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“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going
about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be saved.”
St. Paul prayed for the salvation of those who did not want to submit
themselves to the righteousness of God, because they were not amongst
the candidates for salvation. Why? Because they followed only their own
righteousness! That is why, in our service to God, it is imperative that you
set aside your own righteousness. This is, actually, one of Christ’s
admonitions to those who want to serve Him. Luke 9:23 says--
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Did you see the foremost requisite set by Christ if you want to serve Him?
It is self-denial! You have to deny yourself of so many things, you have to
bear your cross daily, and you have to follow Him. That is why service to
God means self-denial. You have to set aside your own beliefs, your own
perceptions, and your own opinions. Such should not prevail in your
service to God. All men have their own thinking; they have their own plans
in life; they have their own priorities; they have their own principles; they
have their own attitudes. But in our service to God, we should not let those
things rule over us. Lamentation 3:35 says—
“To turn aside the right of man before the face of the most High ...”
The Foremost Thing that We Need to Do in Order to be Saved
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the
law.”
That is why, in religion and in our service to God, the very first thing that
we must exercise is not our own caprices. Remember what the prayer
which our Lord Jesus Christ taught us?
It is the will of God that should prevail. And this is also the reason why
when our Lord Jesus was about to suffer, His prayer to the Father was—
“... O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
thy will be done.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is showing us that it should be the will of the Father
that must prevail, and not ours. There is a great danger if what we will do
are only the things that we consider righteous. Proverbs 14:12 says—
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death.”
Therefore, there are things that seem to be righteous for man. Let me give
you an illustration. There was a lady who had three suitors. And one of
them was an expert in employing flattering words. The girl’s parents were
very much against that guy because of his lack of sincerity. But for the
lady, that guy is the most deserving of all her suitors. As a result, after only
The Foremost Thing that We Need to Do in Order to be Saved
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
three months of marriage, she returned to her parents because the guy had
abandoned her.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death.”
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things
are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
There are things which man perceives to be righteous for himself but little
do they realize that they are not righteous for others. Isn’t it that for
others, it is beneficial to steal because in doing so, they are gaining
something? But is it beneficial to those whom they victimize? Real
righteousness is not just righteous to one but to all. It is righteous in the
eyes of God, it is also righteous for others and to oneself. But there are
things which are righteous to oneself only but harmful to others.
For example, let’s say that you are residing in a subdivision, and you
decided to raise hogs. In itself, there is nothing wrong with raising hogs. It
is a way of augmenting the financial needs of a family. In fact, there is no
law that prohibits anybody from raising hogs. Besides, you are not letting
them loiter anywhere. They are kept in a sty, or a pigpen. But, while it is
true that you can contain the pigs in a sty, the fact remains that you cannot
contain the putrid smell of their excrements within your territory. Your
neighbors will surely smell it, and they will definitely complain.
We once built a motor shop. For us, it was a righteous thing because we
could earn money out of it. But for our neighbors, it was annoying because
of the noise that we were producing as we pounded the metals. They
couldn’t sleep. So, we just decided to close the shop.
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things
are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
The Foremost Thing that We Need to Do in Order to be Saved
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
Being humans, we have our own perceptions. And it is very possible that
we think our perceptions are righteous. But St. Paul said, “… I will not be
brought under the power of any.” Whose power was he referring to? The
power of anything which is righteous for him! Because there is an
authority under whom he must submit himself. It is not the power of what
you think is righteous for you. It is neither the righteousness that is
dictated by other people, nor the righteousness that your pastor, nor any
other man, taught you. They are not the measuring sticks of real
righteousness. And bear in mind that, it is only in God’s righteousness that
we could learn real righteousness.
Now let us find out, What is the foremost thing that a man need to become
righteous, and therefore, worthy of salvation? Let us begin with the things
that a man needs to live peacefully, safe from harm, and most of all,
worthy in the sight of God. There are things that we need to understand,
and these are what we are going to study.
Let us evaluate ourselves first. Let us ask ourselves, as humans, what are
the most important things to us? Luke 12:16-18 says—
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying,
What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And
he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and
there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.”
This is the kind of thinking that a man has, especially if he wants to make
himself very rich. He had a bountiful harvest and later he realized that his
barn has become too small for his goods. So, he thought of destroying his
barn, and build bigger one. This only proves that, the bigger the assets that
a person has gained, the greater also is his desire to make it grow much,
much bigger. Never does he think of sharing his excesses to others even if
his barn is already full. Instead, of sharing his extra goods to others, he
decided to build himself a bigger barn, which could accommodate all his
harvests. And what was his next plan? Let us continue Luke 12:19-20 –
“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him,
Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall
those things be, which thou hast provided.”
The rich are not really rich in the eyes of God. What did the man plan to do
now that has plenty of goods in his barn, which could last many years?
Take note, his stock is meant to last, not for just a year, but for many years.
What did he plan to do? Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. What else will he
do but eat and drink? In fact, he can even afford to buy all kinds of drinks,
not just water. He’ll just engage himself in merriment. And all these things
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Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
are not good to his health. What would happen later? God would ask him,
“Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall
those things be, which thou hast provided.”
What is the inevitable ending of this man who thinks of nothing but
merrymaking, eating, and drinking? He is bound to have hypertension and
heart attack. Why? He is no longer doing any physical exertion since he is
always seated in banquet tables. He is always engaged in merrymaking, so,
he does not cry anymore. You know, the uric acid is secreted if we perspire.
The salt in our body stores a lot of water, which is damaging to the heart.
But they could be secreted through perspiration. Whenever a person cries,
the poisonous substances in his body are likewise secreted. That is why
crying is also good to our health.
“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and
that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw,
that it was from the hand of God.”
Foods and drinks come from God. But man acquired them for himself
alone. He feeds himself, but he does not want to feed others. He is
drinking, but he does not want the others to drink also. He is happy, but
does not want to share his happiness with others. While those things came
from God, he is enjoying them all by himself. That is what the Bible said,
"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and
he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour."
Let me ask you. Who among you does not want to eat, and drink, and be
merry? What God said is true. All of us love to eat, to drink, and to be
merry. These are the things that man loves doing. However, that
preference in life will be changed if you decide to follow God. People who
follow God are ready and willing to deprive themselves of food, luxury, and
pleasures. He has learned how to fast. He has learned to deny himself of
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Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
food and all forms of worldly pleasures. A person who has learned to
follow Christ denies himself of all the pleasures of the flesh. Christ said,
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself …” (Mat. 16:24)
You know, that is not easy to do. It is not easy to deny oneself of food,
especially if there is a wide assortment of food around you. But it is not
that hard to deny oneself of food if there is really nothing to eat. You have
no choice but to endure hunger, if that is the case. But it is, indeed, a
remarkable gesture that you are able to fast while in the midst of so many
foods. And that cannot be done by a person without faith.
Eating, drinking, and merrymaking are the things that man wants to do.
He wants nothing but relaxation and pleasure. In addition, man also wants
to satisfy his sexual desires. The rich can afford to change his wife as often
as he wants. He would go to Europe and womanize there. Next, he would
go to Hong Kong to try other women there. These are some of the things
that man desires. And they are all against the will of God. In fact, when our
Lord Jesus Christ preached the word that came from the Father, He said in
Matthew 4:4—
“But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
“Bread” is not all that matters. Man does not live by bread alone. Our Lord
Jesus said that the sustenance of life is not from bread alone. It is “by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
What is lacking in the lives of many people is the word that comes from
the mouth of God. The “word” that many religions follow today did not
come from the mouth of God but from the mouth of the pastors. They live
by the word of their pastor. They practice “love offering” because their
pastor told them so. God did not say it. They make “prayer requests” but
must give donations or contributions. There are no prayers with donation
in the Bible. They also commemorate the “santa cena” or the “holy
supper”, but they also collect contributions from their members. And what
is worse, the members try to outdo each other in terms of the amount that
they shall contribute. This is also but another “word” of the pastor. These
are what many religions practice now, but they are lacking something very
important.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God.” Find out for yourself if the thing you live by is just a
whim of your pastors. Find out if their doctrine that a person can kill for
the sake of his faith is biblical. Christ did not teach anybody to kill for his
faith. A person who has faith will not kill. Roman 12:19 says—
The Foremost Thing that We Need to Do in Order to be Saved
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Those who kill are not of God. And since they are not of God, definitely,
they are of the devil. Those pastors, who give their members a license to
kill, to hurt, and to harm other people, are disciples of the devil. Actually,
there are even religious organizations today that cuddle hoodlums and
killers for hire. Will you say that those people are living by the word of
God? They live by the word of their pastors and ministers. That is why it is
important that we realize that we must not live by bread alone, but by
every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
If we will just seriously consider what the Bible says, we will find out that
most of the things that man likes are all against the will of God. Very often,
man’s preferences concern only the self – eating, drinking, merrymaking,
and pleasure. Basically, man never finds satisfaction. As long as he lives,
he will continually crave for more. His desire for women never ends. Even
if he already had 10 women in his life, he would still look for the eleventh,
or the twelfth. Let us read what the wisest king, who became a preacher of
God, said. Ecclesiastes 1:8 says—
“All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied
with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”
See? “The eye is not satisfied with seeing.” A person watched a movie and
found it beautiful. Before the lights were turned on, a teaser for the next
film was shown. He also found it interesting, so he told himself, “I will
watch it.”
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth
abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where
and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to
abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengthened me.”
But why is it that he who already has one billion wants more billions? He
does not have contentment. For him, money is the most important thing in
life, especially if he does not know God yet. And for us not to be blinded
and misled by the cares of this world, let us consider the admonition of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Luke 21:34 says—
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day
come upon you unawares.”
“The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but
the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.”
A person who has lots of money could not sleep soundly. He keeps on
making an inventory of his riches; he keeps on counting his money. He is
readily alarmed at the slightest movement and the faintest sound, so that
he would immediately get hold of his gun. He does not have any peace of
mind; he hardly sleeps. That is why the life of a laborer is better because he
is able to sleep tightly. Whether he eats little, or he eats more, his sleep is
still sound. But the rich could not fall asleep. Christ’s warning is—
Isn’t it that parents have outlined their plans for their children? They
prioritize their schooling, from elementary to college. Some parents would
even express readiness to die as soon as their children finish school. In
other words, for many parents, their priority is their children’s education.
Actually, there is nothing wrong with giving importance to the children’s
education. But we would be able to realize that such should not be our
primary concern in life if we would learn God’s righteousness.
There are those whose ultimate concern is to build a house for their family.
And once it is accomplished, they also express willingness to die. Other
people, on the other hand, express their readiness to die right after
shaking the hands of their acknowledged “messenger of God.”
Apparently, most of the things that they consider important in life do not
have any biblical significance. Seldom will you meet people who would say
that they are ready to die after they had served God. God should be our top
priority. If you want a peaceful life, if you want a life that is filled with
hope, if you want to be spared from all sorts of wickedness, let us consider
what God prescribed to be our major aspiration in life. And what should
our primary goal be? Matthew 6:33 says—
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Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.”
What should we seek first? We should seek first the kingdom and the
righteousness of God. It should be our primary goal. But it is just
unfortunate that, to many people, this is what is lacking – God’s
righteousness. Let us not trouble ourselves with matters which are not at
hand yet. God will take care of these. Matthew 6:31 says,
“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father
knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Behold the fowls of the air: for they saw not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they?
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.”
The things that are added are but a surplus. They are not what mattered
most. To whom such things are added is the more important one. Those
things will be added to you if you already have righteousness, and if you
already found the Kingdom of God. “Seek ye first the kingdom and the
righteousness of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” What
should we have to seek first? We should seek first the kingdom and the
righteousness of God. That should also be the first thing that you ought to
teach to your children before you send them to school. Teach them how to
pray. Before eating, let them pray, “Thank you Lord for the food you’ve
given us. I thank you in the name of Jesus.” Before going to bed at night,
let them pray, “Lord, please take care of us this evening. Protect us from all
harms. Thank you in the name of Jesus.” If you teach them how to pray,
before they reach the age of 5 or 6, before they go to school, they already
know God. Don’t forget, “Seek ye first the kingdom and righteousness of
God.”
But this is what many have forgotten. Seeking God’s righteousness has
become the last of their priorities. Their top priority is to earn money, to
study, to earn a degree, to get married, and to raise a family. For many,
marriage is the fulfillment of everything, as though a person is not fulfilled
if he is not married. No wonder they, indeed, spend time and money in
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Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
I know of a very rich man who, after reaching past his prime, he has
remained a bachelor because he was looking for a beautiful wife. But
finally, he found one who was then working in a dress shop. He told her to
resign from her work; he gave her everything that she and her family
needed. Then, he married her. However, on their second day of marriage,
he returned her to her parents because she was without a sex organ. Why
do you think did it happen to him? It is because he gave greater
importance to matters of this world only. He did not seek God first.
Put God on top of your list of priorities, and He sees that you are really in
need of a wife, He’ll give you one. Look at Adam. He did not ask for a wife,
but God gave him Eve. He simply slept, and when he woke up, Eve was
already there. He did not look for her. God gave him Eve. As written in
Proverbs 19:14 says—
“House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is
from the LORD.”
Where does a prudent wife come from? from cabarets? No! from a beauty
contest? No! Was she chosen by your parents for you? Was she given to
you in exchange of a dowry? Did your parents and her parents pre-
arranged your marriage? What God says is clear—
“House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is
from the LORD.”
Seek God first – His righteousness and His kingdom. And everything that
you need shall be added to you. God is a God who cannot lie. He will surely
fulfill his promise. He will not break His word. So, why are you
apprehensive that He will not fulfill His promise? Make Him your first.
More than anything else, you have to seek first God’s righteousness, and
not your pastor’s. Unfortunately, many consider only their pastor’s
righteousness, and set aside God’s. But the admonition is clear—
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.”
What is our basis that we, indeed, have to seek for God first? Matthew
22:37-38 says—
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment.”
Will there be anything more important than that? None! “Thou shalt
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Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Therefore, it is not
your wife that you ought to love with all your heart. It’s not your parents
either. And it’s neither your children, nor your siblings, nor your friends,
but GOD.