The words of the religious leaders betray the depravity of their hearts.

[biggiestomp]

“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:33-35)

A tree is known by its fruit: The bad fruit of their words (when they condemned Jesus) betrayed the bad root growing in their hearts. If they got their hearts right with God, their words about Jesus would also be right.

Brood of vipers! With these words, Jesus essentially called the religious leaders “sons of Satan.” They were a generation associated with the serpent, not with God. It was this evil nature that made them speak evil of Jesus (How can you, being evil, speak good things?).

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks: Our words reveal our heart. If there were good treasure in the heart of these religious leaders, it would show itself in good things.

 

[Tommy4Christ]

Yes, and many who profess Christ are the same, they do good works on the outside, but inside are still defiled, worldly, and sin like those in the world. and why? The church doesnt preach repentance and faith proven by deeds, no one is crucifying thier flesh in reality, and calling themselves the chief of sinners.

The righteous and the wicked!​

Mal 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
Mal 3:17 "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
Mal 3:18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. ​

Many seem to think that doing what is right before God is being self-righteous! They claim man cannot possible do any right before God, and all he does that is right is as a filthy rag!
Is this true? Does mankind have any responsibility to actually obey God or perish? Many think not, they will explain away all the verses that tell us to obey from the heart, to walk a walk worthy of our calling, to depart from iniquity, to be Holy as He is Holy and many more verses that teach us what real righteousness is before God!
God had given His creation what He means by righteousness, and it’s not of our own, but of His standards of righteousness.
This comes from a fear, and reverence for His great power and ability to spare us from death, or not.
Either you are serving God through a purified heart, cleared and made pure through repentance and faith, 2 Cor 7-11, or you are not!
You cannot mix light with darkness, or serve two masters, and not obeying God and His given standards of righteousness, such as abstain from all appearances of evil, depart from iniquity, be Holy and separate unto me, love not the world, and many more, tell me we do have something to do, to be in His will!
A passive faith is a dead faith, as most Christians try to pass off as real faith!
Salvation is alive and ongoing; we must endure for it, work it out with fear and trembling, remain in the vine (Christ) and flee from all immorality and evil! It’s not something you just receive and put on the shelf because it’s a done deal, or I said the prayer, and nothing can take away my salvation, even outright disobedience and rebellion to God!
Eze 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
To be self-righteous is bragging I did it, God owes me because I do good and obey, where true biblical righteousness states, God made a way through His son Jesus Christ, to offer His creation a choice to obey Him through their heart, do what is right as given in His word, and follow His standards of righteousness, which purifies the heart through an obedient faith, where real repentance is not being self-righteous like the Pharisees, but just doing what is right through a pure heart, because God commands it, and gives us all the tools necessary to serve Him with a pure heart, that has been crucified with Him once and for all!
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Tommy

 

[damombomb]

Right Biggie:
Matt 25:37-40
37 “Then the"righteous" will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Seems they had no clue they would be called righteous
We have to remember the pit of hell the Lord pulled us out of, cant go holier than thou, it is smoke in his nose. Who wants to be around
anyone who says get away from me you sinner. Jesus came to save, not condemn, its called the good news, matter of fact he hung around them
He is the one who sets people free

 

[resurrection33]

“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:33-35)

A tree is known by its fruit: The bad fruit of their words (when they condemned Jesus) betrayed the bad root growing in their hearts. If they got their hearts right with God, their words about Jesus would also be right.

Brood of vipers! With these words, Jesus essentially called the religious leaders “sons of Satan.” They were a generation associated with the serpent, not with God. It was this evil nature that made them speak evil of Jesus (How can you, being evil, speak good things?).

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks: Our words reveal our heart. If there were good treasure in the heart of these religious leaders, it would show itself in good things.

Some of our religious leaders are good and some are bad, it would seem to me. Too many people blindly follow their religious leaders rather than follow the words of Jesus Christ.

 

[Rock022]

I can not fathom why so many people keep playing the men are deceivers in the church card. It is easy to point fingers and lie.

1 - Is Jesus not more powerful than any men? Really?
He said this:

Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And here you understand that he left his church because men where too powerful? I question your faith in Jesus. He said it clearly Not Even Hell Prevail Against It. Why do you keep doubting Jesus? The all powerful not even death could keep him, you think we can?

That is what we call faith!

 

[resurrection33]

I can not fathom why so many people keep playing the men are deceivers in the church card. It is easy to point fingers and lie.

1 - Is Jesus not more powerful than any men? Really?
He said this:

Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And here you understand that he left his church because men where too powerful? I question your faith in Jesus. He said it clearly Not Even Hell Prevail Against It. Why do you keep doubting Jesus? The all powerful not even death could keep him, you think we can?

That is what we call faith!

I suspect there are a lot of bad pastors and a lot of good ones. We aren’t supposed to follow our pastors and bishops. We are supposed to follow Jesus. His teachings can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as you know.

 

[resurrection33]

I can not fathom why so many people keep playing the men are deceivers in the church card. It is easy to point fingers and lie.

1 - Is Jesus not more powerful than any men? Really?
He said this:

Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And here you understand that he left his church because men where too powerful? I question your faith in Jesus. He said it clearly Not Even Hell Prevail Against It. Why do you keep doubting Jesus? The all powerful not even death could keep him, you think we can?

That is what we call faith!

You might remember how upset Jesus was with the religious leaders of his day. Didn’t he refer to them as “hypocrites”?

 

[resurrection33]

I can not fathom why so many people keep playing the men are deceivers in the church card. It is easy to point fingers and lie.

1 - Is Jesus not more powerful than any men? Really?
He said this:

Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And here you understand that he left his church because men where too powerful? I question your faith in Jesus. He said it clearly Not Even Hell Prevail Against It. Why do you keep doubting Jesus? The all powerful not even death could keep him, you think we can?

That is what we call faith!

Remember the parable about the wheat and the chaff? The wheat and chaff grow up together and at harvest, the chaff is cut down and burned. And so it is in our churches. The righteous and unrighteous co-exist until the harvest.

Why does it matter? Because many church leaders lead people astray. Look at the homosexuality issue. Look at how many church leaders now give their blessing to homosexual lust. Think of the damage they are doing.

 

[Rock022]

I suspect there are a lot of bad pastors and a lot of good ones. We aren’t supposed to follow our pastors and bishops. We are supposed to follow Jesus. His teachings can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as you know.

Indeed some one will still play the we don't follow Jesus card. C'mon you really think I believe priest are always right. Of course not. I have faith on the matters of the way the church believes. You see all this arguments we have on this forums have already happened, and many people even died for it. But those decisions where already made. What deceptions? The Trinity is never mentioned in scripture, that was one of the very first decisions.

Do we worship 3 gods or one? guess who won? Worship only one Trinitarian God.
What books will make the bible, all happened around 400AD
And the Blessed Mary the Mother of God, already happened too.

Many people still doubt the power of Jesus over His church, so they doubt anything that happened in the past.

Scripture only? Since when? 1900's? Do you think Jesus waited for the bible to grow to spread His word? more than 7 million people can not read, what do they do?

Have a little faith in God.

 

[resurrection33]

Indeed some one will still play the we don't follow Jesus card. C'mon you really think I believe priest are always right. Of course not. I have faith on the matters of the way the church believes. You see all this arguments we have on this forums have already happened, and many people even died for it. But those decisions where already made. What deceptions? The Trinity is never mentioned in scripture, that was one of the very first decisions.

Do we worship 3 gods or one? guess who won? Worship only one Trinitarian God.
What books will make the bible, all happened around 400AD
And the Blessed Mary the Mother of God, already happened too.

Many people still doubt the power of Jesus over His church, so they doubt anything that happened in the past.

Scripture only? Since when? 1900's? Do you think Jesus waited for the bible to grow to spread His word? more than 7 million people can not read, what do they do?

Have a little faith in God.

It isn’t for us to sit back and let the Lord do everything. We are to stand up for what is right.

 

[resurrection33]

Indeed some one will still play the we don't follow Jesus card. C'mon you really think I believe priest are always right. Of course not. I have faith on the matters of the way the church believes. You see all this arguments we have on this forums have already happened, and many people even died for it. But those decisions where already made. What deceptions? The Trinity is never mentioned in scripture, that was one of the very first decisions.

Do we worship 3 gods or one? guess who won? Worship only one Trinitarian God.
What books will make the bible, all happened around 400AD
And the Blessed Mary the Mother of God, already happened too.

Many people still doubt the power of Jesus over His church, so they doubt anything that happened in the past.

Scripture only? Since when? 1900's? Do you think Jesus waited for the bible to grow to spread His word? more than 7 million people can not read, what do they do?

Have a little faith in God.

And I'd rather not get into the Trinitarian thing again for a while. One God, not three.

 

[Rock022]

If we are to stand up for what is right, study the councils, read about them, learn what happened and why they came to a conclusion. It is not to be arguing over and over and over claiming us and only us know the truth. This councils began 100AD or so. The apostles disciples where there. When some one in authority does something against the truths already revealed, raise the flag and report them. Don't go making another church that claims they only have the truth! Fix what is already planted by Jesus, don't go away from it.

 

[resurrection33]

If we are to stand up for what is right, study the councils, read about them, learn what happened and why they came to a conclusion. It is not to be arguing over and over and over claiming us and only us know the truth. This councils began 100AD or so. The apostles disciples where there. When some one in authority does something against the truths already revealed, raise the flag and report them. Don't go making another church that claims they only have the truth! Fix what is already planted by Jesus, don't go away from it.

I have no interest in councils. The words of Jesus Christ, which are found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are supreme.

 

[Rock022]

Here are some things you might find answers too by your self.

Where is the word Trinity on the Bible?
Where is the sinners prayer in the bible?
Where is the infant dedications on the bible?
Where is the altar calls in the bible?
Why do you separate children from the worship of God in the bible?
Where does it say bow your heads and close your eyes?

This does not mean that they are wrong, they are just not in the bible. I do not think the Lord dislikes anything we try to do in the Glory of His name.

If you feel I am attacking you let me know and I will stop immediately, I am not here to make anyone feel mad. It is just a discussion, and I admit I might be wrong, but at the time I feel pretty sure of my faith.

May the Lord illuminate us as we seek the truth.
Peace be with you!

By the way I like your signature.

 

[resurrection33]

Here are some things you might find answers too by your self.

Where is the word Trinity on the Bible?
Where is the sinners prayer in the bible?
Where is the infant dedications on the bible?
Where is the altar calls in the bible?
Why do you separate children from the worship of God in the bible?
Where does it say bow your heads and close your eyes?

This does not mean that they are wrong, they are just not in the bible. I do not think the Lord dislikes anything we try to do in the Glory of His name.

If you feel I am attacking you let me know and I will stop immediately, I am not here to make anyone feel mad. It is just a discussion, and I admit I might be wrong, but at the time I feel pretty sure of my faith.

May the Lord illuminate us as we seek the truth.
Peace be with you!

By the way I like your signature.

Thank you. I think that Bible verse is about the most important. It goes hand in hand with the great, and first commandment, which says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and souls (Matt 22:34-40).

 

[Rock022]

Thank you. I think that Bible verse is about the most important. It goes hand in hand with the great, and first commandment, which says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and souls (Matt 22:34-40).

And those who do not Love like He tells us too, it does not matter what church they belong too. They are wrong.

God Bless!

 

[resurrection33]

And those who do not Love like He tells us too, it does not matter what church they belong too. They are wrong.

God Bless!

And the same goes for those who DO love—the Lord blesses them, no matter what their church.

I worry that people throw the word "love" around, but if we forget to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls, we don't really love.

 

[pickles]

As with any, there are leaders that are good and some who are not.
But biggystomp is correct, we will know them by their fruit.

If one's faith is in Jesus, He will not allow any to be taken from His hand.

God bless
pickles

 

[biggiestomp]

I can not fathom why so many people keep playing the men are deceivers in the church card. It is easy to point fingers and lie.

1 - Is Jesus not more powerful than any men? Really?
He said this:

Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And here you understand that he left his church because men where too powerful? I question your faith in Jesus. He said it clearly Not Even Hell Prevail Against It. Why do you keep doubting Jesus? The all powerful not even death could keep him, you think we can?

That is what we call faith!

I'm really not understanding where this is coming from through what was posted? But i am glad you shared what you did. Seems like a more personal issue and i do hear what your saying, Loud and clear. But in relations to the post, it is not pointing to deceivers in the church as to point out anyone. It is written and shared. Who it may convict, they would know. It might even convict me. Because I'm sure anyone of us might fall into whats being said, from time to time. To say, this cant be you, then you must be perfect and don't need Jesus. But no matter how perfect any man might think he is, I'd still rather follow Jesus...lol