| Jesus started one true Christian religion. So today there must be just one body, or group, of true worshipers of Jehovah God. (John 4:23, 24; Ephesians 4:4, 5) The Bible teaches that only a few people are on the narrow road to life. (Matthew 7:13, 14) |
John 4:23, 24 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." Ephesians 4:4, 5 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism... Matthew 7:13, 14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." |
So today there must be just one body, or group, of true worshipers of Jehovah God. The Bible does not state that one denomination or one congregation will be the "true religion". A phrase used in the Apostles’ Creed is " I believe in ... the holy catholic church," where "holy catholic church" means "the true Christian church of all times and all places." This is not just one congregation, but it is all who truly believe in God, no matter what denomination or physical church they belong to. There are many forms of Christianity - many that claim to be the "true" method of following God - but none of them are perfectly right, since none of us are perfect and we are the ones that are setting the churches up. |
| The Bible foretold that after the death of the apostles, wrong teachings and unchristian practices would slowly come into the Christian congregation. Men would draw away believers to follow them instead of Christ. (Matthew 7:15, 21-23; Acts 20:29, 30) That is why we see so many different religions that claim to be Christian. How can we identify true Christians? |
Matthew 7:15, 21-23 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ... Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Acts 20:29, 30 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. |
...after the death of the apostles... Where is this timeline stated as absolute? It seems to me that the Bible supports the fact that such things were happening while the apostles were still alive - otherwise, why would they have written so many letters to the churches, warning them of the false teachings going on among them? How can we identify true Christians? I know that the next 4 points discuss this issue, but, before getting into the details of those arguments, I would like to point out that it is not important for us to know who is or is not a "true" Christian. While we may easily identify some people that are not true Christians (because they deny Christ), we cannot judge the hearts of men, so we cannot know if those that claim to follow Christ really, truly believe in Him. As stated before, good deed and outward appearances can be put on by anyone - but they do not indicate that people love God. |
| The most outstanding mark of true Christians is that they have real love among themselves. (John 13:34, 35) They are not taught to think that they are better than people of other races or skin color. Neither are they taught to hate people from other countries. (Acts 10:34, 35) So they do not share in wars. True Christians treat one another as brothers and sisters. (1 John 4:20, 21) |
John 13:34, 35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Acts 10:34, 35 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." 1 John 4:20, 21 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. |
...as I have loved you... We cannot ever completely love each other as Christ loved us - we can only aspire to such love. Christ died for our sins out of His love for us, but we are incapable of doing the same. So they do not share in wars. The scripture does not state this. The Bible does say, however, "There is ... a time for war and a time for peace." (Ecc 3:8b) There are times when we must fight - in order to maintain purity in the world and to attempt to cast out evil. For example, the effort to stop the abuse of the Jews by the Nazis - this was a war to save the persecuted and to cast out those who did not follow God’s commands. Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Note, again, that love for God comes first and love for everything else comes second - flows from the love of God. |
| Another mark of true religion is that its members have a deep respect for the Bible. They accept it as the Word of God and believe what it says. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17) They treat God's Word as being more important than human ideas or customs. (Matthew 15:1-3, 7-9) They try to live by the Bible in their everyday life. So they do not preach one thing and then practice another. (Titus 1:15, 16) |
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Matthew 15:1-3, 7-9 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ... You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Titus 1:15, 16 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. |
My only comment on this: Again, we are judging a person’s heart by his actions, which can be misleading. |
| The true religion must also honor God's name. (Matthew 6:9) Jesus made God's name, Jehovah, known to others. True Christians must do the same. (John 17:6, 26; Romans 10:13, 14) Who are the people in your community that tell others about God's name? |
Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name..." John 17:6, 26 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ... I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." Romans 10:13, 14 ...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? |
Jesus made God’s name, Jehovah, known to others. Jesus made God known to us - not specifically His name. In fact, there is the counter scripture: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) When Romans 10 states that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, the scripture is not saying that God’s name (Jehovah or whatever other name a person might use) is what will save the person - the point is made even in that passage that the kind of "calling" that is being referred to is a statement of trust in God. It has nothing to do with using a name - it has everything to do with true belief in God. (See Luke 6:46 and the surrounding text for another example of this.) |
| True Christians must preach about God's Kingdom. Jesus did so. He always talked about the Kingdom. (Luke 8:1) He commanded his disciples to preach this same message in all the earth. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) True Christians believe that only God's Kingdom will bring true peace and security to this earth. (Psalm 146:3-5) |
Luke 8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him... Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ... Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Psalm 146:3-5 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God... |
True Christians must preach about God’s Kingdom. I will make the assumption that this passage is the one on which the Jehovah’s Witnesses base their edict to evangelize on a door-to-door basis. However, the Bible does not state that every person should be a preacher. See 1 Corinthians 12:4-31 for an exposition on this fact - not every person has been given the gifts required to preach. There are many other tasks that need to be performed by the church. A person’s ministry can be performed through these other tasks. Our work of preaching to others is sometimes through example, sometimes through intervention and sometimes through teaching, but not all people can or should do the same type of preaching. ...will bring true peace and security to this earth. Again, this earth may never have true peace and security. This earth is fallen and broken through our sin. The new heaven and new earth that God promises will, indeed, have true peace and security because of God’s Kingdom, but such peace and security cannot be had in this mortal world. |
| Jesus' disciples must be no part of this wicked world. (John 17:16) They do not get involved in the world's political affairs and social controversies. They avoid the harmful conduct, practices, and attitudes that are common in the world. (James 1:27; 4:4) Can you identify a religious group in your community that has these marks of true Christianity? |
John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. James 1:27; 4:4 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ... You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. |
Jesus’ disciples must be no part of this wicked world. ... They do not get involved... "Must be" is different from "are not". The significance of this distinction is this: A person who truly believes in God is "half in heaven" while he is still on the earth - his desire is for God and the things of God, and so he is not ruled by the world. This does not, however, stop him from actually living in this world - he is still involved in the things that occur in the world, working to do God’s will while he still has a mortal body on the earth. He is not polluted by the world just by living in it and being involved in it, just as a person is not said to be a believer in a religion simply because he understands its tenets. The statement, "They are not of the world," means that the person is not ruled by the world, not that he doesn’t get involved with it. I would like to point out that several of the instructions in this tract actually state that we should be involved in political affairs and social controversies - such as abolishing abortion and the like. Furthermore, the act of going door-to-door and preaching very much involves a person in this wicked world. |
