[size=13pt]HERESY[/size]

Have you ever been in a bus where some preachers come so hard by saying "If you perm your hair you will go to hell,if you are a woman wearing trousers,you will go to hell,if you wear earrings,you will end up in hell,if you keep boyfriends and girlfriends.hell awaits you,if you smoke or drink alcohol,hell straight,if you..."

Some times i tend to almost voice out and tell them to preach salvation rather than confuse intending believers thereby driving them away from salvation.

Do you know that many people are in hell today because they were so uncomfortable with giving their life to Christ because they can't imagine themselves not taking alcohol? Do you know that many ladies are in hell today because they felt that it is not just possible for them to stop wearing earrings and since they have been told that earrings wearers are not believers, they simply gave up the zeal to be born again and end up in hell.

this article shall address many issues and many people will discover what exactly translate to sins and what we have as bad habits which are not sinful to GOD if done the right way.

Please if you have a contrary opinion be ar liberty to share but only with vivid quotes from the scriptures and not by mare logic.

So i ask; Is it a sin to smoke,to drink alcohol,to wear jewelries? Is it a sin to self service? for ladies to wear trousers? for women to perm their hairs,use hair attachments or draw tattoos?

I will address these one after the other but whatever i will write on,i would like you all to read this passage from the bible.

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:9-21)

[size=13pt]1.Smoking [/size]

Smoking is not a sin but the question is what do you smoke into your body? If there is something else that is not harmful to your body which is the temple of GOD,if only there is something else to smoke that will not damage your organs then you can smoke your way into the Kingdom of GOD but as long as you smoke in harmful substances that damage your organs or brain then this is regarded as a sinful habit and must be stoped before it takes you to hell.

Toks2008:
Smoking

Smoking is not a sin but the question is what do you smoke into your body? If there is something else that is not harmful to your body which is the temple of GOD,if only there is something else to smoke that will not damage your organs then you can smoke your way into the Kingdom of GOD but as long as you smoke in harmful substances that damage your organs or brain then this is regarded as a sinful habit and must be stoped before it takes you to hell.

Abeg no play reach where our "Claro" dey ooo. . .dem send you

[size=13pt]2.Alcohol intake [/size]

Alcohol intake is not a sin at all but drunkenness is a sin. Some people can take two bottles of beer without getting stupid while some people will take just a glass and get tipsy.

The problem is that how many people can draw the line between moderate intake of alcohol and excessive intake? This is why I will advice you desist from the act totally so that you will not cross the line and end up messing up yourself and allowing the alcohol control you which may lead you to sin.

Although the Bible never says that alcohol itself is sinful, it does say many times that drunkenness is a sin. God says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:6) In fact, there are many verses in the Bible which speak out against drunkenness.

[size=13pt]3.Wearing of jewelries[/size]:


There are two separate verses in the New Testament that, at first glance, appear to teach against wearing jewelry. The first is 1 Pet 3:3 which reads,

“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel…”

The second and very similar verse is 1 Tim 2:9 that says,

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array…”

But are these scriptures forbidding the use of jewelry by Christians?

A number of holiness-based Christian groups have come to that conclusion, but doing so fails to consider the numerous other passages in the Bible that actually appear to endorse the use of jewelry. In fact, many places in the Bible show that God uses jewelry as a blessing to his children.

One of the first passages in the Bible to deal with jewelry is Gen 24:47, 48 which reads,

“And I asked her, and said, whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.”

Here we have a rather tender story of Abraham's servant giving jewelry to Rebekah, who was the woman God had specially chosen for Isaac. The servant then bows his head and worships God. If jewelry were sinful, his offering it as a gift to Rebekah, and then subsequently worshipping God, would be irreverent and inappropriate.

We find another such example in Gen 41:42, which says,

“And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck...”

Joseph was one of the greatest men of the Old Testament, and God blessed him greatly because of his faithfulness. In this verse, we find Joseph accepting jewelry as a gift from Pharaoh. If God forbade jewelry, undoubtedly, Joseph would have rejected this gift.

David, the man said to be after God’s own heart,1 writes in Ps 25:12,

“As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.”

David compares gold earrings to the way an obedient ear accepts wise instruction. Surely if jewelry were a sin, David would never have made a comparison between wise behavior and something that is sinful.

The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isa 61:10,

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Isaiah compares righteousness and salvation to a bride and bridegroom who adorn themselves with jewelry. Would Isaiah compare a sinful activity to the salvation and righteousness of God?

God, through Jeremiah, speaks of jewelry in this way:

“Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.” (Jer 2:32)

God compares forgetting about him to a maid who forgets her jewelry. Again, if jewelry were sinful, God would never have made such a comparison.

In Ezek 16:11-13, God says that he has blessed his children with bracelets, necklaces, earrings, jewels and crowns,

“I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.”

God would not offer his children something sinful as a gift or reward.

Some may argue that God once gave and blessed the use of jewelry, but because of the vanity and disobedience of Israel, he no longer does, which is why it is forbidden in the New Testament. The problem with such an assertion is that it is not taught in the scriptures. In fact, the scriptures contradict such an idea. Luke 15:22 says,

“But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand…”

This verse is from the parable of the Prodigal Son, given by Jesus. Surely, Jesus would not have used a sinful practice as part of his parable.

Considering the overwhelming body of evidence that God not only doesn’t condemn the use of jewelry but has actually given it as a gift to his faithful children, it cannot reasonably be stated that jewelry is a sin. In light of this, let's take another look at the verses used to support the belief that the use of jewelry is forbidden:

[size=13pt]4.Wearing an attachment and covering of the head[/size]

The same scriptures for jewelry wearings also applies here

Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. (1 Peter 3:3-5)

As I quoted in the scripture above, there is no sin at all if you decorate yourself from head to toe with gold but the Bible made us understand that we should not just be concerned about this act but also make sure we enmesh ourselves with GODLY virtues so enjoy wearing your jewelries while keeping in mind the need to uphold GODLY virtues

I always marvel at the taught that wearing an attachment will take you to hell and I honestly have not found one verse in the scripture suggesting this so I don’t really need to waste time on this issue. You can beautify your hair anyway you like and that has got nothing to do with been saved or making heaven.


Concerning the covering of head in church or when praying, many churches are so myopic about this because the very passage in the bible they usually quote stated clearly that the long hair of a woman is a covering to her head and this simply means that if you are a lady with a low cut,it is expedient to cover your head but if you have long hairs i guess that itself is a covering to your head. Lets read this together.

13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, [size=16pt]15but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering[/size]. 16But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. 1 Corinthians 11:13-16

[size=13pt]5.Wearing trousers[/size]

Honestly sometimes I felt like asking these dumb preachers to shut up anytime they utter this nonsense “If you are a woman wearing troussy, you will go to hell” lol! Do you know they usually use that word “troussy”?

Deuteronomy 22:5 says: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.”

Like many of the statutes, this law had to do with pagan customs of the time, and as we will see, does not refer to women wearing pants. The

Does Deuteronomy 22:5 forbid women from wearing pants? No, it doesn’t. In fact, even men in the Middle East through the history of the Old and New Testaments did not wear pants; they wore a robe like garment. However, there is an underlying principle that applies today. Men should dress in an appropriately masculine manner and women should dress in an appropriately feminine manner. Clothing manufacturers make pants designed for men and pants designed for women.

But lets face it,we all know that some women wear trousers in a seductive manner and some wear jeggins as they call it or body tight that reveals their curves provocatively and we don’t need a preacher to tell us this is not right. If you need to wear a tight trousers then wear a top that covers your buttocks so that you wil not cause others to sin and you will also appear decent.

Wearing trouser as a lady in a decent manner is sinless but when you cross the line then you and I know that is a sinful act.

But what if "biblical truth" is all a lie?

Toks2008:
Alcohol intake

Alcohol intake is not a sin at all but drunkenness is a sin. Some people can take two bottles of beer without getting stupid while some people will take just a glass and get tipsy.

The problem is that how many people can draw the line between moderate intake of alcohol and excessive intake? This is why I will advice you desist from the act totally so that you will not cross the line and end up messing up yourself and allowing the alcohol control you which may lead you to sin.

Although the Bible never says that alcohol itself is sinful, it does say many times that drunkenness is a sin. God says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:6) In fact, there are many verses in the Bible which speak out against drunkenness.

I love this so much! So no need to get drunk! Operation soak wella and deny you are drunk.

[size=13pt]6.Polygamy[/size]

Polygamy was not specifically stated as sin in the bible but lets take a look at some Biblical references which to me makes polygamy unacceptable to GOD making it a sin.

In Matt. 19:4 we are told by Jesus that God created one “male and [one] female” and joined them in marriage. Mark 10:6-8:"But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 'and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
The two as one is the pattern on how marriage was to be conducted from the start. NOT three or four as one.

Eve was taken from Adams body and given back to him as his wife (singular) showing God’s approval of what the marriage union is to be like. God always spoke of man's “wife,” as singular, not wives. Notice it also states one father one mother.

It wasn’t until sin made man fall (Gen. 4:23) that polygamy occurs. Cain was cursed, Lamech is a descendent of Cain and the first to practice polygamy. The first time polygamous relationship is found in the Bible is with a thriving rebellious society in sin; when a murderer named “Lamech [a descendant of Cain] took for himself two wives” (Gen.4:19, 23).

The same Godly pattern of one man and one wife is lived by Noah. At the time of the Ark (Gen. 7:7), Noah took his one wife into the ark, all his son’s took one wife; God called Noah’s family righteous and pure. If polygamy were ordained of God, it would have made sense that Noah and his sons would have taken additional wives with them to repopulate the earth faster from the cataclysm.

But if we remove human philosophy,i still maintain that there is no part in the bible that specifically states that polygamy is a sin but i will not advice anyman to indulge in it due to its ugly complexities.

[size=13pt]7.Self servicing[/size]

Self servicing is a rather complex matter.

The Bible is totally silent about this matter but then I always ask; when you masturbate, what do you think about? This is where the complexity sets in.

I really don’t think a single man or woman wil be thinking about a football game or a tractor when self servicing but probably about someone who he or she is not really married to which makes it lusting which translates to sin..

Married people who self service thinking about their hubby or wives may really be practicing a sinless act but I believe it will be unwholesome to self service thinking about an illicit sexual act.

Nevertheless, this subject remains one with strong debate where some believe that as long as actual sexual intercourse is not involved, it is sinless and harmless but this is my take on the matter.

[size=13pt]8.Pornography[/size]

Pornography would have been totally harmless to watch if only we will not lust after one or two characters in the porn scene.

We all know what the Bible says about looking at the opposite sex lustfully and I definitely see this happening whenever we watch pornographic films as we virtually imagine ourselves in the scene and this makes pornography sinful for both actors,actresses and viewers.

THE ONLY WAY OUT

The truth is that most of us believers are guilty of one or more of these sinful acts and we all need the spirit of GOD to perfect our salvation as we strife towards making the heavenly kingdom.

In conclusion, this scriptural verses have said it all in plain English so anything that falls within this is considered sinful.

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:9-21)

With the help of the Holy spirit,our lives will be pleasing to Jehovah. We can not do it on our own.

I pray that GOD grants us the power to fight the battle of faith till we end up in heaven in Jesus name,AMEN!

Ignore them but always behave like Jesus. For Christ is Character.

175:


I love this so much! So no need to get drunk! Operation soak wella and deny you are drunk.

You are on your own.

Toks2008:

You are on your own.

I'm not on my own! I'm with my corked chilled bottles

175:


I'm not on my own! I'm with my corked chilled bottles

The pronlem is that there is a thin line between drinking responsibly and getting drunk and i guess this is why many churches preach outrightly against alcohol.

hmmm. I believe those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

One or two things here may be ordinarily harmless but it all depends on what the Spirit of God says or is saying about them. This is what is most essential for following God.

CaptainJune:
hmmm. I believe those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

One or two things here may be ordinarily harmless but it all depends on what the Spirit of God says or is saying about them. This is what is most essential for following God.

I totally agree but we still need to look into the scriptures first to see a first hand instruction.

Toks2008:


The pronlem is that there is a thin line between drinking responsibly and getting drunk and i guess this is why many churches preach outrightly against alcohol.

Yes! Life is all but a risky venture itself.

175:


Yes! Life is all but a risky venture itself.

You are on your own

Chizzled06:
But what if "biblical truth" is all a lie?

They cant be lies

mr op,you are misleading people..all the above mentioned activities will take you to hell. .you haven't seen any Scripture that kicks against wearing braided hair because u dont read your bible.

Hmmmmm

misreal:
mr op,you are misleading people..all the above mentioned activities will take you to hell. .you haven't seen any Scripture that kicks against wearing braided hair because u dont read your bible.

There are many things i hate but one thing i greatly loathe and that is a very bad IQ.

This is an online forum where we all need to learn from each other not by indulging in beer parlor arguments but highly intellectual one.

Please i don't want any clueless self acclaimed pastor or holier than thou "my pastor said" to berg into this thread to argue the points i listed without any biblical referen(es)

We are not touts or dullards here but individuals willing to learn from the same words in the Bible. Read through my posts and you will see how i explained in details from the very word of GOD so please no one should come here to argue baseless without using bible verses to buttress his/her point.

Hope you all get my drift.

Toks2008:


They cant be lies

Lol you might want to actually learn about the history of the bible. Its authorship, discrepancies, canonization, lost scrolls etc.
If your convictions remain, then I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

Chizzled06:


Lol you might want to actually learn about the history of the bible. Its authorship, discrepancies, canonization, lost scrolls etc.
If your convictions remain, then I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

You are on your own.

Ololanla:
Hmmmmm

Quite revealing i guess.

Many pastors have led many to hell with their false teachings.

I know many ladies that refused to be born again because they said they can not do without earings or troussers and many guys also refuse to give their life to christ because they cant do without a bottle of alcohol a day.

Lalasticlala, this write up is far better than Saraki, APC, PDP, EFCC wahala. Read it and do what u are very good at. Oga na joke ooo!

Mbkite:
Lalasticlala, this write up is far better than Saraki, APC, PDP, EFCC wahala. Read it and do what u are very good at. Oga na joke ooo!

I actually realized that it will sound absurd if all my write ups keep making front page because the truth is that if only threads with rich contents get to the front page then 9 out of every 10 threads i create will be on front page.

Nevertheless this is one thread that i believe should be on the front page so that people can learn the truth right from the bible and also other people can make good inputs.

I tot Emusmith is the moderator of religion section...i guess he should read this and allow more enlightened nairalanders to contribute to it.

Toks2008:


Quite revealing i guess.

Many pastors have led many to hell with their false teachings.

I know many ladies that refused to be born again because they said they can not do without earings or troussers and many guys also refuse to give their life to christ because they cant do without a bottle of alcohol a day.

Please feel free to state it if you have a contrary opinion but must back it up with biblical references so that we all can learn more.

Thanks