Religion I, Lee Martone have no denominational title, and I want to have nothing to do with religion. Let me explain. Religion has become something totally different from Christianity. I believe the Bible and nothing else. If it is not in the Bible I, nor anyone else should believe it either. A teacher of the law wanted to justify Himself by asking Jesus in Luke 10:25 – { "And who is my neighbor?'' Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, "and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?'' And he said, "He who showed mercy on him.'' Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise. This story is a good example of what I am talking about. I as a Bible believing Christian hold the Bible, the Word of God, to be God’s only authoritative word on earth. I do not believe in Religious ceremonies done in a strictly repetitive fashion with no real spirit of repentance or humbleness, no felling of worship in your heart. Religion is just mans thought of, {I am just here in Church to do my Religious duty}. And when they go home the don’t think about God again until next Sunday. These are the kind of people who truly lead worthless lives when it comes to serving God. What did the Lord Jesus say about these kinds of people, lets find out. In the Gospel of John 15:6 He says- {"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and thro them into the fire, and they are burned. The thoughts of any Church body should be – 1 Corinthians 5:15 { that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. And Galatians 2:20 { it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Instead it has become the thought of –My name is Jimmy and I’ll take all you can give me. The Church is more and more becoming intergraded in to the world and taking on it’s attributes and characteristics so much so that we won’t be able to distinguish between the two. According to the book of James 4:4 the Church who chases after the ways of the world has become –the enemy of God. It says { Do you not know that friendship with the world is an enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.} The secular Churches want to become appealing to the world so they can have large congregations. This is the exact opposite of what they should be doing which is telling the whole truth of God’s word. The Church should hear, not that they are OK as they are or, how to get rich, but that they are full of sin and are in desperate need of Jesus’ forgiveness. They don’t need to hear about how to be a better person, but how to be a different person-a new creature in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 { Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Without the confrontation of sin, how can they know that they are sinful and need forgiveness. The truth is they don’t want to hear the truth because they are full of sin, sin that they are unwilling to give up. 2 Timothy 4:3 says- { For there is going to come a time when people won't listen to the truth, but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They won't listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.} and 1 Timothy 4:1-2 { These teachers will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences won't even bother them.} I believe if Paul was alive today, this is what he would have to say to these secular Churches. 1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink from the cup at the Lord's Table and at Satan's table, too. You cannot eat bread both at the Lord's Table and at Satan's table. The bless me now Churches should know that the blessing of God only falls on those who diligently seek him day and night, not on those who just think about Him on Sunday. If All the Churches would seek the Lord with their whole heart, there would be miracles and sings and wonders every Church Service because God makes him self known to those who seek him diligently . Some Churches have got it right, and people jump out of their weal chairs, and throw down their crutches and walk. The blind see and demons flee. Now that is what I call Church, where you can actually feel the presence of God all around you. This Letter is a wake up call to the Churches to get back to the Bible and forget about religious duties. We all need to only worry about being Holy and righteous before He comes to get us because he is come for a Church With out Spot or wrinkle. Ephesians 5:26-27 {he died for her, to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's Word; so that he could give her to himself as a glorious Church without a single spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, being holy and without a single fault.} Blessed are all who do not turn to the right or to the left, Blessed are those who continually walk the path of righteousness shown by the light of the glory of the Lord Amen.
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