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What Religion is Approved by God?
What Religion is Approved by God?
Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000,Nashville, TN 37214-1000
IntroductionThere are numerous religions that claim to be "The One True Church or Religion". This is an extensive Bible study that investigates and gives scripture to enable a responsible conclusion to this question. Come and investigate these scripture jewels for yourself.
I. Scripture reveals that God is interested in a personal relationship with Himself Jehovah, not with the acts of religion.
God created man and spoke directly to him.
The study "Divine Communication in Direct and Personal Ways", gives the scripture references of such communication.
Genesis 2:15-17
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (NKJV)
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (NKJV)
Genesis 6:13-22;
And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher-wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it; The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.(NKJV)
Genesis 12:1-3;
Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your kindred And from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (NKJV)
II. Scripture reveals that God wants a people of his own, not a religion.
Genesis 12:1;
"Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you." (NKJV)
Exodus 33:16;
"For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." (NKJV)
Lev. 20:26;
'And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." (NKJV)
Separate people unto God
Joshua 23:7;
"and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them," (NKJV)
Judges 2:1,2;
Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said; "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, "I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their alters.' But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" (NKJV)
Ezra 9:12;
'Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.' (NKJV)
Ezra 10:11
"Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives." (NKJV)
III. Scripture reveals that God wants to separate his people from evil associations.
Isaiah 52:11;
Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. (NKJV)
Evidence
John 15:19;
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (NKJV)
John 17:16;
"They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." (NKJV)
Ephesians 5:11;
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them (NKJV)
2 Thes. 3:6;
But we command you, brethan, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. (NKJV)
IV. Scripture reveals that the Holy Scriptures should be studied in its entirety, no other references are to be used to build on scripture truths.
Deut. 4:2;
"You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." (NKJV)
Deut. 12:32;
"Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." (NKJV)
Proverbs 30:6;
Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar. (NKJV)
Rev. 22:19
"and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (NKJV)
V. Scripture reveals that God's word should be studied.
Deut.17:19;
"And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,......" (NKJV)
Isaiah 34:16;
"Search from the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them." (NKJV)
John 5:39;
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (NKJV)
Acts 17:11;
These were more fair-minded in Thessalonia, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (NKJV)
Romans 15:4
Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. (NKJV)
VI. Scripture reveals that God's word is divinely inspired.
Jeremiah 36:2;
"Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. (NKJV)
Ezekiel 1:3;
the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. (NKJV)
Acts 1:16;
"Men and brethen, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; (NKJV)
2 Timothy 3:16,17;
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, throughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV)
2 Peter 1:21;
for phophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (NKJV)
Rev. 14:13;
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from theirs labors, and their works follow them." (NKJV)
VII. Scripture reveals that God's word is loved, an example of how we should love scripture.
Psalms 119:47;
And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. (NKJV)
Psalms 119:82;
My eyes fail from seeking Your word, Saying "When will You comfort me?" (NKJV)
Psalms 119:97;
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. (NKJV)
Psalms 119:140;
Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it. (NKJV)
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them, And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. (NKJV)
VIII. Scripture reveals that we are to search God's word for the truth.
Deut.17:19,20;
"And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethen, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. (NKJV)
Isaiah 34:16;
"Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them." (NKJV)
John 5:39;
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (NKJV)
Acts 17:11;
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." (NKJV)
Romans 15:4
For whatever things are written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (NKJV)
IX. Scripture warns us of worldly snares. We are to stay away from:
False gods
Exodus 23:33;
"They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." (NKJV)
Sinful Covenants
Exodus 34:12;
"Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst." (NKJV)
Silver and Gold
Deut. 7:25;
"You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. (NKJV)
Evil Associations
Joshua 23:12,13;
"Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations-these that remain among you-and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you." (NKJV)
Idolatry
Psalms 106:36;
They served their idols, which became a snare to them. (NKJV)
Broken vows
Proverbs 20:25;
It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterwards to reconsider his vows. (NKJV)
Friendship with violent men
Proverbs 22:24,25;
Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul. (NKJV)
Scoffing
Proverbs 29:8;
Scoffers ensnare a city, but wise men turn away wrath. (NKJV)
Avarice
1 Timothy 6:9;
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. (NKJV)
Entices
Deut. 13:6;
"If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying 'Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage." (NKJV)
Conclusion:
This study presented above, named "God of the Bible" proves that God is a God of war, judgment, is slow to anger, etc.
Scripture reveals God wants a personal relationship with the people that love Him. A study in depth of, "Divine Communication in Direct and Personal Ways", is listed on "My Favorite Links".
Scripture reveals that God's people should separate themselves from evil and live lives that are pleasing to God and God alone.
Scripture reveals that as God's people we should be searching the truths of scripture out for ourselves.
Scripture reveals that if we are not careful, we can be deceived by false teachers and lead astray.
Conclusion:If you were to read the book of Acts, you will find that the first Christain Church was in Jerusalem. The first believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior were Jewish, and the first leaders of the church were the apostles (no one person in particular).
The first Bible study I attended, I went with the attitude that what they knew and studied was not in my Bible. I was so wrong. What I found out was, that I was taught man's ideas and opinions (ideas and opinions that changed from time to time). I was amazed to find out what I did not know. And I went to my church all the time, not hit and miss.
I encourage you to build your faith on a solid rock, that doesn't change from time to time. Go to a full gospel church that believes and teaches the entire word of God, make sure that the church is Christ centered and the complete Bible is studied, not only doctrine that they like and ignore what they don't feel comfortable with. My pray partners and I will be praying that the Lord will lead you to such a church. So that you can be saved according to scripture, learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom of the Holy Scripture.
My Favorite Links:
My Info:
To E-mail me click on my address: HomeBibleStudies1@juno.com
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