Fruitful Ministry Begins With Intimate Fellowship With God

 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5.   The way we abide is through obedience to His words.  The best ministry preparation we can have is to draw close to Christ and live in obedience and dependence upon Him.  He alone makes ministry worth the effort.

Paul wrote: "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.    He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."  2 Cor. 3:5-6.  He also wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13).

Drawing upon the Spirit: "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing."  We can and should make the Gospel clear, so that people can love God with their minds, as well as with their heart, soul and strength.  God uses instruments to evangelize (Romans 10:14-15).  But we cannot save anyone.   Perhaps the greatest difficulty you will encounter while witnessing is indifference.  Without the conviction of sin, people will not sense a need for God or for any personal remedy.  "When he [Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." (John 16:9).

Ministry is Helping People Find Intimate Fellowship With God

We are introducing people to a Person.   We are not introducing people to a plan of salvation, or to an evangelistic program, or to a church or even to us—but to the Person of God.  Who would you like to introduce to Christ? 

The heart of ministry is relationships.  This is how God relates to us, and how we are to relate to others.  "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Cor. 13:1).

A personal, genuine relationship with Christ is the criteria for whether or not we have eternal life.  "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:12, NIV). 

"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt. 7:22-23).  This word "knew" means a personal, experiential knowledge, not a simple knowledge about something.

Ministry is Sustained by Intimate Fellowship With God

King David drew his strength from the Father. 

"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." Ps. 61:2-3

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken."  (Ps. 62:5-6)

"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." (Ps. 63:7-8).

When we become tired, fatigued, worn out, discouraged, or forgetful of where the power is, we need to return to the source of our power, re-connect with God.  He can speak power into us, bring conviction of sin, give protection, give a sense of conviction of sin, draw people to Himself—and we can't.

Why did Christ spend so much time alone with His Father in prayer, in lonely places?  If we lose fellowship with God, we lose the power of God and we lose the proper focus of ministry.   The Spirit wrote to the Ephesian Church: "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. . . You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary.  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first."  (Rev. 2:2-5).  A ministry without love for God and love for people is a hollow parody of the Gospel.

This ministry begins with abiding in Christ, is empowered and sustained by the Trinity, and finds life through love.

Are the Unevangelized Going to Hell?

Why should anyone go to Hell? First the sin of Adam, the head of the human race (Genesis 3), has been judicially laid at the feet of all his offspring. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (NIV). How that sin is transmitted is debated, physically or judicially. Although human genetic structure was probably altered in some way--the Bible says that we are all guilty with Adam’s guilt, even coming out of the womb (Psalm 51:5), which is the judgment of God. A Barna survey found that 74% of Americans reject the idea that they come into the world as sinners (“Americans Draw Theological Beliefs From Diverse Points of View,” 10/8/02, Barna Research Online).

Second, each of us sins individually. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards (Romans 3:23), and broken God’s law by sins of commission and omission. The Second Commandment is to love our neighbor as our self (Luke 10:27). The moment I try to selfishly use my neighbor, I break God’s command--a sin of commission. The Great Commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). One day we’re going to love something more than God, or love will grow cold, if we haven’t otherwise fractured the Great Commandment by 6 PM. Then we sin by omission—not doing what we should do (possibly John Gerstner used these examples). Actually, nobody deserves to go to heaven (“the paradise of God” [Revelation 2:7] or the New Jerusalem described in Rev.21). The reason is God’s decision to punish sin, generically, not only with physical death (Genesis 3:3,19—the first death), but with the second death, described as the “lake of burning sulfur,” (Rev. 20:10), “eternal fire,” “raging fire” (Heb. 10: 27), darkness (Jude 7,13) and “torment” (Luke 16:23). Hell is an expression of God’s justice. We don’t have another chance: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” (Heb. 9:27). Once there, one cannot migrate to heaven (Luke 16:26). There is no reincarnation, or laborious life-long opportunity to improve upon the last earthly pilgrimage, until at last we’re released (moksha) into the godhead, as Hinduism and Buddhism teach. Why? Heb. 10:28 explains, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Salvation history isn’t cyclical, as reincarnation teaches, but linear, culminating with the Christian spending eternity with Christ, and non-Christians having their desire (many of them) to be away from Christ eternally. There is one sacrifice for sin, one judgment, one chance. Life is a one-way trip. We do not have to personally atone for sins by doing better, even if it were possible for a good deed to totally negate a bad deed (half of US adults believe we can be saved by good deeds--Barna 10/8/02). A Christian trusts the one sacrifice of the sinless Christ for all personal sin--past, present and future. Christ paid for that sin, which merit we receive by trusting the person of Christ for our salvation. The Bible teaches that we are saved by faith alone, plus nothing, since Christ’s atoning death was completely sufficient to cover and satisfy the justice of God. “If you confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9). Period. “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:13). God generally uses human means to communicate this message of salvation. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? …And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom. 10:14a, 15a).

God does use dreams and visions to convict the lost, if the testimony of many is believed. Of course, evangelists use technologies. Many of those evangelized reject Christ, trusting some other scheme to compensate for obvious or subtle personal sin. Some try doing “good” (this “good” is like a filthy rag, Isaiah 64:6). Others minimize sin or deny that there is a god to whom we will give account. Or they suppress thoughts of God. Those who do reject Jesus will not spend eternity in heaven (John 3:36; 12:48). We can’t get there by other religions or sincerity. Jesus made the way narrow when He said that none come to the Father apart from Him (John 14:6).

Christians who are orthodox agree up to this point. An estimated 15.4 million unevangelized people die each year (Todd Johnson “A Global Summary of World Evangelization, mid-2005” World Christian Database).  These will have had no clear explanation of God’s offer of salvation through faith in Christ. What happens to them? The weight of scripture puts them on the way to perdition. Why? First, nature has already witnessed to them about God. The apostle Paul said that the godless and wicked suppress evidence of God’s “eternal power and divine nature” in creation (Rom. 1:20). They see brown earth and blue sky—not Creation. All of us without Christ are “godless” and our sin makes us “wicked” before God. We can, to a certain extent, know God through His creation (Rom. 1:21). So every unbeliever, not just the really wicked, sins against the knowledge of God found in nature—and is self-condemned. “Men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

Second, we violate our own moral standards, regardless of how simple. These standards are exposed whenever we judge someone’s conduct. Eventually, if not before morning, we will judge someone’s conduct. At that precise point we condemn our self, since we commit that same sin precisely or in kind (Rom. 2:1). You judge a thief—you will steal or covet sometime. You lament a murderer, yet you have hated someone--the moral equivalent (1 John 3:15). We condemn ourselves, regardless of ever seeing a missionary. God uses our own standards by which to judge us. The verdict: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else…” (Rom. 2:1). A prominent evangelical African American teacher is now saying that if someone doesn’t explicitly reject Jesus (such as a Muslim would have to do), God will judge them by another “dispensation” and that, without ever hearing of Christ, they will be saved. The reasoning is that if a person is seeking God, God is obligated to enable that person to find Him, since he who seeks, finds (Luke 11:10). Two problems arise. I get worried when I hear people teach that if you do “A,” God is “obligated” to do “B.” This is the line we hear about tithing. We cannot obligate God to do anything (see Rom. 11:35-36). Animism is about obligating the unseen world to do our bidding. God is too smart for us.

Second, God says that “There is no one who seeks God.” (Rom. 3:11).” If someone is found seeking God, it is because the Father is drawing that person to Christ (John 6:44), not because that person is seeking God all by herself. I believe in that case that God will somehow complete the good work begun (Phil. 1:6). There is no quicker way to anesthetize missions than to teach that people will go to heaven apart from personal faith in Christ.

Another entire layer upon this issue is predestination. “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” (Rom. 9:18). I believe predestination is part of the equation, but the God who elects (Rom. 9) is the same God who shows us that He uses human means--missionaries (Rom. 10). Workers are still needed to evangelize those “being saved” (Acts 2:47). Now if the unevangelized do go to hell—if they really do—how does that impact my life and resources? If the equivalent of over 42,000 people is going into eternal torment every night, how does this impact my spending priorities, and my church’s budget priorities? What percentage of income does your church give to promote cross-cultural evangelism? Does it matter to us that by mid-2007 there will be about 1,850,402,000 unevangelized persons on the planet—28% of the earth’s population (David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, “Missiometrics 2007,” Int’l Bulletin of Missionary Research, Jan. 2007, p. 32).  Taking care of our own neighborhood isn’t enough. We aren’t to stay in Jerusalem. Our finish line isn’t a packed and prosperous church or collecting our first Social Security check. It’s to complete all the work God has given us personally to do. Our mandate goes to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8: Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus, confronting this human harvest, told us to pray to God to thrust out laborers into the harvest field (Luke 10:2). If the unevangelized can be saved apart from Christ, as some otherwise orthodox Christian leaders and scholars tell us—Christ died needlessly. If the unevangelized could still reach heaven, D. James Kennedy facetiously suggests quickly bringing every missionary home, so none could hear, and all could be saved—the opposite of Jesus’ solution. It then becomes the responsibility of the Church to finance those the Father is sending, in a manner worthy of God (3 John 1:6). Are we doing personally and corporately what God wants us to do to evangelize as many as we can on the broad road to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14)? Indignation at the thought that the unevangelized will suffer hell is, I believe, higher morality than God’s, who plainly tells of their destination—the profoundest human tragedy, and reason to go.

1. HOW CAN WE KNOW ABOUT GOD?
   1. God reveals some truth to everyone.
      1. Through nature, God shows both His power and that He is God (Romans 1:19-20, NIV). Consider the design of the ant, the hawk, the eye and our planet. Is there a Designer?
      2. Through our conscience, God shows what He expects of us (Romans 2:14-15). Throughout the world murder, lying, stealing and adultery are condemned (unless the culture is very corrupt). Why is this so? God reveals this to our conscience.
   2. God takes special care to reveal particular truths.
      1. He "appeared," for example, when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exodus 19:20).
      2. He speaks through true prophets (see Deuteronomy 18:18-22 for tests).
      3. He speaks through miracles (such as the pillar of fire, Exodus 13:21-22).
      4. He has spoken most clearly through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the exact image of God (Hebrews 1:2; Colossians 1:15; 2:9). We would not know Jesus by simply looking at nature around us.
   3. In our age, the clearest revelation of God's truth is the Bible.
      1. The Old Testament (Genesis through Malachi) comes to us through the authority of prophets ("Thus says the Lord. . . ."). Jesus regarded the Old Testament as fully true, that its prophecies must be fulfilled (Luke 24:25-45). The apostle Paul regarded the Old Testament as "Holy Scriptures" (Romans 1:2; 15:4).
      2. The New Testament (Matthew through Revelation) comes to us through the authority of apostles (generally, a disciple during Jesus Christ's earthly ministry, who saw His resurrection--Acts 1:21-22). They were given special ability to recall Jesus' words (John 14:25-26). The apostle Peter considered the writings of Paul to be equal in authority to the Old Testament (2 Peter 3:16). Some New Testament writers, such as Mark, wrote under the authority of an apostle (Mark was Peter's disciple).
      3. Other verses show that the entire Bible is given by God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20). Scripture has special ability to penetrate our understanding and conscience (Hebrews 4:12). God's words will remain after our planet has vaporized (Matthew 24:35).
      4. Since both prophets and apostles spoke from God, and God doesn't make mistakes, the Bible is without mistake, as originally given (the autographs).
      5. Over the centuries minor changes have entered the texts, but none that affect any important truth. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, beginning in 1947, showed that only few and minor changes had entered the Old Testament during 1,000 years of copying. For the New Testament, we have approximately 15,000 to 20,000 parts of the New Testament, from which, by comparing one with another and noting how old they are, we have an excellent text today. (For more information, see F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable? 1960. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eeardmans Pub. Co.; Josh McDowell, More Evidence that Demands a Verdict. 1981. San Bernadino, Cal.: Here's Life Publishers. ISBN: 0918956730. These books were consulted.)
      6. The Bible can be shown to be true because hundreds of prophecies have been accurately fulfilled (see below, #6., part G of this paper for examples).
      7. The Bible also is true because it shows the way life really is. The daily newspaper can be understood, as the Bible truly describes human nature. It perfectly fits reality, because it is perfectly true, and was written by the One who has designed the reality in which we happen to live. For example, the Bible says that anyone who has received Jesus Christ is a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). Have you yet seen that happen?
   4. Why doesn't everyone understand the truth?
      1. The truth is not pleasant to some, so they refuse to accept it (Romans 1:18). And Satan (the Devil) blinds them to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).
      2. Human wisdom cannot understand God (Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 19-21). If we could, our God would be fairly small.
2. WHO IS GOD?
   1. God is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4--that "oneness" allows for parts within it, as in "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." [Genesis 2:24, NIV]). And He is the ONLY God in the world (Isaiah 45:21-22).
   2. Who is God the Father?
      1. He is Spirit, and without flesh and bones (John 4:24; Luke 24:39).
      2. He is love (1 John 4:8).
      3. He treats people with justice, and no one can deliver from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39-42).
      4. He is completely holy (without sin) and awesome (Psalm 99:1-3; Isaiah 40).
      5. He has no beginning or end (Revelation 1:8 [Alpha and Omega]).
      6. He is the Creator of all that is (Genesis 1:1).
      7. He knows everything, even what we say next (Psalm 139:1-4), and is everywhere at once (Psalm 139:7-12).
      8. Nothing is too hard for God (Genesis 18:14).
      9. He is a father to His children: "abounding in love," forgiving, compassionate, giving (Psalm 103:2-18, NIV).
   3. Who is God the Son?
      1. He is eternal (Isaiah 9:6-7; John 8:58; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:8; John 1:1; Revelation 22:12-13, 20 [Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end]). Jesus is the "I AM" (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).
      2. Everything was created through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, the Son. He was not created, but created ALL things, and is before ALL things (Colossians 1:16-19). He keeps the world going.
      3. He claimed to be One with the Father (John 5:18; 10:30), but gave up for a time some of His powers and privileges to become man (His birth or "incarnation"), so that He (God) could die for our sins (Philippians 2:6-11).
      4. He was never an angel, but is above ALL angels, as God's Son (Hebrews 1:4-6, 13). He is fully God (Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13).
   4. Who is God the Holy Spirit?
      1. He is eternal (Genesis 1:1-2, in the beginning; Hebrews 9:14).
      2. He is a Person, not an impersonal force (Romans 8:26-27), is God (Acts 5:3-4) and equal to the Son (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
      3. His main work is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:26).
   5. What is more evidence for the tri-unity of God?
      1. God said, "Let US make man" (Genesis 1:26). Who else created humankind? He said to the prophet Isaiah, "Who will go for US?" (Isaiah 6:8).
      2. The Father and the Spirit were present at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:13-17). Christians were sent into the whole world, baptizing "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19, NIV).
      3. Other verses declare God's tri-unity: Luke 1:35; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:18-19; 1 Timothy 3:15-16; Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 22:16-18.
      4. While the term "trinity" is not found in the Bible, the Bible proves that God is a tri-unity. The exact name "Jehovah" may not be found in the Bible either, but may instead be pronounced "Yahweh." The four consonants for God's name (YHWH) were too holy to be pronounced by the Jews, so they took the vowels of another name for God (AdOnI, which means "my Lord") and combined the two: Y-A-H-O-W-I-H.
3. WHO IS MANKIND?
   1. He/She is created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). In what ways are we different from other living organisms?
      1. We have highly developed symbolic language (speech). God speaks and loves--so we speak and love (Francis Schaeffer's insight).
      2. We can appreciate beauty (do bullfrogs appreciate the beauty of butterflies?). God created gorgeous flowers and birds and people.
      3. We can create complex tools and music. God also delights in creating.
      4. We know right from wrong (Romans 2:14-15), all over the world. God created those truths (Genesis 2:16-17).
      5. We can make choices (Joshua 24:15). Animals are driven by instinct (2 Peter 2:12). And God chooses those who follow Him (Ephesians 1:4).
      6. We are given responsibility over God's creation, including the animal world, and are made lower, but not greatly lower, than God (Psalm 8).
      7. We can, by receiving Christ, become a child of God, while He becomes our Father (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17).
      8. Each person (not animal) will be judged by God after death (2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).
   2. We have spoiled God's image because of sin, and are separated from Him.
      1. Our first father, Adam, sinned and as the head of the human race, that sin was passed on to all people (Romans 5:17-19).
      2. Each of us also sins individually (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8).
      3. The payment due for sin(s): spending eternity in hell (the Second Death; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14). Hell is a "lake of fire" of conscious agony (Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:10, 15). There is no way to cross from hell to heaven (Luke 16:26). And it is utterly dark (Jude 1:13).
      4. We cannot pay for the sins of another, or for even ourselves (Psalm 49:7-9; in hell payment is never complete). Someone can only adequately pay who has no personal sin debt.
4. HOW CAN WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD?
   1. God the Son has paid our sin debt, and provided peace with God the Father.
      1. The price to be paid for sin is death (Romans 3:23). Life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), so blood must be spilled. Since all people have sinned, and inherit sin from Adam, the Father willed that the Son become a man, not through a human father, but by the Holy Spirit coming upon a virgin named Mary (Luke 1:35). The eternal Word of God had to take on flesh and blood (John 1:1, 14), in order to die ("Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!," John 1:29, NIV). Spotless lambs were sacrificed as sin offerings (also as peace offerings, Leviticus 3:6-7).
      2. Jesus Christ never sinned during his entire life (1 Peter 2:22, 24), so He could offer Himself up to God for our sins (Hebrews 7:26-28).
      3. He made peace between God and us by paying our sin debt (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
      4. How do we know that Jesus is God and paid for our sins? He gave us one major sign, that He would be raised from death by His Father (Matthew 12:39-40). In proof, over 500 people saw Jesus after His death (1 Corinthians 15:3-8; John 20-21).
   2. How do I receive the peace with God that Jesus provides?
      1. Peace with God, forgiveness of all our sin(s), and eternal life with God in heaven are received by faith in Christ, without any personal goodness at all (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5)! God considers faith in Christ the same as personal goodness. We receive to our account the goodness of Jesus Christ, just as He received our sin (Romans 3:21-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Fortunately, going to heaven is not a result of joining a church, being baptized, or obeying the 10 Commandments, the Law of Moses, the Golden Rule, or an other code of conduct. "Jesus paid it ALL."
      2. Specifically the Christian believes that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead, and is willing to state that publicly (Romans 10:9-10). Baptism is the public identification with Christ (Acts 2:41).
      3. God commands us to repent, that is, to turn away from known sin (Acts 3:19; 17:10). God will give you the power needed to change your life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 4:13).
      4. Whoever would receive Christ (John 1:12) should count the cost. It may mean rejection by friends and family--it may mean losing a job or even martyrdom (Luke 14:26-27).
      5. If you have Jesus, you can be sure right now that you have, right now, eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).
5. HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN LIVE?
   1. Jesus Christ gradually becomes our life (Colossians 1:18).
      1. We need to live in constant dependence upon Jesus (John 15:1-7).
      2. The purpose of our life becomes to glorify God in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). The highest way to do this is to live a life of love to God and people (Mark 12:28-30; Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the mark of a true Christian (John 13:35).
   2. A Christian lives in obedience to Jesus' commandments, and grows strong by meditating upon the Bible (John 14:21; 1 Peter 2:2).
6. HOW IS CHRISTIANITY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RELIGIONS?
   1. Our God has no limit, yet is personal.
      1. He is a "Father" to believers (Psalm 139:7-18; Romans 8:15-16; Luke 11:2
      2. He is not just a Creator who has walked away, or a tribal god.
      3. The Lord "stoops to look on the heavens and the earth . . . [yet] He raises the poor from the dust . . . ." (Psalm 113: 4-9, NIV).
   2. Our God is free from sin. God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), not a super man, complete with faults, as with some Hindu gods and goddesses (Kali), and many religions which worship spirits (animism).
   3. Our God is One--a Tri-unity
      1. He is not a god above other gods (henotheism), or one god among many (polytheism), or on the level of spirits or demons (animism).
      2. These scriptures affirm the Tri-unity: Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8; Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:18-19; 1 Timothy 3:15-16; Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 22:16-18.
   4. Jesus Christ is the only God-man in the world (John 1:1-3).
      1. He is the prophet who also claimed to be God (Luke 24:19; John 10:30). Buddha, Mohammed (Islam), Confucius, and Mahavira (Jainism) didn't, and are dead.
      2. Jesus calmly said that he was the only way to get to the Father (John 14:6). Religions increasingly teach that many ways exist to God (Baha'i, Hinduism [New Age]), or combine elements of various religions (Seventh Day Adventism appears to combine elements of the Law with Christianity). Mormonism combines Christianity with humanism (we can become gods, but will be under the first god [henotheism]). Christian Science combines parts of Christianity with Hinduism and Sikhism combines Islam with Hinduism. "All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, . . .Jesus said (John 10:8,NIV). This dealt with religions in existence before Christ came, with the exception of Judaism. Regarding those who followed Christ, He said that, "No one comes to the Father, except through Me." (John 14:6, NIV).
      3. As G. Campbell Morgan has shown, Jesus is the only religious teacher who actually lives in his followers. Others receive teachings--Christians receive Christ (John 1:12), and become His ongoing life on earth (The Acts of the Apostles. 1924. Old Tappan, N.J.: Revell, p. 31; John 14:20).
      4. Priesthood controls many religions. Jesus is the Christian's High Priest, and Christians are themselves a "royal priesthood" (Hebrews 5:1-10; 1 Peter 2:9).  
   5. Good Deeds: Other religions require some kind of good deeds to find acceptance with "God." Jesus paid to the Father the full debt which our sin created, by giving His life (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus' work of seeking and saving the lost was completed on the cross (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:5-10). Jesus was once asked, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28-29, NIV). We are saved by faith in Christ, plus nothing. Faith that saves will be accompanied by good deeds (James 2:17).
   6. The Holy Spirit is a person, not simply a "force."
      1. The Jehovah-Witnesses and New Agers teach an impersonal Spirit. But the Spirit can be lied to and grieved (Acts 5:3; Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 4:30).
      2. His power is not used for the Devil, as is "white" and "black" magic, and other demonic forces.
   7. Our holy book, the Bible, is unique.  
      1. It contains predictive prophecy, many written hundreds of years before fulfillment. Prophecies concerning details of the birth, life and death of Christ have been fulfilled in detail (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 40:3; 35:5-6; 50:6; 53:2-10; Psalm 22:16-18; 16:10; 68:18; Zechariah 14:4).
      2. Prophecies concerning cities and nations such as Tyre, Edom, and Israel have been fulfilled (Ezekiel 26:1-14; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 37:1-14). God, who controls the future, isn't reluctant to speak of it, which is an unanswerable test to the truth of the Bible.
   8. With thousands of cults (variations from Christianity) and many religions in the world, we must understand God's Word to determine what is really true. The Holy Spirit will teach a Christian (1 John 2:27).