How To Know The True Church?
How to know the true Church? Know the true Church by their fruits! Yes, more than any other factor, it is the fruits of Elohim’s people that tell the story. Many people nowadays are sincere to what they believe. They are also very sincere about their chosen faith. They have learned enough about the purpose of Yahshua Messiah’s life, death and resurrection to understand some of Yahweh’s plan to save mankind. Many read the Bible regularly and sincerely want to please Elohim. But sadly they remain blinded to the real meaning of sin, repentance and conversion. This is a very common problem. Many religious people are faithfully sincere but lack understanding of the righteousness of Yahweh. They cannot believe they could possibly be wrong. They neglect obedience to Yahweh’s law because of their lack of true biblical understanding—having been victimized by a false gospel—yet they are still sincerely convinced they are serving Yahshua the Messiah. Today we will be sharing with you how to identify the true Church that Yahshua the Messiah built. As always, we will let the Bible interpret itself and now ask the Holy Spirit of Yahweh to give us guidance and wisdom while we preach and teach to you this fundamental and very important biblical topic. May you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear for this true and faithful heavenly message.
The apostle Paul is a classic example of a man who had learned his lesson—because of his own experiences. Paul had been a Pharisee, a member of one of the strictest Jewish groups of his day. He was sincere in what he believed and practiced. He summed up his own zeal and adherence to the precepts he had learned as a Pharisee: “If anyone makes claims (of righteousness in the flesh), I can make a stronger case for myself: circumcised on the eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born and bred; in my practice of the law a Pharisee, in zeal for religion a persecutor of the church, by the law’s standard of righteousness without fault” (Philippians 3:4-6). Paul explained the reason for the existence of the spiritual blindness he had so zealously represented: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to Elohim for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of Yahweh’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim” (Romans 10:1-3). Did you get it? Before his conversion to the true faith or the Church the apostle Paul persecuted the Church of Yahweh because of his spiritual blindness and self-righteousness! Later on he thanked “Yahshua Messiah our Master who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:12-13). Yes Paul, a devout Pharisee, was sincere. But he was sincerely wrong! But after Yahweh, through Yahshua the Messiah, opened his mind, he could clearly see just how wrong he had been!
As mentioned above, it is the fruits of Yahweh’s people that tell the story. “Therefore by their fruits you will know them,” says Yahshua the Messiah. “Not everyone who says to Me, Master, Master, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:20-21). Yes, you want to locate other people who are dearly special to Elohim because they do Yahweh’s will. That is the fruit that Yahshua says is most important. He also says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you’ve love for one another” (John 13:35). The special people of Elohim not only do Yahweh’s will, they do it “because Elohim’s love has been poured into all their hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to them” (Romans 5:5). To Almighty Yahweh, love and obedience are inseparable: “For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His Commandments. And His Commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The apostle Paul states the same thought in different words: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the Law” (Romans 13:10). The power of the Holy Spirit causes the love of Elohim to flow through His people within the channel of His Law. His Law defines and directs love. Doing anything that is contrary to Elohim’s Law is the opposite of love. For example, committing murder, adultery or theft breaks Elohim’s Law. Doing any of those things shows a lack of love to Almighty Yahweh and lack of love to other peoples.
How important is the relationship between love and obedience? It is the key that distinguishes the true people of Yahweh from those deceived by Satan: “In this the children of Yahweh and the children of the devil are manifest: “Whoever does not practice righteousness (Yahweh’s Commandments) is not of Elohim, nor is he who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). Yes, love and doing go together. They are inseparable. Both are essential for the true followers of Messiah. The apostle James says: “But be 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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25). Yes, Yahweh will not accept lip service! Yahshua Messiah said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). He also said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). The hearts and minds of Elohim’s servants are transformed by His Spirit so that they want to obey Him. They willingly submit to and obey Elohim. Serving Elohim is a way of life, not an empty ritual. True Christians believe Yahweh, and they practice what they believe. The evidence of their obedience can be readily observed in the fruits of their lives. Truly you can know them “by their fruits,” especially the fruits of love and obedience. Do not be deceived. It’s impossible for a church to claim to know Elohim and disregard all the need to obey His Commands! It is time to know Who we need to worship and to know the correct Sabbath day is according to Bible and do not follow human or man-made traditions!
In closing, how to know the true Church? Notice that the Bible described the real true Church as keeping Yahweh’s Commandments and holding fast to everything Yahshua the Messiah taught. This demonstrates that the Church Yahshua built has always obeyed the Commandments of Elohim and will continue to do so even until the time of Yahshua’s return to this earth. The apostle John makes this plain: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments. He who says “I know Him,” and does not keep His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of Elohim is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:3-5). Revelation 12 pictures the people of Yahweh as a woman under attack by Satan (verse 13). The setting of this prophecy is just before the return of Yahshua the Messiah. “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the Commandments of Yahweh and have the testimony of Yahshua Messiah” (verse 17). Yes, the true Church is made up of obedient people who diligently strive to obey Yahshua’s instruction to live “by every Word of Yahweh” (Luke 4:4). They are people who regularly go to Yahweh in prayer for the strength and power they need to please Him and grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). Yes, the true Church (Elohim’s people) has the fruits of the Holy Spirit. May Elohim bless you for reading and also for sharing this message to others. We humbly pray these things to Yahweh through Yahshua Messiah, our Master and King, Amen. Halleluyah, Shalom!
