,

Be never wanting there.

Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long;

This day the noise of battle,

The next the victor’s song:

To him that overcometh,

A crown of life shall be;

He with the King of glory

Shall reign eternally.

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God Must Be Loved For Himself

God being who he is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else.

Whoever seeks other objects and not God is on his own; he may obtain those objects if he is able, but he will never have God. God is never found accidentally. “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even the chief of all treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing. God will not be used.

His mercy and grace are infinite and His patient understanding is beyond measure, but He will not aid men in their selfish striving after personal gain. He will not help men to attain ends which, when attained, usurp the place He by every right should hold in their interest and affection.

Yet popular Christianity has as one of its most effective talking points the idea that God exists to help people to get ahead in this world. The God of the poor has become the God of an affluent society. Christ no longer refuses to be a judge or a divider between money hungry brothers. He can now be persuaded to assist the brother that has accepted Him to get the better of the brother who has not.

A crass example of the modern effort to use God for selfish purposes is the well-known comedian who, after repeated failures, promised someone he called God that if He would help him to make good in the entertainment world he would repay Him by giving generously to the care of sick children.

Shortly afterward, he hit the big time in the night clubs and on television. He has kept his word and is raising large sums of money to build children’s hospitals. These contributions to charity, he feels, are a small price to pay for a success in one of the sleaziest fields of human endeavour.

One might excuse the act of this entertainer as something to be expected of a ‘twenty-first’ century pagan; but that multitudes of evangelicals should actually believe that God had anything to do with the whole business is not so easily overlooked. This low and false view of Deity is one major reason for the immense popularity God enjoys these days among well-fed elites in the world.

The teaching of the Bible is that God is Himself the end for which man was created. “Whom have I in heaven but thee?” cried the psalmist, “and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25). The first and greatest commandment is to love God with every power of our entire being. Where love like that exists there can be no place for a second object. If we love God as much as we should, surely we cannot dream of a loved object beyond Him which He might help us to obtain.

Bernard of Clairvaux began his radiant little treatise on the love of God with a question and an answer. The question, Why should we love God? The answer, Because He is God. He developed the idea further, but for the enlightened heart little more need be said. We should love God because He is God. Beyond this the angels cannot think.

Being who He is, God is to be loved for His own sake. He is the reason for our loving Him, just as He is the reason for His loving us and for every other act He has performed, is performing and will perform world without end. God’s primary reason for everything is His own good pleasure. The search for secondary reasons is gratuitous and mostly futile. It affords occupation for theologians and adds pages to books on doctrine, but that it ever turns up any true explanations is doubtful.

But it is the nature of God to share. His mighty acts of creation and redemption were done for His good pleasure, but His pleasure extends to all created things. One has but to look at a healthy child at play or listen to the song of a bird at sundown and he will know that God meant His universe to be a joyful one.

Those who have been spiritually enabled to love God for Himself will find a thousand fountains springing up from the rainbow-circled throne and bringing countless treasures which are to be received with reverent thanksgiving as being the overflow of God’s love for His children. Each gift is a bonus of grace which because it was not sought for itself may be enjoyed without injury to the soul. These include the simple blessings of life, such as health, a home, a family, congenial friends, food, shelter, the pure joys of nature or the more artificial pleasures of music and art.

The effort to find these treasures by direct search apart from God has been the major activity of mankind through the centuries; and this has been man’s burden and man’s woe. The effort to gain them as the ulterior motive back of accepting Christ may be something new under the sun; but new or old it is an evil that can only bring judgment at last.

God wills that we should love Him for Himself alone with no hidden reasons, trusting Him to be to us all our natures require. Our Lord said all this much better: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

** Written by Aiden Wilson Tozer (A.W. Tozer) **

*** From the Book - "Man: The Dwelling Place of God" ***

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Behold, He Comes!

Text: Revelations 1:4-8

The pages of the Scripture are filled with warnings to both believers and unbelievers that the Lord is coming again. The promise of His second coming will be literally fulfilled just as the prophecy concerning His first coming was fulfilled literally.

None should be carried away with the words of the scoffers saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Peter 3:4). Jesus Himself warned: “for as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27).

The coming of the Lord will be sudden and unexpected. Every wise person will get ready for His coming. In readiness for His coming, the sinners including the backsliders should quickly return unto the Lord and seek pardon. The compromising Christian should “awake to righteousness, and sin not … for now is salvation nearer than when we believed” (1 Corinthians 15:34; Romans 13:11).

For the believer, he/she must continue in holiness and righteous living, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. He/she is to get himself/herself occupied in the Lord’s work snatching as many as possible from the hand of the devil.

Knowing that the Lord can come at any time, he/she is sober and vigilant, watching over his life and conduct and praying without ceasing.

The Lord is coming to take His own unto Himself and reward them for their love and labour.  He will make a separation between the sheep and the goats. At the first phase of His coming, He will take the believers up with Him in the air to reward them while the rest that re in the world will suffer great agony and torture under the ruler-ship of the Antichrist.

Therefore, He shall descend with the saints upon the earth to rule for a thousand years after which He shall “execute judgment upon all and convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:15).

The time to prepare for His coming is NOW, not tomorrow. The time is short. The door of mercy will not remain open forever. Seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6-9).

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In Times Like These

In times like these, you need a Saviour,

In times like these, you need an anchor;

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One,

This Rock is Jesus, the only One;

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these, you need the Bible,

In times like these, O, be not idle;

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these, I have a Saviour,

In times like these, I have an anchor;

I’m very sure, I’m very sure;

My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One,

This Rock is Jesus, the only One;

I’m very sure, I’m very sure,

My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

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When Last Did You Have A Spiritual Checkup?

A young Christian lady had scheduled a business appointment with a client for 9am on Monday. Being a worker in the church and nursing mother of a seven months old girl, her Sunday was so occupied that she barely had time to even press her clothes to be worn the next day.

She was moving from one chore to another and eventually by 8:30pm, her to-do list was fulfilled for the day. She had only wanted to rest few minutes before dinner, only for a terrible sleep to overwhelm her. Being an early riser, it was odd that she woke up just five minutes before 9am on Monday. With much anxiety and remorse, she prepared hurriedly and off she went for the meeting.

And there was an unfriendly traffic gridlock, what she least needed at the time. The client had called and wanted to cancel the meeting due to her lateness; “Please, kindly exercise some patience. I will be with you in the next ten minutes,” she said just to appease the client. Whereas, she was only five bus stops away from her house and many miles away from the rendezvous. Though she managed to meet the client eventually after several hours of delay, the fact remains that, she had lied.

Three days later, her boss told her to follow-up on a client and send feedback the same day. Amidst several tasks to be completed for the day, she forgot and because her boss didn’t ask at the moment, neither did she bother to carry out the assignment. Her boss asked for a progress report the following day and so as not to appear incompetent she replied: “My apologies sir. I had called the client but the number wasn’t reachable. I will try again and get back to you.” The boss retorted, “That’s fine but get back to me as soon as possible.” Yet again, she had lied.

She started her week with compromise. One misdeed led to another and more lies ensued that week. Sadly, no guilt what so ever did she feel and I guess she would say in her heart, ‘I didn’t really mean to lie. The circumstances were just beyond me and I know God being a merciful Father understands and will forgive me.’

This is how some Christians really are, daily compromising their faith and allowing ‘those little foxes that spoil the vine’ to dominate their lives and ridicule their testimonies of salvation. They neither watch nor pray and alas, fall into diverse temptations that give the devil an opportunity to trample on their faith and convictions.

In the epistle of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 13:5), he admonished them, and by extension all born-again believers, to examine themselves whether they are still in the faith; proving themselves by the standards of God in His word.

As Christians, we cannot afford to be nonchalant with our spiritual lives while gratifying the physical. The days are evil and seductions to backslide are taking several forms to the detriment of babes in Christ. The enemy of our souls is unrelenting on his intentions to multiply the sorrows of men and keep them in eternal bondage.

Hence, it is so important that we tread with caution, taking stock of our lives daily to know with certainty whether we are still right with God, for no one knows when the trumpet of rapture shall sound. And how painful and pitiable it would be to claim to know and serve the Lord and yet, not make heaven eventually just because of negligence of being spiritually conscious in examining our lives.

The Lord Jesus Christ admonishes us to watch and pray so we will not fall into temptations (Mark 14:38; Matthew 26:41). Jesus knew that for the true believer temptations, persecutions and trails are inevitable (John 16:33, see also Acts 14:22, 2 Timothy 3:12). Therefore, He exhorts us not for a second to lose our guards and often observe a spiritual checkup for we know not when the appointed time will come (Mark 13:33; See also 1 Timothy 4:16).

Unlike the young Christian lady whose story was earlier told, “No compromise” must a sincere Christian be.

"No compromise with error, for Bible truth we stand,

Let none remove the landmarks erected by God’s hand.

With loyalty our watchword and faith in Christ our stay,

We’ll bravely storm the forts of sin and thro’ Him win the day.

No compromise with worldliness, no yielding to the wrong,

No lowering the standard that’s stood thro’ ages long;

With Jesus as our leader, His Spirit as our guide,

We’ll firmly stand for righteousness whatever may betide."

We are truly in the last days where the seeds of the antichrist are on rampage. Sin lures at every corner and takes prey of souls that aren’t vigilant of the devices of the devil. Such people take lightly the exhortation of the Christian Hymn: “Christian, seek not yet repose.”

"Gird thy heavenly armor on,

Wear it ever night and day;

Ambushed lies the evil one:

Watch and pray."

We mustn’t be so lax as to allow the devil rob us of our salvation bought for a costly price at Calvary. Even spiritual complacency in times like this is as well dangerous for “if any man thinks he stands, he should take heed lest he falls” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Finally, dear friends, let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord should we find any blemish in our hearts and don’t measure up with God’s standards (Lamentations 3:40). Watch and pray in the morning, at noon and at night, and put away everything and anything that may hinder us from making heaven.

Run with perseverance the race marked out for us as believers, looking unto Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). And not forgetting that, it’s only those that endure till the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13; Matthew 10:22).

There’s so much at stake. We can’t afford to miss heaven for anything in this world or let our loved ones miss it too. So, when last did you have a spiritual checkup of your life? Should Christ come this very minute, will you make heaven?

Examine yourself today and may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you and me through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (1 Thessalonian 5:23).

Please share this with others so they may continue in the faith and prepare their souls for the coming of the Lord.

God bless you and thanks for reading.

*** Written by Michael Olajubu alias Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,

A light to my path alway,

To guide and to save me from sin,

And show me the heav’nly way.

Thy Word have I hid in my heart,

That I might not sin against Thee;

That I might not sin, that I might not sin,

Thy Word have I hid in my heart.

Forever, O Lord, is Thy Word

Established and fixed on high;

Thy faithfulness unto all men

Abideth forever nigh.

At morning, at noon, and at night

I ever will give Thee praise;

For Thou art my portion, O Lord,

And shall be through all my days!

Thro’ Him Whom Thy Word hath foretold,

The Savior and Morning Star,

Salvation and peace have been brought

To those who have strayed afar.

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Video: Jesus Is Always With You

Dear Friends,

I recently began writing a new book called "Jesus: A Man Like No Other." I am very excited about this and before I started, I went to my wife and asked her, “What was the one thing that stands out the most to her about Jesus?” Without any hesitation she said that “He was always there.” I agree, for indeed, our Lord is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

In good times and bad, Jesus is always with you. My wife then told me about a great music video called "Jesus Is Always With You" that I now want to share with you. It is my deepest prayer that this great video will help remind you that even though you may not be able to see Jesus with your natural eyes, He is with you every step of the way.

He is rejoicing in happiness right alongside you and wiping away your tears when you are sad. I promise that this four minute video will touch your heart just like it did mine. Be sure to share it with someone else who needs to know that Jesus is always by their side.

You are not alone. Jesus will always be there for you no matter what happens. So, be rest assured that you are safe wherever you may go. For He promised, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20 NIV).

Thank you and God bless.

** By Randall J. Brewer **

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Lies Of The Devil

One day, a young woman raised in a Christian home was asked by her pastor if she was born-again. “Of course, I am born-again. I am a true child of God,” she responded confidently.

The pastor smiled warmly and asked further, “how do you know you are born-again?”

“Well, it’s obvious as everyone can see. I am good, decent, disciplined, kind and loving person. Besides, I go to church regularly. These make me a good Christian,” she replied with excitement.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Feeling guilty for lying to her boss, a woman went to her pastor for counselling. “I had lied to my boss to avoid being fired, and now I feel guilty before God,” she admitted in tears after telling him what had happened in the office. “Please pastor, what do I do?”

“Is that why you are crying?” the pastor queried with a soothing smile. “You should understand that no human can live without sin. Besides, lying to your boss is just a little sin. You only said that to protect yourself from any misfortune. It doesn’t matter; God understands.”

The foregoing interactions reveal how the devil, the old evil genius, the master of deception and all evil machinations, the brilliant mastermind of revolts and rebellion against God, and a professional trickster, tricks people with his lies, giving them a false hope of eternal life. You must understand that he has nothing to offer you.

Being the archenemy of man, his major goal is to destroy lives, and he does this through his subtle, skillful but destructive lies (John 10:10). Jesus says, “There is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Imagine the damnable lie he told the woman who had lied to her boss through the pastor that no human can live in this world without committing sin, and that “a little sin” doesn’t matter, justifying the woman’s action. To say a person can’t do without sinning is simply underestimating the power of God’s grace.

The Bible tells us that the moment you are born-again, you are free from sin because you are regenerated and quickened by the grace of God, you have Christ formed in you, and you are made a partaker of God’s nature. You don’t live, walk, give yourself or continue in sin because you are under the influence of the Spirit, power and grace of God which preserve you from the temptations of the devil, pollution of the world and corruptions of your own heart (1 John 3:9).

Moreover, there’s no big or little sin. Sin is sin! So what you call a little alcohol, a little lust, or a little lie will damn your soul because “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). God never takes any “little sin” lightly, even if it is committed to protect one’s self or to get out of trouble.

It’s also strange to believe that being kind, generous, disciplined and regular in church without assurance of salvation qualify you as a Christian. Being nice or religious is not the same thing as being born-again. Substituting salvation with a good religious and moral lifestyle is another lie of the devil.

The Bible teaches that everyone needs salvation because we were all born in sin; we were all sinners by nature (Romans 3:23), and to be born-again simply means to repent of or turn away from all your sins.

Six (6) steps are involved in true repentance:

1 Recognizing you are a sinner (Psalm 38:18)

2 Confessing your sins to God in prayer, asking for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9)

3 Forsaking those sins (Proverbs 28:13)

4 Believing you have been forgiven (Romans 8:1-2)

5 Accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, and living a righteous life (1 John 4:14-15)

6 Reconciling with those you have wronged by righting your wrongs (Numbers 5:6-7; Matthew 5:24; Luke 19:8).

If you haven’t taken these steps, you are not born-again and no amount of good deeds, religious activities or moral uprightness can cancel out the debts of your sins.

Finally, the Word of God never teaches eternal security – once you are born-again, you are forever born-again – even if you sin at will or occasionally after you professed to be born-again. If you believe you are secured eternally and lead a sinful life, then you have been brainwashed by agents of the devil. Anyone who had repented of his or her sins and believed in Jesus at one time or the other can backslide.

The Bible uses expressions such as “left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4); “depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1); “put hand to the plough and looking back” (Luke 9:62); and “the dog is turned to his own vomit again…" (2 Peter 2:22) to tell us that you can lose your salvation or any other Christian experience you have. Luke 9:62 categorically says that when this happens, you are unfit for God’s kingdom – heaven.

So friend, don’t allow yourself to be deceived by the lies of the devil. If you are not born-again, repent of your sins now and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. And if you are born-again already, don’t fall into sin and damn your soul. Be wise!

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The Christian’s Obligation To The Lord

Text: Matthew 25:14-30

All believers have a responsibility to fulfill the purpose of God for the Church in the world. Having accepted the gospel and becoming children, they must accept the obligation of passing the message of salvation to other people.

God expects every believer to join in the urgent task of rescuing those on the path of destruction.

The Lord has endowed every one of His children with certain gifts, abilities and talents to enable them serve Him. These talents, which include ability to preach, teach, evangelize, help, provide succor, etc., are to be deployed for the benefit of other people. Also, the blessings of God are not to be selfishly kept to ourselves, but to be used to expand His kingdom; we receive to give.

As love prompted God’s great gift of His Son, so His love in our hearts should prompt us to give, minister and engage in loving services in the church for the welfare and happiness of other people. Our commitment should constrain us to evangelize, invite people into the church, warmly receive and care for new church comers and cultivate their friendship.

We must also not default in paying our tithes and offerings for the support of the local church and mission work.

As committed members of the body of Christ, we must be true and faithful ambassadors of Christ by upholding the teachings of the Bible. If we are faithful and the Lord meets us so, we shall be greatly rewarded when He comes to take home His own.

THE TRUTH MEDIA

...building the body of Christ