IT MATTERS WHAT YOU BELIEVE!

DID JESUS SAY

“GIVE TO THE DEVIL WHAT BELONGS TO

THE DEVIL? ”

(A DEATH-TRAP IN THE CHURCH)

Bohyeba Asempatsease

KINGDOM LIFE INVESTORS.

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SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

“Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14)

As Soldiers of the cross, “We do not peddle the Word of God for profit” but are determined in Christ, against all odds, “to speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God”. (2Corinthians 2:17)

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this minis-try, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2Corinthians 4:1, 2)

We are aware that we may step on many toes as we hammer home the truth that liberates, but we shall not be intimidated at all. We shall “speak the truth in love” and the Bible being our final authority, we won’t “go beyond what is written,” whatever be the situation, time or circumstance. (Ephesians 4:15; 1Corinthians 4:6)

It is about time Blood - bought Christians stood up to declare the true God they worship and serve and be “ready to take the fields when duty calls.”

The Repentance Revolution Campaign.

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CONTENTS Page

A Death Trap In The Church. 4

SECTION ONE: 6

The Intention of the Pharisees to Trap Jesus…………..

SECTION TWO: 6

What did the Spies ask Jesus?.................

SECTION THREE 8

Did Jesus’ answer imply worship?..........................

SECTION FOUR: 10

Traditions and Customs of men (In the light of the Bible)

CONCLUSION

Unless otherwise mentioned, all verses are from the New

International Version (NIV). Emphases Mine.

Outreaching Every Nation, Tribe, Language and People

(Rev. 5:9)

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A DEATH – TRAP IN THE CHURCH

Is the “Church” today, truly “the pillar and ground of the truth”? (1Tim. 3:15 (NKJV)

We are in the evil generation where people take God’s Word for granted or misconstrue it with intent to deceive.

One of the most misquoted verses in the Bible is, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matt. 22:21; Luke 20:25)

Many church members are bold to say they are not wrong to invoke or venerate the “the lesser gods,” or call on the spirits of their ancestors; for, according to them, even Jesus Himself said, “Give to the devil what belongs to the devil and to God what belongs to God.”

This is how far souls have been deceived, and our innocent parents and relatives misled by “ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing.” While many church leaders themselves are prominent members of secret societies that condone these practices, they cannot faithfully promote the interests of Christ.

Unfortunately, even educated chiefs and traditional heads who are church members likewise misapply the words of Jesus in Matt. 22:21, to justify traditional and customary practices that clearly defy the commands of God.

Should we be unconcerned when our beloved chiefs, rulers, parents and siblings troop to hell because the churches have failed to stand for the truth?

This study targets, especially, church-goers who believe they may continue with the traditions and customs of Pagans and still please God. (1Cor. 10:19-21)

It is not a surprise at all that not many Christians know that, “Give to the devil what belongs to the devil,” is not in the Bible.

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The following questions will guide us into our study.

1. What was the real intention of the Pharisees to send spies to question Jesus?

2. What sort of question did the spies ask, socio-economic or religious?

3. Did Jesus’ answer imply worship at all?

Now, let’s consider the full text of Matthew 22:15-22, to

ascertain what really happened, and why Jesus made mention of

Caesar.

Matthew 22:15-22

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His

words. They sent their disciples to him along with the

Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “We know you are a man of

integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with

the truth.

You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who

they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay

taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus knowing their evil intent,

said,

“You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the

coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and

he asked them, “whose portrait (image) is this. And whose

inscription? “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then He said to them,

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and

went away.” Amen.

Thanks be to God for His Word. Our ardent desire is that the

truth of God will destroy that which has entangled His children

for too long. Let us now do a thorough study of the text based

on the three questions already stated.

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SECTION ONE:

The Intention of the Pharisees. What was the real intention of the Pharisees to send spies to question Jesus? Matthew 22:15

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.”

This verse opens the way for us to see what brought about Jesus’ answer, which is greatly misused today. We see a deliberate move of the Pharisees to provoke Jesus, in order to trap Him in His words, and effect His arrest.

Luke 20:19, 20 puts it: “The teachers of the Law and the Chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people”.

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something He said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.”

These two texts show that the real intention of the Pharisees was to find a way to incriminate Jesus on account of what He would say against the State. Here too, we see how the Pharisees looked for a way to misrepresent the words of Jesus in order to get Him into trouble.

SECTION TWO:

What sort of question did the spies ask, socio-economic or religious?

As the aforementioned text showed, their spies were to pretend to be honest in order to infiltrate the ranks of the disciples of Jesus, and in so doing, find a way of causing Him to commit Himself. The cunning spies began with flattery, thinking that would cause Jesus to speak unwisely.

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In Matthew 22:16, the spies said, “Teacher,” “We know you

are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in

accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because

you pay no attention to who they are.” Note well that, even in

their evil intention, they were compelled to declare the truth

about Jesus.

They said Jesus was a man of integrity who taught the way of

God in accordance with the truth. Then, they voiced out the

planned question in Matthew 22:17 “Tell us then, what is your

opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Please note that the spies did not inquire about how to worship

God. What was their concern? Their question was directly about

paying of taxes to Caesar. They wanted to know whether Jesus

approved of the paying of taxes to Caesar or not. In fact, in their

own initial talk they said, “We know you teach the way of God

in accordance with the truth,” which meant they knew His

stand on religious matters. They were rather bent on testing Him

on socio-political and economic matters to see His attitude

vis-avis the governing authority.

Luke 20:20 says, “They hoped to catch Jesus in something He

said, so that they might hand him over to the power and

authority of the governor.” The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus

on the paying of taxes to Caesar, so that if He opposed it, they

would take Him for a rebel. After several attempts to get Him on

religious matters had failed, they had decided to lure Him to

speak in a manner that would cause Him to lose favor in the

sight of the governor just as the Babylonian officials had plotted

against Daniel and his friends in Babylon. The main point to

note is that, the spies asked a specific question about the pay-

ment of taxes to Caesar; it did not have any other views.

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No doubt, the Pharisees themselves knew they were talking

about a living human being; for example, in Luke 23:1, 2, when

they brought Jesus before Pilate to accuse Him falsely of subver-

sion, they said, “we have found this man subverting our nation.

He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ,

a King.”

Of course, Jesus Himself also understood that they were talking

about payment of taxes to Caesar and not the worship of the

devil.

SECTION THREE:

Did Jesus’ answer imply worship?

The Pharisees sought for Jesus’ opinion whether it was right, that is, whether it was legal to pay taxes to Caesar or not. It was Jesus who asked for a coin to demonstrate the legality of it. The coin bore the image or portrait and inscription of Caesar-thereby making it a legal tender of the State. So, contrary to what the Jews expected, Jesus rather showed them that once their income depended on the money, they would have to pay taxe to Caesar; it was Caesar’s image that made it a legal tender.

The issue, therefore, was an economic one, and had absolutely

nothing, to do with worship. Now let’s have a quick summary of

the salient points before we continue.

i. The action of the Pharisees was a deliberate and premeditated

one. (Matthew 22:15; Luke 20:19, 20).

ii. The Pharisees referred to a specific human being called

Caesar, leaving no room for speculation or wild imaginations.

(Luke 23:1, 2). For further proof that Caesar was a human

being and not the devil, Paul on his trial appealed to Caesar in

Rome and it was accorded him by Festus the Roman governor.

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Acts 25:10-12

“Paul answered: ‘I am now standing before Caesar’s court,

where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the

Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty

of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if

the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no

one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!’

After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You

have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’’

At another time, a few days after Paul had made his appeal to

Caesar, King Agrippa and Bernice came to pay their respects to

Festus.

Festus used that moment to tell them what the prisoner Paul had

asked for. In verses 20 and 21, Festus said, “I was at a loss how

to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to

go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.

When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s

decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

Dear worshiper, where was Governor Festus going to send Paul

to? Was he getting ready to send him to the devil? Was it not to

an Emperor, a human being?

The Pharisees understood what was meant by “taxes” or

“tributes” and never took taxes for the worship of the devil.

That is why in Luke 23:2, they said, ‘He opposes payment of

taxes to Caesar…” and not “He does not want us to worship

the devil, the gods and ancestral spirits.” However, at some

other time, when the Jews accused Paul of misleading the peo-

ple to worship contrary to their way, they did not talk about tax-

es for they knew what to say.

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In Acts 18:12, 13, the Bible says “While Gallio was proconsul of

Achaia, the Jews made united attack on Paul and brought him to

court. “This man”, they charged, is persuading the people to

worship God in ways contrary to the Law.” Here, let’s get it

very clear that, the Jews were not ignorant. They knew the differ-

ence between paying taxes to the state and worshiping God.

So, how come church members, leaders and ministers have

conspired to bring the name of the Lord into disrepute?

If Jesus our Saviour rebuked the devil and refused him worship,

how would He then tell His disciples-those He came to die for,

that they should worship and serve the devil? Have we forgotten

that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works

of the devil? (1John 3:8).

And Hebrews 2:14, 15 says, “Since the children have flesh and

blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by His death He

might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the

devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by

their fear of death.”

SECTION FOUR:

What are traditions and customs of men

In The Light Of The Bible

A. They make followers become worthless.

Jeremiah 2:5 “This is what the Lord says: what faults did your fathers find in me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”

B. Customs of The People Are Worthless

Jeremiah 10:2-3 “This is what the Lord says: do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the people are worthless.”

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C. Our Fathers Possessed Worthless gods.

Jeremiah 16:19-20, 21 (17-21) 19. “O Lord, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come! From the ends of the earth and say, ‘Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless that did them no good.”

20. “Men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!”

D. A Breaking Of The Covenant With God.

Jeremiah 11:9-14 9. “Then the LORD said to me, ‘There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem.” 10. “They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to My words. They Have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefa-thers.”

E. Burning Incense To Worthless Idols.

Jeremiah 18:15 “Yet My people have forgotten Me; they burn incense to worthless idols which made them stumble in their ways and in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths and on roads not built up.”

F. Empty Way Of Life Handed Down By Ancestors

1Peter 1:17-21 18. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers” 19. “but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect.”

G. Things Taught By Demons.

1Timothy 4:1-4 1. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will aban-don the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

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Consequence Of Worthless Customs And Traditions

Followers of worthless traditions & customs are detested by God.

Leviticus 20:22-24 22. “You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell will not vomit you out.”

23. “And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.”

24. “But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.”

Jeremiah 11:9-14; Lev. 18:9-30

CONCLUSION

It has become obvious in our days that the very works Jesus

came to destroy (1John 3:8) are the very works the ‘churches’

are approving and encouraging the world to do. We have too

quickly forgotten what Jesus told the devil when he dared ask

Him to bow and worship him. (Matt. 4:8-10)

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ What a pity to think that Jesus would say, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only,” and then turn to order His disciples to worship and serve the devil, the enemy of God.

Of course, the wicked leaders and members who mislead their members are described in Jude 12 as “Shepherds who feed only themselves.” They are clouds without rains, blown along by the wind, autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead,”

Everyone who fears God has a cause to worry about the failure of the churches to tell the truth that liberates. The churches are always only giving false assurances to our traditionalists to harden their hearts.

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Nevertheless, our dearly respected and honorable traditional

leaders, please note that God made you in His own image and

likeness. This means His image is placed upon you. Why then

must you give your precious life to the devil, when you belong to

God? This is illegal in the Kingdom of God.

Remark that, as long as the image of Caesar was upon the coin, Caesar had the right to it.

In whose image are you made, God or the devil? If God, why have you missed your way by going after men who are only interested in your property and money? They care less about your soul, and keep on promising you the best of funeral rites when you would be already languishing in hell fires.

Again, the Bible says, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, in vain do they worship me, teach-ing as doctrines the precepts of men”. Matt. 15:8, 9(RSV)

NOTE CAREFULLY All those incenses and canticles and requiem masses cannot save you. Your salvation is in Christ Jesus alone. If the devil has any hold on you because of your disobedience, he will cer-tainly come for your soul to destroy, that is, plunge you into eter-nal suffering in hell. Don’t believe the twice-dead ministers. The Bible says, “repent then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)

I am appealing to you, rulers and traditional heads, by the mercies of God. Please heed the advice of God. Do not listen to the agents of death. They don’t love you. Jesus never said, “Give to the devil what belongs to the devil.”

No pontifical high mass can change your destination in hell, if you don’t walk solely in the way of Christ. Only Jesus has the power over death and hades. (Rev. 1:18)

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For as long as you continue to bow to idols, stones and statues serve and worship the gods, (demons) and pour libation to invoke the spirits of the dead, under the pretext of “give to the devil what belongs to the devil,” the devil’s image and seal shall remain on you.

Consequently, you belong to the Devil and he has control over you. In that case, you would be absolutely right to say, confirming your own destruction, “Give to the devil what belongs to the devil.” And of course you would belong to the devil and belong to where he belongs.

All persons who are encouraging you to believe that you are Christian while you hold on to the gods and the spirits of the dead, definitely hate you. What counts for such people is your financial support and property, and do not care that your soul will burn in everlasting fire (Matt. 25:41(36-46); Rev. 20:10; Mark 9:43-48).

Dear worshiper, if you are truly a Christian, and love Jesus, why have you not abandoned the idolatrous practices He hates? Are you not provoking God for your own destruction? Why did Jesus have to come at all? (Read John 14:15,21,23,24)

“Give to the devil what belongs to the devil” is not from God. Jesus never said anything as abominable as that. It comes from the pit of hell in collaboration with the devil’s conspirators (2Cor. 11:13-15). Refuse to die and repent of your idolatry.

Lastly, hear what the ever-loving Saviour told Paul on ourbehalf in Acts 26:15-18, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

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Dear worshiper, do you see what the true scripture says?

Your blind eyes need to be opened to see the Messiah.

You must be delivered from the power of Satan unto God.

Ask yourself, why would this same Jesus, who wants us to be

delivered from the power of Satan, tell us to worship Satan?

Please, repent in order to obtain a place among those who are

sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.

Remember God made you in His own image and likeness so that

you would be like Him in fellowship. He didn’t create you to

bow and worship demons and created things.

The Bible says in Acts 17:30 that,

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he com-

mands all people everywhere to repent.”

“For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice

by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all

men by raising Him from the dead.”

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JESUS EVER PRESENT TO SAVE YOU

REPENTANCE PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you are the Son of God.

You are the Messiah come in the flesh to destroy the

works of the devil. You are the Way and the Truth and

the Life; no one comes to God the Father except through

you.

I now confess and repent of all my sins and beg you to

forgive me. I renounce all my idolatrous ways and turn

from abominable traditions and customs of men. Please

cleanse me from all unrighteousness and deceptions.

Lord Jesus, I accept and confess you as my personal

Lord and Saviour.

I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again

from the dead for my salvation. I believe that your blood

cleanses me now from all sins.

Thank you for redeeming me, cleansing me, justifying

me and sanctifying me by your precious blood. Amen.

GROWING IN CHRIST.

Now that you have given your life to Christ, you have

become a true member of His body. You need to “grow

up into Him, who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

From Him the whole body, joined and held together by

every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in

love, as each part does its work”. (Ephesians 4:16)

Please you may write to us for other Christian growth

materials. God keep you and bless you!

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Major Bohyeba Asempatsease

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