Sermons on important subjects by Rev. Paul C. Jong

<Isaiah 28:13-14>

"But the word of the Lord was to them, 'Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little,' that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem."

There are many pseudo newswriters these days, especially in developing countries. They are the ones who pretend to be newswriters but usually extort money from their victims, threatening to expose something their victims have done. Pseudo means something that looks genuine but is not the real thing. In other words, it refers to something whose outside is completely different from its inside.

The words "heretic" and "pseudo" are used quite often, especially in Christian churches.

But there are few clear-cut definitions of what a heretic is and what it is to be termed "pseudo," nor are there many who teach these concepts in strict accordance with the Bible.

Under these circumstances, I feel duty bound to disclose what the Bible defines as "heresy" and shed some light on the subject. I also want to point out some examples of heresy in real life and thus have us think about it together. Anyone who believes in God has to think about heresy at least once in their lives.

Titus 3:10-11 defines a heretic as a divisive person who is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. A heretic is someone who condemns himself as a sinner. Therefore those who believe in Jesus but have sin in their hearts are heretics before God.

Jesus took away all sins through His baptism. But heretics refuse to believe in the true gospel that brings salvation to sinners and thus condemn themselves to join the ranks of sinners.

Are you a heretic? We have to think about this if we want to live an upright faithful life.

Aren't you condemning yourself as a sinner even though you believe in Jesus if you have not yet heard the gospel of the water and the Spirit? If you consider yourself a sinner, then you are doing a disservice to Jesus by slighting His perfect salvation and the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

To call oneself a sinner before God is to admit that one is not a son of God. Those who confess to Jesus, "Lord, I am a sinner," have to reconsider their own faith.

How can you believe in Jesus and still claim to be a sinner when Jesus took away all the sins of the world and saved you perfectly from eternal damnation? How can you deny His free gift of salvation and define yourself as a sinner when Jesus took away all your sins through His baptism and was judged thoroughly for them at the Cross?

Such people are heretics because they volunteer to be sinners apart from the word of God. You have to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit to avoid committing heresy before God.

Anyone who believes in Jesus but is not born again is a heretic because he still has sin in his heart.

Because God took away all the sins of the world including our own, we are heretics before God if we ignore this blessing of salvation. Because God is holy, we are heretics if we have sin in our hearts. If we really want to become righteous, we have to believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross.

Let's look at 1 Kings 12:25-26. "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, 'Now the kingdom may return to the house of David.'" Jeroboam was one of Solomon's subordinates. When Solomon became corrupt in his later years, Jeroboam rebelled against the king, and later he became the king of the ten tribes of Israel in the time of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

Jeroboam's first concern when he became king of Israel was that his people might return to Judah where there was temple.

So, he came up with an idea to prevent this from happening. He made two golden calves in Bethel and Dan and commanded his people to worship them. 1 Kings 12:28 says, "Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold." One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan and told his people to worship them, despite the fact doing so was a terrible sin. He even arbitrarily appointed priests to lead the worship.

"After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of 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). That is the origin of heresy.

Even now, heretics appoint to the priesthood anyone who volunteers to do the work of God. Anyone who graduates from a theological seminary can become a minister, an evangelist, a missionary and elder even if he is not born again of water and the Spirit.

How can someone who is not born again become a minister? If such a person is appointed as a priest, the church that elects him becomes a factory for the production of heretics.

Let us think again about the origin of heresy. First, Jeroboam substituted golden calves for God in order to maintain his political power. Second, he consecrated anyone who volunteered to become a priest. In other words, he consecrated ordinary people as priests. And the same thing is done these days.

The history of heresy continued on well after the time of Jeroboam. Those who are not born again of water and the Spirit should never be allowed to become priests.

Can anyone who only graduates from a theological seminary become a minister or an evangelist? Is it alright for them to serve God despite the fact they have not been approved by God? Never. Only those who have been acknowledged by God should be allowed to become His servants. Those who are acknowledged by God are those who are born again of water and the Spirit.

It is recorded in 1 Kings 12:25-26 and 1 Kings chapter 13 that the sin of Jeroboam provoked the wrath of God. We should all know this story, and if someone isn't familiar with it, he should go back to the Bible and find out.

Think again if you are substituting golden calves for God in your ministry. Do you, by any chance, put emphasis on earthly blessings lest your followers may return to the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit?

Do you tell your followers that they can be cured of disease if they believe in Jesus? Do you tell them that they will be blessed in properties? Do you appoint those who are not born again to be ministers or staff members of your church and claim that your denomination is the only orthodox one? Then you are committing the sin of Jeroboam before God and provoking His wrath.

Even today, there are so many heretics who worship golden calves. They say that God blessed Solomon when he offered a thousand burnt offerings to God. I Kings 3:3-5 says, "And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, 'Ask! What shall I give you?'"

They swindle money out of their followers under the fraudulent promise of "a thousand burnt offerings of Solomon." Those foolish followers are extorted of their money. And those who worship golden calves as their God are deprived of their money, which is used as contributions to build tremendous church buildings. It is not because their churches are too small, but because they want to extort money from their followers.

Setting up golden calves for their congregations to worship was only an excuse heretics came up with to extort money from them. We who believe in God should never be taken for fools. If you offer your money in worship of golden calves, it is not offered to God, but ends up in the pockets of pseudo priests who are full of greed like Jeroboam. You should never fall into the traps of such heretics.

Then why was God pleased with the thousand burnt offerings of Solomon? Because Solomon knew his own sins, acknowledged that he had to die for them and offered sacrifices in accordance with the faith. He offered a thousand burnt offerings in gratitude for the salvation of God. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings every day, thinking of the redemption of the water and the Spirit.

Now, you should remember the true meaning of heresy so that you will never be deceived by pseudo priests.

There are those who teach others to be born again when they themselves have not been reborn in the faith. They are all heretics. They tell others to be born again when they are incapable of rebirth because they do not know about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We can only laugh.

Pseudo priests preach a false gospel, distorting the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They tell people to wash away their own sins every day.

They say, "Go and pray in the mountains, try fasting, devote yourself to the work of God, pray at the break of dawn, be obedient, offer a lot of money for building churches, but you should take care of your own sins."

Once, I heard someone testifying that he was born again. He said that in a dream, he was standing in a line and when his turn came, Jesus called his name. He said it was the testimony for his being born again. But is his conviction a correct one? Jesus did not say so.

In John 3, He says, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." God says that only those who are born again of water and the Spirit can become true priests. Anyone who believes that he is born of dreams, fantasies, spiritual ecstasies, or prayers for repentance is a heretic.

These days many people do not believe in the written word of God and uphold their denominational doctrines instead of being born again of water and the Spirit. Those who refuse to preach the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit are pseudo Christians and heretics.

When were the denominations of Christianity formed? When did the different denominations such as Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Holiness, and Full Gospel begin? The Reformation happened only about 500 years ago.

Early Christians were those who followed Jesus when He was in this world. "Christians" means "those who follow Christ."

The first Christians were the apostles and their disciples. The apostles and the Fathers of the church followed the true gospel till 313 A.D. But after the Milan Edict of Constantine the Great, Christians and Gentiles began to mix, resulting in the Dark Ages that lasted for more than 1000 years.

Later, in early 16th century, Martin Luther proclaimed the Reformation, saying, "Only the righteous shall live by faith." A little later, between 1500 ~ 1600, Reformers like John Calvin and John Knox led the movement away from Catholicism. This was all that the Reformation achieved.

The Reformation was simply an effort to establish new churches separate from the Roman Catholic Church. Reformers didn't deny Catholicism itself.

Their purpose was not to promote faith in being born again of water and the Spirit, but to free themselves from the oppression and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church called this movement Protestantism. It means the protesters.

At the time, the Roman Catholic Church urged people to buy Indulgences, saying they could send their dead ancestors to heaven when they bought Indulgences with big money. Luther didn't realize that Catholicism was wrong. He was only trying to stop the Roman Catholic Church from selling Indulgences to finance construction of Saint Peter's Cathedral.

As a result, we can see many remnants of the Catholic Church in the modern Protestant Church: infant baptism, the prayers of repentance which are similar to confession under the Roman Catholic Church, holy rituals, recognition only of those who graduate from theological seminaries as ministers, majestic and grandiose churches. All these are the remnants of the Roman Catholic Church.

Counting from the Reformation in the early 1500's, the history of the Protestantism is only about 500 years old. This year is the 481st anniversary of the Reformation. You may not realize that Martin Luther protested against his mother church only 481 years ago. Protestantism cannot thus lay sole claim to legitimacy in light of its comparative youth. The reformation of Christianity is still going on. And it should go on continuously.

But there is one thing we should keep in mind. We should never forget that only those who are born again of water and the Spirit can enter the kingdom of heaven. And let us preach that! Do you preach the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit? If not, you are not a servant of God. It is the gospel of "being born again of water and the Spirit" that God wants us to believe. It is what Jesus taught Nicodemus in John chapter 3.

Does the Bible talk only about the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit, or does it talk about other things such as working for the good of society and living a holy life? Of course the latter is important, too. But you can do that after you are born again of water and the Spirit. The will of God is for us to believe in the gospel.

When did pseudo Christian, heretical faith begin to prosper in the world?

The people of Israel worshiped one God until they were separated into two kingdoms at the time of Jeroboam as written in 1 Kings chapter 12-13. From that time, before Christ came to this world, heretical faith began to prosper. And there are so many heretics these days.

The Bible talks about their pseudo Christian teachings in Isaiah chapter 28 and Titus 3:10-11. The Bible says that heretics are those who believe in Jesus but still have sin in their hearts. Anyone who is like that is a heretic.

And they teach, as written in Isaiah 28:9-10, "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."

Heretics add precept upon precept, line upon line. What does this mean? It means "Be careful, be careful, be careful of those who say they are born again through their faith in Jesus." They just tell you to be careful no matter what. They tell you not to listen, not to go, lest you might fall into heresy.

But if they are so sure that theirs is the orthodox faith,  why can't they repel those who say their beliefs differ from  the word of God? It is so pitiful. They claim to be the orthodox Christians, but they do not have the words to overcome what they call heresy. The true Christian can win over any heretic with the word of God.

These days, would-be orthodox Christians denounce the born again as "heretics" just because their beliefs are different. How can we be heretics when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?

If those called heretics preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are true orthodox Christians. Likewise, if would-be orthodox Christians do not preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are heretics.

The difference between "orthodoxy" and "heresy" lies in whether they preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit and whether they believe in Jesus and have sin in their hearts or not. How can they be heretics if they believe in the word of God and are born again of water and the Spirit?

Is it heresy to believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross and to be completely cleansed of sin? Is it "orthodox" not to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit?

There are so many denominationalists who have drifted away from the Bible and yet claim to be the "orthodox" Christians. They drift away from being born again of water and the Spirit as specified in the Bible because they preach only the blood at the Cross, denying the baptism of Jesus (the water).

What is the difference between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church these days? Just as reformers rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church, just as they came out of the Roman Catholic Church and built Protestantism, we should also rebel against blind Christians and pseudo priests. Only then can we open our eyes to the true gospel, have true faith, and be completely saved through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The Bible tells us that only those who believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross follow the true faith. Jesus said as such to Nicodemus in John 3:1-12.

Heretics always urge their followers to be devout in their faith. They urge them to pray at the break of dawn and to work harder. It is like urging blind men to run.

No matter how hard you pray, it is of no use if you are not born again of water and the Spirit. When we say that those who are born again of water and the Spirit are the righteous, heretics counter with Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no, not one." With this verse, they label believers as heretics.

But they are heretics. The true meaning of the verse is not as simple as its sounds. These heretics have not read the whole Bible. The apostle Paul said that there is not a righteous man in the world. He was only quoting a verse from the Old Testament which says there was no one righteous in the world before Jesus Christ came and delivered all mankind from their sins with the salvation of God. But those who are saved by Jesus have become righteous.

We can see the truth if we read the whole chapter. Heretics only warn their followers to be careful of those whose faith is different from theirs. Except for churches that they recognize as orthodox ones, they prohibit their followers from worshipping elsewhere. So their congregations dare not go to churches that preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

They become deaf to the true gospel and cannot be born again. These are the teachings of false leaders who raise the sons of hell. And they will be judged by God. Heretics have to turn back to God.

Who are the heretics? Are they the ones redeemed by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, or are they the ones who claim to believe in Jesus but fail to be born again of water and the Spirit?

Titus 3:11 says that those who believe in Jesus but remain "self-condemned" are heretics.

They teach their followers not to go to the revival meetings at which the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit is preached, saying it is dangerous. How can the "orthodox" be afraid of conflicting beliefs? They are afraid because they do not have the truth on their side. "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept." The teachings of heretics are like that.

Heretic priests quote a little from this book, a little from that book, from the words of philosophers, from literature, and mix them in with their own thoughts and make everything sound good.

They take their followers to be ignorant and they try to educate them with worldly teachings. The true church preaches the word of God and educates believers with the word of God. People do not come to church to be educated in the way of the world. Rather, they come to church to hear of heavenly things that cannot be heard in the world. They come to hear the word of Jesus.

People enter their church as sinners but they want to emerge from the church as righteous believers who have no sin. But what do heretic priests teach them? They tell their followers not to go to the revival meetings in which the servants of God preach the true gospel. They prevent their followers from being born again of water and the Spirit.

It is so foolish. They may be able to deceive their followers but they can never deceive God. 

Heretics, if you are true servants of God, can't you hear the Spirit reproach you? You have to turn back. You should stop obstructing your followers from attending the revival meetings in which the true servants of God preach the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit.

Heretics educate their followers with theology alone, so when they encounter other theories, they are beaten. It is so pitiful. Pseudo priests are good at ministering without the word of God. They preach, consult, and minister based only on their own misguided convictions. Those who minister and preach without the word of God are heretics and hirelings (John 10:13).

Pseudo ministers are heretics because their inward and outward selves are different. Some people define churches that do not fit into the established denominations as heretical churches. But some of those churches do not want to belong to any denomination because most churches are far from the Bible.

Heretics tell their followers to be redeemed even though they themselves have never solved the problem of their sins. They are committing the sin of Jeroboam. If there is anyone who still has sin in his heart but tries to do the works of God, he has to realize that his sins and the holiness of God are utterly incompatible. He has to know he is a heretic.

Therefore, if anyone who preaches or has duties in the church is still a sinner, he ought to realize that he is a heretic. He is a heretic because he does not know the gospel of Christ's salvation, the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit. If one learns the Bible from a heretic and teaches others in the same way, he becomes a heretic.

We can know the tree by its fruit. Those who have become righteous by believing in the baptism of Jesus and His blood can only bear the righteous while those who are still sinners are doomed to bear sinners. "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17).

False priests watch out for this and that. Why so careful! They have to watch out lest their lies be disclosed because they do not have the sound faith of being born again of water and the Spirit.

Heretics take a little here and a little there. They deceive people and teach without knowing the true meaning of the gospel.

"Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little there a little" (Isaiah 28:13).

Line upon line, they say, "Er, this word means so and so in Greek and so and so in Hebrew. And there are such and such theories." They also warn people to be careful if they encounter a theory of salvation expressed in a black-and-white terms. They say, "Martin Luther said this and John Calvin said that while John Knox said such and such, and we think they all make sense in their own ways."

They neither know what they are talking about nor what they believe in. He who has true faith can express the truth in black-and-white terms. True believers can clearly tell the difference between the born again and those not born again. We clearly preach the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit.

But heretics are in chaos. Their faith is like a bat. Just as a bat prefers the inside of a cave during the day and the outside world only at night, heretics like this theory and that, believe this and that. They never know what the truth is. When a heretic priest goes to hell, his followers accompany him to the bitter end. So many people end up in hell because they believe in false prophets.

Is your minister born again of water and the Spirit? Does he preach the words of the gospel of being born again as it is written in the Bible? If he does, you are indeed fortunate, and if he doesn't, you will be damned. If you are not born again, you must listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, read books that explain it, and be born again.

Heretics dislike the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit. They preach, "Jesus Christ came to blot out our sins, and He did just that. He is still washing away our sins today and will continue to do so in the future." How can this be true? They say they are righteous but they go right on sinning. They are righteous one moment, sinners the next.

Theirs is a false theology. It is a fake. Anyone who is righteous now and a sinner later is a heretic, a false prophet. Anyone who condemns himself, who corrupts himself is the same. 

Heretics are not consistent. Therefore they cannot lead their followers to be born again of water and the Spirit when their followers go to them and ask them how to be born again. Rather, they give their followers the ridiculous idea that man can be born again of fantasy and that he can't be aware when he is born again. It is so ridiculous. 

Jesus said in John chapter 3, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." But these days, righteous people who are born again are called presumptuous heretics.

Heretic priests say they cannot call themselves righteous because they are humble. They tell their followers, "Don't attend any revival meetings at which the preacher plans to speak the blessing of being born again of water and the Spirit. If you are born again, you will become a heretic. You will be denounced by this church. If you want to be with us, stay a sinner, and God will make you righteous when the time comes." That is what they say. What they really mean is that it is up to you to decide to be born again or not.

Heretics tell their followers, "You have to stay with us, but being born again is your responsibility. So, you try on your own. Just stay as you are now, and go before God when the time comes, then you will find out the truth. I don't know what will happen after that. But this is an orthodox church, so you have to stay with us." Do you think this is true?

These heretic priests take a little from here and a little from there and make up a theory. Then it becomes the only truth for them. They don't know about the word of God which tells us about the water and the Spirit.

Heretics interpret the Bible according to their own thoughts. We have to interpret the Bible according to the words per se, but they interpret it their own way. That is why there are so many theologians and denominations in Christianity.

Because there are so many heretical denominations and theologians, there are a countless number of heretical books. Pseudo priests cite a little from this book and a little from that book when they preach. But true priests preach from the Bible alone.

Heretics extort money from their followers in many cunning ways. They eat and live well in this world and end up in hell because they failed to be born again. This is the end that God has prepared for them.

God endures them in the beginning. But to those who steadfastly refuse to accept the blessing of being born again of water and the Spirit, He will send them to hell.

God will judge heretics. Heretics believe in God very fervently and consume volumes and volumes of Bible commentary and theological works in the beginning. But then little by little they begin to preach from the precepts of man, so that their followers can never be born again.

Heretics put more emphasis on their works. Any minister who does not preach the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit is a heretic before God.

They pressure their followers to no end. They coerce them to attend 40-day all-night prayers, 100-day early morning prayers, mountain prayers, to fast on a regular basis, to make contributions for building churches, a thousand burnt offerings, contributions for revival meetings...and they even draw up a graph to show how much each believer has contributed. Just by looking at the fruits of their works, we can see that they are heretics.

The curse of God befalls their followers, too. Ministers who preach without being born again and their followers are all under the curse of God.

Heretic priests cry every day. They have to be sure to please senior deacons and deaconesses, elders, ordinary deacons and even laymen. It is how they get on every day.

They behave as hypocrites every day. "Ho~ly and Mer~ciful...." They are full of sin but they have to say holy things, so they become more hypocritical with every passing day.

A preacher once said, "It is a curse to minister without the Spirit inside." What this means is that it is heretical to do the work of God without being redeemed; it is a cursed life. If you are one of these heretics, you have to be born again of water and the Spirit.

Anyone who believes in Jesus but is not born again is a heretic. And everyone has to turn back to the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit. Only the righteous who are born again of water and the Spirit can preach the gospel to others.

Isaiah 28:14-15 says, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, because you have said, 'We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.'"

Who are the scornful men here? They are those who preach the word of God, mixing in their own mistaken beliefs. Whatever a preacher's thoughts are, whatever theology says, he has to offer a true interpretation of the Bible. But heretic priests preach the Bible in the way they see fit. These are the scornful men.

"We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us."

Heretics say that the scourge will not pass through them. They tell people not to worry. Destruction and hell is awaiting them, but they say not to worry, destruction and hell do not exist for them. So you have to stay away from those heretics if you wish to live.

Heretics say that you don't have to be born again of water and the Spirit. Is it true? No, absolutely not. You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you are born again of water and the Spirit.

Is it all right not to enter the kingdom of heaven? This is the same as asking if it is all right to burn in hell. Needless to say, the answer to both questions is no. Let us all believe in the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit and enter the kingdom of heaven together.

Heretic priests seduce people, saying that because they believe in Jesus, it is all right for them to remain a sinner and that they will not go to hell.

Does Jesus take care of you even if you are a sinner? Can a sinner go to heaven? Can you avoid hell even though you are a sinner? Is it written in the Bible that you don't have to go to hell when you believe in Jesus, even though you have sin in your heart?

Heretics say that they have made a covenant with death, so that death will not come to them. They say a believer can avoid being condemned to hell even if he has sin in his heart. Do you think it really happens this way?

Heretics inspire people with confidence, saying that death and hell do not await them. Heretic priests appoint those who are not born again to be deacons, elders, ministers. But they have to know that they will all end up in hell because they do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What they should do is to instill in their followers the belief in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Are believers, even if they are sinners, still eligible for entry into heaven? Can a sinner go to heaven? Does the Bible say that sinners can go to heaven? No. Can there be a righteous man with sin? No. These are the teachings of heresy and pseudo theology. 

The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). It is the law of God. He sends all sinners to hell. But all those who are born again of water and the Spirit are welcomed into heaven.

"When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves." Heretic priests speak words to that effect and firmly believe that they will not go to hell even though they have sin in their hearts. Because they are hiding behind false theology, God can't do anything to help them. They believe in their theology alone. Because they believe in their theology instead of God's word, they are heretics and sinners destined for hell. How sad it is that there are so many of them.

Heretics and pseudo priests are only interested in money. They are covetous. "How much money will this man offer if he comes to my church?" They think about the tithe he will pay. This is just like worshipping a golden calf. "Please let me become successful, let me make a lot of money, Lord." Pseudo priests teach people to pray like that.

They say, "If you believe in Jesus, you will make a lot of money, you will conceive when you are barren, and you will be successful in your business."

So many people are deceived by these pseudo priests, and they are extorted of their money and go to hell for their troubles. How unfair this is! If someone who has come under the spell of heresy comes to his senses, he will be surprised to find out how much money he has contributed to his deceivers. He will reproach himself for his own foolishness in following and working so hard for them.

Heretics are especially fervent practitioners of what they consider a legitimate religion. Their followers devote themselves to early morning prayers, mountain prayers, special contributions, tithe, weekly offerings. There are so many reasons to take money from their followers.

Their followers work so hard, but they still have sin in their hearts because no one has taught them the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Some ask them about it, but they never get an answer. Anyone who is not born again of water and the Spirit is a heretic.

"Oh, you pitiful heretics! You work on your redemption first!" The paramount sign of pseudo faith is to worship the golden calves of Jeroboam. The first thing heretics did in Old Testament times was to build a temple and stock it with golden calves (1 Kings 12:25-33).

These days, they build large churches and extort money from their followers. They tell their followers to get loans from banks to contribute for the construction of a grand church. They work up the emotions of the congregation and pass around the collection dishes. Money, rings, gold watches fill the dish in no time. Heretics work this way. It is the same in every one of the heretic churches.

Outwardly they seem to be interested in spiritual things, but in reality they are interested only in money. I advise you to stay away from churches that care only about money. Please don't go to churches where only the rich are treated cordially. It is wrong to announce the amount of each congregation's offerings because they do it in hopes of attracting more money.

Heretics say tempting words to their followers.

"You will be blessed if you believe in Jesus."

"Devote yourself to the works of God. The more you do, the more blessed you shall be."

"If you serve as an elder, you will be materially blessed."

So their followers vie with each other to become elders. If there weren't any compensation, who would want to serve as an elder? And the elders are expected to contribute financially as well.

They are elected based on how deeply they believe in the doctrine of the denomination, how prominent they are in society and how much money they can contribute to the church? It is true.

Heretics care only about money. They are interested in building large churches. They don't care if their followers go to hell as long as they offer a lot of money.

Heretics are those who work for bread. They snare their people with fancy titles. They issue the titles to their followers at random (Ezekiel 13:17-19). This is meant to tie them to the church and increase its wealth. Heretics do not preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They just try to enrich themselves.

Even someone who has attended a church for only a few months can become a deacon. Moreover, if he is well acquainted with the doctrine and has a sound financial background, he is elevated to elder. This is all in the shameful tradition of the sin of Jeroboam, who replaced God with a golden calf.

Heretics worship golden calves. They do not make their people born again. They only take money from their followers by tempting them with promises of secular blessings. They do not care if their followers are condemned to hell as long as their church is on sound financial ground.

Heretics like to say "probably" or "maybe" frequently because they lack conviction in what they are saying. They do not have faith in the word of God and they do not truly believe in what they preach. Their belief system does not lie within the faith in the word of God. They say, "It could be said that...." They never speak clearly and with conviction. It would be better if they did not teach their followers anything rather than teaching lies.

Heretics cannot lead people to be born again of water and the Spirit. They just condemn more people to hell.

Matthew chapter 7 tells us about those who believe in Jesus and end up in hell. Heretics will protest before God on the last day. As it is written in the Bible, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast 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!'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

They do not believe that Jesus washed away all the sins of man; they do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

They practice lawlessness. What does this mean? It means they tell people to believe in Jesus when they still have sin in their hearts. You may wonder what is so wrong with this but it is a serious sin against God.

When a sinner preaches to other people the necessity of believing in Jesus, he cannot lead them to be born again because he was not himself born again of water and the Spirit. Therefore heretics only produce sinners who believe in Jesus. It is a sin against the Spirit to practice lawlessness.

Heretics neither believe in the word of God nor preach the gospel as it is written. They just extort money from their followers. They are sinners even though they believe in Jesus. They try to lead others when they are not born again themselves. In this way, they practice lawlessness.

Do not be deceived by those false preachers who say they are sinners. Do not offer them your money. Don't give your hard-earned money to those sinners.

Why would you give money to those preachers who cannot help you with your sins? If you want to give your money to a church, at least wait until your sins are blotted out through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Just as there are imitations in art, there are also imitations in life. There are, for example, imitative religions that can't wash away all sins in the heart. How can you identify an imitative religion? An imitation is something that looks genuine from the outside but is in fact far from the real thing.

You have to decide for yourself. Who are the true preachers? Who are the heretics? What is the orthodox faith? The orthodox believe in Jesus and His redemptive power. They have no sin in their hearts. But heretics have sin in their hearts.

Then, are all people like these heretics? It may be so. But let us go back to the Bible. Anyone who believes in Jesus and is not born again is a heretic. It is clear that the born again are the orthodox. Then, those who are not born again are heretics. Heretics are those who believe in Jesus but still have sin in their hearts.

Heretics are imitations of the righteous. They may know that the way to become sanctified is by believing in Jesus but unfortunately they still have sin in their hearts. They believe themselves to be sinners. They claim that they can still go to heaven and they say that they worship God. It sounds very much like they are righteous, but let us not be deceived by imitations. 

"Therefore the Lord says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, 'Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.' Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. The strong shall be a tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them" (Isaiah 1:24-31).

God tells us that if we believe in man, we shall be ashamed because of man. He tells us that we shall be ashamed because of the church we have chosen for ourselves, and this shame will be like a tree whose leaves fade like a garden that has no water.

He tells us that false priests and their followers who believe in the precepts of man rather than the word of God will become tinder and their works spark. Both will burn in hell. False preachers and heretics who have not been redeemed as well as sinners and enemies of the righteous shall be judged with the flame of God.

Churches built on theology alone may look grand outside, but there's nothing inside. Any church that is not founded on belief of the word of God and the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit is like a garden that has no water.

It may be a tree, but it is a dead tree which is unable to bear fruit. When a well does not have water, it is no longer a well.

"The strong shall be a tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them." Those who do not have the Spirit may look strong to other men, but in the eyes of God, they are like tinder bound for the fires of hell.

The Lord asks, "Watchman, what of the night?" (Isaiah 21:11) The righteous who have eternal life should preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the dark of the night.

God is light and Satan darkness. God leads people to righteousness and Satan leads people to false temples with chaos and false theology.

In the time of the prophet Isaiah, the people's faith was as chaotic as now. They mixed up the word of God with the theologies and precepts of man. They misled the people of Israel with the chaotic products of man so much that God decided to get rid of them all.

"And take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning." The offerings which will never be accepted by God are like alloy, a mixture of God's truth and man's theories.

God never accepts offerings that are mixed. They may look pure to the human eye, but if they are mixed in with man's mistaken beliefs they are mixed with impurities and thus not acceptable to God.

God scolded the people of Israel, especially heretics, pseudo preachers and sinners.

If we read Exodus or Numbers, we can see that God didn't scold them in the beginning. God helped the people of Israel and bestowed blessings on them. But after Joshua's death, from Judges, the people of Israel were invaded.

However, they chose to go their own way. At that time, God sent the prophet Jeremiah and told Israel to surrender to Babylon.

Jeremiah told the people to surrender to Babylon. This has a spiritual meaning, symbolizing the fact that the righteous tell those who follow heretics to surrender to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. 

Why did the servants of God scold the people of Israel? Because they changed the sacrificial system, appointed ordinary people to be priests, and changed the dates of sacrifices.

They changed the Day of Atonement from the tenth day of the seventh month to the fifth day of the eighth month and appointed priests from outside the Levites. They thus blocked the way to being born again.

God scolded the false preachers. Those who served golden calves instead of God became heretic priests.

In fact, God didn't scold them just for worshiping idols. Don't you and I sometimes worship idols, too? We sin so often, but our iniquities are not considered to be grave sins only because we are in the grace of God. But replacing God with golden calves cannot be forgiven. And the same goes for changing the sacrificial system and appointing ordinary people to the priesthood.

What terrible sins these are! They are the gravest sins. How can one be pardoned for exchanging God for golden calves! It is written in the Bible that it was the sin of Jeroboam which brought on the wrath of God.

Just as God showed His wrath in the Old Testament, He now destroys sinners who are against Him. God told Israel that He would curse those who did not turn away from worshiping golden calves.

The kings and heretic priests of Israel were against God and they appointed those who disregarded the sacrificial system to the priesthood. Jeroboam, the king with a warped mind, ordained someone who was not from the house of Levi as a priest.

Only those who were from the house of Levi could become priests and work in the tabernacle. More precisely, priests had to be from the house of Aaron. This was the eternal law of God. But Jeroboam ordained priests from outside the house of Levi and had them offer sacrifices to golden calves. We should know how this brought on the wrath of God.

Even today, those who are not born again can become ministers, elders, and deacons in the church. This goes against the law of God and invites His wrath. Is God pleased with lawless sacrifices? Heretics have to destroy their golden calves and return to God and be born again.

Isaiah 1:10-17 says, "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: 'To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?' says the Lord. 'I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; insense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.'"

If we read this passage carefully, we can see that the religious leaders of Israel were very devout. But despite their devotion, they were destroyed because they offered the wrong sacrifices and disobeyed the law of God.

We can see that they neither followed the law of God when they offered sacrifices nor heeded the word of God. These leaders were so devoted that they made countless offerings before God. The Bible says that the blood flowed like a river inside the tabernacle.

But when God looked at what they did, He said that it was like the sin of Gomorrah. He saw that they were making offerings before Him, but in fact, they were sinning.  He said it was better not to bring offerings at all. He didn't want them.

As they offered the sacrifices before golden calves, God could not forgive their sins. He could not stand it anymore. He told them they should offer sacrifices according to the way He commanded. If not, it would be better for them not to offer sacrifices at all.

Their sacrifices were not offered to God in the right way, and as a result, the priests sinned against God. You should know that to serve God and do His work without washing away your sins is a grave sin before Him.

Heretics look outwardly holy. When they occupy the pulpit, they look so impressive that many are deceived by their appearance. They sound so logical. And they always conclude their sermons by admonishing the people to be good. What kind of sermon is that? What is the difference between their sermons and the lessons of school teachers?

The church of God is the place where the born again come together to worship God. Only this kind of church is a true church. The true church of God does not try to teach how to behave before God. The preacher of the true church preaches the gospel of the water and the Spirit. No matter how infirm you are, God washed away all your sins.

Heretic preachers tell their followers, "Do this, and do that," putting heavy loads on them, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

A heretic preacher buys his child an expensive violin and sends him abroad to study. How can a priest afford to do that? Where does he get the money? If he has that kind of money, shouldn't he spend it to preach the gospel? Should a preacher drive an expensive car? Does he have to ride in a luxury car to be dignified? A preacher who drives an expensive car is a thief. When his followers can't even afford to buy a compact car, how can it be right for him to have a deluxe model? We can tell a heretic preacher just by looking at his deeds.

Heretic preachers ask for large sums of money. Some churches pay their preachers over $10,000 a month. And this is only the official pay. They are provided with educational fees, fees for books, child-care fees, visitation fees to name just a few.

And still, some of them complain that they are not paid enough. They get $10,000 a month and ask for more money. Is $10,000 chicken-feed? A preacher should be content with earning just enough to get by as he preaches the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

A true preacher takes consolation and peace from God. But a heretic preacher who has no peace asks for monetary compensation. Such preachers are in fact worshiping golden calves.

The church of God is sometimes called Zion. There is no church as beautiful as Zion. The church of God is the place where the gospel of the water and the Spirit is preached.

Isaiah 1:21 says, "How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers." Isaiah describes the church of God, saying, "It was full of justice."

God is just and fair. Because we are incomplete, because we are the descendants of Adam and born to sin, Jesus came to this world to wash away our sins with the water and the Spirit. This is how fair God is.

In the Old Testament, when people knew that they were insufficient, they came to God and offered sacrifices. "I did wrong in such and such a way. I was at fault." Then they were forgiven for their daily sins, and they were also able to obtain forgiveness for their year's sins once on the Day of Atonement.

Similarly, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ came to this world and was baptized and crucified to wash away the sins of mankind once and for all.

But at the New Year's Service, many people cry and repent, "Dear God, please forgive me for the sins I committed last year. And please bless me in the new year." Those people are heretics.

Then, what is the truth of being born again of water and the Spirit? Jesus came to the world about 2000 years ago, washed away the sins of mankind once and for all and thus saved us from sin forever. He saved us from all the sins of the world with the water and the blood. But if we asked for forgiveness every day, what would He say?

"How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice, but now murderers." Anyone who calls himself a sinner is a heretic.

Our God calls those who believe in Him and ask for forgiveness murderers. Since they ask for forgiveness and also say they are sinners, do they expect Jesus to return and die for their sins a second time? The baptism and the Cross of Jesus are the reality of salvation.

In 1 Peter 3:21, it says that the baptism of Jesus is the antitype of our salvation. Jesus Christ died once to save mankind from sin. He washed away mankind's sins once for all and was resurrected three days later. He now sits at the right hand of God.

Jesus Christ was baptized once and died once at the Cross to save us from sin forever. He was baptized by John the Baptist when He was 30. He died once to save us from all the sins of the world. Doesn't this mean that judgment was given for all time?

If heretics say they are still sinners, they are asking Him to come down a second time and be crucified again. In fact, He would have to keep doing so every time they ask for forgiveness.

Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in their hearts are saved from sin forever, become righteous, go to heaven to receive God's blessing and eternal life. Whoever meets the righteous can be saved through water and the Spirit and become one of the blessed people of God. Anyone who asks righteous salvation before God shall be blessed.

Let us read Isaiah 1:18-20. "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;' for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

God is telling us that if we are obedient to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we shall eat the good of the land, but if we refuse and rebel, we shall be devoured by the sword.

Our God said, "Come now, and let us reason together. Let us talk. Are you insufficient? Are you unrighteous? Do you love yourself too much? Can't you live by the commandments? Can't you do what the law dictates? You know but cannot practice? Then, come to Me. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." This means that God saved sinners justly and made them righteous.

There was no sin when God created Adam and Eve. But Satan soon came on the scene. He tempted them to disobey God and made all mankind sinners by making them sin. Satan caused man's fall. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were not sinners before God. They lived with God in the garden of Eden. But they became sinners. So now, God is calling us. Come and let us reason together. Let us reason together!

"How much sin have you committed in this world? And how much sin will you commit before you die?"

"Oh, God. It is impossible not to sin. We can't become sanctified no matter how hard we try."

"Well, then how much sin have you committed until now?"

"Well, Lord, I can't remember everything, but there are a few that stick in my mind. You remember that time? You know what I am talking about . . . and there's that other time, You know..."

Then God says, "So go on and tell Me. Do you think that's all? Do you know how many besides those? But all the sins that you remember, all the sins that you have forgotten, and even all the sins you shall commit in the future, I washed all of them away forever. And not just yours, but your children's and their children's, down to all your descendants' sins. I am the righteous God. I washed away your sins once for all."

God, who washed away all the sins of mankind from Adam's sin to the sins of the last man on earth, is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

"I am the Savior and Almighty God."

"I am Jehovah, the Merciful God."

"I will have mercy on those who well deserve mercy, and I will have compassion on those who well deserve compassion."

If we ask for His mercy and are frank with Him, we can have God's compassion. Our Father wants to bless all of us. He wants all of us to become righteous. In His love and compassion, He wants to make all of us His righteous children.

He wants us to be white as snow. Jesus washed away the sins of mankind once and for all through His baptism and His blood. If a church cannot solve the problems of sin and life for all believers, it cannot be called the true church of God.

People come to priests and ask, "I have sin. What shall I do? I repent and have repented so many times, but my sins did not go away. I can't go on any more. I don't think I can carry on with my religious life." If a priest cannot give him the right answer to his problems, he is a heretic. He may say, "It is up to you. Go pray in the mountains. Try a 40-day fast."

Heretic priests or religious leaders are so full of impurities that they don't even know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They don't know whether their souls will end up in hell or heaven.

Those leaders are not right before God. They are pseudos and heretics. They look as if they believe in Jesus from the outside, but their hearts are still full of sin. They have not been washed of their sins. They cannot preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit that can wash away all sins. Let us not be deceived by them.

Titus 3:10-11 says of heretics, "Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned." Because they believe in Jesus but are not born again, they condemn themselves as sinners. They ignore and trample down the gospel of the water and the Spirit, saying they are sinners who cannot but go to hell.

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They are heretics in Christianity. Anyone who believes in Jesus and has sin is a heretic. Heretics differ from God. God is holy. But they are not holy. Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are cleansed of all their sins. So whoever believes in Jesus but has sin is a heretic. We have to stay away from those who say that they believe in God but are still sinners.

Let us preach the gospel to those who have not heard it yet and those who want to believe but can't because they don't know it. Let us help them be born again. Let us repel those who stand in the way of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We must preach the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit all over the world. Amen!

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