Monday, June 28, 2010

LEADING TO ONE OCEAN???



‘DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS CAN BE COMPARED TO DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF RIVERS THAT LEAD TO ONE OCEAN… NO MATTER WHAT YOUR RELIGION IS, NO MATTER WHAT BELIEF, AS LONG AS IT TEACHES WHAT IS GOOD, IT WILL LEAD YOU TO GOD

Is this true? Well, from a human standpoint, it may seem to make a lot of sense. But have you considered how God views religion? From GOD’S standpoint, would he consider all religion true and acceptable?

Well, we may as well look into what the Bible says regarding this matter; after all it is the Word of God. First of all, the Bible does not teach that all forms of worship are acceptable to God. There is a form of worship which is futile from God’s standpoint, and there is also a “form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father.” (James 1:26, 27)

In fact, even the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ, said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23 (italics are mine)

God is not like the ocean. The ocean has no personality, it has no feelings, and it has no standards. No matter how polluted a river may be, the ocean would just take it in because it’s just, well, pretty much as it is, an ocean. But God has a personality, and he has STANDARDS, which can be found in the Bible. He would certainly not just accept all religion that is polluted with human philosophy and records of murder and gross immorality.

The Bible refers to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) Where and how can we find this one faith that has God’s approval? To find the answer, you may want to begin studying the Bible. Is it worth to find the answer? It sure is.

(I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but this article is not in any way endorsed by the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY or any of its related legal entities. All scriptures quoted above are from the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. You may also want to visit my favorite site: www.watchtower.org)