Religion is the largest prohibition in understanding and knowing the teachings of Jesus.
Getting to know God is available to anyone who can read the Gospels or hear the truth of Gospels recited.
The choice made after reading the word of God is up to the student.  That choice is the greatest love God can give.
I'm not sure that students understand the enormity of love bestowed on one to choose after knowing the Word of God.
That lack of understanding is delivered largely by those claiming to be religious and professing to be teachers.

For two years we have set our focus on observing TV Ministries.  Some are extremely worthwhile in edifying the word of God
while others are nothing more than opportunists looking to make a pay check selling answers to the mysteries of the Most High God.
Lately because of our current economic conditions there are many that promise the blessings of wealth for a love gift of some sort
for instruction manuals on how to deliver yourself to God's wisdom and need to favor you in His glorious kingdom of wealth and riches.

We watch these ministries for our own benefit.  By studying them we know the things to avoid in building our own ministry.

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:  because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,  that thou shall be no priest
to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.


Even as this scripture is Old Testament Prophesy the truth of it applies in the new covenant that Jesus made with God's Children in
His life's sacrifice.

Before Jesus' end He left us with two commandments.

Honor and Love the Father God
and love each other as He loved us.

In the fist commandment which Jesus called the Greatest Commandment  He covered the legal aspects of the ten commandments.
In the second commandment He covered the civil applications of the ten commandments.  Jesus taught us by example the ease of maintaining
the impossibility to be perfect in the Law of Moses.  He did so by forgiving those who killed Him.  He also simplified the old covenant that Moses had with God.

Before Christ's passionate work at the cross, men lived under the curse of the law.  Sacrifices needed to be made for cleansing of sin.
Jesus Himself was the last sacrifice needed to be made for Man's sin and now we live under the Grace of God.
Before Jesus ascended onto the throne at the right hand of God He said that the Great Helper could not come until He left.

Since the early years of Christians till today the freedom within the Gospels evolved to a time when men formed this great country of America.
In all the notes of the founders the delivery of our constitution came by blessings of God for having an intimate relationship with God.
Today our society would like to ignore that fundamental truth.

For all the study of ministries I have observed I can see how a nonbeliever would think that Christians are crazy, or haters, even theifs.
I see the same hypocrisy as they do.

The new testament supports Hosea 4:6 in Matthew 7: 20-23.
Jesus speaks saying that for many in judgement he will not know them or testify for them before God even when they offer up their
accounting of service to God.

Today's Christians in group-think are much like the Pharisees and Sadducees that delivered Jesus to the cross.
People seeking the truth of God are so offended by the protocols of church membership that they never get a chance to discuss or even hear
the message Jesus delivered.

Church can be a bitter pill for many to swallow.  Because of that reality most choose not to examine the desire to know God.
There is a special place for those that lead away from or deny access to God's kingdom and Jesus called it the Outer Darkness.
The unfortunate result of this limitation is for the folks who know God, but don't know Him.

What I mean to say is that for those that are condemned by their own consciousness and carry around shameful guilt they will forever live under the curse of the Law and not know freedom of God's Grace.

Are Pastors and Ministers justified as teachers?  Of course they are in God's wisdom.  The bible is a thought provoking book and it does need discussion and elaboration for context of individual's living.  For the newly redeemed soul, milk of the Gospels is to be fed in fortifying their faith and service.  As they mature they are introduced to the curse of the law under Moses into partaking of meat for their faith development.  Religion demands that the laws of Moses be the duty of believers rather than getting to know Jesus.

And this is why so many folks hate religion.  That is also why we are called to bring forth Religion Free Ministry.

Peace

MH Petry