Matthew 15:8-9, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
The word “religion” is only mentioned in
the New Testament, five times. We find only one verse in the entire Holy
Bible which defines religion, and that passage is in
James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
Notice that God's Word does not define pure religion that is undefiled as
a 501c3 state-licensed business, with a big building, stained-glass
windows, plush carpeting, padded pews, air-conditioning and formal
worship. This is all man's religion. It is impure and defiled.
God does not promote religion in His Word. The
word “religion” in James 1:27 is the Greek word thrēskeia, which
means “ceremonial observance.” The Bible teaches that pure and undefiled
religion is helping the truly poor and helpless (not those who won't
work), such as orphans, the disabled and elderly widows. This is the only
“religion” recognized as legitimate in the Bible. In other words, the only
formal religion that impresses God is helping the truly poor and needy.
God hates organized religion that honors Him in word only. Our text
passage of Scripture from Matthew 15:8-9 says they drew nigh unto God WITH
THEIR LIPS, but their HEART WAS FAR FROM HIM. This describes
most religious groups today.
Worshipping Devils In Place Of God
Notice carefully what verse 9 says, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Oh my! This Bible verse packs-a-punch concerning the importance of theological doctrine! Any form of private or public worship that is not rooted in the doctrinally sound fundamentals of the Word of God is all done in vain (it is meaningless to God). Therefore, any religious group that teaches a false plan of salvation is not really worshipping God in their meetings. Instead, they are worshipping demons. 1st Corinthians 10:20, “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.”
Thus, Roman Catholics worship devils in their mass, because they teach for doctrines “THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN” (Mark 7:6-13; Matthew 15:7-9). The Catholic catechism is 100% against the Bible. The entire teaching of the Seven Sacraments is unbiblical. The Vatican mandates keeping the Seven Sacraments in order to get to Heaven. Over one billion Roman Catholics have been deceived and blinded by the Satan, worshipping devils instead of God, obeying manmade traditions instead of the inspired words of God in the Holy Bible. That's why you'll never find a Bible in the pews of a Catholic church. They censor the truth!
There are many satanic religious groups in the world; including but not limited to, Roman Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons, Greek Orthodox, Church of England, Scientology, Church of Christ, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witness, Baha'i Faith, Buddhists, Islam, Hindus, Shintoism and definitely the Lordship Salvation crowd. Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The common denominator between all the false religions is: 1) a false plan of salvation; 2) membership in the New World Order. This is why Jehovah's Witness founder, Charles T. Russell, has a giant Illuminati pyramid parked on top of his grave.
There is only one “Gospel” (which means “good news”) taught in the Holy Bible. The Gospel is defined in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Thus, if you realize that you are a guilty sinner in God's holy eyes for breaking His commandments (Romans 3:19), and you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, believing that He raised up bodily three days later from the grave, you are saved immediately and eternally. That's all there is to it! This is God's will concerning salvation. John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Thank you Lord Jesus!
Man's religion is all bad. As I mentioned
earlier, God's religion is not a 501c3 state-licensed business, with a big
building, stained-glass windows, plush carpeting, padded pews and
air-conditioning. This is all man's religion. It is impure and defiled. It
is not wrong for Christians to meet in a big building, with stained-glass
windows, padded pews, et cetera; but we must always keep in mind that this
is all religion and not Christianity.
Why People Are Easily Deceived By False Prophets
There are three types of people mentioned in the Proverbs:
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simple (doesn't know any better)
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wise (receives and obeys God's Word)
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fool (rejects God's Word)
We learn in the Holy Bible that simple people are easily deceived because they see the good works that false religions do. And also, they hear the fair speeches (eloquent words) of false prophets. Since they don't have an understanding of the Scriptures, they are susceptible to satanic attacks...
Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
The preceding Scripture passage is talking about unsaved false prophets, who for selfish reasons pretend to serve God. Such false religions would include Jehovah's Witness, Seventh-Day Adventist, Mormons, Roman Catholics, et cetera. Catholics do many wonderful good works. Mormons feed the poor.
I once visited a family who rode our church bus once in a while. They had a big family with five children, ranging in age from small kids to teens. One Saturday me and my soul-winning partner stopped by the home. As we sat in the living room, I witnessed to the mother. She said that she was a Jehovah's Witness. After explaining from the Scriptures that the JW's were a satanic cult and deceptive, she insisted that they were of God. She was sincere. Her reason was that when she was sick in the local hospital, the JW's came to visit her and brought a box of food to her family. She said, “They talked about Jesus.” In her mind, because of their fair speeches and good works she thought they were of God. She wouldn't listen. Satan has a stronghold on her family.
You see, the mother was simple, not knowing the truth of the Scriptures, and so she was easily deceived by the satanic cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is why it is so important that individuals and families attend a solid Bible-believing, Bible-preaching and Bible-teaching church. Make sure they only use the King James Bible. If you believe what the Bible teaches, then attend a church that teaches the Bible! As you just read in Romans 16:17-18, false religions serve their own belly, for money. It's ironic that the low-level minions do all the work recruiting more suckers to join their false religion, but it's the Luciferian-worshipping Masonic leaders at the top who become filthy rich. When you join a false religion, you're making the leaders of the religion rich at your expense.
In sharp contrast, James 1:27 tells us that pure
and undefiled religion is to GIVE to the fatherless and widows, who are
widows indeed. All of the false religions TAKE from their followers. Sure
Mormons help feed their own poor, but their Masonic leaders are amongst
the wealthiest people in the world. What they give to the poor is pennies
on a thousand dollars by comparison. They serve their bellies and not the
Lord Jesus Christ! Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this
world. The true Church is when a group of two or more born-again
Christians meet together in Jesus' name. Religion is not the Church.
The Ancient Mystery Religion
The Luciferian-conspiracy that has existed since Lucifer tried to usurp control over God's throne in Heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14 - King James Bible), has continued until present day. The ancient mystery religion established during the times when Egypt ruled the world, taught that through ascending levels of occult enlightenment, godhood could be achieved. This idea originated back in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent old Eve that her eyes (Hebrew: ayin, meaning one “Eye”) would be opened if she ate the forbidden fruit. The name “Lucifer” means light bearer, or the giver of illumination. This is what the All Seeing Eye means, which is often displayed with rays of light emitting from it. This represents Lucifer, who opens the eye of man's soul and illuminates him with a higher form of consciousness, which is said to bring enlightenment and eventually godhood.
In essence, these occult mystery schools of alleged “higher consciousness” (represented by the illumined eye a top the pyramid, Lucifer, the giver of illumination), substituted a complex system of occult indoctrination in place of the simple but profound teachings of Christianity. This is why Kaballah, one such system, has 125 levels of enlightenment that one must diligently work through to reach godhood at the top. In reality, it is a bunch of complicated mumbo-jumbo intended to blind educated men, who are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2nd Timothy 3:7).
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Satan controls the world through occult (secret, hidden) organizations, whose members are devout followers of Lucifer (Satan). The Satanic power structure of the forced of darkness (aka, Illuminati) is called “THE HIERARCHY” in occult language. Hence, the “Illuminati” is a term used to refer to the Luciferian-worshipping leaders of the hierarchy, Satan being the chief Boss. Hitler was infatuated with the occult, as were many of history's top leaders. You'll be surprised if you research the internet under “Joseph Stalin and the occult” or “Mao Zedong and the occult.” Truth is stranger than fiction if you're a stranger to reality.
Hence, there will not be a One World Religion; but rather, the different religions of this world will be infiltrated by Satan and recruited to follow the ancient mystery religion, which teaches to love God and your fellow mankind, replacing Biblical theology with spirituality. Without the lighthouse of the fundamental doctrines of the Word of God, the churches will easily be deceived into joining the New World Order. This is why Roman Catholicism, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are all steeped in occult symbols and are all following the New World Order. Since they are teaching the commandments of men instead of those of God, the adherents of those false religions don't know their right-hand from their left-hand theologically.
