IS EVERYTHING RIGHT WITH GOD AND YOU?

THE WORD AT HAND

God's wisdom encompasses all knowledge and understanding of all things visible and invisible in heaven, in the earth below and under the earth. God comprehensively knows the beginning and end of all things; remembering the past, seeing all things present and all things that must come to pass long before they come to pass. And all those things came to pass which He has long foretold shall come to pass.  

Mankind is God’s creation; and it will not matter to Him whether any man or group of men admit it or not. For those who acknowledge God as their Creator, it is of utmost importance that they know and understand His real intent and purpose for creating them. Man must answer correctly the question why he was created in order that he may live in conformity with the right answer. For one, God did not create man for nothing – to be born, exist for a time and then die. Surely, like the piece of furniture that the carpenter designed and constructed to either be a chair to sit on or a bed to sleep on or a table to eat on, man was created to serve and satisfy the whole purpose and intention of God in creating him. The carpenter may have made a lot of chairs, a lot of beds, a lot of tables, yet he did not made them all for his own use, but for others also. And he is not only pleased with what he does because he earns a living out of it but because he is able to satisfy the needs of others. God is the Creator of all things, but unlike the carpenter, He does not make a living out of His creations. He need not make a living because it is Him who gives life and fills the needs of His creations. God has revealed to mankind what it is in man that will please Him; and He said:

“Thus saith the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, for I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment, and justice in the earth: for these things please me, saith the Lord.” - Jeremias 9:23-24.

Perhaps, the first truth that every man must consider is that he was created in a manner that is uniquely different from the rest of God’s creations. First of all, God did not simply send forth His Word out of His mouth to say, “Let there be man;” and there was man - as He did with the others. But God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils; and man became a living soul. And then God endowed man with certain authority over the rest of His creations when He said,

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle and all the animals that crawl on the earth. See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the earth and every tree which has seed-bearing fruit to be your food. To every wild animal of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to every creature that crawls on the earth and has the breadth of life, I give the green plants for food.” – Genesis 28-30.

Man, in his inherent wisdom and prudence, may have actually considered a lot of different and often opposing ideas, conjectures and propositions as to the real reason why he came to be or how he came to be. But no matter what, the indisputable presumption is that there must be a reason or purpose, whether natural or spiritual, for man’s earthly existence which in having a beginning must also have an end. However, it is this - man’s insistent efforts to find out for himself the meaning and purpose of his earthly existence by his human wisdom and prudence which conceal rather than reveal God’s true, perfect and divine intention and purpose for creating mankind. This kind of effort only shows the utter disregard of man for God’s whole counsel in His own will and pleasure to reveal Himself, His thoughts and ways to those who seek His truth. And so it is written:

"For what man knows God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns. And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out? Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight, and men learned what was your pleasure, and were saved by Wisdom.” - Wisdom 9:13-18. 

“Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive.” - Isaias 55:6-7.

“All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever.” - Ecclesiasticus 1:1

The real reason and purpose of man’s creation is an essential part of the entire knowledge and understanding of the true realities of God in His actual existence that should establish that meaningful and lasting relationship between God and man. And in as much as a man ardently desire to know and understand God in His truth, God, on the other hand is so willing to reveal Himself to those who seek Him: those who are found worthy to receive His truth. 

"Love justice, you who judge the earth; think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him. For perverse counsels separate a man from God, and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy; because into a soul that plots evil Wisdom enter not, nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin. For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsels; and when wickedness occurs it is rebuked.” - Wisdom 1:1-5.

Indeed, to know and understand God in His truth is to receive His supreme Wisdom which should enable him to learn what is His pleasure, make his path on earth straight, and save him in the end from his otherwise inevitable destruction. But man must seek God and His Wisdom in integrity of heart, believe Him in living faith by hearing and obeying His counsel only. He said it and caused it to be written: “Perverse counsels separate a man from God.” And what are perverse counsels; from where do these counsels come and persistently being offered to mankind? Certainly, a counsel is at once perverse if it is not of God. And thus are perverse counsels always found wicked, stubborn, vicious, rebellious, unreasonable, difficult, and discordant with God’s divine and perfect will. On the other hand, the whole counsel and intention of God are just and good and thus are meant only for those who are likewise just and good in mind and heart. 

Everything can only be right with God and you through that meaningful and lasting relationship whereby His whole counsel is the only rule you follow in your every thought, word, and deed. It is written: 

“The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is man’s all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

Fear God and keep His commandments. This is man’s reason for being, the whole purpose and intention of God for creating him. In the end, the works that man has done in the conduct of his earthly life shall be determined in goodness by his faithful obedience to the counsel of God. Otherwise, his works shall be judged in wickedness. So, everything should be all right with God and every man who fears Him and keeps His commandments during his lifetime on earth, while he is yet alive and well; for there is no more work that the dead can do. And thus is it imperative for the living to learn and keep the whole counsel of God while yet he is still able to obey it.  

So, why ask, “Is everything right with God and you?” First, it is not always right with God and everybody. It has always been and always will be that this world is divided between men who fear God and keep His commandments and those who do not, either consciously or unconsciously. And secondly, there will always be those who know and understand God by the divine providence of His Wisdom and His Word and those who know and understand God by the vain perceptions of the timid deliberations of the human heart and mind. For so it is written:

“Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men; therefore, behold I will proceed to cause an admiration to this people by a great and wonderful miracle: for wisdom shall perish from their wise men, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” - Isaias 29:13-14. 

“For there were false prophets also among the people, just as among you there will be lying teachers who will bring in destructive sects. They even disown the Lord who bought them, thus bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their wanton conduct, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. And out of greed they will with deceitful words use you for their gain. Their condemnation, passed of old, is not made void, and their destruction does not slumber.” - 2 Peter 2:1-3.

Now it becomes well within the easy comprehension of every one to determine the fact of his/her actual relationship with God; to find out for sure whether it pleases Him or not. For it must be underlined that the relationship between God and man is individual, between Him and the person alone. Finally, “Is everything all right with God and you?” 

RELATIONSHIP IN LOVE  

The counsel of God says: Fear God and keep His commandments. Do you fear God? And how do you fear God? First, bear in mind the words of Scripture, “. . . and they have feared me with the commandments and doctrines of men. . .” Now it is not difficult to understand that you must fear God with His commandments and doctrines only and not with those of men. What exactly have you been doing in your relationship with God? Was it by His doctrines and commandments that you fear Him or by those of men? You can find that out for sure by first knowing the commandments and doctrines of God which are all indelibly written in His Holy Book. But for now, let it be proclaimed that the commandments of God are all contained and revealed in the commandment of Jesus Christ; and His doctrines, in the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Consider this pertinent Biblical account:

“But the Pharisees, hearing that he has silenced the Sadducees, had gathered together. And one of them, a doctor of the Law, putting him to the test, asked him, ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' On these two commandments depends the whole Law and the Prophets.’” – Matthew 22:34-40.

Every word that Jesus Christ has spoken and commanded is His doctrine and His commandment which cannot deviate from the doctrines and commandments of God. In other words, the doctrine and commandment of Christ are exactly the complete revelation of the doctrines and commandments of God. How is that? Jesus declared that the greatest and first commandment in the Law (the commandments of God for His people Israel) is for His people to love Him with their whole heart, soul and mind. The second one enjoins the people of God to love their neighbor as they love themselves. And then He said that the whole Law and the Prophets depend on those two commandments. 

Any individual becomes one of the people of God if he or she is able to obey and observe these two commandments in the entire conduct of his or her earthly life. But an individual is only able to observe these two commandments if he or she has attained that perfect knowledge and understanding of the true meaning and intent of those commandments through the revelation of Jesus Christ in His words. And how did Jesus reveal the meaning and intent of those two commandments in His doctrine? He said it and it is written:

“But when the Son of Man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory; and before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them, one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

“Then the king will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you covered me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the just will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and feed thee; or thirsty, and give thee to drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and take thee in; or naked, and clothe thee? Or when did we see thee sick, or in prison, and come to thee?’ And answering the king will say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me.’ 

“Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not administer to thee?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me.’ And these will go into everlasting punishment, but the just into everlasting life.” - Matthew 25:31-46. 

“The woman said to him, 'Sir, I see that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that at Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such to worship him. God is spirit; and they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messias is coming (who is called Christ), and when he comes he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to thee am he.’” - John 4:6-26.

To really love God with one’s whole heart, soul and mind is to worship Him; and worship Him only in spirit and in truth. The doctrine of Christ says so. But how does one worship God in spirit and in truth? Jesus says that God is a spirit. Indeed, God is the supreme and almighty Spirit Being and that establishes Him as an inscrutable and ineffable, invisible and intangible in the true and eternal realities of His actual existence. So, how should His people worship Him as their Father in a spiritual manner? The apostle Paul testifies in this regard and says, 

“Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that are not seen; for by it the men of old had testimony borne to them. By faith we understand that the world was fashioned by the word of God; and thus things visible were made out of things invisible.” - Hebrews 11:1-3.

The singular manner by which the people of God must worship Him in spirit is through living faith in Him. And faith in God is believing His truth that His Word imparts and abiding in the same truth by keeping His Word as a rule of life one must follow in his every thought, word and deed. God is a spirit and so are His Wisdom and His Word. Thus, it is only through living faith that a man is able to see God, know and understand Him in His truth whereby he is mightily able to worship Him and love Him with his whole heart, soul and mind.  

God absolutely needs nothing from man; not his money, not his services, nothing he is able to think of and do. Thus, the love with which God commands His people to love Him is exaltedly different from the love with which men love each other. The commandment spelled out in the Law and the Prophets is in this wise:

"I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation but bestowing mercy, down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” - Deuteronomy 5:6-10. 

The people of God must worship Him in truth – because He is true; He is the truth. But to worship Him is to worship Him alone. You shall not have other gods besides me. It’s alright with God for you to love anybody and everybody but not with your whole heart, mind and soul, since you will be worshipping them besides God in that manner. And it definitely is NOT alright with God for you to have carved idols and images to bow down before and worship. 

But the second commandment in the Law says that one must love his neighbor as himself. That is true. And that only established the difference between the love with which you must love God and the love with which you must love your neighbor. Yet, it is by loving your neighbor that you are able to prove that you really worship God in spirit and in truth. However, there is this one consideration that we must not overlook. The second commandment of the Law and the Prophets was already amended in the doctrine of Christ. And it is written: 

“A new commandment I give you; that you love one another: that as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another?” - John 13:34-35. 

"Owe no man anything except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. For, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not covet’; and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Love does no evil to a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the Law.” - Romans 13:8-10.

Now, it is clear that there is only one commandment and one doctrine that you and I and everyone else must fulfill and abide if we must all really fear God and keep His commandments in a certain manner that will please Him. And that is the one new commandment of Jesus Christ which He distinguished and established in His doctrine that He taught and demonstrated to His brethren; not two or six or ten or two thousand four hundred fourteen commandments that men insist to preach and promulgate to the people. “Love one another as I have loved you” - that is the one new commandment that the people of God and the brethren of Jesus must now observe and follow as a way of life. 

But how did Jesus love the brethren? He loved the brethren in the same exact manner that His Father has loved. And He said, 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do the things I command you. No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and have appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. These things I command you, that you may love one another.” - John 15:12-17.

Are we capable of loving one another in the manner of God’s love? Of course not, unless He whom God sent to manifest His love imparts it to us by loving us (if we are indeed His brethren) with the greatest love of all – by laying down His life for us (if we are indeed His friends). So, do we have to lay down our lives for one another as Jesus did? Yes, of course. Does it mean that we also have to suffer and die on the cross as He did? That is not correct even by a long shot. Did you not hear what He just said?

“You are my friends if you do the things I command you. No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” 

He laid down His life for His friends by making known to them all things that He heard from the Father so that they are no longer servants who do not know what the Master does. And henceforth, if you know what the Master does in the manner that Jesus Christ has made it known, then you are no longer servants but friends for whom He laid down His life and whom He has loved with the greatest love of all. And that is why the one new commandment of Jesus Christ in His doctrine enjoins us to love one another as He loved us (if we are indeed His brethren) in order that we also may lay down our lives for one another in perfect demonstration of His great love in our every thought word and deed. And everything will surely be alright with God and you and me and everyone else. And how do we go about loving one another in the manner of God’s love? How do we lay down our lives as Jesus did? 

COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING 

What is the ordinary and conspicuous manner of worship that very many, many people practice and observe with which they relate with God in the effort to fear Him, keep His commandments, and thereby please Him? It is called and distinguished as faith and religion. But it is that kind of faith which is confined to belief in the existence of God and admitting that He is the almighty Creator. On the other hand, religion is defined in most dictionaries as follows: 

A: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. B: a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

But the written words of God by the testimony of the apostle James define the word, religion, in this manner: 

“Therefore, casting aside all uncleanness and abundance of malice, with meekness receive the in-grafted word, which is able to save your souls. But become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror: for he looks at himself and goes away, and presently he forgets what kind of man he is. But he who has looked carefully into the perfect law of liberty and has remained in it, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, shall be blessed in his deed. And if anyone thinks himself to be religious, not restraining his tongue but deceiving his own heart, that man’s religion is vain. Religion pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to give aid to orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself unspotted in this world.” - James 1:21-27.

The apostle James defines religion as the work that a man must do in compliance with the word that he heard. Obviously, his definition of religion is distinguished differently from that of the dictionaries in that it is not a set of beliefs but the work that one does according to his belief. We must believe in God and in Jesus Christ whom He sent in true, perfect and living faith. That only means that we must believe the truth of His Word accordingly as He made us to know and understand what Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated to us and do whatever we have learned from Him. And our religion is the work that we must fulfill in compliance to the Word of God that we have heard from Jesus Christ. Our religion is the proof and evidence that our faith is true, perfect and alive – the faith which will earn for us the promised everlasting life. The apostle James further said,

“For, just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith also without works is dead.” - James 2: 26.

Understandably, the dictionary arrives at their given definitions of words in consonance with the ordinary promptings of man. And thus, its definition of religion is founded upon that conclusion resulting from its observations on how religion is being practiced in the world. If you are practicing a religion which is just a set of beliefs as defined in the dictionary, then that is not alright with God. The religion that would set everything all right with God and you is that which James defined in accordance with the truth that Jesus Christ has made known to him. Now you can compare for yourself the kind of faith and religion that you must render to God in order to please Him and serve His purpose for creating you. 

How do you worship God the Father? You must love Him with your whole heart, mind and soul. And how do go about it? You must love your brethren as Jesus Christ has loved you. And how did Christ love the brethren in a manner we must understand and follow? He already said it:

“But when the Son of Man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory; and before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them, one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

“Then the king will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; . . .for you were hungry and I gave you to eat; you were thirsty and I gave you to drink; you were a stranger and I took you in; naked and I covered you; sick and I visited you; you were in prison and I came to you.’. . . Then the just will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and feed thee; or thirsty, and give thee to drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and take thee in; or naked, and clothe thee? Or when did we see thee sick, or in prison, and come to thee?’ And answering the king will say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me.’

That’s how loved His brethren. And if you are one of His brethren indeed, then you must love as He did: give the hungry brethren to eat, give the thirsty to drink, take them in as strangers when they come to you, clothe them in their nakedness and visit them in their prison or when they are sick. But remember: the words that Jesus has spoken are spirit and life, so don’t take His word literally but spiritually. The true Christian brethren are many but they do not hunger for food or thirsty of drink for the body but for the soul. Many of them are strangers to the truth of God’s Word and still many of them are sick and imprisoned by the deceptive doctrines and commandments of men. And thus are they naked from the protective covering of God’s divine providence of grace and truth and justice. So you also lay down your life for the brethren as Jesus did. Live your life in a manner that your brethren will learn and see the things that Jesus Has made known to you which He heard from His Father. Forgive those who have done you wrong so that the Father will also forgive your sins. Act, in your thoughts, words and deeds in consonance with the manner of prayer that Jesus taught His brethren: 

“But in praying, do not multiply words, as the Gentiles do; for they think that by saying a great deal, they will be heard. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. In this manner therefore shall you pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ For if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offenses. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you your offenses.” - Matthew 6:7-15.

If you can love in this truly Christian manner, then everything should be alright with God and you. However, you can only be able to love in this perfect manner if your faith and religion fall squarely under the Biblical definitions. But if your faith and religion is founded upon human interpretations of the profound revelations of the Bible, you can never establish that meaningful relationship with God whereby it would please Him. Yet your final decision to abide by the words of Jesus and keep the commandments of God remains subject under your own free will to make today while you are alive, not tomorrow or any day after because that may be too late. Jesus revealed the deceptions of these man-made doctrines and commandments that we must ignore and reject. He declared:

“The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. All things, therefore, that they command you, observe and do. But do not act according to their works; for they talk and do nothing. And they bind together heavy and oppressive burdens, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but not with one finger of their own do they choose to move them. In fact, all their works they do in order to be seen by men; for they widen their phylacteries, and enlarge their tassels, and love the first places at suppers and the front seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the market place, and to be called by men ‘Rabbi.’ But do not you be called ‘Rabbi’; for one is your Master, and all you are brothers. And call no one on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. Neither you be called masters; for only one is your Master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees; hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven against men. For you do not go in yourselves, nor do you allow those going in to enter. Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour the houses of widows praying long prayers. For this you will receive a greater judgment. Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you traverse sea and land to make one convert; and when he has become one, you make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.” - Matthew 23:2-15.

The Scribes and Pharisees during the time of Jesus on earth are the same leaders and teachers and preachers of the different church and religious organizations that we have today. And if you are presently practicing your faith and religion according to their convictions, then nothing is alright with God and you. 

Are you presently a member of any one of the thousands of church and religious organizations in this world? Have you, at any time, asked yourself why you are a member thereof? Is there really any need for you or anybody to join any one of these church and religious organizations? If there is indeed a need for you to be a member thereof, who established such need? Now, if it is God who indeed established that need, then you certainly are following His counsel and living your life pursuant to His divine will and purpose. And thus, you can be certain that everything is right with God and you. Unfortunately though, no such need has ever been established by God for the plain and simple reason that there is no such need which the entire Biblical revelations ever took into account. Rather, it was men and groups of men that had established the need for every man to join and support any one of these church organizations as the essential requisite for his final salvation. For example, the Roman Catholic Church organization has officially established and pronounced this need: 

“Outside the Church No Salvation is a theological axiom which means that membership in the Church founded by Christ is necessary for the salvation of every individual man. Since the Roman Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ and since many millions of men are not members thereof, it might be thought that these millions, according to Catholic theology, will inevitably be damned. Catholic theologians have commonly held that many of those outside the Church through no fault of their own can be saved by doing God’s will as they see it; and theologians explain the axiom ‘outside the Church no salvation’ to allow for such cases. The teaching of the Church on this theological axiom can be summed up in the following seven points: 

1.This axiom is a revealed truth which must be believed by Catholics; but it must be understood in the sense in which the Church understands it, not according to the personal interpretation of any individual. 

2. The axiom means that Christ commands all men to be baptized into the Catholic Church and to remain therein, united to the pope, who is the Vicar of Christ on earth. Hence, anyone knowing of this strict command of Christ and refusing to obey it cannot be saved. 

3. All men are not only commanded to join the Church, but Christ has made the Catholic Church the means by which they are to enter into heaven. 

4. The Church is a necessary means of salvation, not because of any intrinsic necessity (i.e., Christ could have arranged other means of salvation), but because it was so established by Christ. 

5. In some circumstances, according to God’s infinite mercy, salvation may be obtained by those who are not actually members of the Church but who have a wish or a desire to become members. 

6.The wish or the desire that can sometimes substitute for actual membership in the Church need not always be explicit (e.g., as it is in those who are taking instructions in preparation for baptism), but it may be implicit, that is, it may be included in the good disposition of person who wishes to do God’s will. 

7. For the desire of membership in the Church to be effective in insuring one’s eternal salvation, it must be joined to perfect charity or love of God and the individual must have supernatural faith.” - The Catholic Dictionary 

An axiom is a statement taken to be true without proof. It is a self-evident truth. It can also be a well-established principle, rule, or law. Thus it is correctly understood that a theological axiom is either a statement, or a principle, or a rule, or a law conceived and promulgated by theologians. Theologians are experts in theology, which is the study of God and His relations with man and the universe; of religion and religious beliefs. And as experts, it can be ascertained that they fully understood what axiom means. And so they conceived a statement, stating that every man must join the Church organization founded by Christ if he must be saved. Presenting the statement as an axiom, these theologians therefore conveniently and completely divested themselves of the burden of proving the truth of their statement. So, Catholics must acknowledge the statement, ‘outside the Church no salvation,’ true without proof because it is has been presented to them as an axiom. Having established the statement true in this manner, the Catholic theologians then established the axiom as principle, rule, and law by following it up with more statements, this time directly involving the participation of Christ. First, they stated that the axiom means that Christ commands all men to be baptized into the Catholic Church and remain therein, united to the pope, who is the Vicar of Christ on earth.  

The next statement says that all men are not only commanded to join the Church, but Christ has made the Catholic Church the means by which they are to enter into heaven. Finally, they stated that the Church is the necessary means of salvation because it was so established by Christ. Now, if the statement, ‘outside the Church no salvation,’ is taken for granted as an axiom that must be taken true without proof, should the next statements that say, ‘Christ commanded this,’ and ‘Christ established that,’ be likewise considered axioms? It should be, but only if the Biblical revelations should manifest complete conformity with such statements. But there is not one Biblical revelation to be found which says that Christ commanded all men to be baptized in the Catholic Church, remain therein, united to the pope who was never the Vicar of Christ on earth. Neither was it said even once in the entire Bible that Christ established the Church as the means of salvation. 

“Outside the Church no Salvation” is not even an axiom in the true sense of the word. Rather than a well-established and self-evident truth, the statement is a well established human proposition in fallacy because it is not founded on the Word of God, but on the words of men, theologians though they are. The purported “axiom” is begging and bellowing for evidence and proof of truth and trustworthiness, because of the multiplied existence of other church organizations, each one saying the same thing as the Catholic Church: that it is the one founded by Christ and the rest are not. 

If there is indeed only one church organization to be found in this world, then there is a possibility that Christ could be its founder and head and the Catholic statement may be considered an axiom. But since there are indeed thousands of church organizations that should certainly befuddle and confound the mind and heart of a man in choosing which one to join, then the only possibility is that salvation does not require any individual to join the Catholic Church or any other church organization, be it actually, explicitly, or implicitly. Is there anything that can prevent Jesus from speaking out the truth, especially the truth concerning the salvation of mankind which is the very will and purpose of His Father in giving Him into the world? If He truly commanded all men to join the Catholic Church, remain therein, united to the pope, why was such commandment not found in His Gospel? But such commandment to join the Catholic Church or any other church organization in order to be saved is not found in the Bible because there is absolutely no such commandment. 

What we now have in the world are thousands of church and religious organizations, each one allegedly teaching and preaching the doctrine and commandment of Jesus Christ through their opposing perceptions and interpretations of the profound meanings and intentions of His words.

Indeed, it is by these vain and arrogant human efforts to interpret and explain the divine will of God in His written words that peoples, tongues and nations are misled and led astray by the doctrines and precepts of men. Correct knowledge and understanding of the divine truths of the Biblical revelations will always prove that founding, joining and supporting church and religious organizations have no part at all in God’s will and purpose to save the perishing man. The kingdom which God has prepared from the foundation of the world is meant for the just – every man who had seen to it that everything had been right between God and himself during the whole conduct of his earthly life. And in that eternal kingdom, there shall be found no Catholics, or Protestants, or whatever organizational distinctions whereby a man may have distinguished himself in this world.