A Repentant Heart - The prodigal son demonstrated a repentant heart that was broken when he came to his senses and decided to return home to his father. Repentance is a brokenness and change of life-direction marked by:

Hunger for Restoration - The prodigal son longed for something more than what he had available to him in his sin. He longed to go home. Luke 15:16

Humble confession - He willingly acknowledged his selfish violation of love, first toward God and then toward others. Luke 15:18-19

Plea for mercy - He recognized that he deserved nothing and pleaded for mercy, to serve as a slave, without a demand for restoration to his previous position in the family. Luke 15:21

Author Unknown

Salvation is not solely based upon feelings, but when a person has truly been saved (forgiven) they will know on the inside that Christ has delivered them and set up residence.

Romans 8:16 And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God's children. ERV

The word salvation means deliverance. If this is its meaning, then there must be something horrible we need deliverance from and that something is sin and its enslaving power in us. When the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirits, He also testifies to us of this work He has begun in breaking the heavy burden and bondage that sin has wreaked upon our souls from birth.

“Whenever the Holy Spirit is genuinely drawing someone to salvation that person’s heart cries out for deliverance from sin!” John MacArthur from his book “Ashamed of the Gospel, when the Church becomes like the World, third edition.”

What is Truth?

John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. KJV

No doubt Pilate when he heard our Lord tell him that truth was the very reason He came into the earth, it must have shaken him somewhat. Pilate pondered in his heart and in his mind what he considered to be true and thought about what our Lord had said to him, that all people who are of the truth would listen to Him (Jesus). Pilate perhaps saw his truth to be that of finding himself in a sort of catch 22 position of having to answer to Caesar no matter what decision he made regarding Jesus. Pilate felt trapped in his perceived truth. He felt that he was in a no win situation and being frustrated he asked our Lord this question (What is truth?).

If the soil of his heart had been plowed firmly, like Nicodemous and Joseph of Arimathea he would have recognized who it was that stood before him and perhaps made a different decision. But because his perplexed heart and conscience in him did not fully recognize the Lord (though his wife had warned him of this Man), the Scriptures were fulfilled by his decision to allow Christ to be crucified.

The question Pilate asked so long ago is still being asked today. What is Truth? How does one really tell whether what they believe is true or not? Is there one universal truth? Can truth be relative? Is truth absolute? There are so many questions in the minds of human beings in every part of the world today. One of the biggest arguments we here is that what is true for you does not have to be true for me. I always like to answer that type of thinking with real life scenarios.

Example, if you and I jump off a 10 story building, we will both fall straight to the ground proving the truth of gravity. This is true for both of us, correct. I also like to ask a simple math question of what is 1 + 1. The answer to both of those scenarios is the same everywhere on the earth. Our conscience tells us what is truth, but when we are unconverted or unregenerate we don’t want to know truth. Truth conflicts with the evil desires of an unregenerate heart.

1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. KJV

To tell an unregenerate person that it is not the will of God for them to have any kind of sex outside of marriage is like talking to your dog and telling him you want him to fly. I know that sounds extreme and outrageous, nevertheless it is real. But the unregenerate person will say to you that they have seen many people that claim to be Christians having sex outside of marriage.

Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. NKJV

This statement in many cases would be true, but if that man or woman is truly a Christian (a person who has been regenerated and born again), then they can’t continue in that state or condition because God the Holy Spirit (who dwells in them) will not allow them to be comfortable living that way. The Spirit of God teaches true Christians to do the will of their Heavenly Father by the daily grace they receive from the Lord Jesus Christ. Just because a person professes Jesus Christ does not mean that they possess Him.

Romans 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. KJV

Paul clearly tells us here that not all of the people that professed to be Israelites were truly the people of God. Although God chose this nation from among all the other nations on the earth, He knew not all of them were His truly committed people. In like manner, not all people that identify themselves as Christians are true Christians. This is one of the tools the enemy uses in the hearts and minds of people to keep them from having their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When a person perceives many professing Christians to be hypocrites, this gives them a false security about their own spiritual condition and affirms the lie of there are many ways to God and one is no better than another.

You see God the Father has known before He founded this world all that would truly turn to Him. He does not make any man or woman continue in unrighteousness, but on the contrary, He has fully extended His longsuffering merciful hand out to any repentant sinner to lovingly bring them into the safety and security of His family.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church and reminded them what God had already done in the past. Paul reminded them and reminds us today through that letter that God was not well pleased with most of the Israelites that He brought out of Egypt. Well read it yourselves, “1 Corinthians 10:5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” You see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ either dwells in a person’s heart through the Holy Spirit or He does not. This is truth.

No amount or type of religious activities or ceremonies or rituals can make a sinful corrupt heart clean and pure. Religion and religious activities are the chief operation of the devil and it will forever keep people from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and faith in His death, burial, and resurrection. Listen to these words by Matthew Henry, “Grace does not run in the blood; nor are saving benefits inseparably annexed to external church privileges, though it is common for people thus to stretch the meaning of God's promise, to bolster themselves up in a vain hope.”

It is sad to see people baptizing infants and believing that this will affirm their eternal salvation. This is not true, it is a lie. It is absolutely alright for parents to dedicate their children to our Lord, but that is where it ends. Our Lord Jesus said, “No man can come to Me, except the Father who sent Me draws him to Me.” There are people who deny that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, deny He came out of that tomb in a physical body, deny His miracles, deny the entire bible is inspired, and deny many other clearly revealed truths in Scripture and yet they are deceived into believing that they are Christians and will be in Heaven with Christ.

Isaiah 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. KJV

Paul told the Corinthian Church to not be deceived by such falsehoods and revealed to them from the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ that those who show forth fruits of the continuing practice of sin would not inherit the Kingdom of God. Paul reminded them that God in one day killed 23,000 Israelites that came out of Egypt but committed sexual immorality and some became idolaters, some tested God (Christ) and were destroyed by serpents, while others complained and they were destroyed by the destroyer. You see truth always leads to obedience to the revealed Word of God, while lies only lead to sinking deeper and deeper into sin and sin brings forth death. The Lord Jesus prayed that His followers would be sanctified by the truth and that the Word of God is the truth. When a man or woman won’t believe the Word of God there is left no remedy for their sin condition, only a downward slide further into unbelief.

Hebrews 3:17-19 Now with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who did evil, who came to their deaths in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter his rest?  But to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. NKJV

Many times throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John when they recorded the words that our Lord spoke, He would often begin with this “Verily, Verily I say to you” which translated means “Truly, Truly, I say to you.” Our Lord wanted all of His listeners to hear and understand truth. This was one of the chief purposes of John the Baptist in coming before our Lord appeared upon the scene to plow the hearts of the people of Israel to be prepared to receive truth from our Lord. A heart prepared to receive the truth opens willingly and joyfully to the truth. Outside of Jesus Christ and His Word there is no truth. Our Lord also said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  

Listen to these words by Adam Clarke, “No man is truly free, but he in whose heart the power of sin is destroyed, and who has received the Spirit of adoption, through which he cries, Abba! Father! Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out “Abba, Father.” The bondage of sin is the most grievous bondage; and freedom from its guilt and influence is the greatest liberty.” Therefore, my answer to the subject question is simple; truth is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the new birth and complete obedience to His revealed Word, nothing less. I wonder if you believe it is truth.

Teach me Teacher

Summer is almost over and the days begin to get shorter and shorter. The anticipation of the new school year for Amos and Kyle begins to build and build. This year they will be in the sixth grade and that means Mrs. Washington's class. All the students just adore Mrs. Washington. She always goes about doing good to all the children and adults alike who are in her sphere of influence. Despite having her own sorrows and disappointments at times as we all do, she's never rude or harsh with any of the children. However, she is firm with each child and commands their respect. But the children always understand that she only has their best interest at heart whenever she commands them to not do or say certain things.

Well Mrs. Washington is a God send to the children of Brandon Elementary School. There are never any rumors of scandalous behavior in her personal life in the community. Of course she is far from perfect, but she lives her life by the same principles she teaches her young elementary students. She is a Teacher sent by God. Love governs every thing she teaches her young sixth grade students. Even when they are being very difficult and hard to love she always disciplines them with love and never in anger. Her Teaching principles have come under attack by some parents and other Teachers. She has endured harsh criticism from many who do not understand her methods of getting her children to listen and learn.

One Wednesday afternoon a couple of weeks before school was to start, Amos and Kyle were playing in the back yard at Amos' house and they began to talk to each other about being in Mrs. Washington's class the coming school year. Amos, as he shovels up a pile of dirt to make a small dirt track for his remote control motor bikes, says “Kyle what lessons do you think we will learn this year in Mrs. Washington's class?” Kyle says “My older sister told me she would teach them a lot of different things about life and stuff.” Amos: “What kind of things?” Kyle: “Well, my sister said she would take certain History lessons and facts and teach us a life lesson from other peoples failures and their successes.” Amos: “Wow, none of our other teachers ever even seemed to care about us learning life lessons.” Kyle: “My sister said that Mrs. Washington really loves God and that all the lessons she taught them were things that she had herself learned from God.” Amos: “But I thought Teachers were not suppose to talk about God in School.” Kyle: “Well that's right, she never talks about God directly, but the life lessons she teaches all come from what God has taught her. “If she talked about God directly she might lose her job.” As he runs one of his remote control motor bikes over the hill he made Amos says “Well none of us want to see that happen, we love her dearly.”


Note or Contemplation: How can we today relate to this story? Does your life teach lessons about God without saying a word? Our everyday lives should show people that we've been with God. Acts 4:13 “They recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Many of us today are ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and our lives testify to that fact. People can't tell supposed Christians from the other people of the world. All around us we are bombarded with constant wickedness and evil. People in our communities, businesses, and work places are always trying to persuade those of us who know Christ to compromise our integrity. The character of the Lord Jesus Christ can never change or be compromised. His children are called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Light has no fellowship with darkness. We are to engage this culture but never compromise our integrity. Let me encourage you to learn from the Mrs. Washington's of this world. They are all around. You probably have one in your family or in your city.

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author, Silent Assassins of the Soul (not yet published; coming soon)

What is Repentance?

I sincerely doubt that any person would get a very enthusiastic response when posing this question to a person. I dare say that probably the majority of people polled with this question would refuse to respond having never heard the word ever used in their lifetime. I can see in my mind already the puzzled looks and confused stares coming from the faces of most people when confronted with this question. Imagine going into some of the country’s finest learning institutions and asking the very educators this question. The unlearned and antagonistic response from worldly people is perhaps understood, but many Christians have no real biblical understanding of what this word truly means.

In order for any person to be saved from sin and eternal damnation in hell, that person must repent of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, this truth makes the understanding of this word crucial for every human being that will ever live on earth. A mere intellectual knowledge of repentance will not give any person the opportunity to ever see or behold our Lord and Savior. Adam’s disobedience has left every person born into this world enslaved to sin possessing a reprobate and depraved mind. Every adorable little baby born anywhere in this world has this mind with no exception.

The Bible clearly states in Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Faith then is paramount to being able to get right with God. The next question is then, how does someone get faith in God? Do we just ascent to certain facts about God in order to obtain this critical faith? Do we just believe it intellectually? What is the transaction that must manifest in order to have true faith or saving faith? What role does repentance play in this transaction?

Paul teaches us that when Christ humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross a supernatural miraculous transaction took place between God and man that can only be accessed through repentance and faith. When we go to any type of store to purchase something, we don’t get what we want from that store until we give the store clerk money in exchange for the item or goods we desire. We all understand that dynamic completely. If we take something without giving the money for the exchange then we have stolen it and we must face the penalty of the law that prohibits such behavior.

What am I saying here by using this example? Like in the natural an exchange takes place between the consumer and the store or business, in the supernatural work of salvation and redemption a transaction or exchange takes place as well. I am not saying that any sinner comes to Christ with something to buy his/her salvation, not at all. The transaction between Christ and every sinner is like the above example in that we sinners bring to Him our sin (and the willingness to repent = change of mind and turn away from our sin to Him) and immediately like in the natural example above the two parties come to full agreement and both are satisfied. Christ cannot save an impenitent soul at all not because He is unable, but solely because that sole is unwilling to receive Him and be forgiven. Why are so many people gambling their eternal future by denying or neglecting the requirement for true repentance?

The Lord Jesus told the Jews the following parable, Matthew 21:28-31 "Tell me what you think about this: There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "The son answered, 'I will not go.' But later he decided he should go, and he went. "Then the father went to the other son and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' He answered, 'Yes, sir, I will go and work.' But he did not go. "Which of the two sons obeyed his father?" The Jewish leaders answered, "The first son." Jesus said to them, "The truth is, you are worse than the tax collectors and the prostitutes. In fact, they will enter God's kingdom before you enter. John came showing you the right way to live, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed John. You saw that happening, but you would not change. You still refused to believe him. ERV

What our Lord was telling these very religious people is that only a true change of mind (repentance) would lead to their forgiveness. He told them that the very people they despised and looked down on heard John in their hearts and they truly wanted God’s forgiveness. The Kingdom of Heaven is not for good people because there are no such people on this earth. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul told us in Romans that, “There is none righteous no not one.” Also he said, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our Lord and Savior speaking to some of the same people He spoke to above no doubt said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” There is our word again from the mouth of our Lord and He makes it plain and clear that without “repentance” He cannot be known in a personal and intimate way (which is the only way to forgiveness and heaven). I believe one of the worst things in this life is for a person to not experience a true crushing in their spirit that makes them look up to heaven for deliverance. Christ’s salvation is from sin and it is deliverance from sin into His marvelous light.

Deuteronomy 26:7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression. KJV

Exodus 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. KJV

Job 30:27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. KJV

Psalm 25:18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. KJV

Psalm 88:9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.  KJV

Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. KJV

Psalm 119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. KJV

Jonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. KJV

When we examine the above Scriptures, we see how affliction is really a blessing from God to mankind. In each of these cases, affliction was a catalyst to change. We don’t have any power within us to cleanse our own hearts. One of the worst things we (as human beings) can do is comparing ourselves to other people. This was the heart of these people and it is also our heart today. I am just like all who follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and see ourselves as so inadequate when it comes to His Word and digging into the rich depths of the unsearchable knowledge and infinite wisdom of God. I feel less than a kindergarten student in the School of Christ. However, my heart is open to receive whatever He reveals to me to be His truth.

I sorrow so much when I encounter people who have (for whatever reason) wrongly divided the Word of Truth and thereby made its power of no effect to the people listening to them or reading their literature. The enemy is not and has never been opposed to religion. Religion has no power of the one true God in it and cannot affect change in the hearts of men and women. This is still a very real issue and problem the visible Church faces today. It is dead and it speaks death to those who are already dead spiritually. Repentance is like a man carrying a load on his back up a steep hill and finally realizing that he needs to lay it down in order to preserve his life else he die trying to climb such a steep hill. The weight is a metaphor for our sin. We from the womb carry the overwhelming weight of our sin everywhere we go until the kindness and goodness of God comes to our heart and we finally see that we face certain eternal death unless we lay our sin at the foot of Christ cross. Human beings from the beginning of life are loaded with sin and guilt that will never subsist until we are brought by God the Holy Spirit to true repentance.

I met a man Seminary Educated with a Doctorate in Theology tell me that repentance is not necessary for a sinner to come to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I tried to humbly present to him what our Lord said, “Unless you repent you will likewise perish” but he knew that Scripture but still is diluted to believe what he does. How is this possible? What can be done to correct these errors that can and will dam souls in hell? I am not revealing something new; our Lord told us that the narrow way is hard. Did Jesus espouse easy believism? Did He promise impenitent souls the hope of forgiveness and heaven? The answer is simply no. A true biblical knowledge and understanding of repentance is essential in seeing true conversion verses false conversion. If a man repents not, then he is saved not.

Well, I’ve said a lot of things but still no deep illumination on what repentance means, what does it look like, and what does scripture tell us. There are two Hebrew words used for our English word repent and they are nacham, naw-kham' a primitive root; properly, to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):--comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self). The second Hebrew word found is shuwb shoob a primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat surely, turn (away, back), withdraw.

When John the Baptist saw some of the Pharisees and Sadducees come out to where he was baptizing, he called them a brood of vipers (translation: children of the devil). Note: These were very religious people (in the synagogue always); some of them were the religious rulers in Jerusalem. They were as lost and dead in trespasses and sins as any Gentile temple prostitute. You see this condition is true of everyman born into this world of sin. They did not know the true condition of their souls and this is true of every man prior to the new birth. He knew that many of these people wanted God and their evil sinful ways at the same time. He cut right through any pretense or hypocrisy that they might bring. He wanted them to know that the one true God sees through religious rituals and ceremonies directly into the hearts of every man, woman, boy, and girl. He wanted all who came out to him for water baptism to know that this was just a symbolic act that pictured what the One (Jesus) coming after him would do in baptizing them with the Holy Spirit for those who from the heart truly repented and believed.

John wanted them to know that they had nothing of value to bring to God for His acceptance. He used graphic language that they would understand when he said the axe was laid at the root of the tree to cut it down if it did not bear good fruit. The tree was symbolic of a person, and the good fruit meant morally excellent and virtuous lifestyle. John spoke to the hearts of three different groups of people. They were the religious Jews (Pharisees and Sadducees), the tax collectors, and finally the soldiers. When each of them asked John what they must do, he spoke to the most visible sin he was aware of for each group of people. How does what he said to them apply to us today? The Holy Spirit convicts every person of the prevailing sin in that person’s heart that would prevent them from receiving Christ forgiveness. For example, when our Lord spoke to the rich young ruler, what was the sin that kept him from forgiveness? It was his covetousness or his love of his money more than wanting Christ forgiveness. Our Lord knows the depths of every human heart and will place His conviction right on the sin we covet. Now it is true we must give up or turn from all of our sin and receive Christ. The act of true repentance (from every sinner) cannot be seen by any human being (only the Lord Jesus sees this) because it occurs in the heart. Turning from sin is one of the results of genuine, faith-based repentance towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. — 2 Corinthians 7:10

Conviction of sin is best portrayed in the words -

"My sins, my sins, my Saviour,
How sad on Thee they fall."

Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses a man’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God – "against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God’s grace. Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.

The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man’s respectable goodness; then the Holy Ghost, Who produces these agonies, begins the formation of the Son of God in the life. The new life will manifest itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness, never the other way about. The bedrock of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a man cannot repent when he chooses; repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for "the gift of tears." If ever you cease to know the virtue of repentance, you are in darkness. Examine yourself and see if you have forgotten how to be sorry.

By Oswald Chambers

The Nature of

---

We are not to be ignorant of the devices of Satan; therefore, need to understand the nature of religious spirits.
In general, religious spirits are often at work when people use "religion" in defense of their sin.

---

1. When someone says there is another way to God other than through Jesus.  Acts 16:17 (The woman possessed with a spirit of divination literally declared that Paul was showing "a way" (Greek) to God, implying there were other ways.)  Many people believe that there "many" ways to God such as living a good life, praying to some saint, belonging to some particular church, or becoming a martyr for their religion.

2. When tradition takes precedence over hearing and obeying the Spirit of God.  Colossians 2:8-17.  (The feasts and sacrifices are mentioned here).  Mark 7:9-13 (Jesus said that the Pharisees made void the commandment of God through their traditions.)  Traditions often bring a dullness to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.  Denominationalism is often takes precedence over the moving of the Holy Spirit.

3. When one uses religion to "control" others.   I Kings 13:18  (The old prophet lied to the young man of God saying that he had heard from God that the young prophet was to stay and eat.)   Personal prophecies should be examined and validated and not accepted just because someone gave them.

4. When the means of worship becomes the object of worship.  Numbers 21:9, II Kings 18:4  (The people began to worship the brazen serpent on the pole which had been used as a means of worship earlier.)  Our churches are often guilty of worshipping the form of worship  (three hymns, offering, prayer, and a three point sermon).

5. When one excuses his sin as a act of worship.   I Samuel 15:15, 23.  (Saul said that he had taken the forbidden spoil to sacrifice unto the LORD.)  I Samuel 2:22 (The sons of Eli had sexual relations with the women who came to worship). It would be like the pastor who says to a woman who comes for counsel, "If you want a real spiritual experience, you will have sex with me."

6. When one incorporates pagan worship into true worship.  Exodus 32:5  (After Aaron carved a mold, made the molten calf, and made an alter for it, then he demanded that the people have a feast unto the LORD.)  The gold calf was a type of Baal worship.  Many churches today incorporate humanism along with Christianity into their church.

7. When one seeks revelation outside of God and His Word.   I Samuel 28:7   (Saul consulted the witch of Endor).  People often go from church to church to get a personal word from God from various prophets.  This is not to say that God does not on occasion speak to individuals, but people may come to depend upon the prophecy rather than God and His Word and become subject to false prophecies.

8. When one demands worship of himself.  Daniel 3:1-6  (Nebuchadnezzar had an image of himself built and demanded that everyone worship it)  (Of course it can also be a false image of one's self, being greater than them are).  John 9:34 (After Jesus healed the blind man some of  the Pharisees questioned him and belittled him by saying, "Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?" And they cast him out.)  Sometimes even ministers or priests demand worship.

9. When one looked for signs and wonders being the primary source of truth.  (Superstition)  Exodus 32:24 (Aaron implied that the gold miraculously came out of the fire as a calf.)   Revelation 13:13-15 (During the tribulation period, the Satan will use miracles to deceive many people).  Sometimes people think that the church that has the most signs and wonders is the most spiritual.

10. When one tries to gain or maintain his salvation through doing good works rather than relying upon the grace of God found in Jesus.   Matthew 19:16-21  (The rich young ruler had kept the commandments from his youth, but that was not enough). False religions and even churches today often teach that one has to do such and such to be saved or to maintain their salvation.  Hebrews 6:1, 9:14  (Both Scriptures declare that such are dead works).

11. When one has a mystical belief about God, but has not submitted himself to Jesus as his Lord.   Acts 19:14   (The seven sons of Sceva tried to cast out a spirit by the Name of Jesus, but got cast out naked themselves .  The evil spirit said, "Jesus, I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?")  Neither knowledge or rituals make one a true Believer.

by Author Unknown

"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

- Rom_3:31

When the believer is adopted into the Lord’s family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule, and a new covenant. Believer, you are God’s child; it is your first duty to obey your heavenly Father. A servile spirit you have nothing to do with: you are not a slave, but a child; and now, inasmuch as you are a beloved child, you are bound to obey your Father’s faintest wish, the least intimation of his will. Does he bid you fulfil a sacred ordinance? It is at your peril that you neglect it, for you will be disobeying your Father. Does he command you to seek the image of Jesus? Is it not your joy to do so? Does Jesus tell you, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"? Then not because the law commands, but because your Saviour enjoins, you will labour to be perfect in holiness. Does he bid his saints love one another? Do it, not because the law says, "Love thy neighbour," but because Jesus says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments;" and this is the commandment that he has given unto you, "that ye love one another." Are you told to distribute to the poor? Do it, not because charity is a burden which you dare not shirk, but because Jesus teaches, "Give to him that asketh of thee." Does the Word say, "Love God with all your heart"? Look at the commandment and reply, "Ah! commandment, Christ hath fulfilled thee already-I have no need, therefore, to fulfil thee for my salvation, but I rejoice to yield obedience to thee because God is my Father now and he has a claim upon me, which I would not dispute." May the Holy Ghost make your heart obedient to the constraining power of Christ’s love, that your prayer may be, "Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin.

by Charles Spurgeon