Biblical Christianity: Why ALL Religions Don't Equate

There are many "religions" who claim to be Christian; Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholics, and even some equate Islam to Christianity.  Why?  The main rationale is "Well, we all worship basically the same God."  But do we?  Furthermore, do we worship the same way?  Let's look at this issue a bit closer today.  Keep in mind that I have good friends who come from these religions I have mentioned, so I am simply going to show why Biblical Christianity is the truth and the ONLY way to Heaven and God.  I will not get ino name calling, etc. just dispelling some light on what seems to be a foggy subject.The Christian Bible is an accurate portrayal of what happened to real people in real places, carrying out real events, in history. But why is history so important in Christianity? Why is it so important that the facts in the Bible really happened? The answer is, that is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions and their sacred books. The other religions are based on rituals, superstitions, philosophical principles, the teachings of men who never claimed to know the truth, myths and legends. By contrast, Christianity is based on real historical events involving real people. It is not how much faith we have in something that is important but the integrity of the object we are placing our faith on.  
"Sola Scriptura" means Scripture alone.  Christians believe the Bible is the only authority to guide the believer in his faith and life.  Roman Catholics rely more on the Catechism and the traditions of the Church, placing it on equal to greater authority to the Bible. 
Jehovah's Witnesses came to be in 1872 by their founder, Charles aze Russell.  Russell claimed that the Bible could be only understood according to his interpretation. Jehovah's Witnesses (JW'S) rely on the teachings of the Watchtower Bible and Tact Society to guide them.  In addition, the JW's use the New World Translation of the Bible.  Because they do not believe in the trinity, all wording regarding Father, Son, and Holy Spiritis changed.     In fact, The Jehovah's Witnesses vehemently portray the doctrine of the Trinity as pagan in origin and that Christendom, as a whole, has bought the lie of the devil. Along with denying the Trinity is an equally strong denial of the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the belief in hell, and eternal conscious punishment in hell.  The JW's say God has no son, as Jesus and Michael (the arch angel) are the sme.  "Jesus was Michael the archangel who became a man," (The Watchtower, May 15, 1963, p. 307; The New World, 284.)  Further beliefs regarding Jesus, "Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh," (Reasoning from the Scriptures,).   "Jesus did not die on a cross but on a stake,"  (Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 89-90. 1985, p. 306.) 
Other teachings of JW's include, "Their church is the self-proclaimed prophet of God," (The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p. 197.)  "They claim to be the only channel of God's truth," (The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 19.)   "Only their church members will be saved," (The Watchtower, Feb, 15, 1979, p. 30.)  "Good works are necessary for salvation," (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, p. 150, 152.)   "The soul ceases to exist after death," (Let God be True, p. 59, 60, 67.)  "There is no hell of fire where the wicked are punished,"  (Let God be True, p. 79, 80.)   "Only 144,000 Jehovah's Witness go to heaven," (Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 166-167, 361; Let God be True, p. 121.)  "Only the 144,000 Jehovah's Witness are born again." (Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 76.; Watchtower 11/15/54, p. 681.
"Only the 144,000 may take communion."  "The Cross is a pagan symbol and should not be used", (Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 90-92.)

Mormons
How it began...
Joseph Smith Jr. stated that he was disturbed by all the different denominations of Christianity and wondered which was true. In 1820, when he was 14, he went into the woods to pray concerning this and allegedly God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any of the denominational churches.

Three years later, on Sept. 21, 1823, when he was 17 years old, an angel called Moroni, who was supposed to be the son of Mormon, the leader of the people called the Nephites who had lived in the Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon which was compiled by Moroni's father around the 4th century. The book was written on golden plates hidden near where Joseph was then living in Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827 he received the plates and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin the translation process. The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.
 The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the Middle-East to the Americas. It covers the period of about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. It tells of the Jaredites, people from the Tower of Babel who came to central America but perished because of their own immorality. It also describes some Jews who fled persecution in Jerusalem and came to America led by a man called Nephi. The Jews divided into two groups known as the Nephites and Lamanites who fought each other. The Nephites were defeated in 428 A.D. The Lamanites continued and are known as the American Indians. The Book of Mormon is the account of the Nephite leader, Mormon, concerning their culture, civilization, and appearance of Jesus to the Americas.
After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow.
According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible (History of the Church, Vol. 4, page 461).
Do Mormons (or LDS) believe in thetrinity?  No.  The beliefs are pretty straightforward, here is what LDS' believe, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known as the Mormons, teaches that God the father used to be a man on another planet, that he became a God by following the laws and ordinances of that God on that planet and came to this world with his wife (she became a goddess), and that they produce a spirit offspring in heaven. These spirit offspring, which includes Jesus, the devil, and you and me, are all brothers and sisters born in the preexistence. The preexistence spirits come down and inhabit babies at the time of birth and their memories of the preexistence are lost at the time. Furthermore, faithful Mormons, who pay a full 10% tithe of their income to the Mormon church through Mormon temples, have the potential of becoming gods of their own planets and are then able to start the procedure over again."
Also, "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation," (Miracle of Forgiveness, by Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206).  "A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus' plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to "deny men their agency and to dethrone god," (Mormon Doctrine, p. 193; Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 8).
"Jesus' sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (murder and repeated adultery are exceptions)," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, 1856, p. 247). "Good works are necessary for salvation" (Articles of Faith, p. 92).  "There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God". (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 188).

Roman Catholicism
I don't need to spend a lot of time here, as I blogged on this already.  Here is a little on RC's.   As far as Sola Scriptura, RC's believe "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God . . ." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 97.) 
In a nutshell, [according to Slick, M.] "Being a Christian does not mean being a member of the Roman Catholic Church. It means being a member of the body of Christ which is accomplished by faith and trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins. It means that you do not add your works to His work. Sincerity doesn't forgive sins. Membership in a church doesn't forgive sins. Doing works of penance doesn't forgive sins. Praying to Mary doesn't forgive sins. Forgiveness is received in the faithful trust and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You must trust Jesus, God in flesh, for the forgiveness of sins, not a man made ritual and certainly not the catholic saints. Even though Roman Catholic Church affirms the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and His physical resurrection, it greatly errors in its doctrine of salvation by adding works to salvation.". The RC's also do away with the second commandment so as t allow for the worship of saints, Mary, the Pope, statues, etc. (thus they split the tenth into two separate commandments, allowing for ten).

Islam

Began in 610 ad, when Mohammad heard fom the angel Gabriel, sent by allah, ina cave.  Muslims do not believe in the trinity, rather the quran states, "There is only one God" (5:73; 112:1-4). "God is called Allah by Muslims" (5:73).   Salvation is ONLY for muslims, "Allah will judge all people on the day of judgment". (3:30; 35:33-37; 99:6-8). "If your good deeds exceed your bad deeds, and you believe in Allah, and sincerely repent of sins, you may go to heaven (3:135; 7:8-9; 21:47; 49:14; 66:8-9).

"There is an eternal hell for those who are not Muslims, not practicing Islam, and not of the truth faith" (3:77).  "Jesus was a great prophet but not the son of God (9:30), is not divine (5:17, 75), was not crucified" (4:157).
As far as Sola Scriptura, muslims believe the Qur'an (Koran, Quran) is the Holy Book of Islam and the religion's most sacred writing. Muslims consider it the actual word of Allah and not the word of Muhammad to whom it was given. Muslim tradition states that the angel Gabriel visited Muhammad and gave him the words directly from Allah. These words were Allah's words of wisdom, truth, and commandments to His creation. The Qur'an (which means recitation) was revealed in the Arabic dialect used by the Quraish tribe of Mecca of that time. This dialect became the formal Arabic of the Islamic nations due to the distribution of Qur'anic scriptures throughout the Islamic empire. In the Arabic the Qur'an is poetic in style with rhymes, meter, and shifts in line lengths. Those who speak the language say it is a beautiful work.  
For more in depth study on the Moon Cult of Islam, see CARM http://carm.org/religious-movements/islam/what-islam

Jesus is very clear on His being God's Son, a member of the trinity, and the ONLY means by which one is saved and going to have access to Heaven (read John 3, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-10, 13....)  Biblical Christianity holds that salvation is accessible by ALL people, equally, through belief in Jesus Christ and study of and obedience to the Scriptures.  It is not by works, lest any man should boast.  Christ paid our debt on the cross, that was the final work of atonement.  We, as God's creation, need only believe on Him, be baptized and walk in faith!  It is not always easy, we will face trials and troubles in this life, but by faith that we are saved, God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit (which is received and indwells the new believer once one accepts Christ as Saviour).   The greatest differences among all the others from Biblical Christianity is we believe, read, and accep the Bible only as our source for truth, guidance, instruction, and knowledge of God.  

In closing, no, not all religions are simiar, equal, or ending one in Heaven.  It is important to understand ths, as if you are seeking eternal life in Heaven Biblical Christianity is the one you want to study.  Jesus, the Son of God, is THE way, THE truth, and THE life, no man comes to the Father except through Him (Jn 14:6).  No other religion believes or teaches this, though many claim to know of Jesus.  No matter wh you are, where you're from, what religion you belong to, or what you have done in your past, Jesus is available to you right now.  Ask Him to forgive you of your sins (this is called repentance, cts 2:38) you will receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit!  Ask Him to guide you the rest of your life, and help to lead you in righteousness.  Get a Bible and get to a church or fellowship with believers.  I can help you get a Bible and am available anytime to help you grow in your walk. 

God Bless You,
Pastor Aaron
(315)520-3152
reverendamathews@yahoo.com

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