This post is part of a series of posts summarising chapters of the Jehovah Witnesses' booklet, "What does the Bible really Teach?", and seeking to evaluate those chapters against Scripture somewhat briefly. Those posts were introduced at the Introduction, and a contents page will be added to that entry once this run of posts has finished.
Chapter 15: Worship that God approves
There are hundreds of religions that claim to lead to God; you don’t have to know about all of them, only the right one. Do that, and you’ll recognise the false trails.
How to identify the true religion: It will be evident in the lives of those who practice it, because trees are known by their fruit. (i) God’s servants base their teachings on the Bible – it’s not about our own ideas. (ii) They worship only Jehovah and make his name known – only worshipping the one true God, and this includes making his name known. (iii) They show genuine, unselfish love for one another. (iv) They accept Jesus Christ as God’s means of salvation – he is God’s appointed way to heaven, so we accept that. (v) True worshippers are no part of the world. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, so his followers will “maintain strict neutrality in the world’s political affairs” (149), but obey God rather than men when that is required. (vi) Jesus’ true followers preach that God’s kingdom is mankind’s only hope, so that people are encouraged to look to him for answers.
What will you do?: It’s not enough to believe in God; we need to do his will which means embracing true worship.
The alternatives are collectively called “Babylon the Great” in the Bible; “many teachings and practise now common in false religion originated long ago in Babylon. For example, the Babylonians worshiped trinities, or triads, of gods.” (152). Instead, the Bible teaches that there is one true God. Babylonian worship has spread, and we need to get out (Revelation 18:4). Separating from false worship may lead to some ostracism, but you gain more than you lose.
Evaluation
False religion is a serious problem in the Bible; not all that calls itself Christian is that. This is a serious warning. However it’s hard to see where their 6 criteria come from to distinguish true from false religion. Not all of those criteria are biblical in themselves. For instance, the fact that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world does not mean that his followers should not seek to influence the way that this world’s kingdoms govern. Further, these will not be the criteria that distinguish true from false religion. False forms of Christianity may, too, stress that Jesus is our only hope. All forms of Christianity, orthodox and heterodox alike, claim to base their teachings on the Bible.
Babylon the Great is not a label to draw together all false religion. It is a symbol for the tyrannical power of the day that sought to oppress God’s people. The two most frequently argued contenders for this role in Revelation are the Jewish religious system and the Roman empire.
The biblical doctrine of the Trinity upholds both that there is one true God, and that there are 3 persons within the one godhead. To find a biblical text that asserts there is only one true God is not to disprove the Trinity because the doctrine of the Trinity teaches precisely this. To disprove the Trinity, one would have not only to find a text that says that God is one but also to find a text that says there are not three persons. We have already considered the teaching that attempts to say Jesus was not True God of True God.
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