When God Comes Man's Religion Must Go — Mose Stoltzfus

Bring greetings tonight in the worthy name of the Lord Jesus. I appreciate to see so many visitors that have come with an interest in worshiping and sitting under the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ again tonight.

I appreciate it so much that Brother Laverne gave the proper introduction of what these meetings are about. And I would like to echo a hearty Amen to that. We are not here to glorify or lift up men or a man, but the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you're followers of me and me alone, you might do all right as long as I'm right next to you. But if I go home, I'm not going to be here, and I know you're going to need somebody else to be next to.

And I recommend the Lord Jesus Christ to live inside, not just next to you, but inside your heart. Well tonight, I'd like to speak another message on the series that we've had this week, When God Comes.

When Man's Religion Must Go

When God Comes. My subtitle tonight is, Men's Religion Has to Go. Men's religion has to go. Now, I suppose by now you've already got me figured out. And I am not here to capitalize on a specific or particular religion tonight.

But I do not apologize for the fact that I come from a very unique and different background. My background is Oroamish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. But what is so unique about it is that I come from the strictest sect in that county by my background.

My grandfather was one of the strictest and most loyal and religious men that I knew lived. My father, when I was a boy, he began to search knowing that something was missing in his own life. He had a smoking habit for one that was burdensome to him and he had gotten into it just because he thought that's the way you do, you know.

But as time went on, and I was maybe 10, 11 years old, we were living in a community where there was just a little bit more freedom. Even though my father had come from that background, he brought us up with a quite a degree of openness and we began to get some literature into our house and my father dared in my young years to go hear an evangelist preach.

Happens to be the one who compiled the songbook that you have on your laps there or on your seats, George R. Brunk. He went to hear him in the great revival of the 50s in Lancaster County one night, I believe is all he went.

And then he had another opportunity to go hear him sometime later and that tipped his view concerning meetings like this. By the time I was 15 years of age, I came upon one of the greatest privileges that a thousand Amish boys never, never have in our vicinity.

A revival meeting came into the area. My father again had read the writings of this evangelist and had a desire to go. But strangely, he had changed so much in his desire for God and for good that he did not want his boys to go into the Amish young people and not experience or not know about Jesus Christ.

And so he was bold enough that night as an Amish father, totally taboo. His grandfather would have been terribly upset, my grandfather, if he'd have known it. He decided to go to that meeting and he invited me.

I was the second of the oldest and my oldest brother was 16 and a half or so to go along. Well, my oldest brother was already in the youth group and because of the peer pressure and the ridicule that he knew he would face, he opted not to go.

But I was as hungry as a bear for truth. I don't know what put it into me other than God, but I wanted to know the truth. I was a curious sort of fellow and I had to know who was right and what was right.

I was depressed at that time. I was living in sin. The burden of sin was at times heavy upon my back. But I had the privilege to go with my father at 15 years of age to a revival meeting. That's all it took.

One night, I sat down and heard the gospel preached in a language I could understand that made sense, that wasn't sing-songy, that rocked everybody to sleep. And I took absolutely earnest heed to about every word that came out of that man's mouth.

Now, remember, it was totally new to me, but that night I was too timid and too much of a stranger to respond to the invitation that was given to come forward and accept the Lord as my Savior. I kind of would have wanted to, but I just couldn't do it.

I was a total stranger in that building about. I had met a few young boys at another place one Sunday and I sat beside them for a little bit of acquaintance and they were kind to me and shared their Bible with me.

I didn't carry one and they carried one, I think. But I went home that night and knelt beside my bed and I cried out to God with all that was within my heart. And no one to help me, at least that I knew would have helped me, but there would have been if I'd have asked at those meetings.

But I, because I didn't dare do that, I did it on my own and God had mercy on me and saved my soul. He saved my soul. For over 40 years now, totally changed the direction of my life that night in one swipe.

I had aspirations of going with the youth group. I was hoping I wouldn't fall into the drunken debauchery of many. But I still had my worldly drive and thrust. But that one night changed my vision and my view and I had no more desire.

Already making friends, I cut them off like a stone and desired others from that night forth. But I want to tell you tonight that in my father's searching in those early years, he taught me something that tipped me off concerning religion in the right direction.

He told me that the Amish people reminded him so much of the Jews and the Catholics. And I knew that the Catholics for a little bit of what they were and that they were the persecutors of the Anabaptist people in medieval times and through the Anabaptist times.

And I began to watch that statement and think upon it and consider how much truth there was in that statement. And a lot of the things that I'm going to tell you tonight in that when God comes, when God comes, man's religion has to go.

True Religion and the Difference Between Faith and Works

Now, I know the Bible talks about true religion, none defiled before God is this, to visit the fatherless and the witless in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. And that's right.

There is a true religion. And I realize that a light use of the word, a lot of people would say, we've got religion here tonight. And I understand what they mean. But for the most part, the word religion is wrong.

It has to do with dead religion, man's religion. And it's so dangerous. I just like to bear my heart tonight on how dangerous it is. And like I say, I don't want to single out a given group, although you'll notice in my message that I will reflect a bit on my own experience.

But as time has gone on, I have been able to watch that statement and I've forgotten a lot about Jews and Catholics and Amish. But I have seen this in many, many other facets. Tonight, the Pope in the Vatican is courting the Muslim religion, one billion Muslims, and trying to bring them into unity with the Catholic Church.

And I tell you, if I may be a prophet tonight, he's going to get it done. That is unthinkable that a group of billion people who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, other than that he was just an earthly born man who had done a few good deeds, who believe in Allah, who is not God, he is the sun god.

There's a lot of people confused over that. They think that that's the name for their name of the true God. But it's not. Allah is the sun god. And they worship him with their faces toward Mecca. They have an incredible religion today, just like all the rest that we're talking about.

If a devoted Muslim is driving down the interstate and it's time to pray, he'll stop that car, get out his rug, put it beside the pavement and kneel down with his face toward Mecca and do his daily prayers five times a day.

He rises at five o 'clock in the morning to the call for prayer. And gets over there in a certain place again with his face toward Mecca and he bows in prayer. And I have found over the years that there is tremendous similarity in all the major religions of the world.

Tremendous similarity. And the reason for that is because by and large they believe, do and you'll be saved. Do and you'll inherit the earth. Do and you'll go to heaven. Do and you'll be okay in the next life or be translated into something better somewhere along the way.

But none of them recognize the fact that it's done and I believe in it and I'm saved. And that typifies or illustrates the great difference between the religions of this world and the belief of Jesus Christ and Him crucified on Calvary's cross for the redemption of mankind.

The Leaven of the Pharisees

Now let us turn for a scripture tonight to Luke chapter 12, verse 1 through verse 3. In the meantime when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people insomuch that they truth one upon another.

He began to say unto the disciples, first of all, beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known.

Therefore, whosoever ye whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light. And that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. What I want to capitalize on and draw out of these three verses is the word, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

Now, the Bible describes a bit about leaven and talks about the leaven of malice and wickedness. It talks about the leaven of hypocrisy. It talks to us about how a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

And if we'd have time to go into the Old Testament, we would be able to tell you crystal clear that leaven is a type of sin. It's a type of sin in the lives of people. And if sin gets into a man's life or gets into a church or gets into a society and is not speedily dealt with, as I said last night, then it will permeate the entire body.

It will find its way through and draw like leaven does through dough, bread dough, through the whole lump. And therefore, we recognize what he was talking about. Now, I'm not here today to put all of my emphasis on the Pharisees.

Even though that I will probably speak more specifically to the leaven of the Pharisees tonight, I also want to make known that we also have the leaven of the Sadducees. We had the Pharisees were the strict ones and the Sadducees were the loose and liberal ones.

They were both wrong and they were both against Christ and they both helped to crucify Christ. And tonight, it doesn't matter which side of the ditch you may happen to be. On the liberal ditch or on the ultra-conservative and legalistic ditch.

You're not in the right place and you're not on the road. The road is somewhere in between there. That is, understands the grace of God and the power of God. And that does not put merits on human works or human appearance as far as on getting to heaven.

But is washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and him crucified and puts their merit in the shed blood that atoned for men's sins. All right, but we are to beware of this leaven of hypocrisy. The leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Now, the word hypocrite means a stage actor. I don't know if you ever knew that or not, but all those folks out there in Hollywood that make a profession of this, of being an actor, they are hypocrites.

They are acting the part of another. They are not that individual, but they'll act out a Abe Lincoln or act out a Western cowboy of some kind who was a celebrity 150 years ago, or they'll act out a king or a queen or somebody else.

And that makes them, in the Greek word, it's hypocritos, which means an actor. They are a stage actor. It also means pretending. Someone who pretends to be religious. Someone who pretends to be a Christian pretends to be all right.

But in their heart, they are miles away. And I have been amazed over the years, even though I am not a moviegoer or a film watcher, but I understand that there are biblical films made, and I've read about them, like Ben-Hur and Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles and Peter, James and John and some of these religious movies, and are played by these hypocrites.

And they play Jesus Christ and they play Peter, James and John, and they play Moses and they play Joshua and men like that. And these men can do this from morning till night for months, you know, and go through that whole biblical story and seemingly be totally unaffected by it.

And that's because they put themselves into a stage of a pretense there, and nothing in it in their heart. And not only that, hypocrites usually have a numb heart, and they have made themselves numb. I understand that those who get to live, not too many do, but a few who get to live to be 70 years old are so deranged sometimes that they don't know who they are.

They have played the part of so many people that they don't know who they are themselves anymore. So it's a dangerous work. It also refers to paper or counterfeit money. Hypocrite is paper or counterfeit money.

Or we would also say someone who lives a double life, a double life. Now they tell me that in persecution, there are a few hypocrites. That has a way of purging it out. If you have to suffer for your actions, then that usually purges a lot of the hypocrisy out.

I don't know, maybe that's what God needs to bring us today, to do some of that today. And I would suppose I could also say if the one billion Catholics, and now you know the word EJECT, I don't know if you know that word, Evangelical Jews and Catholics together.

So the Evangelical world is united with the Catholics, and the Muslim world is uniting with the Catholics. And you will probably have about three billion people on your hands that will unite on that. And that is the makeup, I believe with all my heart, on the one world religion.

And after that all gets united, I don't suppose there'll be much mercy for the rest of us who take a different path altogether than religion. But I want to tell you today again, if you're going to be amongst the group where God comes, where God sits, and where God rules and reigns in the hearts of people, you will not join that thing.

Absolutely not. I'll be bold enough to say if you do, it'll probably kill you spiritually. Because of its ecumenical effect that it will have to take you away from truth and right, and have you compromise with false religion and false doctrine.

Matthew 23 and the Exposure of Religious Hypocrisy

All right, let us turn to Matthew 23. I know that this is a hard chapter, but I want to show you some similarities of what will come out of a people when God comes, or what the type of religion that gets exposed and has to be rooted out of our hearts and lives.

When God comes, man's religion has to go. That's the title of my message here tonight. And in the 23rd chapter, Jesus Christ exposed this whole matter of hypocrisy in such a real way. And it is not only applicable, I find as I read across it, it is not at all only applicable to the Jews.

It is applicable to many, many groups. And there are many groups represented here tonight by background and even by present attendance perhaps. And I don't want you to get your focus tonight on whether what I am saying refers to the Catholics over there in the Vatican or over there in Chicago or somewhere else, or refers to the Amish in Allen County and point your fingers at them.

I will say this, however, that if the shoe fits, wear it. If the shoe fits, wear it. But what I want you to do tonight is to examine whether you have religion or whether you have had an encounter with the living God.

And in between there is a vast difference. And I want to exemplify that difference tonight and emphasize it and help you to take it apart a bit so that you can understand when the evening gets over whether you have religion or whether you have Jesus Christ.

Whether you have a system or whether you have a person, a living person. Whether you have a code of ethics or whether you have a power in your life that is able to help you overcome sin and overcome the old human nature.

Whether you have just a... You have been born into a certain system and a certain religion. You have been tried to keep loyal to it and all of that. But you have never had an encounter with the living Christ of Nazareth who is able to save his people from their sins.

And as I said in Romans 6 .11, that sin shall not have dominion over them. And that's the greatest freedom, as Brother Laverne already alluded to in his devotion. The first point, and I wish I could read this entire chapter, but I'm going to have to, for the sake of time, not do that here.

Religious Profession Without Obedience

I have a number of things in my heart that I would like to unburden myself again tonight. But the first thing we notice, if you scan over the chapter, you will find bits and pieces of what I'm going to say here.

I'm hoping that you will take the time to sit down and to read them specifically, these verses, and see where you're at with them. That's my hope and my prayer tonight. I don't have the time to do all of that.

But the first point that you will notice that religion, men's religion, will do is that they will say and do not. They will make a profession that they are holy men. And if I could take you to the Vatican just as an example, that's exactly the way it is there.

You would see men walk straight in all their royal robes of Catholicism with all the right colors on and everything. And they would act just as pious as can be. Nobody laughs and nobody smiles. And everybody stands as straight as an arrow in the right place and knows exactly how to hold their hands and everything.

They will say and they will tell you what to do and what not to do and where to go and where not to go. But when it comes to behind the scenes, all you have to do is be acquainted with the newspapers of America a little bit and you will know what the terrible debauchery that is coming out, that has been happening in the priesthood for years and for generations.

And not only that, if you have read the books concerning, back in medieval history, how the cesspools of children's bones have been unearthed and uncovered because of the illegitimate birth that took place between priests and nuns, you will know that the recent dilemma that is upon that church is not recent, but has stood for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Immoral debauchery, they say, but they will not do it themselves for the most part. They are hypocrites. They make a profession of religion, but it is man's religion and it is not right. And we find the same thing in many Anabaptist groups likewise.

And we find the same thing in many charismatic groups the same way. You know the exposure that has taken place in the recent decade of great men of God, supposedly evangelists and great preachers, who drew tens of thousands of people together and preached to them only to live in secret debauchery behind the scenes.

Once again, they say and do not. They have a profession of religion, but no reality in their hearts. And the Bible says when God comes, the man's religion, the commandments and doctrines of men have to go.

And man has to be real and transparency. One of the marks of revival, my dear people, is a transparency of heart and life. And when God comes, that's what you'll have. Their walk is different here. When they say and do not, you will notice that their walk is different from their talk.

Great, swelling words while they talk about praying hours a day and being up in a tower and seeing a 900 foot tall Jesus, having signs and wonders galore, healings insurmountable, unbelievable, cancers and blind people and what have you.

Some are even claiming resurrections from the dead. But I tell you, I have yet to meet one blind person that was born blind or was stone blind that they made their eyes to see and I have yet to meet a person who I know was dead four days and stank and got raised from the dead.

I'm not saying there are none in some faraway country that God has chosen to do a miracle like that. But I know with all this false claim, I want to see it. I want to touch Him. I want to talk to Him because there are so many signs and wonders that are not genuine today.

The man's religion, and it is for the most part what I am picking up, hypocrisy. It's hypocrisy. The next point that I have, excuse me, I have another one on that, say and do not. We notice also that in Matthew chapter 23, it says that they bind, excuse me, yes, in verse 4, it says they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born.

Grievous to be born. Some of you remember of reading some of Christmas Carol Kaufman's books, perhaps over the years, they were pretty popular in many of the local Christian bookstores. But you remember how in the Not Regina book there, I remember as my father read that book to us as we were just children about 50 years ago, and I remember how they were so fearful of owning a Bible that they took it out of fear and buried it into the garden out back.

I remember that. And one of the things that this man fear has such an incredible grip upon people. And I have watched that through the years. I watched that through the years in my recent work with a lot of religious people in Manitoba and South Dakota and various places like that.

And the fear of man is at such an incredible level that you cannot imagine that such control is put upon a people that are just simply common people, but they are put there by the fear of the leaders.

And you know what? I've worked with the leaders too, and I find out that they are in fear of each other likewise. And I realized tonight this tent should probably be packed to the walls all over and beyond.

But because of that one thing, the fear of men and the fear of the preachers and the fear of their authorities, men will not come to a meeting even when they would like to. That's the way it was. That's the way it was in the Jewish times.

That's exactly the way. Not only did the Catholics operate that way in medieval times, but here this was spoken to the Jews. They are binding heavy burdens upon people that are grievous to be born. Again, lay themselves on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Religious Leaders Who Impose Burdens on Others

You know, this is incredible. Some of the things we see is so absolutely incredible. I meet people sometimes. I met people from Wisconsin here some time ago. And I remember my father when I was a boy, he always said haymaking time was the hardest work of the farm when they had to load loose hay by a hay loader.

But you know that leaders will make men load that hay loose with a hay loader like that and haul it on a wagon into the barn hill of their barn and then fork it by hand through a baler in order to bale it because it is a sin to take that baler with wheels on it through the field and pick up the hay itself.

And men work themselves skinny just simply because some leader is putting grievous things on them to be born, and yet he's probably 65 years old and won't lift one of them with one of his fingers. That's wrong.

That's wrong. And it is hypocrisy to live like that and to submit to those kind of things. One of the greatest things about the Lord Jesus Christ is that He gives liberty to the captives and His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

It is not heavy and hard to be borne and difficult to live by. He does not put standards upon us that are so thick, a standard book that's so thick and so difficult that we hardly know how to get it all done.

Special Clothing and Outward Religious Appearance

The next one we notice is that they wear special clothing. The Bible says, but their works they do, in verse 5, to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments.

They wear special clothing. You can go to the sea and visit the Muslim clerics. You can go to the Vatican and watch them or to any local Catholic church and watch them or you can go to the local Amish church and you'll see the same everywhere.

People of prominence and leadership are wearing special clothing. Over the years, true Christianity has been known by wearing in Europe and through the ages. When true Christianity shows up, people can wear simple peasant clothing that are modest and cover their body and be Christians.

But as soon as you get into these groups and cults, you have to wear special clothing and that is a mark of hypocrisy. I'm not against modesty. Those of you who know me know that I'm an earnest contender for it and I'm not interested in the fashions of the world.

Not for a minute. But I'm also not interested in religion requiring a uniform, special, weird clothing that cannot be identified as Christian, but only as weird. I think that's wrong and again, it's hypocrisy.

And I've also found out whether it be Jews, Gentiles, Catholics or whatever, you know, it is amazing as you notice with these priests that I was talking about, what hides behind that facade of religion.

That show of sobriety. And it's interesting to me, it's just incredibly interesting to me that for the most part, religions like that will choose the color black. Isn't that interesting? That's the witch's color incidentally, not God's color.

That's the witch's color. But they will require the color black to hide their sin behind and their hypocrisy behind. And I have found it is incredibly amazing in any of these groups I have mentioned hithertofore of what can hide behind beards and clothing, whether it be Orthodox or whatever, or even thousand dollar suits on the charismatic front.

But usually what you will see is that there will be an extreme emphasis put on the outside, on clothing. And they do not see the principle of modesty. The other thing I have seen, just if I can say this concerning the head covering, for the most part, you know, people, tourists come driving through these communities and they ask these young ladies, well, why do you cover your head?

And they say, because the church makes us do it. That's the only answer they have. Not a clue that this is in the Word of God and it's a commandment in Scripture. Number three, they sound the trumpet.

Religious Titles, Honor, and Special Seats

Well, it says also in verse six, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues. That's another thing to watch when the elders and the preachers are lifted up so high in the midst of the group that they have one of those special big armchairs up front beside the pulpit in order to sit in before the service starts.

And in every other way, they have their special room or their special place and their special way that they're being handled. And you know, most of these preachers are teaching, I find out. It's amazing how far this goes that a preacher, in order to retain his austere framework, you know, and his influence, yes, influence among the people, he needs to keep aloof from the common man so you don't get socially attached to the people, so that when you walk in there on Sunday morning, there's an austere reverence for the man when he walks in.

So he has to keep himself aloof. Like up in the Hutterite colonies, you know, he doesn't eat with the rest of the people. He eats privately in his own little house, you know, and the rest of them eat at a common table, but the preacher doesn't eat with the people.

He doesn't socialize there, so when he comes on the scene, you know, everybody kind of, oh, there comes the preacher. He's not a man who mingles with the people. That is also part of this thing that you will find spoken of in Matthew 23.

They love these special seats in the synagogues and the rooms at the feasts. And then, of course, what goes with that in verse 7 is they love the greetings of the marketplace. And whether that be a reverend or bishop or rabbi and really love those words and those names and be addressed by those particular words, that's also part of it.

So the fourth point simply is that he loves titles, honor and respect of men. The example of Jesus, if I can take you over to him, is totally different than that. Jesus was a common man. He didn't even, not just socialize with his members or with his twelve apostles, he sat with sinners and shared a hamburger with them.

No problem with him because he wanted to get down where they were and minister to the needs of people. And you have a great difference here when you have the religious elites in these societies, in these systems.

They won't do that. They won't make themselves... They won't sit halfway back in the church house and just sit there among the brethren. But they always have their special seat in which they sit in. The highest seat in the church.

But Jesus was a nobody. And I want to tell you, he was born in Bethlehem. He was born in a slum town. A slum town. He chose that on purpose because he on purpose wanted to cut across the greens of this entire Jewish system and show himself to be a humble and lowly man of Nazareth.

He has become through the years a drunkard's curse and a bastard, an illegitimate child. And God knew that He would be accused of that when He mapped out His birth and ordered His birth in the way that He did.

But He did it anyhow and let the people talk and hiss and accuse. Why? Because His men are humble men and they bear a cross and they don't care what the people say. They only know what's true. And what's right.

Major Sins Hidden Beneath Minor Religious Rules

And they stick to it. My next point is that He strains at gnats and swallows camels. A religious person strains at gnats and swallows camels. I don't care which one of these groups you choose. Pick any one of them at random and watch them if they do that.

If you're a member of a church like that and they do that, you watch them. But they will emphasize and lift up and spend hours of discussion on the most minutest little thing. And the major issues of the heart are never talked about hardly.

If that happens, you better look for another one to go to somewhere or pray that God would bring a revival in the one you're at. One or the other. But that is what they do. I remember years ago, some years ago, and I'm sure it's happening.

I'm sure it's happening in this community here this week. It happens everywhere we have revival meetings. It happens everywhere. Just everywhere about. And that is, they'll sit in a living room and they'll be watching television and smoking cigarettes and they're telling their children, don't you go to those tent meetings.

They'll deceive you. Imagine. Or else they are an angry person. They can't control their tongue. They rail and carry on and fume and fuss and say all kinds of unkind words in a heated, angry manner. And yet, well, don't want you or perhaps they're into pornography or into lust and they cannot control it and all that.

But you let one of their children want to go to those meetings over there in Holland Park at that tent and they are furious. It happens all the time. It's not unique for Holland Park. I'm used to that.

But I want to tell you, it's hypocrisy. And God's going to judge it. That is not right. When their own lives are such a mess and yet, and you know, as we go down through Matthew chapter 23, this thing gets worse.

Not better, as the Lord Jesus centers in on this thing. Strains at Nats and swallows Camel. I've seen them with restrictions and members meetings and what have you concerning telephones or electric or whether you have steel wheels on your tractors.

I remember the law was so heavy in the state of New York and the townships were so against it that it made every man, when he had fields and across the road, he had to stop at the edge of the road and roll out rubber belts on the road in order to drive his steel wheel tractor across.

And then he had to roll them up again when he took the load of manure out on a winter morning so that the cars wouldn't hit him. And then when he came back again, he had to roll these rubber belts out across the road again and bring his steel wheel tractor across and then he would go back to his barn.

And yet in those same settings, if you would have a Bible study or a prayer meeting, there would be a members meeting pronto and people would be upset and out of sorts because of it. I say they're hypocrites.

They're hypocrites. I believe that is a thermometer for all of us. How much of a joy, and you go back again to what I mentioned concerning the book Not Regina or the Catholic Church in the medieval times, when they did not want their people to read a Bible.

And it was that way for the most part 40, 50 years ago. Don't read your Bible. And a mass was said in Latin so that the people could not catch on much. And I believe that that's some of the reason that there's a different language used sometimes in church.

Of course, some of it is because it's a mother tongue. But at the same time, they don't care at all that the people can't really understand what they're reading, because you see, they're afraid it'll go to your head or that you might read so much that you might learn more than the preacher knows and then they're in trouble.

And that happened to me when I was about 16 or 15 years of age and I got born again. My grandfather noticed there was something different about me. He sat me down one Sunday night and he said, you're reading too much.