WITH OUR SOUL S SALVATION Have we ever had one of those jobs to do that was so critical, we felt we had to do it ourself? Just so we would know it got done and got done right. Maybe it was something as simple as putting something in the mail. (house payment, tax forms) Entering information into the computer 1
We all probably have had jobs like this in our life. That we had just rather do ourselves in order to make sure it is done right. We just don t trust others to do it correctly. Many times rightfully so! Human Beings make mistakes Even when we know how to do something we can still mess it up because we forget, push a wrong button or become distracted. Some people are just plain mean They will mess up intentionally, just to cause you pain or harm. Some people are dishonest and can t be trusted They will absolutely steal you blind when they get the opportunity You wouldn t give a person like this the cash for the day and let him make the deposits for you 2
Some are simply looking out for #1 They will befriend you and treat you well while it is in their best interest. As soon as being your friend is no longer beneficial to them then they will drop you like a hot potato. The problem is we can t always tell what type of person we are dealing with. Am I dealing with: Good person: they still make mistakes Mean person Dishonest person Looking out for #1 person Sometimes we can tell but certainly not always If we could always tell the difference we wouldn t have to worry to much about those who would do us harm. We would be able to see them coming. 3
If we don t trust other people with some of the simple jobs of this life then why would we trust them with our most valuable possession, our Soul? Who do we trust with our Soul s salvation? Preacher? Pastor? Apostle? Priest? Parents? We just talked about some reasons not to trust people with things of physical importance. Why then would we trust them with the thing that is most important. Our Soul s salvation. But these Preachers, Pastors, Priest, Modern day Apostles and the like are religious men. Surely they wouldn t steer us in the wrong direction would they? 4
The Bible is filled with examples of religious people who defied the truth and used religion as a means of gain for themselves and the destruction of others. Balaam is a great example of this He was evidently was a prophet of God Balak, King of the Ammonites recognized this. Nu 22:6 "Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. The only way that this could have been true is if Balaam was a Prophet of God 5
Could we have trusted Balaam? God even talked to Balaam Nu 22:8 And he said to them, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you? 12 And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." Could we have trusted Balaam? Balaam obeyed God. 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you. He sounds like a someone we might could trust, doesn t he? 6
Could we have trusted Balaam? This man Balaam sounds like a good man Prophet of God God even speaks to him He obeyed God Sounds like a man we could trust. However, Balaam could not be trusted for the same reason a lot of preachers can t be trusted today. He was greedy. Could we have trusted Balaam? After God telling him not to curse the Israelites and not to go with these men, he does it anyway. He tries 3 different times to curse them but God turns the curses into a blessing Nu 24:10 Then Balak's anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 7
Could we have trusted Balaam? Why would Balaam try to curse the Israelites in spite of God telling him not to? The same reason many people teach false doctrine today. Money! 2Pe 2:15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; Could we have trusted Aaron? Now here is a religious man among religious men The brother of and spokesman for Moses the leader of God s people The first High Priest of the Israelites No doubt a good man But what did this good man do after being pressured by the people at Mt Sinai 8
Could we have trusted Aaron? Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." Could we have trusted Aaron? 3 "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" 9
Could we have trusted Aaron? 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD." 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Could we have trusted Aaron? 7 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'" 10
Could we have trusted Aaron? Aaron as good of a man as he was made a terrible mistake this day by not only allowing this to happen but by taking a leadership role in it. It cost 3000 people their lives that day If God s first High Priest has proved himself unable to be completely trusted in matters of religion because of weakness. What man can be trusted? Ex 32:24 "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out." Could the Scribes and Pharisees be trusted? The scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus day. Could they be trusted? Certainly not Mt 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 11
Could the Scribes and Pharisees be trusted? 3 "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. Skip down to vs 25 Mt 23:25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Could the Scribes and Pharisees be trusted? 26 "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 12
What about other religious leaders in the days of Jesus Caiaphas the high priest condemned Jesus to death for Blasphemy in Mt 23:65-66 The Chief Priest convinced the people to ask for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus in Mt 24:20 We can see from these examples that just because a man appears to be religious does not mean we should trust him especially with our soul s salvation! Even good men like Aaron and the Apostle Peter make mistakes and have had others follow them into their sin. Galatians 2 Peter withdraws from the Gentiles when some of the Jews who had come from James show up. Ga 2:11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 13
12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. No Man This job is much to important for us to trust it to some man. We have to take care of it ourselves. If we depend on someone else to tell us what God wants us to do, we are endangering our eternal soul We must study the Word of God for ourselves in order to find out what God wants us to do 14
Php 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Paul tells them to work out their own salvation He doesn t mean figure out how to save yourself He has already told them how to be saved He is telling them no one else can do it for you We Can Only Trust God! We can trust God and His Word 2Ti 3:13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 15
We Can Only Trust God! 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Our salvation depends upon our understanding of and obedience to the scriptures If we don t know what the scriptures say they will do us no good Conclusion Our eternal salvation is too important to trust some man to tell us what to do in order to be saved. Too often men have improper ulterior motives for what they tell us about how to be saved. Sometimes men are honestly deceived about what we need to do in order to be saved. Sometimes men tell us accurately what God wants us to do. WE must decide who is telling the Truth by comparing what they say to the Word of God 16