How are my beautiful readers today? Welcome back. It is good to 'see' ya!

Before I became one of Jehovah's witnesses, I was Pentecostal, by name and not practice, and thought I had the correct religion. Oh yeah, I was right, and everybody else was wrong. I shake my head at myself now when I think back on that time in my life. I was so misinformed about the information in the Bible. Oh some of it was accurate, but there was a lot I was not taught, from the Bible. I also remember my husband saying, "I'm not sure what religions out there are right, but Jehovah's Witnesses are the closest," or something to that effect. He was always the one who encouraged our contact and Bible studies with them. Even back then, they taught me things that I hadn't been taught by my religious parents, but, I wasn't ready to hear 'the truth' yet.

Which Religion?

How can we recognize those who practice the true religion? How can 'the road to life' be found? Well, we need look no further than the pages of the Bible. Jesus said that the true religion would be evident in the lives of the people who practice it. "By their fruits you will recognize them," he said. "Every good tree produces fine fruit."(Matthew 7:16,17 ) In other words, those who practice the true religion would be recognized by their beliefs and their conduct. (I UNDERSTAND THAT NOW. Back then, I didn't realize the importance of ones conduct, how it reflects on ones religion.) Although they are not perfect and they make mistakes (me), true worshippers as a group seek to do God's will.

There are 6 features that identify those who practice true religion.

How do God's servants view the Bible? God's servants base their teachings on the Bible. The Bible itself says: "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man (or woman) of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16,17) To his fellow Christians, the apostle Paul wrote: "When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Therefore beliefs and practices of the true religion are not based on human views or traditions. They originate in God's inspired Word, the Bible. And y'all know how important that is to me, if it ain't from the Bible, to me it's just an opinion, and we have enough of that running around, and that's just my opinion... hee hee hee.

Notice how Jesus set the example in this regard... Jesus Christ set the proper example by basing his teachings on God's Word. In prayer to his heavenly Father, he said: "Your word is truth." (John 17:17) Jesus believed the Word of God, and everything he taught harmonized with the Scriptures. Jesus often said: "It is written." (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Then Jesus would quote a scripture. Similarly, God's people today do not teach their own ideas. They believe that the Bible is God's Word, and they base their teachings firmly on what it says.

Isaiah 42:8
photo from: www.google.com/search

Do you know what is involved in worshipping Jehovah? Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name know. Jesus declared: "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matthew 4:10) Therefore, God's servants worship no one other than Jehovah. This worship includes letting people know what the name of the true God is and what he is like. Psalm 83:18 reads: "You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth." Jesus set the pattern in helping others to get to know God, as he said in prayer: "I have made your name manifest to the men whom you gave me out of the world." (John 17:6) Similarly, true worshippers today teach others about God's name, his purposes, and his qualities.

God's people show genuine, unselfish love for one another. In what ways? Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples - if you have love among yourselves." (John 13:35) The early Christians had such love for one another. Godly love overcomes racial, social, and national barriers and draws people together in an unbreakable bond of true brother. (Let's read Colossians 3:14) Members of false religions do not have such a loving brotherhood. How do we know that? Well, they kill one another because of national or ethnic differences. True Christians do not take up weapons to kill their Christian brothers or anyone else. The Bible states: "The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Whoever does not practice righteousness does not originate with God, nor does the one who does not love his brother......We should love one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother." - (1 John 3:10-12, 4:20, 21.) I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a child of the Devil.

photo from: www.google.com/search

One time, I remember a friend of my son's was invited to an Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses and made the comment, "We don't have Black People at our Church." IJS...

Of course, genuine love means more than not killing others. True Christians unselfishly use their time, energy, and resources to help and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) They help one another in times of distress, and they deal honestly with others. In fact, they apply in their lives the Bible counsel to "work what is good toward all." - Galatians 6:10.

OK... we've covered 3 of the 6 features that identify those who practice true religion.

God's servants base their teachings on the Bible.
Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name know.
God's people show genuine, unselfish love for one another.

I don't want to overwhelm you, so I will stop there so that you can absorb this information. It will give you time to ponder over the scriptures. This is important information, especially if you are trying to find the true religion, and you personally see things in the churches that just don't sit well with you.

To continue on, the next blog in the series will be: Worship that God Approves - How to Identify the True Religion - part 2 of 2

The above information was taken in part from: