GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT MAN’S WAYS

God said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9). The way Israel worshipped God was detestable: “I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind” (Jer. 19:5). This same principle is also stated in the New Testament: “Do not go beyond what is written” (I Cor. 4:6). When God’s leaders presumed to worship in a way God did not command, they were killed (see Lev 10:1-2). They assumed their way was as good as the Lord’s way. Sin is sin even if done in ignorance of what God commanded and the guilty person must repent and seek forgiveness … whether the whole congregation or a single member (Lev 4-5). Furthermore, if a person sees it was not done “in the prescribed way” and “does not speak up he will be held responsible, he must confess his sin and ask forgiveness” (Lev 9:16). Church leaders who do not follow God’s prescribed rules should be openly opposed, not followed. Beware of anyone who scoffs at God’s “rules and regulations!” Think about this when you sprinkle a baby and call it baptism, or strum a guitar or blow a horn in worshiping Almighty God.

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