| 20D.
The Secondary Reason
for it's Proliferation |
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Someone is also behind the increase in the
number of religions, the purpose of which
contradicts the purpose of God.
20D.1
Who is also responsible for the
proliferation of religions?
The
"Parable of the Weeds in the Field" as
narrated by the Lord Jesus Christ.
In
Mathew 13:24-32, this is written:
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed
good seeds in his field. But while everyone is sleeping, his
enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the
wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
The owner's servants came to him and said,
"Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then the
weeds come from?
An enemy did this, he replied. The
servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root
up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.
At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds
an tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it
into my barn. (Mathew 13: 24-32, NIV)
The
kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who
sowed good seeds in his field.
The explanation of the
"Parable of the Weeds in the Field".
Then he left the crowed and went into the
house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain
to us the parable of the weeds on the field."
"He answered, 'The one who sowed the
good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed
stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of
the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The
harvest is at the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels." (Mathew 13: 36-39, NIV)
Jesus
explained the parable of the weeds in
the field:
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned
in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man
will send out angels, and they will weed out his kingdom everything
that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into
the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like a sun in the kingdom of their
Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Mathew 13: 40-43, NIV)
"As
the weeds are pulled up and burned in
the fire, so it will be at the end of
the age.
Who is also responsible for the
proliferation of religions, whose
purpose contradicts the purpose of God?
The Lord Jesus explained that
Thus the "evil one - the devil called
Satan" is also responsible for the
proliferation of religions in the world.
The parable explains why false religion continue to multiply in the
world. The evil one is responsible for this, in his
attempt of win people on his side and rally them against the true God.
20D.2 Did the Apostles warned the
early Christians about the coming of the evil one?
In II Thessalonians 2: 9-10, it is written:
The Wicked One will come with the power of
Satan and perform all kinds of false miracles and wonders, and use every kind of wicked deceit on
those who will perish. (II Thessalonians 2: 9-10, TEV)
Apostle
Paul said that the Wicked One will come with the power of
Satan with the intention to
deceive people into believing that their religions are true.
.
on those who will perish.
They will perish because they will come to believe what is false.
20D.3 Can people easily notice the
deception being made by the evil one?
The deception by the evil one will hardly be noticed by people.
It will be very subtle. Unaware of the devil's scheme,
In II Timothy 3:5 Apostle Paul issues a
warning:
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
(NKJV)
The same verse in other versions of the Bible:
" people will hold to the
outward form of the religion, but reject its real power."
(Today's English Version).
They will keep up the outward appearance of religion but will have rejected the inner power of it. Keep away from people like that.
(New Jerusalem Bible)
No, the evil one will come with the
form of godliness. They will come with the outward form or appearance of
a religion. To those who are unaware of the dangers that such deception might bring, they would
even believe that they are on the right track. They will be duped into
believing that their religion are of God when in fact it is of the devil.
How did God warn
people about this kind of religion?
God gave this warning in Proverbs 14:12:
There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
(NIV)
Man should always verify the
truthfulness of the religion he seeks to join. He must make sure
that it is based on true knowledge, the righteousness that comes
from God—the true Gospel of Christ. Otherwise he will not be led to
salvation but to death.
__________________
The "evil one - the devil called Satan"
is also responsible for the proliferation of religions in the world
today. The devil has been at work since the time of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve. He is even busier today with
thousand upon thousands of religions being set-up around the world, It
is very difficult to detect which are the one's he is setting up as all
have the outward appearance of religion. Everyone should be aware that
not every religious organization is of God, even if has the form of
godliness and perform all kinds of miracles and wonders. The devil
uses every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish, thus Satan's
religion seems right in the beginning but in the end it leads to death.
_________________________________________________________
End Of Lesson
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Thank You For Your Time!
We hope the
lesson "The Proliferation Of The
Christian Religion" was made clear and meaningful to you by the
verses of the Holy Bible.
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Succeeding Lesson:
With the
proliferation of the Christian Religion, the
problem now becomes
one of
identifying the True Church amidst the numerous
claimants. If
one is really interested in the welfare of his
soul, this is the one issue he cannot afford to
ignore. It is one issue that every one must face
and deal with. It is not safe for anyone to be
just complacent about his religion. A man should
make a truthful and sincere effort to inquire
into the certainty or genuineness of his
religion or to find out if it is the true one.
It is imperative that before death makes its
call or before Judgment Day comes, a man must be
found in the True Religion or the True Church.
For what use is a religion or a church that can
not help a man to have a place in the Kingdom of
God in heaven.
Identifying the True Religion or the true Church
will be studied in detail in
►
Lesson
24.
Identifying "The True Religion" Or "The True
Church"
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