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Who Do You Follow Now? In the Bible, the people of Israel claim to worship God, but ultimately, following Jeroboam, they were worshipping the golden calves. In fact, more than 2/3 of the history of Israelites was a history of having worshipped the golden calves, thinking them to be God. Ultimately, even now, they continue to go on living without realizing the fact that Jesus Christ, who has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, is their true Savior. In spite of it all, there are many Jews who are waiting for their Savior, even now.

Then, how is the faith of you who claim to be taking part in Christianity in this New Testament Era? Do you currently believe in and follow God with a proper understanding of Him? If not, aren’t you perhaps worshipping golden calves with a misapprehension of them as God? If you are like that, then you must become aware of the fact that you are worshipping an idol before God like the people of Israel. Then, you must revert back and meet the Lord who has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I am sure that you will be able to believe in the gospel Truth when you truly realize before God what the Truth of the salvation in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is, won’t you?

I wish to testify before you the true faith and the Truth under the title, “Heretics, Who Followers the sins of Jeroboam.” By all means, I hope you will be a person of the same faith as that of mine.

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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Heretics, Who Followed the Sins of

Jeroboam

Heretics, Who Followed the Sins of

Jeroboam (II)

(II)

PAUL C. JONG

Hephzibah Publishing House A Ministry of THE NEW LIFE MISSION SEOUL, KOREA

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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Heretics, Who Followed the Sins of Jeroboam (II) Copyright © 2006 by The New Life Mission All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

ISBN 89-8314-978-7 Website : http://www.nlmission.com http://www.bjnewlife.org http://www.nlmbookcafe.com E-mail : newlife@bjnewlife.org

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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Table of Contents Preface ------------------------------------------------ 9

6. Who Are These Christian Leaders Seeking Only Mammon? (2 Kings 5:1-27) ---------- 141

1. Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

(1 Kings 10:1-29) ------------------------------ 12

7. By This Time Tomorrow, You Shall Know What True Salvation Is (2 Kings 7:1-20) ------------------------------ 174

2. God’s Curse on Heretics (1 Kings 15:25-34) ----------------------------- 36 3. Today’s Heretics Who Are Like King Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-26) ------------------------------ 64 4. There Are God’s Servants Still Remaining on This Earth (1 Kings 22:1-40) ------------------------------ 87 5. Christians Must Now Turn around and Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit (1 Kings 22:51-53) ---------------- 122 You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

8. Who Are the False Prophets inside the Christianity of Today?

(Matthew 7:15-27) ---------------------------- 214 9. Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ! (1 John 5:1-12) ---------------- 233 10. You Shall Not Kill the Lives of the Born-Again (Genesis 9:1-7) -------------------------------- 261

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11. What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

(1 Kings 9:1-9) -------------------------------- 276 12. There Are Mighty Hunters Who Aim at the Souls of Men (Genesis 10:1-14) ----------------------------- 291 13. The Descendants of Ham, Mighty Soul-Hunters (Genesis 10:1-32) ----------------------------- 306 14. The Lesson of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) ------------------------------ 316 15. You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar (Genesis 11:1-9) ------------------------------ 322

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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9 Preface

Preface These days, so many Christians aren’t aware of the fact that they have become heretics by having followed Jeroboam. If they had known that fact, they would have reverted back, and then they would have come to realize for certain what the love of God is and what the God-given salvation is by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Then, the history of Christianity all over the world would surely have changed. But unfortunately, Christians now all over the world are still following Jeroboam’s sin.

What is the basis for the claim that Christians now all over the world are following Jeroboam’s sin? The basis for which I make such a claim is first of all the fact that they right now believe in and worship golden calves as their gods, instead of the true God, just as Jeroboam during the Old Testament Era had believed in the golden calves in place of God. To put Free book request www.nlmission.com

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10 Preface

this simply, the Christianity today is following in Jeroboam’s footsteps instead of being able to depart from the sin committed by Jeroboam during the Old Testament Era. For them, there can only be the pursuit of this world’s material blessings under the cover of the name, Jesus Christ. Christian leaders today only seek to fatten themselves and to make their own church chapel bigger by extracting donations and extorting services from their church members.

In the ancient Middle Eastern region, people worshipped Baal and Asherah. Back then, because agriculture and livestock breeding were their ways of survival, they were in need of much labor power. So, fertility was considered a family blessing. As a result, they had created and served Asherah, a goddess of fertility, and Baal, following their own greed.

Christians today are the same. In conclusion, they say they believe in God because all they want is for their flesh to be well-off. As a result, Christian leaders today are guiding their church members in

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the direction of worshipping golden calves. By teaching church members that if they were to believe in Jesus, they will receive material blessings and their pursuit for glory, power, and children’s well-being will go smoothly. By emphasizing material blessing instead of the well-being of the soul, they are making Christians worship golden calves in the end result.

Christians today have fallen into such a great spiritual chaos, void, and darkness. It is because many Christian leaders are like so, and what is worse is that they do not even realize that their spiritual state is currently deep in chaos, void, and darkness.

This is why the history of Christianity continues to be on a path of worshipping golden calves instead of God. It can only be described as truly tragic and unfortunate.

Christians today do not know what the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that the Lord has made and given us is. Thus, they continue to believe in the doctrines of Christianity and not the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For that reason, the fact of

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the matter is that despite their claim of having faith in Jesus, they continue to believe in and follow golden calves.

We must discern those that worship golden calves as God within Christianity. And by coming back before God of the Truth, we must offer the sacrifices of righteousness to God. The sacrifice that God receives with rejoice is the sacrifice of righteousness that people offer by faith after having received the remission of sin by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Before God, you must seriously think about whether or not you are offering the sacrifice of God-given righteousness by the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

All those Christians who are now living in this declining world must collect their minds and start believing in the gospel Truth, the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Once more, you must think about “Perhaps in truth, isn’t it that I believe in golden calves in place of God? Isn’t it that I love material fortunes more than God?” If yes, then, you must

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come back before God who is righteous, just, and benevolent and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Should you be in doubt after reading this book, I wish for you to examine your faith once more in reference to the Word that God speaks through me, the author. Now, I declare that Christians spread all over the world worshipping golden calves to be a true heretic before God. Aren’t you perhaps someone who is worshipping golden calves as God now? If so, I hope you will revert back and by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, worship the true God of the Trinity—God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I send before you this message in the name of Jesus Christ who has saved us all from all our sins, given us everlasting life, and allowed us to receive the inheritance of Heaven.

Paul C. Jong ◄

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SERMON 1

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13 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy? < 1 Kings 10:1-29 > “Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there

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was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: ‘It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.’ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. And the king made steps of the

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14 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country. And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure

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gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had

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15 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.”

Lately, I have had this desire to teach our coworkers abroad, as well as many other souls, who it is that belong to heresy. So if there is anyone who has fallen into heresy, I would like to help him escape from it. It’s with this intention that I am now

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speaking about heresy from the viewpoint of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and I believe that such faith and knowledge is completely indispensable for everyone.

How Was Solomon’s Course of Life?

Today, we read 1 Kings chapter ten. God had given King Solomon much wisdom. So as a result, many people revered Solomon highly. On account of his amazing wisdom, Solomon’s fame reached far beyond into distant countries. So even the queen of Sheba, a country far away in southern Arabia, heard about King Solomon and came to verify his wisdom and glory for herself. She brought along hard questions and tried to test him with these questions.

But there was not a single question that Solomon could not answer. The queen of Sheba also saw the magnificent palace that Solomon had built, his institutions of governance, and his administrative

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organization. And impressed by them, she praised Solomon, saying, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard” (1 Kings 10:6-7). Like this, King Solomon lived his entire life as a man of the flesh, boasting his wisdom and enjoying his wealth. But he did not know that his famed wisdom would eventually ruin him.

Solomon made his throne out of ivory, and he covered it with pure gold. What I would like to point out to you here is that because Solomon’s heart left Jehovah God and lived only for his flesh in such extravagance, ultimately, he ended up turning his kingdom into a nation of idolatry. Although he was a king with a great deal of carnal wisdom given by God, he was a dismal man who used this wisdom only to boast of his own righteousness and serve idols. Even though Solomon had received God’s

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overflowing love and blessings, his spiritual state was terribly low.

Some people, upon hearing my harsh assessment of Solomon, may object and say, “Rev. Paul C. Jong, I know you are a servant of God, but how can you so easily dismiss King Solomon, whose walk is written in the Bible?” But still, I do not hesitate to rebuke Solomon harshly for his spiritual corruption. And I believe that God had Solomon’s course of life written down as a lesson for us, to warn us not to worship idols and turn into heretics like Solomon. God had this passage written so that we would not serve idols. It’s not because I am somehow smarter or more intelligent than Solomon that I am criticizing and rebuking him here, but I am trying to admonish you all not to commit the same foolish act of worshiping idols as your own deity before God, as Solomon had done.

Solomon achieved very few things once he became king. All that he did after assuming the throne was construction. After he built the Temple for

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17 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

7 years, he spent 13 more years to build his palace.

For a total of 20 years, he worked on nothing but construction, and he only fostered idolatry among his own people in his time. In other words, all that he did as the king of Israel was to build houses and serve idols. This man was a carnal man to his bones. Even though his father was David, and even though the God that he believed in was Jehovah God, he still served idols instead of God, causing untold grief for Himself. Solomon must have been mad, begging to be cursed by God. “Yahweh,” the name of God, means “He who exists by Himself” or “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). This Jehovah God is the Absolute God for all of us. So God had given Solomon His Word of warning, saying to him, “Do not worship idols,” but Solomon ignored this warning and served idols anyway, taking countless foreign women as his wives, including Pharaoh’s daughter. What a spiritually foolish and carnal man Solomon was! Even though he was a wise king in carnal affairs, as far as spiritual

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wisdom is concerned, he scored zero.

Solomon Had a Thousand Wives It is written in the Bible that King Solomon “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.” In other words, Solomon had no less than a thousand wives. With so many wives, Solomon probably couldn’t even remember them all. When the wives greeted him, “Your majesty,” he probably said on more than one occasion, “Hmm… I think I’ve met you before, but what was your name again?” From the wives’ perspective, who bore and raised his own children, it must have been rather unpleasant to see their husband unable to remember even their names.

Solomon had built his palace for 13 years, but all this work was to provide a room to each of his wives.

After all, his wives were queens of a nation, and so they all had to have at least a decent room for each.

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18 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

Solomon probably also built several gardens and ponds for them. Moreover, since many of these royal wives were foreign women, they had brought their own idols and worshiped them, and so Solomon also built shrines for these idols. If I had lived in that age, I would have rebuked Solomon and said to him, “Solomon, what use is all your wisdom? It’s better to be ignorant and fear God!” Yet despite this, so many Christians today still revere King Solomon and envy his wisdom and wealth. During his early reign, when Solomon just assumed the throne, he offered a thousand burnt offerings at Gideon. But for how long did this man really fear God? When we can see that he feared God only while he was building the Temple of God and his palace, for after this, he was busy serving idols. In other words, once the construction of the Temple and the palace was complete, Solomon no longer feared Jehovah God. As his royal authority was consolidated and he came to enjoy wealth and material prosperity, his heart stopped trusting in God, and ended up

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falling into idolatry. He was indeed a foolish and wretched king. Had he served Jehovah God by faith, he would have received many blessings from God in both body and spirit, and his descendants and his people would have all have been blessed by God. But he failed at this, and instead lived his life foolishly.

If Solomon had any spiritual wisdom at all, he would not have dedicated all his energy to just seek his carnal gratification. For example, Solomon made his throne out of ivory and covered it with pure gold.

But would a throne covered with gold somehow increase his royal authority? In other words, rather than manifesting God’s glory and His righteousness, Solomon poured his heart into manifesting his own glory and righteousness.

However, as this world seeks only carnal values, Solomon’s wisdom was praised even in foreign countries, and countless people brought gifts seeking his audience. Yet, from a spiritual perspective, Solomon’s life itself was a shameful life of the flesh.

He was even commended by the king of Egypt, the

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19 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

very archenemy of Israel, and heard him praise him, “You are a magnificent king, and your wisdom knows no bounds!” And the neighboring kings gave their daughters to Solomon to try to make peace with him, and shipped gold and wood to him when He built the Temple. It’s because Solomon had too much wisdom of the flesh that rather than fighting against his enemy countries, that he made peace with them and served the idols that they believed in. Whereas Solomon’s wisdom may be worthy of respect from man’s point of view, for the king of Israel, God’s chosen nation, to make peace with His enemies was to turn himself into an enemy of God. It was a grievous, abominable sin before God for Solomon to make peace with the kings that had stood against God, take their daughters in as his wives, build his palace with their tributes, and accept their idols.

King Solomon was an extremely flawed man, for he had served idols before God. He was a man of failure before God, who had lived only for his own flesh. God wrote this passage in the Bible so that we

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would learn an important spiritual lesson here, and not allow ourselves to live only for our flesh. Even the born-again who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit may end up like Solomon, if they follow only the desires of the flesh. And that’s why God gave us this spiritual lesson, so that we wouldn’t live like him.

Because of King Solomon, the Nation of Israel Collectively Fell into Heresy It was during Solomon’s reign as its king that Israel turned into a nation of idolatry. All kinds of false gods and idols in the neighboring countries made their way into Israel and were revered. Where were they revered? They were revered in the very court of Israel. Foreign religion blossomed in the court of Israel. Solomon’s court was busy to serve all kinds of foreign idols. And throughout Israel, shrines were built to serve foreign gods. Since their own king ◄

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20 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

and queens served idols, the people of Israel were also happy to serve them. There were idols in every direction, with the entire country turning into an exhibition hall for idols. Fewer and fewer people in Israel believed in Jehovah God, while idolaters eventually came to prevail over the nation as its mainstream. All that King Solomon did to serve Jehovah God was to gather his people together for a week for the rituals of Passover and the Day of Atonement, as if he were sponsoring a unity rally.

And once the people returned home after offering their sacrifices to Jehovah God, they all resumed serving the idols that they each believed in.

It’s because of this man Solomon that Israel turned into a nation of heresy before God. When Solomon thus began to worship idols, God issued His first warning, saying to him, “Do not serve idols. If you do, I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given to it, and even this Temple that I have consecrated for My name, I will cast it out of My sight.” However, King Solomon did not listen to

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God’s Word. He must have thought that he was the real king, above God Himself.

Among those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, there is no one who lives as his own king, if he has indeed been washed from his sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The bornagain cannot regard themselves as their own kings.

Only our Lord Jesus Christ is our King—that is, if we indeed know and believe in the Savior who came to this earth by the water, the blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:6-8). However, for Solomon, he himself was his own king. It didn’t matter how God had told him so much not to serve idols, nor did it matter how God’s servants had come to him to warn him; in the end, Solomon was his own king, and so he turned God’s chosen nation into a nation of idolatry.

Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, grew up while his father was worshiping idols. So Rehoboam also served idols just like his father. God then tore the ten tribes of Israel and gave them to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:30-31), making him king of the northern kingdom,

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21 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

Israel. But Jeroboam served idols even more than Solomon. Out of his greed, and trying not to lose his power and protect his life, wealth, and fame, Jeroboam changed the sacrificial system that had been established by God, altered the Day of Atonement that God had set for the tenth day of the seventh month to the fifteenth day of the eighth month, appointed ordinary people to priesthood even though they were not Levites, and then even replaced God with the gold calves of his own making.

Through all these things, Jeroboam turned the entire northern kingdom of Israel into a nation of idolatry (1 Kings 12:26-33).

The northern kingdom, Israel, made two gold calves, placed one at each Bethel and Dan, and worshipped these idols. All the kings subsequent to Jeroboam would replace God with these gold calves and serve these idols. The kings of Israel were reduced to heads of a collective heresy. The southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel both turned into nations serving idols. Until the reign

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of Solomon lasted, God had not torn the nation apart even as the Israelites were serving idols. God had bestowed His mercy on them. However, once Solomon’s son Rehoboam assumed the throne, God tore the idolatrous nation of Israel into two, and Israel was cursed until the Lord came to this earth incarnated in the flesh.

The man responsible for bringing such curses was none other than Solomon. Because of one king’s idolatry, the entire people of Israel fell into collective heresy to serve idols all together. This Word provides a great lesson for you and me also. Solomon not only served idols before God, but he also showed this corrupt faith of idolatry to his sons and his people.

It’s because his sons and his people saw the king’s idolatrous acts that they also came to serve idols without giving themselves any second thoughts. Even though King Solomon nominally claimed to serve God, his service was only at a ritualistic level, and he actually served idols rather than God. As a result, the people of Israel thought to

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themselves, “Even though our king is serving idols, Israel is not punished by God but it’s only prospering.

So we can also live like the king also.” Having thus learned to serve idols from their king, they, too, began to practice idolatry. From then on, they did not turn away from their idolatry, no matter who said what. Since King Solomon had served idols, so did his sons serve idols, as Jeroboam and his successors also continued to serve idols. There probably was no nation that worshiped foreign gods as much as Israel, for its kings and people alike. Although the Bible does not record all the idols that the people of Israel served, it does mention Asherah and Baal as the representative idols prevalent in Israel, but only because these two idols gained such a great influence in the nation. Like this, Israel turned into a nation of collective heresy worshiping idols.

Because of Jeroboam’s sins, Israel turned into a nation of collective heresy that could not be tolerated.

That’s why when God condemned the subsequent kings who worshiped idols before Him, He said, “He

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committed the sins of Jeroboam,” or, “He walked in the way of Jeroboam.” That’s what God said whenever He was angry with the people of Israel and its king. Rather than saying, “He is a wicked man; he should be beaten to death,” God expressed his wrath by saying, “He walked in the way of Jeroboam,” or, “They followed the sins of Jeroboam.” Why did God say this? It was to tell us, “Do not be like Jeroboam.”

So the sins of Jeroboam were the greatest of all sins before God. You may try to understand Jeroboam from a human point of view, thinking, “Didn’t Jeroboam do these things to maintain his throne? After all, he was only a man.” However, if you now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then God must be your king; you should never allow yourself to serve foreign idols as your king.

Given the fact that it is God who has saved us, how could we forsake Him, and allow ourselves to put false gods in His place to be controlled by Satan?

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Given the Fact That the Lord Has Saved Us from All Our Sins by Giving Us the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit, It Makes No Sense for Us to Serve Idols My fellow believers, we have received our salvation by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are believers in the righteousness of God. In other words, we are of those who believe in the righteousness of God held in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by our Lord. Isn’t this true? Of course it is. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who created the heavens and the earth. It is this God who made us, and it is this God who, when we fell into sin to be cursed to destruction, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man to save us, bore our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist to blot them out, and saved us by dying on the Cross and rising from the dead again. From whom has this salvation come? It has come from none other than

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God Himself, who made you and me and created the entire universe and everything in it; and it is a gift that we received by believing in the righteousness that was completed by this God. This God is our God, and His righteousness is the foundation of our salvation. That is why we believe in the righteousness of this God and call Him our Savior and Shepherd. And that is why this God says to us that we are His flock, and that He will take care of us forever. Ultimately, God is our protector and defender.

We are His own people, who believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the only Truth of salvation, and that our Lord has given us this Truth.

For us, who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, any of us can easily testify to this gospel, but for those who do not believe in this gospel, this gospel of Truth is strange and hard to understand.

Only the people of God can believe in and preach it as it is. Given how God has saved us from all our curses through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, a life devoted to serving this gospel is the most precious

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and worthiest life for all of us. God loves you and me, and He has saved us from all our sins. God has delivered you and me from our sins and blessed us with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. We had left God and gone astray to our own ways only destined to be destroyed. Each in his own way, we were serving idols, and yet we did not even know who the real God was, only to be cursed in our sins. But in spite of all this, even though we had thus gone astray, God still followed us and met with us through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, saved us from all our sins, and has Himself become our own Shepherd. It’s not because of our own wish that we have become God’s people, but it’s all because of His love and His desire to save us. Do you believe in this, my fellow believers? Therefore, those who believe in this God, those who really believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, are those who believe in the righteousness of God; and those who believe in the righteousness of God are His people.

Even God’s children are still weak in the flesh,

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and so they may also commit various sins, but they must at least not commit the kind of sin that replaces God with their own gold calves. In other words, we must never allow ourselves to behave like the kings of Israel in the Old Testament. If anyone does anything wrong to anyone, it’s we who make mistakes before God; God Himself never does anything wrong to us. That’s why we cannot replace God with anything else. Only this God truly loves us, only this God is our revered God, and only this God is our absolute and true God who will take care of us forever. It is by believing in the righteousness of this God that we have been saved, and it is this very God whom we are now praising and thanking. None other than this is faith in God.

The Life of Solomon, Who Had Forsaken God, Was “Vanity of Vanities; All Is in Vain” Everything that Solomon ever did on this earth ◄

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was completely in vain. It’s written, “He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish” (1 Kings 4:32-33). However, he was a man of utter misery, in both body and spirit. He had lived a tragic and empty life both before God and men alike. This man was able to speak of his knowledge on everything, just by opening his mouth.

Many kings from all over the world came to see him with seemingly impossible riddles, but there was nothing that he could not solve. However, with the God-given wisdom, this man also made peace with the neighboring countries and accepted the daughters of foreign kings as his wives. Although Solomon thought to himself that this was a wise move that came out of his own head, he did not realize that it would eventually turn into such a quagmire for him.

There were plenty of God-fearing women in Israel, and yet Solomon foolishly accepted Pharaoh’s

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daughter as one of his wives. What a reckless blunder it was! This was something abhorred by both his father David and God Himself. Intermarrying with Gentile women was a total abomination to God. Yet as soon as Solomon assumed the throne, he brought Pharaoh’s daughter. Indeed, he was downright contemptuous before God. Would Solomon have thought about the consequences of his acts, how Israel would turn into a nation of idolatry and collective heresy all because of him? He surely didn’t, and its consequences were devastating. There was nothing for the people to learn from an idolatrous king. All that they learned from Solomon was just idolatry. The people of Israel were all looking at the king’s faith and walk, and so they all followed his abominable trace.

Even though we all have shortcomings, at least our hearts must be set on God, no matter what. That’s why the Lord is saying to us to remove the love for the world from our hearts, as the dross is removed from silver. We must set our minds on God, and

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never allow our hearts to love anything more than God—that is, never place any idols in our hearts.

However, Solomon placed his expectations on his idols. Even though people often said that King Solomon was a man of great wisdom, he was actually very foolish to have liked to hear such praises. Some people like only those who speak well of them. But the Lord said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

Even Those Who Now Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit May Turn into Heretics Like King Solomon Solomon built the House of God for 7 years and his palace for 13 years. In the end, Solomon was someone who had lived only for himself. It would have been so much better had Solomon feared God in his life with the wealth and faith that his father David

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had passed onto him by waging a spiritual war against the neighboring countries; and even though Solomon was insufficient in his acts, things would have turned out far better if he had set at least his heart on God, saying, “Lord, I will live for You alone.” Like this, all that Solomon had to do was just set his will to live his life with a righteous heart, but instead, he wasted away all the splendor and wealth that his father David had passed onto him only to serve foreign gods and seek the pleasures of his flesh.

All that he did in his entire lifetime was just building houses and serving idols. As a result, Solomon became the chief of idolatrous priests. Solomon himself nurtured idolaters, and in doing so, he ended up turning himself into the original founder of heresy.

What I would like to say to you, and to myself as well, is this: Even for those who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, if any of them is living only for his own carnal desires, then he is an idolater before God. We must all grasp this now and avoid the sin of idolatry. Those who are serving idols

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before God may regard their sin of idolatry as a slight one right now, but in the end, they will turn into heretics in God’s sight. In short, they will become God’s enemies. It’s such people who serve idols before God that have become heretics.

Although Jeroboam had served idols, he was not someone who did not know God. In God’s sight, heretics refer to those who believe in God differently from His will. So if you live with a faith that deviates from the will of God, then you would also become a heretic before His eyes. Do you feel this is not fair?

Do you want to protest that while you may be insufficient, at least you are not a heretic? But if your faith deviates from the will of God, or if you are serving idols, which God abhors, then you are a heretic, for this is against God’s will. It’s not so hard to become a heretic. If our life in faith believes contrary to the will of God, then we would be heretics. My fellow believers, even though we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we are now serving the righteousness of the Lord in

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God’s Church, if any of us gives up his service to the Lord, sets his heart to live his life for his own flesh from now on, leaves God’s Church, and comes to live only for the desires of his flesh, then he will turn into a heretic before God in the end.

You Also Might Not Know That Serving Idols Is a Sure Way to Turn Yourself into a Heretic before God Even for those who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, if they serve idols, then they will turn into heretics. Solomon had served idols before God, and his son and Jeroboam had also served idols. As a result, the entire people of Israel turned into heretics. Solomon not only turned himself into a heretic before God, but he also turned his subjects and people into heretics. Because of him, countless heretical priests emerged in Israel. How could anyone professing to believe in God ever dare ◄

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to replace Him with gold calves and serve idols to seek the material prosperity of the world, instead of trusting in the righteousness of God? Yet this was not enough for the Israelites; even worse, they brought foreign deities, and bowed before them and served them, believing them to be their gods. If this is not heresy, then what else is heresy? Isn’t this the case?

In today’s Christianity also, it is those who purport to serve God, and yet do so against His will, that are being a heretic. Anyone who serves idols before God is a heretic.

My fellow believers, if some people profess to believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and yet they still continue to serve idols, then they are heretics before God. In spite of the fact that Jesus Christ has saved us from all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, those who still do not believe in this gospel of Truth and are living their lives only for their private greed are heretics in God’s sight. It is such people who serve idols, and consequently they are heretics before God. Am I

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being too harsh here? Not at all! I am only speaking the plain truth here, calling heretics for who they are, as nothing more than heretics.

Those Who Serve Gold Calves in Christian Communities Have Now Become Heretics While I am serving the Lord now, if I ever end up living only for the desires of my flesh, then I would also inevitably turn into a heretic in God’s sight. For a Christian to serve idols before God is to replace God with gold calves, and if he serves idols before God and lives only for his own private greed and the desires of his flesh, then he would turn into an enemy of God, that is, a heretic in His sight. Even those who have received the remission of their sins may turn into heretics. Even for those who have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, unless they follow the will of God, it’s quite possible for them to also turn into heretics. ◄

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29 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

As such, we must set our hearts unambiguously.

Even though we are so insufficient, Jesus Christ is still our God, He has saved us from our sins, He is our Shepherd, He has given us eternal life, and He is the One who takes care of all of us. That is why no other deity apart from the very God who has saved us from our sins can ever be our God. Apart from this Triune God—that is, Jesus Christ, His Father, and the Holy Spirit—no one else can ever be our God. That’s because this God has not only saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but He is the One who protects us, who gives us all His blessings so that we would be able to live on this earth for His righteousness, and who will defend us and take care of our entire life for eternity—this is why we cannot allow ourselves to follow anything or anyone but this God. For us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nothing else but the Triune God is divine.

If there is anything that is insufficient, it is your acts and mine that are insufficient; the righteousness

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of God that we all believe in with our hearts is not imperfect. It’s only if we do not love God with all our hearts that we end up turning into heretics, not because God’s love is somehow imperfect. If we stumbled, then it’s all because of our insufficiencies that we stumbled, not because God did not protect us, for He guards us as His own eye, neither slumbering nor sleeping. (Psalm 121:3-8). Those who stumble do so because they have walked on the way of their own lust. So anyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can never serve another deity before God, if he really believes in this gospel Truth.

We the born-again can never serve any other gods.

We must never allow this to ever happen, no matter how anyone may tempt us and try to deceive us.

The born-again must realize just how wicked and wrong it is to live only for their flesh. As we read today’s Scripture passage, we must grasp here that if we live like Solomon, we would turn into heretics.

Let us then all remember, from our ministers to our workers and our brothers and sisters alike, that if we

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30 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

live like Solomon, we would also turn into heretics before God. Of course, like everyone else, we also need to have our essential needs met. But if we love ourselves more than God, and if we follow only our own carnal greed, then in the end, we would turn into idolaters, once this happens, we would become heretics. We would then end up leaving God and turn into His enemies. This means that we ourselves would abandon God on our own, rather than God forsaking us.

Therefore, When We Speak about Heresy, We Must Examine Ourselves First Before Anyone Else It’s absolutely imperative for our minds to once again remember that even we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit may turn into heretics. For you and I alike, it’s possible for both of us to also turn into heretics. You may then wonder,

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“But how is this possible? How can we turn into heretics, when we believe in God properly?” Still, the possibilities are there. Let us then consider here one more time how we could turn into heretics.

I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I have received the remission of my sins, and I am serving the Lord. However, as I carry on with my life, the desires of the flesh keep on arising more and more, time after time. When I am weak, the weaker my flesh gets, the more I desire to defend myself. So I keep trying to protect myself, and I also try to show off myself. As human beings are fragile, we are all genetically programmed to seek our own interests.

However, if we continue to seek our own interests, then we ourselves may turn into our own idols, or material wealth may turn into our god. In other words, our own flesh may turn into our god.

If this happens, then what is so different about our idolatry from the idolatry committed by the people of Israel? They are both the same. So, ultimately, if those gathered here, from our ministers to their wives,

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our workers, and our brothers and sisters, were to follow each of their own private greed, then we would all turn into the same heretics as the people of Israel. When this happens, we would serve ourselves more than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and, as a consequence, we would drift away from God and turn into heretics in the end.

It was Moses who had delivered the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt. After Moses’ death in the wilderness, Joshua then led the Israelites into the land of Canaan. After Joshua’s death, judges led the people of Israel. With the passing of the days of judges, who emerged as the ruler? King Saul emerged as the new ruler. From then on, Israel began to be ruled under a monarchy. The first king of Israel was Saul. And the next king was David. However, Israel’s history of true faith ended with the days of David, and from then on, the Israelites collectively turned into heretics.

So it’s quite tragic to see all this unfolding. Let’s look back at some of God’s servants that preceded

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Solomon’s rule. From Moses to Joshua, passing through such judges as Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel, and onto David, these people were all God’s servants. Let’s now look at those that followed from the days of Solomon. Tragically, there were so few kings with the right faith that we can count them all with our fingers. The governance system of Israel was originally a theocracy, but as the people objected to this, it changed to a monarchy, and as a consequence, the nation of Israel was spiritually ruined.

How about us then? As we now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are living under a theocracy. In other words, our only king is God Himself, and we are living by our faith in His righteousness. The believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are not subservient to the mere whims of other human beings. However, in the history of Israel, theocracy ended at the monarchy rule of Solomon.

Whom did Solomon see while growing up? He

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32 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

saw the upright faith of his father David. Yet despite this, he brought Pharaoh’s daughter to be his wife.

That was only the start of his marriage with Gentile women. Of all women, why did he bring so many foreign women to be his wives? When his people saw this, they lost their faith. Theocracy was already over by the time Solomon’s rule turned idolatrous.

Although many servants of God appeared afterwards, both kingdoms of Israel, northern and southern kingdom alike, did not listen to them, and instead continued to serve idols, only to fall and be ruined in the end. And Israel barely survived as a tributary state to various great powers until the coming of Jesus Christ. Yet even so, the Jewish people still did not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

When we examine the history of Israel, we can discover to a great deal of sadness that it was all because of one man, Solomon, that the nation of Israel ended up betraying God and went on its path to destruction. Had Solomon woke up to his folly and served God as the only King of Israel, then the nation

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of Israel would not have fallen into the sin of idolatry so soon. Its people not only served idols, but they did so with gusto, with the whole nation turning into a big mass of idolatry. So given this, how could God have possibly been pleased with them and blessed them? Idolatry prevailed throughout the whole nation throwing it into chaos. The people were gripped by idol worship, delighted to follow visible gods. In short, the entire nation of Israel turned into a nation that worshiped false gods. So in this light, it was only a matter of course for God to find it impossible to accept them as His people.

That’s why God raised His servants for the people of Israel. It’s because the Israelites did not listen to Him at all that He raised His servants with power.

The first servant of these was Elijah. God raised him.

So when God prophesied through Elijah, no rain came down on Israel for three years. God then spoke through Elijah, “I will now bring down rain. Bring 850 priests serving Asherah and Baal. And bring the king of Israel and its entire people to Mountain

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33 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

Carmel. Let us test who is the true God. When offerings are prepared and prayer is given, He who brings down fire and burns the offerings shall be the true God.” And through Elijah God showed them all as He had prophesied that Jehovah was indeed the Almighty God. He made all the people of Israel return to God and confess, “Jehovah God is our true God. He is indeed our living God.” Even now, God is doing such works through His servants. Although we have received the remission of our sins, any of us who does not live united with God’s Church to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit is an idolater. Do you agree with this? Am I right here? What I am trying to say to you here is that for us not to fall into idolatry, we have to carry out God’s work ceaselessly. That’s why we are tirelessly laboring for the work of the gospel. But some of you may think, “Whoa! Pastor Jong is not even human!

He is such a workaholic! Why is he so demanding?

We are all for carrying out the Lord’s work, but we need some rest. Since we’ve achieved so much and

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served the Lord like this, don’t we deserve some rest now?” By any chance, do you also want to blame me like this?

My fellow believers, if this is how you think and if we decide to rest from the work of God, then we will face spiritual ruin in no time. As soon as you put away your service to the Lord and take a break for even for a few days, your heart will change and go astray. Our flesh is such that when we are sitting, we want to lie down, and when we lie down, we want to sleep. For it is written, “I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man” (Proverbs 24:30-34).

Once you respond to all the demands of your flesh, this is bound to destabilize your relationship with

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34 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

God. Isn’t this true? I’m sure that you all agree with me here. That’s precisely why we must carry out God’s work ceaselessly.

I believe in the righteousness of God, in His love, and in the salvation that He has given to us. You all believe as I do, do you not? I, for one, do not want to be like Solomon. Although many people revere Solomon as a great king, I consider him to be a greatly flawed man. In contrast to Solomon, his father David had truly feared God. If Solomon had followed up to even one ten-thousandth of what his father had done, if only he had not replaced God, then the people of Israel would not have ended up serving idols. Don’t you agree? Since he replaced God and replaced priests as well, we may say that he was indeed out of his mind. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to be like Solomon. And I do not want our ministers to end up like Solomon either.

I have never lost sight of the fact if I go astray by any chance, then I would also turn my coworkers into Solomon. I know very well that if I wanted to avoid

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turning my coworkers and myself into idolaters like Solomon, then I have to start even more works of God. After all, if we are carrying out many works of God, then we wouldn’t be able to find any time to serve gold calves, since we would already be too busy. In fact, it’s precisely because we are insufficient that we have to carry out God’s work that much more. While our faith should remain strong even if we were not laboring, this is next to impossible because we are too insufficient, and that’s why we must continue to carry out God’s work.

I believe truthfully that in this last age, we are indeed the last runners to preach of the gospel. I am convinced that the days of this world are numbered.

Given how it’s inevitable for the world to be destroyed in its entirety, I believe that we should all serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit while we are still able to serve it. We are now praying and serving the gospel by faith, and as God has blessed us, we have been able to achieve many things for the sake of the gospel. Even at this moment, the gospel

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35 Don’t You Know That Idolatry Is Heresy?

continues to be proclaimed successfully. However, soon the time will come when we will no longer be able to serve the gospel. With this time in mind, I will carry out God’s work even more diligently.

Actually, conditions are now ideal for us to carry out the work of the gospel throughout the whole world. Yet even though the door of the gospel has been opened quite a bit, people’s hearts have been hardened as well. Even though we have so much work before us that we are all struggling a lot, let us endure in patience. When the time comes when we are no longer able to labor, we will all rest in peace together.

Above all else, we must never allow ourselves to be like Solomon. Even though we are insufficient, we must believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, keep our hearts, and never replace our God. Individually, we cannot spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit each on his own, but if we work together united with the Church, then we will achieve so much more.

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If we truthfully offer our hearts and our material possessions for this work, God will bless us and enable us to offer Him even more. If the gospel is proclaimed through our offerings, then we should unite our hearts to this endeavor and serve the gospel with all our dedication. I have every confidence that God will enable us to do this, for we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we are serving the Lord as our King.

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SERMON 2

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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37 God’s Curse on Heretics

God’s Curse on Heretics < 1 Kings 15:25-34 > “Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin. Then Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, because of the sins of

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Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.”

Heretics Are Cursed for Generations to Come Jeroboam’s son was named Nadab. Although he succeeded his father’s throne to rule over Israel as its king, he was eventually murdered by one of his servants, and his entire family was also wiped out. As

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38 God’s Curse on Heretics

King Nadab was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and he walked in the way of his father Jeroboam, the curse of death followed every generation of Jeroboam’s house. While King Nadab the son of Jeroboam was waging war in a place called Gibbethon, one of his officials, named Baasha, conspired against him during the war, killed him, and became king in his place. When Nadab became king of Israel, he struck the whole house of Jeroboam and destroyed everyone, leaving no one alive. Jehovah had prophesied this destruction of the house of Jeroboam through the Prophet Ahijah, and it came to pass exactly as prophesied. The Bible shows that everything God had said to these kings through His prophets was all fulfilled as promised. Baasha, who had conspired against his king Nadab and killed him, passed his throne to his son, but once again, an official named Zimri plotted against the new king and killed him, thus usurping the throne of Israel.

God had said that because of the sins of Jeroboam, He would kill every man in the house of Jeroboam.

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As the sins of Jeroboam had provoked the wrath of God, He had promised that He would kill everyone who emulated Jeroboam’s faith, and everything came to pass according to this Word of God. There was hardly any king in Israel who lived a full life after assuming the throne. Almost every king either died in the battlefield or was murdered by his treasonous servant.

One thing common to all these kings is the fact that they committed the same sin that Jeroboam had committed and were put to death by God. When the son of Jeroboam became king, he, too, committed the same sin that his father had committed before God. He worshiped as his gods the golden calves that his father had believed in, and having thus provoked God’s wrath, he was eventually murdered. Just like his father, he sinned by appointing ordinary people to the priesthood, making a priest out of whoever wanted to become one. As a result, he suffered an accursed death. For virtually all the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, it was invariably through

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treason that they made themselves kings.

King Nadab was killed by a man named-Baasha who was mentioned in today’s Scripture passage, and Baasha plotted against his king Nadab and assassinated him in a place called Gibbethon. While King Nadab was busy waging war against his enemy troops in Gibbethon, Baasha murdered him and made himself king of Israel. Once Baasha assumed the throne, he killed every male in the house of Jeroboam and spared no one. And after becoming king, Baasha himself also committed the same sins that Jeroboam had committed. A wretchedly flawed faith had been passed on, and all this was the result of one man’s fallacious faith. Just as a child inherits the blood of his parents of the flesh, the faith of a heretic had also been inherited by his successors.

Here, we have to keep in mind that every faith is passed on and inherited by someone, regardless of whether it is the right faith or not. Just as in a dynasty a son succeeds his father’s throne, so does flawed faith continue to be passed down and succeeded by

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its followers. That’s why in the northern kingdom of Israel, its monarchs committed the same sins that King Jeroboam had committed. Because they committed the same sins like this, God punished them by moving the hearts of their officials, but when these traitors became kings, they themselves once again committed the same sins. From here we can draw an important lesson: Faith is continuously passed on.

How Far Does the Flawed Faith of King Jeroboam Extend?

As we know very well, it’s safe to say that the flawed faith of King Jeroboam extends well into today’s Christianity. That’s because Christianity all over the world is now serving golden calves as its gods. Most of you probably know King Ahab, perhaps the evilest of all kings in the history of Israel.

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inherited Jeroboam’s faith so typically. His wife was Jezebel. This foreign woman worshiped idols so much inside Israel, and she had such a control over her husband King Ahab, that she contributed singularly to turning the whole nation of Israel into a completely pagan nation of idolatry.

After Jeroboam became king over the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, he made two golden caves and made them believe in these calves as Jehovah God. In doing so, he turned himself into the pioneer that led the Israelites to a flawed faith. And this fallacious faith of Jeroboam continued all the way down to the days of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it truly astounding? Jeroboam was clearly punished by God for his fallacious faith, and so how was it possible for his faith to continue to be passed on? Why did the people of Israel repeat the mistakes of Jeroboam time after time and suffer as a result, when they knew very well that such faith was wrong? Even as the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel kept changing hands, the faith of its kings remained the same constantly.

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Regardless of whether the throne was succeeded by its rightful heir or by a seditious official, every king invariably inherited the faith of Jeroboam. The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel had made themselves High Priests and led their people to a fallacious faith. That’s why the people of Israel believed as commanded by their kings, provoked the wrath of Jehovah by committing the same sins that King Jeroboam had committed, and were ultimately destroyed together with their kings.

While reading the Book of 1 Kings, I thought to myself, “The people of Israel and its kings were so pathetic!” As the royal lineage continued on and new kings came and went, they should have realized how their preceding kings were cursed for worshiping golden calves as their gods, and with this realization they should have turned around right away and believed in God properly, but they did not turn around from this mistaken faith. I want none of you to ever be like these people. When the son of Jeroboam became king, he, too, committed the same

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sins that his father had committed by worshiping golden calves and idols, but it wasn’t just Jeroboam’s son that fell into sin like this, but his people also believed just like him and followed in his way. It’s because of the flawed faith of King Jeroboam that the entire nation of Israel was destroyed. When the kings of Israel realized that their faith was flawed, they should have turned back to God to avoid being cursed, but far from turning from such mistaken faith, they taught it to their own people. They taught their people like this because they were kings of Israel. And the people of Israel believed according to how they were instructed by their kings.

The same thing is happening in across Christian communities today: Christians believe according to how they are taught by their leaders. Some denominations emphasize their history, saying, “Since the preceding pastors of our denomination were martyred for God, let us all live our lives like them!” That’s all good and fine. But I think it would be better for them to lead today’s Christians to live

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out their faith now, rather than exploiting the faith of the martyred pastors who went before them. I believe that the proper faith in God stems voluntarily from a faithful heart that is inspired by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.

Even Now, Jeroboam’s Faith Is Succeeded

by Those Who Worship Golden Calves Today, we can see that flawed faiths continue to be perpetuated by Christian communities throughout the whole world. In Christianity today, there are many denominations such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and the Evangelical Holiness Church. The Evangelical Holiness Church is a denomination that is mostly confined to Korea; it has few followers abroad. The main Christian denominations with a global reach are Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, and a few others.

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mainly to the fact of being founded by a famous theologian. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was a great theologian, and John Calvin, a Frenchman, was also a renowned theologian who went on to found the Presbyterian Church. The Lutheran Church was also, founded by a famous theologian, Martin Luther. All of these people were men of great accomplishment. However, while it may seem as though there are many great theologians in Christian communities around the world, when you look more closely, you will see that there actually aren’t that many.

In the 20th century, new denominations emerged under the rubric of the Pentecostal Church. The denominations affiliated with this Charismatic Movement emphasize signs and miracles, all in the name of emulating the faith of the Early Church. And their followers believe that just as God’s miraculous works had unfolded during the era of the Early Church, so are the same miracles now unfolding in their lives as well. The early followers of the

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Charismatic Movement believed that the miracle of healing, their ability to speak in tongues, and other such mystical phenomena that were happening to them were God’s works, and so they came together to form a denomination of their own. However, they lacked any leader who could discern properly whether such works of wonders, speaking in tongues, physical vibration, and healing were really God’s works or not. So they believed blindly that all these works were from God, since they were convinced all together that the Pentecostal Movement was indeed of God’s work. So rather than examining whether their faith was right or not, their sole purpose was only to serve and follow God zealously right then and there. And as this kind of faith has been blindly succeeded, today, we can now see that their followers are ultimately worshiping golden calves. That is the verdict when strictly assessed.

However, this kind of blind succession of faith is not unique to just the Pentecostal Church. Take a look around at other denominations. It is common to

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every denomination. What John Wesley preached was a social evangelization. He emphasized the concept of “social holiness” by saying, “The gospel of Christ knows no religion but social, no holiness but social holiness.” In short, this gospel called for the Christianization of society. Accordingly, the Methodist Church today is devoting all its effort to emulate the faith of this theologian. So the Methodist Church is very interested in social reform. That’s why it is engaged in many charity works and praises those who are at the forefront of such movements.

On the other hand, Presbyterian theologians trained under the teachings of John Calvin believe in the Doctrine of Predestination. What is the concept of God’s predestination? The Bible says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). This passage means that God had predestined beforehand that

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those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel through which Jesus Christ has completely blotted out all our sins, would all be saved. However, the Calvinist Doctrine of Predestination claims, “Those predestined to be saved will believe in Jesus as their Savior unconditionally, but those who were not predestined will not believe no matter what.” Is this the real predestination of God? Never! What is worse is that those who follow such theologians are uncritically inheriting all such beliefs.

The Lutheran Church inherited Luther’s faith all intact. And its faith continues to be passed on. So, if the first founder of any denomination misbelieves, his faith is continuously succeeded, and all those who follow in his footsteps are automatically cursed. That is why it’s so important to stand on the right line even when it comes to believing in God. I used to have a hard time trying to understand how the people of Israel could continue to perpetuate the faith of Jeroboam for thousands of years. Before,

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whenever I read the Old Testament, I just thought that it was because of their sins that the Israelites were enslaved by Babylon for 70 years, but later on, I eventually came to realize that all this suffering was due to the fact that the people of Israel had clung to the faith of Jeroboam before God. All that the Israelites had to do was just turn away from the fallacious faith of King Jeroboam that was perpetuated by their kings and forefathers, and yet they failed to do this, and continued to follow the faith of Jeroboam.

The people of Israel had the belief that if they bowed before an image of Asherah, the goddess of fertility, that then their descendants would somehow prosper. They worshiped Asherah as if it were God, wishing that they would have many children, become rich, and live a long and healthy life, all in carnal terms. They also worshiped Baal, believing that they would all prosper in the flesh. While those who followed the faith of King Jeroboam worshiped God as well, they also worshiped idols, bowing before

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them and believing in them. Isn’t that why the Prophet Isaiah and many other prophets in the Old Testament rebuked the people of Israel and its kings?

Even though these kings were rebuked for their sins, they still did not listen to the words of the prophets of God, and that is why in the end, God allowed seditions to happen repeatedly and killed such kings.

You should realize that even now, Christianity continues to sustain King Jeroboam’s flawed faith intact, and yet even so, it remains completely oblivious to this fact. Even today, as Christianity espouses fallacious doctrines, such mistaken beliefs are blindly followed and accepted by the Christian sinners. Let’s turn to some of the doctrines on Holy Communion believed by each denomination for example. Churches like the Lutheran Church believe in the Doctrine of Consubstantiation that was advocated by Martin Luther. This is somewhat different from the Doctrine of Transubstantiation, but these two are almost the same in reality. The Doctrine of Transubstantiation claims that when one

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partakes in Holy Communion, the wine and bread are transformed into the actual blood and flesh of Jesus.

At the Last Supper, when Jesus first performed Holy Communion, the bread used was from a single loaf. Jesus broke this large loaf of bread and gave its pieces to His disciples, saying to them, “Take and eat this bread, for it is My flesh.” And when Jesus shared the wine with His disciples, He said to them, “Take this cup and drink from it, for it is My blood that I shed for many.” Why did He establish this sacrament and order them to keep it perpetually? At the night He was arrested to be crucified, He took bread giving thanks to God, broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). It is clear that Jesus gave this sacrament for us to remember His work of salvation. In Holy Communion, the bread implies the baptism Jesus

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received to take upon Himself all the sins of the world once and for all, while the wine implies that the blood He shed on the Cross washed away all our sins.

In contrast, the Doctrine of Transubstantiation claims that when a Catholic priest consecrates the bread and wine of Holy Communion, praying, “The Lamb of God who has blotted out the sins of the world, intercede for us,” this bread and wine are transformed into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus.

In other words, the doctrine argues that when a priest prays like this, the bread and wine are actually transformed into the living body of Jesus and His blood, and therefore whoever eats this bread eats the body of Jesus, and whoever drinks this wine drinks the blood of Jesus. That is the essence of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation espoused by the Catholic Church.

When Luther split from the Catholic Church with the Reformation, he brought with him almost the same doctrine but with a different name, called

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“Consubstantiation.” This doctrine says that the substance of bread and the body of Jesus Christ coexist when the priest takes the bread and gives thanks to God. Luther himself distributed Communion as frequently as Catholics at every service. Luther, who had been a monk and a theologian in the Catholic Church, had brought some of its doctrines and rituals with him when he split from it, and this faith continues to be sustained intact by the Lutheran Church. As another example, the Catholic belief in infant baptism is also kept intact.

That is how the beliefs of the founders of Christian communities came to be succeeded blindly by every Christian.

Such beliefs, however, are all fallacious when reflected on by the Word of God. For us to partake in Holy Communion by faith, we must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and only then can we really take part in this sacrament by faith. Just because parents believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, this does not mean that their children

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would automatically be saved. Nor is it true that just because one is formally baptized, he is somehow saved from his sins. Rather, one must know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, realizing why Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River

by John, the Baptist, and why He shed His blood and died on the Cross. To do so, one must first know the fundamental nature of mankind, and reach the proper and concrete understanding of its sins. We must preach the real Truth to everyone, proclaiming our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all.

However, as erroneous, dogmatic and doctrinaire beliefs were passed down from generation to generation, Christianity today has turned into a worldly religion. The backbone of the Presbyterian Church is formed by the so-called Five Points of Calvinism established by its namesake, Calvin.

Representative of these Five Points of Calvinism is the Doctrine of Predestination. This doctrine claims that God loved some people and decided to save them from sin even before the foundation of the

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world, while other people were not chosen. So of those that were destined to be saved God had already saved them in Jesus Christ. The adherents of this doctrine thus argue that some people were already predestined to be saved, and therefore those predestined and selected by God are to be saved and enter Heaven by believing in Jesus, while those not loved by God and predestined not to be saved are to be forsaken. Such doctrinal beliefs have continued to be passed down in Christianity. That’s how the faith of the religious reformers has been sustained intact to this day.

The question, then, is whether or not these religious reformers knew what the gospel of the water and the Spirit was at that time. If the religious reformers did not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preached only a half-gospel, then today’s Christians who have inherited their faith are inevitably bound to believe in the same half-gospel.

What a terrible consequence is it? Do you realize that following such a half-gospel is to follow the sins that

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Jeroboam had committed in the Old Testament era?

How did such a tragic result come about? Wasn’t the faith of Abraham passed down onto the people of Israel continuously? From Abraham came Isaac and Jacob, and the nation of Israel was formed through Jacob’s twelve sons. And they had kept the faith of their ancestors even while they suffered through terrible tribulations. Prophets had ruled Israel until the days of Samuel. After Samuel’s death, his sons were to succeed him as the servants of God, but as his sons were deemed unworthy (1 Samuel 8:3), the people of Israel asked God to establish a king for them. So God instituted a monarchy for Israel, and its first king was Saul. However, God was not pleased with a man like Saul. Someone like David was whom God wanted. So God made David king, and at that time, theocracy was briefly restored. Once assuming the throne, David reigned over Israel wisely, established the house of Aaron as the proper house of the High Priest, and set the division of priests.

Having thus established spiritual order properly,

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David then passed his throne down to Solomon.

However, tragedy began once Solomon assumed the throne. After assuming the throne, Solomon took foreign women to be his wives, and so eventually his faith collapsed completely. Foreign idols were introduced into Israel unlimitedly during his reign.

Shrines dedicated to foreign gods began to appear inside Israel. So the people of Israel came to bow before idols. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam became king, but King Rehoboam also worshiped idols just like Solomon. Because his father King Solomon had committed too many sins, during the reign of Rehoboam, God tore ten tribes away from him and gave them to a man named Jeroboam, having him rule over a new kingdom.

But what did Jeroboam do after becoming the first king of the northern kingdom? To protect his throne, he came up with an evil scheme, designed to allay his fear that the people of Israel might return to King Rehoboam of the southern kingdom. He made two golden calves and set them in Bethel and Dan. Then

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he made his people worship them. He changed the date for the Day of Atonement to the fifteenth day of the eighth month from the tenth day of the seventh month, and he also made priests out of ordinary people who were not Levi’s descendants. The people of Israel ended up replacing Jehovah God with golden calves. This horrendous sin of idolatry was wholly perpetuated by the subsequent kings of Israel and emulated by the people of Israel. They had all emulated the faith of Jeroboam. That’s why if leaders go astray, it’s automatic for the people under their leadership to also go astray, only to perish in both body and spirit. Even though the people of Israel tried to be faithful to God, they just could not change their flawed faith on their own strength.

In this present age, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit like us are able to say that every gospel other than this gospel of the water and the Spirit is a fallacious gospel, because they can discern false faith from the true one. But during the reign of King Jeroboam, it was inevitable

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for the Israelites to trust in their leader’s words and follow him, for they were spiritually blinded. That is why the people of Israel came to serve idols fallaciously. Because King Jeroboam had misled his people to misbelieve in God and go astray, the Israelites could not but continue to believe mistakenly. And since the succeeding kings and the people of Israel continued to believe like this, they continued to be cursed as well.

Even in this age and time, virtually all Christians believe mistakenly according to the doctrines of their own denominations. Today, the same thing is also happening to Christians all over the world. There is a female comedian in Korea who has recently been bringing a lot of laughs, appearing in a television comedy program as the head of an imaginary religious sect that worships obesity. Her comedy is outlandishly hilarious, and although I am not really good at imitating her, I will give it a try here. She begins her gag whenever she enters the stage like this: “Get away from me, all you who are skinny!

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The era of fatties will come soon! Eat! Though your beginning was skinny, yet your end will be abundantly fat! I am the head of ‘Obesity Worshipers’! My name is ‘Childbirthandra,’ the savior of the skinny of the world!”

Then she chants a slogan of the ‘Obesity Worshipers’ like this: “Give natural birth, feed mother’s milk! Give natural birth, feed mother’s milk!” She then starts her sermon, saying, “Oh, you skinny sinner! Today, I will bestow my blessings on you. Eat. Repent and eat. Oh, you fatty who are sitting next to her, you have already been blessed!

But for those who still have not been blessed, I am preaching the word again today. Today’s sacred passage comes from the ‘Book of Gluttony.’ Today, I would like to share the word with you to proclaim the innocence of the transformation of the ‘lord shrimp.’

Out of his gallantry, he tried to mediate a whales’ fight, but he was injured with a broken back.

(Editor’s note: There is a proverb in Korea that goes, ‘The back of a shrimp gets hurt in a whales’ fight,’

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which refers to an innocent bystander who suffers a side blow in a fight.) But what did we do? Did we not make fun of his small eyes? Yet despite this, he showed his humbleness by bending his back. That’s not all. To heal his chronic back pain, he roasted himself in salt, dusted himself in flour, poured sauce on himself, and sacrificed himself to become stirred shrimp. He then ground his body in the mill, jumped into boiling oil, and was reincarnated into a tasty snack that no one can stop eating once he has tasted it. Do you eat this shrimp snack? Do you eat him? Do you eat shrimp burger? Do you eat stirred shrimp?

Hey! Waitress, can I get the sauce on a side dish?”

The comedian would then sing, “♪If you fall asleep tired from eating, ♫I will bless you. ♫If you fall asleep tired from eating, ♪I will bless you.

Fatties! Fatties! ♪” “It’s time for me to go now.”

Another comedian restrains her from going away, saying, “But Childbirthandra, why do you stop preaching the good word? Where are you going now?

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“I’m going to eradicate trains that don’t have a dining car!”

When we look into the Christian world today, we see that it’s little different from such a comedy. Even though Christians know that Jesus was sacrificed to atone for the sins of mankind, they do not know that He has perfectly saved all the people of the whole world from its sins and made them God’s children.

They believe in the Lord only vaguely, without even realizing that He has indeed made us completely sinless, even unto our conscience. So despite the fact that there are many Christian denominations professing to believe in Jesus as the Savior, at most, the gospel preached by them puts faith only in the sacrifice that Jesus made by shedding His blood on the Cross. That’s why their faiths are essentially congruent to each other despite their denominational differences. Their common faith is that Jesus loves them, and that He was crucified to save them from the sins of the world. Their claim is that it’s because of the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that they have been

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saved. Yet despite this claim, their sins still remain intact in their hearts.

If their hearts still remain sinful even as they believe in Jesus, then doesn’t this mean that their faith is wrong? Just how ridiculous is this? How absurd is it that there still are sins left in their hearts, despite the claim that Jesus has saved them by being crucified and sacrificing Himself? Christianity today has turned into a laughable worldly religion that’s no different from the comedy I just mentioned above.

The comedian that I mentioned had probably attended church before. It seems that’s why she parodied preachers’ familiar speaking mode to trigger laughter. Last week, she started her comic sermon like this: “Today, I would like to share the words from ‘the first epistle of shrimp,’ chapter so and so and verses so and so. The ‘lord shrimp’ sacrificed himself by jumping into the stew to save the skinny. He was so humble that he never stood upright before us the lowly. How about us then? Are we ourselves humble before him? No, rather than

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humbling ourselves, we have made fun of him who sacrificed himself for our sake.” Isn’t this a parody of the Christian faith that Jesus has saved us from sin by sacrificing Himself on this earth out of His love for us?

What we must make sure of before we move on here is that even though Christians all over the world believe in Jesus as their Savior, their sins still remain intact in their hearts. In other words, today’s Christians still have sin in their hearts. This implies that Christianity has turned into a worldly religion.

Religion is a product of mankind’s own making.

Christians who believe in Jesus only as a matter of religion think of His ministry on this earth in their own human terms, and they believe only what they can grasp. Even though Jesus came to this earth to save sinners, many Christians even deny this. It’s so ridiculous. It’s so hilarious that I feel like I am watching a comedy. How can they make people laugh so much like this? Today’s Christian leaders are so good at making so many people laugh so

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much. When they say to the congregation, “Receive God’s blessings,” their followers blindly shout out, “Hallelujah! Amen, I believe!” They emphasize Jesus’ sacrifice, claim that one is saved from sin by believing in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross, and assert that those who believe in this blood have already been saved.

They say that if one donates more money to church, he would receive even more blessings from God. Christianity today has turned into an absurd worldly religion. Who is responsible for all this? It’s all because of today’s Christian leaders who worship golden calves. You are now hearing something tremendously important here. I do respect Christian leaders as fellow human beings. As far as spiritual matters are concerned, however, I say to them what’s in my mind. Clearly, religious reformers in the Medieval Age did carry out substantial reforms. But isn’t it also clear that just as the Catholic Church at that time had been corrupted, so have today’s Protestant Churches also turned into worldly

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religions? Their teachings are far off from the Bible.

They are not just a little bit removed, but they have deviated completely from the Scriptures. As Christianity today has merely been reduced into one of the many religions of the world, it believes in its own doctrines, not in Jesus who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It’s true that Christians during the Reformation sought to reform the Church and live a more upright life based on the Word of God. They did try hard to be nearer to Jesus. Yet despite this, today’s Christians still continue to lead a worldly religious life worshiping golden calves, not a life of faith. How are Protestants and Catholics today any different from each other, when both have turned into worldly religions? From their church architecture to their everyday acts, they share so many similarities that they are pretty much the same.

You have to grasp just how serious it is that today’s Christianity has fallen into the sins of Jeroboam. In today’s Scripture passage, a man named Baasha killed King Nadab, the son of King

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Jeroboam. And it is written that when Baasha assumed the throne, he struck the house of Jeroboam and killed everyone, so that no one would be left alive. This was fulfilled according to what God’s servant had prophesied about Jeroboam’s sins. The house of Jeroboam was completely exterminated.

Each and every member of the house was killed. Can you really grasp this? Baasha had been King Nadab’s official, but when he usurped the throne by sedition, he did not spare anyone from Jeroboam’s family. He ordered his soldiers to wipe out the entire family of the previous king. Everyone related to Jeroboam was killed. Why did this happen? The Bible says that it was “because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger” (1 Kings 15:30).

However, once Baasha became king, he also ended up following the way of Jeroboam. As it is written, “In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah,

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and reigned twenty-four years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin” (1 Kings 15:33-34).

Today’s Christian leaders are not just committing sin by themselves, but they are also making their congregation commit the same sin equally. Just how wrong is this? Just how faulty are today’s Christian leaders? Yet even so, they have no idea what they are doing is wrong. For Christian leaders today, it’s beyond their wildest dreams to think that they are actually committing the sins of Jeroboam by teaching that the remission of sin is received just by believing in the blood of the Cross all alone. They think that if they are revealed as insufficient being at all, it’s thoroughly because of their carelessness, and they all consider themselves to be fundamentally good, doctrinally sound Christians. Considering how all these Christian leaders believe that Jesus has saved them from their sins just by dying on the Cross. It’s hardly reasonable to expect that there would be

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anyone in today’s Christian communities who thinks that this is a fallacious belief. There probably is no one who thinks so even in his wildest dreams.

Although Christians differ in their respective denominations, they all believe uniformly that it’s on the Cross of Calvary where Jesus saved them. That’s why it’s absolutely inconceivable for them to think that their faith might be wrong. It’s all very convenient for them to believe like this because all the other Christians believe just like they do. So ministers and pastors unhesitatingly preach that only Jesus’ blood on the Cross of Calvary brings salvation. However, these people are not only still ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but they are rejecting this gospel and leading others to some other false gospels, all the while remaining completely oblivious to what they are actually doing.

Probably none of them thinks that teaching such fallacies constitutes the very sin that Jeroboam had committed against God. But what does the Bible say? It says that

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Jeroboam not only sinned himself but also made his people sin, and was ultimately destroyed for this.

This message is repeatedly underscored in the Old Testament, beginning from the Book of 1 Kings all the way to the Book of Malachi. What a terrible thing is this? Most Christians today think that their faith in Jesus is very proper. Those who preach only the blood of the Cross, mindful of the sacrifice of Jesus, often fast in their prayer and volunteer their services to charity works. They probably consider themselves good Christians for practicing the love of Jesus not just in words but also in their actual lives. And they don’t think that there is anything wrong with their predecessors’ faith. Far from it, they are convinced that what they believe in is the absolute truth. Put differently, they likely think that there is no other gospel that can bring salvation to them but the gospel of the blood of the Cross.

However, the Bible says that it is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that is the real Truth and the genuine gospel (1 John 5:4-8). When reflected on the

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gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can see just how far today’s Christianity has gone astray. That’s why, even though Christianity has a history spanning over 2,000 years, its followers are invariably and collectively misbelieving now. They are denounced even by secular society as a group. Presbyterians misbelieve because of their Presbyterian doctrines, Catholics misbelieve because of their Catholic credos, and the list goes on. Every Christian community has gone far astray from the true Word of the Bible because of its erroneous doctrines. Its faith is completely and utterly different from the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Does the gospel of the water and the Spirit speak of only the blood of the Cross? No! The gospel of the water and the Spirit proclaims that when the Lord came to this earth, He took upon Himself all of our sins through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, shouldered them to the Cross, was condemned to death to bear the judgment of all these sins of ours, arose from the dead again, and has thus

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become our Savior. It declares that Jesus not only bore all your sins and mine through His baptism which He received from John, but by shedding His blood on the Cross, He was also condemned for all the sins of this world, thereby delivering us from death and destruction and moving us to the Kingdom of the Son of God. This is the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that the Bible speaks of. Today, believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, are this last age’s blessed people who have received the grace of salvation from God. Today’s Christianity has a long but troubled history. Even though it now boasts a history spanning for over 2,000 years, with the Edict of Milan issued by a Roman emperor in 313 AD, it had plunged into the Dark Ages lasting for over 1,000 years ruled by the Catholic Church. And whereas Protestantism did emerge with the rise of the Reformation Movement in the 16th century, even after this, Christian doctrines still remained completely far off course from the righteousness of God. Today’s Christianity

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knows and believes nothing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Nor can it be said that those who are now leading their lives of faith in various Protestant churches originating from the Reformation have been completely freed from the Catholic faith.

All that they have done is just leave the Catholic Church; other than that, they still believe in vain, for they continue to adhere to their mistaken doctrine that salvation is reached only by believing in the blood of the Cross alone, rather than by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The problem, in other words, is that they actually know only the blood of the Cross, and do not believe that Jesus took upon Himself all their sins once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist. And their leaders do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor do they preach it. That is why even Calvin left many desperate prayers in his commentaries, essentially begging the Lord to forgive a sinner like himself.

As such, far from becoming sinless by believing in Jesus, Christian leaders have actually turned into

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even more definitive sinners. So by spreading their Christian doctrines, they have only ended up deceiving countless people. Because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they have been teaching the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification, arguing that one must be sanctified gradually to become sinless. As a result, Christians have come to think mistakenly that even if they remain sinful, they can still go to the Kingdom of God just by believing in Jesus, and they’ve also come to believe that only God knows whether one is saved or not. Their faith is an unbroken inheritance of the fallacious faith of their leaders, who are all lost in spiritual confusion and fog. They are leading their lives of faith as heirs to the Doctrine of Predestination. In other words, what they believe in is not the real Truth. If Christian leaders in any denomination believe wrongly, then all those under their leadership cannot help but also believe wrongly.

Why? Because they cannot discern their wrong faith, since that’s all they know.

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The origin of heresy goes back all the way to the Old Testament, stemming from someone like Jeroboam. The pioneer of collective heresy is Jeroboam, and it is from his days that heresy flourished until the end of the age of the Old Testament and beyond, to continue on even into the age of the New Testament. Now, collective heresy is sustained by today’s denominational leaders having faith that is the same as that of Jeroboam. Even after Jesus came to this earth and saved us from sin through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, Christianity still went astray and has remained so until now. That is why Christianity is now clouded in so much darkness. The entire world is pitch-dark.

Today, however, God has shone the whole world with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. And in doing so, He has enabled the believers of the gospel of the water and the Spirit to reach their salvation from sin. He has saved us completely and perfectly, so that none of us may ever say that he has sin.

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Mistaken leaders in Christian communities must realize that they are misleading people even at this very moment. Indeed, even now, these Christian leaders must know the gospel of the water and the Spirit properly, believe in it properly, and teach it properly. They must thus thank God and glorify Him for the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the gospel that God has given to us in this age and time.

Even from now on, they must believe in this gospel and preach it all over the world, for this gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth written in the Bible.

Yet Christian leaders today do not know this gospel, and instead they believe blindly in their own denominations’ doctrines. This is inevitable for anyone who does not know the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s why we must point out their hearts’ sins first based on the Word, and then preach the gospel to them, saying to them, “Are there any sins in your conscience? Jesus bore those sins by being baptized. And He carried them to the

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Cross and was crucified to death. Then He arose from the dead again, and has saved us perfectly.

Jesus has blotted out all your sins like this. Do your sins then still remain, or have they all disappeared now?” In this way, Christian leaders everywhere must reach their salvation, have the right faith, turn into workers laboring for the Kingdom of God, live for the gospel, and become God’s harvesters in the last days.

If you study theology superficially without fully grasping the history of Christianity, you will likely end up turning into a heretic. Everyone must reach the proper understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth of Christianity. Although most Christians think that only the gospel of the shed blood of the Cross from Calvary is the genuine gospel, in reality, it is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that is the only true gospel. The Bible testifies that only the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth. As it says, “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the

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filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). This passage means that Jesus has saved us from all our sins once and for all by coming to this earth, being baptized, dying on the Cross, and arising from the dead again, so that we would be able to wash away all our sins from our conscience and answer God’s calling. That is how the Apostles believed.

The Bible also makes it clear that Jesus has saved us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:3-8). Jesus Himself said, “Unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God nor see it” (John 3:2-7). That “we have to be born again of water and the Spirit” means that we are saved from our sins only if we believe that Jesus accepted all the sins of the world through His baptism He received from John the Baptist, died on the Cross, arose from the dead, and has thereby saved us. Only then can we become God’s children and His workers, enjoy everlasting life in the next

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world, and take in all splendor and glory together with God. It’s because people do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that they only cling onto the doctrines taught by their denominations. To learn the gospel of the water and the Spirit, one must study the Bible and learn from those who understood this gospel first. For you to open your spiritual eyes, you must study the Bible and learn from those who believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and were born again before you. I know factually that the whole Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, speaks of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is something that God has taught me. We should examine the history of Christianity to see when the faith of the gospel of the water and the Spirit was corrupted, and if the faith of today’s Christians is indeed proper or not. If they now know and believe properly in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then they should thank their predecessors of faith; if not, then they must believe in this gospel even now,

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before it’s too late. Christian leaders must indeed be people of faith, possessing the same faith that Abraham had.

Did our present knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit come by learning from theologians? No, certainly not. Far from it, they actually believe in another gospel that’s different from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If Christians today had at least not inherited the faith of religious reformers, they could have had the chance to learn the gospel of the water and the Spirit again.

At the time of the Reformation, it was actually unavoidable for religious reformers not to carry out church reforms. The Catholic Church in the Medieval Age was routinely engaged in witch hunting to rob people’s money and confiscated their properties by tainting them with heresy. It accused and killed countless people as heretics. For instance, if a rich woman existed whom the church considered a threat, it would accuse her of witchcraft and Devil-worship, only for the purpose to confiscate her properties. An

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ecclesiastical court, called the Inquisition, would be held to this end, to charge her and condemn her to death for heresy. The court would then find two false witnesses to commit perjury on its behalf, testifying falsely, “That woman cursed Jehovah God. She said that Jesus is not God, nor the Son of God.” The woman would then be tortured until she was forced to confess, and be eventually executed. Torturing methods were so heinous and brutal, from pulling out the tongue to quartering and skinning, that she would have no choice but to make a false confession. She would then be killed in the name of the church, and all her properties would be confiscated. This is what witch hunting was all about. That’s how the Catholic Church accumulated its wealth during the Medieval Age. Of course, the Catholic Church is no longer engaged in such practices now, but it did commit these horrendous acts in its past. For a thousand years, its history during the Medieval Age was marked by such atrocities.

All these things are familiar to anyone who

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studied church history. Yet for many people, their knowledge of the Reformation tends to be superficial. Reformers also committed the same cruelties as Catholic authorities had done. In other words, few people actually know about the brutality of the Catholic Church being repeated by some Protestant reformers. For instance, John Calvin, a French reformer, held the divinity of Jesus as a doctrinally indispensable element. But there were others existing then which were denying Jesus’ divinity. So just like the Roman Catholic Church, Calvin also held religious courts to persecute them, condemning them as heretics and burning them at the stake. In those days, religious leaders held that much power.

But do we now have the authority to burn people at the stake for heresy? No, we have no such authority. We are just trying to turn today’s Christians around from their fallacious faith, since they believe in another gospel rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit; we have no right to burn

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them on the stake or beat to them to death for heresy.

But before and during the Reformation, countless religious leaders and many others wielded such power. Today, of course, this is unthinkable as we now live under the rule of secular law, but it was common in those old days.

However, today’s heirs to the Reformation, who teach the faith of the religious reformers as the right faith, blindly reject anyone whose beliefs are different from theirs as a heretic. Long ago, Presbyterians used to accuse Methodists of heresy, Methodists used to denounce Presbyterians as heretics, and they both routinely condemned the Full Gospel Church as a heresy. Every denomination had accused each other of heresy. At least that was the case in Korea. But what’s going on today? As the Full Gospel Church, which is a Pentecostal denomination, grows by leaps and bounds and becomes highly influential, no one dares to condemn it as a heresy anymore. All these denomination now recognize each other as orthodox churches and share

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fellowship with one another.

So from here we draw an important lesson: “Whatever way a leader believes, all his followers are bound to believe in his way. The faith of the leader is crucial. It’s inevitable for his followers to inherit his faith, even if they don’t want this.

Therefore if one clings to his erroneous forefathers of faith, he is destined to turn into a heretic, even if this is not his desire.” Right now, Christianity all over the world has turned into a collective heresy. So we all know very well that it is our calling to turn all these countless people back to the right place. That is why we are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them, and that is why I am now using the example of Jeroboam to explain heresy in detail.

Sometimes we wish we could just say bluntly to these Christian sinners, “You shouldn’t believe like that. You are a heretic,” but with this kind of approach, we can never turn their hearts around.

When someone is completely seized by some mistaken thoughts, it’s hard to change his mind just

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by telling him everything all at once. We can change such people’s minds only when we explain to them step by step, based on the Word, what exactly is wrong with their beliefs. That’s how they come to believe in the Word properly and are thus transformed to reach their salvation.

Even now, countless people are receiving the remission of their sins through our books. While some people receive the remission of their sins after reading just a couple of our books, for most people, it takes five or six books before they can be washed from all their sins. What is frustrating is that although we are now publishing our spiritual growth series, because of financial constraints, we find ourselves unable to share them with as many gospel believers as we would like. Fortunately, however, our books still continue to be translated and uploaded in electronic format, and many have downloaded them.

Realizing how so many people today have fallen into collective heresy, all of us must grasp that it is our calling to pray for them and save them. And we

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should all live our lives for this end.

The reason why we must pray is simple: Because God hears our prayers. Because God hears our prayers, if we pray enough, then God will surely work and answer our prayers. Lately serious tensions had been building up over North Korea’s nuclear program, but South Korea’s Minister of Unification, Chung Dong Young, returned from his latest trip to North Korea with some success, reaching an agreement with Chairman Kim Jong II to foster extensive cooperative exchanges between the two countries. We’ve been praying hard over this issue of North Korea’s nuclear program, and it seems likely that God would move Kim’s heart to resolve the issue and prevent war from breaking out in the Korean Peninsula. I thank God for this.

Likewise, we must always pray to God to save all those who are trapped in collective heresy. When we preach the Word after having prayed, God will turn them around altogether to return to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So far, people have been

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returning one by one, and we’ve been thankful for this, but now in this declining age, it’s very much possible for whole denominations to return altogether. I believe that the day will come when the work of the gospel will unfold in the lives of all these Christians to make them return to the true gospel in droves, saying to us how they had been ignorant all this time, and how they’ve now found the real Truth through our books.

Let us therefore pray for all those who are now trapped in collective heresy, and let us continue to carry out our work of salvation to deliver them all.

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SERMON 3

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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65 Today’s Heretics Who Are Like King Ahab

Today’s Heretics Who Are Like King Ahab < 1 Kings 21:1-26 > “And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, ‘Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.’ But Naboth said to Ahab, ‘The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!’ So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ And he lay down on

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his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, ‘Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?’ He said to her, ‘Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’’ Then Jezebel his wife said to him, ‘You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.’ And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, ‘You have blasphemed God and the king.’ Then take him out, and stone him, that he

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may die.

So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, ‘Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!’ Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, ‘Naboth has been stoned and is dead.’ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, ‘Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.’ So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth

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the Jezreelite. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria.

There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you murdered and also taken possession?’’

And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.’’ So Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ And he answered, ‘I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ And

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concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.’ But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.”

possession? In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours” (1 Kings 21:19). This came to pass exactly as Jehovah had said, as later on, Ahab was killed in the battlefield shot by an arrow while waging war against Syria, and while the chariot stained with his blood was washed in a pool in Samaria, dogs came and licked his blood (1 Kings 22:38). Ahab was the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Jezebel was his wife; they followed the footsteps of Jeroboam and provoked the wrath of God with their greed.

From today’s Scripture passage, I would like us to reflect on the sins of Ahab and Jezebel. To expropriate Naboth’s vineyard by force, King Ahab had solicited perjury from false witnesses, and based on their false accusation, he had Naboth killed. To hold Ahab accountable for this sin, God then told Elijah His servant to deliver the following message to Ahab: “Have you murdered and also taken

The Sins of King Ahab and Jezebel

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As an Israelite, Naboth had the duty to pass to his descendants the vineyard he had inherited from his forefathers. So when King Ahab tried to buy his vineyard, he declined the king’s offer. King Ahab wanted to get his hands on this vineyard so badly that when Naboth rejected his offer, he stopped eating

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68 Today’s Heretics Who Are Like King Ahab

and huddled himself in the bed, as if he were protesting. Seeing this, his wife Jezebel asked her husband King Ahab why he was lying in the bed all day long and had stopped eating. King Ahab then explained to Jezebel that he stopped eating because he wanted to get his hands on Naboth’s vineyard next to the palace, but Naboth refused to sell it to him.

Hearing this, Jezebel promised King Ahab that she would get Naboth’s vineyard for him. Frustrated to see her husband acting like a child when he was supposed to be the most powerful man in Israel, and coveting the vineyard herself, Jezebel said to him, “You are the king, and yet can’t you even handle this minor issue? But don’t worry; I will get the vineyard for you.” She then proceeded to implement her scheme. To take away Naboth’s vineyard and give it to her husband, Jezebel conspired with the king’s officers to come up with false accusations against Naboth, had him killed, and then gave the vineyard to Ahab. Later on, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to the vineyard of

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Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

It’s written in 1 Kings 21:17-19: “Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you murdered and also taken possession?’” And you shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.’””

After Ahab murdered Naboth, God sent His servant Elijah and rebuked him, saying, “So now that you’ve murdered, have you also taken possession?”

Of all the sins that Ahab had committed against God, the greatest sin was that he had forsaken Jehovah God to believe in golden calves as his gods, and by leading his people to also believe like him, he had made the people of Israel sin. King Ahab was the man responsible for leading the nation of Israel to

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both physical and spiritual death by triggering the wrath of God and making his people sin against God. Beginning from Jeroboam, all the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel committed the sin of idolatry, and they all made their people sin against God as well.

What’s so unique about this sorry history is that once Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, committed such sins against God, it became a matter of course for all the kings who succeeded Jeroboam to commit the same sins he had committed against God without any hesitation. The sins that these kings of Israel committed against God were the very sins that led to the destruction of the entire nation of Israel. The greatest of these sins was deceiving the people into believing that the golden calves were the gods of Israel. So when Ahab killed Naboth, God said that He would kill Ahab and also bring the same curse upon all the children of his house. And here in verse 22, God explained to Ahab the reason for his death by saying, “Because of the provocation with which

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you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.”

Even though the people of Israel had all witnessed how Jehovah, the God of their forefathers, was alive and working for them now as before, and despite the fact that not too long ago, Elijah had shown them all to see clearly that Jehovah was the true God of Israel by defeating 850 prophets of Asherah and Baal in a contest of faith, tragically and sadly, the Israelites were still worshiping golden calves as the gods of Israel. King Ahab, following the sins of Jeroboam, had also worshiped golden calves as his gods, and with this idolatry he was leading the entire nation of Israel to destruction. This sin alone was enough to provoke God’s wrath, but now, Ahab went as far as killing an innocent man—Naboth, just so that he could take possession of his vineyard. Such a sin is an extremely grievous sin that directly challenges Jehovah God. It breaks my heart even more to see how such fallacious faith and beliefs are also found across today’s Christian communities.

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Naboth’s vineyard was located next to the palace of Ahab. Every spring, the vineyard blossomed and grapes began to grow, and by late summer, the air was filled with the sweet smell of ripe grapes. As its owner Naboth was a hardworking farmer, he cultivated the field diligently to yield abundant grapes. But King Ahab wanted to seize this vineyard for himself, and this was his sin. He wanted to get hold of Naboth’s vineyard so badly that he was even willing to use force. At first, though, he tried to buy it from Naboth. But Naboth refused to sell his vineyard. Ahab should have just given up this vineyard then. After all, weren’t there plenty of vineyards in Israel other than Naboth’s? But once Ahab set his eyes on this vineyard, he wanted to take it by whatever means. So as he couldn’t get the vineyard with money, he ended up killing Naboth, and God was provoked to great wrath by this atrocity. As if all the sins that King Ahab had committed so far weren’t enough, he now went as far as killing Naboth, one of God’s people.

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So Jehovah God then decided to kill King Ahab.

“So have you now killed one of My people like this?

Alright then, you will now die at My hands. Not only will I kill you, but I will also kill every man in your house. I will spare no one, not even one man!” Of the past kings of Israel, there was no one who had worshiped idols and submitted to these idols as eagerly as Ahab had done so. God said that King Ahab sinned like this because he was stirred up by Jezebel’s provocation (1 Kings 21:25). In other words, Jezebel his wife had made King Ahab worship golden calves and pagan gods even more King Ahab had become a slave to his wife.

Like everyone else in this world, the righteous also have families, and for the homes of the bornagain saints, the right thing to do is to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and live by faith united in one heart. King Ahab’s life, in contrast, was constantly stirred up into evil acts by his wife Jezebel’s enticements. To this Ahab, God said that dogs would lick his blood at the same place where

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Naboth’s blood was shed. This was God’s just judgment. And God also cursed Jezebel, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel” (1 Kings 21:23). Just as God had said, Jezebel’s body was indeed entirely devoured by dogs, leaving nothing behind but her skull, feet, and palms (2 Kings 9:35).

God had also said that He would kill every male from Ahab’s offspring and spare none, and this Word was also fulfilled exactly as it was said. Every prophetic Word of God was fulfilled. This was the wrath of Jehovah God brought upon Ahab and Jezebel for their sins. The just curse of God had descended on King Ahab’s home. This whole incident shows that God will also bring down His wrath on those who stand against the gospel of the water and the Spirit today. We must realize here clearly that the wrath of God awaits all who follow the sins of Jeroboam.

The Lord said, “I am the vine, and you are the branches.” The vine here refers to the Lord Himself,

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and its branches refer to the members of God’s Church—that is, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When God judged this world with water, Noah was saved by His grace, and when he began his second life, he also cultivated vines. The spiritual implication here is that the servants of God have always led His Church. The vineyard symbolizes God’s Church, and Naboth was a servant of God carrying out His work. King Ahab, on the other hand, symbolizes those who are now persecuting God’s Church. Even today, people like King Ahab are trying to buy God’s Church with their money, and when this does not work out, they resort to persecution—for this they will all face God’s terrifying punishment. These people are also trying to destroy God’s Church, as well as preaching a false gospel rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, as if their gospel were the gospel of Truth.

Today, those who obstruct the gospel of the water and the Spirit from being spread are trying to take possession of God’s Church by force and kill His

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servants. Such heretics will all face the just judgment rendered by God. That’s because these people neither know the Lord nor the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and they have the faith of the heretics who have replaced Jehovah God with golden calves and worship these golden calves instead. Today’s Scripture passage makes it clear that God will infallibly judge and destroy all these heretics who, in their ignorance of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, believe in a false gospel and are standing against the righteousness of God, His servants, and His people.

King Ahab was cursed and killed by Jehovah God for robbing Naboth of his vineyard. Likewise, God is saying that He will also render His just judgment on all those who blaspheme His Church today—that is, all those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, stand against God, and try to destroy His people. Whoever is worshipping a golden calf as his god does not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given to mankind, and therefore

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all such people are heretics just like Ahab. Even though these people claim to believe in Jesus as their Savior, when the Antichrist emerges, they will invariably side with him. God is saying here that He will surely punish these heretics who murder the righteous.

You Have to Reject Even Your Own Wife’s Advice If It Does Not Accord with the Righteousness of God Ahab was a man easily stirred up by his wife into doing anything she bid him to do. As a result, he ended up following the sins committed by Jeroboam and turned into a typical heretic, replacing Jehovah God with golden calves and worshiping idols instead.

It’s also said in the Bible that Ahab loved his wife Jezebel more than anyone else. A heretic is someone who loves another human being more than God, who cherishes the words of another person more than the ◄

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Word of God, and who values the things of the world more than God. It’s such people whom God calls heretics. Ahab provoked the wrath of God because he had unquestionably accepted whatever his wife said, including even her fallacious beliefs.

Of course, if your wife says something that’s right and in accordance with the Word of God, then you should listen to her closely and accept her advice, but if it’s not, then you should reject her advice and teach her rightly. Both you and your spouse should correct each other’s mistakes. If your wife’s advice is beneficial to spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you should accept her words. But there has to be some limits on what is acceptable when it comes to other types of advices that are carnally oriented. Since women are the weaker vessels, if your wife makes some demands that aren’t to your liking, you can still accept them to a certain extent as long as they are not too unreasonable. However, if you submit to your wife even when she demands you to worship idols rather than God, then you are

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surrendering yourself to evil. You have to be very careful about this and reject it, or otherwise you will become just like King Ahab.

Even among the servants of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, quite a few people ended up perishing in both body and spirit from accepting their wives’ advices too easily. Some people unquestionably accept everything their wives say 100 percent, but spiritually speaking, such people are today’s Ahabs. Even among the righteous, there are many brothers who let their Jezebel-like wives push them around. Many of my own acquaintances ended up facing spiritual death all because of their Jezebellike wives. I just can’t understand these men no matter how hard I try. These men are prone to accept their wives’ words at face value even when their wives stir their thoughts in the wrong direction. So you have to be very careful.

There was a man in our gathering who, after ministering with us for a while, left us to go on his way. I was told that he used to call his wife a holy

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woman. I was shocked to hear that. Who on this earth would call his own wife a holy woman? How could anyone say this, unless he loved his wife too much and worshiped her like an idol? Given how every husband knows all about his wife’s blemishes, and how every wife also knows all about her husband’s flaws, how can anyone be a holy man or a holy woman? So what does it mean when someone calls her wife a holy woman despite all this? Do you think it’s right to exalt your own wife with your lips like this? What is then the hidden motivation behind describing one’s own wife as a holy woman? Isn’t it just another way of demanding recognition from everyone else to approve one’s own wife as a holy woman? The minister in question must have seen his own wife as a holy woman, though this was never true in my view. Such people are easily stirred to emotion, by their wives in all aspects of life by only being led to sin.

That’s why the servants of God have the following admonishment for such men: “If you say and believe

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in such things, you will perish away in both body and spirit. But it’s not too late yet; you have to wake up even now. Don’t worry about your mistakes, as they will be all forgiven. What’s important is that you have to pay attention to the relationship with your wife now. We will tell you what is right, and so listen to the words of the servants of God, and as you carry on with your life, keep their advice in mind.” For those who have already fallen deep under their wives’ control, however, even such words of admonishment unfortunately fall onto deaf ears.

There also are some brothers whose spiritual fellowship with the servants of God ends up lost once they hear their wives’ words. In such cases, their previous fellowship with God’s servants is rendered all useless. When the servants of God painstakingly explain to them what is really right for hours, they say at first that they now understand the will of God. But once they talk with their wives just for half an hour, they make a complete U-turn to change their minds. It’s a mystery to me how anyone can accept

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his wife’s words so unquestionably. In some ways, such men may seem admirable, but when viewed spiritually, we can see that they are actually complete fools. In certain lights it seems as though they are much better than me. But spiritually speaking, I just can’t understand them. I keep wondering, “How can these men listen to their wives so well, and yet don’t listen to the servants of God?” It’s very likely for such people to be unable to unite with God’s Church and end up leaving the Church. But it’s actually better for God’s Church to be without them, as it can carry out God’s work better.

The Curse That Is Prepared for Those Who Follow the Sins of Jeroboam out of Their Own Volition Knowing what they had done, Jehovah God got really angry with Ahab and Jezebel. So He decided to kill them. God then called His servant Elijah and told

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him to say the following to them: “‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field” (1 Kings 21:21-24).

This passage means that spiritually speaking, God saw Jezebel like a dog. Since she had stirred her husband to do all these evil things, Jezebel was more abominable than Ahab in the sight of God. God’s wrath was so great that even if He killed them both and wiped out all their children, His anger could hardly have been pacified. Yet despite this, God had given them a chance to repent by giving them a warning, in case they might turn around and return to

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Him. But far from repenting, Ahab and Jezebel murdered Naboth, an innocent man, and so God let the dogs devour all the flesh of Jezebel in the city of Jezreel.

Even though we are insufficient in our flesh, we can’t forsake the holy Jehovah God and worship golden calves instead. The Lord is our everlasting Savior and Master. Jesus Christ has forever saved us from our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Just because we stumble on our way from time to time while following the Lord, can we really replace Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit with golden calves and worship them instead? Even if our pride is hurt a little, can we really forsake Jesus who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, believe in something else, and thus commit the sin that will not only disappoint God and also make us accursed before Him? No, we can never allow this to happen!

Yet despite this, that is exactly what King Ahab did before God. The transgression that King Ahab

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committed by making Israel sin is none other than the sin of idolatry he committed by following the way of Jeroboam. Jeroboam had sinned by replacing Jehovah God with golden calves, and this sin was the greatest of all sins. Beginning with King Jeroboam, all the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and its people committed this sin. As a result, countless people perished in both body and spirit, unable to receive the salvation of God’s grace. In the end, God even allowed Israel to be conquered by Babylon.

No matter how insufficient we may be before God, we must never follow the sins of Jeroboam. If there are some people among us who have followed the sins of Jeroboam, they must realize what a terrifying punishment is awaiting for them from God and turn around. If we abandon Jesus Christ who came by the water and the Spirit, and instead believe in golden calves and worship them as our gods, then it’s not just we ourselves who will perish, but ultimately, our entire families will also perish. It is not just upon our bodies that death will come, but

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also that our spirits will be forever punished and cursed by God. The sin that’s committed by following the way of Jeroboam leads one to bear the most terrifying punishment of God. The greatest of all sins is replacing the Lord who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit with golden calves and worshiping them instead. This kind of faith is a betrayal to the Lord and a mockery to Him. The sad reality, however, is that just as idolaters and heretics emerged out of those who had once believed in God, it’s those with a crude understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that end up betraying the Lord. It would be better if they were completely ignorant of this gospel, as in this case all that they have to do is just learn.

But because their knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit is only superficial, it’s very easy for them to betray the Lord. This sin of betraying the Lord even after knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the greatest of all sins.

No matter how deeply Ahab, Jezebel, and the

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people of Israel had fallen into sin, they could all have been saved if they had just turned around from their mistaken path. But they didn’t turn around from their worship of golden calves, and that is why their sins reached all the way down to their own descendants. No one who commits such a sin can ever escape the terrifying judgment of God. Worshiping idols before God not just by oneself, but making others to believe in idols like this also, is to heap the wrath of God on oneself, a mortal sin that’s absolutely unforgivable.

Why, then, did Jeroboam worship golden calves not just by himself, but also make others worship them as well? It’s because he wanted to satisfy his own greed. The people of Israel and their leaders committed the same sins as Jeroboam did which he followed to his destruction and were all judged by God for their sin. Of all the people living in Israel, God did not spare any king or spiritual leader who followed the sins of Israel. All such kings and leaders were destroyed in both body and spirit. In today’s

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Christian communities, those who are following the sins of Jeroboam will also face physical and spiritual destruction. They don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor are they God’s people. They are false prophets, who are nothing more than God’s enemies and idolaters of golden calves. They are heretics because they believe differently from the people of God who have received the remission of sin and have become holy.

Among today’s Christians, all of those who, just like King Jeroboam, believe in golden calves as their gods rather than believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are heretics in God’s sight. Christianity in this age is filled with too many heretics who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As there are so many such heretics, unless the very origin as to why their faith is heretical is exposed, they won’t be able to grasp and recognize that they are heretics.

When the nation of Israel was fragmented into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom

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of Israel, the northern kingdom came to worship golden calves as its gods openly, all because its first king Jeroboam followed his own greed. As a result, by the time of Ahab’s rule, all the preceding kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and its people had already turned into heretics before God. But Israel was not alone to turn into a kingdom of heresy. Later on, almost all the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah and its people were also turned into heretics.

Why did this happen in Judah? It’s because the southern kingdom had allowed the fallacious faith of the northern kingdom to come into Judah instead of rejecting it. That’s why among the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah also, there eventually emerged some who walked in the way of Jeroboam.

Such a fallacious faith should have been cut off completely from the beginning never to be allowed to mingle with the true faith. The southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel were spiritual enemies to each other. The Israelites in the northern kingdom were calling golden calves their

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gods. How could such people be God’s people? They were nothing more than God’s enemies. Yet despite this, even as the kings of the southern kingdom knew very well that it was wrong before God to worship golden calves, they made a huge blunder by tolerating this sin instead of rebuking it. The people of the southern kingdom should have completed sealed off the corrupted faith of the northern kingdom from coming in.

Today’s Christian Communities Are Also Overflowing with Such Sins Just like in the days of Jeroboam and Ahab, in this present age also, there are many people who, despite claiming to know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, do not actually serve this gospel by faith, but far from it, go out into the world and live their lives just to satisfy the lust of their own flesh, all the while serving golden calves as their

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gods. When they come across the faithful saints abiding in God’s Church and serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they often mock them with these words: “Listen, I am not serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit now, but I am doing just fine without any punishment from God!” We have to realize that none other than these people are the Jezebels and the Ahabs of today, and we must stay far away from them. We should all grasp that even if they are not punished now, sooner or later, they will all face the terrifying judgment of God for their sins.

In fact, even at this very moment, they are spiritually accursed, and each and every one of them will all be cast into the everlasting fire of hell.

Are these people leading a life of righteousness?

No, absolutely not! That’s why even as they are alive in their flesh spiritually speaking their lives are as good as dead. God said to us, “Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath” (Romans 12:19). Accordingly, we should leave them to God’s hands; while spiritually we should stay away from

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their faith. If the righteous whom believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit join their hearts with those whose faith is like that of Jeroboam, then they will also be destroyed along with these heretics.

That’s because the stain of their wickedness is also smeared on the righteous. In other words, if the righteous stay with the wicked, they will also be cursed by God along with the wicked.

I’ve discovered that today’s Christianity indeed has too many heretics like King Jeroboam. And in the course of my recent research on heresy, I’ve also been reminded once again how both the Old and New Testaments are filled with passages warning about heretics and admonishing us to beware of them. As it’s our duty to turn even such heretics away from their iniquities and lead them to their salvation, we still have to preach the gospel of them as well. While we should also preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to non-Christians to save them from the sins of the world, at the same time, we have to preach this gospel of Truth to the lost Christians who, despite

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professing to believe in Jesus, are actually mired in heresy, so that they may also be saved from sin.

To every Christian around the world, we must now raise the following question: “Have you really been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” And we must preach the true gospel of salvation to them. To save these Christians who still have not been delivered from sin despite professing to believe in Jesus, it’s also imperative for us to offer prayers of intersession on their behalf.

That’s because even though many people believe in Jesus as their Savior, they don’t really believe in Jesus properly, who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even for present-day Christians, if they believe in Jesus without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit the Lord has given to us, then they are heretics before God. And if some Christians who profess to know this gospel of the water and the Spirit just by their lips don’t serve this gospel by faith and instead serve their own greed, then they are also heretics. So we must save all these people, too.

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Preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all such people, we must save them from the sins of the world.

We don’t have that much time left before the Lord’s return, as disasters have begun to strike everywhere around the world. We are now living in the very age of sorrows written about in Matthew, chapter 25. Not too long ago Kashmir, a border region between Pakistan and India that was struck by a devastating earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale. Many inhabitants there perished from this earthquake. As I watched the tragedy unfolding on TV, I saw that most of the buildings in the stricken region were actually sturdy buildings built with concrete and steel, but they had all collapsed.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale can easily bring down this church building, and none of us here would survive.

Countless people around the world are now dying from earthquakes. The scale of natural disasters breaking out across the world has increased so much

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that nowadays, a few casualties resulting from minor earthquakes, floods, and other such disasters are no longer considered newsworthy. In these days, even a few hundred casualties are not that shocking anymore, as the death toll from the latest disasters now reaches thousands and tens of thousands all at once. It seems that such disasters have now become rather common to witness. It’s getting so bad that sometimes we even hear of such disasters several times in just a week. If the massive earthquake that struck Kashmir were to occur in Korea, I won’t be surprised to see the death toll reach a million. But thankfully, such things have not occurred yet, as God has protected us. But consider the possibility here.

Just how many people are living in Seoul, the capital of South Korea? That city alone has over ten million residents, and when the metropolitan area is included, the population exceeds 20 million. So in this light, it’s not that hard for a million people to die from an earthquake. If Seoul is ever stricken with this kind of disaster, it will take more than a month just to

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recover all the dead bodies.

Now in this time, when such natural disasters are striking so often all around the world, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must spread the news of salvation to the heretics trapped in the sins of Jeroboam, and we must save them once and for all through this true gospel.

Although I used to preach about heresy from time to time before, I didn’t preach about this issue that often and devote very much attention to it. But now, I can’t put off preaching about heresy any longer, as it is our duty to save all these Christians trapped in heresy.

You may still have some lingering doubts and wonder if there really are so many heretics like Jeroboam in today’s Christian communities. Make no mistake about it; there indeed are many such heretics.

The problem, however, is that these Christians don’t even realize that they themselves are heretics before God. Strangely, many of them not only have no idea that they are actually heretics before God, but even worse, they actually think that they are orthodox

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Christians. Nevertheless, those who profess to believe in Jesus without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot deny the fact that their sins remain intact in their hearts. When they ask themselves whether they have sin or not, they themselves know very well that they have not received the remission of sin, and hence have nothing to do with God. That’s because those whose hearts still remain sinful are completely irrelevant to the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

They are hypocrites who, isolated in their own little world called Christianity, only try to keep religious rituals. They pray to God rather pretentiously, saying, “We give thanks to the holy, merciful, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and forever living Lord who has become our Shepherd.”

Like this, these people are very articulate with their words and their prayers sound impressive, but in spite of all this, they’ve become heretics before God in the end, all because they don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord.

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Since their sins still remain intact in their hearts, they are nothing more than heretics. But what’s even more tragic is that these Christians actually have no idea that they themselves are heretics. They have this mistaken notion that as long as they believe only in the blood of the Cross then they are all orthodox believers. They think erroneously that even though their hearts remain sinful, if they can recite the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer well, and just believe in the blood of the Cross then they are not heretics. However, no matter how well they recite the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer; no matter how beautifully they pray and praise during the worship hour; no matter how many good deeds they do in service of others; and no matter how ardently they believe in the blood of the Cross, as long as their hearts have sin, they are still heretics. Since many of today’s Christians do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they have not received the remission of sin, and so they are instead just making a mockery out of the love of God. That is why these

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Christians are heretics. There are so many such heretics among today’s Christians.

This is the most important problem that today’s Christianity is facing. It’s a problem plaguing not just Christians in Korea, but Christians all around the world. So step-by-step, I am determined to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit proclaimed by the Word of God. Our spiritual battle is waged until the day the Lord returns, and therefore we must brace ourselves for this war not as sprinters, but as marathon runners. That’s why whenever I preach the Word, I look far into the future and focus on a topic that’s appropriate for the times. I have to take into consideration how the prevailing undercurrent of this world is changing, and preach the Word of God that’s fitting to the times we are living in.

Now as before, I will continue to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to every Christian.

Spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit tirelessly through my literature ministry, I will continue to guide those who believe in this gospel to

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receive the remission of sin, and to those who have already been born again, I will continue to nurture them by preaching the Word of faith. Then across the entire world, there will arise saints and God’s servants, and as their hearts are changed little by little to attain spiritual discernment and stand firmly as the people of faith, the gospel of the water and the Spirit will also be proclaimed through them as well. The Kingdom of God will then expand on this earth.

Unlike some other, so-called Christian “leaders,” we have absolutely no intention to just seek our own fame, branching out abroad and holding revival meetings around the world just for the sake of vanity.

Until the day we die, we must live on this earth as the light of the world, trusting in and spreading the gospel of Truth, the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must live to proclaim this gospel of the water and the Spirit that can save everyone today trapped in Jeroboam’s sins. Together with you, I will continue to carry out this work of saving souls.

The Bible says that Ahab’s transgression was

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making the people of Israel sin. This is the sin of walking in the way of Jeroboam. Today’s Christian leaders are also committing the same sin. They are leading Christians to the fallacious faith of heresy, and none other that this is the greatest of all sins.

Although their individual flaws are also problematic, even more problematic than these shortcomings is that they are misleading their own congregation. And this sin cannot be forgiven by God’s grace. It would not be such a huge concern if they were just heading to hell all by themselves, but they are actually killing other souls as well, and in God’s sight, this sin is far graver than any other sin. We must never allow ourselves to commit such a sin before God. Instead of pretending to be so holy, today’s Christian leaders must reflect for themselves on the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and verify if their faith is indeed upright or not before God. Pastors shouldn’t just be pleased in self-complacency to be respected by the people of the world, but they must instead ask themselves whether they are really leading other

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souls properly to enable them to receive the remission of sin and enter Heaven.

Today’s Christianity abounds with heretics following the sins of Jeroboam, and if we also end up believing like them, then we ourselves will also turn into heretics before God. Far from following their faith, we must show our faith to these heretics. The Lord said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). There is no need for us to intentionally sow enmity with the people of the world. However, if they approve us even when we believe in and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then this can only mean that we are spiritually the same people as those who are doomed to hell. We must bear witness of our faith clearly through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And we must testify that any gospel other than this gospel has all come out of Satan. The Lord told us to beware of false prophets and stay away from them, and I believe that this counsel is right in every aspect.

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As Ahab walked in the way of Jeroboam before God, he ended up killing all his children. If Ahab had really loved his wife and his children, not to mention himself, then he should have never followed the sins of Jeroboam as he did. Even if he were to be denounced by others, he should have trusted in the true sacrificial system established by God and stood firmly before Him by faith. He should have thus saved his wife and his children, and delivered his people as well. This was his duty as their king, for when just one king goes astray, the people also go astray.

If today’s Christian leaders go spiritually astray, then everyone who attends that church is bound to go astray as well. This shows just how heavy a leader’s responsibility is. That’s why the servants of God are of the highest calling to have been entrusted with the utmost duty from God to guide their followers’ souls properly. Spiritual ambassadors must teach the spiritual lessons of their Lord clearly. They should never let the people of God fall into the sins of

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Jeroboam and cause them to sin.

Words cannot express just how thankful I am that Jehovah God has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and that He has become our own God. And I cannot thank Him enough that He has also entrusted us with this work of saving all those trapped in heresy. Trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, let us then also rise up to the challenge of this work which lies ahead of us by placing our faith in the righteousness of God and let us all carry out this work diligently to save everyone mired in the faith of heresy from all the sins of the world.

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SERMON 4

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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There are God’s Servants Still Remaining On This Earth < 1 Kings 22:1-40 > “Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, ‘Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?’ So he said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?’ Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.’ Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.’ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four

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hundred men, and said to them, ‘Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?’ So they said, ‘Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.’ And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?’ So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.’ And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say such things!’ Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, ‘Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!’ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians

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until they are destroyed.’” And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, ‘Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king’s hand.’ Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, ‘Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.’ And Micaiah said, ‘As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.’ Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?’ And he answered him, ‘Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!’ So the king said to him, ‘How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?’ Then he said, ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in

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peace.’’ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?’ Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’

Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.’

Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said,

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‘Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?’ And Micaiah said, ‘Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!’ So the king of Israel said, ‘Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, ‘Thus says the king: ‘Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.’’’ But Micaiah said, ‘If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.’ And he said, ‘Take heed, all you people!’ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.’ So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, ‘Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.’ So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw

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Jehoshaphat, that they said, ‘Surely it is the king of Israel!’ Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, ‘Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.’ The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, ‘Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!’ So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria.

Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the

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LORD which He had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.”

Today’s Scripture passage from 1 Kings 22:1-40 describes King Ahab’s death. This passage tells us that King Ahab was killed because he ignored the words of God’s servant. Ahab was the king of Israel, the northern kingdom, while Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah the southern kingdom. These two kings had joined their forces to attack Syria, but in the course of the battle, King Ahab was shot to death.

Just as Micaiah had prophesied the will of the Lord, God, Ahab was defeated and died in the battlefield.

As we know very well, after King Jeroboam established the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he ended

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up replacing the God of Truth with golden calves to consolidate his reign and meet his carnal ambitions.

He provoked the wrath of God by appointing ordinary people into the priesthood to offer sacrifices to these golden calves, and he turned into a heretic by also changing the date of the Day of Atonement. As the people of Israel blindly followed Jeroboam to wherever he led them, they came to practice evil, and consequently they had to be judged by God for their abominable sins. Because they had willingly followed the sins committed by Jeroboam, the God of Truth was provoked to anger at all the people of Israel and its kings. God then decided to judge those who were following the sins of Jeroboam, both physically and spiritually. However, there were countless kings and people in Israel who followed the sins of Jeroboam. So to make them turn around from this offence, God allowed extraordinary trials and suffering to descend on them.

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King Ahab Brought on War Although war broke out frequently between Israel and Syria, for three years before Ahab’s death, there was no war at all. Usually, these conflicts were onesided, often triggered by Syria’s invasion and raiding of Israel. But every time the people of Israel faced a dire situation, God had sent His servants to rescue them and solved all their problems.

This time, however, it was King Ahab himself who wanted to wage a war against Syria. This was brought about by God’s permission. The background to the war is as follows: For quite some time, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah and Ahab the king of Israel both had wanted to recover Ramoth Gilead, a city that was lost to Syria. Ahab the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel then said to Jehoshaphat the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, “Wasn’t Ramoth in Gilead originally our territory, but it now belongs to Syria? How can we then sit idle?” As King Jehoshaphat agreed with King Ahab, they

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decided to go to war against Syria.

Here we see that both kings were engaged in an incomprehensible behavior. Since King Jeroboam and the people of Israel had worshiped golden calves as their gods before the Lord God, they were fated to be hated by Him. In contrast, the Southern Kingdom of Judah had adhered to the God-established sacrificial system and His statutes until then, and its people were still abiding by them. Unlike the kings of Israel, in other words, no king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah had replaced the Lord God with golden calves yet, and therefore Judah and its people were able to remain as God’s cherished nation and His people.

However, King Jehoshaphat of Judah was now collaborating with the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel despite the abominable sins it was committing against God, and this was also a grievous offence. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was still worshiping the golden calves abhorred by God, and it had undermined His Law by changing His priesthood

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to be filled by ordinary people rather than the descendants of Levi. That the people of Israel had replaced the Lord God with golden calves and believed in them instead was a mortal sin that deserved the punishment of hell from God. Such sins had originated from King Solomon’s marriage to foreign women. It was because of these Gentile women who came into Israel that King Solomon and the people of Israel were exposed to countless idols. On account of this sin committed by King Solomon, God split the nation of Israel into two.

Thus, Jeroboam became the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but just like Solomon, he also committed grave sins before God. What was worse is that the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and its people did not even realize that they were committing such grave sins. Therefore, they couldn’t turn around from these sins and return to God. On the other hand, King Jehoshaphat of the Southern Kingdom of Judah knew very well that the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were

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following the sins committed by King Jeroboam, and yet despite this, he maintained an open relationship with the Northern Kingdom, and so the Southern Kingdom of Judah came to increasingly resemble the Northern Kingdom in committing sin. Although it’s hard for human beings to collaborate in good deeds, when it comes to committing sin, there is a marked tendency for them to collaborate with one another easily and resemble each other.

However, there still were God-established servants in Israel. Knowing the sinfulness of the nation, these servants of God were calling for repentance. Always standing on God’s side, they were rebuking the sins of their people and fulfilling their ministry. However, since the faith of the kings of both kingdoms of Israel and Judah were virtually identical, it wasn’t hard for the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to join hands with the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and wage war against Syria in an alliance. But Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, still did not believe in the golden calves as

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God, and so before going to war against Syria, he suggested of King Ahab to seek counsel first from the servants of God and ask them about His will. So the two kings came to call God’s servants and ask them about His will.

Were There God’s Servants Delivering His Will?

At that time, there were no less than 400 so-called prophets in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Before going into the battlefield, King Ahab sought to ask these 400 prophets what the will of God was. Then a prophet named Zedekiah made iron horns, and he said that the kings would win this war, prophesying, “With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed” (1 Kings 22:11). All the remaining 400 prophets said the same thing as the prophet Zedekiah.

As their prophecies were invariably the same, it seemed as though there was no need to inquire about

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the will of the Lord God any further.

However, King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked King Ahab, “Isn’t there another prophet in this kingdom of whom to inquire?” King Ahab then answered, “Yes, there still is one more man.” “Who is he?” “He is a prophet named Micaiah, but he has never prophesied anything good about me. So it’s useless to ask him.”

But still, Jehoshaphat pressed Ahab to call the prophet Micaiah and inquire him about the will of the Lord God. King Ahab then sent one of his men to Micaiah.

When the messenger sent by the king met the prophet Micaiah, he said to him, “Four hundred prophets have already prophesied unanimously that the king would win the war. So please prophecy the same as they did.” But Micaiah said, “I cannot do such a thing before the Lord, God. I will prophesy exactly according to what the Lord God says.” When the prophet Micaiah was brought to King Ahab, at first he said, “Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!” These words, however,

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were not spoken sincerely.

So the king asked the prophet Micaiah to tell the truth, saying, “Don’t lie to me now. Tell me the real will of the Lord, God. Speak the truth and tell us whether God has, indeed, said that we would win this battle. How many times do I have to ask you before you relay the will of the Lord to me exactly?” The prophet Micaiah then prophesied the will of God truthfully, saying, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep have no master. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’” In other words, Micaiah was saying that the king would die in battle if he went ahead with this war.

When we turn to 1 Kings 22:19-23, we see Micaiah saying the following: “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and

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another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

With these words, the prophet Micaiah delivered the will of God clearly to King Ahab and Jehoshaphat.

The prophet Micaiah had seen God sitting on His throne in Heaven, flanked by all the host of Heaven on both sides. In this vision he had heard the Lord, God, saying, “Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead to his death?” Micaiah then saw one of the heavenly spirits serving God stand before Him and heard him say, “I’ll be a lying spirit in the mouths of all Ahab’s prophets. I will entice King Ahab to covet Ramoth in Gilead, so that he would wage war and die from the battle.” The prophet

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Micaiah made the will of God known to King Ahab.

He explained how the spirits in Heaven had consulted before the presence of the Lord, God, and he relayed His will clearly to King Ahab. He said to King Ahab, “If you go into this war, you will not return alive. All those 400 prophets of Israel lied in unison because a spirit of God had become a lying spirit in their mouths and made them lie to you.”

Then Zedekiah, the representative of the 400 prophets of Israel, confronted Micaiah and slapped his face, saying in indignation, “When did the Lord God leave me to go and speak to you?” There are many false prophets like this Zedekiah among today’s Christian leaders who have turned into heretics. Micaiah said, “You will see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide. You will see whether my words are fulfilled or not. The day will come when you will hide in an inner room, and you will see my words fulfilled exactly.”

King Ahab was extremely enraged to hear this. He was infuriated because unlike the 400 prophets of

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Israel, who had all prophesied good things for the king, the prophet Micaiah alone was prophesying ominous things for him.

There is an important message pointed out here that we must all grasp. Just as all the 400 false prophets in today’s Scripture passage approved King Ahab’s plan of war, so do all the Christian leaders of today say that one can be saved just by believing in the blood of the Cross, alone. However, if you believe as they teach, you will end up standing against the gospel of the water and the Spirit and be cast into hell.

There is only one Truth of salvation that God has given to mankind, and it is this gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Bible makes it clear that it is not through the blood of the Cross alone that God has brought salvation to mankind, for He has given us true salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit (1 John 5:7-8). In John 3:1-16, Jesus Himself said that unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he is unable to enter the Kingdom of God, nor

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see God the Father.

Therefore, if Christians today believe in Jesus as their Savior without having any faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then they cannot be saved from their sins. If you are one of such Christians, you have to realize that you can be saved only if you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Moreover, before you are washed from your sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you can neither receive the Spirit of God nor enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It may be very hard for nominal Christians to accept this Truth at once. But, just as the words of the Prophet Micaiah exposed the lying words of Zedekiah the false prophet, the words of those on this earth that believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are stumbling blocks to today’s false prophets.

God said that although He is willing to bestow His infinite mercy even amid His wrath, He is not willing to overlook the sins of those who believe in any gospel other than the gospel of the water and the

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Spirit. Many Christians today, Evangelicals in particular, say that they’ve received the remission of sin into their hearts by believing in the gospel of the blood of the Cross, alone, rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But have they really been able to blot out their hearts’ sins? No, absolutely not!

On the contrary, God judges precisely those who make such a groundless claim for their sins. That’s because if anyone believes that the blood of the Cross, alone, constitutes his salvation, then this means that his sins clearly remain intact in his heart, and he is ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, it is the real will of God for everyone to receive the remission of sin not by believing in the gospel of the Cross, alone, but by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

God has given us faith in His baptism through which Jesus Christ bore our sins and His blood on the Cross. This Truth is contained wholly in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In this age, there are many people who say that they’ve been saved from sin just

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by believing in Jesus’ blood on the Cross, alone.

However, the real gospel is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Lord has given to all mankind once and for all. The gospel of the water and the Spirit does not teach us to believe just in the blood of the Cross. The Lord is saying that He has saved us from all the sins of this world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus is now asking whether you believe in His baptism that He received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross.

God is the Savior who, in spite of His wrath toward sinners, still has given the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them. So in the case of King Ahab, also, it was God’s desire for him to turn around from his worship of golden calves, save his soul, lead the people of Israel properly, and return back to God to live before His presence. In other words, to lead the king of Israel and its people to the way of life, God had continued to offer them a chance to repent through the prophet Micaiah.

But King Ahab did not accept into his heart the

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Word of God prophesied by the prophet Micaiah. On the contrary, he actually stood against the words of the true prophet. By then, there was already no room in his heart to accommodate the Word of God. Because King Ahab was solely interested in serving golden calves and maintaining his fame and power, he did not take heed of what the prophet Micaiah the servant of the Lord God was saying to him, and instead, he ordered him to be imprisoned.

Despite rejecting Micaiah’s warning, however, King Ahab was still nervous, and so he went into the battlefield disguised as a common soldier. He said to King Jehoshaphat, “You should go into battle in your royal robs; I will go disguised as a common soldier.”

Before going into battle, the king of Syria, Israel’s enemy, had ordered his officers to kill only Ahab the king of Israel. So the Syrian military officers set out to search for King Ahab in the battlefield, and they saw someone riding a chariot. Thinking that he was Ahab, they all converged on him, but this man on the chariot was actually Jehoshaphat. Seeing the Syrian

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chariots coming after him, Jehoshaphat fled for his life in fear. The Syrian soldiers were probably shouting out, “There is King Ahab! Kill him!”

Jehoshaphat then turned around and saw that they were gaining on him. So he cried out, “I am not King Ahab! I am Jehoshaphat!” The Syrian soldiers were in hot pursuit trying to kill him, but once they got near him and realized that he was not King Ahab, they turned around.

However, Ahab was still killed in the battlefield just as the prophet Micaiah had prophesied: “Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, ‘Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.’ The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, ‘Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!’”

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(1 Kings 22:34-36).

One of the Syrian soldiers had shot an arrow in random, but it had struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Since the soldiers of that time wore armor to protect themselves, most arrows bounced off and didn’t penetrate too deeply even when hit. King Ahab, however, was shot between the joints of his armor, the exact vulnerable spot where the arrow could make its deadly impact. So, wounded in the battle and trying to escape from the enveloping Syrian army, King Ahab then ordered the driver of his chariot, “Take me out of the battle.” However, the fighting was so intense on that day that even the driver of the chariot could not escape from the battlefield, and so Ahab had to continue to fight from his chariot. The battle raged on into the evening, and as King Ahab fought with his deep wound, his blood ran onto the floor of the chariot, and he died in the end.

Now that King Ahab was dead in the battlefield, Israel lost this battle. As the battle drew to its close,

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someone declared the battle to be over by shouting out, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!” All the armies involved in the battle then returned to their respective lands, with the Syrian army returning to Syria, the army of Israel returning to Israel, and the army of Judah returning to Judah. King Ahab was dead, however.

Seeing that their king was dead, the army of Israel brought his body back to Samaria and buried him there. Arriving at Samaria, they washed Ahab’s blood off his chariot at a pool, and dogs licked up his blood. In short, everything had come to pass according to the Word of the Lord God (2 Kings 21:19). And this pool was one frequented by harlots to bathe.

King Ahab died because he had not listened to the prophet Micaiah. Even though his sins were so many that he deserved to die hundreds of times, if he had just listened to the servants of God and followed their advice by faith, then he still could have lived a long and prosperous life. That’s because it’s a joy for God

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to bestow His abundant mercy on even those who deserve to die for their sins and save them. However, if one resists the mercy of God until the end, refuses to believe in it, and stands against it then God infallibly curses all such people exactly as He said. In other words, the justice of God is fulfilled without fail. At the same time, however, while God is the God of justice, He is also the God of mercy.

God has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saved us. The false prophets of this age, however, believe and give testimony to that only the blood of Jesus shed at the Cross of Calvary is the assurance of salvation. In contrast, the servants of God testify that salvation is brought by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Who then are the real born again servants raised by God in this age? In other words, who are the true servants of God like Micaiah in this age, and who are its false prophets like Zedekiah? The real servants of God are those who believe in and bear witness to the gospel of the water and the spirit, and the false prophets are those who

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testify only the blood of the Cross. I hope and pray that you would all realize this truth and find the grace of salvation from God by placing your faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Although the sins that King Ahab had committed against God were more than enough to justify his death, the direct cause of his death lies in the fact that he did not take heed of the Word of God preached by the prophet Micaiah, and instead ignored the will of God. If Ahab had just listened to the prophet Micaiah, and realized that God was about to kill him, he should have turned around and said, “Lord, I have sinned against You.” If he had admitted that it was wrong for him to have followed the sins of Jeroboam, and just turned around and asked for God’s mercy to save him, God would not have killed Him but spared him. Yet despite this, even though God had made His will known to Ahab clearly through the prophet Micaiah, Ahab still ignored Micaiah’s warning. That is why he had to die both physically and spiritually.

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Even in Today’s Christian Communities, the Word of God Is Ignored and Only False Teachings Are Flourishing You probably know just how many Christians there are in this world nowadays. However, most of them are actually following the sins of Jeroboam while claiming to serve Jesus Christ. Even though they worship God in the name of Jesus Christ and call God their Father, in reality, they only demand from God material blessings, physical health, and the power and fame of this world. Despite professing to believe in Jesus, calling on the name of God the Father, and praising and worshiping Him, ultimately, they are the seekers of worldly blessings. Such people’s materialistic faith is placed in a religion called Christianity; it is not the true faith that’s placed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before the presence of God. Unable to be freed from the materialistic beliefs that are so prevalent in the realm of the Christian ◄

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faith, many Christians today are perishing away deceived by false prophets. Their only interest in believing in Jesus is attaining worldly blessings, while they show little interest in how they can be washed from their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord. Invariably, they all believe in Jesus as their Savior just for the sake of their own flesh. Constantly invoking 3 John 1:2, which says, “I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers,” they cherish the so-called “Doctrine of Threefold Blessings” as their golden rule. In other words, they worship God only because they desire to attain such worldly blessings as physical health, riches, fame, and power. As such, Christians with this kind of faith are worshiping a modern version of golden calves only to end up in hell, without even realizing themselves that they are actually following the sins of Jeroboam.

It’s true, of course, that the Lord did in fact say to us, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all

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things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2). But the fact that the Lord wants our souls to prosper before God means that we must first of all be washed from our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only when one receives the remission of sin first is he then qualified to become God’s child and receive all the spiritual blessings of Heaven. In other words, before asking for material prosperity and blessings, we have to receive the remission of sin first by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

But how do most Christians actually believe nowadays? Trapped in a materialistic faith propagated by false prophets, Christians all over the world are oblivious to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the real Truth of salvation, and even when it is preached to them, they remain uninterested. Instead, they just keep holding on to the blood of the Cross of Calvary with their blind faith. What about you then?

Do you believe that Jesus’ blood on the Cross of Calvary alone is what has really washed away your

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sins to perfection? If so, then in all frankness, don’t you know yourself that your sins still remain in your heart even as you believe in the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross?

Among the ministers in today’s Christian communities who believe only in the blood of the Cross, there are many famous preachers. However, since these preachers do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I can say with confidence that they have not really been born again. So they can never wash their congregation from their sins by preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them. What would happen to you if you were nurtured by these kinds of inadequate pastors? Quite naturally, you would remain ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and therefore unable to be truly born again. If a blind man leads another blind man, they are both bound to fall into a ditch and perish away.

Indeed, even at this very moment, many Christian leaders today are actually leading their followers to

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the way of Jeroboam, as these leaders do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and therefore have not been born again, themselves. Just as King Ahab had not listened to the prophet Micaiah’s warning and was destroyed as a result, today’s Christians are also following golden calves just like Ahab with their refusal to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. No matter how ardently these Christians may believe in the blood of the Cross alone, and no matter how they may approve each other’s faith, unless they meet Jesus Christ who came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they will never be approved by God. Even though they may possess all the riches of this world and its splendor for now, they are still facing both spiritual and physical death like Ahab. Since they don’t even want to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they will stand before the presence of God in their sinful state and bear the condemnation of their sins.

If, on the other hand, they now want to receive the remission of sin from God and live a true life of faith,

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then they must look for the servants of God preaching the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit like the prophet Micaiah, listen to the Word of God from them, and believe in this Word. They must thereby hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit preached by these servants with their ears, and they must accept it into their hearts by faith. Whomever that has not been remitted from his sins before God must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as soon as possible. Only then can he really become one of God’s holy people.

Right now, the false pastors in Christian communities whose faith is heretical before God are pretending to be spiritually gifted servants, claiming to have received the gift of healing or the gift of exorcism to their congregation and assuring them confidently. However, these pastors must realize that unless they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, not only will they themselves be destroyed both physically and spiritually, but all their followers will also be cast into hell. That’s because they do not

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know all the righteousness of God, which is the Truth jointly fulfilled by the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, and therefore they have not been able to preach this righteousness properly.

The Reason Why We Believe in Jesus as Our Savior We believe in Jesus, who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, as our Savior. Why do we then believe in Him? We believe in Jesus as our Savior in order to have our souls washed from our sins. In other words, it is to become God’s sinless children by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit He has given us. The purpose for seeking the salvation of our souls from all the sins of the world is to attain truly everlasting life. It’s not just to secure our worldly prosperity and physical health on this earth that we believe in Jesus as our Savior.

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purpose for which He came to this earth is to all humankind from their sins (Matthew 1:21). In other words, the Lord came to this earth to save us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, not just to give us worldly blessings.

The Bible says that everyone born into this world is appointed to die once (Hebrews 9:27). Regardless of how we may live on this earth, this time we spend here on this earth is the window of opportunity for us to be saved from all the sins of the world by God, and it is the time when we must come to know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before God. We must realize and believe in the righteousness of God that Jesus has fulfilled with His water and blood, and we must recognize that only if we live for this righteousness of God will He give us everlasting riches and glory in the next world to come. The purpose for which God has made us believe in Jesus is not to make us prosper on this earth, but it is to make us attain everlasting life by believing in the

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gospel of the water and the Spirit. The blessings that God wants to bestow on those who believe in Jesus are blotting out their sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit and making them His own children, so that they would enjoy His splendor and glory in the next world. And the proper life of the righteous is a life that’s lived to preach to everyone the gospel of the water and the Spirit the Lord has given us.

However, countless Christians today believe in golden calves just like King Jeroboam, in complete irreverence to the will of God. In other words, just like the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel at that time, and just like King Ahab himself, today’s Christians want to prosper just on this earth.

Today’s Christianity Has Been Defiled by the Servants of Satan The New Testament writes about the coming of the lawless one to Christianity. It’s written in 2 ◄

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Thessalonians 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” In other words, God has sent the lawless ones to those who deserve to perish in order to punish Christians who follow the sins of Jeroboam.

God has permitted the lawless ones to come into Christianity because there already are many people inside Christianity committing the sins of Jeroboam.

We see time after time how Christian believers come across the false prophets who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result end up losing all their possessions and standing.

How have the lawless ones worked in Christianity then? The evil spirits enter into the hearts of the

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believers and work in them through the teachings of false prophets in Christianity. God has permitted this.

Why would God the Father then permit such things to happen to Christians who believe in Jesus? That’s because they do not believe in the true love of the remission of sin manifested through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us. Rather than preventing such lawless ones from working in Christianity, God has permitted it and left them alone.

Why then has God allowed this to happen, letting the spirit of Satan to work in those who actually profess to believe in Jesus while leaving non-Christians alone? That’s because instead of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the love of Truth, they would rather prefer power, signs, lying wonders, and all unrighteous deception.

Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must realize exactly how God the Father has saved us from the sins of the world through His Son Jesus Christ, and we must believe in this unwaveringly. It’s absolutely imperative for us to grasp whether our

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Lord has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit or some other gospel, and believe properly. Before we believe in the Lord, we have to realize which gospel is the true gospel; we have to realize whether our Lord has indeed blotted out all our sins with this gospel of the water and the Spirit or not. In other words, you have to be able to discern the gospel of the water and the Spirit from all the other false gospels and believe in the true gospel.

However, for those who have not been born again, it’s hard to find out whether the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the Truth or not. Nevertheless, once they understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit then they can easily realize that the gospel of just the blood shed at the Cross is a false gospel. As such, we must realize first of all that it is through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has saved us from all the sins of the world. God is pleased to teach this gospel to all those who want to know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Our Lord is more than willing to teach this gospel to whoever wants to

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be saved.

Tragically, however, Christians today do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that can bring the remission of sin to them, but instead, they are walking in the way of Jeroboam trusting in golden calves. Of course, it’s true that these Christians also claim with their words that they believe in Jesus in order to be saved from their sins.

But it’s not the case that they have actually been remitted from all their sins once and for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

They are not really concerned about their sinfulness.

As such, it’s a self-evident fact that the purpose for which these Christians believe in Jesus is just to be healed from their physical illnesses, gain material riches, and earn worldly fame, and success. So rather than believing in Jesus as their Savior, they believe in Jesus more as someone who heals their illnesses and makes them rich. This is the kind of God that they want Jesus to be. And it is because so many Christians believe in Jesus for such mistaken

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purposes that Christianity today has not only failed to become the light of the world, but even worse, it is facing so much criticism from the people of the world as a source of its darkness.

Today’s Christians must turn around from their mistaken line of faith. They must first receive their true salvation by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit wholeheartedly, and then become the Lord’s witnesses to spread the true light of salvation to all the other sinners of the world. In God’s sight, those who seek only Mammon are the real heretics.

As such, when God looks at Christians today, those who only seek prosperity in the material realm even as they profess to believe in Jesus are absolutely not the ones who believe in God according to His will. God does not allow any prosperity to such people, not even earthly prosperity, saying, “Since this is how you believe in Me, if I make your body healthy and heal your illness, will you then believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” Even if God really heals these idolaters’ physical illnesses, they

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won’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit from then on, but far from it, they will only want to become even richer and happier, ultimately seeking only the lust of their flesh. So in the end, their own bellies will become their gods, and their hearts will be firmly planted with golden calves.

That is why God rebukes them, saying to them, “When did you ever fear Me? If you really fear Me, you should first believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that I’ve given you. You should thus be washed from all your sins by faith. Only then can you avoid My curses that will descend upon you for having followed golden calves like Jeroboam.” The faith of today’s Christians is wrong in God’s sight.

The will of God is to save us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit and make us His children, so that we would live for His righteousness while on this earth. Despite the fact that the will of God is to make us prosper in the eternal realm to come rather than on this temporal earth, Christians are still asking Him just for worldly

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prosperity on this earth and to heal their physical illnesses. In other words, even those professing to believe in Jesus as their Savior are actually demanding God to let them live a rich and splendid life just on this earth. As such, their faith is not the faith that God really wants them to have. They must throw away such mistaken conceptions and believe in Jesus according to the will of God. Simply put, when God looks at the faith of today’s Christians, He sees that such Christians are not the believers whose faith is in accordance with His righteousness. The Bible says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). God detested it when Solomon worshiped idols, and being unable to tolerate this sin, He split Solomon’s kingdom into two as punishment, so that the Israelites would repent. But despite this, far from repenting, the people of Israel actually felt that God’s punishment was unjustified, and so they sinned even more by directly challenging Him. They replaced God with golden calves, corrupted the God-

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established priesthood, and changed the Day of Atonement set by Him with another date. In short, they changed everything. In the end, they drifted far away from God and committed the offence of standing against His righteousness. So God could not tolerate their sins.

Today’s representatives of such people who walk in the way of sin are none other than Christian leaders. These leaders of Christianity today must examine themselves carefully to see whether or not they really know Jesus Christ and believe in Him, who came by the water and the blood (1 John 5:6).

In the Old Testament, it was Jeroboam, his sons, and his succeeding kings of Israel who had turned into collective heretics before God. These people in Israel, who believed in golden calves as their gods, offered them sacrifices to worship them, replaced priests with ordinary people, changed the date of the Day of Atonement, and put up shrines in lieu of the real Temple of God, were all destroyed generation after generation. King Ahab walked in the same way

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and he was also exterminated by God. Likewise, such people today will also be wiped out by God. King Ahab was killed in battle. What does this tell us? It tells us that Christian heretics will face death like Ahab in the future. If today’s Christians continue to believe in Jesus with the faith of Jeroboam, they will never avoid the just judgment of God. The lesson from today’s Scripture passage is this: Just as God had destroyed Ahab, so will He also wipe out all those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and who, far from believing in the love, salvation, and the blessing of eternal life that God has given, have replaced God with golden calves, seeking only such worldly things as material blessings and physical health on this earth, even as they profess to believe in Jesus. God will send them all to hell.

If Christians today refuse to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and instead stand against the righteousness of God, they will be cursed by God at the end of their lives just like King Ahab and his

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house. Non-Christians who don’t’ believe in Jesus at all are actually better off than these Christians, since they still have a chance to hear and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When these people finally hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the future, all that they have to do is just believe in this gospel properly. To such people who don’t believe in Jesus yet, God will surely provide them with an opportunity to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but to those among today’s Christians who seek only material prosperity and physical health while refusing to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God will pour out eternal curses prepared just for them. Realizing that this is indeed what God has told us, all of us must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit forever.

But what is the faith of most Christians today?

Since they don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they can’t believe in it with their hearts, and what is worse is that they are trying to obstruct

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those who actually want to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You should realize here that God has allowed the lawless ones to work in Christian communities. The Bible says, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). That is why unrighteousness, lying wonders, and all kids of deception abound in today’s Christianity. These things have come from the working of the lawless ones. Who is now working in the lives of the so-called spiritual leaders of Christianity? The evil spirits are working. As a result, such works as false signs and deceptions are flourishing across Christian communities today.

These false prophets lie to people claiming to have received the Holy Spirit even though they have sin in their hearts, and they are also preaching falsely, saying, “If you believe in Jesus, you will be healed

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from your physical illness and be healthy, you will succeed on this earth to be the first rather than the last, your business will flourish, and you will prosper.”

They say, “Since Christians believe in Jesus as their Savior, God the Father always helps them. Even if they have sin, they are still God’s people and His children, for they believe in Jesus. God helps His children unconditionally. So if you pray to God faithfully as good Christians and devote yourself to His service, then you will be blessed by God both materially and spiritually to prosper.”

While leading revival meetings, they also lie as the following: “Those of you who want to be healed today, put your hand on where it hurts. I will pray for you. I command in the name of Jesus Christ, get out all demons of sickness! Let every curse be lifted!

Father, I now ask You to bless them all. I ask You to heal all their illnesses. And I ask You to bestow material blessings on them also, so that all of them may become prosperous and rich.” That’s how they

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pray. They claim that countless people are healed then. And although there are some people who testify that they’ve indeed been healed in this way, most of these cases are actually nothing more than a lie. Such things are all false miracles. It’s an exploitation of group psychology. It’s a collective hypnosis and the work of the evil spirits.

Christians with Superstitious Beliefs Worship Jesus Christ Fervently Only with Their Emotion My fellow believers, Christianity today is now heading irreversibly into a worldly direction, interested only in earthly riches, material success, and physical healing. And such fallacious beliefs are at their pinnacle. In other words, the work of Satan is at its height now. We can see all around us how Christians who have not been born again believe in Jesus so fervently. But when we preach the gospel of

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the water and the Spirit to them, they reject this true gospel saying that it’s too unfamiliar to them.

Trapped by the false prophets, they do not know the real gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and so they must realize that they are actually asking for God’s curses out of their volition.

Unlike today’s Christians, Christians of a generation ago at least agonized over their sins, and their hearts were humble enough that they sought to get the problem of their sins solved when they came to the hour of worship. This does not mean, of course, that they actually knew the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preached it. However, even when a half-gospel was preached to them, they used shed tears in repentance, agonized over their sins, and believed in Jesus as the Savior, but nowadays, it’s hard to find any Christian who is so humble. Many Christians in these days attend church just for worldly purposes, so that they would become rich and their businesses would prosper. Many of them believe in Jesus for the purpose of being healed from

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their physical illnesses and live a long, healthy life.

So Christian leaders today are preaching to their congregations as follows: “The Bible says that just as your soul prospers, you will also prosper in your flesh and all things. If you believe in Jesus, you will be healed from your sickness and whatever you lack then you will have it. If you give your tithe faithfully, you will be blessed by ten-fold. And if you serve your church by faith, you will receive tremendous blessings, and you will become wealthy on this earth.”

Like this, today’s Christianity and its leaders all around the world have been corrupted. In the Early Church era, the gospel of the water and the Spirit had blotted out people’s sins, cleansed their hearts and made them sinless, turned them into God’s children, brought the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts, and led them to live according to the will of God. Today’s Christianity, in contrast, has lost the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So based on corrupted Christian doctrines, it is preaching that only the blood shed at the Cross shall bring salvation. Just as

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Zedekiah and his fellow false prophets had prophesied lies to suit the desires of King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat, today’s pastors who believe in Jesus’ blood on the Cross alone are also preaching only what’s pleasing to the carnal desires of their congregation. In other words, these pastors come before Jesus and pray for the success of their congregation’s businesses and for their physical health.

Of course, even those who really believe in Jesus as their Savior still remain in their flesh, and so they sometimes need to pray for such things of the flesh.

However, the Lord said to us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Before everything else, one must first be remitted from all his sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Only after this should we ask for good health, material needs, and various gifts, for we need such things not for ourselves, but to follow the will of Jesus who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit

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However, those who neither know the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor believe in it are only interested in gaining the riches of this world, rather than seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. In other words, they have no interest in offering a sacrifice of faith to God by trusting in His righteousness, but rather, discarding the fundamental reason for believing in Jesus, they are only interested in the meat offered at the sacrificial altar just like the sons of Eli. Eli’s sons were priests but they were so corrupted that they even embezzled the offerings meant for the Lord.

They used to take the meat from the sacrificial offerings to eat first even before it was offered to God. Sadly, too many leaders in Christian communities around the world are ministering just like this today.

We are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world because it is our responsibility to let every Christian know who heretics really are in today’s Christian communities.

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Every Christian must realize who the real heretics are.

When we examine whether Christians have proper faith or not by the standard of the written Word of God, many of them are actually found to be heretics.

Who should then let them know that they are actually heretics? That responsibility lies with the servants of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit; now it’s their duty to tell such misguided Christians that they’ve fallen into the faith of heresy.

These Christians now trapped in heresy must thus come to realize that they themselves are heretics.

Christians today are prone to accuse one another of heresy. They don’t know who really is a heretic according to the Bible because one is able to give the proper definition of heresy only when he understands the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Bible says that a heretic is someone who has condemned himself even as he professes to believe in Jesus (Titus 3:10). We call God our Father because we have washed away our hearts’ sins and cleansed them away by believing in the gospel of the water and the

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Spirit. In contrast, many Christians who have rejected the gospel of the water and the Spirit make their confession of faith by saying that they’ve washed away their sins just by believing in the blood of the Cross. However, their sins actually remain in their hearts, and therefore it’s unavoidable for them to confess all by themselves: that “I am a sinner.” It’s such people whom the Bible calls heretics.

I raise this question to today’s Christians: “Has the Lord really washed away your sins only with the blood of the Cross?” The true washing of sin is not obtained by believing in this gospel of the Cross alone, but it is attained only by believing in the gospel of the water and the blood, which proclaims that the Lord has washed away our sins with both the baptism He receive from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. When Jesus was baptized, by John the Baptist, he bore all our sins once and for all. With the water of this baptism that He received from John the Baptist, the Lord washed away all our sins. So Christians who don’t believe in

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the gospel of the water and the Spirit are warped and sinning, being self-condemned. Today, those who believe only in the blood of the Cross have drifted far away from the Truth of salvation, the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord. And even as they claim on their own that they’ve washed away their sins with the blood of the Cross, their hearts are actually rotting away. In short, they have turned into spiritual lepers now.

Those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot help but confess that they have not been able to wash away their sins with the blood shed at the Cross, alone. However, because God the Father has already completed our salvation through Jesus Christ with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, whoever believes in this gospel Truth of salvation can be remitted from all his sins. Despite this, many people in Christian communities are still rejecting the gospel of the water and the Spirit out of their ignorance. None other than this is the reason why they are trapped in the sin of self-condemnation.

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In other words, those who reject that God has saved us from all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the very heretics that are sinning against God by not believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. These are the ones whose faith is heretical in God’s sight.

How Did Jesus Christ Blot out Our Sins When He Came to This Earth?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man. And when He turned 30, He fulfilled all the righteousness of God by being baptized by John the Baptist, saying to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). By thus making His Son receive baptism from John the Baptist, letting Him be crucified, and resurrecting Him from death, God the Father fulfilled all His righteousness. To make atonement for the sins of the world, Jesus bore

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the sins by being baptized in the Jordan River. He then was crucified and shed His blood to death, and arising from the dead again, He has become our Savior.

Most Christians today do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us, and so they are rejecting it now. And they say that they have become sinless just by believing in the blood of the Cross, but this is a completely mistaken belief. For nearly 2,000 years until this day, countless Christians professing to believe in Jesus have believed only in the blood of the Cross, but they have always remained sinners. Yet Christians retort by asking what is so wrong about believing in the blood shed at the Cross alone. They say, “Are you then saying that all these countless people who believe in Jesus will go to hell?”

So I am very careful not to let my emotion get a better hold of my words, but instead my words are based on my faith in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. I can therefore say with every

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confidence that these Christians have now actually turned into heretics, for their sins still remain in their hearts even as they profess to believe in Jesus. Even Luther is said to have prayed every morning, “Lord, lead me not into temptation, but wash away my sins.”

This in and of itself is the evidence showing that Luther was also ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Those who believe in only the blood of the Cross rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit are bound to remain as sinners, for their hearts remain always sinful. In contrast, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are, more than able to be saved from sin. No matter how insufficient we may be, if we wholeheartedly believe in and hold on to the Truth that the Lord has blotted out our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can indeed be saved from all our sins. For those of us who believe in this Truth, our hearts have already become sinless through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, as white as snow. As the believers in the

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gospel of the water and the Spirit, there is no sin remaining in our hearts. Because the Lord has blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, those who now believe in this gospel with their hearts are always and forever sinless.

In other words, our sins are not washed away by believing in Jesus’ blood on the Cross alone and offering prayers of repentance on our own to ask Him to wash them away. Rather, the Lord has saved the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by taking upon Himself all our sins of this world once and for all through His baptism which He received from John the Baptist, and by bearing the condemnation of the Cross for these sins of the world to wash them away once and for all. Unless we wash our hearts from our sins by believing in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, which constitute the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then these sins of ours can never be washed away forever.

Jesus Christ came to us by the gospel of the water, the blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:6-8). That is why

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we say that Jesus Christ is our eternal Savior. We believe that He is our true Savior precisely because when He came to this earth, He shouldered the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist in order to save us from these sins, was condemned for them on the Cross, arose again from His death, and has thereby saved us once and for all.

All of us humans were created in the likeness of God. This means by which everyone now is qualified to become God’s children by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It’s for this purpose that God made us. That’s why God the Father sent His Son to this earth and let this Son accept the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, carry them to the Cross, be crucified to death, and arise from the dead again, thus becoming our everlasting Savior. And God has made this Truth known to us and convicted our hearts to believe in it. All of us must know and believe in this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.

You must not believe the prayers of heretical false

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teachers any longer. Even today, these heretical leaders deceive their followers by saying, “At this hour, I would like you to put your hand on where it hurts. By being crucified, our Lord bore all our curses, all sufferings, and all death, and He has healed all our illnesses and made us rich.” If we were following the desires of the flesh, this prayer would be music to our ears. When this prayer is subjected to the Spirit of Truth, it is prayer that will make you walk in the sinful ways of Jeroboam. I admonish you all to no longer be deceived by such prayers and lying words.

When King Ahab refused to listen to the counsel of the prophet Micaiah, he sealed his own fate. With his stubborn disobedience Ahab did not just lead himself to death, but he also drove countless men of his own army and the army of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to death. How could Ahab’s army continue to wage war, when their king was dead? Once the adversaries knew that King Ahab was dead, the Israelites had already lost the battle. Even the officers

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in the Israeli army were paralyzed by fear when they found out that their king was dead, and so there was nothing they could do but flee for their lives.

All because of King Ahab and King Jeroboam, just how many Israelites were led to their own death deceived by their faith? Countless people in the Northern Kingdom of Israel perished both spiritually and physically deceived by these kings. Just how many of them died while battling the army of Syria everyday? Likewise, Christian leaders today are also leading countless believers to hell by rejecting the gospel of the water and the Spirit, believing in only the blood of the Cross, and preaching this false gospel to their congregation.

The false prophets of today residing in Christian communities now are exactly like the 400 prophets that resided in Israel at the time of King Ahab.

Paying no attention to the will of God, they only say what their congregation wants to hear. Just because someone believes in Jesus, is there any guarantee that his business would never go under? Are Christian

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businessmen somehow immune to bankruptcy? Does God never let them go under just because they believe in Jesus? No, it’s complete nonsense!

Nevertheless, we are still preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to these mistaken Christians.

The born-again must unite their hearts with the gospel of the water and the Spirit proclaimed by the Word of God, and with this faith they must fight against the propagators of every false gospel. Do you think that this struggle is unnecessary, and that we only need to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit? However, as there is a saying that if you know the enemy and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles, in order for us to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit even to heretical Christians, we must know their faith, and only then can we overcome them by our true faith. With the Word of Truth, we must save all the heretics that are in Christian communities.

Christianity now is filled with myriads of heretics.

Is this too overwhelming for you? Perhaps you are

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wondering, “Are you then saying that even the religious reformers of the 16th century who launched the Reformation did not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” The answer is yes. These people did not launch the Reformation Movement from the realization of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You may then ask again, “Does this mean that only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are orthodox believers?” Again, the answer is yes. The sinless people who believe in the gospel truth of the water and the Spirit are the only ones that have been saved by Jesus.

Our sole duty is preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone. Then those who would believe will believe, and even those who don’t believe for now will still be saved later on when tribulations come, if they just believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If people believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they will receive the God-given blessings, but if they don’t believe in this gospel, they will be cast into hell to pay the

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wages of their sins. We have to teach Christians the gospel of the water and the Spirit properly. We also have to grasp who the heretics in Christian communities really are, and we must teach this clearly to them.

That’s why I am now addressing the issue of heresy to Christians around the world. Even now, countless leaders in Christian communities are dragging their congregations into hell. It’s because of this that I am preaching the Word of God, so that these people trapped in heresy would be saved.

Just how many Christian believers are now following the sins of Jeroboam? It’s my sincerest hope and prayer that these Christians would all realize that they are now facing terrifying curses from God for worshiping golden calves like Jeroboam, and that one day, they would all believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They must realize that because of their sins, they will be cursed forever in the next world to come. As such, we must have compassion for them, pray for them, and save

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them from their sins and their heretical faith. We must never overlook their ignorance. Instead, we must have compassion for them, pray to God to save them from their sins, and preach to them by faith the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the unwavering Truth of salvation.

It is my hope and prayer that God would enable us to fulfill all this work that’s been entrusted to us, and then we shall be able to stand before the God of Truth as His good and faithful servants. I pray that the blessing of salvation brought by His gospel of the water and the Spirit would also be bestowed on each and every Christian still trapped in heresy. Amen!

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SERMON 5

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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123 Christians Must Now Turn around and Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit

Christians Must Now Turn around and Believe in the Gospel of The Water and the Spirit < 1 Kings 22:51-53 > “Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.”

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Today’s Scripture passage tells us that when Ahaziah, the son of King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel, assumed the throne in Samaria, he walked in the wicked way of his father and mother— that is, he also followed the way of Jeroboam who had made Israel sin—and provoked Jehovah God to anger just as his father had done. Succeeding his father, Ahaziah ruled over Israel for two years, and died from the wound he suffered from a fall. The question here is this: What exactly did he do during his two years of reign? The Bible says that as he walked in the way of his father and mother, in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who had made Israel sin, Ahaziah also worshiped golden calves and thus provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

Among those who followed Jeroboam the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel to assume its throne, there was no king who ever feared Jehovah God and pleased Him. It’s all because these kings followed all the sins committed by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel.

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The Incomprehensible Behavior of the Kings of Israel Why all these kings of Israel perpetuated the sins of Jeroboam time after time is simply beyond my comprehension, no matter how hard I try to understand them. King Ahaziah was no exception; he also emulated the faith of his father and mother and followed the sins committed by Jeroboam. In other words, just like Jeroboam, Ahaziah also presented golden calves to the people of Israel as their gods and told them to worship these idols, thus making them sin. And he made them offer sacrifices to these golden calves to worship them.

King Ahaziah should have known better than anyone else that his own father Ahab was cursed precisely because he had turned into God’s enemy and stood against Him by not heeding to the words of the servant of God and worshiping golden calves. Yet despite this, just like his father, King Ahaziah also worshiped golden calves as his gods, and so on

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account of this sin, he fell through the lattice of his upper room and died from the injury. He provoked God’s wrath by standing against Him even after hearing the warning from Elijah the servant of God. Elijah had said to him in advance, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die’” (2 Kings 1:4).

Jezebel, King Ahaziah’s mother, was killed when her own henchman Jehu rebelled against the house of Ahab, as the eunuchs who sided with Jehu threw her down through the window. Her dead body was then, devoured by the ravenous dogs. There was nothing left of her except for the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands (2 Kings 9:30-35). Ahaziah had seen how his father suffered a miserable death for standing against God with his worship of golden calves, and so he should have thought better than to perpetuate his father’s sins, realizing, “My father died like this because of his idolatry. Once I assume the throne, I will never commit such a sin before God.

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For the sake of my children, the people of Israel, and Jehovah God, I will not worship golden calves.” But Ahaziah was so foolish that during his two years of reign as the king of Israel, he worshiped idols just like his parents, walking in their way and the way of Jeroboam, the son of Neboth, who had made Israel sin. Almost all the kings that succeeded the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel followed the sins of Jeroboam with their idolatry. It’s as if they were all determined to commit the most accursed sin of all before God. The Bible writes that these kings of Israel continued to sin and walked in the way of Jeroboam endlessly, even as they were harshly rebuked by God. This shows just how important early education is, and how critical it is to be educated properly at home.

The environment in which a child grows up has an immense influence on his later life. In China, for instance, there is a famous story about the extent to which the mother of Mencius, one of the greatest Confucian scholars, went to ensure her son’s proper

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education. Legend has it that when Mencius was young, his mother moved three times just to find a good environment for her son’s education. In contrast, what did the kings of Israel see when they were growing up? They saw nothing but the heretical faith of their parents sinning after the sins of Jeroboam, and this faith that they emulated from their parents only turned them into heretics before God. The most abominable sin before God is the sin of idolatry like the one committed by Jeroboam. What is the sin that King Jeroboam committed against God? He had misled the people of Israel to replace Jehovah God with golden calves and worship them instead.

Moreover, the kings of Israel had also worshiped Baal asking for an abundant harvest, served Asherah asking for fertility, and led their people to worship these idols as well. Just how many idols did Jezebel the mother of King Ahaziah worship in her life? And just how evil was his father King Ahab, who went as far as killing even the servants of God? How many disasters fell on Israel once Ahab assumed the

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throne? In ancient Korea, when calamities fell on the nation, its kings would say, “My lack of virtue has provoked the heavens to anger,” and offer sacrifices to their god of the heavens. But in Israel, its kings did not depart from the sins that Jeroboam had committed even though it was the chosen nation of God. Far from this, their hearts were hardened even more to stand against God, and they committed the most abominable sin with even more gusto.

Toward the end of his two-year reign over Israel, King Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room and was severely wounded. He then sent messengers to Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to inquire about the prospect for his recovery. God then sent his servant Elisha to say to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Indeed, just as God had said, Ahaziah never recovered from his

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bed and died in it (2 Kings 1:2-17).

This is why I say that it’s simply impossible to understand the kings of Israel and its people. It wasn’t just Ahab and Ahaziah who worshipped golden calves, but all the successors to the throne of Jeroboam, the man who introduced these golden calves, continued to worship them generation after generation. With the passing of Solomon the son of David, the nation of Israel was fragmented into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. From the day Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom, made golden calves and put them at Bethel and Dan to worship them as his gods, and to the day the kingdom was destroyed, the people of Israel worshipped these golden calves as their gods.

Isn’t this utterly pathetic? How could the people of Israel and its kings have done these things? When Israel faced one calamity after another instead of finding any prosperity, its kings should have looked for the cause for this misery, but instead of doing so, they just kept on walking blindly in the way of

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idolatry, which God hated the most. Tragically, they didn’t realize all the while that the plagues descending on them were because of their very sin of replacing Jehovah God with golden calves.

Spiritually speaking, the king of Israel had a wrong faith before God. What was this faith then?

Theirs was a heretical faith, one that was placed in idols instead of God. Their sin was making the people of Israel drift away from God by committing the same sins Jeroboam had committed.

In contrast, how was the faith of the servants of God shown in the Bible? Didn’t they worship Jehovah God, knowing and believing truthfully that Jehovah was their true God? It’s upright for us to realize and believe that Jehovah is the real God. If the kings of Israel had led their people correctly to realize that Jehovah God was the true God and to serve Him by faith, they would all have been blessed.

But far from it, they sinned against God by constantly praying to all these idols, from the golden calves to Baal and Asherah, to ask for their carnal

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blessings. They worshiped idols with all their hearts rather than God, even though these idols were completely incapable of bringing any prosperity at all even to their flesh.

Jehovah God is the real God who brings prosperity to both our bodies and souls, and who blesses us to prosper in all things. Yet despite this, the people of Israel worshipped something else other than Jehovah God—that is, they worshiped golden calves and other idols such as Baal and Asherah. In reality, these idols are nothing more than man’s own creation. To bow down before such inanimate idols is not only primitive, but it is committing an abominable sin against Jehovah God. The northern kingdom of Israel lost the God of Truth who had worked in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, its forefathers of faith, all because of the golden calves that it believed in, followed, and worshiped. The people of Israel had forgotten that this God, whom their forefathers believed in, followed, and worshiped, was still alive and forever

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living, and they had failed to realize that God wanted to be praised by them. In fact, if the Israelites had just turned around from the sin of worshiping golden calves, God would have embraced them back and blessed them at anytime, but because they had betrayed their own merciful God, He let them turn into such heretics worshiping the golden calves in vain. After all, before the people of Israel were reduced to this, didn’t God admonish and rebuke them countless times through His servants, waiting for them to turn around? If they had accepted the admonishments of the servants of God in Israel and realized His will, then they would have surely met the very God who loved them, but they failed to do so.

If Ahaziah the king of Israel did not know the will of God, then all that he had to do was just ask Elisha the servant of God. If he had just asked the servant of God, Ahaziah could have found out who was the God whom his forefathers had followed, believed in, and worshiped; what offended this God and what pleased

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Him; and how he should lead the nation of Israel. But far from seeking counsel from Elisha, Ahaziah considered him his enemy. This is why the people of Israel could not realize the will of God and his love.

Even though it was actually God’s servants like Elisha who knew the will of the God of their fathers, they ignored the words of such servants of God and did not listen to His commandments, and so there was no way for them to know the will of God, no matter how much they wanted to be blessed by Him. The obverse side of the very fact that the people of Israel worshiped idols so much implies that they actually yearned to receive many blessings. In other words, they worshiped golden calves, Baal, and Asherah so much precisely because they wanted to receive more blessings through these idols.

By what kind of faith, then, could these Israelites have received the God-given blessings? The foundation of the nation of Israel is traced back to one man, Abraham the forefather of all Israelites.

The word “Hebrew” means “to cross over,” which is

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in reference to Abraham’s crossing of the Euphrates River. Similarly, when the people of Israel left Egypt and entered into the land of Canaan, they had also crossed a river, this time the Jordan River. That’s why the Canaanites called them Hebrews, to indicate this crossing. Then given the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the Israelites’ forefathers of faith, the people of Israel should have known all about how and by what kind of faith Isaac and Jacob were blessed, and how their ancestors had been freed from their oppression in Egypt and entered into the land of Canaan led by Moses—in other words, just by turning to their own history, they could have known everything there was to know about Jehovah God, but despite knowing it all, they still got nearer to the golden calves than God. The Israelites also had the record of their past kings; as all the achievements and failures of their kings were recorded by the scribes, they could have easily seen how and why they were led astray.

Most importantly, the people of Israel had the

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Pentateuch with them, the five books of the Law of God written by Moses. Also known as the Torah, the first five Books of the Old Testaments—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—are called the Five Books of Moses. The Torah, written

by Moses, was inspired by the direction given by the author God, Himself. It showed His commandments and the history of Israel. In other words, the Israelites now had the Books of the Law of God. Just as we now have the Bible, the Word of God, so did the people of Israel have the Torah, the Books of the Law of God were made of papyrus scrolls. Since the Torah was written in their own language, there was no reason why they couldn’t read it. Yet even as they read it, they still worshiped the golden calves instead of Jehovah God, all the while asking Him for His blessings in complete nonsense. They should have thrown away their golden calves and returned to Jehovah God. But the Israelites just couldn’t cast away their golden calves, which is the reason for them being cursed by God.

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Although every king of Israel wanted to be blessed by Jehovah God, no king knew on his own how he could receive the God-given blessings, and therefore every king should have asked the prophets of Israel. Once Jeroboam assumed the throne, he should have ensured throughout his reign that the people of Israel were serving Jehovah God faithfully; he should have appointed only the descendants of Levi to the priesthood as the southern kingdom of Judah was doing; and he should have sacrificed to God according to the sacrificial system established

by Him. And if there ever was anything he didn’t know, all that he had to do was just ask the priests.

Since the prophets of Israel were the most knowledgeable of the will of God, every king of Israel should have sought their counsel, and they should have ruled Israel and led its faith according to God’s pleasure. Yet King Ahaziah did not seek any advice from the prophets of God. His father King Ahab also had not listened to the words of the prophets. Like this, from the king all the way down

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to the lowliest of all, the people of Israel were too arrogant before God and disobeyed His Law and His will. For such wicked sinners, not only are they themselves destroyed, but even their descendants are also destroyed for the sin of worshiping golden calves and idols. Destruction was indeed perpetually brought upon all these people one generation after another.

The Israelites Need for True Spiritual Leaders Israel was a theocracy. The real king of Israel was the Lord, God. Israel was a nation that was ruled by God Himself through His servants. So its kings should have asked the servants of God for His will and led their people accordingly. God would then have taken care of the rest and been with them to protect them all. There was no reason for the kings of Israel to seek counsel from the neighboring countries, ◄

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since they could have asked the servants of God about anything and everything. Except Israel, there was no nation in this entire world that was ruled by God, Himself; Israel was the only nation privileged to be under the direct rule of God. Yet despite this, the Israelites were asking for God’s curses out of their own volition, for they had forgotten how their forefathers were the fathers of faith who had believed in Jehovah God, and how this God of their forefathers was none other than their own God of Truth. The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel not only neglected the wonderful blessing of having God’s servants in their kingdom, but even worse, they drifted away from the God of Truth and His servants to worship idols, instead, according to their own wishes. By doing so, they replaced God with golden calves all on their own and followed the sins of Jeroboam. As this abominable sin, introduced by King Jeroboam was inherited by the succeeding kings to be passed onto one generation after another, the people of Israel totally

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came to worship the golden calves as their gods instead of the Lord God. In other words, with its faith corrupted, the nation of Israel ended up worshiping these golden calves as their gods. Even if the people of Israel knew that the golden calves were actually nothing more than idols, they probably couldn’t have spoken out about this as they were too afraid of their kings.

Jehovah God is not a mere creature. The Lord God is the holy God and the Almighty God. If the people of Israel knew that this God was their God, they should have asked their kings to return to their true God, but they failed to do so. Perhaps the Israelites were too fearful of their kings, perhaps they were too beholden to their carnal lusts, or perhaps they were too afraid that they would be reunited with the south kingdom of Judah—whatever the reason might be, it’s hard to understand why they chose not to turn back to God. Nevertheless, Israel was the only theocracy ruled by God in the history of mankind.

God had personally chosen this nation as His own

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people and His priest for the sake of the entire mankind.

Of course, the Bible says that the countless trials that the people of Israel had suffered on account of their idolatry were in order to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. In other words, this, too, came about from the profound providence of God. So, referring to how the people of Israel were leading fallacious lives of faith, refusing to submit to God in disobedience and worshiped idols so much instead, the Apostle Paul said: “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:11). In other words, Paul is saying here that the people of Israel were allowed not obey God for a while so that the mercy of God may also be bestowed on all the Gentiles.

If we humans could do everything, there would be no need for us to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of our salvation. But all human beings are too insufficient and incapable of achieving their salvation

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from sin by themselves, and that is why Jesus Christ the Savior is so absolutely indispensable to everyone.

However, Israel was a nation with an insatiable demand for signs and miracles. As the Bible says, “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;” (1 Corinthians 1:22), the people of Israel had indeed sought after signs and miracles endlessly.

The faith and beliefs of Christians in Korea are similarly demanding of miracles. Even as they profess to believe in God, they want to see signs and miracles before they follow Him. There is much in common between the faith of these Korean Christians and the faith of the Israelites. They both tend to be overly reliant on their own emotions.

Just recently, the coach of the Korean national soccer team was replaced. In its first match since the arrival of the new coach, the Korean team played against the Iranian team and defeated it 2-0. Koreans were ecstatic with the win. While the result of the match was obviously gratifying, the very play of the Korean national team had drastically changed from

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when it was led by the previous coach. So the media praised the new coach effusively. Then the former coach criticized the new coach in an interview with reporters from his country, saying, “The new coach won the game with the players that I had already nurtured and made all ready. The members of the technical committee of the Korean Football Association are just terrible. Korea is a grave for foreign coaches.” However, what’s quite clear is that even when it comes to a sport, what kind of a coach leads the players makes a tremendous impact on their game.

Israel had God’s servants—that is, they had prophets. If its kings wanted to be good rulers and receive God’s blessings both materially and spiritually, all that they had to do was just listen to the advice of the servants of God and trust in them.

Had the kings of Israel and its people sought counsel from the servants of God, they could have all lived blessed lives, but they didn’t do this. Of the kings of Israel, those who were destroyed both physically and

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spiritually had invariably failed to seek any advice from the servants of God. That is why they were all destroyed in the end.

King Ahaziah was no exception; by the second year of his reign, he was already bed-ridden and eventually died from his wounds. This happened because he had rejected the God of Israel and worshiped a foreign idol called Baal-Zebub. Such an idol could not be the God of Israel. Yet despite this, Israel was filled with all kinds of false gods. There were so many idols in Israel at that time that it was practically an exhibition hall of world religions.

There is a lesson that we should draw from all of this, and it is that Christians all over the world are now also worshiping golden calves instead of God just like Jeroboam. Today’s Christians are following the footsteps of the kings of Israel who had replaced God with golden calves and worshiped them instead.

So no matter how diligently Christians all over the world try to lead their lives of faith, it’s all very useless. Herein lies the reason why despite their

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effort, so many Christians remain unable to receive the God-given blessings, reach their salvation, and live out their faith in fear of God. Today’s Protestant faith originated from the Reformation in the 16th century, but when viewed spiritually, from the very beginning its followers have been worshiping golden calves according to their carnal desires. So even now, the faith of Christianity cannot be changed unless they fundamentally reform their faith by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Present-day Christianity around the World Must Change Its Gospel Many Christians and pastors all around the world say often that Christianity today is in need of a change. The problem, however, is that they only point out the need for change, without knowing what exactly it is that should to be changed. This is because they are ignorant of the gospel of the water

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and the Spirit. So the believers leading their lives of faith under the guidance of the pastors who, spiritually speaking, worship golden calves continue to worship these golden calves themselves, even as they feel that something is wrong. Just like the people of Israel, today’s Christians also like to worship golden calves, and they are still heading in this direction. That is why Christianity today is declining into spiritual ruin.

Isn’t today’s Christianity facing a spiritual ruin?

Someone must now point out its mistakes, but as its present leaders do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are incapable of leading it to the right path. In other words, even those who feel that something is wrong with Christianity do not realize that its decline stems from the ignorance of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Most Christians just think that it’s because of the lack of their virtuous deeds, and so they try to reform their mistaken acts and address institutional problems.

This, however, is not real reform. They must instead

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believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and reform their faith itself. Christianity throughout the whole world must now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and every Christian must also know the gospel of the water and the Spirit properly and launch the right reform of faith. To carry out this reform of faith properly, Christians must meet Jesus Christ our God, who has washed away all the sins of the world, through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For today’s Christians to reach their perfect salvation, they must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that our Lord has given us. So they must realize the true salvation that the Lord has brought to us humans, and they must first receive the blessing of the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We Christians must have the proper understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has given us now, but many Christian do not know this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and that is why they are facing spiritual ruin. It’s because

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Christians all around the world are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that they cannot make any progress to institute any true reform of faith despite their effort. That is why I’ve decided to write my books on heresy. I have every confidence that through these books, Christians will come to realize what the sins of Jeroboam were, how they also have been trapped into the same sin, and why the gospel of the water and the Spirit is now so indispensable to them.

Many people think since Jeroboam’s offences were committed against God by himself that only he was punished for these sins. This, however, is not the case. The greatest sin that today’s Christianity is committing against God is that it is following the sins of Jeroboam. Present-day Christianity is walking in the same way of sin that King Jeroboam had walked, and therefore it is also subject to the same curses that fell upon Jeroboam. The sins of King Jeroboam were not merely his personal sins, but they were the sins that misled the people of Israel to draw them to

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golden calves, and thereby making them sin against God. Put differently, the consequences of Jeroboam’s sins were not confined to just himself. The offence of one man, Jeroboam, turned into the offence of the entire people of Israel. That’s because through Jeroboam one man, the entire people of Israel came to embark on the way of worshiping golden calves.

Today’s Christians have also replaced their God with golden calves. In other words, they have replaced Jehovah God with the power, wealth, and glory of this world, having a greater regard for earthly idols than the heavenly God Himself.

The sins that originated from one man, King Jeroboam, had made all his people sin against Jehovah God, and that is the reason the entire nation of Israel was destroyed by God. This was the most abominable sin in His sight. Only if Christians today realize this, can they return to Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and meet the God of Truth. The sins committed by Jeroboam were not just his individual sins, but also the sins of his

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nation, and these sins are the very sins that today’s Christians are now committing. As Christians, you and I may also commit sin with our insufficient acts, but the sins of today’s Christians are on a fundamentally different dimension, as they are ignoring Jesus Christ, who came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and instead worshiping golden calves as their gods. Therefore, Christianity today must cast away these golden calves and believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior. This worship of golden calves is the sin of today’s Christians and the sin of pastors in Christian communities. It’s as if they are saying now, “Get out of our way, Jesus Christ. We want to worship and serve golden calves as our gods.” Even though they don’t actually say this with their words, in their hearts, they seek only carnal blessings. None other than this is the very offence of today’s Christians.

The prevailing sin of today’s Christians is that they have drifted away from the gospel of the water and the Spirit and are instead worshiping golden

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calves before God to great abomination. By refusing to believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit with their hearts and rejecting it instead, Christians are now committing the same sin that the people of Israel had committed by worshiping golden calves.

Some Christians may then argue by asking, “When did we Christians ever worship golden calves?” But doesn’t the very fact that so many Christians today are seeking only material prosperity, physical health, and worldly fame prove that they are actually worshiping golden calves? Isn’t this really the case?

Quoting 3 John 1, which says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers,” some denominations mesmerize the minds of today’s Christians with their advocacy of the so-called “Three-fold Blessings” or “Four-fold Gospel.” What is this kind of a faith if not one that worships golden calves? Even though they say with their words that Jesus Christ is their Savior, in the end, they are actually worshiping and following golden calves in this world more than God

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Himself.

The sad reality of Christians all across the world is that they are serving golden calves as their gods. This is evident not just in certain denominations, but also in every Christian denomination. Therefore, today’s Christianity prizes only the blood of the Cross, while showing no interest in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the real gospel that Jesus spoke of. If people could receive the remission of sin just by believing in the blood of the Cross, alone, wouldn’t it be so easy for anyone to attain it? Is the gospel of Truth through which the Lord has saved us from the sins of this world really that simple and easy?

Although many Christians say that one is saved from sin just by believing in the gospel of the blood of the Cross, alone, the real gospel is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Put differently, Christians today are actually worshiping golden calves with their hearts. So it’s absolutely critical for us to grasp the faith of heresy.

The real gospel of Truth that Jesus has given us is

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the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The gospel of the Cross, critically differs from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. However, most Christians have been familiarized with the gospel of only the Cross, for a long time. It is therefore not so easy to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For people today to understand and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they must first realize that they are indeed sinners, grasp how exactly the Lord has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit for our sake, and believe in it. All those who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have received every God-given blessing.

Despite professing to believe in Jesus as their Savior, Christians today have golden calves firmly planted in the center of their hearts. This is the reality of their faith. Having created their own version of Jesus Christ, today’s Christians believe in this Jesus Christ of their own making. None other than this is the faith of worshiping golden calves. Since the people of Israel believed in golden calves as their

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gods, how could God not have poured out His wrath on them? That’s why the Israelites were cursed and went through immense physical and spiritual sufferings, all because of the golden calves. Because the people of Israel believed in these golden calves as their gods, they not only drifted away from God’s blessings, but also even worse they were cursed and destroyed. Yet despite this, they still did not turn around from their way, for they failed to realize the cause of their misery. Christians today must not repeat this mistake of the Israelites. Rather than believing in the blood of the Cross, alone, they must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, realize the righteousness of God, and truly become His children.

Christians all around the world must repent from their sin of worshiping golden calves as their gods— that is, they must repent before God from the offence they committed by following the sins of Jeroboam— and they must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It’s not really the righteousness of God

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that they are serving, but they are actually worshiping the riches of this world as their gods. Invoking the name of Jesus Christ, Christians today and their ministers are invariably seeking only worldly values such as riches, power, and fame. To put it simply, present-day Christianity is committing an abominable offence against God. And that is why so many Christians are spiritually accursed now, for they are unable to believe in Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit as their Savior.

Christians who have received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have attained their eternal salvation and everlasting life from God. Jesus Christ our Lord is a merciful Savior. Even though the people of Israel were cursed

by God for their foolish and hardened hearts, among today’s Christians, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have received by faith the heavenly blessings bestowed by Jesus Christ.

By following the sins of Jeroboam, many pastors around the world are ministering erroneously, leading

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their own congregation to worship golden calves also.

Such pastors are now trapped in the greatest of all sins, the sin of worshiping golden calves before God. The Lord said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). Yet in spite of this warning, many pastors are still making countless people sin. As such, they must also believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and return to God. To avoid the certain condemnation that’s awaiting them, they must all return to the truly living God and wholeheartedly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus Christ has given to them. These people must now be saved from all the sins of the world by placing their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only then can they become righteous.

Moreover, whoever receives the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with the heart must become a servant of the

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righteousness of God and thus reach his victory, rather than continuing to be a servant of golden calves. I am sure that when we believe foremost in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has become the righteousness of God, and when we follow the Lord by seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness by faith, God will indeed bless everything to prosper.

It is my sincerest hope and prayer that Christians around the world trapped in heresy would all return to God and reach their salvation by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. May the blessings of our God be with you.

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SERMON 6

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Who Are These Christian Leaders Seeking Only Mammon? < 2 Kings 5:1-27 > “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, ‘If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.’

And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, ‘Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.’ Then the king of Syria said, ‘Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So he

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departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy?

Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.’ So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be

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clean.’ But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, ‘Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?’ So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, ‘Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your

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servant.’ But he said, ‘As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.’ And he urged him to take it, but he refused. So Naaman said, ‘Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing.’ Then he said to him, ‘Go in peace.’ So he departed from him a short distance. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, ‘Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.’ So Gehazi pursued Naaman.

When Naaman saw him running after him, he got

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down from the chariot to meet him, and said, ‘Is all well?’ And he said, ‘All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’’ So Naaman said, ‘Please, take two talents.’ And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, ‘Where did you go, Gehazi?’ And he said, ‘Your servant did not go anywhere.’ Then he said to him, ‘Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female

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servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.’ And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.”

Today’s Scripture passage comes from 2 Kings 5:1-27. Based on this passage, I would like to testify the truth about heresy. The passage from 2 Kings 5:1-27 is the Word of Truth recording the events that happened during the process in which General Naaman, a leper, was healed from his disease.

The Bible writes, “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.” General Naaman was the most important hero who had saved his nation from a crisis. So even though he did not hold the nominal title of king, he was actually treated like one. Naaman had everything he wanted, but he

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had come down with leprosy. Leprosy was one of the incurable diseases of that time, and so the fact that Naaman was infected with leprosy meant his imminent death. Naaman was therefore facing the greatest challenge in his life.

Spiritually speaking, this leprosy refers to mankind’s sins. Just as death is unavoidable to a leper, anyone who has sin must suffer the second death—that is, the everlasting punishment of hell. As such, the problem of sin is the greatest problem for everyone, while receiving the remission of sin is the greatest blessing. Therefore, the very first problem that everyone must solve is the problem of his sins.

Someone who has solved the problem of his sins is someone who has truly succeeded in his life, and such a life is the most successful life.

Since General Naaman was a leper, he thought that he would be happy if only he could heal this disease. In the Bible, leprosy refers to the sins of mankind, and it says that the wages of sin is death. It is written, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift

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of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God made it clear here that the wages of sin is death. That’s why, if one solves the problem of his sins, he is someone who has solved the problem of death. He is therefore a truly successful person. What more can anyone wish for, if he has solved the problem of his death? There is nothing more to wish for, but only to live the rest of his life to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

So, to be healed from his illness, Naaman went to Israel looking for Elisha. He went to the king of Israel with a personal letter written by the king of Syria. In this letter that Naaman brought with him, the king of Syria wrote, “I am sending the commander of my army. There is a man named Elisha in your country who can heal Naaman’s illness, and so I ask you to be personally responsible for healing him.” Having read the letter from the king of Syria, the king of Israel tore his cloths and said, “Am I God? How can I heal this disease when I am

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not God? Isn’t the Syrian king just trying to pick a fight with me? Isn’t he looking for an excuse to invade us? So the commander of his army came down with leprosy, but what does this have anything to do with me? If I was asked to do some other favor, then perhaps I could do this, but how can I heal leprosy that’s feared by everyone?” The king of Israel was completely exasperated at the Syrian king’s demand. That’s why he vented his anger by tearing his cloths before his court.

So the palace was thrown into a commotion, as the king was livid with anger. The man in question was the commander of the Syrian army. He was not to be toyed with. If this issue was not resolved successfully, war could break out again. There was no one who could solve this problem, except the Lord God. Neither the king of Israel nor any leader of the pagan religions could solve this problem. But God solved this problem through His servant Elisha. Here again, we can discover the amazing power of God who worked through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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Today, I would like to bear witness of true faith and address the following questions: “Who are the real servants of God in Christianity? Who are its orthodox believers, and who are liars?”

Send Naaman to Elisha It’s written, “So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.’” As the arrival of Naaman threw the court into a commotion and triggered unrest among the people as well, Elisha told the king to send Naaman to him, saying, “He shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Elisha told the king of Israel to send General Naaman to him. So hearing these words, the king sent General Naaman to Elisha. Since Naaman was the commander of the army, he probably rode a

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spectacular chariot. He would have been surrounded by guards upon arriving at Elisha’s house with a pompous ceremony. But Elisha sent his servant to Naaman and told him to say the following: “Wash your body in the Jordan River seven times. You will then be healed.” So Elisha’s servant went to Naaman and told him as instructed, saying, “Elisha the servant of God said, ‘Go to the Jordan River and wash yourself seven times. You will then be healed from your leprosy.’” As Elisha’s prescription was simply incomprehensible to General Naaman’s mind, he was enraged by this and sought to return to his country.

So Naaman turned around in anger and ordered his servants to return to Syria, saying, “Elisha didn’t even come here and say this to me in person, but he just sent his servant to tell me that I should wash myself in the Jordan River. How rude he is! Does he not know who I am, that he would dare to mock me like this? Does he think that I’ve come all the way here because there isn’t any river in my own country that’s better than this Jordan River? Turn around and

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head back to Syria. I have been made a fool of by these Israelites.” Then one of Naaman’s servants said to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something harder than this, would you not have done it? Since he said that you would be healed if you just wash yourself in the Jordan River seven times, why don’t you give it a try? If you are not healed, then we can return to Syria and do whatever it takes to punish the Israelites for this offense, even if it means war.

So please calm down for now and let’s go to the Jordan River. Dip yourself seven times there, and see what happens.”

As General Naaman considered this, he saw that what his servant was saying was quite reasonable. So Naaman turned around, thinking to himself, “I’ve come to all the way here to Israel from Syria, and now everyone in Israel knows that I am a leper.

There is no place to retreat anymore. I have to be healed here.” News had already spread throughout Israel that General Naaman from Syria was a leper.

He must have been utterly embarrassed by this, as he

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was the commander of the Syrian army, and yet the Israelites now all knew that he was a leper.

Prior to this event, the people of Israel did not know that General Naaman was a leper. Only his wife, his king, and a handful of his close acquaintances knew that he was a leper, and he had tried all he could to hide it from everyone else. But a young girl, taken captive from Israel, had said to Naaman that he would surely be healed from leprosy if he went to the Prophet Elisha in Israel, and so out of his desperation, Naaman could not help but believe in this girl’s words. That’s the whole reason why he had come to Israel with a personal letter written by the king of Syria. So if Naaman returned to Syria without being healed, it would have been highly embarrassing for him. He therefore decided to give it a try and do as told by Elisha, since he was already in Israel.

So he went to the Jordan River, and dipped his body in the river seven times. At that very moment, General Naaman’s flesh was restored and became

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clean. The Bible says, “So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” General Naaman was healed from leprosy. As he was now healed from his leprosy, all the problems of his life were solved. Leprosy—that is, the problem of death—had been General Naaman’s greatest unresolved issue in life, but this issue was now resolved. The spiritual implication here is that Naaman was not only healed from his physical illnesses, but he also received the remission of sin.

He Shall Know That There Is a Prophet in Israel In which river in Israel did General Naaman dip himself seven times to be completely healed from his leprosy? It was the Jordan River. The Bible says that when Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan River ◄

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seven times, his flesh was restored clean like that of a little child.

What I would like to point out to you here is that when the servants of God preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they preach the event of the Jordan River without fail. The Jordan River held very important significance in the Old Testament also.

When the people of Israel sought to enter into the land of Canaan, which was the land of promise that they had been seeking, they had to go across the Jordan River. After their exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites were to cross the Jordan River, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the river before the people, and as the river stopped flowing and dried up, the Israelites were able to cross the Jordan safely (Joshua 3:5-17).

This event prophesies how Jesus would come to this earth and solve the problem of sin for the entire human race by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. By going to the Jordan River and receiving His baptism from John the Baptist, Jesus

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Christ bore all the sins of this world on His body. He was then crucified to death and arose from the dead again, thus giving the true remission of sin to all the souls that believe in Him. As such, today’s Scripture passage provides the exact answer to the following questions: “Where can those who believe in Jesus be washed from their sins? And who are God’s approved servants?”

In today’s Scripture passage, a servant of God called Elisha led Naaman to the Jordan River to be healed. This implies that God’s true servants in Christianity these days are those who are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And Christians receive the remission of sin when they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, whose core is centered on the event at the Jordan River. When Jesus Christ was baptized, by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, all the sins of mankind were entirely passed onto Him without exception. Jesus accepted mankind’s sins in the Jordan River through John the Baptist, carried them all to the Cross, shed His blood

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to unto His death, arose from the dead again, and has thereby become our true Savior. He has solved away the problem of sin for us humans. In short, the Lord has given us the remission of sin and eternal life.

When spiritual liars preach the gospel, they only preach about the event of the Cross. In contrast, God’s servants preach about faith in both the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist in the Jordan River and the blood He shed on the Cross, without leaving out any of them, and they proclaim that Jesus has saved everyone from all sins through these two ministries. The true servants of God are those who preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all sinners and thereby solve the problem of their sins for them. Now it is clear that only the righteous who have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are qualified to be the real servants of God. Unlike them, liars try to solve people’s problem of sin by preaching only about the crucified Jesus, leaving out the baptism He received from John the Baptist in the Jordan River. That is why so many

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people are unable to solve the problem of their hearts’ sins. So it is such people who have crept into today’s Christian communities. Today, I would like share the Word of God on this issue.

Even Today, There Are So Many Heretics in Christianity!

Who exactly are heretics in today’s Christianity?

It’s absolutely indispensable for us to know the right answer to this question according to how it is written in the Word of God. And we must also realize properly what kind of faith is orthodox. Those in Christianity, today, who follow the sins of Jeroboam, even as they profess to believe in Jesus, are heretics.

Among the Christian ministers in this age and time, there are many who are ministering just like Jeroboam had worshiped golden calves. Many of the so-called “leaders” in today’s Christianity—that is, elders, pastors, and theologians—actually follow the ◄

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way of Jeroboam. These people do not know who heretics in Christian communities are.

This truth is spoken in 2 Kings chapter 12 from the Old Testament, which shows that Christians who follow the sins of Jeroboam are not orthodox believers, but heretics. Actually, heretics have originated from those in Israel who claimed to believe in Jehovah God faithfully. In other words, heretics stemmed from Judaism. We have to grasp that, in this age of the New Testament, also, it is from within Christianity that heretics have emerged. Just as many people in the age of the Old Testament had reached their own destruction by following the sins of Jeroboam, so are most Christians today following the example of the sin of Jeroboam.

What were Jeroboam’s sins? Even though God had established that only the descendants of Levi could become priests, Jeroboam made priests from every class of people, rather than Levi’s descendants “After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of

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people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places” (1 Kings 13:33). If any of the common people wanted to be a priest, then Jeroboam just appointed him to the priesthood all on his own.

What else can this be but heresy? The Israelites now saw no need neither for Jehovah God nor His Law, nor the priests established by Him, or the sacrificial system of justice and mercy that had enabled them to be washed from sin.

In the Old Testament, there is a law of salvation that God established in order to enable people to be washed from sin—that is, a sacrificial system—and this sacrificial system requires that for anyone to be remitted from his sins by God, he had to offer righteous faith to Him without fail. God said that for a man to be washed from his sin there must be a sacrificial animal to accept his sins and die in his place. And there had to be a priest who offered this sacrifice on his behalf. If anyone committed sin by breaking any of God’s commandments, he had to

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bring an unblemished animal to the Tabernacle, pass his sins onto it by laying his hands on the head of this sacrificial animal, kill the animal, draw its blood, and give this blood to the priest. The priest then took this blood, put some of it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, poured the rest on the ground, cut the flesh into pieces, placed them on the altar of burnt offering, and offered them by burning. That is how a sinner was enabled to receive the remission of sin. This was the truth that solved mankind’s problem of sin and death.

Like this, God had established the law of salvation that enabled people to be washed from sin, but King Jeroboam corrupted this God-established sacrificial system by appointing ordinary people to the priesthood. Out of his own greed, he ended up completely defiling and undermining the law of salvation established by God, the plan of salvation made by God. In today’s Christian communities also, just about anyone is appointed to the priesthood. They are

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ordaining into ministry someone who doesn’t even know neither the law of God, nor His Word, and who neither knows nor believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Today’s Christianity is appointing people who still have not received the remission of sin from God to be pastors to lead churches. These people have made golden calves their gods rather than Jesus Christ, and they are making others follow the golden calves.

The Temple established by God was located in Jerusalem, but far from worshiping there, Jeroboam established shrines in two different places, Dan and Bethel. The Temple is where God dwells. So God’s Temple today is His Church, and it is found in the hearts of the saints who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is God’s Church where we go to worship Him, and it is God’s Church where we go to listen to the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit through His servants. In His Church, sinners can receive the remission of sin into their hearts, and thus solve all the problems of their sins, diseases, and

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lives. Like this, people should receive blessings from God through His servants, but today, many pastors are preventing them from doing so, although this is not the case for every pastor. Just like Jeroboam had misled the people of Israel into worshiping golden calves, so many pastors, today, are misleading their congregations.

Every heretic in Christianity is someone who has followed the way of Jeroboam from the Old Testament. Since today’s church officers and Christian leaders neither know the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor believe in it, they have sin in their hearts. Even at this very moment, they are still unable to wash away their hearts’ sins. Yet despite this, everyday they try to wash away their sins through their own prayers of repentance. They are now making and serving an idolatrous religion. Even though they have sin in their hearts, in their respective churches they are appointed to be deacons, elders, pastors, and even professors at seminaries.

In God’s Church, however, only someone who has

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received the remission of sin into his heart by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can be appointed into a church office to carry out God’s work. Just as God had established only the descendants of Levi as His priests, today, it is only the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit whom God raises to be His servants. In contrast to heretics who appoint sinners into church offices, God establishes only the righteous that believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to be officers in His Church.

Elisha asked the king of Israel to send General Naaman to him, so that he would know that there was a prophet in Israel. When General Naaman came, Elisha then told his servant to convey his message that Naaman should go to the Jordan River and wash himself seven times. So the servant of Elisha went to Naaman and delivered Elisha’s message as he was told. Hearing this, General Naaman was enraged.

Naaman, a leper, became furious because he had so much of his own thoughts. Even when a sick person

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comes to see a doctor to be healed from his illness, if he has too much of his own thoughts, he may very well end up fighting with the doctor. In the hospital, every patient should do what the doctor tells him to do. If the doctor tells him to take off his shirt, then he should do so. And the doctor would probably ask him when his symptoms began to appear. He should then answer whatever question the doctor asks.

But Elisha simply told General Naaman to just go to the Jordan River and wash himself seven times; even worse, Elisha didn’t say this in person, but he relayed the message through his servant. That’s why Naaman was enraged. When Naaman thought about it, he felt quite insulted by Elisha. In his carnal mind, he had thought that Elisha would come to him in person, lay his hands on his ailment, and heal his leprosy by saying, “Be healed in the name of Jehovah!” So General Naaman expressed his mind, saying, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place,

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and heal the leprosy’” (2 Kings 5:11). Naaman had expected that the servant of God would at least come to him and heal him by laying his hands on him and chanting some sort of spell.

Like this, even today, Christians who have not been born again are leading a superstitious life of faith. Such superstitious beliefs have all resulted from following their own carnal thoughts, rather than the Word of God. However, the Bible says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:5-8). If you don’t deny your carnal thoughts, then you can never believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor follow it, but instead you will end up falling into superstitious beliefs.

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So among today’s Christians, many people think carnally, “If I offer prayers of repentance to God, He will wash away my sins.” There also are others who think that if they go to some mountain and pray to God while fasting, God would have compassion for them and wash away all their sins. Those offer prayers of repentance while fasting do so because they think that if they endure their physical hunger and offer their prayers of repentance, on account of this, God would somehow show mercy on them and wash away all their sins. But such beliefs and such prayers of repentance are all superstitious.

Mankind’s sins are washed away, only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Lord has given them. Many Christians also think that if they go to some spiritually gifted people and ask them to pray for them with the laying on of hands, their sins would be washed away and solved. So they want to find someone who seems to be spiritually gifted and have him pray for them while laying his hands on them. This is no different from the

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superstitious practices of the past: Just as our ancestors had tried to ward off evil fortune or heal illnesses by inviting a shaman to perform various pagan rituals and spells, today’s Christians are also trying to receive the remission of sin or obtain healing by having the so-called “spiritually gifted” pastors, elders, or deacons pray for them while laying their hands on them. Like this are the Christians of today being deceived by such deceitful liars.

Heretics inside Christian communities are those who do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach only the blood of the Cross rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit. These people are heretics, teaching others erroneously that their sins are washed away through prayers of repentance. The heretics are revealed to others by the lack of fruit of their selfish faith. How is the fruit of today’s heretics revealed? The fruit of their faith is shown by their pursuit of material wealth. So Jesus Himself said the following about the false prophets: “Beware of the false prophets. You shall know a tree

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by its fruit. Can a good tree bear a bad fruit?”

There Indeed Are Many Christian Leaders Like Gehazi before God Let’s turn to 2 Kings 5:15-16 here: “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, ‘Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.’ But he said, ‘As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.’ And he urged him to take it, but he refused.”

Naaman was healed from leprosy by obeying Elisha’s instruction. So out of his overflowing joy and profound gratitude to God and His servant who healed him, Naaman asked Elisha to accept the gift he brought. Given how Naaman’s flesh became like the flesh of a little child, he couldn’t be happier.

After being healed from leprosy at the Jordan River

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by following the instruction of the servant of God, Naaman made his confession of faith like this: “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”

Naaman was now completely healed just by obeying the servant of God. So he realized that the God of Israel was the real God. He now knew that there was no other god in all the earth but only the Jehovah God of Israel, and he recognized that this God was the true God and all the other gods were false. He was now able to discern properly.

Rejoicing so much, Naaman now asked Elisha to accept his gift, but Elisha declined this gift, saying, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” Here we discover the verse from today’s Scripture passage that clearly shows who the true servants are of God are, and who the liars are.

God’s servants seek only His glory, not mammon. In contrast, the liars seek mammon at every opportunity, all the while invoking the name of God. As Naaman was now healed from his leprosy, he

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wanted to offer a precious gift out of his profound gratitude to God, but Elisha declined this offer. So Naaman asked Elisha to let him take at least some earth from Israel. He asked for this because he wanted to take the earth to Syria to build an altar there and worship Jehovah God. Naaman also asked for Elisha’s understanding, as once he was back in Syria, it would be inevitable for him to bow before the idol worshiped by the king of Syria when he accompanied his king to the shrine. So he sought permission from Elisha for this. When the king of Syria offered sacrifices to his idol god, the king bowed before this god while leaning on Naaman’s hand, and at that time Naaman also had to bow down.

Although Naaman now believed that only the Jehovah God of Israel was the real God, when he returned to Syria, it would be unavoidable for him to bow before a pagan god against his will. Naaman asked Elisha to understand this.

Take a look at the heart of this man, the commander of the army of Syria returning to home

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after being healed from leprosy. He wanted to take the earth of Israel. The line of faith was now clearly drawn. Naaman now realized that the God of Israel was the true God, and the line of faith was clearly drawn in his heart. So how upright was his faith?

Once Naaman returned to Syria, he would tell his wife about Jehovah God and speak of Him to his friends as well. Wouldn’t it then be proclaimed in Syria that Jehovah God was the true God? Wouldn’t this have happened? It sure would have. As Naaman realized that only the God of Israel was the true God and only the people of Israel were the true people of God, spiritually speaking, he had now become one of the people of Israel. When he returned to his country, he would spread this news throughout the whole nation, and Syria would then become a nation of God spiritually.

If Elisha had accepted Naaman’s gift, then this would have meant that Elisha was compensated for healing Naaman. Had this happened, General Naaman would have thought that he paid back his

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debt to Elisha for healing his leprosy, and so he would have no longer been thankful, but would have instead continued to worship idols back in his country. However, Elisha knew this, and so he said that he would never receive Naaman’s gift. In other words, when Elisha declined Naaman’s gift, he did so to convey the following message: “God healed you because He had compassion for you. It is God who has healed you. I only did what God commanded me to do, to tell you to go to the Jordan River and wash yourself. So as you went to the river and washed yourself, God healed your illness. It was all done by God.” Everything was made clearer to Naaman. Healed from his illness, General Naaman was filled with so much joy. He was so thankful. Naaman had offered a gift to Elisha after being healed, but as Elisha did not accept this gift, he came to realize, “Truly, this is a gift from God. It is the real truth.” So if he returned to his country and told this story to his servants, his wife, and his king, then a great spiritual revival

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would unfold in that nation.

The problem, however, was Elisha’s servant named Gehazi. This man Gehazi knew very well how his master did the work of God, what God spoke through his master, how He fulfills His Word, and how He had protected and defended the nation of Israel. Gehazi, too, was someone who believed in God. Yet this man, a believer in Jehovah God, ended up turning into a selfish and greedy believer. It’s written, “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, ‘Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him’” (2 Kings 5:20).

In contrast to Elisha, who had said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing,” Gehazi said, “As the Lord lives, I will take something from him.” These two men had a completely opposite mindset.

It’s because people like Gehazi are working as the men of the cloth in today’s Christianity that so many

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heretics are emerging and flourishing. Heretics do not emerge from outside Christianity. They spring forth from Christians professing to believe in Jesus, particularly from the churchmen who are ministering inside Christian communities. Gehazi ran after Naaman and said to him, “My master has sent me to ask you for such and such things. I am here because just now some young students came from another region, as my master is a teacher, and they need some money to clothe themselves and spend.” With this excuse, Gehazi tried to obtain material gains from Naaman. He asked Naaman for a talent of silver and two changes of garments, saying that Elisha’s student had nothing to eat. This man knew no shame.

As General Naaman heard what Gehiza was saying, he came to think, “I knew it! Elisha must covet riches as well, for he, too, is only a man. He had declined my gift out of politeness just a while ago, but now he is showing his true colors.” He then gave Gehiza a generous gift, saying, “Hmm… are you asking for just a talent of silver? All right I will

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give you two talents. And I will also give two sets of garments.” And before Naaman even returned to his country, his innocent faith was already spoiled.

Had Naaman not met Gehazi and returned home safely, there would have been a great spiritual revival in Syria. The gospel of the water and the Spirit would then have flourished there. But Gehazi obstructed this and completely ruined the grace of true salvation.

Like this, heretics in today’s Christianity seek material gains more than God. There are many people in Christian communities today who are just like Gehazi. They demand money from the congregation, teaching them that their sins are blotted out if they just believe in Jesus’ blood on the Cross, alone, and offer prayers of repentance, and preaching that this faith is the right faith.

When Christians today are asked, “Do you have sin in your heart or not?” some of them say that they have no sin. But even though they claim to be sinless with their lips, because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they actually do have sin

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in their hearts. Nonetheless, they still try to deceive people, claiming once again, “Try to really believe in the blood of the Cross. Your sins will then actually disappear. Your heart’s sins are not blotted out only because you don’t believe in the blood of the Cross truthfully.” These people also say, “You don’t really believe in the blood of the Cross. So from now on, listen to the words we are preaching, and truthfully believe in only the blood of the Cross. You will then become a sinless person.” However, unless one believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with his whole heart, he can never receive the remission of sin.

There is a group of people called Evangelicals in present-day Christianity. They know that it is right for the believers to have no sin. They know that if one believes in Jesus, he should be made sinless.

However, they don’t know exactly how their sins were passed onto Jesus, and so they just teach arbitrarily, “With the blood He shed on the Cross, Jesus has washed away all the sins of mankind, from

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the past to the present and the future alike. So if you believe in the blood of the Cross wholeheartedly, then your sins will really disappear from your heart.”

Therefore, all the Evangelical Christians also say that they have no sin. As the Evangelicals teach like this, saying that one is made sinless and righteous if he believes in Jesus correctly, Christians who had been oppressed by sin are only too happy to hear that they have no sin, and so they end up deceived by such people’s lies. This phenomenon is the same phenomenon that occurs when some Christians see someone else who is healed from the same illness as theirs, and as a result, they hypnotize themselves into believing falsely that they would also be healed if they had the same faith as this person. Since the right answer is that one is made sinless if he believes in Jesus properly, when people keep hypnotizing themselves into believing that they have no sin, then they feel as if they really have no sin, even though in fact their sins still remain intact in their hearts. There are many such people among today’s Christians who

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believe only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross.

This kind of faith itself is a heretical faith, and yet despite this, heretics encourage their many followers by saying, “Aren’t you happy now that you have no sin? Don’t you feel like you are flying across the sky? Why don’t you give your testimony of salvation?” As their followers say that their hearts are filled, they want to extract money out of them by making them compete with each other for the approval of others through even more touching testimonies. Then the naïve people don’t even realize their scheme and testify as the following: “I’ve believed in Jesus for 20 years, but I still had sin in my heart. But now that I believe in Jesus’ blood on the Cross, I’ve now become sinless, and my heart is so happy and filled. From now on, I want to live to serve God and the gospel of the Cross.” Heretics then exploit them for money as the following: “Aren’t you so happy? Isn’t what you’ve received so wonderful?”

“Yes, it’s so wonderful! I now want to keep serving the gospel.”

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“Well, we are planning to build a church building, and so you should participate in this work by making financial contributions. Partaking in this work with your material possession is also a good thing.”

Heretics make the congregation offer their material possessions by inflating their ego. They say to them, “It’s such a blessing to hear your testimony!” And whenever they gather together, they ask the congregation to give testimony. And they extract money out of them.

What heretics want is always money. They squeeze money out of their congregation in various ways. When they hold a revival meeting, they make the attendees give offerings. To force their congregation to give offerings, the liars often quote the Bible, such as the following passage: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man

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shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you” (Deuteronomy 16:16-17). So whenever their churches hold a revival meeting, there is a huge pile of envelopes stuffed with offerings. And before the preacher begins his sermon, he calls each name of all the people who offered these envelops, thanks God in his prayer, and asks Him to especially bless them.

Just by grabbing an offering envelop, they can tell roughly how much money it holds. They hold revival meetings in order to exploit the congregation for money, and their purpose is to convert people into Christianity only to extract money out of them under whatever pretenses. The ultimate goal of their ministry is money. Take a look at the churches that they boast of for history and tradition. In the end, after squeezing out as much money as possible from their congregation, they spend it all to build an extravagant church building. Even, if it’s surrounded, by a shantytown the church itself is amazingly magnificent and grand.

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If Heretics Can Build a Big Church Building in Their Entire Lifetime of Ministry, They Think It’s a Huge Success We know a tree by its fruit. The fruit born by heretics is the pursuit of mammon. They extract money out of even poor members, regardless of whatever means it takes. To squeeze money out of their congregation, they throw them into a competition over testimony. They do this by saying the following: “Someone offered so much contribution. That sister offered even the money she had been saving for her wedding. Isn’t this amazing?

I am so thankful. I am so inspired before God.” “A certain brother offered a lot of money as soon as he came to our church, heard the gospel Word, and believed in Jesus.” “Another brother offered $5,000, even though his salary is rather low.”

What they say most of the time is this: “Who offered so much offering, and who is now serving more than whom.” They say to the congregation, ◄

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“That brother received the remission of sin only recently, and yet he offered so much money. Just as he made a big contribution at the beginning, he continues to give generously even now. Even more, he offered all his possessions, and as if this weren’t enough, he even took out a bank loan and gave this money to the church.” It’s none other than these people who are heretics. It’s a spiritual fraud to demand only offerings at the hour of worship.

Referring to Naaman, Elisha had said to the king of Israel, “He shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Even when we hold a revival meeting, we have to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Everyone must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and thus attain the qualification to be blessed by God. If one believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then he receives the blessings of God. That is why God’s born-again Church is saying to everyone to have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, rather than demanding any offering to the Church. Your offerings would be barely enough

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to sustain our minister’s livelihood. But the saints at our Church also have to make a living, and so how could the Church extract financial contributions from them? For the saints to sustain their livelihood, they each need a house. If the Church were to demand them to fork over their houses, where would they live? You have to be able to sustain your livelihood before you can serve the gospel of the Lord.

However, if you are trapped by heretics’ schemes, then you will fall into poverty for sure, for they teach, “Sell your house and offer it to your church. If you are renting a big house, then move to a smaller house and offer the saving to the church. Take out a bank loan by mortgaging your salaries and offer this money to your church.” Heretics teach like this, suggesting subtly that such a life is a worthy life that pleases God. So when people are caught in the mesh of today’s heretics, they only turn into debtors.

What’s worse, their sins still remain intact in their hearts. None other than these people who exploit the congregation for money are the very heretics that

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reside in Christian communities.

How, then, can we discern the servants of God from the false teachers, and how can we discern God’s true Church from false churches? We can tell them apart by looking at the fruit of their faith and the gospel that they are spreading. Ultimately, heretics only demand material contributions. If you just offer them financial contributions, you will be treated with all kinds of honor, but if you can’t offer them that so much contribution, then far from being honored, you will be disdained.

What about God’s Church then? Does it disdain anyone just because he can’t make any financial contributions? No, of course not! That’s akin to kicking someone when he is down. For you to serve God with your material possessions, you have to have at least some possessions to begin with. How can you serve God with only lips? What we must all realize is the people of today’s Christianity that are only coveting riches, fame, and the lust of their flesh are nothing more than the real heretics.

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In today’s Scripture passage, Gehazi the servant of Elisha went after Naaman, took silver and garments from him, and hid them in secret. But Elisha the servant of God knew all about this, but he still asked him where he had been. Gehazi then lied to him by saying, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

However, Elisha knew exactly what Gehazi had done, as he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?” (2 Kings 5:26). God had spoken to Elisha’s heart about what had happened in detail. Elisha the servant of God then declared to his servant Gehazi, “You have forsaken God’s work and sought mammon, and therefore you shall be cursed with leprosy. You have turned into a heretic to be cursed for eternity.” And this came about exactly as Elisha said.

Even for those who have received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the

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Spirit, if they pursue only mammon like Gehazi, then they will also turn into heretics. Heresy is something that emerges within Christianity itself. Elisha had declared, “Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever,” and the Bible writes that as Gehazi left from Elisha’s presence, he became leprous, turning as white as snow. Today also, there are such heretics in Christian communities. This means that their hearts are leprous.

If anyone has sin in his heart, and yet he works as a pastor, an evangelist, or a deacon in his church and denomination, then he himself is a heretic.

Regardless of how such people may call themselves orthodox Christians, they are heretics in God’s sight.

All those who preach the Word and assume church offices even as they have sin in their heart are also heretics.

Heretics only seek material gains. It’s because Gehazi had sought only riches that he turned into a heretic. All his descendants were lepers. They all suffered from leprosy generation after generation. If

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you were to go to a colony of spiritual lepers, you would see that it’s filled with Gehazi’s descendants.

Everyone in the family, from the grandfather to the father and the son, is a leper. No one knows when this curse of leprosy would end.

Heretics must now turn around from their false faith and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They, too, must now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Spiritually speaking, those who have sin in their hearts even as they profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior are heretics. Many Christians believe in Jesus as their Savior only vaguely, but now, they must believe more concretely that Jesus took upon Himself the sins of mankind by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, died on the Cross, arose from the dead again, and has thereby become our true Savior. Among Christians today, those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are heretics. Such people cannot help but seek mammon, and their hearts cannot help but have sin.

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166 Who Are These Christian Leaders Seeking Only Mammon?

Is There Any Sin in Your Hearts and Mine, Who Now Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit?

No, there is no sin in our hearts. So the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are normal Christians before God. In contrast, among those attending the churches of this world, countless people have turned into heretics. Even though there are so many Christians all over the world and so many people professing to believe in Jesus, churches and denominations are filled with heretics. Mainstream Christianity is plagued with so many heretics.

Although these Christians all claim that their gatherings are orthodox, they are actually full of heretics. But it’s not out of their volition that they’ve turned into heretics. Because they’ve been taught wrongfully, by the liars they have been ending up as heretics. When you talk with the so-called “Christians leaders” among the Evangelicals, you will see that they are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the

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Spirit. But despite this, so many of them still preach the gospel of the blood of the Cross, alone and believe in this errant gospel. Their gospel resembles but in fact differs from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It only brings about a curse to its believers because it is the very other gospel that the Lord has rebuked “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).

God’s Church is the gathering of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is the gathering of those who have been remitted and saved from the sins of the world by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Wherever the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are gathered together in this world that is God’s Church.

The members of God’s Church are those who have received the remission of sin by believing in this

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gospel of the water and the Spirit. How have they received the remission of sin? They have attained it by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

However, when heretics are asked, “How have you received the remission of sin,” they say, “I’ve received it by believing in the blood of the Cross.”

When they are asked again, “Do you then have no sin? Is your conscience really sinless or not?” most of them say that they still have sin. When their hearts are probed in depth, it is exposed that their sins still remain intact in them. These people are heretics.

They neither know the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor want to believe in it. Yet some of them say that they also know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But when they are asked, “If you know this true gospel, tell us about it,” they can’t really say anything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Some of them may be able to speak about the gospel of the water and the Spirit by rote, but when we keep asking them questions, we eventually find out that they don’t really know this gospel.

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The Apostles in the age of the Early Church also had the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This gospel, in other words, had existed in the Apostolic Age also. Just like us the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, and the Apostle John all believed in and preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

However, with passing time Christianity became secularized. Constantine the Great declared Christianity to be the state religion of the Roman Empire. From then on, the gospel of the water and the Spirit disappeared, and the gospel of only the shed blood of the Cross, came to be accepted as if it were the true gospel. After this, faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit disappeared, and anyone came to be recognized as a Christian if he just professed to believe in Jesus. That is why there are so many heretics inside Christian communities.

We’ve heard from many pastors and evangelists abroad telling us that they’ve received the remission of sin from reading our books. They did not write this to us because somehow we told them to write such

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testimonies. It’s because they’ve actually received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that they are sending us emails.

That is the reason why we are actually carrying out our literature ministry. Even though we have not seen them face- to-face, we can still know their faith. So we are carrying out our literature ministry even more diligently. By writing books, translating them, and publishing them, we are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone all over the world.

Even though we are all insufficient, we are still God’s servants and His people. It’s the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit who are the true servants of God. Whereas God’s workers serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit by dedicating themselves completely, heretics, who are not God’s people, only commit spiritual frauds. Once there was a children’s song in Korea that went, “♫ I was told to believe in Jesus and come to church, but I only got my shoes stolen.” Someone might have written this

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song playfully, but heretics are in fact setting their sight on your money alone. They are always looking for an opportunity to kill your soul. However, God has placed on this earth His saints who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And these saints are now saving souls. You and I are God’s servants.

What a wonderful blessing is this?

Let me tell you clearly who exactly heretics are: All those who have made Christian doctrines out of their own thoughts, and who say that one only has to believe according to these doctrines, are heretics.

Such people do not care what the Word of God actually says. They put more emphasis on ethics, morals, and their own frame of thought. So they have made Christian doctrines in their own frame of thought, and they approve those who believe in God according to these doctrines. That is what the doctrine of the Cross, is all about in today’s Christianity. These Christians are sure that they’ve already been saved by believing in the blood of the Cross, and they believe that the daily sins they

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commit afterward are remitted if they offer their own prayers of repentance. Yet to reach perfect salvation, they have to continue to live a holy life and be sanctified. So they claim that if they try hard to be sanctified like this, then they would be completely sanctified by God at their death—that is, they would become sinless people—and go to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is what most Christians believe nowadays.

Because these Christians have made Christian doctrines out of their own confused thoughts and believe in these doctrines, when we preach the baptism of Jesus along with His blood rather than just His blood on the Cross, they consider us strange and call us heretics. And they say that although they still have sin despite believing in Jesus, even such sinners can still enter Heaven, since they all believe in Jesus.

In contrast, the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit say that they have no sin at all, and that’s precisely why these Christian sinners call us heretics. In their eyes and according to the frame of

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their doctrines, it is we who are heretics. But when viewed from the frame of the Word of God, it is they who are heretics, and we are orthodox believers.

As you can see here, human frame of thought is so very dangerous. That’s why everyone who believes in Jesus must cast aside his own thoughts. We’ve seen how General Naaman had also cast aside his own thoughts and dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times according to the words of the servant of God, and how, as a result, his flesh was completely healed and became like the flesh of a little child. We must throw away our carnal thoughts and listen to what God is saying, recognize His servants, and hear what these servants of God are saying to us. And we must follow the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Given how Christianity in its entirety has really fallen into the faith of heresy, if I address this issue too bluntly, then far from realizing their reality, many Christians will likely attack me ferociously. With this in mind, I plan to explain the reality of heresy step by step based on the Word, so that they may understand.

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I am going to make them turn around and return to the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. I am sure that God will bring this about. I am thankful to God for making us believe that Jesus took upon Himself all our sins and washed them away by being baptized

by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and for making us His servants despite our insufficiencies.

Now that we have received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must dedicate our hearts and minds to God. To entrust ourselves to God is to unite our hearts, minds, and determinations with the will of God, offering ourselves, to God to be used by Him according to His will. It is then that God uses us as the instruments of His righteousness. If, however, we do not offer our minds and bodies to God even after receiving the remission of sins, then our bodies will turn into the instruments of sin. If we are not careful, we may also turn into Gehazi. It’s quite possible even for us to become like Gehazi.

Gehazi had worked under Elisha, and yet he

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turned into a heretic. Having received the remission of sin, if we unite with God’s Church and participate together in the work of supporting and serving His gospel, then we will be able to live as the cherished servants of God and also be approved as good and faithful servants in His sight. However, if we don’t do so, then we will become like Gehazi and hear God rebuking us, saying, “Cast out these worthless servants.” It’s not because we are somehow spiritual, meritorious, or good-natured that we can serve the Lord. It’s when we offer our bodies and minds to God that He lifts us up to be used, and that is how we are made into instruments of His righteousness after receiving the remission of sin. I admonish you all to realize this and believe in it. It is never by our own will that anything spiritual is achieved.

You should entrust yourself to God. Let God take care of you. Ask Him to protect you and bless you.

Even though you and I have received the remission of sin, and no matter how strong and determined we may be, unless we entrust ourselves to God, we will

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turn our bodies into the instruments of unrighteousness to sin “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13). There is no exception here. The same goes for you and me alike.

Unless I continue to carry out the work of God, I will also end up turning into an instrument of sin. When this revival meeting is over, I will go back home and work on my new books as entrusted to me; when I am done with this work, I will go to In-je Discipleship Training Center and work there; and whenever we hold a revival meeting again, I will be there to preach. Like this, I work ceaselessly. Why? It is because unless I do so, I would turn into an instrument of sin. That is why I am emphasizing this point so much to you.

For all of us here, from our students, our sisters, our brothers, our ministers, and everyone else alike, where we dedicate ourselves determines whether we

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become instruments of righteousness or instruments of sin. We are torn between two directions, spiritual and fleshy. That is the condition in which we find ourselves now, having now received the remission of sin. Depending on which direction we lean, our fate is determined. Once it’s determined, it’s hard to turn around. If a tree leans too much to one side, then it will fall on that side “If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). If you lean toward God, then you will become a servant of God, but if you lean toward the world, then you will turn into a servant of the world. This is the crossroads that we come to face after receiving the remission of sin. If we let our hearts lean toward the world even slightly, then we will turn into the instruments of the world in no time.

There is a song in Korea that’s been quite popular lately, and its lyric goes something like this: “Don’t go too far, ♪for you are a woman.” It seems that the

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song was sung out of a mother’s concern for her daughter. “Don’t go too far, for you won’t be able to return home, for you are a woman.” It’s easy for the women to get hurt and abandoned in this dangerous world. But does this mean that the brothers are free from the world?

Spiritually speaking, we all are sisters before God. We are Jesus’ brides. Should we give it a try? Go ahead and try calling Rev. Park over there, “Sister Park.” My fellow believers, we must not to go too far into the world. While carrying out the work of God, some of us may be tempted and go astray for a short while, but we must all return to God’s Church as soon as possible. Why? Because spiritually speaking, we all are women, we are weak, we get hurt easily, and if something goes wrong, we find ourselves unable to defend our faith and turning into our enemy’s servants. That is why there are gatherings in God’s Church, worship services, and revival meetings. We should all gather together as often as possible to form our own culture of the righteous,

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and find our joy in it.

I have to leave you and return home, tomorrow.

My heart is already, saddened by this. However, even though we bid farewell to each other, the Word of God we have shared still remains in our hearts. Once back at our places, we will once again have to resume carrying out each of our entrusted tasks. As we carry out the Lord’s work constantly, it can be hard on us and we can get weary sometimes. So while we should all work diligently, let’s not forget to take a break once in a while.

Heretics insist on the congregation to offer them only material possessions. It’s because for those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that is precisely the fruit of their faith. In contrast, all that I want to ask from you is to carry out the work of God. You may be just a layperson, but if it’s possible, I ask you to participate in this work to serve the Lord together. Since there aren’t enough workers, teenagers and even Sunday school children must become workers. If there were enough workers,

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the adults would have done everything. But there aren’t enough laborers, and that’s why I am asking you to also work for the Lord.

I hope and pray that you would all be faithful to the work of the Lord unto death.

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SERMON 7

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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175 By This Time Tomorrow, You Shall Know What True Salvation Is

By This Time Tomorrow, You Shall Know What True Salvation Is < 2 Kings 7:1-20 > “Then Elisha said, ‘Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’’ So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, ‘Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?’ And he said, ‘In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.’ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, ‘Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die

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also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.’ And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, ‘Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!’ Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact— their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, ‘We are

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not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.’ So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, ‘We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.’ And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside. So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, ‘Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’’ And one of his servants answered and said, ‘Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or

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indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.’ Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, ‘Go and see.’ And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, ‘Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold

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tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.’

Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, ‘Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?’ And he had said, ‘In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.’ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.”

Today, we read the entire chapter seven of 2 Kings. Israel had been invaded by Syria, and it was now cornered into its capital, the city of Samaria.

This city of Samaria was surrounded by the army of Syria and was cut off from all food supplies, and everyone in the city was facing starvation unto death.

So the price of food was extremely high at that time (2 Kings 6:25). Even wild beans and donkey heads, which the people of Israel had not eaten under normal times, were sold at a dear price. A shekel of silver in the Israeli currency at that time was worth

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about four days’ wages for an average worker. So in order to buy a cup of wild beans, a worker had to pay 20 days worth of wages, and almost his entire annual wages for a donkey’s head. This shows just how little the people of Israel had at that time.

As the siege continued on unabated, terrible things happened inside the city of Samaria. The people inside the city were so starved that they were almost driven to madness. In one instance, two women had decided to draw lots and take turns to eat their own children, and one of the children was indeed eaten.

Drawing lots for their own children, they had first eaten one woman’s child, and the next day, they were to eat the other woman’s child. But the mother of the child still alive, once her hunger was somewhat lessened from eating the other woman’s child, came to her senses and hid her own child. So a great tumultuous fight arose between them. Hearing this news, the king of Israel ripped his garments and wailed. Even though he was the king of Israel, he was completely helpless as there was nothing he

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could do, facing a desperate situation where he was only waiting for everyone in the city to die.

However, at this time, when Israel was facing such a severe crisis from Syria’s invasion, the servant of God delivered His Word, saying, “By this time tomorrow, crops will abound in the city.”

The Background to the Emergence of Heretics in Today’s Christianity The reason why I am giving this sermon today is because there are too many heretics inside today’s Christianity. In fact, the origin of heretics and the reason why heretics have emerged in today’s Christianity are traced back to the days of Jeroboam.

Jeroboam was the first king of Israel, but he had only sought to fulfill his own carnal lust. This made all Israelites turn into heretics. Originally, Jeroboam was not set to succeed the throne of Israel. Any legitimate successor to the throne of Israel had to be from the

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house of Judah, and more specifically, a descendant of David. That’s because God had promised this to David. At that time, Rehoboam the son of Solomon was the sole legitimate successor to the throne of Israel.

However, King Solomon had worshiped idols so much that God handed over a part of Israel to Jeroboam. This man named Jeroboam was originally an officer in King Solomon’s court, who had overseen the construction of the palace. Nevertheless, God established him as the king of the northern kingdom of Israel. In the southern kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, God ensured that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin would remain loyal to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. As a result, the people of Israel were now split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, ushering in the era of the divided kingdom. Previous to this, Israel had been one nation, but now it was divided into two sides. So now there were two kings in Israel.

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Jeroboam was not from the royal family. You should be fully aware here that it’s all because Solomon had worshiped idols that God tore the people into two and handed one of them to Jeroboam.

That is how Jeroboam became king of Israel. In the south, Solomon’s son named Rehoboam became king, while in the north Jeroboam became king.

However, Jeroboam was facing a serious problem of governance. Once he assumed the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel, he had to take special measures to maintain his throne and power, no matter what he had to sacrifice. This was King Jeroboam’s position. Since King Jeroboam was not a descendant of David, he became even more worried after assuming the throne. Because God had been pleased with David, He had promised that He would give the throne of Israel to David’s descendants and they would keep it. Jeroboam knew this quite well, and so when he became king of Israel, he had to do something to maintain his throne.

What he did was change all the institutions that

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God had established long ago. In Israel, only the descendants of Levi could become priests or High Priests, but King Jeroboam appointed to the priesthood anyone who wanted to become one, even from the common people. He also replaced Jehovah God with golden calves, and changed the date of the Day of Atonement to the fifteenth day of the eighth month from the tenth day of the seventh month. Even though the Temple of God had been located in just one city in Israel, Jerusalem, Jeroboam built shrines at Bethel and Dan, inducing and corrupting the people of the northern kingdom of Israel to offer their sacrifices to God there, rather than in His Temple in Jerusalem. After building shrines at Dan and Bethel, Jeroboam then appointed ordinary people into the priesthood, and made his people replace Jehovah God, the God of the Israelites, with golden calves and worship them as their gods. Out of his own volition, he turned himself into a heretic, someone whom God abhorred the most. In his attempt to guard his throne, he ended up not only walking in the way of heretics

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himself, but he also led the people of Israel to this road.

The people of Israel have various feasts. The greatest of these feasts is none other than the Passover. Marking the day when God had led the people of Israel out of Egypt, this is the time when the entire people are on the move. Another feast was held in the seventh month on the Jewish calendar.

The seventh month in ancient Israel corresponds to October in today’s calendar, and it is the month of thanksgiving when crops are harvested and stored, and thanksgiving worship is offered to God. On the first day of the seventh month, trumpets were blown to declare this month as the month of feasts, and it was in this month that the Feast of Weeks—that is, the Feast of Tabernacles—was observed, as well as the Day of Atonement. People travel a lot when holidays come around, so that they can be together with their families. In Israel also, when such feasts came around, all the people gathered in the Temple of Israel. Although by now Israel was divided into

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the northern and southern kingdoms, all the Israelites were supposed to return to Jerusalem on holidays, and so this caused a great deal of worry for Jeroboam.

This issue emerged as the biggest concern for King Jeroboam’s rule. That’s because if his people went to the southern kingdom to offer sacrifices, both the northern and southern Israelites could join together and rebel against King Jeroboam. Jeroboam had assumed the throne temporarily only because King Solomon had committed so much idolatry. God had allowed this to happen only for a while because of the sins committed by King Solomon, and therefore it was quite possible that once the people realized that Jeroboam had no blood of the house of Judah, they might kill him and return to King Rehoboam. So Jeroboam had to take a radical decision in order to prevent the people of the northern kingdom of Israel from going to the Temple of Jerusalem to worship, which was located in the southern kingdom.

To this aim, he first changed the Day of

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Atonement from the tenth day of the seventh month to the fifteenth day of the eighth month; he then made priests out of the ordinary people who wanted, even though only the descendants of Levi could be appointed into priesthood; and he also replaced Jehovah God with golden calves and made his people bow down before them and burn incense to worship them. This was the process by which Jeroboam and the people of Israel ended up turning into heretics before God. This was how Jeroboam not only turned himself into a heretic, but he also drove the people of Israel to the way of heresy. And his indelible impact is still influencing many leaders in Christian communities. We must all realize this fact, that today’s Christianity is clearly emulating and following the sins of Jeroboam.

The real God of Israel is Jehovah God. The name of this God in Hebrew is “Yahweh.” Yet King Jeroboam had replaced this Yahweh God with golden calves to be worshiped as gods. So you have to realize here just how grievous his sins were. Having

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set up golden calves at his chosen places, he said to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, “These are the gods that led you. These golden calves are your gods.” By thus making his people serve golden calves as their gods, Jeroboam drove all of them into heresy.

As Israel was originally founded by the twelve sons of Jacob it had twelve tribes, and of these, only the tribe of Levi could be appointed to God’s priesthood. However, King Jeroboam appointed ordinary people into the priesthood, and in doing so he destroyed the institution of the priesthood established and set by God. Jeroboam also built shrines at Dan and Bethel instead of Jerusalem, placed golden calves there, and made his people worship them as their gods. He changed all the sacrificial system of salvation made by God for the glory of his own flesh.

Spiritually speaking, therefore, King Jeroboam is the foremost heretic responsible for leading today’s Christians into heresy. We must identify the cause of

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the emergence of heretics in today’s Christianity from the sins of Jeroboam, understand this cause, and stay away from his sins. That’s because even today, many Christian leaders are trying to satisfy their own greed with the same motivation and faith of King Jeroboam. To gratify their carnal lust, they believe in unfounded Christian doctrines of their own making, and in doing so, they are turning today’s Christians into heretics before God.

What Does the Fact That King Jeroboam Replaced Jehovah God with Golden Calves Tell Us about the Spiritual Condition of Modern Christianity Today?

Now as before, a golden calf is a symbol of wealth and power. Just like Jeroboam, Christians today are also trying to satisfy only their carnal lust. In other words, although the existing heretics in today’s Christian communities profess to believe in Jesus as

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their Savior, in reality, they are just demanding money from their congregation, all in order to gratify their carnal greed. Therefore, even among the socalled Christian leaders, those who teach their followers to ask God only for carnal blessings are the heretics who have fallen into the sins of Jeroboam.

Put differently, these people have replaced the true Christian faith, which believes in Jesus as the Savior, with a lust-filled faith, and in the process they have made Christians bow before golden calves and ask them to fill only the lust of their flesh. That is why Christians now believe in golden calves as their gods, just like King Jeroboam of the old days. From the very beginning, they only followed the lust of their own flesh.

Yet because such people are now dominating Christianity today, Christians all over the world see no problem at all with their faith and beliefs, even though they are actually worshiping golden calves.

So today’s Christians do not realize that they themselves have turned into heretics before God on

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account of their wrong faith that has forsaken the gospel of the water and the Spirit established by God. Most Christian leaders today do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and instead they are just leading their congregation to worship golden calves.

That is why God is rebuking today’s Christians so harshly and telling them to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord. In short, because Christians nowadays have turned into spiritual heretics in God’s sight, God has allowed false prophets to trap them with false miracles and carnal blessings.

God’s Blessed Work That Happened in Just One Day We just read 2 Kings chapter seven, and this passage is the Word of God recording what happened in just one day. This amazing blessing that was occurred around the city of Samaria was realized in

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just one day, just as God’s servant had spoken. Elisha had prophesied that by this time tomorrow, a seah of fine flour would be sold for a shekel at the gate of Samaria and two seahs of barley for a shekel, and God did so just as He had promised through His servant. The servant of God was prophesying that the grains, which were so expensive now, would become so abundant in just a day that they would be sold at such cheap prices. The people of Israel must have been astonished to hear this Word of promise from God, but even so, they did not reject this Word, as now they could rely only on God in their extreme suffering. But there was one man who did not listen to the words of Elisha nor believed him, an officer on whose hand the king of Israel leaned, and he stood against God and His servant.

The Word of God that Elisha the servant of God delivered was all to be fulfilled within 24 hours. So one of the Israeli officers did not believe him, wondering how such a thing could happen, and doubted the feasibility of what Elisha said, thinking,

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“How can it be possible, even though Elisha is God’s servant and he has been delivering the Word of Jehovah God?” The officer just could not believe in what God had said through Elisha, saying how such a thing could happen even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven. Even though Jehovah had promised through Elisha that He would make the Israelites abound with food by this time tomorrow, the officer said to the man of God, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” In his carnal thoughts, he thought that this was absolutely impossible. He did not believe in the words of the servant of God, wondering how such a thing could happen even if Jehovah God were to make windows in heaven, given how desperately the war situation was evolving, how the city of Samaria were completely surrounded by the Syrian army, and how all the people and soldiers inside the city were starving to death from the lack of food.

This man, even though he was an officer of Israel, did not believe in the Word of the almighty Jehovah

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God delivered by His servant, but instead he just thought that it was simply impossible. In his carnal mind, he thought that under the prevailing condition, even the God of Israel could not bring about such a thing to happen. So he dismissed Elisha’s words, saying how Jehovah could make it happen even if He were to make windows in heaven. He was scolding Elisha for saying such an impossible thing. Elisha then said to him that he would see it with his own eyes by this time tomorrow, but he would not eat of it.

And the next day, just as God had spoken through His servant, a supernatural miracle happened.

The People of Israel Were Leading Their Lives of Faith against the Will of God The Lord God was the King of His people Israel.

He Himself ruled them through His servants. Toward the end of the era of the Judges, however, the people of Israel began to demand a human king to rule over ◄

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them. Seeing how all the neighboring countries had powerful armies under the rule of monarchs, the Israelites request Samuel, the last Judge, to appoint someone exceptional among them as the king of Israel. As God was not visible to their eyes of the flesh, they wanted the visible rule of a human monarch. The people of Israel also wanted to be commanded by a king to vanquish their enemies and establish a strong nation by themselves. However, God wanted to be the forever-unchanging God to the people of Israel. So He told them through the Prophet Samuel that if they established a human king, they would be enslaved to him, drafted into forced labor, and would be laden with the burden of taxation.

Yet despite this, the people of Israel kept on demanding a human king until the end, and so God told Samuel to grant their wish. Samuel then anointed Saul the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, as the first king of Israel. Saul was an impressive man. He was so tall that most people came only up to his shoulders (1 Samuels 9:1-2). But

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God wanted to set David as the king of Israel rather than Saul. So after Saul’s death, David became the king of Israel.

Once David assumed the throne, Israel was united from the north to the south and became very prosperous. Solomon prospered from the tributes paid by Israel’s neighboring countries. The foundation of this prosperity had been laid down through his father King David by waging war and conquering them. So it’s said that during the reign of Solomon, silver was used as commonly as stones (1 Kings 10:27).

King David believed in Jehovah God and followed Him as a sheep followed its shepherd (Psalm 23:1). Even though he was the king, he sought God’s permission in everything, listened to the words of the priests and the prophets, believed in the Word of God that he heard through His prophets, and lived his life as commanded by God. Unlike David, however, Solomon did not trust in Jehovah God nor relied on Him wholly. Instead, he relied on

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his own wisdom, and he tried to maintain peace through his marriages, by accepting princesses from powerful countries such as Egypt to be his wives.

When these foreign princesses came to Israel to be wed to Solomon, they brought their national idols. As a result, not only the court of Israel, but, also the entire nation turned into an exhibition of foreign idols.

After the passing of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam succeeded to the throne. As God had promised David that He would let his throne be succeeded by his descendants, Rehoboam became king. But Rehoboam also worshiped idols following the footsteps of his father Solomon. So God split Israel into two on account of Solomon’s sins. Israel was therefore divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, and the throne of the northern kingdom was assumed by Jeroboam, who had been Solomon’s officer.

However, as I explained a short while ago, King Jeroboam was worried that his people might return to

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the kingdom of Judah, and so he made golden calves, placed one at Dan at the northern end and another at Beersheba at the southern end, and then declared that these were the gods that had saved the people of Israel from Egypt. As a result, he became God’s most hated enemy. What is important to us here is that today’s Christian believers have also become heretics before God falling into the traps set by Jeroboam.

That is how the people of Israel, led by King Jeroboam at the forefront, all came to worship idols and follow his sins. They now turned into terrible heretics in God’s sight, nearly impossible to reverse.

God abhorred their sins the most. So in order to make Jeroboam the king of the northern kingdom of Israel and his people repent, God kept sending foreign armies from the neighboring countries, including the Syrian army, and punished them. When the people of Israel were about to harvest their crops, foreign armies invaded them and took all their harvest away.

The Israelites lived under the constant invasion of its enemies. However, during the period when it was

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ruled by God-fearing kings, God gave peace to Israel.

But whenever the Israelites worshiped idols and followed the sins of Jeroboam, which God abhorred, He punished them and made their lives miserable to bring them to repentance. Jehovah God permitted all these sufferings so that the people of Israel would live by relying only on Him and trusting in Him alone.

Although it was Jehovah God’s desire to become the true God and a truly good Shepherd to the people of Israel, the Israelites constantly wanted to leave this God, go on their independent way, and worship golden calves. As opposed to David, who had praised His God Jehovah by singing, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want,” the people of Israel deemed that they no longer needed Jehovah God as their Shepherd. In short, they did not want Jehovah God to be their Shepherd. Basically, the people of Israel were saying to God, “If we don’t have anything to eat, we will till the ground. If we have no water, we will irrigate them by making reservoirs. So

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please, don’t interfere with us anymore. It’s so annoying!”

Cain had left from the presence of God to dwell in the land of Nod to the east of Eden, and this desire to leave God was the sin of those born as Adam’s descendants. However, the people of Israel could never survive without Jehovah God’s help. Given how powerful its neighboring countries were, it was not possible for such a small nation as Israel to survive on its own strength. But despite this, the people of Israel failed to recognize themselves, and so they thought that they didn’t need God’s power.

Far from needing God’s help, they actually wished that He would just stop interfering with their lives.

The Israelites were convinced that their lives were up to themselves alone.

Ignoring the blessings of Jehovah God who had led them out of Egypt, saved them from the sins of the world, and protected them to be prosperous, the people of Israel followed the sins of Jeroboam, no longer loving this God. Even though in their flesh

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they were Abraham’s descendents, spiritually, they were not God’s people anymore.

Even so, God still admonished them to turn around, saying to them: “There is a promise I made to Abraham. I promised him that to his descendants, to the circumcised people, I would be their God. I will be your God and Shepherd, and when your enemies invade you, I will protect you. I am Jehovah your Lord God. Know this in your lives. How can you carry on with your lives unless you believe in Me, your God? Yet have you not put golden calves in My place, and are you not worshiping them as your gods even right now?”

In God’s sight, everyone is born in the likeness of His image, and therefore everyone must live fearing God. Everyone is bound to rely on something while carrying on with his life. Just how foolish is it then to rely on golden calves instead of Jehovah God, and what a spiritually blind life is this life? Even though God had protected the Israelites and blessed them, they abandoned this God and worshiped golden

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calves instead, and that is why they could receive neither the material nor spiritual blessings of God.

How Is Everyone Seen in God’s Sight?

When the people of Israel were surrounded by their enemies, then some of the parents even ate their own children. It’s absolutely imperative for us to realize just how evil everyone is, and how evil we are, and then believe in the righteousness of God. As the city of Samaria ran out of food from the siege, some Israeli women took turns eating their own children.

It’s written, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son” (2 Kings 6:28-29).

The king of Israel was devastated to hear this tragedy. Yet there was nothing he could do for his

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people. Human nature is such that everyone would boil and eat his own children if he had nothing to eat.

Isn’t this ghastly image actually yours and mine? If you and I had starved for days, and the starvation got so bad that we were hallucinated, wouldn’t we also end up like these Israeli women? Turn around and take a look at yourself. Both you and I are more than capable of committing this atrocity. That’s because everyone is equally evil. If we were really starving to death, you and I could very well find ourselves doing what the women did here.

The story that I am about to tell you is an authentic account. Long ago, in a year when there was an extreme famine, a son came back from the field, and his mother told him, “Son, I saw a lamb wandering in the yard, and so I killed it and boiled it in a large pot for you. Come, eat it.” So the son went to the kitchen and opened the pot, and there he saw his own son boiled to death. His elderly mother had been so starved that her grandson looked like a lamb to her.

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Have you seen a movie called Alive? This movie reenacted what had actually happened when an airplane carrying players from the Uruguayan rugby team crashed deep in the high slopes of the Andes Mountains by telling the story of the survivors. When the survivors could not find anything to eat in the extreme cold, they hung onto their lives by eating the human flesh of those who perished earlier until they were rescued. In the history of mankind, such things actually happened quite commonly whenever there was shortage of food. Even though we know that we should never do this, if we are physically starved enough, we humans are capable of eating even our own children. Do you think that you are an exception and that you would never let this happen? Then think again. Deep inside, you know yourself that there is no limit to the wickedness of mankind.

The Bible records this historical episode that occurred in the city of Samaria to underscore the fact that everyone living on this planet was fundamentally born with an evil heart from the moment he was born.

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So before God, everyone was born with an evil heart like this from his very birth. Nowadays everyone professes to be a good humanitarian, but that’s only because the circumstances are benign. If our lives and our circumstances turn bad enough, we will pour out the wickedness that’s dormant in our hearts.

Didn’t you see what happened in New Orleans when it was struck by the hurricane Katrina? A lot of people turned into looters breaking into supermarkets, just as it had happened during the New York City Blackout of 1977. While the blackout lasted for only 25 hours, there were over 1,600 cases of looting and arson that resulted in nearly 4,000 arrests. With the law and order broken, it was hard to find any trace of civic virtues and human decency left.

Did that tragedy happen because the people of New Orleans were somehow worse than you? No, absolutely not. I am sure that you’ve experienced this in your own life also. Because everyone’s nature is evil, as soon as people face bad circumstances, they are all bound to commit evil acts. Simply put,

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everyone is evil like this. And because everyone is so wicked, no one can avoid but face the righteous judgment of God for this wickedness. So the only reason why people try to live virtuously is to gain respect and serve their own interest, as these can be ensured only if they abide by social norms and conform to social rules. But once they face extreme circumstances, they all pour out all kinds of wickedness that’s in their hearts.

Have you watched a fighting sport called K-1? It’s an extremely brutal sport drawing competitors from various martial arts, a modern-day version of gladiators where pretty much anything is allowed. It seems nowadays that boxing isn’t bloody enough to draw interest, as people around the world are instead more interested in watching K-1. This sport has now become quite popular. When people watch such a fight, it provides them with an indirect venue to experience and vent out the wickedness that’s in their hearts. We all want one of the players to be knocked out; it’s boring if the match ends with a win by points.

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That’s because our hearts already harbor murderous and evil desires. Everyone living on this planet has such violent desires in his heart. So whenever war breaks out in this world and society falls into chaos, it’s only a matter of course before there is outbreak of an epidemic of robbery, rape, murder, and arson.

That is the fundament nature of mankind, reflecting the hearts of human beings born with the seed of sin.

On the other hand, however, the human heart also has the desire to love others, in addition to self-love.

That’s because human beings also want to live a holy life, virtuously and justly, just like God. But they can’t achieve this on their own because they were all born as the descendants of Adam, and therefore from their very birth, they were born into this world with all the twelve sinful desires in their hearts.

Whenever people face difficult circumstances, they are bound to pour out the twelve iniquities that are in their hearts. For instance, it’s a common knowledge that during the Korean War, foreign troops involved in the war raped countless Korean

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women. So, all the Korean women had to run for their lives whenever they saw foreign soldiers approaching them. Like this, if war breaks out or natural disasters strike, social order is most likely bound to be undermined with it only being a matter of time before people start to kill and rob each other.

That’s because the twelve fundamental iniquities in people’s hearts are exposed once such circumstances are in place. What does this then tell us about the fundamental nature of mankind? It tells us that the fundamental human nature is evil like this. All of us humans must admit before God the wickedness that’s found in our hearts. You and I can no longer deny that this is not who we are.

Why do people try so hard to make money in this world? That’s because anyone who doesn’t have money can easily turn into a thief. Does a thief steal because he is told to steal by anyone else? No, he steals because there is greed in his heart from the very beginning. People steal fundamentally because everyone has so many iniquities in his heart. When

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war breaks out in this world, everyone turns into a murderer. As long as our circumstances turn this way, all of us can turn into murderers. Do you disagree?

For everyone alike, what’s exposed when one faces the most difficult and desperate situation is his fundamental, true self. Even if we have not faced such extreme circumstances, since this is what the Word of God is saying to us, we must admit that there indeed is an evil side to all of us. Today’s Scripture passage is talking about the salvation that has delivered us from such conditions.

The city of Samaria was facing a hopelessly desperate situation. But even so, Elisha prophesied that by this time tomorrow, there would be an over abundant food supply in the city. This was indeed to happen, as the servant of God had spoken His Word on His behalf. But one of the king’s officers rejected God’s Word, saying, “Look, even if the Lord would make windows in heaven, how could this thing be possible?” Nevertheless, the reality unfolded exactly as the servant of God had prophesied with His Word.

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This seemingly impossible thing did actually happen in just a day.

What does this event tell us spiritually? We need to examine this event in a spiritual context, within the gospel of the water and the Spirit. My fellow believers, you must realize that our Lord has blotted out all our sins in just one day, with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In just a single day, our Lord has blotted out all our sins with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Because of our sins, all of us humans are destined to continue to be evil and commit wicked deeds until the day we die, but to save such people like us from every sin, our Lord came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, and He accepted all the sins of mankind in just one day by being baptized by John the Baptist. With this baptism, the Lord took upon Himself and washed away all the sins of the entire human race in just one day. To bear mankind’s sins of the world, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and by being crucified and arising from the dead again, He has at once to

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save all those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

That is the Truth held in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord has ended all the condemnation of sin by washing away every sin of mankind once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Just as the officer who did not believe what the servant of the Lord said would happen by this time tomorrow died, today, those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit proclaiming that Jesus Christ has blotted out all the sins of mankind by being baptized by John the Baptist will also face spiritual death. We Christians must believe that Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of mankind in just one day through His baptism.

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Today, We Should Praise the Lord Placing Our Faith in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Those who don’t believe that our Lord has blotted out all the sins of this world once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the real heretics in Christian communities. The gospel of the water and the Spirit proclaims that the Lord came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, took upon Himself the sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30, carried these sins to the Cross, and blotted them out permanently all at once through His shed blood unto death. Therefore, those who don’t believe in this gospel with their hearts are the real heretics in Christianity. The officer of Israel on whose hand the king leaned said, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Today, if there is anyone who doesn’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit like this officer, he surely is a

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heretic before God. In other words, heretics are those who don’t believe that our Lord took upon Himself all the sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist and He paid off their wages all at once, not twice, by being crucified on the Cross.

There is no doubt that we are bound to commit sin until our flesh dies. So as those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior, we must hold onto the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit with our hearts and ruminate on it at our every breath. All those who believe in Jesus must ruminate on the gospel of the water and the Spirit in their hearts time after time. Because our sins were passed onto Christ once and for all through the baptism the Lord received from John the Baptist, we believe that our sins have disappeared, and we have become righteous all at once by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have united with the Lord, and when He was baptized and shed His blood unto

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death on the Cross thus providing atonement for our sins, our sins were washed away, and we had also died with Christ. And because Jesus Christ rose from the dead again, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will also be resurrected together with the Lord to enjoy His glory and splendor with Christ forever. Now, in our hearts we must always ruminate on the gospel of the water and the Spirit by faith.

As we carry on with our lives in this world, our wickedness is poured out everyday and our insufficiencies are exposed day after day. This is why everyday we must ruminate on the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the Word of the righteousness of God, and wash away all our transgressions by our faith in this true gospel.

Although the sins of this world have already been washed away with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, because we still continue to commit sin everyday in our lives, we must solve it by placing our faith in this powerful gospel. Indeed, with the gospel

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of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord, we must solve all the iniquities we commit out of our weaknesses by faith. Those of us who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are truly God’s people, but if we have not been able to live the kind of life that God wants us to live, then it’s only proper for us to admit all the sins that we’ve committed under the prevailing circumstances, confirm that the Lord has already blotted out even these sins to perfection with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and with this faith of ours, give thanks to God who has truly saved us. That is how we keep our holiness, by constantly professing our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should confirm the gospel of the water and the Spirit based on the Word of God, and be assured that our hearts have indeed been washed clean from all our sins, saying, “I am this insufficient and I’ve done these wrong deeds. But didn’t the Lord already take upon Himself all my sins by being baptized?”

Why must we come to God’s Church and worship

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there? Why it is that we have to continue to listen to the sermons that preach about the Word of God? When you come to God’s Church, you will hear all of the Word of God and especially the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. The Truth is that the Lord came to this earth, took upon Himself all our sins once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist, was crucified to death once, rose from the dead, and has thereby saved us all at once. Our Lord has saved mankind from the sins of the world once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He has saved us by coming to this earth, being Himself baptized with our sins, then dying vicariously on the Cross and rising from the dead.

Yet some people wonder, “How could Jesus have taken away the sins that we haven’t committed yet?”

But there is nothing about which to worry. In today’s Scripture passage, even under a hopelessly desperate situation, when the inhabitants in the city of Samaria were facing such extremely difficult circumstances that they were starving to death under the relentless

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siege, the servant of God had prophesied that by this time tomorrow, God would fill the city with overflowing food. Believe in these words of the servant of God. Just as only those who believed in the words of God’s servant were saved from such a hopeless situation in Samaria, God’s salvation is given only to those who actually believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even though we are insufficient, the Lord has saved us from our sins once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By being baptized Himself by John the Baptist and crucified, and by shedding His blood unto death and rising from the dead again, Jesus has all at once saved all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, before we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must first admit that we are fundamentally evil and destined to hell.

We must believe in the gospel of Truth proclaiming that our Lord bore upon Himself our sins once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist, and that

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He has saved us perfectly by being crucified, pouring out His blood unto death, and rising from the dead again.

Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit know that they are always sinless no matter how insufficient they may be, for they believe in this true gospel, and therefore they are able to call God the Father, “Abba, Father.” They can also lead their remaining lives by trusting in this gospel. Even though we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit still remain insufficient, we are all God’s children. So let us all live by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even for us the righteous, unless we live by our faith in the righteousness of God, we may also stumble over the iniquities of the world and perish away. In other words, even though you have received the remission of sin, unless you live by faith, you cannot live your life as a righteous person. Just how prevalent are iniquities in this world? How can the righteous live in such a sinful world? They can’t live in this world

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unless they have faith in the righteousness of God, that is, unless they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

What Elisha the servant of God had said would happen by this time tomorrow all came to pass exactly as he had said. Likewise, God has saved you and me from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is with this gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has blotted out the sins of mankind once and for all. The gospel of the water and the Spirit has washed away all your sins as white as snow. If we only look at our carnal aspects, there is no difference between us the born-again and the sinners who still don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The only difference is that even though we had been destined to hell, we have now been saved from all our sins once and for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

In contrast, all the other Christians believe that they can be saved even if they believe only in Jesus’ blood shed on the Cross and that’s why they are

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living in their sinful state. Put differently, they have fallen into the religious trap of this world. So as they believe in and follow the doctrines made within the framework of the prevailing Christian dogmas, they have fallen into a grievous spiritual error and turned into heretics before God. Today, all those in Christian communities who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are spiritual heretics. No one else is a heretic in God’s sight.

Spiritually speaking, heretics are none other than those who don’t believe in God according to His Word; they don’t accept the Truth that God has saved us from all the sins of the world once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

As we believe that the Lord has saved us from all the sins of the world through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, we are the real Christians.

Therefore, those among today’s Christians who have no proper understanding of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and instead think that Jesus has saved them from their sins through His blood alone,

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still remain sinners trapped in heresy. That is why there are so many Christians who have fallen into heresy on their own account, as their own righteousness and their own goodness exceed those of God. Heretics don’t even realize that they are heading straight to hell, nor are they aware of how completely depraved they are before God, and they remain oblivious to the righteousness of God—that is, they don’t realize that the Lord has saved them from all their sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Heretics in God’s sight are these people who don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and who can neither believe in nor acknowledge the real Truth of salvation given by the Lord. As we were born into this world with weaknesses, there is nothing in our flesh that we can trust.

As such, we are saved only if we grasp and believe with our hearts that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is constituted by the baptism Jesus Christ Himself received and the blood He shed on the Cross thereby providing a proper atonement for us. In

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other words, we must believe in the gospel of Truth, that Jesus has saved us from all the sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River to bear our sins, dying on the Cross, and arising from the dead. And we must spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the entire world.

“Is the gospel of the water and the Spirit the true gospel? And does this gospel bring our true salvation?” Only when we can address these questions properly and know their answers are we saved from all our sins once and for all by faith. By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can overcome the evil wiles of Satan and defeat him.

By believing in this gospel, we can overcome the Devil while we carry on with our lives in this world.

By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can receive all the God-given blessings by which we are endowed through our inherited entitlement.

And by believing in this true gospel, we can attain the qualification to be blessed by God.

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Believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have been forever blessed by God through our bestowed inheritance from Him. Those who now believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit are not doomed in God’s sight. We are the ones who will be forever blessed by God; we are the ones who can now deliver and save everyone from all the sins of the world; and we are the ones who will enjoy splendor and glory with God. God will seat us next to His throne in His Kingdom. Even though we are now living like everyone else on this earth, in the future, when we are transformed to enter the Kingdom of the Lord, we will enjoy the same splendor, glory, and majesty that our Lord enjoys. You and I, who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, have received such blessings from God on account of our present faith in His righteousness. All of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are such blessed people before God. Because we have forsaken our flesh in order to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, in our carnal appearance we

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may seem lowly, but we have attained the blessings of Heaven by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Now, all that remains for us to do is to just believe in the righteousness of God and spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit by this faith.

Even those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can sometimes lose our strength when we look at our weaknesses, and from time to time, we may also find ourselves worried about our future. So we may even wonder, “My situation looks so desperate now, I have no money, and I am not good at anything. What if I end up turning into a homeless person?” However, my fellow believers, we have already passed all our sins to Christ by receiving spiritual baptism with Him, and we were crucified with Christ and resurrected with Him. Therefore, it is by looking toward Jesus Christ who has made us forever perfect that we can truly overcome our adversities, not by staring at only our own weaknesses. Just as Jesus Christ put on His spiritual body and recovered His divine glory with

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His resurrection, so will we each also be brought back to life in a spiritual body and live gloriously like God (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

Now, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have humbled ourselves to lowly places in order to save from sin those who have not received the remission of sin, and we are indeed saving sinners. Just as the Son of God Himself had forsaken His throne to come to this earth and lived like us for 33 years, we too are humbling ourselves for a short while for the sake of the sinners of this world. It’s not because you and I are somehow dumb that we have dedicated and sacrificed our lives to spread the gospel like this. Our hearts’ faith in the Word of God is unsurpassed, and it’s only because this faith has not been fully realized in this world yet that we may seem wretched momentarily. The Lord says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrews 11:1-2). In reality, we have been abundantly blessed, for

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everything will turn out as God has said when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Just as God is great, so are the righteous believers of faith great.

For all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, on what we rely is an absolutely critical question. If we don’t rely on the righteousness of God, then God will see us as heretics. In other words, unless we rely on the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God, we would turn into heretics in God’s sight. If we now cast aside our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, refuse to let our lives be governed by God, no longer listen attentively to His Word, and instead desire to worship golden calves against God’s wish, we will then lose the boldness of the faith that comes from the righteousness of God. Once we stop listening to the Word of God in His Church, Satan will condemn us like this. The Devil will lay his siege on us, saying to us, “How is it possible for someone like you to

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receive the remission of sin? There are so many people who are so much better than you! You have too many fundamental flaws. You are not the type of a person who can lead a life of faith. Consider yourself. You don’t really believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.”

As such, we must always trust in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we must spread this gospel in our lives. Let me tell you a scary story here; I heard this story from one of our sisters. There was a married couple living in a high-rise apartment—let’s say that it had 300 floors. One day, the elevators at the apartment broke down, and so this couple had to take the stairs all the way to the 300th floor. So they decided to climb up the stairway, promising each other to take turns to tell various stories, some funny, some sad, and some scary, until they reached the 300th floor. In this way, as they shared interesting stories, they didn’t feel that it was so hard to climb up that high. Eventually, they reached the 299th floor.

The husband then said to his wife, “Honey, would

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you like to listen to a really scary story?” So the wife said, “Sure, why not; go ahead.” Her husband then said to her, “I’ll tell you the scariest story in the world. I actually left the key at the guardroom on the first floor!” Can’t you feel goose bumps all over your body?

Like this, if you and I lead our lives of faith without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit despite having believed in Jesus all our lives, and we are still convinced that we ourselves would still go to the Kingdom of Heaven, then we will find out at our last breath that we actually can’t go to where the Lord is, all because of the sins that still remain in our hearts. This will be the scariest thing ever to happen to us. All this time, you have believed in Jesus with the hope of entering Heaven one day, but if you find out at your deathbed that you can’t go to Heaven because you don’t have the key to Heaven, which is faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then just how devastated would you be? Aren’t you terrified of this prospect?

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If we really believe in Jesus as our Savior, and if we really believe that we have been remitted from our sins by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then all of us will surely enter Heaven.

However, many people do not know the gospel of the water and the Sprit, and therefore their sins remain intact in their hearts. Since such people are not God’s children, they cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

That is why many Christians professing to believe in only Jesus will bear the most terrifying punishment by paying the wages of sin from God, all because they are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

However, for those of us who have now received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit with all of the heart, there is nothing to worry about for our salvation is assured even unto our deathbed. By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have already received eternal life from God as well as the washing away of our sins, and we have also been moved from death to life to never reach (John 5:24).

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Even so, however, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit still continue to live bound by our weak bodies. Therefore, it’s absolutely indispensable for us to listen to the Word of God preached in His Church and follow it by faith. It’s because the righteous are still weak and their acts are still full of flaws that God has established His servants for them, and that is why there are brothers and sisters who are ahead of you in God’s Church, and why the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart and mine to lead us. It’s all because even after receiving the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our bodies cannot but be still weak, and therefore we still commit sin from time to time. That’s why we all need to ruminate on the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit constantly.

When we keep on hearing the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit and ruminate on it as often as possible, it is then that the Holy Spirit gives us faith and guides us, so that we may boldly come out into the presence of God by trusting in the gospel of the

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water and the Spirit, the Word of God. The Lord is removing the dross of our hearts with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.

Whenever we are ashamed of our sins that have been committed out of our weaknesses, He says to us, “Why is your heart burdened? Are you afraid to come before Me? Why is that so?” By exposing our hearts’ iniquities that make us hesitant to come before God, the Holy Spirit leads us to confess our wrongdoings. He then cheers us up to stand upright with the blessed gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit assures us of the Truth that the Lord has blotted out all our sins, including the very sins we just committed, with the gospel of the water and the Spirit fulfilled by His water and blood.

Therefore, when the righteous ruminate on the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that holds the righteousness of God, then their hearts are cleansed and restored. When we come to God’s Church and listen to His Word, we see that our guilty hearts are

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washed clean with the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Since the righteous believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then they have no sin and their hearts remain clean everyday. However, whenever we commit sin out of our weaknesses, we feel uneasy in our hearts. In times like this also, we should admit our transgressions and place our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Put differently, we should first acknowledge that we are so fundamentally weak that we can’t help but commit sin, and once again confirm the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. It is then that our hearts can truly be cleansed. It’s when we thus ruminate on the Word of God through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that our faith is maintained. Thanks to the Spirit of God, therefore, we are now able to call God “Abba, Father.” The life of the righteous is a life of “chewing the cud,” that is, ruminating on the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s why the Old Testament says in its statutes on clean or unclean animals, “Among the animals, whatever divides the

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hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud— that you may eat” (Leviticus 11:3).

By believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, where the righteousness of God is manifested, we have become His children. We are the ones who have attained the qualification to receive God’s blessings by believing in His righteousness. All that now remains for us to do is spreading the work of God by preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That we are serving God’s gospel of the water and the Spirit is the greatest of all His blessings. That’s because unless we carry out God’s righteous work, we are bound to go astray, commit sin again, and do nothing but evil. Even after believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, if we stomp out of God’s Church to serve false idols, then we will be trampled by the people in the world.

We will turn into a completely useless people in both this world and the Kingdom of God alike. Such people cannot be of any use in the Kingdom of God either, as it is written, “You are the salt of the earth;

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but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13).

Even before the foundation of the world, God had planned to save you and me from all the sins of this world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

And when the time came, God the Father sent Jesus Christ to this earth. John the Baptist then passed the sins of this world to the body of Jesus Christ once and for all by baptizing Him. The body of Jesus Christ was then crucified to shed His blood, and He died in our place for our sins. And God the Father resurrected Him. The Bible says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). The death of Jesus Christ is the death of us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For it is by His stripes and wounds that we have been healed. For our sake, Jesus Christ came to this earth, was baptized, whipped, and crucified. He then shed His blood unto His death on

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the Cross, rose from the dead again, and He has thereby all at once saved all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit from the sins of the world. It is all because Jesus Christ received His baptism, shed His blood on the Cross unto His own death, and rose from the dead again that our salvation was completed.

Therefore, it is to our glory as the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus Christ is now glorified. Through His Son, God the Father has saved you and me from the sins of the world, and He has made us His own children. God has glorified us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Jesus Christ has blessed us as the children of God, and we have received God’s eternal blessings by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Therefore, there is absolutely no reason why we should ever fall into despair, for we have Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit at our side. We are the ones who have obtained the qualification to receive God’s blessing by believing in the gospel of

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the water and the Spirit. What all of us must realize indispensably while living in this present age is none other than this truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The Witnesses Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Must Realize What They Must Do Now “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, ‘Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.’ And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. For the Lord had caused the army of ◄

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the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, ‘Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!’ Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact— their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.’”

It’s said here that there were some lepers sitting at the entrance of the city gate. Since these lepers were at the entrance of the gate, they could either go into

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the city or go out into the Syrian camp. The lepers probably heard all the wailing that was going on the other side of the city gate, and they probably also heard the news that the people inside were eating their own children. So when the lepers considered their situation, they realized that they were hopelessly sandwiched between a rock and a hard place. So they decided to go to the Syrian camp, saying to themselves: “Since we are lepers, no one really cares for us. We will die of starvation here anyways, so let’s surrender to the Syrian army and see what happens. If they want to kill us, so be it.

Maybe they will spare us for a while and at least give us some food before they decide to kill us.” Since either way death was all but certain for these lepers, they decided to try out one last attempt to at least get some food before dying.

So the lepers went to the Syrian camp, but when they got there, they saw no Syrian left. The entire Syrian army had disappeared, leaving everything behind, from food to garments and tents. Just as

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Elisha the servant of God had prophesied that food would abound by this time tomorrow, God had worked exactly in this way. When the Syrians heard the lepers approaching them, it sounded to them as though a great army and chariots were about to attack them. The noise was so great that the Syrian army fled in panic just at the sound of it, thinking that the Israelites had hired the Egyptian army against them.

And in their panic, they left all their military provisions and even all their armor behind, fleeing for their lives at twilight.

By the time the lepers reached the Syrian camp, they saw that the Syrians had fled in hurry, without even touching the meals they had prepared. So the lepers first began to gorge themselves on the food that was before them. They must have stuffed themselves like there was no tomorrow. It must have been a sheer bonanza for them to discover so much free food lying around just for them! When they had all they wanted to eat, their eyes finally caught something else other than food. They saw precious

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treasures like gold and silver. So they took and hid them, saying to each other, “We should get our hands on these treasures first.”

After a while, the lepers felt that something was wrong. They had gained too many things all of a sudden. So they said to each other, “Something is wrong here. If the king of Israel finds out that we kept eating and hording the treasures for ourselves all night long, we will be as good as dead by the dawn!

Our conscience is not clear. We should go back to the city and let the king know what’s happened here. The people in the city of Samaria are so desperate that they are eating their own children. If we hurry and tell them the good news, they will also get to eat good food and capture spoils. So let’s go to the king to tell him the good news.” The lepers then went back to the city of Samaria and told the gatekeepers about what they found. The gatekeepers couldn’t quite believe their story at first, but they reported it to the king, as this was their duty.

The news finally reached the king’s ears. It was

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also very hard for him to believe this news, and so he said, “That’s impossible! The Syrians might be trying to deceive us. They are probably hiding somewhere, waiting for us to come out of the city so that they can capture us alive. We shouldn’t be fooled by their trick.” His officers then said to the king, “Even so, what could we possibly lose at this point? The lepers could very well be telling the truth. So let’s at least send out some men to find out what happened.” So the king sent out a small group of men to the Syrian camp, who took five of the remaining horses with them.

As the scouts sneaked on the Syrian camp, they found out that it was completely silent. The camp should have been bustling with a lot of Syrian soldiers, but surprisingly, there was no noise at all but only dead silence. As the scouts moved deeper into the camp, they stumbled upon different equipments and supplies lying on the ground. Once the dawn came, they began to see the surroundings, and discovered that there was no one in the camp, but

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only garments, food, and gold lying everywhere around the camp. So they returned to the king and reported their finding, informing him that the lepers were telling the truth. When the people of Israel came out of the city and went to the camp, they indeed found plenty of food lying around. So there now was an abundant supply of food.

The Word of God was now fulfilled just as Elisha His servant had said. Exactly according to the words of the servant of God, the people of Israel were able to eat from the abundant food. However, the officer who had not believed in Elisha’s words and stood against him by saying, “If the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” was trampled to death by the people of Israel while he was put in charge of the gate. Once a stampede begins, it’s next to impossible to stop it. With everyone scrambling to get out of the city, the officer was trampled to death in the ensuing rush. This came to pass exactly according to the Word of God. The key message of this entire story is that God is

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the God of Israel. It underscores the fact that God had protected the nation of Israel. It means that the real King of Israel is Jehovah God. And it denotes that God is the Shepherd of the people of Israel. God fulfills all the Word He has spoken through His servants.

Why did God do this to the Israelites? It’s because God wanted to be their God that He helped the people of Israel, blessed them, and protected them.

God wanted to be praised by the people of Israel. He wanted to be commended by the people of Israel for being righteous and merciful, and to be praised as their Savior and almighty God. This implies that God the Father created us humans and predestined us to be made His children and saved in Jesus Christ, so that we would praise God (Ephesians 1:14). God indeed wants to hear us commending Him. God has saved us from the sins of the world once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even though we are this insufficient, God has saved us from the sins of the world perfectly. He has made us

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His own children. He has blessed us forever. He has made us blessed.

The Apostle Paul said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). God has blessed us so much, He has protected all this time, and He will continue to protect us in the future. At every moment, God has been faithful to us. So that we would make new songs and continue to praise God, He has embraced us, worked in our lives so greatly, takes care of us, and blesses us all. That is who our God is to us. This is the relationship that we have with God. God wants to receive glory and praise through us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and this God wants to be the Shepherd of His children, protect them personally, bless them, nurture them, and bestow all His blessings on them. That is what God wants to show to the people of Israel and you and me alike.

So, having now received God’s blessings, there is

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only one thing that we should do: We should praise God with our faith. We should commend Him with our faith. Whenever we worship God, we must listen to His Word without fail, and we must pray to Him and praise Him. The praises that we sing in our worship services are offered to God. These praises are our confession of faith made unto God. They are the confession of our lips praising God for blessing us. We must all live by faith, realizing and believing that God has worked on our lives with such great love, and that our relationship with God is such a relationship of love.

Such Things Will Happen by This Time Tomorrow As you and I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has saved us once and for all.

Isn’t this the case? God has indeed saved us at once from all our sins through the gospel of the water and

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the Spirit. You and I were fundamentally evil people, all destined to hell. However, the Lord came to this earth and took our sins of the world upon His body all at once by being baptized by John the Baptist.

And after accepting all our sins, the body of the Lord was crucified to shed blood unto His own death, thus bearing all the condemnation of our sins and fulfilling the law that declares the wages of sin to be death. Then rising from the dead again, He has become the true Savior for you and me who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That Jesus Christ has saved us is not on account of our own wish, but it is all because God loved us first, and therefore in obedience to the will of God the Father, Jesus Himself made us God’s children on His part by saving us from all our sins through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. God’s love for us is therefore eternal and perfect.

My fellow believers, as we carry on with our lives in this world after receiving the remission of sin, no matter how insufficient we may be, if we live by

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believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then even though we may be worried about ourselves at first, eventually, we will come to realize that it is completely useless to worry about ourselves. So we come to unite with God’s Church by placing our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We come to say to ourselves, “It’s too lonely for me to live all by myself. I will unite with God’s Church and live for the gospel. I will live for the righteousness of God being content with whatever He gives me.”

Now, abiding in the Lord’s gospel of the water and the Spirit, and having received true salvation, true love, and true glory, we are waiting for the return of God. All of this has actually been realized to us. I am not exaggerating here. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the Truth that enables us to receive all the heavenly blessings.

On the other hand, if anyone does not believe that God has saved us once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then he is a Christian heretic. Because we commit sin constantly while

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living in this world, if we believe only in the blood of the Cross rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then we will always remain sinners. That is why such people have come to have the faith of heretics before God despite believing in Jesus as their Savior, for their sins still remain intact in their hearts.

Heretical beliefs emerged from the faith of the people of Israel and its kings. You must realize that even today, heretics have emerged out of Christians who don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who still don’t believe in Jesus as their Savior are not heretics before God, but they are just lost sheep. But Christians, who profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior and yet say that they have sin whenever they commit sin out of their weaknesses, are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

And therefore they must throw away their heretical faith and believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The heretical faith is as the following: “Although Jesus has already remitted away the sins that I’ve

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committed so far, He is yet to remit away the sins that I will commit in the future. So I have to receive the remission of sin through prayers of repentance.”

It’s such people who are heretics, worshipping golden calves as their gods before the real God. Across Christian communities today, these people believe in Jesus in vain.

As God is merciful, He has saved us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit perfectly once and for all. Jesus Christ, who came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, wanted to be the God of salvation for us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He has indeed become our Savior God. It is Jesus Christ who has saved us perfectly; if He had failed to blot out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, how could He be God? Jesus Christ is the One who has saved us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit from our sins. He is the One who has blessed us, and He is the One who guarantees our eternal future. Jesus Christ is the God of salvation

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who bestows on us such a blessing; after all, what kind of God would He be if He couldn’t even do this?

We the born-again who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have been blessed so much.

That’s why we are laboring all the more diligently for the Kingdom of the Lord. While living on this earth for a short while, the righteous have laid down their lives for the sake of the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

In reality, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are far more blessed than those who believe only in the blood of the Cross. That’s because these people who have believed all this time that the blood of the Cross constitutes their salvation, still have not been completely washed clean from their sins to be as white as snow. In contrast, God has blessed us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit perfectly. Indeed, we are the ones who have received eternal blessings from God. So I admonish you all to please God even more by placing your

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faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and to forever praise the righteousness of God that He has bestowed on us.

Above all, it is my sincerest prayer that you would never turn into a heretic before the gospel of the water and the Spirit and God. Who are the real heretics in God’s sight? Aren’t they those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? The Lord God fulfilled the work of salvation in just a single day. Because one of the Israeli officers did not realize this, nor did he believe in it as he was then trampled to death by the people.

My fellow believers, are you still trying to be washed clean from your sins by believing in the shed blood of Jesus, at the Cross all in vain? Or do you now want to be washed clean from all your sins in just one day, by believing in the gospel of the water and which the Spirit the Lord has given to mankind?

I admonish you to also believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord, and to thus be washed from all your sins even today, become God’s

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child, and receive all His blessings.

Now in this present age, those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord cannot wash away their sins forever, and that is why they have turned into heretics. So now that you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I ask you to give thanks to God for the fact that your heart has become sinless, and that you have received God’s eternal blessings. I hope and pray that all the heavenly blessings the Lord has given to you would always abide in your spirit together with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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SERMON 8

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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Who Are the False Prophets inside the Christianity of Today? < Matthew 7:15-27 > “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast

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out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.’”

Today, I would like to speak about the false prophets mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, verse 15 and those verses that follow it.

Most Christians nowadays are currently leading a life

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of faith under the deception of pastors who are false prophets. Then, is it the case that such lives of faith are all due to prophets who speak lies? No, the bigger problem lies in their inability to discern the false prophets from the true ones. But this is mainly due to the fact that the false prophets look more like true prophets in their outer appearance than the true prophets themselves from a human perspective.

That is why the Lord speaks about how the false prophets appear. Referring to them, the Lord said, “Who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Accordingly, the false prophets are those who appear splendid but take away the sheep’s life. The false prophets who lie before God may look virtuous in the flesh, but their inside is filled with a heart of a ravenous wolf. In other words, they are those who act as leaders by saying that they believe in God despite the fact that they are presently serving the golden calves as their god. Therefore, we must remember the Lord saying that they are, in a word, ravenous wolves, referring to

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the false prophets.

Referring to false prophets, the Lord also said, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16-20).

When we look at this Scripture passage, we discover how we can distinguish false prophets. The Lord said that we could know them by their fruits.

How can we distinguish false prophets before God? First, by looking at their fruits of faith, we are able to distinguish whether or not they are the false ones.

The Lord spoke of the fruit of faith that can be fundamentally applied as the criterion to discern all the false prophets. The Lord said, “How can men gather grapes from thorn bushes and how can men gather figs from thistles? That can never be.” Also,

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He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit,” and He said that is quite proper.

Despite the fact that many people inside today’s Christianity haven’t received their cleansing of sins due to still not knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is the case that they deceive people as well as even themselves as if they were the bornagain and as if they were the true prophets of God with fleshly virtuous acts and with prayers in false tongues or with their deceiving act of the laying on of hands. And thus, the Lord has taught us the criterion for which we can discern true prophets from the false ones and has asked us not to be deceived by them by taking their fruits of faith, which cannot change in spirit and in flesh.

Therefore, we must distinguish false prophets before God by looking at their fruits of faith. By doing so, we can avoid getting pillaged by them in spirit and flesh. In other words, we can easily see that those who profess to believe in Jesus without knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit

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are false prophets. Because they lead a false life of faith, when we look at their fruits of faith, it is easy to see who they are. This Word that the Lord has told us is the Truth.

Indeed, Who Are the False Prophets Inside of Christianity?

It is difficult to distinguish false prophets inside Christianity by their outer appearances. If we were to try to distinguish and observe them by their outer appearances, because they on the contrary seem very gentle and decent like a good sheep, one can’t possibly judge whether they are false prophets or true prophets. That’s why Paul the Apostle said, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of ◄

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righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Thus, in order for us to recognize the false ones, we should examine their fruits of faith. And the fact of the matter is that we can see that their fruits of faith are revealed as constantly seeking after material things only, the golden calves. Those who seek after material things only before God are not trees that bear good fruit, but rather, they are false prophets, trees that bear bad fruit. When we look at them with our spiritual eyes, we can see that they are gouging out material things from their church members and are swindling people in spirit and flesh, all the while saying that they are doing the work of the Lord for they are wicked and cunning.

What the Lord spoke about the heretics is simple and clear: The fact is that the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit becomes the absolute standard for distinguishing false prophets and heretics within Christianity. We must distinguish the false prophets inside today’s Christianity. But because that work

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isn’t easy, we must distinguish and make judgments with the gospel of the water and the Spirit given to us as the standard. Put differently, the Lord-given gospel Word of the water and the Spirit becomes the absolute criterion for judging them. It is because the Gospel of John chapter 3 says that one has to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in order to be born again. Therefore, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the standard of the Truth as well as the criterion for salvation When you meet someone, it is impossible to distinguish whether or not that man is truly a man of God just by looking at his outer appearance. We are able to see him properly by looking at his fruit of faith, which he bears by his faith. Simply put, we can recognize whether someone is a true servant of God or not through these questions: “What sort of gospel does he believe in? Is he someone who believes only in the blood of the Cross? If not, does he believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” The fact of the matter is that we can see if someone is a false

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prophet by asking: “Is he someone who believes in the baptism Jesus had received from John the Baptist and the Cross, or is he not?” Also, we can properly discern the so-called God’s servants by asking: “Is that pastor someone who extracts money from the church members? If not, is he someone who serves the saints and the workers all the while serving the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit?”

This is so because we cannot know whether that person is a true servant of God or the false one through his acts, manner of speech, or countenance.

It is because a false prophet behaves more courteously toward people, speaks more gently, carries out deeds in a more noble way, and exhibits himself in a virtuous way. Therefore, we must remember in our hearts that if we want to know them properly, we have to look at their fruits of faith. We can discern them properly by looking at their fruits of faith, that is, by asking: “Are they currently following the golden calves, or if not, are they

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showing the righteousness of God and believing in and serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit?”

In other words, their fruits are what they essentially seek for.

By comparing people to trees, our Lord said, “You will know them by their fruits.” And the fact of the matter is that one can truly see whether or not a certain pastor is false by looking to see whether he is serving the golden calves or the righteousness of God in his ministry. If his heart is filled with greed and if he is trying to exploit only material things from the church members, that is, if he is serving the golden calves only, he is clearly a false prophet. The fact of the matter is that in order to serve the golden calves, false prophets are killing the spirits of the church members and exploiting their material things by the name of Jesus Christ. Certainly, we can see clearly who they are by looking at their fruits of faith.

If a certain pastor does not know about the gospel of the water and the Spirit and is continuing to perform pastoral duties without being able to preach

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the genuine gospel to his church members, for he does not know it, then he is someone who is carrying out the work in order to serve the golden calves of greed that are currently set high inside his heart.

Then, how can his church members hear about the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, by which the righteousness of God that is revealed is from someone of such a false sin-filled heart? It is impossible. Can pastors like him have their church members truly be born again by having them be remitted of sins? That is impossible, too. Can they right now deliver the gospel of the water and the Spirit to their church members, which can truly have them be turned into children of God? No, they cannot.

What is clear is that one cannot become a sinless person by listening to the sermons preached by them.

If they were truly born again by believing in the Word of the righteousness of God, the Holy Spirit will be inside their hearts as a result, and also, the gospel that they preach will surely be the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If it is the case that they

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themselves are good trees from a spiritual perspective, then in the end, because they will be bearing good fruits, they will also do the work of serving the Lordgiven gospel of the water and the Spirit. In other words, a person who listens to their words will be able to know what the gospel of the water and the Spirit is by listening to what they say and become someone who exalts and serves the righteousness of God. However, because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they can never become those who preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to their church members.

That is why the Lord has said, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19). The Lord said that at the end of the last days that He will then cut down the false prophets and throw them into an unquenchable fire. Hell is a place where the Devil and his servants will be imprisoned.

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People Doing the Work of Serving the Golden Calves Inside of Christianity Are the Spiritual Heretics before God It is quite right to regard all of those who are performing their ministries inside Christianity without knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit as false prophets. Right now within Christianity, there are so many people carrying out such illegitimate pastoral work. It is regrettable to say so, but right now within Christianity, there are just too many such false prophets. False prophets are those who believe in the false gospel instead of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and such people’s faith leads them into serving the golden calves of greed only. It is because that is their fruit. It is because such people only covet church member’s money within the extraterritorial boundary called the church that they work hide in. They exploit church members’ money under the title of monetary offerings to God.

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Their words flow smooth, and at times, they give sermons in a confusing way by mixing up the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as if they know and believe in the Word of God spiritually.

Nevertheless, if we look at the true aspects of their pastoral work, we can see that they are serving only for the golden calves, without even being aware of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is selfevident that they, unaware of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, can never preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to their church members. It is clear that they are those who cannot do anything for their church members spiritually.

However, they exert their efforts in extracting money from their church members by cleverly using Christian doctrines under the pretext of God’s grace.

Thus, many pastors these days are only concerned with building large chapels, and no one can say that their pastoral works are different from a wellconceived business venture of this world. Just as people who had been going to small markets and

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shops swarm to a large warehouse store newly opened up by a world-scale company like Wal-Mart, they exert great efforts into building a large chapel for they know that by building a large chapel with all the necessary facilities and gathering more people there, they can extract an even larger amount of money from the church members that come. Thus, these people make special plans to make much more money and that is the building of the largest chapel in the city because they are only interested in extracting money instead of saving souls.

Also, it becomes more absurd when we look into how they come up with the funds to build such chapels. In order to build bigger chapel structures, they are not collecting voluntary donations from those that want to purely serve the Lord but instead, they are raising construction funds by exploiting the church member’s money through ingenious ideas.

For example, some of them entice their church members to receive loans from banks. Especially the church duty holders who serve inside the church,

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such as elders, deaconesses, and deacons are their first targets. In order to achieve their goal, they have those people offer the money that they had borrowed by vouching for each other as a chapel construction donation.

Does something like this make sense? Yet, they have those people make donations in the amount of ten million Won, which is equivalent to about ten thousand US Dollars, for the lay believers who would borrow the least amount of money, thirty million Won for church duty holders such as deacons, and fifty million to one hundred million for the elders who are deemed to have faith. Also, they do not forget to utilize the competitive mentality in order to make those people offer more. Of course, all the loaned money that the church members had borrowed from banks has to be paid back by the church members. And so, pastors who know about that kind of means go on to build with ease a large-sized chapel that takes up tens of billions of Won, which is equivalent to tens of billions of Dollars, in

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construction costs. When I see chapels of exorbitant scale getting built even in small towns and villages of Korea, I get to think sadly that because of those chapels, many church members who go there must have stood surety for a great amount of money.

Let Us Calculate the Monetary Donation Needed to Build a Mammoth Chapel As the church members vouch for each other in the amount of twenty thousand US Dollars, but if one of them has not paid back the money, then it is the case that either one of them has to pay back in full.

Yet, if there are ten people borrowing twenty thousand Dollars each, how much is the total? It adds up to two hundred thousand Dollars. With just ten church members donating, the sum becomes two hundred thousand Dollars. Thus, if they were to build a chapel that is worth fifty million Dollars, all they have to have is 2,500 members donating twenty

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thousand Dollars each. Because many churches in Korea have over 2,000 to 3,000 adult church members, the calculations show that it isn’t all that difficult to build a large chapel that is worth fifty million Dollars. Thus, pastors in Korea these days are competitively pushing forward with the plans to build a bigger chapel because they can utilize those bigger chapels to gather more people into their churches and then extract a larger amount of donation money from those people.

So, these days, pastors that serve the golden calves of greed preach like this: “Would you be taking your money with you when you die? The Bible says that you have to lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. We must work for God. And so, as for those of you who cannot get an unsecured loan, please stand surety for each other. If you do so, banks will give you a loan.” Thus, they go on heaping up money.

To them, church members’ twenty million US

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Dollars is like nothing. To them, one hundred thousand Dollars is worth nothing more than a child’s candy money. In most instances, faithful church members offer donations for the purpose of chapel construction by taking out loans. Church members who have faith in God cannot but offer donations by standing surety like that and taking out loans for they are told that the chapel building work is a work for the good of Jesus Christ. However, because such false people are only interested in material things, they go on to build a bigger chapel by utilizing such means and then have many more people come there. And, once those people become church members, they come to follow suit and make donations in the same way as that of their predecessors. And for that reason, even though the people of that area were in extreme poverty, it was possible to build at least the church building on a large-scale.

Of course, not all of them build like that. But this is for sure the prevailing trend of most Korean

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churches. As for them, buying at once ten large-sized buses to transport church members who come to their church isn’t that difficult. Something like that can be easily purchased with donations from the elders. It is possible because the pastors have already engraved in the minds of the church members the lie, “If you make many donations to the church, you will receive material blessings without fail.” To them, so long as it is justified by the name of Jesus Christ, the work of achieving that goal is like nothing. These days, there’s a comedian who gives Koreans laughter by coming up with the catchphrase, “It’s only puny.”

And the fact is that if each church member were to get a loan in the amount of fifty million Won (fifty thousand US Dollars) and donate that, the church would even be able to build and move into a hundred-story skyscraper. “It’s only puny.”

People usually look at pastors’ conducts and countenances first. And when they see a pastor whose first impression is good and if he seems to serve Jesus well, they go on to say that that the pastor

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is a true servant of the orthodox Christianity. But, we cannot distinguish the false ones in that manner.

Then, what do we look at to distinguish the false ones from the true servants of God? We can find that out by looking into the following questions: “Is the pastor only interested in the golden calves? If not, does he believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and is he interested in the spreading of that gospel being thankful for it?”

The false prophets recognize and bless only those among their church members who donate large amounts of money. Therefore, we are able to see if he is one of the true servants of God or if he is just a false one by asking: “Does he really do that? If not, is he willing to serve God and the saints by truly offering his life to the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” Pastors who worship the golden calves are only interested in building bigger chapels and plundering church members. Our Lord said that false prophets are ravenous wolves because He was pointing out the wrongful faith of the false

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ones and the fact that their basic motivation for believing in Jesus was wrong.

The Word of our Lord, that is, the written Word of God is a truly wonderful Word. We know and believe in the Truth of the water and the Spirit by confirming it through the Word of God. Because the Word of the Lord is the Truth, because the Lord is the God of the Truth, and because God is allpowerful, we are able to see everything properly by His Word.

A Pastor Whose Interest Lies Only in Monetary Donations Is Surely a False Prophet Even though they carry out ministry work within the extraterritorial boundaries of Christianity, the real fact is that they are heretics before God. A distinct trait of a false prophet is that he carries out pastoral work without knowing about the gospel of the water ◄

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and the Spirit, which is the only God-given measure for salvation. False prophets never believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, but instead, they only assert doctrines that they have learned from the theological schools of their own denominations.

Such people do not obey, follow, and believe in the Word of God. They are the very heretics who gather up money under the pretext of Jesus’ name.

Take a look at the Christianity that exists all over the world today. Whether it is in Asia, Europe, or any other place, there are many heretics inside Christianity. They have no interest in believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preaching it, but rather, they put in all their efforts only into building huge chapels and turning their church members into men of morals. They are specialists in turning their church members into ethical models. As for them, just as only a few new church members come into the chapel, they start to worry over the question, “What can I do to extract even more money from the congregation?” And that is why the Lord

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says to us to take heed of them.

And that is why we call them “collective heretics.” We must distinguish carefully people who are part of the collective heretics. How do we recognize people who are heretics before God? Heretics in Christianity are those who have faith different from that of the Word of God, and thus, they are those who do not believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Heretical believers are those who do not believe in the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, has taken on the sins of this world once and for all by coming down to this earth in His human flesh by receiving His baptism from John the Baptist; the fact that He was nailed to the Cross having borne the sins of this world on His back; and the fact that He was resurrected on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of God. Therefore, people who do ministry work without having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and those who claim to preach the gospel by believing, on their own accord, only in the blood of

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the Cross are all spiritual heretics before God. Jesus said that unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he can neither enter God’s Kingdom nor see God the Father. The Lord said that we are able to distinguish who the heretics are by looking at their fruit. If that is the case and you are currently a minister, then you must examine yourself to see if whether or not you have become a heretic unknowingly. If you have become a heretic before God for not having known about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then please come back quickly before God by receiving the remission of your sins by believing in this genuine gospel. If you do so, God will find joy in you.

Heretics inside Christianity are only interested in material things. Thus, if we were to look, based on the Word spoken by the Lord, there are a tremendous number of heretics within Christianity in this world.

They extort the hard working poor people’s money.

Of course, they gather up rich people’s money, too.

Their conscience is dauntless for they claim to serve

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the gospel by gathering up money.

We must distinguish between them and us in accordance with what our Lord has said about them.

The Lord said a bad tree is unable to bear good fruit.

What this means is that if a person didn’t truly receive the remission of sins by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and does not truly have the Holy Spirit inside his or her heart, then that person never will be able to bear spiritually virtuous fruit. The fact of the matter is that even if such a person preaches well, looks proper in the outer appearance, and speaks unerringly, no matter how much, all that would amount to nothing.

At times as I watch the Christian channel on TV, I monitor the flow of Christian faith, sermons, and ministries throughout this world in this day and age.

A few days ago, I saw a certain Evangelical pastor who is claimed to be great appearing on a Christian program on TV and preaching. He was so eloquent, but his sermon was just words that had nothing to do with the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit.

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Because he did not know about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he was someone who couldn’t even mention a word about that true gospel to his church members. If a preacher cannot preach about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then clearly, that person must be a false prophet. Because he preaches the Word of God without having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he is a wrongful preacher. He is a false prophet. There are many false people like that. Truly, such false prophets constantly give legalistic sermons, and they exert all their efforts into serving the golden calves.

Brothers and sisters overseas who have received the remission of sins by having read our books write to us e-mail letters, and as we listen to what they have to say, they say that the false prophets there are also telling people to just donate money and are frantic about building bigger chapels. Yet, as we are sharing the gospel of the water and the Spirit with them, they send us messages thanking us greatly for that. We are spreading the gospel of the water and the

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Spirit through free books and free electronic books for those that truly love their soul and want to receive the remission of sins among the Christians of the world.

However, heretics are just trying to extract money from their church members and have them donate more money by giving sermons with such intentions, instead of carrying out the work of spreading the gospel of God. Even though their dreams are to be enthusiastic about enlarging the chapel facilities and making its interior or the facilities extravagant, in the end, the fact of the matter is that they are not preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the most important Truth, to their church members, but rather, they are filling up the hearts of their church members with the greed of the golden calves.

Dear fellow believers, inside Christianity all over the world, there are many people who have become heretics. The Lord said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly

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they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Those who profess to believe in Jesus without even knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit are none other than heretics. Ravenous wolves! The Lord said that they are precisely the heretics. Wolves in sheep’s skin are polite and sleek-spoken from the outside, but they only ask their church members to donate money. They are unable to preach this gospel Truth that delivers people’s spirits from sins, and as a result, they lead souls, who cannot be killed otherwise, to a curse and destruction.

That is why there are many heretics inside today’s Christianity. People who are outside Christianity aren’t heretics before God. They are just lost sheep.

However, there are many heretics among those who have now come inside Christianity, believing in Jesus and having become leaders, duty holders, and lay believers. They have become heretics without realizing it because they do not know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, because they have not received the remission of sins in their heart,

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and because they have not received the Holy Spirit. I want you to see whether or not the pastor who is leading you is a heretic.

If I were to say these things, it would be of great shock to them, so it isn’t easy for me to say these things. Nevertheless, I think the time has come for me to speak about who the heretics are in the presence of God. That is why I am giving a series of sermons on heresy, I am preaching the fact that the Lord has said that every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. I am going to publish a couple of books on heresy. In doing so, I wish to make clear who the heretics are and what sort of faith is that of a heretic.

And so, I want to preach the Word of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit to the miserable ones, that is, the heretics. A person who hasn’t yet been born again due to not knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit can never bear good fruit, no matter how many fasting prayers and prayers of repentance that person were to offer and no matter

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how hard that person may endeavor. However, if such a person believes in the Lord-given gospel of the water and the Spirit even now, he too can be born again all at once, and can lead others into becoming the born-again. Thus, everyone has to know and believe in the fact that the Lord has saved us from sins by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit as He came down to this earth. Everyone must truly be born again by knowing and believing in the Lord’s work and how He has blotted out all our sins.

What we must realize here is that knowing and believing in the work of having saved us from sins that the Lord has accomplished through the gospel of the water and the Spirit is more important than what sort of sacrifices and service we ourselves ought to carry out before the Lord. The Lord’s work of having saved us from sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit is what that is important, and thus, we shouldn’t put forth before the Lord how much we had sacrificed and endeavored for the Lord. If there are some merits that we had done for the Lord, they were

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all possible by the strength given by the Lord. Thus, we must be even more thankful for the righteousness of the Lord by faith. One thing important for us is to know and believe in is how God has created the universe and how He has saved us from sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit by sending His Son down to this earth. God had this plan to save us in Christ from all our sins even before the Creation of the world. The Lord having saved us from the sins of the world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit is what that is important. Then, what I am asking is if we don’t even know the important Truth, the gospel of the water and the Spirit, how can we preach that to others and then have them believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Our own righteousness isn’t all that important before the Lord.

Therefore, everyone has to know and believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, whoever he or she may be. To do so, one must learn the Truth about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. To do so, the attitude of willing to learn the Truth about the

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water and the Spirit is essential. And everyone has to believe in and serve this gospel, and then preach it to others. Do you agree? If not, you must be a heretic.

The fact is that people these days who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot but fall into destruction after having lived doing things that a heretic would do all the while being affiliated with heresy even if they do not want to become a heretic.

Therefore, people who truly believe in Jesus, regardless of whom, must know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Also, they must actually apply this gospel to their soul and believe in it. Have you truly received the cleansing of sins by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? This is what that is important. You must ask yourselves these questions: “Have I truly been saved from sins?

Have I truly been born again by the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” You must ask yourselves whether or not you yourselves have been saved from all your sins by having faith in the gospel of the

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water and the Spirit. And also, if you think that you have truly been delivered from your sins at once, you must ask yourselves whether or not you have been delivered by truly having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

And if that is not the case, you must at this moment believe in the Truth that the Lord has saved you and me by coming down to this earth in the flesh; receiving His baptism from John the Baptist at the age of thirty; taking on all your sins at once and for all; going to the Cross carrying the sins of the world on his back; getting nailed and vicariously dying; being resurrected from the dead; and rising up to the right hand of the throne of God. You must confirm on your own whether or not you yourselves do have the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. One who has truly been born again of water and the Spirit must be able to say, “I do not have sins by the faith of believing in this Truth, the gospel of the water and the Spirit.” Instead of speaking out formulas and answers regarding the

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gospel of the water and the Spirit that we have memorized, we must have faith inside our heart. We must become someone who can ask oneself, “Do I truly have no sin?” and then answer oneself, “Of course! I have no sin for the Lord has saved me like so by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit,” by the faith of knowing and believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit inside one’s heart.

When you ask yourself a question like that, do you answer that your heart knows and believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Have you become such a person? You must become such a person. It’s not someone else’s responsibility but yours that you haven’t been born again. When asked, “How were you born again?” You do not get saved by tracing back into your memory and speaking out an answer you had memorized with difficulty thus saying: “Let’s see. What was his name? Who was the man that gave Jesus His baptism?”

You must be able answer correctly like this: “The Lord has saved me by coming to this earth, taking on

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all my sins by receiving His baptism, dying vicariously for me, and then being resurrected from the dead. Because the Lord has saved me like so, even though I may be lacking, I do not have any sins.

There actually aren’t any sins inside my heart. Thus, I have received the remission of sins.” Accordingly, you must be able to say to yourself, “Yes, you have already received God’s blessing by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.”

We must not become those who lie before the Lord. By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must become those who are faithful in the presence of God. We must become those whose faith receives recognition from God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Not by our own virtuous deeds but by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and in the written Word of the Truth, we must become a good tree and thus, become the faithful that bears good fruit.

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SERMON 9

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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234 Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ!

Let Us Lead to the Truth The Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ! < 1 John 5:1-12 > “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came

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by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth:] the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Today, based on 1 John chapter five, I would like

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235 Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ!

to bear witness of the God-given Truth of salvation, as well as testify about the heretics among Christian leaders in this age. The heretics that abide in today’s Christianity do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given to us. So they do not know the reason why the Lord said that one is able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and see God the Father only if he is born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). Even though the Lord has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, today’s Christian heretics do not believe in this God-given gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. It’s because they believe in God according to their own thoughts, in contrast to the Truth that God has saved us once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that they have turned into heretics. The Bible makes clear that whoever does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a heretic. That is the topic that I would like to address today.

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You Must Believe that Jesus Is the Christ 1 John 5:1 says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” What does this passage really mean? As you know well, the word “Christ” here means “the anointed one.” Who was anointed in the age of the Old Testament? In the days of the Old Testament, it was kings, prophets, and priests who were each anointed on their heads when they were consecrated to their offices. In other words, when God appointed the high priests, kings, or prophets, He did so by anointing their heads. Usually, the one commanded by God to appoint someone to one of these offices put oil in a horn and poured it on the head of the appointee.

Jesus is the One who was anointed as the King of kings, the Prophet who brought the Truth, and the High Priest who made atonement for all the sins of mankind. He came to this earth anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38), and He saved us ◄

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through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is why it was said that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. This means that Jesus Christ came to this earth with the three offices of King, Priest, and Prophet, and worked to save us from the sins of the world. In other words, the Lord is saying that He has blotted out our sins once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit and become our Savior.

In short, Jesus is our true Prophet, true King, and true High Priest. He is our God who made this universe and created all its hosts. There is nothing in this universe that was not made by Jesus our Savior.

Jesus Christ is our Prophet who knows everything that will come to pass, and He has saved us from the sins of the world as the King of kings and the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why we have now been saved from all our sins once and for all by believing that Jesus is our Christ. The gospel of the water and the Spirit clearly explains the Truth of salvation. As Jesus Christ is our true King and High

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Priest, He has spoken the real Truth of salvation revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone who is yearning to be saved.

Since Jesus created the heavens and the earth, made man, and rules over everything He made, the Lord is our true King. As Jesus is our King and everyone’s King, He rules this world as the King of kings. It’s because Jesus is King that He runs the universe, commands everything to obey His will, and reigns over the history of mankind as well. Jesus is also the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to the will of God His Father, Jesus Christ came to this earth with the office of the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, and He bore all our sins once and for all on His body by being baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus has already completed the work of saving mankind from all sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior who humbled Himself and came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man in order to save us

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from all the sins of the world. To blot out the sins of mankind, Jesus Christ became the High Priest of Heaven, and by taking these sins of the human race upon His body and offering His body to God the Father as our propitiation, He has saved us from all the sins of the world once and for all. That is why the Bible says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” This means that as Jesus is indeed our Christ, those who believe in Him as the Christ are born of God, but those who do not believe in Jesus as the Christ are not born of God. Jesus Christ took the offices of King, Prophet, and High Priest, and by fulfilling these three offices to perfection He has saved you and me from all the sins of the world once and for all and become our true Savior. He shouldered your sins and mine, bore the condemnation of our sins, and has saved us perfectly from the sins of the world. Whether we can receive true salvation or not depends on whether or not we believe in this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit with our hearts.

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Those who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit like this are God’s children born again of God. Right now God wants you to believe in how His Son Jesus Christ has saved you from the sins of mankind. Whoever wants to be born again must believe that Jesus is the Christ. All those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God. But all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are not born of God. Therefore, for us to be born again through God, we must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our hearts. Born as the descendants of Adam, whether we still remain as sinners placed under the curse of the Law or become righteous, born-again people through God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is determined by this faith. In other words, whether our faith is correct or not is determined by whether or not we believe that Jesus is the Christ. Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God, and therefore they are God’s people. In contrast, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are

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238 Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ!

heretics, not God’s people. Even though every Christian today professes to believe in Jesus as the Savior, all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are heretics.

That is why 1 John 5:1 says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” So whether you believe in Jesus correctly or not depends on whether or not you believe that Jesus is the Christ.

This can be summed into the following question: Do you really believe that Jesus has saved you from the sins of the world and the condemnation of all sins by fulfilling all these three offices? Those who believe in this Truth are God’s people, for they are born of God, but those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are not God’s people, but heretics instead.

Many Christians have turned into heretics instead of God’s people precisely because they do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, even though they say that they believe in Jesus. That these Christians do not believe Jesus to be the Christ means that they do not believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the

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Spirit—that is, they do not believe that Jesus has saved us from all our sins by coming this earth incarnated in the flesh of man and being born through the body of the Virgin Mary; taking upon Himself our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30; carrying the sins of the world to the Cross and shedding His blood on it unto death; and rising from the dead again. Therefore, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are those who do not know that He has saved us from sin by fulfilling these three offices to perfection. Such people are heretics in God’s sight.

Do you think that heretics are peculiar in their outside appearance? No, they don’t have any horns on their heads or three eyes. How can we then discern heretics? They can be discerned by looking at Christians to see whether they believe that Jesus is the Christ or not. In other words, whoever does not believe that Jesus is the Christ is a heretic before God. That’s why the Apostle John said that all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are heretics. To

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believe that Jesus is the Christ is to believe that Jesus, God Himself, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh as the Savior, bore all the sins of mankind by His being baptized by John the Baptist, was crucified and shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby fulfilled all the righteousness of God and saved us from all our sins, our curses, and the condemnation of our sin. Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God, and therefore they have become God’s people, but those who do not believe so are accursed heretics in God’s sight.

That is why we must realize and believe that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that Jesus is the Christ. What about you then? Do you also believe so? Even though you believe in Jesus, you must believe that He is the Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior who came to us with the three offices of King, Prophet, and High Priest, and fulfilled everything according to these offices. Today’s Scripture passage is teaching us that whoever believes in this Truth, is a genuine Christian.

Even now, Jesus teaches us everything through the

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written Word of God. Jesus is our true Prophet, don’t you agree? He is teaching us everything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By Him being baptized by John the Baptist as the High Priest and our King, Jesus took upon Himself all our sins of the world once and for all, and by being crucified, He bore the condemnation of sin with His bloodshed. He is the Savior who has thus saved us from the sins of this world once and for all. The question here is whether or not you really believe that Jesus is the Christ. Do you realize that Jesus is the Christ? And do you believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ? If someone does not believe that Jesus is the Christ even as he believes in Him as his Savior, he is a sinner who has not been born again yet. If such people continue to hold on to their mistaken faith, then they will be condemned by God for their sins and be dishonored as heretics.

That is right. That is why we must realize that our Lord fulfilled the three offices of Christ, and why we must be saved from all sins by believing according to

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this knowledge exactly as it is. Yet despite this, people believe in Jesus, who is this Christ, merely as the Savior. But we should not believe like them.

Instead, we must truthfully believe that Jesus is the Savior who has blotted out all our sins. But before we believe, we must realize properly how Jesus has saved us from sin, and by what method He has delivered us from the sins of the world. We must properly understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth of salvation, and then believe that Jesus is the Christ based on such knowledge. We all must realize and believe that the Lord was born on this earth incarnated in the flesh for us, was baptized

by John the Baptist at the age of 30 to take upon Himself our sins, was crucified to death, rose from the dead, and has thereby saved us once and for all and given us eternal life. If we understand this and believe in this, then we are of those who believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit of which the Bible speaks.

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We Keep God’s Commandments by Believing in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit So the Apostle John said, “Everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.” Because Jesus is the Son of God, everyone who loves Him who begot—that is, everyone who loves God the Father—loves the other born-again saints. We love God the Father, don’t’ we all? Then the fact that we love God the Father means that we love His Son—that is, Jesus our Savior who has saved us from the sins of the world. That is why we obey the Word of Jesus Christ, believe in it, and follow it. And the Lord said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). This is only a matter of course, but I say this again because there are so many heretics. ◄

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So the Apostle John said, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” John spoke of God’s commandments here, and these commandments essentially boil down to the requirement that we love each other. For us to love one another just as the Lord loved us, to have compassion for the souls that have not received the remission of sin and love them, to love the Lord in the light, to love and cherish each other as the righteousness, to sincerely care for one another, to never hate each other out of the heart nor stand against one another—these are what is meant by keeping God’s commandments. God said here that it is when we keep His commandments that we know that we love His children. This means that if we really love God, then we should also love His children and keep His commandments. All God’s commandments boil down to love.

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Today’s Scripture passage said here that for us to love God is to keep His commandments. It also said that God’s commandments are not burdensome. The reason why God’s commandments are not burdensome for us is because He loved us first and saved us perfectly from all sins, and because He gave this love of salvation into our hearts. God has commanded us to love one another, but if we look at this commandment only legalistically, then it can actually be extremely burdensome. That is because we are incapable of loving one another as we love our own bodies. That is how we are in our carnal nature. And that’s why God’s commandments are too burdensome for those who still have not been born again.

However, for those who have received the remission of sin into their hearts by realizing and believing in Jesus Christ as the Savior who came by the water, the blood, and the Spirit, it is not so burdensome to love one another. Why? Because the Holy Spirit now dwells in their hearts! For the

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righteous, it’s actually more difficult not to love each other. It’s actually far easier for them to love one another than not to love each other. When the righteous love one another and cherish each other, they are truly joyful, peaceful, and in the fullness of the Spirit.

That’s right. It’s only a matter of course for the righteous to love each other. Indeed, it’s only natural for the righteous to love one another in their lives.

It’s harder for the righteous to hate than to love, and it’s very easy for them to cherish one another. This is true for both you and me who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The reason for this is because the Holy Spirit abides in your heart and mine alike. The righteous, are enabled to love one another owing to the Holy Spirit indwelling in their hearts.

Without the Holy Spirit, even the righteous cannot love anyone either. Our Lord told us to love one another and love even our enemies, and He said this because He blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, bore the condemnation of

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our sins in our place, saved us from the sins of the world, made us God’s children, and gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. It’s because the Spirit of God, the fountain of love, now dwells in our hearts that we are able to keep His commandments. If we had not become God’s children by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you and I would have never been able to keep God’s commandments.

Had the Lord told us to love one another in carnal terms and to cherish our neighbors as we cherish our own bodies, then we would not have been able to achieve this. How should you and I love each other?

How can we cherish one another? We are such that without the Holy Spirit, we can never love each other nor cherish one another. Do you all understand this Word? It’s because the Holy Spirit is in our hearts that we are able to understand everything. My fellow believers, from today’s Scripture passage, we can see that the Apostle John also had the same heart as ours, that He was also saved from all sins by believing in

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the gospel of the water and the Spirit just like us, and that He also preached the same gospel and gave the same sermons. We can understand the Apostle John’s heart and faith precisely because we also have the gospel of the water and the Spirit in our hearts.

Those Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Can Overcome the Current of the World Implying that God has saved us from sin, the Apostle John said the following in verse 4: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” This means that those who are born of God can overcome the world, but those who are not born of God cannot overcome the world. What does it means when it says here, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world”? How can we know if we are born of God or not? Those who are born of God refer

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to those who are born again of water and the Spirit.

This then means that the born-again can overcome the world, and the fact that we the born-again can overcome the world means that we can overcome the conventions and customs of this world by faith.

Not too long ago, the South Korean government submitted a legislation to move the administrative capital to Gong-ju, a city in South Chungcheong Province located in the central region. Even though this piece of legislation was passed by the National Assembly, it was challenged at the Constitutional Court as being unconstitutional. Based on the notion that it was customary law for the capital of South Korea to be Seoul, the justices at the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the administrative capital to be moved to another city.

The basis of this judgment was the following: “There are traditions and customs in every nation; the capital city of South Korea is Seoul and everyone in the world also recognizes this. Relocating the capital to another city will be very costly to the nation as well.

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Furthermore, since the relocation falls under the customary constitution of Korea, the Capital Relocation Law should have been submitted to a national referendum to abide by the requisite procedure required to amend the Constitution, but the legislature failed to do so, and therefore it is unconstitutional.” So the Constitutional Court ruled against the government and declared the legislation unconstitutional.

As a result, the government in the end could not relocate the capital to its proposed site in South Chungcheong Province. So Seoul is still called the capital of South Korea. In Israel, Jerusalem is its capital. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel. The capital of the United States is Washington, DC. Although there are many other famous cities in the US other than Washington, DC, it is still its capital.

So as each nation has such traditional customs, it is very hard to change them.

In family settings also, there are customs that should be kept. Children should obey their parents

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and honor them. Human society is sustained based on such customs. From customs governing human relationships to cultural and religious customs, there are many social norms in this world formed by conventions. One cannot stand against such customs and expect to live harmoniously with the other members of society.

However, the Bible says, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” This means that by faith, the born-again can change, fix, and overcome such traditions, social trends, and customs. In other words, those who are born of God triumph over such customs of the world. Even though historically the capital of Korea has been Seoul for a long time, and so people say that this capital can never be changed.

But, if God is not pleased, the born-again people of faith do not obey such a custom no matter what they may lose. That’s why God said that those who are born of Him overcome the world.

We overcome the world and its customs by our faith in the righteousness of God. To follow the will

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of God, we sometimes engage in a righteous struggle against others. But this does not mean that we the born-again fight with our fists. The righteous believers are obedient to God according to His desire.

Here in the previous passage it was said that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ keep the commandments and love one another. True love is for God. If we just follow worldly customs, we can’t keep God’s commandment to love one another. If the people of the world stand against God, the righteous cannot love them infinitely. Moreover, even though the righteous pray for them out of compassion and love them with their hearts, if they continue to reject and stand against the righteousness of God, the righteous can no longer love them.

John said then in today’s Scripture passage, “What is the faith that overcomes the world? It is our faith.”

It is our faith that overcomes even the conventions of the world. The people of the world cannot overcome its customs. How could they? Those who belong to this world cannot break the norms that must be kept

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between family members. Nowadays the family norm has weakened considerably, but when I was young, it had a powerful hold. In Korea, it was customary for a son to do whatever his parents told him to do; if they told him to become a doctor, he had to become a doctor; if they told him to become a teacher, he had to become a teacher; and if they told him to marry some girl, then he had to marry her. However, once one is born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he is able to go against even the will of his parents of the flesh. For the born-again children, if their parents stand against God or obstruct His work, then they cannot agree with their parents’ will, and therefore they have to refuse to obey their parents and say to them, “I am sorry, but I cannot submit to you.” While they may not be able to stop what their parents are doing, they cannot agree with their parents’ will because they believe in the righteousness of God. Here is another example of overcoming the world: In Korea, there is a traditional custom for people to

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perform religious rituals for their deceased ancestors several times a year. When one rejects this custom and says, “I can’t perform this ritual anymore as it is against the will of God,” he is also overcoming the world. Some friends are so close to us that we can never imagine being estranged from them, but if they stand against God after we are born again, then we can break off our friendship with them. A long time ago, when I preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit to a friend of mine, this friend hated me for it, even though he was also a Christian. So I admonished him time after time and continued to teach him the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that he would understand, but later on, he spoke ill of me to others and stood against me.

So I said to him, “Alright then. Let’s not be friends anymore. There is nothing I can do. I don’t hate you in my heart, nor do I hate you overtly. Why then do you hate me for no reason? If the gospel of the water and the Spirit that I speak of and believe in is biblically wrong, then you should say so clearly to

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me. If not, then you should also repent and return to God. How can anyone who believes in God believe in Jesus as his Savior while ignoring the written Word of God? I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit exactly according to how it is written in the Bible; I can’t believe differently from the written Word. Yet since you say that you don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I can no longer approve your faith from now on. But I still hope that you would return to God.” All that I could do was only hope and pray that he would believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit to my nephew, but far from believing in it, he hated me, his uncle, for preaching it to him. He argued against me vehemently, saying to me, “The gospel you speak of is right if I were to believe according to the Bible, but since Christianity in this world does not believe like you do, I can’t believe so either.” At that time even though my nephew was being assisted by his church and he was unable to

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overcome the customs of the world. However, as I have overcome the customs of the world by my faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I have been able to clearly expose the mistaken beliefs of false Christians in this world.

The Apostle John went on to say, “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:5-8).

How did the Son of God come to this earth? The Bible says, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ.” In other words, Jesus came to this earth by water and blood. This means that Jesus came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, took

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upon Himself our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, and having thus shouldered the sins of the world, He was condemned for our sins by being crucified and shedding His blood, thereby saving us from sin. That is what it means when the Bible says that Jesus came to this world by water and the blood.

For God the Father, Jesus is His Son, but this Son came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, bore our sins upon Himself by being baptized, shed His blood, and arose from the dead again. The Lord came to this earth by water and the blood. That we believe in Jesus as our Savior, and that we believe He is the Son of God, means that we have received the remission of sin by believing in Jesus Christ who came by water and blood.

To believe that the Son of God has saved us by coming to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, being baptized, shedding His blood on the Cross and rising from the dead, is none other than to believe in Jesus as the Christ. In other words, someone who knows this and accepts this belief as Truth, that Jesus

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has saved us perfectly by coming by water and blood, is someone who believes that “Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.” Anyone who otherwise does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Such people who do not believe that Jesus who came by water and blood is their Savior are heretics.

If anyone neither believes nor recognizes that Jesus is the Savior who has saved us from sin by coming to this earth by water and blood, then he is not someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. And if one does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then he does not believe that Jesus is God Himself either.

Among the Christian leaders of this world, countless people do not know that Jesus is God Himself, and yet these people also profess to be witness of Jesus.

None other than these people are the heretics like Jeroboam.

Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are those who believe in Jesus Christ who came by

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the water and the Spirit. In contrast, those who do not believe in Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit are those who do not believe that Jesus is God Himself. Just as an offspring of a human being is another human being, the Son of God the Father is divine for us. That’s how it is when I speak of it in the logic of man.

Here the Apostle John is now declaring that Jesus is God, but many Christians in this world do not believe in this fact. Some pastors even preach, “Salvation is not found in Christianity alone, but it can also be found in other religions.” Such a claim may seem very open-minded and tolerant, but whoever preaches like this is someone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God! The Lords said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This means that God has never given us any other name than Jesus Christ by which we can be saved. Put differently, only the Son of God the Father came to this earth with the

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name Jesus, and while anyone can be saved from sin and destruction, this is possible only by believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God. God has never given salvation to mankind by any other name. In short, God sent His Son named Jesus Christ to this earth, and this Jesus, coming by the water and the blood, has saved us from all sins.

It is the Lord who has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God has saved us by sending His Son to this earth, and providing for Him to receive His baptism, die on the Cross, and arise from the dead again. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, nor believes that He created the entire universe and everything in it, is someone who does not believe that Jesus is God. There are so many such people even in Christian communities. They are widespread. Such people are nothing more than heretics who worship idols before God just like King Jeroboam. What about you? Do you really believe that Jesus is the Son of God? To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to

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believe that Jesus is the very God that created the heavens and the earth. Jesus is God the Creator.

Genesis chapter one says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” This very God is none other than Jesus. Do you believe in this?

That is what God is saying here in Genesis 1:1-2, and this is true. The Bible says that there is nothing in this world that was not made by the true God Jesus (John 1:3). All things came out of Him, and all things shall return to Him (Romans 11:36).

Everything in the world began because of Him, exists because of Him, and is to return to Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). All things created by Jesus Christ in the beginning will return to Him. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, and my Savior, and that He came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saved us from the sins of the world. Faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not based on our

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own, self-righteous arguments, but it is a genuine faith based on the Word of the Bible. Therefore, those who do not believe like this—that is, those who do no believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He came to this earth by water and blood—are heretics. It’s not so difficult to turn into a heretic.

Whoever does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is God Himself, is a heretic in God’s sight.

Many people throughout the whole world are now sending us their testimonies of salvation, having received the remission of their sins from reading our books that contain the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They all say invariably that they had misunderstood Jesus and misbelieved in Him all this time. Now, the gospel of the water and the Spirit has been preached to a certain extent, and its foundation seems to have been laid. So from now on, I plan to speak out about heresy in detail. If I had preached about the wrong faith of heresy before laying the foundation of the gospel like this, then people would

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not have understood me, and even worse, they would have been fearful or stood against me blindly. So I could not address this issue before, as Christians all over the world did not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor understood the Word of God in any depth. The reason why I am now addressing this subject is because there are too many people in Christian communities who are preaching doctrines rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result, the newly born-again lambs who have only recently been saved by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are perishing away spiritually.

We Must Believe That the Lord Has Saved Us by Coming to This Earth by Water and Blood Among Christian believers right now, those who do not believe in Jesus who came by water and blood ◄

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have all fallen into heresy, and those who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself are also all heretics. So the Lord said in 1 John 5:6-8, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood.

And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” It is the Holy Spirit who bears witness that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit is truth. He is God. It was said here that there are three that bear witness: The Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses testify that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.

The first witness is the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived within the virgin Mary’s body by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Having come to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, Jesus was then

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baptized by John the Baptist. On this baptism that Jesus received, 1 Peter 3:21 says, “There is also an antitype [of water] which now saves us—baptism.”

Why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized in order to accept all the sins of mankind, yours and mine alike.

It was to accept the sins of the world that Jesus was baptized, and this was done in order to fulfill the righteousness of God (Matthew 3:13-15).

Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross then?

That’s because He had accepted the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist. This is why He had to die on the Cross and rise from the dead again. Why is Jesus the Savior of sinners? Even though Jesus is God Himself, He was conceived in the body of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh like this, and completely eradicated mankind’s sins by His being baptized and shedding His blood unto His death. Our salvation was, therefore, fulfilled by the Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood. That is why the Bible says, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the

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Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:7-8). So when the Bible says that God is Triune, it is saying that the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father are the same one God to us.

Although theologians also argue that God is Triune, this is actually an attempt to understand the concept by fitting it to their own thoughts. For them to really understand the Triune God, they must also believe that the Lord came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and only then can they understand the Triune God properly. The Triune God is God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

These three are the same God to us. Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father, but at the same time, He is God Himself to us. Jesus Christ is equal to God the Father in His Godhood. And the Holy Spirit is also equal to God the Father. The Father, Jesus the Word, and the Holy Spirit are one God, and the Spirit, the

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water, and the blood agree as one. The fact that Jesus is God implies that He came to this earth conceived by the Holy Spirit and that Jesus is God Himself. But He came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man.

This means that He is our Savior who has both divine and human attributes. And to believe so is to believe that Jesus Christ became the Savior who took upon Himself the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

Jesus is the Savior who bore our sins by being baptized. Because Jesus Christ had shouldered the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, He had to shed His blood on the Cross.

Those who believe in the Spirit, the water, and the blood are God’s children, but those who do not believe in this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore they have not been born again yet. If they keep insisting on their own way stubbornly, then as heretics before God, they cannot avoid eternal death.

As many Christians still do not realize that Jesus

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came to this earth by water and blood, they don’t really know and believe in the Truth of salvation properly, even though they profess to believe in Jesus.

If one understands and believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he will be saved from sin, but if he believes only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross then he will remain a sinner before God. Some people cannot cast aside their flawed gospel over their interests or carnal relationships, despite realizing that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is right. Such people cannot overcome the world, and therefore they belong to heresy in God’s sight.

As such, all those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must turn around from their mistaken faith even now. They, too, must thus be saved from all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And they must also be truly freed from heretics by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should realize that many Christians actually belong to heresy. The Bible says that those who belong to heresy are “warped and

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sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:11). Their hearts are corrupted, and they commit sin by themselves. They say that Jesus failed to blot out all their sins, especially their personal sins. This is their sin. They confess like this: “Jesus is my Savior. But He failed to blot out all my sins. Therefore I am a sinner.” With this confession, they are actually nullifying the entire ministry of Jesus’ salvation.

Being self-corrupted like this, they are sinning against God. They sin against God out of their self-corruption.

They say that Jesus failed to blot out all their sins, deliberately ignoring the fact that the Lord eradicated all our sins with the water and the blood. But Jesus has blotted out all our sins by His being baptized and shedding His blood on the Cross. Yet despite realizing this, they have no faith in it, and that is why they are corrupting their conscience to rot away. So as they do not believe in the Truth, they keep committing sin by themselves without even realizing what sin is. Such people are so sinful that their hearts

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are corrupted. They not only commit sin against God, but they also drive themselves into sin. That is how such people turn into heretics. The Lord told us to stay away from people like them.

What Enables Us to Become God’s People?

Whether we become God’s people or not depends on whether or not we believe in Jesus Christ, who came by water, blood, and the Spirit, as our Savior.

The evidence of our faith is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And we must possess this evidence of our salvation from the Word of God. We must show the evidence of salvation to others. And we must also receive the witness given by God. We must obtain the God-given witness of salvation through His Word.

Does this then mean that everyone needs the witness of his salvation? Yes, everyone needs this proof. The evidence that we have been saved from the sins of the world must be established with the

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gospel of the water and the Spirit. The proof that you and I have received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must be secured from the Word of God. We shouldn’t just talk loudly among ourselves and boast ourselves without even having the evidence that we have been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must present the evidence of our salvation to others with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

What is this evidence of our salvation then? It is to wholeheartedly believe in Jesus Christ who came by water and blood. And it is to also believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Those who believe in the Son of God have this evidence in them. The biblical witness is that Jesus is the Son of God, and He has saved us by coming to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, taking upon Himself our sins by being baptized, being crucified to His death, and rising from the dead again.

Those who believe in Jesus Christ who came by the Spirit, the water, and the blood have the witness

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of salvation in their hearts. I have the evidence of my salvation from the sins of the world as the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As you now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, your heart also has the evidence of your salvation from sin. Don’t you also have it? Do you have the testimony of salvation, proving that the Lord who came by the Spirit, the water, and the blood has saved you from all your sins? We each have the evidence of our salvation from sin in our hearts as the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, you and I have been saved. To us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has thus given us this gospel as the evidence of our salvation. So we can show to people the proof that we have been saved from sin.

When asked, “How were you saved?” we can give the following answer without any hesitation: “The Lord was born on this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, took upon Himself all our sins by being baptized at the age of 30, shouldering all the sins of the world at that time including my sins. He then

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shed His blood on the Cross, bore all the condemnation of sin with His death, rose from the dead again, bore witness to His resurrection for 40 days, and ascended to Heaven. This Lord is my Savior. He bore my sins by being baptized, He was condemned for my sins by shedding His blood on the Cross and He resurrected me from death by rising from the dead again. I believe in this Jesus as my Savior.” We can all testify to this.

You now also can testify to your salvation as the follows: “God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth, made Him take upon Himself my sins by His being baptized, bear the condemnation of these sins by being crucified, reached death, rose from the dead again, and has thereby solved all the problems of my sins, the condemnation of my sins, and my death, saved me from sin, and given me new life. He has given me resurrection. That’s what I believe.

That’s what God has done for me. So since this is what God has done for me, I believe in it.” You are able to testify like this.

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That’s why the Bible says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10). To believe in Jesus is to believe that He is the Son of God, and that He has saved us by coming to this earth, being baptized, dying on the Cross, and arising from the dead again.

Those Who Now Believe That Jesus Christ Is the Son of God It is true that Jesus Christ the Son of God took upon Himself our sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist when He came to this earth. This is an undeniable fact. It’s true that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River and shed His blood unto His own death on the Cross, thereby, saving us from all the sins of the world and being condemned Himself in our place. It’s also true

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that Jesus was baptized, died on the Cross crucified, and rose from the dead again. So those who believe in the Son of God have in them the conviction of salvation that they have been saved from sin.

Salvation is in the hearts of those who believe in the Word of God. It is in your heart and mine.

“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10). This means that anyone who does not believe that Jesus has saved us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit is someone who fundamentally does not believe that Jesus is God. Such people do not believe that Jesus is God Himself, and they essentially do not believe in God the Father. It’s because they don’t believe in God that their sins remain intact in their hearts, and that’s why they say, “God is a liar. He hasn’t saved us like this.” In other words, because such people do not believe in God, they cannot believe each and every truth that Jesus

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Christ is the Son of God the Father, that He is God Himself, that He took upon Himself our sins by His being baptized that He died on the Cross, that He rose from the dead again, and that He has saved us.

Because they deny God and do not believe in Him fundamentally, they do not believe that the Son of God came to this earth and has saved them either.

That is why even now so many people do not believe that Jesus is God. Such people say, “Is there really a God? Human beings made religion out of their fear of death, and society out of their fear of life.

There is no God.” These people fundamentally do not believe in God, and so no matter how much we preach to them the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that Jesus has saved us humans from sin by coming to this earth, they don’t believe in it. Since they don’t believe in God, they don’t believe that the Son of God has saved us from sin either. In other words, since they don’t believe in the existence of God itself, they can’t believe in the gospel Word of Truth either.

We must realize that God does exist. And we must

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believe in Him. Even though many people say that they are not sure if God exists or not, He does exist clearly, for the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Everything exists because God created it. All things came into being by Him, are controlled by Him, and

by Him they will return to Him. I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Do you believe? Our faith begins from believing that Jesus is God. God sent His Son to this earth, made Him take upon Himself our sins by being baptized, bear the condemnation of sin by being crucified unto His own death, and reach death, and resurrected Him again, thus resurrecting us. None other than this is what God has done for you and me. Those who believe in what God has done, those who believe that God exists and is alive, and those who acknowledge that He has saved us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit by sending His Son to this earth—these people have become God’s children. It is by faith that we are made God’s children.

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258 Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ!

However, those who do not believe in this truth are heretics in God’s sight. Do you grasp this? - Do you think there is something peculiar to heretics?

Those who believe that God exists, that Jesus Christ is God Himself, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He bore all our sins upon Himself by being baptized, that He washed them all away and was condemned for them all by being crucified and shedding His blood, that He suffered our death in our place, that He rose from the dead again, and that He has brought us back to life are God’s children; but those who do not believe in this are heretics. Anyone who does not believe in these facts is a heretic. Such people are heretics in God’s sight, not His children, because they do not believe in what God has done for them.

The children of God believe in what He has done.

Those who do not believe in what God has done are not His children, and therefore they are heretics.

They are mere sinners doomed to hell. That’s why they are called heretics.

There are so many people in this world who have

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turned into heretics despite believing in Jesus. The world is filled with such people. The Bible says that life is like grass (Psalm 103:15). It says that life is like grass and its glory is like the flower of the field.

Grass and flowers flourish in no time and wither away in no time. Our lives, which last only about 7080 years, are like mists and passing winds. They are like a flowing river. Our lives pass by us so quickly.

There clearly exists God who created everything and mankind, and yet despite this, will you deny this God and go to hell? Or will you go to Heaven by recognizing this God; by admitting that this God had so much compassion for us that when we fell into sin and were destined to hell, He sent His Son to this earth, passed all our sins onto the head of His Son by making Him be baptized, and saved us from sin; by acknowledging that Jesus Christ bore all the condemnation of sin by being crucified; and by recognizing and believing that He has brought us back to life and saved us? We must believe that Jesus Christ is God Himself. And we must believe that as

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259 Let Us Lead to the Truth the Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ!

the Son of God, Jesus has become our Savior through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We shouldn’t be ignorant of Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but we must know Him and believe in Him. We must all know Jesus Christ.

The Lord said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). If we do not know this Truth, then being born in this world is nothing but misery itself. If we do not know this Truth, then our lives are worthless. When you visit a college campus, you often see banners extolling students to seek the truth. People often say that knowledge is power. What they must really know, however, is the Truth of the Word of the Bible.

They must realize that Jesus Christ came by water, blood, and the Spirit; they must realize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and they must realize that Jesus is God Himself, our Messiah and our Savior.

And they must believe in Him according to this Truth.

Do you grasp this? Do you really believe like this?

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This is the knowledge that leads you to eternal life, one that enables you to reach your salvation. Unless your knowledge is exact and correct, you cannot bear any correct, good fruit. Everyone who believes in Jesus must have faith in Him based on the exact knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Not only you and I but also everyone else all over the world must also know this truth. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is someone who fundamentally does not believe in God, nor believes in His existence. Therefore all such people must repent and believe that God does indeed exist.

They must believe in the fact that because God the Father loved us, He sent His Son to this earth, and made Him be baptized for us and He took upon Himself our sins. And they must believe that by His being crucified, Jesus bore all the condemnation of our sins. They must believe that it’s precisely because Jesus had taken upon Himself our sins that He was condemned to death in our place. As the wages of sin is death, it was we who had to die for

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our sins, but Jesus died in our place. Everyone must believe in this. You must believe that Jesus arose from the dead to resurrect us back to life. Do you really believe in this fact? Everyone must believe in it. Everyone must escape from heresy. All those who still belong to heresy out of their ignorance of this Truth must realize it and escape from there. And all those who have not understood this Truth clearly and therefore have not been able to believe in it must reach a clear understanding and be set free from the sin of heresy by Jesus Christ the Son of God who is God. We must be orthodox believers. We must follow what is true. Our salvation and faith in Jesus Christ must be true. There are too many liars all over the world. I can’t even sleep when I think about this. I really can’t sleep when I think about just how many heresies exist throughout the whole world. When I think about how imperative it is to preach this gospel all over the world, I can’t fall asleep easily. My mind is so often filled with various plans for the

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propagation of the gospel whenever I lie in bed at night. We are now spreading the gospel all over the world step by step, just as a baby is fed with milk at first, soft food after he grows up a bit and is weaned, and then hard food when he grows up a bit more.

That’s because people cannot understand when they are told everything all at once. The same goes for you as well.

I thank God for making us His children and His orthodox believers. Let us never allow ourselves to turn into misbelievers like heretics.

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SERMON 10

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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You Shall Not Kill the Lives of the Born-Again < Genesis 9:1-7 > “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.

I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man.

From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

‘Whoever sheds man’s blood,

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By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.

And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.’’”

After Noah’s family got out of the ark, God blessed them even more. He now told them to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth. Prior to the flood of Noah, people had not eaten any meat, but they had lived just on vegetables. But when Noah and his family emerged out of the ark, God gave them all the livestock of the earth, the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky to be their food. It’s written, “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given

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you all things, even as the green herbs.” The people prior to the flood had eaten only vegetables, but now God permitted Noah and his family to eat meat as well.

However, there was one thing God still forbade them: They were told not to eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. This is the first time that the blood of the flesh is mentioned in the Bible.

God said, “You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” The reason for this is because blood is the life of man and livestock. It’s written, “You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.” In other words, God told Noah, “Do not kill life. If you do, I will demand your lifeblood.”

At the morning service today, I shared the Word

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with you to explain that Jesus Christ has given us new life by being baptized by John the Baptist and shedding His blood on the Cross. This evening, I would like to preach about the blood that God has forbidden us to eat in Genesis chapter 9. We should consider this passage in its spiritual context, realize the spiritual meaning manifested here, and believe in it. Only then can we stand spiritually upright.

Since God said that no blood should be had, we should indeed abstain from it. However, God also told Noah and his descendants to eat meat, and we know that when we eat meat, it’s unavoidable to ingest some blood along the way. Even if we try to drain out the blood before eating the meat, it’s nearly impossible to take out all the blood that remains in the meat. To be exact, when you eat a piece of meat, it’s not possible to completely avoid ingesting at least some trace amounts of the blood that’s remaining in the meat.

The Lord said to the disciples when they struggled to understand the spiritual meaning of His Word, “It

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is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.

The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). The Word of God is to manifest spiritual things to us, and if this is the case, then we have to find out the reason why God told us not to eat any blood. Only then can we obey the Lord with a clear understanding of its spiritual significance. God told us not to eat blood because blood is the life of all flesh. Put differently, this commandment means that no one should kill the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Why Did God Tell Noah Not to Eat Any Blood?

We cannot obtain new life by keeping God’s commandments to perfection. It is only by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we can receive the remission of sin, attain new life, and enjoy everlasting life. That’s because God has given

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us true life only through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. God has made it clear that true life is held by all those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which God has given to everyone, and this true life can be found only among these believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The Word of God here forbidding us from eating blood shows just how important is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This commandment means that we must keep our faith in the righteousness of God until the end, which has enabled us to receive new life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God said this because He has given new life to each of us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. All those who believe that Jesus Christ is the true Savior, and that He came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, have new life. God is saying that He is looking for such faith from each of us in these end times.

God has blessed us with the true remission of sin

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and new life obtained by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In these last days, God is demanding us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to keep our true faith. You probably know already that God has saved us once and for all from the sins of this world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God the Father gave up the body of His Son Jesus Christ in order to give us the remission of sin and new life. By being baptized by John the Baptist and crucified, Jesus has saved our souls that had to die because of sin. Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has given us, He has saved His believers once and for all.

In these end times also, our God is looking for those who truly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth of this new life that He has given us. He is asking us if we are indeed keeping our true faith alive. He is saying to us, “Are you cherishing the new life that I’ve given you? Do you have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?” In other words, God is demanding from us faith in the gospel

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of the water and the Spirit, the gospel that has brought everlasting life to us. God has made it possible for us to be saved from all the sins of this world by believing in His righteousness and receiving the gospel of the water and the Spirit by faith. Now, He wants to see us continue to preserve this life to the end of the world.

Unlike vegetables, there is blood in our bodies.

Animals also have blood in their bodies, which constitutes the life of the flesh. Fundamentally, all of us humans had to die because of sin. But after Noah’s flood, our God promised us to give Jesus Christ in whom exists new life for all of us along with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And in the age of the New Testament, our Lord kept His promise by coming to this earth as the Lamb of sacrifice, being baptized, and shedding His blood to death on the Cross. It’s now been made possible for anyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to receive the remission of sin, become righteous, and to live forever. By believing in the gospel of the

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water and the Spirit, we have now become new creatures. God has bestowed the spiritual blessings of Heaven on us, so that we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit would live forever in His presence. I give all my thanks to the Lord.

God Is Looking for True Faith in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit from Us God has enabled us to live forever by giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit and making us believe in it. He has given new life to you and me.

By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have received the remission of sin and become righteous people. Thanks to the God-given new life, we have become God’s children for eternity, and we are now able to live by faith forever in His presence.

When we stand before God in the future, we must be able to present to Him our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has blessed us so much in

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this way. God infallibly demands this faith in His gospel of the water and the Spirit from everyone living on this earth. That’s because He has given us new life.

Every life on this earth was given a beginning by God. As such, you and I must realize that we must keep this life God has given us. While everyone may be able to control everything else, he has no control over his life. Every life is a gift from God and it belongs to God. We must preach everywhere that God has enabled us to obtain new life by giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That you and I are now enjoying new life is all because God has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has brought new life to us. We should never forget that it’s because God has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are now living a new life.

Having received new life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are now living happily in Jesus. In contrast, only spiritual death awaits all those who still have not been born again

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out of their ignorance of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Although God has offered new life to everyone equally, some people have received this new life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, while others have failed to receive the remission of sin and eternal life, for they have rejected the true gospel and refused to believe in it.

Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have obtained true life by their faith in the righteousness of God. Even though God has given us new life, there still are some people who haven’t accepted into their hearts this Truth that brings new life, as they do not wholly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. All of us must believe that the Lord has given us new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is why our Lord said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). No one can become a child of God unless he is born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We must remember this gospel Truth of the water

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and the Spirit.

God has set forth that everyone should be born on this earth as a sinner, and then be born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and therefore have not been born again are spiritually dead already. Physical and spiritual curses are all that await these people who have failed to receive new life by not believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What else would be left for the sinners? Their way is filled with only thorns and thistles. Although sinners still have opportunities to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit while they are alive, if they ignore and miss this chance, only eternal curses await them.

Therefore, while still alive, everyone must accept by faith that Jesus Christ, God Himself, has given him the remission of sin and new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God had delivered Noah from the judgment of the flood and allowed him to live in a new world. Just as Noah was saved

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from sin and judgment by accepting God’s Word, only when you believe that God has given you new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you are able to prosper forever in a new life with God’s blessings. If you don’t accept the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit into your heart, all that awaits you is eternal death and curses.

If the saints in God’s Church don’t follow its leaders and don’t carry out God’s work together with His Church, then they are in a state similar to a branch that’s broken off from the tree. A branch that’s cut off from the tree is as good as dead. All of us were born as Adam’s descendants, but we have received the remission of sin and new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit God has given to us.

The fact that our Lord took upon Himself all our sins once and for all in the Jordan River, that His body was crucified in our place and bore the condemnation of our sins with His bloodshed, and that He spilled out all His lifeblood on the ground—this is the very evidence proving that Christ has indeed given us new

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life. Only when we accept this Truth into our hearts can we attain eternal new life.

For Those Who Don’t Accept the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit, There Is Nothing Left but Only Curses, Suffering, Confusion, and Darkness However, there are so many people who are reluctant to believe in the true gospel. Because these people have not accepted the God-given life, it’s inevitable for Him to judge them according to their sins and cast them into everlasting hell. In contrast, for those who have accepted the God-given life into their hearts through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, only joy, delight, happiness, everlasting life, and blessings await them. We have to realize that to give us the remission of sin, Jesus Christ had to take upon Himself all our sins once and for all in the Jordan River through His baptism, and then had to be ◄

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crucified to spill His precious blood on the ground.

The Bible says that God made man with the dust of the ground. The blood of Jesus fell on the ground, and this implies that the Lord Jesus has given His life for every one of us who believes that Jesus has given us eternal life by being baptized by John the Baptist and shedding His blood on the Cross. However, there can be no work of salvation for those who reject the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the end. The gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit does not enter into the hearts of those who don’t recognize the Word of God. We must accept into our hearts truthfully that God has given us new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only then can we confess when God comes looking for our souls on the last day, “Lord, You have remitted away all my sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.” And only then can we show Him our true faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. How can we show the evidence that He has given us new life? We can show this

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evidence by testifying as to our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If you don’t have such faith, you will be cursed forever on the last day along with the Devil. We can present to the Lord the faith that has truly remitted away our sins only if we know that God has given us new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As God has given us new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are now living by our faith in this Truth. However, there still are so many people who refuse to accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the end, and so we must admonish them all to accept this gospel.

It will be inevitable for them to live even more accursed lives in both body and spirit as more time goes by. That’s why we have to preach to such people that they must be born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We had to thank God for giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We had to die for our sins, but to save us from all sins, Jesus bore them all once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist, and

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He shed His blood and died on the Cross. We must believe in this Truth, which testifies that the Lord has given us new life through His baptism that He received, and the blood that He shed on the Cross as a result of the condemnation of the sins of this world.

We must remember that we can receive the everlasting remission of sin and live forever as the righteous only if we accept into our hearts the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit God has given to us.

My fellow believers, there was a time when we had to lead our lives of faith without realizing that the gospel of the water and the Spirit was the Truth.

But now, we have received new life all at once through the gospel of the water and the Spirit given to us. It’s when we accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit into our hearts that we are truly washed from our sins and new life is attained, but for a long time until now, we had been ignorant of this true gospel, even though we believed in Jesus in one way or another.

Everyone standing before God was destined to

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suffer eternal death, for everyone committed sin against God. However, the Lord, who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh for the sake of mankind destined to die because of its sins, was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, shed His blood unto death on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved those who believe in this gospel. By giving up His own life for us, the Lord has made it possible for us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to truly live forever. All of us, no matter whom or what we are must accept into our heart the fact that God has given us new life through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Whoever accepts into his heart the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord, new life will indeed spring forth and grow in his heart. Therefore if we accept into our hearts what God has done for us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then we will be able to live forever, for we will also have new life in our hearts. We are no longer those who

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are eternally dead before God, but we are now the blessed ones who can live forever.

My fellow believers, it is by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given to us that we have attained new life. We will be able to stand before the presence of God only with this new life the Lord has given us. God said that on the Day of Reckoning, He will demand of us to show Him the new life that He has now given us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This means that the Lord will verify on the last day whether or not we have this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who have not accepted the gospel of the water and the Spirit do not have the faith that brings truly new life, and therefore they will not be able to present this faith on the last day. If this is the condition of your faith, then your soul is to be forever forsaken by God. I am so thankful that God has given new life to those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What about you? Have you also received

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new life from God? If not, I admonish you to also attain this new life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Lord is offering you now.

Only then can you live forever.

With the life that we were born with from our mothers’ wombs, we cannot live happily in the eternal dominion. So we must accept into our hearts the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit declaring that Jesus Christ has blotted out all our sins and given us new life. It’s only then that our souls that had died of our sins can be revived, and we can also attain eternal life to live forever. God has resurrected us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit from death, and He has now enabled us to live with everlasting life.

If you want to live happily forever before God, then I admonish you to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, obtain the washing of your sins, and be born again. Apart from those who have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as we do, there is no one else in this

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world that is able to live happily forever. Anyone who wants to enjoy true happiness must believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit with his heart, and thus accept the true gift of the remission of sin into his heart.

Some Christians, following the doctrinal stance of their denomination, teach their children not to receive any blood transfusions. But because of such mistaken teachings, there have been tragic incidents where some parents let their children die by refusing to let them have a blood transfusion. In one such case, even though the doctor had told the parents that a blood transfusion and surgery could save their child, these parents rejected it adamantly. Why did they refuse to give a blood transfusion to their child? Citing the Bible, they refused to let their son receive any blood transfusion even while he was under surgery, all because God said that no blood should be eaten. In the end, their child died as a result. These parents were roundly denounced as well by the worldly people. With out a doubt, they shall certainly be

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rebuked, by God in their foolishness.

What Does It Mean When the Bible Says That We Shouldn’t Eat Blood?

This means that we should preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone and lead all to receive the remission of sin and new life, and it also means that no one should trample on the faith of the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In other words, everyone should accept the salvation that God has brought to us to give us new, everlasting life—that is, everyone should have the same faith as that of the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

And it also means anyone who doesn’t believe that God has given us the true remission of sin and true life through gospel of the water and the Spirit will lose his own life. If anyone doesn’t believe in the gospel of life, the gospel of the water and the Spirit ◄

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God has given us, and instead ignores it then he will surely turn into a heretic. Put differently, God is telling us to never lose our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that He has given us to give us new life.

Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord has given us the everlasting remission of sin and new and eternal life. That’s why God will demand a reckoning on the last day to see if we really have faith in this true gospel of the water and the Spirit. When people wholeheartedly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit God has given to every mankind, they can all live forever in the presence of God. We the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are God’s children, and we can live forever with this new life that God has given us. The Bible says that all of us humans were made “in the image of God.” God has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He has made it possible for all who believe in this gospel to live forever.

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Therefore, when God said that no one should eat blood, it means that no one should destroy the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with false doctrines. In other words, no one should take away the eternal life that God has given to mankind—that is, faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

What does it mean when the Lord said in today’s Scripture passage not to take away anyone’s life?

Spiritually speaking first, it means that no one should try to destroy the faith of the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor preach any false gospel. In fleshly terms, it also means that we should respect the preciousness of human life and never take it away from anyone. This Word that the Lord spoke to us is the Truth that is both physically and spiritually applicable. That no one should kill anyone is only a matter of course, just as it also imperative that no one should destroy the faith of the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

What does it mean to try to destroy human life? It

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is trying to destroy the faith of the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Obstructing the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit is also an attempt to destroy human life. But some people still stand against this gospel of the water and the Spirit and believe only in their own false doctrines, saying, “How did Jesus take away all the sins of this world when He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River?” In God’s sight, it’s none other than such people who stand against the righteousness of God and try to destroy the Godgiven life.

God wrote the complete gospel of the water and the Spirit in the Bible for us, and He has enabled us to receive eternal life by believing in this gospel. The Lord has made it possible for us to attain everlasting life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit He has given us. That Jesus came to this earth, took upon Himself all the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood unto death on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has

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thereby lifted all curses and given new life to whoever believes in this Truth. This is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Yet despite this, if someone still obstructs the gospel of the water and the Spirit from spreading and ignores it, he will surely be destroyed forever.

What about your soul then? Has your soul really received the remission of sin and eternal new life from God, all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Indeed, we have all attained everlasting life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit God has given us. By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you and I have received the eternal remission of sin and we are now able to live forever. That we have received the remission of sin from the Lord by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit means that we have received the new life God has given us. As such, with this new life God has given us, let us all conquer this world in our lives.

God said in today’s Scripture passage, “Be fruitful

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and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it” (Genesis 9:7). The Lord told us to be fruitful and fill this world. We the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must indeed be fruitful and multiply to preach this gospel all over the world by trusting in the righteousness of God. Spreading to everyone the God-given true life together with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must lead all to be saved from sin. Our faith is this: “God has saved us from sin and death.” In other words, we believe that God has given new life to us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We must therefore spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world by faith.

We praise the Lord always trusting in His righteousness. Thanks to the righteousness of God, you and I have attained new life. We are now living on this earth with this new life that we’ve received from God. As we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has given us new life before everyone else, so that we would multiply even more

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as we lead all those living on this earth to also receive new life.

This blood mentioned in Genesis chapter nine refers to life. How did the Lord give us new life? He has given us new life by paying off all the wages of our sins with His life. And as we read in today’s Scripture passage, we believe that before Jesus Christ was crucified to shed His precious blood, He had first taken upon Himself all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, and we are thankful for this. Every time we confirm the new life God has given us, we cannot help but thank Him with all our hearts for His love.

God has given new life to all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Thanks to this, we have received new life. By giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has enabled us to attain new life along with the remission of sin to live forever. We are now able to live in God’s presence for eternity.

I praise the God of the righteous forever.

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SERMON 11

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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277 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols Before God like Solomon the Idolater? < 1 Kings 9:1-9 > “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart

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and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them

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278 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’”

The contents of today’s Scripture passage describe what God said to Solomon when He appeared to him the second time, after Solomon had finished building the Temple and his palace. God said here that He had especially consecrated His House, and that His eyes and His heart would be there. He then said to Solomon, “If you follow Me and walk with the same heart as your father David, then I will bless your descendants to succeed your throne. If, however, you do not worship Me but worship other gods and commit idolatry, then I will forsake even this Temple that had taken you seven years to build.”

What God said to Solomon when He appeared to him was only proper and fitting, but despite this Solomon actually ended up disregarding the Word of God and by serving the idols. In fact, he was the most idolatrous of all the kings of Israel. On account of

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this, Solomon’s latter days turned tragic, and because of his sins, the whole people of Israel fell into idolatry. So for us the born-again, the greatest insult is to hear someone saying to us, “You are like Solomon.” Thanks to his father David, Solomon had received tremendous blessings from God in both body and spirit, but because he lived only for his flesh, and because he also turned his own people into idolaters, he turned into a king cursed by God. As Solomon abandoned God and served idols instead, he was spiritually cursed to see his kingdom and himself perish. Even though God had already warned Solomon that He would curse him like this if he worshipped other gods apart from Jehovah God, Solomon ignored this warning, bringing God’s curse upon himself.

By worshipping idols before God, not only was King Solomon himself ruined spiritually, but he also led his descendants and his people to be ruined both physically and spiritually. What about you and me then? How are our lives of faith? Do you think that

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279 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

you are leading your life of faith properly? Are you unsure? You and I must remember that because we all have carnal thoughts like Solomon, it’s still possible for us to worship other gods before God, and we must hold onto our Lord steadfastly by trusting in the righteousness of God. Taking Solomon’s mistakes as a stern warning, we should believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and our Lord even more, and endeavor to follow Him even more faithfully.

So, now that we all believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our hearts have no desire to worship any idols before God, and we have a blessed faith that’s come through this gospel of the water and the Spirit. For all these things, we are utterly grateful to God. It’s because we have been remitted from all our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before God that we have come to receive His blessings. Moreover, the Lord has also enabled us to spread the gospel that He has entrusted to us to the entire world, and so we thank Him even more for

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this, by trusting in the righteousness of God. It’s because we have received the remission of our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we have been able to avoid turning into idolaters before God. Because we have now received the remission of our sins by believing in the gospel of Truth, it’s been possible for us not to seek just our own carnal comfort, but instead, believe only in the righteousness of God and live our lives according to this righteousness. Those of us who now believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit have become the kind of people who can continue to wage spiritual battles before God and share His blessings with everyone all over the world. Only if we continue to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit that contains the righteousness of God, can we then avoid becoming like Solomon.

The faith of King David and that of King Solomon were clearly different: David was someone who had continued to wage his spiritual battles, while Solomon was someone who had lived his life by

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280 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

trusting in his own wisdom and relying on the idols instead. Rather than standing on God’s side and waging spiritual battles, Solomon tried to make peace with the neighboring countries through his carnal schemes. So he permitted various idols from the neighboring Gentile tribes to be worshiped in his country, and as this led to widespread idolatry among the people of Israel, he was cursed and ruined for this.

Compared to his father David, Solomon was a model case in how not to lead a life of faith, refusing to wage any spiritual battles and living only for his own flesh. He was a king who had enjoyed splendor and wealth only because of his father’s inheritance, spending it all for his own flesh. He was a king with a weak spirit. But David was not like Solomon at all.

In contrast to his son, David had continued to wage spiritual battles to expand the Kingdom of God. For us also, once we receive the remission of our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and once enough time goes by, we are bound to turn into either David or Solomon. Those who

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follow the faith of David take it as their food of life to spread this gospel to others. Such people of faith consider it a blessing to carry out God’s work and thank Him for this. Those of us who serve the gospel out of our own volition also believe that God’s work is the spiritual food for us. If we do not carry out God’s work, then it’s only a matter of course for us to serve the idols of our flesh just like Solomon did.

As I have led my life of faith in the Lord after being born again, I do not feel that my faith has already been made perfect before God, but far from it, I realize my insufficiencies even more as more days go by. And I realize that I can avoid turning into an idolater only if I serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit ceaselessly. I know that otherwise I will inevitably come to worship idols. So whatever it is that we do to carry out God’s work, I want us all to labor even more diligently. Whether it’s publication, working in the businesses that God’s Church runs, or spreading the gospel at each individual church, we must indeed continue to carry out God’s work.

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281 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

Therefore, we who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have our heart’s desire to carry out even more works that are pleasing to our God. This does not mean that we are determined to do anything and everything before God only on our own will. Rather, it means that we want to continue to carry out the work that fulfills the will of God. We want to wage our spiritual battles even more faithfully before God, serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit even more, and deliver the many souls that are lost to heresy. That’s because we believe that God will surely bless what we are doing if it is upright before Him.

Because of Our Present Financial Difficulties, We Are Now Unable to Send as Many Books of Spiritual Nourishment as We Would Like Financial difficulties have forced us to limit our

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visitor’s book requests to only two copies each. This is very frustrating for us, as we would love to send our books without any limits if allowed by our financial conditions. It hurts my heart so much to think about our present situation. Yet when we look at our faith before God, there still is hope. I believe that God will be with us in all of our endeavors, bless us even more, and save even more sinners, for we are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, and this work is the most precious work before God. I am sure that God will bless us and strengthen us even more. I have every confidence that God will give us even more blessings, so that all of us may support the gospel ministry even more. But for all this to come about, we must pray to God more.

For us not to end up worshipping idols before God, we must carry out His work with all our labor and toil. Working to save those who have fallen into heresy is in fact something that enables us to defend our own faith as well. God enabled us begin our literature ministry so that we would serve the gospel

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282 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

of the water and the Spirit. Unless we continue to carry on with our literature ministry henceforth, we cannot do God’s work, and unless the born-again carry out God’s work, they are inevitably bound to worship idols. That is why it’s so imperative for us to carry out God’s work with more diligence. Do you remember how God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Do not serve the false idols, do not obey other gods, nor worship those idols”? God had promised Solomon, “If you believe only in Me, Jehovah God, and love Me, like David, then I will guarantee the royal throne to you and your descendants forever.”

Therefore, for us not to serve idols before God, we must continue to carry out His work, and by trusting in His righteousness, we must serve this gospel even more. Once Solomon assumed the throne of Israel, he no longer carried out God’s work spiritually. At most, the only work of God that he did was just the building of the Temple. After that, he focused all his energy on building his own palace. But this was something that was done for himself and his wives.

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Solomon was a wise man in worldly affairs, and so he was very popular among the kings of the neighboring countries. Hiram the king of Tyre, even called Solomon his brother (1 Kings 9:13). Other neighboring kings, including the king of Egypt, all made peace with Solomon and had friendly relationships with him. But was this really something good? Had King Solomon really feared God, then he should have waged spiritual battles against these pagan kings and defeated them all, having them worship only God. But instead, Solomon actually married Pharaoh’s daughter and gained even more material wealth from this marriage, as Pharaoh gave a city that he had captured to his daughter as his wedding gift.

For Us Not to Serve Idols before God, We Must Carry Out His Work Ceaselessly We have to look for whatever we can do for God ◄

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283 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

in His Church. Whether preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit directly to the lost souls or supporting this ministry indirectly, we must all labor to serve God’s gospel. Since all these things are meant to serve the righteousness of God, we have to bear them all by faith. Unless we set our hearts to live for the gospel of God, we will in the end come to serve our own lust, make up our own idols, and follow and serve these idols. If this happens, then we will ultimately become just like King Solomon.

Lately, Korean pop culture has been sweeping across several countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, with many people in these countries falling head over heels over Korean actors. Sometime ago, when a certain Korean actor visited Japan, there were so many fans flocking to his arrival that the airport was paralyzed. A Japanese housewife even said in an interview that she loved this actor more than her own husband. I just couldn’t understand her mindset. How can anyone have such a crush and be so crazy over someone else? When people are dazzled by an

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outside appearance and image, then they become so obsessed with someone else that they go mad. At a corner of my heart, I sometimes wonder and worry if I wouldn’t also somehow fall head over heels over someone else as they do. When one falls into materialism or lust, that is none other than idolatry.

With the latest wave of Korean pop culture making a big splash in Japan, it’s said that many Japanese women call a certain Korean actor “Yonsama.” In the Japanese language, “sama” is a title of honor reserved for the most revered. This is akin to Solomon serving such idols as Baal, Asherah, and Milcom as his gods.

Even for us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it’s still possible to fall into such idol worship. If I were not doing God’s work, I would probably have fallen into something else, whether it were a movie star or some other kind of carnal lust.

So to avoid becoming like them, I admonish my coworkers and myself, “Let’s do God’s work ceaselessly.” And we do actually carry out God’s

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284 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

work continuously, so that we wouldn’t fall into idolatry. Our work of publishing and sending our gospel books must never be ended. To find necessary financial resources for this work, it’s also imperative for us to continue to labor incessantly. We must carry out the Lord’s work until there is no more work to do.

I sometimes worry, “Our ministers should do God’s work endlessly, but what if there is no work for them to do and they all get bored?” So I look for God’s work diligently, and I try to do it myself.

That’s because I myself have to carry out God’s work first to lead my coworkers to the same work. All these things are done so that I wouldn’t worship idols.

I believe that King Solomon ended up serving idols precisely because he did not carry out God’s work.

It’s because Solomon did not wage his spiritual war for the glory of God, nor labored to proclaim the righteousness of God, that he came to serve idols.

Even though it’s possible for you and me to also serve idols before God, if we want to avoid this, then we must carry out God’s work even more diligently.

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Do we the born-again have any deities other than God? This may seem quite plausible at first. After all, there are times when our minds and thoughts are lost on something else entirely irrelevant to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, instead of carrying out God’s work. However, that’s just temporary; our minds go astray only for a short while. In fact, there can be no idol for the righteous, but only God. Can there be anyone who deserves your love and mine more than God? Is there anyone apart from God who has given us such perfect love and blessings? Idols actually bring more curses than any spiritual or physical benefits to anyone. Jesus Christ came to this earth incarnated in the flesh to save you and me from the sins of the world, was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, shed His blood unto His death on the Cross while shouldering the sins of the world upon Himself, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved you and me and freely given us eternal life. So given this, how could we ever love something else more than the Lord?

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285 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

By being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus Christ Himself bore all our sins, insufficiencies, weaknesses, and everything that’s evil and filthy in us, and His body was crucified to death on behalf of our old selves, thus turning us into new people, resurrecting us, and blessing us all. So how can there be any idols for the righteous? Many people today are obsessed with the crude culture of celebrity and its pop stars, but this is all reserved for those who are not born again, and they do this because this world is their master. For you and me, however, Jesus Christ is our Master and Savior, and therefore it is only proper for us the righteous to serve and follow the Lord and His righteousness.

I am now sharing the Word with you to explain how people come to worship idols. Right now, we are living out our faith in the righteousness of God— that is, the gospel of the water and the Spirit. At first thought, this kind of faith may seem like nothing, but in fact, it entails tremendous blessings. That we believe in God means that we believe in His love of

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salvation and His perfect righteousness, and in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we believe in, God’s amazing blessings are all contained. We believe fundamentally that God created has us, that Jesus Christ is our God, that this God has enabled us to be born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and that God is therefore our Master and the fountain of all our blessings. In the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we believe in, all the righteousness of God and all His blessings are held.

That’s why we never allow ourselves to have any idols in our hearts. So, while our teenagers and young people in our church may attend the same school with the youths of this world and be friends with them, they can never follow worldly trends along with their friends. If we really believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then there can be nothing that’s better than Jesus Christ for any of us. Where could we ever find anything that we should love more than God? Even though countless teenagers today are obsessed with computer games and drawn

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286 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

into pornographic sites on the Internet, could the born-again youths love these things more than Jesus Christ? Although we may play Internet games once in a while out of boredom, this cannot be better than Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ is indeed your Savior and mine, how could we ever lose our minds to anything else that’s not our Master? We, too, are only too human, and so we may lose our minds to something else other than the Lord for a short while; however, fundamentally speaking, we are still believers in the righteousness of God, and as those who believe in God’s righteousness, we should examine ourselves with a clear mind to see if this is really right for us. No matter how young you may be, you still must think about what is spiritually right. So ask yourself: “Does Jesus Christ love me? What blessings has Jesus Christ given me? What has the world done for me then?” All that the world has done for us is providing us with some fleeting entertainment, and so we can never allow it to lord over us as our master. Isn’t this the case?

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Therefore, If You Find Yourself Losing Your Battle against Idols like Solomon, It’s All Because You Have Not Carried out God’s Work Faithfully The reason why we lose our battle against the world, giving ourselves into its enticements of entertainment and wealth, is because our flesh is so helplessly weak. So those who are not born again cannot help but surrender to many different things of the world. However, we the born-again are able to overcome this world by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and trusting in the Lord. That’s because Jesus Christ has blotted out the sins of the world and defeated death, because He has saved us and made us perfect, and because we have become whole in Jesus Christ, no matter how insufficient we are—that’s why we can all overcome this world.

Therefore, if any born-again person ends up losing his battle against this world, then this in itself is the evidence of the very fact that this person did not ◄

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287 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

unite himself with God’s Church in its work to serve Jesus Christ and His gospel. There is no time for us to serve any idols if we devote ourselves to God’s work.

Those Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Must Live Spiritually, and Therefore While They Are on This Earth, They Must Do Whatever They Can to Serve the Righteousness of God Because the work that God has entrusted to us is so challenging, we can carry it out only when we dedicate all our physical strength, our minds, our hearts, our times, our possessions, and our complete effort. Since we are devoting all of our attention in this way to completely fulfill the work that God has entrusted to us then even as we are tempted, by the things of this world we cannot give in to them. That’s precisely why we cannot worship any idols.

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Given how our flesh is weak by nature, we are all quite capable of loving the world and falling into idolatry as well; yet in spite of this, we do no such thing, and that’s all because we are carrying out the work of God who loves us and has saved us. In other words, if we really love and serve the righteousness of God, then we can never fall into temptation to worship idols like Solomon. If Solomon had also devoted all his attention to the work of God, then he would not have fallen into idolatry either. Yet even as Solomon claimed to be carrying out God’s work, he just ended up building the Temple of Jehovah for seven years, and he spent the next 13 years to build his lavish palace, boasting about this accomplishment for the rest of his life. And he thought that he was wiser than everyone else, which can only mean that he couldn’t help but indulge in pleasures of this world even more.

It’s more than possible for us to also worship idols before God. However, if we carry out the work of God who loves us, and if we serve this God who

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288 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

loves the entire human race, then we can avoid serving any idols at all. Therefore, we must do the work of God diligently, if only not to end up serving idols. So far, we have had little time to serve idols and so carried out the work of faith successfully.

However, given some spare time, wouldn’t we end up serving idols? If you want to serve idols, then all that you have to do is stop doing God’s work, and this applies to me as well. What will we come to do if we are lazy at God’s work and do not unite with the Church? We will come to serve idols infallibly. No matter how you may think you are leading your life of faith properly, how pious you may be, how you may pray everyday morning and night, and how you may read the Bible constantly, unless you carry out God’s work, you will come to serve idols in the end.

Even today, there are so many Christians who are actually worshiping idols even though they claim themselves to be very pious and faithful to God. They don’t know what idolatry is and how a seemingly pious believer can become an idolater.

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Therefore, you have to keep it in mind that serving God’s work is to avoid serving idols. For us not to be cursed, and not to lead others to death, we must not serve any idols. If we the spiritual leaders serve idols individually, then the other saints will also come to serve idols. We will then be cursed all together. For us to ensure that God’s blessings are brought on others as well, we must not worship any idols but only God, and for us not to worship idols, we must in turn unite our hearts with the Church and carry out God’s work. It’s not because we somehow have any merits before God that we do His work, but it’s because we want to live righteously before God. And it’s to save others that we are trying so hard. Once we begin to carry out God’s work, our hearts will be at peace and pure. Once we are too busy with God’s work, we won’t have any time to do anything else or clog our minds with useless thoughts, far less serve idols. That’s why it’s good to do God’s work. And that’s why we are carrying out this work all the time no matter what.

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289 What Should We Do to Avoid Worshipping Idols before God Like Solomon the Idolater?

For Us Not to Be Like Solomon, We Must Be United with God For us not to fall into idolatry, we must unite with God’s Church, be led by God, unite our hearts with His heart, set our minds by faith, and remove the dross from our hearts. There must indeed be no idol whatsoever in our hearts. Yet we are all only too human, prone to serve idols. Since we are all flawed people who cannot avoid serving idols before God, and since we cannot free ourselves from idolatry through our own effort no matter hard we try, faith is what we need the most. We must have faith to profess, “Jesus Christ took upon my sins through His baptism, died on the Cross for me, and rose from the dead again. Through all these things, He took care of all the problems of my weaknesses, my sins, my curses, my destruction, and my agonies. And I have now been made a new person.” In our hearts there must be faith in the righteousness of God and His love; we must believe that our Master is God and

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Jesus Christ; and we must set our minds by faith to believe that only He is our Lord, our Shepherd, and the sole object of our worship. We must set our minds on God in our lives like Daniel, who defended his faith even though he was captured to Babylon.

Young and old alike, all of us the born-again must set our hearts on God. We are God’s people and His workers. God said that it is He who called us. You and I now belong to Jesus Christ. Christ is ours, and we are His. We are the members of the Church united with Jesus Christ.

Everything that He planned for us will be fulfilled to us first, and His plan for the people of the world will also be all fulfilled through us. After fulfilling all these things, God will enjoy glory together with us.

We must live by believing in this.

I will serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit no matter what happens to this world, whether it prospers or perishes. I have set my heart on God precisely because people are saved through God’s spiritually guided ministry, and when I prosper

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spiritually, so do others prosper as well. Our ministers and our workers have also set their hearts on God. Young and old alike, whether experienced in this world or not, they have all set their minds.

Experiencing the world too much is not such a good thing. It’s better to be naïve.

I wholeheartedly admonish you not to let your heart waver back and forth, without being set on the righteousness of God. It is my sincerest hope and prayer that none of us would ever come to serve idols like Solomon, but instead, all of us would defend our faith and give glory to God.

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SERMON 12

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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292 There Are Mighty Hunters Who Aim at the Souls of Men

There Are Mighty Hunters Who Aim at The Souls of Men < Genesis 10:1-14 > “Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush

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begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).”

When the first world was judged by flood, only Noah’s family of eight survived, and so all the tribes in the new world after the flood descended from Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Today, I would like to first examine the mighty hunter called Nimrod from the genealogy of Ham, one of Noah’s three sons.

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293 There Are Mighty Hunters Who Aim at the Souls of Men

Even Today, There Still Are Mighty Hunters Aiming at People’s Souls Every one-dollar bill of the US currency has a portrait of George Washington, the first US President, on its front face. On the left side of its back, however, you will find a rather strange design. There you will see the “all-seeing eye,” a shining eye located on top of a quadrangular pyramid. If you look at the circle located at the left side of the back of the one US dollar bill, you will see a pyramid and a triangle at its top radiating gold beams, and inside the triangle, you will see an eye. This design symbolizes the emergence of a new nation yielding mysterious powers. The all-seeing eye is also, surrounded by two inscriptions written in Latin: “ANNUIT COEPTIS” above the pyramid, and “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM” below. The first inscription means, “Providence has favored our undertakings,” while the second motto means, “A new order of the ages.”

Although it’s been only about 200 years since this

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design was made, just as the above mottos had aspired, the United States has indeed restructured the world order around itself to emerge as the uncontested superpower dominating the entire world.

Having assumed the mantle as the police state of the world trying to control and exert its influence on every nation, the United States now keeps a watchful eye over countries with human rights violations and their tyrannical leaders.

In the religion called Christianity, there also are hunters with peculiar eyes. With the all-seeing eye of the Law, they are hunting down people’s souls today.

It’s my hope and prayer that from this sermon, you would all come to really understand how these people hunt down human souls. These people hunt down the souls that need not die by making their congregation confess their sins and tying them down with the Law. In other words, by finding out all the sins of their congregation, they ensnare them and bind them with Christian doctrines. They are mighty hunters who monitor their followers with a legalistic

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all-seeing eye, tie them down with deed-oriented doctrines, and thus lead them to death. Like this, today’s Christianity is hunting down people’s souls armed with special legalistic doctrines to ensnare them.

There is a man named Nimrod appearing in today’s Scripture passage, and according to the oral tradition passed on among the Evangelicals, Nimrod is said to have married his own mother. However, the only thing that we know for sure from the Bible is that this man was a “mighty hunter” before God. Why does the Bible describe Nimrod as a mighty hunter? That’s because Nimrod hunted people’s souls rather than animals. So what we have to grasp here is that in today’s Christian communities, there also are many mighty hunters like Nimrod mentioned in the Bible, who are stalking countless souls time after time.

We can see that even today, mighty hunters are preaching their own false Christian doctrines while invoking the name of Jesus, all in order to achieve

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their goals of hunting human souls. Having fostered personality cults to idolize their own religious founders, they are not only hunting countless souls with unfounded doctrines, but they are also robbing their congregation. Their sole interest is to exploit people’s souls and money, and they are indulging themselves in soul hunting under the pretense of doing the Lord’s work. So their ministry is not the Lord’s ministry, as they’ve rejected the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the real Truth that they should actually know.

Spiritually speaking, these soul-hunters have no conviction at all, whose faith is fickle like the bat in Aesop’s Fables. Their faith changes all the time, just like the bat in the fable claimed to be a mammal during the day and a bird during the night. Their faith is marked by confusion, void, and iniquities all the time. Even if they claim to understand the meaning of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist, they are neither willing to believe in it wholly nor rely on it, and so they believe on their own that only

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the blood Jesus shed on the Cross constitutes their salvation.

Even at this very moment, these people are lost in their grievous delusion and deep confusion. They are trying to be saved from all the sins of this world and their sins without relying on the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has given to us humans. They are mighty soul-hunters who say two different things with one mouth. Their ministry is neither for the sake of the righteousness of God nor for the salvation of the souls of their congregation, but its sole purpose is to satisfy their carnal lust and enrich themselves to gain wealth and honor in this world. Since they are ministering like this, they are actually killing not only their own congregation’s souls, but also countless others souls that want to believe in Jesus. They are committing the same sins committed by Jeroboam, who considered other people’s souls as nothing more than instruments to attain his own glory. In other words, among today’s Christians, and even among those who call

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themselves leaders in their respective denominations, there are many people who are unintentionally killing countless souls from their ignorance of the gospel of the water and the Spirit spoken by the Lord. What is more saddening is that there also are many people who, like Nimrod, hunt souls even as they know the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

You have to realize here that many of the socalled spiritual leaders in Christian communities across the world are actually worshiping golden calves as their gods, just like Jeroboam did. Although these false prophets may seem to be leading people to believe in Jesus as their Savior, in reality, they are just obstructing them from accepting the God-given gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. As they preach the Word of God by mixing it with their own carnal thoughts, all that they are doing is just confusing their listeners and ultimately turning them into heretics. Even though such people dominate Christianity as its religious leaders, spiritually speaking, they are harlots and mighty hunters. They

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are nothing more than heretics, who follow the very sins King Jeroboam had committed against God. Many preachers teach falsely that everyone can be saved as long as he believes in Jesus as his Savior, regardless of whether he knows the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit or not. Although these people claim to believe in Jesus as their Savior and preach so, they do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that the Bible speaks of throughout the entire text. Therefore, as they are incapable of teaching their congregation properly what the gospel of the water and the Spirit is, they have ended up reducing Christianity into a mere religion in today’s world, even though Jesus Christ is supposed to be its Master. That is why, when people are ensnared by these false prophets they are robbed in both body and spirit to fall into destruction in the end. Once trapped by such mighty hunters, no soul can ever escape from them but only face his certain death.

Among us as well, there were some people who had escaped from the grips of such heretics, but I saw

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few of them able to lead their lives of faith properly.

Anyone who is ensnared by such mighty hunters is as good as dead, even if he is still alive physically.

These hunters have absolutely no compassion for the soul. That’s because they are not just ordinary hunters, but they are killers of human souls and their faith. Even now, these mighty hunters are lurking around us looking for their prey.

We must be mindful of the sins of Jeroboam and be vigilant. Today’s fallacious Christians leaders are deceiving their congregations and corrupting their faith, so that they may see golden calves as their gods, bereft of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.

Spiritually speaking, they are opportunists like bats.

We know very well that these people do not believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Even worse, they claim to have been born again by believing only in the blood of the Cross not the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This claim itself is the very evidence proving that they have turned into heretics.

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Although they all deny this, Christian leaders today have turned into heretics before God. Under the pretense of serving the Lord, they insist on the congregation to offer their material belongings to them, and when this is not enough, these heretics even coerce their followers into taking out bank loans to make donations. So ensnared by such false prophets, their followers are bound to be buried kneedeep in debt throughout their entire lifetime. Yet despite this, these believers trapped by such soulhunters have no regrets, since they think that their offerings were for God. On the contrary, they are actually grateful, thinking that the bank loans they took out and offered to their pastors would not have to be paid back if Jesus returns soon. However, sooner or later they all come to realize that they’ve been deceived by swindlers, and so they end up falling into bitter grief and emptiness, only to face spiritual perdition. Because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are forever imprisoned in spiritual death It’s all because they’ve

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been deceived by heretics.

These Mighty Hunters Have Turned into Heretics Unwittingly, for They Do Not Know the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Many Christians today have turned into heretics before God unintentionally without even realizing it themselves. As they have not even received the remission of their sins, they are preaching false Christian doctrines to potential converts, and so they are actually killing souls rather than saving them. So even as they go out to evangelize the whole wide world, they are not actually saving more souls, but they are in fact killing them without even realizing it themselves. Right now it’s beyond their wildest imagination to think that they are actually heretics in God’s sight. They don’t even realize just how fallacious their ministries are. Today’s Scripture passage shows that such people are mighty hunters, ◄

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but they themselves are completely oblivious that they’ve turned into such mighty soul-hunters. There was a time when I couldn’t quite understand this passage, but now I know exactly what it means. Now that I know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and have been saved by believing in this gospel, then I can discern clearly who are the mighty hunters like Nimrod.

I know a heretical group in Korea, which stemmed from the Evangelicals. If we were to describe them, we would just have said that they were wicked men.

But this is not how the Bible describes them; instead, the Bible writes that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before God. Even now these Nimrod-like people are obstructing the servants of God who preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As we are spreading the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit to everyone, they are afraid that their own fortress built with sand would all crumble down, and that’s why they are standing against us and obstructing this true gospel from being spread. However, the gospel

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of the water and the Spirit we are preaching will devour all the false doctrines they are preaching.

It’s true that unlike us, they are powerful and rich.

But even so, it’s a completely foolish act for them to try at this time to make us their prey. Mounting all kinds of personal attacks on us, they are trying hard to draw us into their denominations to rob our souls and our possessions, but this is actually nothing more than a foolish attempt. It’s quite obvious that they are trying to take away the saints of our Church just to exploit them. They want to draw more people to their fold only to squeeze out even more money, just as so far they’ve been robbing their own congregation. But we see that once they can no longer extract any offerings from some of their congregation, they forsake them as if they were old shoes. That’s why it’s so absolutely imperative for all of you to no longer be deceived by the heretics who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

These heretics teach their congregation to act in strict adherence to the Law. When some of the

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female members of their congregation came to church with lipstick on, they used to rebuke them harshly, saying, “What’s this red thing on your lips?

Did you eat raw meat?” They are prone to judge their congregation’s faith by outside appearance and wealth. They approve their church members’ faith as long as they give a lot of offerings, even if the female members have to give up makeup to save enough money. So women in this denomination don’t put on lipstick when they go to church, but they put it on as soon as they come out of their church. It’s not only ridiculous and even pitiful to see them being so ignorant of the righteousness of God, trying so hard to establish their own human righteousness instead, and putting so much emphasis on a legalistic life of faith in hypocrisy.

Among the members of such denominations, many end up losing everything under the pretense of offerings and leave only after going completely bankrupt both materially and spiritually. Actually, to be more accurate, they don’t so much leave, but they

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are driven out. As the poor souls are ensnared by mighty and evil hunters, they are ruined in both body and spirit.

These false prophets are jealous of the fact that we are spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit to people all over the world. In contrast, I would extend my sincerest welcome to any gatherings even though they are not from us, as long as they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach it to everyone. And I would praise God for this. Why? Because if there is another gathering that spreads the gospel of the water and the Spirit apart from ours, we would be strengthened even more and also share fellowship together. Wouldn’t it be so wonderful, since we would be able to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit with more resources in terms of both time and finance? How thankful would we be if there were other groups that are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Don’t you agree? How many people do we get to meet in a week and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them? Just

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how many people can we really reach? We can’t reach that many. When would we then ever finish spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone in the world? Yet the spiritual swindlers not only dislike the fact that we are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but they attack us on completely ridiculous grounds.

Today’s Christianity is filled with so many people like these. Even though these false prophets claim to lead countless people to believe in Jesus, they actually just exploit their souls for money instead of preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So given this, what else could they be but mighty hunters before God? Even when they get a chance to hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they have no desire to understand, nor believe in it, and instead they continue believing only in the blood of the Cross.

I have every confidence to say that such people are all heretics, just like Jeroboam. We come across many such heretics routinely among this world’s Christian leaders. Although they purport to introduce

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countless people to Jesus, they can’t actually preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is what really washes away everyone’s sins. Instead, they believe that only the blood of Jesus constitutes the gospel of salvation. They believe so because that’s what they’ve been taught by their leaders, who have clamed to have received the remission of sin just by believing in the blood of Jesus alone.

The entire world is suffering from these mighty hunters of such faith. By preaching their false gospels and fallacious doctrines, they are preventing countless Christians from actually receiving the Holy Spirit into their hearts, thus rendering it all in vain for them to believe in Jesus. If anyone has sin in his heart, then the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in his heart, even if he believes in Jesus. Yet right now, many Christians believe only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross and as a result, they are attending church without even realizing that they themselves are turning into mighty hunters before God. All of them must wake up as soon as possible and realize that their faith is

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going astray. Even now, they must turn around and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Even at this very moment, just how many false prophets are turning people into their followers and robbing them of their possessions? We must be able to see clearly the fraud committed by heretics. Just how abominable are these mighty hunters in God’s sight? It would be so much better for them not to preach at all to anyone, rather than preaching a false gospel instead of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Far from preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the real gospel of salvation, they are actually preaching a false, half-gospel to those who desire to believe in Jesus, thereby killing their souls.

These people must repent, return to the God of Truth, and receive the true remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They are the mighty hunters before God, and they are the wretched ones who cannot help but be cursed forever along with the Devil. Even now, they travel all over the world looking for lost souls, and yet when they

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find them, they actually preach a false gospel. When viewed from the light of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, these people are so ridiculous.

The problem is that there are so many such people around us. Spiritually speaking, these people are Ham’s descendants.

Those who will be cursed by God stand against His righteousness to the very end. The righteousness of God is manifested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit God has given to us. Those who are now standing against the gospel of the water and the Spirit are actually standing against the righteousness of God out of their ignorance. Today’s soul-hunters are ignoring the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that holds the righteousness of God, and this is committing the same sin as ignoring God. They are also God’s enemies, having joined the rank of mighty hunters like Nimrod. Even so, we must still have compassion for them, and we must guide them to the right path so that they may also receive the remission of sin through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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When we receive the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, at first it seems as though our blemishes and weaknesses are exposed even more. That’s because all this time our fundamental wickedness and our fleshly thoughts had been hidden in our hearts, and it’s only now that they are finally exposed. So some people look down on the faith of the righteous just by looking at their visible shortcoming of the flesh, but in doing so, they are actually standing against the righteousness of God to be forever cursed in the end. Ham committed such a sin. When Ham saw the nakedness of Noah, his leader and his father, far from covering it up, he made a big fuss out of it. As Ham thus ignored the spiritual authority established God, he was cursed by Him, and that is why his descendant Nimrod became a mighty hunter before God. Like this, anyone who doesn’t believe in the righteousness of God is forever cursed both in body and spirit.

For everyone alike, unless you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with your heart,

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your soul cannot receive the remission of sin, and you will instead, be cursed by God. People turn into mighty hunters preaching a false gospel before God because they are either ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, or they don’t believe in it even as they know it. We should never allow ourselves to live this kind of life before God. We must never permit ourselves to turn into the Devil’s servants by following the evil practices and false faith of these mighty hunters. No matter how insufficient we may be in this world, we are still God’s people and His servants, for we are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even if it takes a long time for the gospel of the water and the Spirit spread by us to reach everyone all over the world, we must continue to devote all our energy to proclaiming this true gospel. Today’s Christians, by preaching a false gospel in the name of Jesus, are actually killing people’s souls; they must all realize their sins as soon as possible and turn around.

God had said to Noah and his sons, “Every

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moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:3-4). This passage means that we should not spread a false gospel to hunt down human souls.

If you enjoy meat, then in the course of eating it’s inevitable to have at least some trace of blood that’s left on the meat. So this passage does not actually mean that you shouldn’t have any blood, but it means that you should never kill anyone’s soul. We must never allow ourselves to turn into evil hunters before God only to kill people’s souls. However, even at this very moment, false gospels are being spread all over the world along with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And because of these false gospels, countless souls are perishing away needlessly.

Even for us, who are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, many shortcomings are apparent in our flesh. Yet despite our insufficiencies, the gospel preached by us is now being spread all over the world vibrantly, all because this gospel has

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the power. I thank God for this wonderful blessing.

It’s now only a matter of time before the gospel of the water and the Spirit covers the entire world. So I ask you not to despair even in your hardship, but to serve the gospel together with us until the day the Lord returns.

The gospel of the water and the Spirit must be preached to all the so-called renowned Christian leaders across the world. I say this to my coworkers as well, underscoring just how important it is to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all theologians everywhere in the world. These people still have not heard of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I would like to ask them, “Have you really heard the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit?”

Even now, everyone throughout the whole world must listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, believe in it, and thus be truly saved from the sins that are in their hearts.

However, for those who are hunting people’s souls to satisfy their own carnal lust, unless their

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hearts make a fundamental departure from their flawed beliefs, they cannot reach true salvation no matter how often they hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So the false prophets abiding in Christian communities have no intention of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are proclaiming all around the world. Nevertheless, the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is now covering the world. There still is a chance for even the false prophets to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I hope and pray to God everyday that He would also bless them to be able to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

God blessed two of Noah’s sons, Shem and Japheth. Spiritually speaking, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the descendants of Shem and Japheth. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is now covering the entire world. On the other hand, however, you should also realize that there are mighty hunters in this world. In today’s Christian communities, those who neither believe in nor preach

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the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord are all mighty hunters. In other words, if Christians themselves are killing another soul with a false gospel, then none other they are the mighty hunters before God. Whoever stands against the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a mighty hunter before God. Such people are all false prophets in God’s sight. When Jesus returns, our Lord will judge them justly. No Christian ever should spiritually be allowed himself to turn into a mighty hunter before God. We now have the duty to also preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to such people.

Even though it may seem as if we haven’t achieved much before God, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is actually being spread into the far corners of the world, thanks to God who has blessed us both materially and spiritually. Having now been translated into most major languages, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is being proclaimed all around the world. God is blessing everyone under the heavens through us who are insufficient. God blesses

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the descendants of Shem and Japheth. In contrast, He curses everyone who is like Nimrod. They are mighty hunters before Him. And even now, their spiritual descendants are preaching a false gospel to countless souls.

I’ve learned many things while preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Before, I used to believe that every Christian was a good person, but now that I know better, I’ve come to realize that there actually are many mighty hunters among Christians who kill other souls. The mighty hunters are those who hunt down other souls. They are professional religionists who hold clergy positions in Christian communities. For the sake of their material wealth, they are exploiting countless souls and killing them, all the while invoking the Word of God. However, even though our number is small and our abilities are limited, God has blessed us so much that through us, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is reaching every corner of the world with a tremendous impact. So we should all be thankful to

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God for this. Even if you can’t directly get involved in the work of spreading the gospel, if you unite your heart with the righteousness of God, then He will bless you to be able to preach the gospel all across the entire world.

I give all thanks to God for giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saving us from the sins of the world. Until each and every person living on this planet comes to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must all carry out God’s work by our faith in His righteousness. Hallelujah!

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SERMON 13

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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307 The Descendants of Ham, Mighty Soul-Hunters

The Descendants of Ham, Mighty Soul-Hunters < Genesis 10:1-32 > “Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the

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earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.’ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).

Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

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And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber. To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.

All these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.”

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Today’s Scripture passage describes the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God says here that it’s from these three men that the entire human race sprang forth to spread around the world. In other words, every existing race or nation has all descended from Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. So the ancestry of the human race is traced back to Noah and his three sons.

Today’s Scripture passage writes which tribes have stemmed from each of these three sons.

The Bible first describes the descendants of Japheth. It then describes the genealogy of Ham in the following terms in Genesis 10:6-20: “The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.’ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel,

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Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim). Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.”

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Nimrod Was a Mighty Hunter before God The man called Nimrod was a mighty hunter before God. It’s written, “The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan” (Genesis 10:6).

The first thing to note here is that Ham is the forefather of the Canaanites. These Canaanites eventually turned into God’s enemies to torment the Israelites, who were Ham’s descendants and God’s chosen people. Cush, the first son of Ham, bore Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Dedan, and Nimrod. So Nimrod was Ham’s grandson. The Bible describes Nimrod the son of Cush as a mighty hunter. And it also says that Nimrod lived in Babel in the land of Shinar. Nimrod was an imposing man in his physical appearance, but spiritually speaking, this means that he was a mighty soul-hunter who was utterly evil. And as a mighty hunter, he came to stand against the righteousness of God. That’s because unlike ordinary hunters that pursue game, Nimrod hunted down and preyed upon people’s souls rather than animals. Like this, Ham’s

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descendants ended up turning into God’s enemies as written in the Bible.

Nimrod was a hunter preying upon people’s souls.

In today’s Christian communities also, there are many soul-hunters like Nimrod. They prey upon people’s souls, and they are killing these souls by using their fabricated doctrines. The religions of the world are inciting people with lies and hunting for their souls, claiming that their sins would be remitted if they do many good deeds. Using the false doctrines of man’s own making, Christianity is also ensnaring the souls of its followers. This is Satan’s work. By working inside Christianity with fabricated doctrines, Satan is tying down Christians into a rigidly dogmatic framework and immobilizing them, thus ensuring their certain death.

When we look at Christianity around the world today, we can see that many of its leaders are actually strangling people’s souls with such Christian dogmas as the doctrine of prayers of repentance and the doctrine of incremental sanctification, thereby

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making it impossible for them to be freed from all their sins. Because these false prophets use some seemingly authoritative Christian doctrines, the souls of those ensnared by this trap cannot help but be spiritually imprisoned in their sins. Satan uses mighty hunters to make it impossible for people’s souls to escape from spiritual death. If someone tries to be freed from Christian dogmas, these soul-hunters prevent them from escaping from their clutches by ensnaring them with the trap of human bondage. As they are mighty hunters before God, they use the exact same method that the Devil uses to prey on people’s souls.

The spiritual descendants of Ham, that is Christian leaders, are hunting for people’s souls even now.

These soul-hunters use Christian doctrines as the deadliest weapon to destroy people’s souls. They are preying upon the souls that believe in Jesus by using such Christian doctrines as the doctrine of incremental sanctification and the doctrine of prayers of repentance. The problem, however, is that their

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peculiar method of soul-hunting is viewed as nothing strange. It’s all because they have covered up their lies with Christian doctrines and disguised themselves as real shepherds. The religionists of the world are devouring countless souls by cloaking the religions of their own making to appear as good religions. Through such mighty hunters, Satan is deceiving so many people and destroying them so effortlessly. Their method of hunting is not shooting a game with an arrow, but it involves making up a false doctrine that promises to wash away people’s sins, and then exploiting their weaknesses to prey upon them.

So people who are ensnared by this peculiar method of hunting are perishing away spiritually, unable to be freed from their sins. As they are under the grip of the so-called “spiritual leaders” of Christianity today, they are completely immobilized in both body and spirit, and they are all dying in their sinful state. The leaders of Christianity, who are actually today’s mighty hunters, are leading countless

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souls to death by trapping them in false doctrines such as the doctrine of prayers of repentance or the doctrine of incremental sanctification. Christians who now find themselves in this desperate situation have already fallen into the deception of these false prophets from long ago, and so their souls are already as good as dead.

Those Whose Souls Are Being Hunted When we look at the various religions that are in this world with our own eyes, they all look quite decent and good. Isn’t this true? In our eyes, the religions of the world all appear good. For instance, it’s so beautiful to see Christians worshipping God in their churches and they all look so holy that even non-Christians would envy them. Like this, when non-Christians see Christianity only in its outside appearance, they like what they see, and perhaps it’s only natural for the people of the world to feel this

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way when they see only the outside shell of Christianity. Today’s religionists are involved in so many charity works that they look as if they were angels. Given how these people are serving the poor and the needy so devotedly, there is no one who wouldn’t feel that every religion is good when he sees such pious people.

There are those in Christianity who seek the virtues of the flesh, and people have no idea that precisely such people are mighty hunters. Although these Christians look virtuous in their outside appearance pretending to serve others, in reality, they are just hiding their true colors with such outward manifestation of virtue, all the while preying upon people’s souls. Through the training camp called seminary, Satan trains mighty hunters to set the doctrinal traps that ensnare people’s souls, wait quietly for the prey, and pounce on the victims when they are ensnared by the traps and devour them (Proverbs 1:11-12). God has made it known to us that the Devil is still preying upon people’s souls in a

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peculiar way.

Among Christians around the whole world, there are many who believe in Jesus as their Savior without understanding the gospel of the water and the Spirit yet, nor knowing the righteousness of God. In reality, they are leading their lives of faith while trapped by the mighty hunters shown in the Bible. But what is truly tragic is that they don’t even realize this. As today’s Christians do not know Jesus Christ who came by the water and the Spirit, they believe in Him in vain and they are praying in vain. Trying to wash away their sins, they pray to God futilely, blindly asking Him, “Lord, I’ve done wrong. Please forgive me.” None other than such people are those trapped by the mighty hunters, but they themselves do not even realize this and are instead too busy with their own devotion. Even though they are now ensnared by the traps set by the mighty hunters they are completely oblivious to this and are devoting themselves even more and falling even deeper into the traps. It’s all because they believe in the false

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doctrines of Christianity. This means that false Christian doctrines are the very instruments used by the mighty hunters. You should grasp here that the more those trapped by the mighty hunters try to escape, the more religious doctrines the mighty hunters use to try to destroy them.

The mighty hunters keep a close watch over the souls of their followers to maintain their authority and satisfy their greed. They ensure the cohesiveness of their organization by handing out as many church offices as possible to their followers. Since the ministers working under such leaders keep each other under constant surveillance, no one can escape from the grips of the prevailing dogma once he becomes a member of the organization called Christianity. As the organization of Christianity is vertically integrated to resemble a pyramid, its structure of command and control is unassailably airtight. So just by assigning a few people to keep a watchful eye, all information can be collected and routed up through the channels to the top right away. That’s how the

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leader at the very top can keep constant surveillance over everyone else and control his followers. Like this, the mighty hunters are preying on people with the religious doctrines of their own making and false beliefs.

To these liars, I raise the following question: “Is it God’s work to prey on people’s souls, even as you claim to believe in Jesus Christ who came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man as your Savior?”

Today, there are those who say that faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is wrong. They claim to have received the remission of sin even without believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and they are actually attacking those who believe in this true gospel. When they are asked, “By what faith then is one saved from sin?” they say, “One is saved just by believing in the blood of the Cross, even if he doesn’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.” It is precisely these people who are mighty soul-hunters before God. The righteous believe that the true remission of sin

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is received only when one believes in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. In contrast, today’s mighty hunters say, “No, that’s not true. All that you have to do is just believe in the blood of the Cross. Doesn’t the Bible say that Abraham was justified for believing in the Word of God? So of the Word of God, if you just believe in the blood of the Cross alone, then you are made righteous.” But their words and their faith are all in vain. We can see that they are actually partaking in the Devil’s work that is destroying people’s souls. Those who have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have spiritual discernment, and so they can distinguish the true gospel from the false ones.

You must realize that when the mighty hunters approach the people they are aiming at, they always approach with false Christian doctrines. Armed with these fallacious doctrines, they are working hard to bring spiritual death to Christians. The false leaders in today’s Christian communities blindly insist,

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“Believe in Jesus; you will then be saved from sin.”

In contrast, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the righteousness of God, say, “Anyone who claims to abide by Christianity but does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with the heart is like the mighty hunter shown in the Bible.” The false leaders of Christianity have turned into the mighty hunters preying upon the sons of God. Right now, we have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit Jesus has given us. This faith is the true faith. In our hearts as the believers in the righteousness of God, there is faith, in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and His baptism received from John the Baptist, His blood shed at the Cross, and His resurrection. And we also believe in the ascension of Jesus, His second coming, the Millennial Kingdom to come, and the everlasting Kingdom of Heaven.

Those who truthfully believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot help but thank God. We have been born again by believing in the gospel of

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the water and the Spirit, and we believe in Jesus’ everything― from His birth to the baptism He received, the suffering He endured on the Cross as well as His death, resurrection, ascension, and return.

However, those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit argue that salvation is reached by believing in only the blood He shed at the Cross, thus disregarding the baptism He received.

Yet we can see that when one tries to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit according to their teachings, an exorbitant amount of work is demanded of him.

Today’s heretics believe in completely groundless Christian doctrines so ardently that they are verging on fanaticism. It’s so spiritually frustrating to see how Christianity today cannot help but emphasize the need for man’s own work to attain salvation.

Today’s mighty hunters are those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the righteousness of God, and are instead standing against it. Ham had attacked his own father’s shortcomings and stood against the will of

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God, and as his spiritual descendants still remain in this world, they are now tormenting the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Such soul-hunters will continue to exist until our Lord returns.

Satan is preventing those in this world who have not been born again from believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the righteousness of God. He is destroying everyone’s soul with false Christian doctrines. However, Satan is ultimately unable to overcome the people of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

As such, rather than struggling in vain trapped in Christian doctrines sown by Satan only to perish away, you should realize the righteousness of God and believe in it, and thus be freed from the clutches of the mighty soul-hunters to become God’s own people standing against them and glorifying God.

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SERMON 14

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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The Lesson of The Tower of Babel < Genesis 11:1-9 > “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing

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that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

The lineage of every race on this planet earth is traced back to Noah and his sons and daughters-inlaw, who began to multiply once again when they emerged out of the ark at the end of the flood. The Bible says, “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake

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them thoroughly.’” This indicates, that the people of that time were trying to build a closely entwined society, to avoid being scattered around. Prior to the construction of the Tower of Babel, there was only one language in this world. But as the Bible says, many languages sprang forth all over the world subsequent to the construction of the Tower of Babel.

The Lessons of the Tower of Babel Noah’s descendants were one family, and they all used one language. As they journeyed from the east, they came across a plain in the land of Shinar, and there they built the Tower of Babel to avoid being scattered. The plain of Shinar was located in today’s Iraq, and it’s in this region that they decided to settle down and form a unified community. It’s likely that this region back then was a fertile land, filled with lustrous green fields and plenty of animals to provide abundant sources of food. There they built a tower to

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reach up toward the heavens thereby trying to make a name for themselves so as to avoid being scattered all over the face of the earth. When God saw how these people were all unified trying to make a name for themselves so as to avoid being scattered, He realized that if this display of arrogance was tolerated that they would think that nothing was impossible for them to achieve. So God put an end to their construction of the Tower of Babel.

There is a good spiritual lesson that we all can learn from this incident: When human beings unite together, they can make impressive material advancements, but when this happens, mankind invariably comes to stand against the righteousness of God. So the lesson from today’s Scripture passage is that we humans should not seek to prosper on our own just among ourselves without having faith in the righteousness of God. What was the people’s intention when they were trying to build a tower that would reach up to the heavens? Their intention was to make a name for

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themselves. In other words, as the arrogance of their hearts reached the heavens, they came to stand against the righteousness of God. There is no other reason to explain why they were so absolutely intent on building the Tower of Babel to reach the heavens.

After all, they could have just built and lived in ordinary buildings. But they didn’t realize that Satan was working in this world through the thoughts of mankind.

The righteousness of man itself is a challenge to God. Trying to establish your own human righteousness is the same as boasting your own power before God, and it shows that you’ve lost your humble disposition to rely on the righteousness of God. So you must realize just how evil it is before God to try to establish your own righteousness. For mankind to try to build a city and a tower tall enough for its top to reach up to the heavens is the same as rejecting God’s mercy and provoking His wrath.

Historically speaking, it’s when human beings tried to build the Tower of Babel after Noah’s flood that

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they were scattered by God, and it’s because of this incident that people all around the world now speak different languages. All these things happened as a result of the wrath of God provoked by mankind’s own action. This shows us that God abhors it the most when people let their lives be ruled by Satan and stand against God’s mercy.

Even today, we can see that just like the builders of the Tower of Babel, all the religious people of the world are also standing against the righteousness of God by building up their own human righteousness.

Every religion in this world is now challenging God’s righteousness. With their accumulated righteousness, the religionists are defying God and His righteousness.

Doesn’t’ everyone nowadays just love to show off his own virtues? In these days, everyone likes to build up his own good deeds and stand against God, His righteousness, and the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The righteousness of mankind is therefore a direct affront to the righteousness of God, and it is a sure way to provoke God’s enmity.

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The Souls of the Spiritually Mistaken People The Bible says that bricks and asphalt were used to build the Tower of Babel. For mankind to build an altar dedicated to God, it has to be built with stones, but these people built the Tower of Babel with bricks and asphalt instead. This implies that they tried to approach God with their confused faith that came out of their own confused thoughts. If someone calls upon the Lord with his own confused faith, would the Lord answer him? No, of course not. Once one falls into confused beliefs, his mind is bound to get even more confused while trying to escape from there, and in the end, he will fall even deeper into confusion.

This is true for everyone. That’s why all those who want to escape from their spiritually confused beliefs must first know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and believe in it with their hearts. Unless they do so, they can never escape from their spiritually confused and false beliefs, and they will ultimately be destroyed in the midst of all this confusion. Those

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who are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be destroyed forever for the sin of standing against the righteousness of God with the righteousness of their own making.

With the events surrounding the Tower of Babel, the Bible makes it clear that there will be God’s punishment for every fallacious faith that’s based on man’s carnal thoughts. Unless you are someone who is standing against the righteousness of God, you must believe that only the God-spoken gospel of the water and the Spirit can bring true salvation to you.

Many Christians today are actually making up their own confused beliefs based on their carnal thoughts, and they are holding on to these beliefs rather than believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

And they are also misleading others to have such confused beliefs.

There are so many Christians nowadays who front their own righteousness. Even though their faith is a mistaken one made of their own fleshly thoughts just like the Tower of Babel, full of self-assurance, they

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believe in vain. That’s why those in Christian communities who have such carnal faith despise the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The important message that God is telling us through the incident of the Tower of Babel is that He abhors it when those with carnal beliefs unite amongst themselves. As such, you should realize here that when the worldly Christians of carnal faith come together, they are actually standing against God. What do today’s Christians with carnal beliefs do when they unite together? Ultimately, all that they do is just stand against the righteousness of God. Their unity per se is not what is wrong. Rather, what’s so problematic is that when we look at the consequences of their faith, we see that they ultimately end up committing the most grievous of sins by standing up against the righteousness of God and opposing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When we look at the faith of those who oppose the righteousness of God, we can see that they are trying to establish and boast their own human righteousness. In other words,

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they disobey the will of God out of their own volition and stand against the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit. One lesson that we all need to consider carefully once more as we each continue to carry on with our lives of faith is that whenever carnal people come together as one, they always end up committing the sin of standing against the righteousness of God. That’s why you should never unite with carnal Christians nor join them. You must then realize that God is unable to ever be pleased by sinful people.

As God abhorred the arrogance of mankind displayed by its united effort to build the Tower of Babel, God confused its language. He weakened the people’s power and made it impossible to complete the Tower of Babel. However, today’s Christians are still doing what does not please God. What can we learn here? We should realize here that the mistaken beliefs of mankind are also perpetuated. We must stand in the right file of faith, grasping the righteousness of God and believing in it according to the Truth.

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How tall was the Tower of Babel built in the Old Testament times? We don’t know this, as it’s not written in the Bible. Then how many stories does the tallest building in the world now have? It has 101 stories. In which country is it? It’s in Taiwan. How tall is this 101-storied building? It’s 509 m. While we don’t know for sure exactly how tall the Tower of Babel was, since the entire human race was united to build it, its height must have been quite considerable. Anyway, what’s important to remember here is that God confused the language of mankind and scattered it.

Yesterday was the birthday of Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism, and I heard that the Catholic Church sent a congratulatory letter to the Buddhist community. The Catholic Church in Korea send a congratulatory letter as well as it sent some of the Catholic membership to the Buddhist temple to celebrate the day in person. Nowadays, it’s become quite fashionable for the religious leaders around the world to approve each other’s religion. The so-called Ecumenical Movement is the embodiment of this

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trend. Many Christians are also participating in this movement. We are now living in an age when every religion in the world is coming together as one.

What is the ultimate goal behind this religious unification? It is to stand against the righteousness of God. In other words, people today are uniting their confused faiths together ultimately to oppose the righteousness of God. Something like this was completely unimaginable before. But now in this the last age, mankind is engaged in such a syncretistic Ecumenical Movement. This modern version of the Tower of Babel, whereby human beings become one, cannot happen in the realm of unbelief in this world that’s filled with selfishness, nor should it happen.

Before, there used to be a lot of hostility between practitioners of different religions. Christianity in particular was quite adamant in rejecting all the other religions, on the grounds that one should believe according to the Bible. Unlike Christianity, which adheres to monotheism, Buddhism argues, “Everyone himself is a god. So you should reach Nirvana and

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discipline yourself until you reach your divine state.”

So until recently, the followers of these two religions used to quarrel with each other. But now, they both argue that everyone should understand and approve of each other’s religion. In Protestant churches as well, the so-called religious pluralism is making big headway, and every year, meetings such as WCRP (World Conference on Religion and Peace) are held to encourage all the religions of the world to come together. This is now happening all around the world.

The Ecumenical Movement is global in scope.

Catholic nuns and Buddhist nuns are singing each other’s hymns together. Spiritually speaking, this is the same faith as those who were building the Tower of Babel. In other words, all the religions in the world are syncretizing with each other spiritually.

The word “Babel” from the Tower of Babel is defined as “to confuse.” It’s from this that spiritual confusion has descended upon the souls of people living in this world. The religious leaders of this age say that it’s a positive step forward for every religion

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to come together. But is such a movement aiming to achieve the unity of every religion really something that’s desirable? The advocates of this movement will come together only to stand against the righteousness of God, and once this happens, they will all face spiritual destruction. In the time of the Old Testament, God had confused mankind’s language and scattered human beings around so that they couldn’t complete the Tower of Babel. But now, as Jesus Christ came to this earth and gave mankind the gospel of the water and the Spirit, He has made it possible for everyone who believes in this gospel to be saved in Christ. However, those who don’t accept this grace into their hearts will be destroyed forever.

No matter what, we must lead our lives of faith united with the Lord by trusting in the righteousness of God and the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should never unite with carnally oriented, fallacious beliefs. It would be wonderful if all the religious practitioners of the world were also delivered from all the sins of the world by realizing the

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righteousness of God and believing in Jesus as their Savior. But we have to realize that when human beings unite together amongst themselves, all that can come out of this is just a corrupted religious faith.

In the end, if someone unites with mankind’s carnal thoughts, he is bound to stand against the righteousness of God and His Word, and ultimately, this is nothing more than building up one’s own human righteousness like the Tower of Babel. So if anyone falls into carnal thoughts and leads his life of faith together with worldly people, this person will not only lose his own soul, but he may also end up destroying another person’s soul. It’s foolish for human beings to try to grasp the righteousness of God with their own carnal thoughts. If people today continue to lead a carnal life of faith united as one, it’s bound to produce nothing but a corrupt faith. And when this happens, their minds can’t understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given to all of us even when it is preached to them, nor can they believe in this gospel. That’s why those who

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don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit keep insisting stubbornly with a single unified voice that they are right all based on their own useless human thoughts. These people must throw away such mistaken thoughts as soon as possible. Unless they do so, they cannot escape from spiritual death.

God is far more pleased when people fear Him and follow Him by trusting in His righteousness, rather than uniting all themselves together. If people unite just amongst themselves based on their own righteousness, then they will inevitably stand against God and His righteousness as a result. So you have to remember that it is wrong for anyone to show off his own righteousness. Even for us, who have now become righteous by believing in the God-given gospel—that is, the gospel of the water and the Spirit—if we unite amongst ourselves only carnally and insist on our own righteousness, then we will also drift away from the righteousness of God to our doom. We the righteous should unite together for the purpose of becoming one with the righteousness of

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God and serving the righteous gospel that Jesus Christ has Himself completed. As such, we should not unite with those who are carnally minded, but we should instead unite with those who believe in and follow God’s righteousness, and together with others of the same belief obey the will of the Lord.

The most important point that God is making here through the events surrounding the Tower of Babel is this: One shouldn’t unite with carnal people to stand against the saints who believe in the righteousness of God. Even though we are righteous, if we let our human thoughts and emotional attachments mislead us into uniting with worldly people, then our spiritual faith will perish in the end. That’s because if we stand against the righteousness of God, this spells nothing but spiritual death. We should never allow this to happen because we are of those who have faith in the righteousness of God. From the account of the Tower of Babel of which God is speaking, I can appreciate that even we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit

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may go astray. We have to be very careful, since all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are also only human. When mankind is united, it has a tremendous strength to stand against the righteousness of God. The righteousness of mankind can never be broken by anything else but the righteousness of God. Only when one knows this righteousness of God does he finally admit that he is completely devoid of any righteousness. The righteousness of mankind must surrender before the righteousness of God. Although we are now leading our lives of faith by trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, before we knew this gospel of Truth, we had also thought that our carnal beliefs were right. Therefore, remembering the Tower of Babel, we the righteous should never repeat such mistakes. Even though people all over the world are now uniting together to stand against the righteousness of God just like the builders of the Tower of Babel, we the righteous must not lead our lives of faith united with these

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carnal people. Instead, the righteous should trust in the righteousness of God, fear Him, and obey His will by faith. In these end times, the entire human race prefers selfishness of self to God’s righteousness, and united together, it is now serving the Devil and opposing the righteousness of God. But even so, if we live by trusting in the righteousness of God, then we will surely overcome the world.

The whole world is being unified religiously, and more broadly, all those who stand against the righteousness of God are seeking to unify themselves around the Devil. Eventually, enticed by the wealth and fame of this world and its power and authority, many will rise up under the name of the Antichrist to stand against God and His saints. When the last day comes, the whole world will be united under one religion.

Did you know that it was such a grievous sin in the sight of God for people to unite themselves based on their own virtues? You probably didn’t realize this, right? You may still wonder why it is such a sin for

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human beings to come together based on their own virtues. In fact, far from constituting a sin, you may even have thought that there was nothing wrong with human beings coming together to establish a human righteousness. What about our deacons? Did you ever think that it was wrong for mankind to come together? Before you received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you probably didn’t even imagine that there was anything wrong with the virtues of mankind. But now that you’ve received the remission of sin, you should realize that to stand against the righteousness of God is to try to establish one’s own righteousness. Yet those who insist on their own human virtues do not realize that their unity constitutes a serious sin before God. They think that it’s all for the good of the human race to come together even if God is excluded.

Between the virtues of mankind and the righteousness of God, which one did we think was right subconsciously? Didn’t we think that it was good for human beings to come together and pool

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their resources? Didn’t we consider the unity of mankind as something wonderful? What about our sisters? What were your thoughts on this issue? Did you think that it was good for mankind to unite together, or did you think it was bad? So you thought it was good! Both sister Eunyoung and sister Jihye just said that they thought it would be good. What about our deacons then? What were your thoughts on this issue? Perhaps Deaconess Youngae Kim has a few words to say; would you like to share your thoughts with us?

(Editor’s note—the following is an excerpt from Deaconess Kim’s response: “Before I received the remission of sin, I used to avoid all social gatherings, as I did not enjoy meeting people. But at the same time, I also envied those with good people skills and able to mingle with others so easily. This was one of the most difficult issues I had, even after receiving the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But now, I’ve been told that I should unite with the righteous of God’s Church, and

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that is what I am doing.”) Thank you for that frank remark.

All this time, our thoughts had been subconsciously embedded with the notion that any and all unity of people was good. Is this not how we had thought? What about you? Didn’t you think it was good for people to come together? We all used to think that any kind of unity was good and desirable in itself, whether it was people or nations that came together. Didn’t all the deacons here also think that getting along with everyone else was generally good, as Deaconess Kim thought? Sure you did. Isn’t this how all of us had thought?

The Bible, however, says that it is wrong for human beings to come together just by themselves.

Unity with God is fundamentally different from unity amongst human beings. Uniting with God’s Church is done to follow the will of the Lord; it entails uniting with the righteousness of God by faith first, and then uniting once again with everyone else who is also in union with this righteousness of God. This

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is the right unity that we should all strive to achieve.

But trying to unite amongst human beings is different from uniting with the righteousness of God, and that is why it constitutes a sin. So it’s because of God’s righteousness that all of us, including our deacons, have united with the Church.

The Bible is saying that it is never right for human beings with the flesh to be united just among themselves by their carnal faith. In a display of their unity, men tried to build the Tower of Babel in the plain of Shinar, but God came down there and threw their language into complete confusion. The people at that time were able to unite together to stand against God because they all shared one common language, and that is why God confused their language. Now, of course, there are so many different languages around the world that we are having a hard time trying to overcome language barriers to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If mankind at that time had not built the Tower of Babel, then just one sermon would be enough for everyone around

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the world to understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and for this gospel to work in everyone’s heart.

Although today’s Scripture passage is a very short one, within this passage, God is providing us with the full account of the origin of the evils of all the religions of this world. When this passage is analyzed closely, we can see from where the history of the religions of mankind began and what’s wrong with them.

Today, Christianity itself is actively involved in the Ecumenical Movement. Christians involved in this movement are carrying its torch not to become the light of the world, but to show off their own strength, and this is not something that’s congruent to the will of God. On the contrary, it’s a union of those with a fallacious faith trying to challenge God and His righteousness. Today’s Christians are trying to unify themselves according to the carnal thoughts of mankind, but God will not permit this to happen and He will scatter them all. As we know the

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righteousness of God, we are able to realize all of His will.

The Tower of Babel symbolizes the fallacy of spiritual syncretism. People nowadays are syncretizing different religious beliefs into spiritual confusion, and those who adhere to this kind of faith will face terrifying curses from God. Many people today professing to believe in Jesus have already been spiritually compromised. As every religion today is now built on groundless doctrines like this, if it’s shaken by the Word of Truth just once, it will all fall down like a house built on sand. Although it may seem as though these religionists are expounding on some great doctrines, in reality, once you grasp the Truth that has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you can realize what is so wrong with the doctrines of all the religions of the world. With their carnal faith—that is, confused faith—today’s religious practitioners are standing against the righteousness of God, and this is precisely what’s wrong with them.

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Today’s Scripture passage is immediately followed by the genealogy of the one who believed in the righteousness of God, and this genealogy is the genealogy of Shem, the first son of Noah. Shem’s descendants are listed in this genealogy, which at the end lists Terah and it is from Terah that Abraham the father of faith was born. According to oral tradition, Abraham’s father Terah was a vender who made and sold idols. This implies that Terah’s faith was syncretic. He believed in both God and other deities, but Abraham was not like his father. When God appeared before him and spoke to him, Abraham believed in God’s Word wholly and obeyed it in its entirety.

Today’s Scripture passage tells us what our true faith should be like before God. The events surrounding the Tower of Babel demonstrate clearly that only those who follow God by trusting in His righteousness can lead their lives of faith successfully.

All the others who don’t’ follow the Word of God are wrong, regardless of whether their disobedience is

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displayed individually, collectively, or nationally.

Therefore, the faith of those who follow the Lord according to their own will is all sin.

If we don’t follow the righteousness of God by placing our faith in His Word, then everything is wrong. Many Christians try to lead their lives of faith according to their own will, but is this even possible?

Does God have any expectations about mankind’s willpower? God is the Creator, who made mankind, and He can count even our hairs (Matthew 10:30).

This God knows fully that we humans can never reach any righteousness that’s worthy of His approval, no matter how hard we try. Although many Christians are burning with self-determination and trying to build their own righteousness like the Tower of Babel, all of which are based on fallacious doctrines, God is pointing out the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them and telling them to reach His righteousness by believing in this gospel of the water and the Spirit.

In a match between the righteousness of mankind

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and the righteousness of God, which would prevail?

God’s righteousness will of course prevail. The tower of useless faith that human beings have built out of their own volition will all crumble down in ruination at the end. All willful faith built by mankind is completely in vain. In Jinan, a town located in the southwestern part of South Korea, there is a pair of mountains called Mai Mountain that resemble a pair of a horse’s ears (Editor’s note: The word ‘mai’ means ‘horse ear’). Visitors to this mountain can come across many stone pagodas that a hermit spent his entire lifetime to build as a part of practicing asceticism. How empty would the hermit feel if someone came along one day and demolished these pagodas over night that he had built so meticulously through out his whole life? While it may have taken a lifetime to build the towers, it only takes a moment to bring them all down. Mankind may build the Tower of Babel all they want, but it’s God who brings it down in a moment.

The incident of the Tower of Babel shown in

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Genesis provides a profound lesson to all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Had it not been for this event happening then we would not be having so much trouble trying to learn a foreign language. More importantly, it reminds us that anyone can be tempted into building his own version of the Tower of Babel. That’s because everyone wants to live harmoniously in union with others. Although it is a common desire for all human beings to live in harmony with each other, this shouldn’t lead them to stand against God and drift away from Him. The problem, however, is that this is exactly what most people do.

For ages, mankind has been trying to secure its happiness on its own. But this is simply impossible.

Due to being separated from God mankind can never practice goodness nor be happy on its own volition.

That is why God has given us the Kingdom of Heaven to live at in perfect harmony forever. As the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we give all our thanks, glory, and praise to our Lord for

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giving us the Kingdom of Heaven.

But there still is one thing of which we must be careful: We must not commit the sin of drifting away from the God of Truth by leading our lives of faith according to our own human thoughts. The lesson that the Tower of Babel teaches us is that we must throw away carnal beliefs and have spiritual faith. The Lord has not given us just a plain gospel, but He has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He does not want you to believe in a confused and dogmatic gospel which insists that the blood of the Cross alone constitutes the gospel. Rather, He wants you to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The gospel of the water and the Spirit the Lord has given us will bring true salvation to all of those who believe in this gospel. Let us all, therefore, live by trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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SERMON 15

You can download Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Free Christian Books on iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry by going to Amazon’s Kindle e-bookstore (www.amazon.com).

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You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar < Genesis 11:1-9 > “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language,

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and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

Now, the people mentioned in this Scripture passage are all descendants of Noah. The Book of Genesis chapter 11 describes an event in which the descendants of Noah had built the tower of Babel. At that time, they used only one language, as it is written, “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech” (Genesis 11:1). In other words, people prior to the Babel Tower event used only one speech.

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But as Noah’s descendants journeyed further and further from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, which is where Iraq is now located. There they sought to avoid getting scattered abroad and to make a name for themselves by building a tower whose top would be in the heavens with bricks. And so, those descendants of Noah came to build the Tower of Babel. And so, they started building the Babel Tower, but they started building the tower using bricks that they had made instead of stones and using asphalt instead of mortar. In order to make the tower tall, they used asphalt to tower up the bricks.

However, because God did not like this work, He had scattered abroad all of humankind at the time by confusing their language.

God Hates Those Leading a Chaotic Life of Faith the Most When the descendants of Noah arrived at the

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plains of Shinar, it seems that time hadn’t passed much since Noah’s family came out from the ark.

Yet, they already wanted to depart from the Lord God. In other words, instead of depending on God, they wanted live on their own without God’s help.

Noah was saved from God’s judgment of water by the faith of believing in the Word of God. And, Noah’s three children, Shem, Ham, and Japeth, and their wives were also saved by believing in the Word of God that Noah had told them. At that time, not only Noah’s family members but also all types of creatures on earth were able to receive salvation because of the special providence of God. However, the fact is that these descendants of Noah abandoned God soon after coming out from the ark and went against God in order to live on their own. We must understand how wicked and how mistaken their lives were before God. For they distrusted God who had allowed them to be on this earth and had given them life and all the blessings, their act of trying to live on their own was

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such a grave sin before God. At the time, they built the Tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar, but it is said that they had used bricks instead of stones and asphalt instead of mortar in building it. According to the Old Testament, the altar of burnt offering for God was supposed to be built using natural stones only, and also, it is said that God accepts burnt offerings of sacrifice on top of such an altar of burnt offering.

However, the descendants of Noah wanted to show off their power by building the Babel tower on their own accord in order to show off their power.

When we realize the righteousness of God and try to serve Him by faith, we mustn’t try to serve Him with human wisdom or scheme. When we believe in the righteousness of God and try to serve that righteousness, we must worship God with the faith of believing in the Lord-given gospel of the water and the Spirit as it is. Only when we do so, will God be happy and will we also get to receive perfect salvation from the sins of this world. And only when we do so, will other souls be able to receive salvation

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from sin by having faith in the righteousness of God. However, human beings are putting efforts in living according to their own will by relying on their own powers and thoughts. Such people are the idolaters who worship gods other than God, and if they were to go a step further from there, the fact is that they would become the heretics that worship the golden calves before God like King Jeroboam and heap up God’s wrath.

Our Lord has saved us from all the sins of this world by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.

And, He finds joy from eternally receiving praise, respect and glory from those of us who have been saved from all their sins by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Yet, by building the Babel Tower people at the time had shown a disregard for the Divinity of God and had gathered together in a spiritual rally to go against the righteousness of God with their fleshly powers. And, we must realize that such acts are so very foolish before God. Through today’s Scripture passage, God is showing us the

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foolishness of all human beings.

As the number of Noah’s descendants grew, they could not but live widely dispersed. I think their original intent for building the tower was to have a central location where they could gather together whenever needed, no matter where they were living.

So, if we were to think in terms of the flesh, their actions are all understandable. Nevertheless, the fact that they had collected strength in order to live for themselves by excluding God from their lives was a sin. People trying to show off their unity and power by coming together and building the soaring Tower of Babel is something that just cannot be ignored before God. Also, it is treason against God like worshipping the golden calves and an immensely great sin before God. For humans to try to live according to their own will by ignoring and excluding the will of God is also a great sin.

From a human perspective, it didn’t seem all that bad in their own eyes to try to build the Babel Tower.

Rather for them, it seemed even better. However, the

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fact is that from God’s point of view, such acts were too evil and didn’t seem good. Because of this incident, they became imprisoned in an eternal chaos as traitors who were trying to keep a further distance from God. Hence, the Babel Tower incident in which people were trying to unite amongst themselves by excluding God was the most wicked and insolent sin of people having tried to stand before God on their own power without relying on Jehovah God. Because it was the sin of idolatry, relying on something other than God, it was the sin that God hated the most.

God Destroys the Babel Tower of Chaos People Had Built Just as God had given new life to Noah by saving him from the judgment for sins, by giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our Lord has saved those of us who believe in this gospel Truth once and for all from the sins of this world We are able to go ◄

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on living confidently by the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given to us by the Lord. As we raise our eyes by the faith of believing in the righteousness of God, for us to be living in the grace of God is in itself glory to God, and to us, it brings great blessings and peace. God found joy in such faith and in such a belief as ours. Those who are living by faith relying on God and His righteousness are those that have gained true faith and true peace.

However, many people are trying to live with fleshly powers that come from their thoughts and strength instead of relying on God and His righteousness. Something like that is a greatly wrongful sin before God. God finds joy in people who believe in and follow the Word of God with a pure heart, just as Noah did as God spoke with Him. Put differently, God finds joy in people who have faith like that of Noah.

We can see how pure and genuine Noah was before God through the Word of God. By that, Noah had built an ark for one hundred years, having faith

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in the Word of God. If Noah hadn’t had the faith of believing in the Word of God with a pure heart, he would not have been able to build an ark for one hundred years. People at the time must have ridiculed Grandfather Noah as a fool. They had treated Noah as a crazy person, saying to him in accordance with their own thoughts, “No matter how hard rain had fallen from the sky, in my entire lifetime, I have never seen even that little hill over there in front getting submerged underwater, yet how can something like the entire world getting submerged underwater happen?”

However, because Noah, in his heart, believed in God and His Word, the fact of the matter is that he had the faith to build an ark for one hundred years.

And at even that, he had built it according to the ark design told by God. Noah’s entire family had devoted everything into the work of obeying the Word of God, that is, the work of building the ark. Thus, he was saved from the world under destruction by the faith of believing in the Word of God, but what is more, he

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was able to save the lives of his entire family.

Even though Noah’s genuine faith must have been told to his descendants, but the fact is that people who were then gathered in the land of Shinar were trying to go on living by making a name for themselves with their own strength by building the Babel Tower and departing from the bosom of God. And that was why God had scattered them and confused their language so that they may not complete the Babel Tower. Thus, that is the reason why we are going through the hardship of translating the Word of God into all the various languages of the world right now.

Back then the language was one, so everyone was able to communicate with each other without any problem. It is the case that God had allowed people to live well with one another by giving people the same speech. Yet, the fact of the matter is that they had fallen as builders of a wall between God and them, instead of inheriting the genuine faith of their ancestors. God finds most joy in people building

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altars of genuine faith. When we read the Scripture passages in the Book of Exodus, it is said, “And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it” (Exodus 20:25-26). But, what I would like to ask you is why they had made bricks in order to build the Babel Tower. The fact that they were building the Babel Tower is indicative of the fact that they were trying to distance themselves from God spiritually by relying on their own physical strength.

Even now, some people try to understand God’s love and salvation within the framework of their own fleshly thinking and try to believe in Him with a faith of imaginary pregnancy. All such people try to confirm their religious experiences as being born again within their own thinking and saying according to their own fleshly thoughts, “If I believe like this, I am sure I will be saved. Being born again of water and the Spirit must mean this.” Everyone has

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thoughts deriving from the flesh, but fabricating their salvation with such thoughts on their own and then making it firm is a gravely mistaken belief. And so, they go on to say, “I will get to Heaven by receiving salvation from sins by believing only in the blood of the Cross,” but the fact of the matter is that such thinking becomes the sin of standing against the righteousness of God. You must realize how foolish it is to be sure of salvation on your own with the thoughts derived from your own flesh.

Salvation made up by one’s own fleshly thinking is called imaginary salvation. If Christians were to fall into an imaginary salvation, they would then fall into a chaos from which they can never turn back. If so, what difference is there between such faith and the faith that builds the Babel Tower before God? Such faith is extremely fleshly and greatly wrongful before God. Christians these days believe their own fleshly thoughts and are convinced on their own that those thoughts constitute a sound faith, but it is something gravely mistaken. Most Christians firmly

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believe in the doctrines of Christianity only, following their own thinking instead of listening to the Word of God. However, that is far different from the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must not believe in our own thoughts absolutely, but instead, we must always believe in God within the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Whoever it may be, if anyone tries to follow the doctrines derived from human thinking, his faith cannot but go wrong. Christians today believe blindly in the formula for salvation that they have created with their fleshly thoughts under the pretense of Christian doctrine. That is why when the gospel of the water and the Spirit reaches their ears, they regard it as preposterous instead of understanding it properly. That is why people must believe in the proper salvation from the beginning. Having faith in the righteousness of God by believing in the Word of God with a genuine heart is what constitutes a proper faith. The Lord said to us, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

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We must realize the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit and genuinely possess the faith of believing in that Truth. Also, we need to genuinely believe and accept in our hearts the gospel of the water and the Spirit spoken to us by God. A genuine faith is nothing but believing in the righteousness of God, and such genuine faith is the faith that makes God truly happy. That is the faith that God approves. By basing our faith on the written Word of God, we must believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

How Could Christians Have Made Such False Doctrines!

People in spiritual chaos are making Christian doctrines by adding their fleshly thinking to the Word of God. One of the representative Christian doctrines is the Doctrine of Sanctification, and this doctrine led to the creation of the doctrine of the prayers of repentance. In other words, the doctrine of

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the prayers of repentance is a sub-doctrine of the Doctrine of Sanctification. Christians today offers prayers of repentance when they commit sins against God in order to cleanse their sins.

However, such faith is to believe in a wrongful Christian doctrine created by human thinking.

Furthermore, Christian leaders, having created Christian doctrines with their own thinking, are asking every believer to believe in those doctrines, but this is something gravely wrong. These days, Christian leaders who haven’t yet been born again are leading numerous people into death by interpreting the Bible within their own frame of thinking and then turning that into doctrines.

When a person believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, sins disappear, and thus, the person gets to receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. However, people who do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, quoting the passage, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So

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is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8), go on to teach erroneously by saying, “No one can know whether or not oneself has been born again or has received the Holy Spirit. It is the case that one gets to be born again by the Holy Spirit at one time or another so long as one continues to believe in Jesus as the Savior.” They give teachings that are so preposterous because such people do not yet know about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, yet. And it is also because those people, as the spiritually blind, have fallen into chaos, for even if they did hear about the gospel, they do not believe in it nevertheless.

Those who teach such false doctrines inside Christianity right now are the spiritual blind. And, the fact that most of Christian leaders are the spiritually blind who have fallen into such chaos is a great problem. But, the greater problem is the fact that people who teach such false doctrines today do not know very well for themselves how false all the words that they speak out are. Even so, they continue to hold firmly onto their wrongful thinking.

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Therefore, most people these days who profess that they believe in Jesus do not know how they are born again by having faith in Jesus.

These people’s faith has nothing to do with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For that reason, they do not possess the evidence for their faith by the Word of God. They put forth the blood shed by Jesus at the Cross as the only evidence of their salvation.

Such people haven’t yet been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. These people have sins in their heart. Isn’t that so?

If the sins remain in their heart, such people are sinners before God. Sinners are those who are still separated from Christ. That is why God has said a person has to be born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But, those who neither know nor believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit go on saying, “I certainly do not know when a person becomes one of the born-again, but what is clear is that a person who believes in Jesus will be born again someday.” Like so, these people

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are holding on to their arbitrary faith and volition that were solidified by their wrongful thinking. As for such people, they must have their faith and spirit be healed by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only by doing so, they will be able to realize the fact that the manufactured Christian doctrines within current Christianity are the by-products of false and chaotic human thinking.

By believing in and propagating doctrines fabricated by wrongful human thinking, people go on mass-producing heretic Christians like themselves.

They say, “No one knows whether anyone has been saved or not. Only God knows who is saved. And also, regarding people going to Heaven or hell, it is something that only God knows.” They are in such chaos because they don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

God has given people the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that is, the Truth that allows people to truly be born again. And as for those who have accepted this Truth, He had them know whether or not they

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themselves have received the remission of sins and whether or not they themselves will go to Heaven.

That is the Truth spoken in the Bible. God has granted true remission of sins to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and along with that, He had them receive the true salvation by giving them the divine Holy Spirit as a gift.

Yet, if one were to say that only God knows about receiving the salvation and going to Heaven, it would just be a result deriving from the ignorance of not knowing about the Truth. People these days who claims to believe in Jesus without knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit are all possessors of chaotic faith leading a life of faith within the framework of their own fleshly thinking. Christians right now who believe only in the blood of the Cross are those that believe in God by having made up all the doctrines of Christianity such as the Doctrine of Sanctification with their own fleshly thinking and then having made up their own salvation, Heaven, eternal life, and even God within that doctrinal

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framework.

In today’s Scripture passage, the fact that they had made bricks and had used them in place of stones refers to the faith of today’s Christians who believe only in the blood of the Cross. Christian doctrines as of current created by fleshly human thinking are wrongful. They console themselves saying, “Because I have believed in Jesus as the Savior, I will surely be born again at one time or another! Also, because I have offered prayers of repentance, sins must have been cleansed!” They do not possess any clear evidence of the Word of God regarding their sins having been cleansed, but instead, they go on thinking wrongfully with their fleshly thoughts, saying, “As I have begged for forgiveness by offering prayers of repentance, I guess God will forgive me for my sins.”

Such faith is wrongful. Such faith is so wrongful before God, and it leads people into becoming the spiritually blind. We must genuinely believe in the written Word of God, instead of having the sort of

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faith that we have made up with fleshly human thinking. God scatters abroad those who try to conjure up their own salvation with fleshly thoughts and then erect it high. Our life of faith is to believe in the written Word of God. We must receive salvation and live out our faith genuinely by the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

When we look at today’s Scripture passage, it is said that the descendants of Noah had made and used bricks instead of stones and asphalt instead of mortar, but these bricks and asphalt are devices made by people on their own. But no one can cleanse himself of his own sin, no matter who that person may be.

People’s sins can only be cleansed by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God the Father has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

What should our faith be like then? It must be the faith of believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit genuinely. We get to receive salvation only by doing so. We must go on revering God by the faith of believing in the fact that the Lord had come

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by the water and the blood to save us from the worldly sins and in the fact that Jesus Christ is the true God who has created this world and the entire universe. Instead of just knowing about the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our heads, we must genuinely believe in this gospel with our hearts.

Those who do not believe in and follow the gospel of the water and the Spirit genuinely aren’t the ones who truly believe in and follow Jesus Christ. We mustn’t believe in our salvation by making it up with our own thoughts of the flesh. Truly, we must genuinely believe in the salvation that God has made with the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our hearts.

It isn’t the case that we created God. We must believe in God who has been in existence even before all eternity. We must know and believe in God Himself who has been in existence even before all eternity, and furthermore, we must lead a life of faith by knowing and believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given to us. We must truly know God

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by the faith of believing in the written Word of God, and we must lead a life faith before God with that faith. You must live out our faith by believing in the Word of the Truth that Jesus Christ, who is God, has given to us all. The fact of the matter is that we must lead a life of faith by genuinely believing in the fact that the Lord has saved us who had been sinners from the sins of the world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And therefore, we can profess boldly that He is our Savior and our Guardian.

God wants us to genuinely lead a life of faith.

Rather than leading a life of faith by knowing God with only our heads, God also wants us to know His love and to believe in and follow Him with our hearts.

What God wants from us is the faith itself that believes in the Word of God genuinely. God expects from us the faith of believing in what He has given us as it is. God whom we believe in isn’t someone who has been created by us. He was in existence even before the creation and even before all eternity. And, it is He who has created us and has presented

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Himself on this earth in order to become our Savior when we were drowning in sin. The Lord has also delivered us from the sins of the world and the sins in our hearts through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and has protected us. He wants to give everyone the eternal everlasting life by bringing each back to life forever.

Noah’s Descendants Built the Babel Tower on the Wild Plain in the Land of Shinar The plain in Shinar is presumed to be somewhere in the country of Iraq now. That country does indeed have many plains. Mountains are scarce there, but instead, deserts are spread out far and wide. When the descendants of Noah arrived at that immensely vast place, they probably had thought, “So many of us have gathered here. God has given us this land, so let us gather here and go on living by farming. Let us not scatter, but rather gather our strength together.”

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If they had relied on God by spiritual faith, they would have said, “Let us live before God by faith.

Let us not use the means and the ways of a human being, but rather, let us enjoy the God-given blessings. And also, let us go on living before God with thankfulness. Let us not go on living by using the means of humans, but rather, let us receive God’s help and guidance! Isn’t it true that people prior to the days of grandfather Noah had died because of the flood by thinking wrongfully and thus being wily before God? Let us go on living by having thrown away our wiliness! Look what God has given us.

Farming will surely go well here. Let us till this land, sow seeds, build houses, and live like this. Let us just build rural houses and then live out our lives praising the glory of God.” All they had to do was that, but regrettably, they did not do so. There were few distinguished people among them, and they came to hit upon an excellent plan, like, “With a land like this, I believe we can live on our own without God. I think we can go forth

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346 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

without God.” An idea like that comes from the flesh of people. It probably was the case that those few people conveyed their thoughts to the others gathered there at the time, saying, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).

Just as someone had mentioned that idea to people, everyone started to respond positively, saying, “That is right. That is truly correct, so instead of just speaking out, let us take action.” And so, understanding one another, they started the work of building a tower. “Then, the motion to execute has been resolved. From this moment on, we will start.

Now, we will organize groups in order to complete the work as follows: ground digging and transporting group, fire keeping group, firewood collecting group, mud kneading group, brick making group, brick transporting group, brick laying group, asphalt making group, asphalt scooping and transporting

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group, and asphalt pasting group. Fall in by groups!”

They had people lined up like troops under military review, and then, they started to work systematically by having appointed a leader for each of the groups.

These people had built the Babel Tower with thoughts coming out from their fleshly heads.

However, these people’s faith was a wrongful, secular, demonic and religious faith. A religious faith refers to a faith that has been created by human beings themselves. People wanted to avoid getting scattered abroad and to try to live well by building the Babel Tower whose top is in the heavens. They had tried to go on living by relying on a faith that came from inside their heads. However, such a faith that believes in the doctrines coming out from their heads is a false faith before God that leads them to be scattered abroad. Thus, that is precisely what is the harm of a religiously based faith.

The true genuine faith of believing in the righteousness of God isn’t something that we have made up with our heads, but rather, it is the faith of

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347 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

accepting the gospel of the water and the Spirit as it is. The faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit isn’t something that has been made up by people themselves, but rather, it is the faith of believing in the true gospel that God has planned and realized for us in Jesus Christ. Believing in the Truth that God has given us as it is written in the Word of God is the true faith.

You Must Renew Your Faith by Believing in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit As for someone who has harbored a wrongful faith by believing in the doctrines created by human beings, what must he do, then? He must revert back to the faith of believing only in the Word of God by crumbling down what he had believed, that is, getting spiritually crushed once more. Raw material for a brick is dirt. Just as bricks become dirt when crushed, such a person must turn back his doctrinal faith into

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the proper state of faith that genuinely believes in the Word of God. And from now on, he must not embrace such a wrongful faith with his thoughts of the flesh.

We must believe in the Word written in the Bible as it is. Our God is who He is, and we must believe in our hearts that God is who He is as He is. God has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit that becomes the foundation of our faith, and He has become the Rock of faith and the Truth of salvation for us. Jesus Christ has saved us from the sins of the world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord had come down to this earth in the flesh of man and has saved us from all the sins and judgment by His baptism He had received from John the Baptist and the blood of the Cross. To believe as it is in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by which God has saved us from the sins of the world ― such faith is the faith, like a rock, that forever does not change.

We must believe in our hearts the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit itself as it is. We must

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348 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

receive the salvation from sins and lead a life of faith by accepting into our heart, as it is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us. The gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit isn’t something that we have created but rather it is something that God has given us. You must live out your faith by believing in this gospel Truth, just as you have believed in God who had existed even before the creation and His Word as it is.

Today, we took a look at passages in the Book of Genesis chapter 11 verses 1-9. These passages aren’t the Word of God that was needed only to the people of those days, but rather, they are the Word that we all humans need for all eternity. It is because the Word of God is the eternal Truth. Through today’s Scripture passage, the Word of God isn’t only saying that the people’s faith back then was wrongful but also saying that it is also wrongful to be pursuing such faith even at the present time. It is saying that the faith of believing something made up by human thinking is wrong. We must break down all that were

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created by our fleshly thoughts. It means that we must now blot out the false doctrinal faith that has prevailed inside Christianity.

A doctrinal faith is a faith in which the Word of God is mixed with fleshly human thinking. That is why the tower is called the Babel Tower. The Hebrew word “Babel” means “confusion (by mixing).” What that has been created by mixing together the pure Word of God with human thinking which is impure is a mixed faith that is the faith of the Babel Tower. We must break down such a faith quickly. Although we have led a life of faith up until now, if there still are things made up by our own fleshly thinking, then we must break them down without fail. Christianity has created wrongful doctrines. The fact is that today’s Christian doctrines have all been made up by human thinking. Therefore, we must scatter away all these wrongful doctrines by the faith of believing in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The history of Christianity in Korea has not been

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349 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

that long. Nevertheless, Christianity in Korea greatly revived in a short period of time, and currently, Korea has become a world-renowned Christian nation. However, even though Christianity in Korea seems to have greatly revived as such in numbers, but the reality is that when we look at its core, there is no Word of the Truth. Rather, we are able to see that there only exists the completely dogmatized faith.

That is why the current mainstream Christianity has to be destroyed.

God reproaches the wrongful Christian doctrines.

People have created false doctrines of salvation by mixing in their own thoughts with the Word, but God wants to crush such a faith. God has said that He will curse those who try to rebuild the city of Jericho that He had brought down. Like so, if one were to rebuild the faith of the Babel Tower, he will be cursed.

Also, in Europe for over 1,000 years during the Middle Ages people had continued to create wrongful doctrines with fleshly human thinking. The Roman Emperor Constantine I made Christianity the

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official state religion of Rome by issuing the Edict of Milan (AD 313). And then, he forced his people to believe Christianity. Afterwards, at the First Council of Nicaea, church leaders from the Eastern Roman Church and the Western Roman Church came together and created some of the current Christian doctrines, though not all. From then on, Christian doctrines have been added one by one to the tower of doctrine. All such doctrines are those created through the addition of human ways of thinking. Christian doctrines created by fleshly human thinking seem all too firm.

Buddhism has Buddhist doctrines of its own, and even though they stem from human thinking, they aren’t as systematic and unified as the Christian doctrines. Through official recognition, Christian doctrines stand tall next to us as a tower that is all too firm. That is why Christianity professes itself to be the foremost world religion. However, it isn’t just one or two people who had been destroyed in spirit and in flesh after having adhered to the Christian

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350 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

doctrines like that. Jesus Christ is the God of Salvation who has come to us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but people are greatly grieving and are in despair rather because they, by believing in the Christian doctrines that they had made up with their own fleshly thinking, weren’t able to have their souls escape from the sins.

In the end, Christians, having believed in the Christian doctrines and having followed their fleshly thoughts, received a tremendous wound in their heart.

It was because of the brick-like faith that human beings had created by themselves. What God wants from us isn’t a brick-like faith. Instead, God wants from us the faith of believing in the pure Word of God as it is. In other words, God wants from us the faith of genuinely believing in Jesus Christ who has come to us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Also, the Lord tells us to have the faith of believing in the baptism that He had received from John the Baptist and His blood shed at the Cross.

Jesus said, “If one were to build a house on the

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rock, that house will not fall, but the houses built on the sand will fall.” If a person believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, his faith will not fall because it would be like a house built on the rock.

However, if a person were to build a house of faith with brick-like doctrines, that house will fall. It is because a brick-like faith refers to a house of faith built with human thinking. Our Lord wants us to build a house on the rock by genuinely having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord told us to build a house of faith by the faith of just genuinely believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit; the Lord told us to lead a life of faith genuinely; also, the Lord told us that God has created the heavens and the earth and that Jesus Christ is God Himself and the Son of God the Father, and He has told us to genuinely believe in the fact that the Son of God has saved us from the worldly sins by having come to us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

God came down to this earth as a human and blotted out completely the sins of people once and for

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351 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

all by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord wants us to believe in this gospel Truth genuinely.

The Lord wants us to receive the true salvation by accepting, as it is what that is written in the Scriptures by genuinely entering into the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Our faith must be the purity itself of having faith in the Word of God. We must not mix together the faith of believing in the Word of God and the faith of believing one’s own thoughts.

We must believe in our hearts the God-made gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit as it is written in the Scriptures. We must accept the written Word of God purely as it is in our hearts. We must not create false Christian doctrines by using our own thoughts. We must accept the seed of life that is written in the Scriptures as it is and bear the fruit of salvation as it is, and then, we must return the glory to God. This is what a true faith is and what a true belief is.

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We Must Wholeheartedly Believe in the Word of God Which Came by the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit When we sing praise, it is important to sing in tune and in rhythm, but what is more important is for us to praise with all our hearts. In other words it is something that we sing praise out of gratitude from the bottom of our hearts toward God for His having saved us and having given us all the spiritual blessings in Heaven. We must be pure in heart regarding all the work that we do in serving the Lord.

You must realize how beautiful and good it is to lead a life of faith genuinely. You must experience what it is like to genuinely believe in the righteousness of God. We must believe in accordance with the Word of the Scriptures as it is and express our faith through praise. Also, when we are listening to a sermon, we the listeners must believe the Word at once with our hearts. Just as the people of Israel guided by Moses ◄

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352 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

ate the meat of a lamb rapidly with a belt on their waist and a staff in their hand during the Passover when they were leaving Egypt, we must believe at once with our hearts when we hear the Word of God. However, when people listen to the Word of God, instead of listening to the Word as it is, they like to believe by mixing the Word with their thoughts once more and then altering the Word into something like a Christian doctrine. Then, their faith stops growing because it is a dead faith instead of being a living one.

You are invited to a certain house for a meal, but if you were to refrain from eating the food, smelling, rummaging, and saying, “What are the ingredients?

Will it kill?” wouldn’t you be insulting the one who has treated you? Truly believing in the host and eating with gratitude, saying, “Wow, it smells great.

It must really taste good,” are what makes the one who has invited you happy.

When we are leading a life of faith inside God’s Church, we mustn’t take in the Word of God with our head as we listen to the Word at the Church or

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receive admonition of faith from someone. We mustn’t analyze the Word of God with our heads, but rather, we must first accept it in our hearts and then wholeheartedly understand the Word of God. Even when we are sharing fellowship with other saints, if they speak according to the will of God, we must accept their words with our hearts, saying, “Oh, you are right. It was truly wrongful of me to have done that. I got it now.” When your brothers and sisters share fellowship with you, you should first accept it with pure and humble heart, and then, in the Word of God, you have to organize their exhortations and admonitions. In doing so, there is a great benefit for you.

Of course, a thought could arise in you: “I think that’s not the case, but that brother views me differently.” However, it is a proper attitude for us to first accept the Word of God humbly and purely because we can think about it from my viewpoint at any time later on. We have to listen attentively to our fellow believers when they share the Word of God in

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353 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

any sort of way. If we were to not accept the Word of God in our hearts genuinely, then that would be the end of our life of faith. If we do not genuinely accept the Word of God, we cannot receive salvation from sins, so when someone, regardless of whom, should speak anything about the Word of God, we must accept it with a pure heart. When we do so, that Word of God becomes ours.

Noah’s faith was passed down to his son, Shem, as well as Japheth. It is because they had believed and saw their father, Noah, as their spiritual leader with a pure heart. Ham did not accept Noah’s words in his heart. Because he had concluded in his own thinking, “Our father is old. How can our father be the leader? Our father cannot be my leader!” It is the case that even though his father had told him about the Word of God, he didn’t accept it genuinely in his heart. And so, that is why Ham had mocked Noah when he saw his father, who had been working on the vineyard, drunk in wine and laying uncovered, saying, “I should have known. Alas, what a plight so called

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the leader is! He is sleeping all uncovered. Tut, tut, … If someone should see our father looking like that, our house will surely lose face, for everyone else is saying that our father is the servant of God.” And so, Ham went to Shem and Japheth and told them this fact.

However, Ham ought to have seen Noah as the servant of God and accepted that fact in his heart. As for those who accept the leaders with their heart, their faith will grow unnoticeably. And, such people get to receive the God-given blessing without being aware of it themselves. The faith of believing in the Word of God grows in their heart. And thus, later on when they speak of something, they go on to say words that are exactly the same as those of their leader, and they go on to live with faith that is exactly the same as that of their leader.

Dear fellow believers, it is said, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Only when you hear the Word of God that the servants of God tell you by faith, does

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354 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

true faith arise inside your hearts. Only then, does the true faith grow in you. You know the passage in the Book of Psalms that goes, “It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments” (Psalms 133:2), right? It is saying that the Holy Spirit speaks the Word of God to and through the servants of God. It means that God speaks to us through His servants. The fact is that the sermons made by the servants of God are precisely what God is telling you all.

Because the word of a certain preacher is the Word of God, if we were to accept the Word of God into our hearts when we are hearing the preacher’s words, it becomes a great strength and nourishment for us spiritually. As for those that genuinely listen to the words of the preacher and believe at once in their heart, God allows them in that moment to understand the Word with depth, to possess the power of spiritual discernment, and to realize what a proper faith is. Even if such people do not study the Bible to

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write reports or read countless books, they get their problems resolved right away. A true faith accepts the Word of God spoken through the servants of God as it is with a pure heart.

Our faith becomes upright when we believe in the Word of the water and the Spirit. A genuine faith is the faith of believing in the Word of God as the Truth.

A false faith is a faith that one has concocted by adding on his fleshly thoughts to the Word. God uses well someone who accepts, believes in, and obeys what is written in His Scriptures as it is. Such a person is so good for God to use. God shapes that kind of person into whatever He wants. He does it as if He were a potter creating whatever form he so desires using a single lump of clay. The Lord is the Potter and we are the clay that is entrusted to be formed by His hands. No matter how He guides us and speaks to us, we must become servants that genuinely believe in and obey Him. And so, what I want to say to you at this time is that you should never create a faith of your own by

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355 You Must Live out Your Faith with a Pure Faith Like Stone and Mortar

using your own fleshly thinking. As I perform my ministry work, I have the belief that the Word of God is the Truth. I don’t work clamorously. I just go on reading God’s Word, and when He reveals to me His will regarding a certain matter, I say, “Dear God, as Your will is like so regarding this matter, I will do so.” Servants of God obey what the Word of God commands. If you also do believe in and obey the Word of God, God will open the way, and He will also allow you to grow as the workers of God. Our hearts must be pure when we believe in the Word of God. We must lead a life of faith genuinely with the true faith of believing in the Word of God. Only then, can we defeat the heretics that prevail inside today’s Christianity and save the souls there by the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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