CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Worship That God Approves

Are all religions pleasing to God?

How can we identify the true religion?

Who are God's true worshipers on earth today?

JEHOVAH GOD deeply cares for us and wants us to benefit from his loving direction. If we worship him in the right way, we will be happy and will avoid many problems in life.  We will also have his blessing and his help.  (Isaiah 48:17) There are however, hundreds of religions that claim to teach the truth about God. Yet, they differ greatly in their teachings about who God is and what he expects of us.

How can you know the right way to worship  Jehovah?  You do not have to study and compare the teachings of all the many religions .  You need only to learn what the Bible really teaches about true worship.  To illustrate: In many lands, there is a problem with counterfeit money, how would you go about  it?  By memorizing ever kind of counterfeit?  No.  Your time would be better spent if you studied real money. After you knew what real money looked like,you could recognize  a counterfeit.  Similarly,m when we learn how to identify the true religion, we can recognized those religions that are false.  

It is important that we worship Jehovah in the way that he approves.  Many people believe  that all religions are pleasing to God, but the Bible does not teach that.  It is not even enough just to claim to be a Christian.  Jesus 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."  To have God's approval, therefore, we must learn what God requires of us and do it. Jesus called those who do not do God's will "workers of lawlessness."  (Matthew 7:21-23) Like counterfeit money, false religion has no real value. Even worse, such religion is actually harmful. 

Jehovah gives everyone on earth the opportunity to gain everlasting life.  To have eternal life in Paradise, however,  we must worship God properly and live now in a way that is acceptable to him.  Sadly, many refuse to do so. That is why Jesus said:  "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped  the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it."  (Matthew 7:13,  14) True religion leads to everlasting life. False religion  leads to destruction. Jehovah does not want any human destroyed, and that is why he is giving people everywhere an opportunity to learn about him. ( 2 Peter 3:9)  Really, then, the way we worship God means either life or death for us. 

Next time: Worship That God Approves/HOW TO IDENTIFY THE TRUE RELIGION

From the book: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH?