“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1, KJV
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29, KJV
“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:38-40, KJV
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.” Matthew 16:1-4, KJV
“And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.” Mark 8:11-12, KJV
“And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven . . . And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.” Luke 11:16, 29-30, KJV
“Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:18-19, KJV
“Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:” Luke 22:67, KJV
“Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” John 4:48, KJV
“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31, KJV
“Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” Matthew 28:11-15, KJV
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” Leviticus 19:15, KJV
“Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.” Deuteronomy 1:17, KJV
“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.” Deuteronomy 16:19, KJV
“Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.” 2 Chronicles 19:7, KJV
“These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.” Proverbs 24:23, KJV
“To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.” Proverbs 28:21, KJV
“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” Acts 10:34, KJV
“For there is no respect of persons with God.” Romans 2:11, KJV
“And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.” Ephesians 6:9, KJV
“But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” Colossians 3:25, KJV
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:” 1 Peter 1:17, KJV
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” James 2:1-9, KJV
In the KJV Bible, the word “sect” is derived from the Koine Greek word “hairesis”. This word is also translated as “heresy” and “heresies”. However, believe it or not, originally, it was not a negative word. According to Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon, it refers to a group of men who adhere to a particular set of political or religious tenets. In the Scriptures, this included the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Christians.
It was only later that the word “sect” was given an evil and dangerous connotation, and was used to defend one’s beliefs and practices against an opposing set of beliefs and practices.
Today Satan — and organized religion — has equated the word “sect” with the word “cult”. Why is this? The fact is that the word “cult” is intentionally used to scare people, and to drive them away from something or somebody. I propose that organized religion does this because it is afraid of losing its power and control over people who choose to worship the Lord and fellowship with other Christians in a smaller, more intimate environment, such as a Home Church.
Think about it, and beware! If you don’t belong to a big, recognized, popular church or denomination, and prefer a Home Church or Home Fellowship, they WILL try to find a way to demonize you, and you WILL be labeled a dangerous cult sooner or later, even if you are not one.
“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,” Acts 5:17, KJV
“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” Acts 15:5, KJV
“For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes . . . But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:” Acts 24:5, 14, KJV
“Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” Acts 26:5, KJV
“But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.” Acts 28:22, KJV
“For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” 1 Corinthians 11:19, KJV
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21, KJV
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1, KJV
