In todays world if you are seeking God it is easy to be lead astray by all the different religions. You have Mormons and Jehovah witnesses knocking at your door. You have a choice from Buddhists, Muslims, Hindu’s and a variety of Christian sects all preaching that they have the correct way to God. So which one is right? Can they all be correct? How are you supposed to figure it all out and make the right choice?
I believe if you take a close look at mankind and a closer look at yourself you will see that mankind is in desperate need of a savior to save us from ourselves and all the sins that we have committed during our lifetime. If you can picture a place right now where there isn’t any greed, hatred, lust, envy, self-centeredness, murder, and lying how do you fit in? Would you be permitted to enter a place such as this? I know I certainly don’t qualify. The Bible says that there is only one name under heaven by which man can be saved. We read this in Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The only religion that deals with man’s sin is Christianity. The only religion that explains why the world is constantly in turmoil is Christianity. The only religion that tells us the future hundreds of years before it actually happens is Christianity! (Case in point read Isaiah 53 written about 750 before Christ.) In the Bible God says that He will tell you the future long before it happens so when it does happen you will know that He is God. One of the verses we can see this is in Isaiah 46:9-10, “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”It is for these reasons I choose Christianity.
Which Christian religion should you chose? How can you make a decision with so many choices. The way to narrow the playing field is to ask your church “who is Jesus?” The Mormons believe that Jesus is Satan’s brother which would make Jesus a high ranking archangel. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus is an archangel like Michael.
The problem with these beliefs is only God can forgive sins. An archangel cannot save you from your sins. Even the Pharisees knew this. We read this in Luke 5:21 “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” We also know that the Bible teaches that Jesus created this universe and as God has the power to forgive sins. One of the many verses we can see this is in Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
We can also see this in Matthew 9:6 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” If your church believes something other than Jesus is the Son of God and has the power to forgive sins then you need to find another church because any other belief can’t save you from your sins and total destruction. Correctly knowing who Jesus is is essential for salvation as we can see in this next verse John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
The Bible says that there is a God of Love and a god of hate. We know by Bible prophecy that the god of hate is currently in control of this planet and has a short time left to rule this world. The God of love has already won the war against the powers of darkness (Jesus dying on the cross) and will soon come back to claim His rightful place as King of Kings. Before this happens we know that it is going to get much worse before it gets better. We can see this in Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
How do we identify who’s who in this spiritual battle of good vs evil. In the Bible we find a spiritual law that will show us how to identify the players. This law is found in Matthew 7:17-18 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” It’s very important to pay attention to what they do and not what they say. Anybody can claim to be a person of God but that doesn’t mean they really are. Anybody can claim to be doing God’s will and if they are killing their fellow man (who is made in God’s image) which God are they really serving? Are they serving the God Of love or the god of hate?
We can also see this law applied in John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Last week (November 2015) San Bernardino had a husband and wife Muslim team kill fourteen people and wound another twenty-two people. The TV crews were interviewing a lawyer who was representing the family of the deceased gunmen. The lawyer asked the question “why do the news stations brand the Muslims “religious terrorists” and when a Christian kills people in an abortion clinic they call them a religious fanatic?”
The answer is that when a Christian kills people no matter who they are the so called Christian is going against what he was taught in the Bible and going against God’s will. (turn the other cheek, love your neighbor, do not murder,etc) However when the Muslim kills people the Muslim is doing exactly what the Quran teaches. The Quran teaches its followers to kill the infidels or anybody who isn’t a Muslim of the same faith. I would stay away from any religion that passes out AK-47’s to it’s new converts. If my God told me to kill innocent people I would find another God!
There are also many religions who preach a works based religion. This has been going on even in Jesus’s day. The problem with this subtle method of belief is when you try to do works for your salvation you are actually denying Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus uses a parable in Matthew 22:11-13, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This punishment seems extreme until you figure out what the wedding garment is. What we need to remember or know is we get to heaven with Christ’s righteousness and not our own righteousness. Of all the human beings ever born not one person will ever get to heaven on their own merit. We can see this in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” We can also see this in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
The wedding garment in the above parable is actually Jesus’ righteousness. We can see this in Zechariah 3:4 “Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
I believe that when God’s people are taken off this planet the first event that will take place in heaven is the marriage supper of the Lamb. I believe that this is what the above parable is referring to. We can also see this in Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
The above parable is showing us that if we try to get to heaven by using our own righteousness we can then look forward to an exciting trip to outer darkness. We need to always remember Colossians 3:3 “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When God looks at you He sees the perfect life that Christ lived for you.
Words of advice, Just because someone knocks on your door carrying a Bible don’t assume that the God of heaven sent them. Remember there are two Gods. Which God sent them to your door? If I was new to the Christian faith I would buy two Bibles, the New King James Version and the New Living Translation. I would read the Bibles and get sealed before I would even consider joining a church. It’s very easy to be lead astray if you are new to the Christian faith and haven’t established your own beliefs.
How do you get sealed? According to Ephesians 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” I would start by reading in the New Testament the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you read these books and believe whats written in them then the Bible says at that time you will be sealed with the Holy Spirit and you will become a child of God and your citizenship will then be secure in heaven.