Is God A Formula

Who is True and Who is False? The preacher who says God desires you to be prosperous or Holy? What are those in the most powerful positions or recognized in the church and within religion telling the world what Christianity is all about? From what I have gathered lately from them, it generally comes down to a formula: if you do A, God will do B, which will equal C. In other words, if you believe in Jesus, God will respond to your choice and then make you healthy, wealthy, connected, wise, and give you everything you have ever wanted.

But that is false. Because that is not what God teaches through His Word. Could it be that these pastors, leaders, and teachers are completely missing the point or something worse? What did Jesus say in John 14:15-17?

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

I believe they are indeed missing the point in some cases out of ignorance. But in many cases, they are outright deceitful, leading people astray into false teachings and false gospels. Which, in God’s eyes, is evil and reprehensible behavior. They tell people that if you come to Jesus, God will fix all your problems, which is not true. They are not teaching people what God deems important, which is to obey His commandments, but rather to seek whatever their hearts desire. Besides this, they teach for personal gain and money, leading people to love this world rather than the conviction of sins.

As leaders in the churches, and supposed students of His Word, the majority of leaders we see in the modern church should know better. But they don’t, and severe judgment is coming for those who teach this way. So let’s go back to the teachings we can rely on for truth, such as those of the Apostle Paul and others to whom God has spoken, to tell us what true Christianity is really about.

For example, in 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 it says.
1 Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Did you read anything about how wealthy, prosperous, and comfortable the life of a believer in Jesus Christ will be? No, because the truth is, it is difficult and painful, yet at the same time transformative and rewarding. This is because God is more concerned about who you are as a person, your character, godliness, how you live, and whether you are following Him by faith according to His will.

False teachers, on the other hand, are of this world, and they hate the truth of the Gospel and God. Otherwise, they would preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ without seeking personal gain or engaging in deception. The Devil is the ruler of the world, and he deeply hates anything that is good, holy, righteous, and true, which is exactly what God the Father wants from us. But these teachers show us exactly who they serve by their every word. Are you paying attention?

1 Corinthians 11:12-15 says,
12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

To follow Jesus is to deny yourself all the sinful desires and acts you used to enjoy: lying, stealing, manipulation for our own selfish gain, hatred, sexual immorality, covetousness, to name a few. True teachers of God’s Word proclaim that God calls all to turn from sin, humble themselves, repent, and turn to God to walk in righteousness and His holiness.

Hebrews 12:12-14
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

In the majority of sermons and messages preached in this age, the vital truths of Christianity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are almost completely missing. Is it out of ignorance or on purpose? I say, by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that it is the latter rather than the former. From small rural churches to megachurches, the message is weak, stolen from others, false, and twisted.

In truth, the Devil is lulling the hearer into more sin, not to mention the abundance of rich pastors who have increased in power and are becoming wealthy because of their ambitions for personal and financial gain with the approval of their congregations and for the organizations they run.

I am telling you now that God is calling every individual who recognizes this truth today to flee from these places of false worship and from these teachers, and to seek God alone. To expose that which is false and proclaim the truth to anyone who may hear, because punishment and judgment are coming for anyone who does what is evil.

Read what Jesus warns us in Revelation 18:4-8
4 Then I heard another voice from Heaven saying,

“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; 5 for her sins are heaped high as Heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. 7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ 8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

Those riches and desires that they tempt people to pursue are merely earthly, will be gone in an instant when you die, and lead you to more pain and suffering. Not to mention, they keep you bound to sin and disobedience to God. True wealth is spiritual wealth and heavenly wealth.

Spiritual wealth is what God does in your heart, mind, and soul, freeing you from the pain, abuse, and sorrow of this life. He heals, restores, and rewards those who seek Jesus with all their heart and life. He desires to give you the strength, courage, and boldness to proclaim God’s truth to a world dead in their sins, not to mention forgiveness for any and every sin you have ever committed.  

He will renew your heart and faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. He will, daily, perfect your behavior and obedience so that you live for Him. Though the struggles, trials, and tribulations are extreme and severe at times and go on longer than expected, it is all for your good. As the Word of God says, He renews your strength, and your belief in His Word, and your inner being is renewed.

Isaiah 40:29-31
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

The wealth He gives you is not only that, but it is the unseen; it is a heavenly glory you are gaining through obedience, and He is storing away rewards for you in Heaven, which will make all the wealth of this world look like an old, worthless counterfeit coin.

Not only that, but the worse we see this world getting, the more we look forward to the hope of being in God’s presence one day in Heaven. The more we desire others to follow and obey Him too so that they may be forgiven, healed, and saved from the punishment to come.

In closing, I pray that God will open your eyes to see, and ears to hear His truth. That you may discern those who are true and false voices of God; it takes patience to follow God. It takes honesty and courage to evaluate your own heart according to God’s Word and then to walk away from places or voices that are false. Especially when the voices of religion approve of those who are false and mock the righteous, but remember that we leave judgment up to God, and He makes a way where there seems to be no way.

God will always teach what is true to those who seek to hear. He always leads His children to the right path, even when it seems like you are traveling the wrong direction or the hardest path. He is always right, and His love for you will work everything out for your good and benefit in the end.

Follow Jesus, repent of your sins, humble your heart, take His side against all evil, walk in His truth, endure to the end. Then He will reward you handsomely, in ways you would never imagine, not necessarily earthly, but spiritually and inwardly, in this present age and even better in the one to come.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.