Jeremiah 17: 5 “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” https://www.bible.com/bible/1/JER.17.KJV 2 Corintians 11:13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” https://www.bible.com/bible/1/2CO.11.KJV Psalm 146:3 “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, In whom there is no help.” https://www.bible.com/bible/1/PSA.146.KJV
I was the child of a minister. My parent’s fought a lot and eventually divorced. Sometimes my father would have a sermon about love and marriage. I would come home and play a record with a song that had the lyrics, “Practice, practice what you preach. I’m here to tell you that it’s what you do not what you say that’s going to count on judgment day.” Dad got the point.
My father was a very dynamic minister. Whenever we were somewhere the congregation would grow large, but when we moved, the church would fall apart. Basically, people were following him rather than following Jesus. Over the last several years, I have been following an online minister. I have met the man a handful of times as well. He and his wife have led me to many wonderful biblical truths. Recently my heart has been broken upon learning some devastating news with regards to this preacher, and I was reminded of the above texts. “The quote ‘If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian’ is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, the prominent Hindu leader and advocate of nonviolence in India. According to the widely recounted story, Gandhi, who was a practicing Hindu, was deeply intrigued by Christianity and the teachings of Jesus as presented in the Gospels. He reportedly attempted to attend a Christian church service in Calcutta but was turned away at the door because the church was restricted to high-caste Indians and whites, a practice he found deeply offensive. This experience of exclusion, which he associated with the caste system and racial segregation, led him to reject Christianity as a faith practiced by the church he encountered. Consequently, he later stated that his negative experience with Christians was the reason he did not become one himself.” https://search.brave.com/search?q=who+said+that+they+would+be+a+christian+if+it+weren%27t+for+Christians&summary=1&conversation=8f952b22244f0e29d56440The third commandment in Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” https://www.bible.com/bible/1/EXO.20.KJV reminds us not to take God’s name in vain. This applies not only to not literally speaking God’s name in vulgar language, but also to taking the name of “Christian” and then not living as Christ did.
Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” https://www.bible.com/bible/1/MAT.7.KJV God did not say to not to help your brother get the speck out of his eye, but to first clean up your own eye. When a preacher is continually working on their “brother’s eye”, it behooves the question, what is in your own eye pastor? Jesus was once asked, what is truth? But the person who asked the question didn’t wait or listen for a response.
Supposedly “secret” sins have a way of coming into the light. 2 Samuel 12:9-10. "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. [10] Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife." https://bible.com/bible/1/2sa.12.9-10.KJV Numbers 32:23 “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” https://bible.com/bible/1/num.32.23.KJV Luke 12:2 “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.12.2.KJV. Just because you repeat the phrase, “forgive me of all my sins,” does not mean that you are forgiven. When you cover up your sins and blame others instead of taking responsibility God will not forgive you. See: https://iodtiger.blogspot.com/2025/06/prayers-god-doesnt-listen-to.html Adam and Eve played the blame game; God gave each of them a specific curse for their actions. David took responsibility and was forgiven. He was called a man after God’s own heart. Judas was sorry that he betrayed innocent blood, but he did not repent. Peter was truly repentant and was restored to a right relationship with God. You cannot be restored while blaming someone else for your sins. You cannot be restored by merely saying, “God forgive me”. Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; [24] leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.5.23-24.KJV Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” https://bible.com/bible/1/act.22.16.KJV Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” https://bible.com/bible/1/act.2.38.KJV Acts 3:1 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” https://bible.com/bible/1/act.3.19.KJV
