Are All Religions The Same?
According to statistics 33% of the population are
Christians, this includes Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons,
Seventh Day Adventists, and many others who say they are Christians.
Next to Christianity comes Islam, 22%, then
Hinduism 15%, Buddhism 6%, other indigenous religions 10%, the balance are
atheists, agnostics secular humanists 14%.
Before we answer the question, are all the
religions the same, let us ask are all the Christian denominations the same?
There are about 2 billion people who say they are Christians and they have
different denominations like the Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Mormons, Christian Science and others. Are they the same? Are all true
Christians? We will answer this question in the light of the Bible, the word of
God.
Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in
heaven.
Ps 119:160
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous
judgments endureth for ever.
Jesus is the only way.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Mt 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away.
Ac 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
Let us find out very briefly in the light of the
Bible the true Christianity.
Roman Catholicism.
Roman Catholicism says they are the true Christians
as they believe in one true God, Jesus Christ his incarnation, death and
resurrection, the tri-unity of God. Does this make them true Christians?
Mt 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ac 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Yes, the Roman Catholics looks like Christians,
they have a Bibles in their homes, go to Church, have a statue of Jesus on the
cross bleeding. They look like the true sheep of God as they look very
religious, let us take their sheep clothing away to see if they are true sheep
or wolves.
Roman Catholics believe and trust in the Pope. He
is the head of the church, represent to God, his word is infallible.
On the other hand the Bible says, Jesus is the head
of the Church.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence.
When you look at history, the Popes made many
mistakes, they were human like anyone, they contradicted their statements, it
is not the Pope but Christ Jesus is the truth, Jesus never made mistakes as he
was God in flesh, he is the truth and the way.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
So it is not through the Pope, Mary or the saints
but through Jesus Christ alone we have access to God. Jesus is the only
mediator between God and man.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Roman Catholics love to worship their statues or
images, which is contrary to the word of God.
Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
The verdict – Let God be true exposing the lies of
Roman Catholicism in the light of the Bible.
Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Jehovah’s Witnesses also say that they are the only
true Christians, let us see briefly if this is true.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is a little god
and God the Father is the almighty God. They claim to be the true prophets of
God. They too come like sheep, but let us take their sheep clothing away in the
light of the Bible.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel,
and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and
beside me there is no God.
The Bible clearly say that there is only one God.
He is called the first and the last beside him there is no other God.
Re 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty.
Who is claiming to be the Alpha and the Omega the
beginning and the end, of course it is the one and only true God, the Almighty God.
Re 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as
dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the
first and the last:
18 I am he
that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have
the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus is claiming here he is the first and the
last, he was dead and now alive, Jesus claiming to be God almighty. Jehovah’s
Witness and the Watch Tower society is not telling the truth, when you take
away their sheep clothing you will see them as wolves, false prophets.
Jehovah’s Witness also believe that at the
resurrection it was not the real body of Jesus but a spirit. Let us say what
the Bible say.
After the resurrection Jesus appeared to his
disciples and the disciples thought he was a ghost or a spirit not the real
Jesus as Jesus was dead. Look what Jesus said to them.
Lu 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he
said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when
he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Jesus is telling the truth not the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, it is the real Jesus who rose from the death.
False Prophecies of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Bible identifies the false prophet saying what
they say does not come to true they are false prophets.
De 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall
we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22 When a
prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to
pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath
spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The following are quotes from Watch Tower magazine.
1899 "...the ‘battle of
the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914
with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already
commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).
1914 came but there was no end of the world so they
change to another date to 1925.
1922 "The date 1925 is
even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914." The
Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262
1925 came still no end of the world so what was
their excuse?
1926 "Some anticipated
that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty
was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when
their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away
everything." The Watchtower, page 232.
Verdict – Jehovah’s Witness are not true
Christians, they too are false prophets in sheep clothing in the light of the
Bible.
Mormonism or the Latter Day Saints.
Just like the Roman Catholics and Jehovah’s
Witnesses the Mormons too will use the Bible. They too will say they are the
true Christians. Their belief is in Jesus Christ. They commit to high moral
standards and strong families. They too look like very nice sincere people,
like sheep but let us uncover their sheep clothing from the word of God and you
will see them in reality wolves.
Mormonism believes in many gods and you too can
become a god. They believe that God the Father was a man like us and progressed
to become God.
(Doctrine and Covenants 130:22; "God
himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in
yonder heavens!" from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.
345-347; Gospel Principles, p. 9; Articles of Faith, p. 430; Mormon
Doctrine, p. 321).
The Bible declares there is only one God.
De 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one
LORD.
Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and
my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand
that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after
me.
11 I, even
I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
The Mormons are not telling the truth they are
lying, the Bible is telling the truth, God was never a man.
Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God.
Nu 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not
do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Ho 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine
anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy
One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
Joh 4:24 God is Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God the Father came to Mary and had sex with her to
bear Jesus Christ. Jesus and Satan are brothers.
(Achieving a Celestial Marriage, p. 129; Mormon
Doctrine, pp. 546-547; 742). Mormon doctrine affirms that Jesus and Lucifer
are brothers (Gospel Principles, pp. 17-18; Mormon Doctrine, p.
192).
Verdict – Although Mormonism looks very much like
Christian outside with their family values and high moral values, when we take
the clothing of the sheep we see a ferocious wolf, they are not true
Christians.
Seventh Day Adventism.
Seventh Day Adventism believes in the Trinity,
Christ Jesus true deity and his bodily resurrection. Does these essential
doctrines classify them as Christian?
The core issue is salvation, salvation is by grace
alone and faith alone. Seventh Day Adventists profess to teach Salvation by
grace through faith. Their terminology can be orthodox but when you define the
terminology you see a different meaning. When you get to the bottom of it you
will see they believe salvation is by grace plus the law and faith plus works.
Seventh Day Adventists teach that you need to keep
the law and the worship is on Saturday not Sunday. The New Testament Church
after the resurrection of Christ met not on Saturday but on Sunday. True
Christian Sabbath is on Sunday. According to Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary
the meaning of Sunday is, first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, the
Lord's Day.
Ac 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the
days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we
abode seven days.
Ac 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the
morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
The Church
Offerings were collected on Sunday.
1Co 16:1 Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia,
even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
The Seventh Day Adventists will not eat
Pork, Shrimps and others that are prohibited in the law of the Old Testament.
They hold to the ceremonial part of the law. But not to all of the ceremonial
part of the law, this can be hypocritical. I asked a Seventh Day Adventist do
you hold to the law, he said yes, then I told him you have violated the law by
wearing that shirt. He said what do you mean? I told him in Leviticus 19:19 says
not to wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. He was immediately put to
silence.
Paul gave a severe warning to Judaizers who
claimed to be Christians yet need to follow the law.
Ga 1:8 But though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed.
9 As
we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you
than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
If you add to the gospel of grace alone by
faith alone, then it becomes another gospel.
Verdict – The Seventh Day Adventists even
though they believe in the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Jesus yet they
are not true Christians as they add to the grace of God and they have another
gospel, the only gospel is the gospel of grace alone.
Conclusion on people who call themselves
Christians yet they are not Christians.
Whether you are a Protestant or any other
Christian by name does not make yourself a Christian. It is important to
believe in orthodox historical Christianity. The Bible alone is the word of God
it is the supreme rule of faith. Salvation is found not in the traditions of
the church, nor Mary, nor saints, nor in Watchtower materials published by
Jehovah’s Witnesses not by Joseph Smith of Mormonism that we need to read the
book of Mormon apart from the Bible, Mary G. Ellen’s teachings of Seventh Day
Adventism nor by anyone else’s teachings that contradicts the teachings of the
Bible.
One is saved by trusting in the person of
Christ for his salvation. Who is Jesus to you?