Knowing the truth
Recently, as I've been studying other faiths for our weekly youth Bible study, I've spoken with people about their beliefs in God and scripture. I've gotten some interesting responses.
One person said they believed in the truths the Bible taught, but simply could not accept the wilder accounts, such as Jonah. Another said the Bible was a book of truths, but so are other religious books. Another disputed various accounts of scripture.
As I read those responses, I understand how people can fall for the fallacy of cults. They twist scripture and add enough "Christian-speak" to sound authentic. If you don't know your Bible or have just rudimentary knowledge, you can be easily confused about what is true and what is false.
Jehovah's Witnesses are one of those types of organizations. Many of their teachings directly contradict scripture. They teach that Jesus is an angel created by God who died on a stake instead of a cross. They teach that only 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will go to heaven. The rest of humanity has to earn salvation through good works in order to live on earth forever. They also do not believe in Hell.
To support their beliefs, they created their own version of the Bible and consider any other translation as flawed and unacceptable.
If you are not familiar with scripture, you could be easily fooled into thinking of Jehovah's Witnesses as Christian. They talk about Jesus. They use slightly different worded scriptures. They have the name "Jehovah" in their name, just as we use that name in many of our songs. It sounds Christian, but it's not.
It only takes some basic knowledge of scripture to see their teachings as false. John 1 says Jesus existed with God in the beginning and is God. 1 Corinthians 8 reminds us that Jesus is Lord. Hebrews 1 says Jesus is superior to angels.
However, we only know these scriptures, and the truths they hold, if we spend time reading and studying God's word. If I have a Bible but never read it, I can easily fall into the traps of cults and false teaching. How can I dispute the teaching if I have no scripture to back it up?
Scripture is the backbone of our faith. To be a follower of Jesus, you must know what the Bible says. You can't take the pastor's word for it. You can't just base it on what a Sunday School teacher taught you. You must know what it says, so that you can be ready with a response to false teaching.
The easiest way not to fall for a lie is to know the truth. Jesus knew that when we dueled Satan in the wilderness during his temptation. Paul shared the dangers of ignorance when he wrote the first chapter of Romans. John understood that when he wrote that we are not to add or subtract from scripture.
Know the truth, so you will not fall for a lie.
As Jesus says, "the truth shall set you free."
One person said they believed in the truths the Bible taught, but simply could not accept the wilder accounts, such as Jonah. Another said the Bible was a book of truths, but so are other religious books. Another disputed various accounts of scripture.
As I read those responses, I understand how people can fall for the fallacy of cults. They twist scripture and add enough "Christian-speak" to sound authentic. If you don't know your Bible or have just rudimentary knowledge, you can be easily confused about what is true and what is false.Jehovah's Witnesses are one of those types of organizations. Many of their teachings directly contradict scripture. They teach that Jesus is an angel created by God who died on a stake instead of a cross. They teach that only 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will go to heaven. The rest of humanity has to earn salvation through good works in order to live on earth forever. They also do not believe in Hell.
To support their beliefs, they created their own version of the Bible and consider any other translation as flawed and unacceptable.
If you are not familiar with scripture, you could be easily fooled into thinking of Jehovah's Witnesses as Christian. They talk about Jesus. They use slightly different worded scriptures. They have the name "Jehovah" in their name, just as we use that name in many of our songs. It sounds Christian, but it's not.
It only takes some basic knowledge of scripture to see their teachings as false. John 1 says Jesus existed with God in the beginning and is God. 1 Corinthians 8 reminds us that Jesus is Lord. Hebrews 1 says Jesus is superior to angels.
However, we only know these scriptures, and the truths they hold, if we spend time reading and studying God's word. If I have a Bible but never read it, I can easily fall into the traps of cults and false teaching. How can I dispute the teaching if I have no scripture to back it up?
Scripture is the backbone of our faith. To be a follower of Jesus, you must know what the Bible says. You can't take the pastor's word for it. You can't just base it on what a Sunday School teacher taught you. You must know what it says, so that you can be ready with a response to false teaching.
The easiest way not to fall for a lie is to know the truth. Jesus knew that when we dueled Satan in the wilderness during his temptation. Paul shared the dangers of ignorance when he wrote the first chapter of Romans. John understood that when he wrote that we are not to add or subtract from scripture.
Know the truth, so you will not fall for a lie.
As Jesus says, "the truth shall set you free."
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