Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Muslims

For Christians, when they have a desire to teach people that belong to other religious sects, they need to go to the heart of the matter. After all, it was Jesus Himself who stated, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (Jn. 8:24). Therefore, children of God must ask, “What do you believe about Jesus?”

What’s vital is seeing the need to get clarification. After all, the three religious sects mentioned in the title would say, “Yes, we believe in Jesus.” However, the fact is, none of them believe the Jesus you read about in the Bible. Not one of them believe that Jesus had pre-existence and that He is God (Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:8). Is this really that big of a deal? Let’s see where their denials took them.

Book of Mormon, the Quran, and the New World Translation

You can make claims that Jesus was born of a virgin; performed miracles and that He was a prophet. Yet, to strip Him of His deity opens the door to additional “revelations” to justify additions to the Bible. It was the Father that said that He has spoken unto us in these last days by His Son (Heb. 1:2). This message is complete (Jude 3). Knowing the scriptures are sufficient to make man complete (II Tim. 3:16-17), why would there be a need for additional writings?

The Bible is inspired but not reliable

Not only with the three religious groups under discussion, but along with other religious people, you often see people picking and choosing what they want to accept in the Bible. The statement I have heard in the past is, “Yes, we believe in the Bible as long as it is translated correctly.” In other words, on the points we disagree with it’s because we believe that is a wrong translation, tha the Bible is corrupted in that part.

Such reasoning is ridiculous. The same evidence used to support the parts that are accepted as being true, provide the same support for all other Bible teachings. Again, Christ put it this way, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 12:48).  Since the apostles were promised by our Lord to be guided into all truth, they spoke by revelation of Jesus Christ, thus we have all His words (Jn. 16:13; Gal. 1:12).

You need to put your faith in other men

Whether it be Joseph Smith, Mohammad, or the Watchtower Society; people are people deceived and influenced to follow someone else. Coming back to our Lord’s words once again, He made the proclamation that, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me.” (Jn. 14:6).  This is the point of contention with these other groups.

People have been lured away by these groups thinking they are very similar to what Christians believe. The truth is anything but that. This is why one must learn not only what people believe about Jesus Christ, but what they don’t believe about Him. You can’t have it both ways. When it comes to our Savior, He is the whole package, you can’t take just part of Him and be right with God.

                                                                                             Chuck

This might seem like one of the strangest questions anyone could ask. After all, if a group says they are Christ’s church, then they are His, right? No. I personally do not know of a denomination that does not claim to be a church that belongs to Christ (i.e. Christ’s church). If all churches belong to Christ, then it does not matter which we belong to. But does He accept every church that claims to belong to Him?

Many people been convinced that it does not matter if you attend a Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene or any other denominational church. Here is a short list of responses to why people think that all churches are Christ’s church.

1. The name does not matter.

Not so. Read: Acts 20:28; Matt. 16:18; Rom. 16:16

2. What you do in worship does not matter.

Not so. Read: John 4:24; Matt. 15:7-9

3. If some doctrines are not Biblical it is okay.

Not so. Read: Gal. 1:6-9

4. God is more interested in you being sincere.

Not so. Read: Rom. 10:1-3

5. As long as you have love that’s all that matters

Not so. Read: Rev. 2:2-4; I Cor. 13:1-7

6. It would be wrong to say others are wrong.

Not so. Read: I John 4:1; Rom. 16:17

7. Doctrine really does not matter to the Lord.

Not so. Read: II John 9; Rev. 2:15

8. There are many roads that lead to heaven.

Not so. Read: John 14:6; Rom. 1:16

9. No church can be 100% right.

Not so. Read: John 8:32; I Tim. 3:15

10. How one feels is all that matters.

Not so. Read: Matt. 7:21-23; Acts 19:1-5

Finding the church you read about in the Bible requires you to seek in order to find (Matt. 7:7).

                                                                                             Chuck 

Many of the things listed in this article are necessary to be a faithful Christian. After all, those who practice lawlessness will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21). Though we need to do most of the things listed, many people incorrectly believe that doing these things will be enough to ensure their salvation. Here is a list to consider:

1. Always going to church.  Attending a church does not mean one is going to heaven. Even in the Bible, Christians were rebuked even though they kept “going to church” (Rev. 2-3).
    
2. Believing in God.  People can believe in God and Jesus without being faithful to them. If someone believes in Satan, are they automatically a follower of Satan? Of course not! Some believe and are not faithful (James 2:19; John 12:42-43).
    
3. Praying always. It would be wrong to conclude that all prayers offered to God are acceptable (Matt. 6:5-7). The fact that ungodly behavior can hinder prayers does not stop these people from praying anyway (I Pet. 3:7).
    
4. Believing the Bible is God’s word. There are plenty of criminals in this world who know the law was but do not follow it. Accepting the Bible as God’s word is meaningless if we do not read and obey it (James 1:22; II Tim. 2:15).
                                                                   
5. Going along with what the church does. Being devoted to the church is not the same as being devoted to Christ. We are to be converted to Christ (Rom. 6:3-4). The church is not the head – Christ is (Col. 1:18).
    
6. Having a strong desire to go to heaven. Desiring heaven does not mean a person is going to heaven. On the last day, many will be shocked to find out they are lost (Matt. 7:21-23).
    
7. Avoiding evil deeds. Not doing evil deeds is important, but we must also be born again (I Pet. 1:23). One is not a truly new person until they bury the old man (Rom. 6:3-7).
    
8. Being a “basically” good person. We cannot assume that heaven will be our home just because we feel we are not as bad as the “truly” wicked. This mindset forgets that all have sinned and need God’s mercy and grace (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:8).
    
9. Believing that God loves them.  There is no question that God loves everyone (John 3:16). This love will not overlook sin though. Heaven will not be their home (II Cor. 5:9-11).
    
10. Being a very religious person. Talking often about spiritual things does not guarantee heaven. Many religious people walk in darkness (Matt. 15:7-9). Dying for what you believe in is meaningless if you do not follow He who died for mankind (John 8:24).
     
11. I tell people to follow the Lord. Telling others to do the right thing does not mean you are also doing right. Many teachers are guilty of hypocrisy (Phil. 1:16; Rom. 2:21-23).
     
12. My grandfather was a member of this church. Having faithful family members does automatically save the whole family. Timothy’s mother and grandmother were faithful, but Timothy needed his own faith (II Tim. 1:5).

                                                                                               Chuck

Look for the truth

After writing the first article,  I briefly wondered why so few people see the problems that exist in the religious realm today. Do they not care about God? Do they just want to rebel against Him? Have the majority of the religious people today become cold and callous? I do not think so. I am convinced the root cause is a lack of understanding.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” (Luke 23:34). He was saying that His persecutors were not really aware of what they were doing. Did they know they were killing an innocent man? Yes. Did they realize the pain and the suffer Jesus was going through? Yes. So what did they not know? They did not know (accept) that they were doing these things to the Christ – the son of God.

The overwhelming majority of people who gather for religious purposes are confident that what they are doing is correct. So how can we help people separate truth from error?  In Christ’s case, people were taught (again) on the day of Pentecost that they had crucified the Son of God (Acts 2:36). From that teaching, a great many understood, believed and obeyed (Acts 2:37-38). Some still did not understand, though, because they refused to accept the truth.

Without question, many people settle for assumptions and do not truly examine their beliefs. They firmly believe that what they are doing is approved by the Lord, but they are mistaken. This is nothing new (Matt. 7:21-23). How can we know with confidence that we are right? We must honestly seek the truth and continue looking until we find it (Matt. 7:7). Be willing to challenge and be challenged, and do not let pride get in the way. Apollos is a good example (Acts 18:24-26).

Every religious body worldwide – Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, etc. – claim they have the proper religious perspective. We should all seek truth and ask questions to avoid becoming blind followers (Matt. 15:14). Someday we will all stand and give an account (II Cor. 5:10).

                                                                                      Chuck