James 2 No such thing as faith without works

[Behold]

Your idol cross worship.

Let Paul explain it to you..

"the preaching of the CROSS, is the power of God, unto Salvation, for all who believe".
-

KJ21
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.
ASV
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him Crucified..
AMP
for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him CRUCIFIED [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection].
AMPC
For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him Crucified.
BRG
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
CSB
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
CEB
I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified.
CJB
for I had decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Yeshua the Messiah, and even him only as someone who had been executed on a stake as a criminal.
CEV
In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.
DARBY
For I did not judge [it well] to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and *him* crucified.
DLNT
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ— and this One having been crucified.
DRA
For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
ERV
I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
EHV
For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
ESV
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
ESVUK
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
EXB
[L For] I ·decided [resolved] that while I was with you I would ·forget about everything [L not know anything] except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
GNV
For I esteemed not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
GW
While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified.
GNT
For while I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially his death on the cross.
HCSB
For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
ICB
I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
ISV
For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah, and him crucified.
PHILLIPS
In the same way, my brothers, when I came to proclaim to you God’s secret purpose, I did not come equipped with any brilliance of speech or intellect. You may as well know now that it was my secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ and the fact of his death upon the cross. As a matter of fact, in myself I was feeling far from strong; I was nervous and rather shaky. What I said and preached had none of the attractiveness of the clever mind, but it was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit! Plainly God’s purpose was that your faith should not rest upon man’s cleverness but upon the power of God.
JUB
For I judged not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
KJV
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
AKJV
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
LSB
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
LEB
For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
TLB
For I decided that I would speak only of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.

 

[Ghada]

Don't tell me what I believe! I believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose on the third day according to the scriptures - for 32 years now.

Never said, you don't believe this.

I'm not telling you what you believe! I'm just telling you what you don't believe! There is a difference. And you don't deny it.

Spiritually. Your flesh is to he reckoned dead ... but not yet.

With that doctrinal attitude, then it'll be never. Repenting of sinning and being crucified to sinning with Christ, is only before the grave.

There is no repenting after the grave, but only the judgement of God for our works, whether repented unto His righteousness, or unrepented with our old sinful works unto death..

 

[Ghada]

Once again you misrepresent my beliefs.
STOP! I already s5ated in.my tha God prepares good works for us to do after we are born again and equipped to go out and minister. It takes time to become equipped.

I clarify your doctrinal words with what you purposely leave out. Through all your gradual progressive 'timeline' of being equipped, you're still sinning.

Now, if you were to conclude with your onw confession of: "In the meantime we am still sinning with the devil", then you would at least be honest about your gospel of unrepented sinning unto death. (That would be you and your church. I'm not part of your 'we'.)

And so, clarify which gospel you are preaching. I offer two:

Do you preach the gospel of Christian perfection, where we cease sinning the day of being pure born of God, just as Jesus from the womb of Mary? We are also 'quipped' with His Spirit and divine power, to walk with Him in His holy and righteous way daily afterward?

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Or, do you preach another gospel of remaining a sinner before, through, and after your Christian conversion?

Are you, yourself, as a 32-year Christian veteran ever made perfectly pure of heart and blameless in life, with all things now of God, and nothing of the devil remaining in you nor through you?

Which is it?

Or, is there another gospel you would would like to preach and share?

 

[Ghada]

I suppose you boast when you do something good?

Now look who's making accusations, where no hint of it is being taught nor testified of.

You don't want people telling you what you believe! And yet you have no problem telling people what they're doing!

This of course is hypocrisy, along with false accusation.

Oh, how the discourse dwindles fast into silly child's games.

I have only addressed what you teach, and never made anything personal about you. I am quite sure you are fine example of a 32-year veteran of Christian religious conversion.

It's just that the gospel you preach is not that of the Bible, beginning with being perfectly new and pure born of God, like Jesus from Mary's womb, and so now daily walking that holy way with Him.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

I'm not telling you what you believe! I'm just telling you what you don't believe!

Same thing. You misinterpret my words and make false claims ... bearing false witness against me.

With that doctrinal attitude, then it'll be never. (to reckon ourselves dead to sin)

When my flesh dies, I will be rid of it.

There is no repenting after the grave, but only the judgement of God for our works, whether repented unto His righteousness, or unrepented with our old sinful works unto death..

Who said there was?
Newsflash: Christians are forgiven, there is now no condemnation! So there is no judgment for sins anymore. The judgments for the Christians works are done for the purpose of our rewards only!

Now, if you were to conclude with your onw confession of: "In the meantime we am still sinning with the devil",

There you go again, that is NOT a quote from me!

Do you preach the gospel of Christian perfection, where we cease sinning the day of being pure born of God, just as Jesus from the womb of Mary?

I have explained it over and over again and you still don't get it. We possess body, soul and spirit. Our spirits are norn again. They are pure. They have to be especially since we can die suddenly at any moment before we had the chance to utter, "Forgive me Father". But we have this flesh, (an integrated being made of soul and body), that still remains with us.

Or, do you preach another gospel of remaining a sinner before, through, and after your Christian conversion?

There is only one gospel that I already posted: "Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures.
Once we firmly believe that, He transforms us, gives us new life, makes us a new creature spiritually and THEN spends the rest of our lives growing that spirit While our soul and body gradually are influenced by this new life, and begin to demonstrate this Spirit - filled life in the form of fruit.

Are you, yourself, as a 32-year Christian veteran ever made perfectly pure of heart and blameless in life, with all things now of God, and nothing of the devil remaining in you nor through you?

I think your problem is that you don't think there is a separation between body and soul and our new spirit. As the Old Temple contained a veil separating the Most Holy Place ( likened to our Temple where God dwells) and the outer courtyard (likened to our flesh.

My spirit is and and that will separate from my flesh when I die or are raptured whichever comes first. At the resurrection, I will receive an eternal spirit body that will be like Christ's.

My last attempt:
Do you believe that a born again Christian begins from day one to love God and others _ fully _ 100% of the time? We all know that is not true. Don't deceive yourself into pretending that all your a tions and words instantly become holy ... you have already proven to that you fail in that respect.
We do love and desire to be Holy and righteous, performing charitable deeds as they are ordained and purposed by the Holy Spirit. But there are also other times we choose to do otherwise, we say no, not today ... don't feel like it and maybe make up an excuse.
When I do or say something that is not loving and righteous, the Holy Spirit convicts me of it. So eventually I feel guilty. Why? Because I am guilty and then I'm sorry, ask God's forgiveness, confess my sin and apologize to others for failing them.
Do all Christians get up every morning and get excited about sacrificing their lives to serve others unselfishly? I don't think so. Some do. Though the Holy Spirit is grieved at our lack of cooperation at times or half-hearted participation, does His plan get done anyways? Yes. That is what I believe. God's plan is perfect and every detail is being accomplished right on schedule. He factors in all our blunders into His plan. When you think of how He orchestrates events and people that come into and out of our lives it is amazing how "all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called to His purpose." Multiply that by 2.65 billion and that is mind boggling. Even the actions of all the unbelievers He has in check and uses them for a purpose.

Back to occasional fleshy acts of sin.

I see it as Paul did, a war between flesh and spirit. Paul (not Saul) did things that he did not want to do. He recognized that sins still dwells in the members of his flesh. Yet it doesn't have the power that it did before. We are not slaves to it, but we slip into our old habits even though we don't want to. It is carnal. Did we die to our old selve? We are to reckon oursleves dead yet we still haven't died, haven't yet been fully redeemed, in that future glorified state. God has sealed us already, He sees our spirit clean ( which is the part of us that ascends if we were to die at any moment).


"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” Galatians 3:3
See, Paul is confirming the existence of the flesh even though we have the Spirit.

Once the spirit of a person has been raised to life by the Spirit of God, the old desires of the flesh do not suddenly disappear. There is a battle that rages on. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want”. Galatians 5:16–17

Again, we still have the remnants of the desires of the flesh.

The person who has been brought to spiritual life—the work of the Holy Spirit within—will want to please God. But the temptations of the world are still present. Therefore, the Christian must feed on spiritual food and continually yield to God’s Spirit on a day-by-day basis. Feeding the spirit, yielding to His Spirit, study and obey the Word, pray, fellowship, focus on things above and then the things below become less significant, temptations are easily dismissed, sin is avoided, hated and so our desire to be holy and please God becomes more desireable.
But if the more a person gets into “the world,” the more he or she will desire what “the world” desires.

Paul presents the same idea here: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:1-2

These principles are echoed throughout the Bible repeatedly because we get weak, fail and backslide, especially in the beginning of our new life. We are encouraged and reminded to walk in the Spirit not in the flesh, because the flesh is still present and we must mortify the desires of the flesh, render them dead as our old man.

 

[Ghada]

You didnt quote the verse because you dont know the verse.

You can finish reading the part of the verse you did quote.

The verse says that Christ presents us, without spot.

Seriously. Are you beginning to do these things on purpose? Or are you really this out of it with the Bible?

James speaks of keeping ourselves unspotted. That is how Paul speaks of us being presented to Christ without spot.

Only those that repent of sinning, receive a new heart and unspotted pure birth of God, can possibly keep themselves unspotted in Christ unto the end. And only those that do so, are resurrected in the end in His likeness.

So, your abused verse is saying that by us being "IN CHRIST".... where we come to perfection, ....'"

Those repenting of sinning become that way by grace to be pure born of God as Jesus. Only those remaining pure born of heart and life, can grow unto the perfection of virtue, godliness, and charity in this life.

The perfection of God on the throne is only with resurrection of the body unto life, when there is no more temptation nor resisting of the devil to endure any more.

Your Christian gospel of remaining sinners before, during, and after your conversion, rejects ever becoming new and pure born of God as Jesus on earth. That's because you reject repenting of sinning to come to Him.

And that is not you doing it.. That is the perfecting of the Saints by the word of God through the power of Christ.

If it's not us repenting and keeping ourselves pure in Christ, then it's just more of your doctrine words, that are all-meaningful to your mind and conscience only, but meaningless at the grave.

No matter what doctrines and gospels man can conjure up for himself through theological word arrangements, The Father will still judge us all by our works, without respect of persons, doctrines, gospels, speeches, religions, philosophies...

See, when you try to do that, you end up like this , = Jesus said...>"Apart from me, you can do nothing"...

True. Unrepented sinners are still separate from Christ, and can do nothing good and justified with God. So long as we are still lusting with the heart and doing works of the flesh, then all are good works are still filthy rags to God.

The Christian gospel of still doing works of the flesh through conversion, teaches continuing in filthy rags of any future 'follow on' good works.

So, actually in a sense, you are correct. Your unrepented faith-following good works, are the same filthy rags as before conversion, and so don't justify you with Christ. Neither before, during, nor after your personal conversion to Christian religion by your own faith alone.

Only the good works of God's righteousness from a pure heart of Jesus, justify a man with God.

 

[Ghada]

""""As disciples, we are to come to perfection in Christ, so that there is no spot or blemish in us. “… that he might her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:27.

We can always spot a faith and doctrine only Christian. It's always about what is 'in' them, and never about what is 'with' them outwardly.

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Not having spot with our lives we live, and not just without spot 'in' us. It's the same has having faith and righteousness 'in' us only, without doing the works and righteousness of God without spot outwardly.

You preach a gospel of being clean within the platter, while the outside is unclean. Jesus preaches cleansing within the platter first, with the outside also being clean.

You have perfected always referring to faith, salvation, righteousness, and now without spot, for being 'in' you only. It is the calculated and practiced gospel of inward pure religion only, with outward religious living of corruption.

Good job. You never slip from making sure the outward is never accompanying the inward. Your every slight change to the verses of the Bible show it.

But then of course, there's the big whoppers of just saying your Christ does not save nor deliver you from your sins.

 

[Ghada]

Damnation is not based on "sin".
Its based on unforgiveness of sin.

Which is based on sinning.

Your gospel of being already forgiven of sinning while and before sinning, of course is not mine. You can doctrinate that stuff for your mind and conscience in this life only. The grave ends all such things. No one can doctrinate themselves from the dead into heaven.

God will still just judged the works justly.

Also, since you preach a Christ that declares he has already forgiven you of your present and future sinning, then that means you have to make sure you are sinning, so that is prophecy comes true. Afterall, if you're not sinning, then His prophecy of forgiving your for it becomes false.

So, in a way, by sinning your are obeying your preforgiving Christ. And since Christ loves to have mercy and forgive, then you are always pleasing him by sinning. In fact he is more pleased with you when sinning, then not.

Quite a Christ and gospel you have there. Remember, don't stop sinning, otherwise you will have a disappointed and angry Christ on your hands.

 

[Ghada]

This :

John 3:36

So, being "saved from sin"...the context is this... to be "delivered from the power of sin".

Nice try. You preach your Christ does not save you from your sins.

The context goes the other way. Being delivered from the power of sin, is the same as from sinning.

Still sinning? Still power of sin over you.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

And sinning is still unto death of the soul, without respect of persons.

 

[Ghada]

See, to be delivered from sin, is to be delivered from the LAW...

Exactly. By not sinning and transgressing against the law of Christ, we are not under the power of the law to judge and condemn us for not sinning.

"As the power of sin, is the LAW" and "the Law is the power of sin".

Exactly again. The power of sinning by any soul, is to be condemned as dead by law of God.

God must separate Himself from those transgressing His law, in order to keep His own law. God has made His law for all of His created beings, whom all He so loves. He does so for the express purpose of not allowing any devil and child of the devil to dwell forever with Him with eternal sinning, transgression, and evil doing.

Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Those sinning with the devil against God's law, are children of the devil, and without repenting of the devil's sinning, will follow the devil into the lake of fire.

And because the holiness of God must keep His own law perfect, then because of His law, the God who is love, cannot stop the devil's children from following him.

He did die in order to turn us from following the devil and sinning, but He can't force us nor excuse us.

Mothers in this life can try and justify wicked sons, and say their not such a bad boy, but not God the Father. And there is no Mother of God called 'Mary'.

Thats a CURSE , and "Christ came to deliver/redeem us from the curse of the LAW"

Exactly again. It is a curse to sin against God and be separated and dead from Him.

If we repent of sinning and love God with singleness of heart, He gives us power not to curse ourselves by sinning against His own law.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Now...The born again, we do this... we "walk in the Spirit, so that we dont fulfill the lusts of the Flesh"

Ok. So, you are not now doing works of the flesh in your life?

Or is this another 'inner' thing only? You walk in the Spirit inwardly only, while walking after the flesh outwardly?

I know your gospel as good as you do. So which is it?

We understand that "he that is DEAD, is FREED FROM SIN">, and to be dead, is to be born again "in Christ"

True. Our old body, man, and life of sin is now dead and crucified on our own cross, when we repent and cease from sinning with the devil.

Or, are you preaching a spirit-only freedom from sinning, so that only your soul is free from sin, while still sinning with the flesh?

Are you now going to preach the Christian doctrine, of how only your soul is 'doctrinally' counted as alive to righteousness, while your body is now 'doctrinally' counted as literally dead to sin, while still doing it physically?

 

[Ghada]

Let Paul explain it to you..

"the preaching of the CROSS, is the power of God, unto Salvation, for all who believe".

The preaching is the power. Not the cross that Jesus died on thousands of years ago.

Forget it. Your cross you worship has no power to do anything good nor evil. It was only as strong as the wood it was made of, and now that particular cross is dust.

-

KJ21
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.

Dittoes here. The crucifixion and death of Christ. Not the cross He was crucified and died on.

This cross worship you have, that you teach has forgiven all the world sins, including your own, is well, you know, mystical idolatry.

 

[Behold]

The preaching is the power. Not the cross that Jesus died on thousands of years ago.

"The Preaching........ of the Cross........is the Power of God............Unto = Salvation".

Why?

Because "Faith comes by hearing"... The Gospel.

The Gospel is : ""the preaching of the Cross.."""

What is the Preaching of the Cross?

Its the Gospel that is the power of God unto Salvation, which is "The Preaching of the Cross"

= "We preach ... CHRIST CRUCIFIED".


See that?

That is "the preaching of the CROSS" That is "The Gospel of the Grace of God"..... LITERALLY.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

James is telling us all that just having the common faith of hearing only, does nothing to save us without doing the word, which of course begins with repenting of sinning in the first place.

Really? Jesus said over and over again, If you believe in Me you will be saved. I lost count of how many verses in the Bible teach that belief in Christ leads to life.
According to your gospel, (a works based salvation) the sinner next to Jesus could not be saved - BUT HE WAS because he believed in Christ and confessed it with his lips, that he was guilty, a sinner and " Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Now if you can grasp this concept ... pay attention. Where were his works? You implied just hearing, repenting, believing and confessing was not enough, right? Jesus said believe in me and you will have life. And we all know that faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 ( which does not include works!)
"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." ASV
KJV says substance. Others say certainty, confidence, it's a knowing that what has been promised to you, something that you hope for, will be granted to you. It is not based on works:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:8-9
YOU CAN'T EARN YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN. That theology says that what Jesus did on the cross was not sufficient! It is a disgrace to His work. He did the work, He fulfilled the requirements of the Law. A gift is not earned.

You said one has to produce works to be saved, yet Jesus never said that. Paul said the opposite in Eph. 2:8-9?
Where were this guys works, who was hanging on the cross next to Jesus? I'll tell you, but first your answer please?
And btw, many people on their death bed finally repent, turn to God, because it's just about over and they have no fight/ resistance left. They are given an opportunity as the thief on the cross was, to confess their sins, confess their belief in Christ and ask Him for forgiveness.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Your idol cross worship.

Oh ... now I get it, that figures. You don't believe it was a cross (stauros) that He died on. The Word crucifixion comes from crux, cross. It remains as a symbol that is proudly erected all over the globe and as art and jewelry in remembrance that identifies us, what we believe in. But JW's refute and deny this! Because their leaders way back when had to find ways to separate themselves from the rest of the false BODY/ Church. That leaves only one option, a torture stake right?
Are you a Jehovah Witness?
I know JW's real well, they are in my family, lots of them. They believe in salvation by faith PLUS works. They cling to that verse in James and avoid all the other scriptures we offered.
The sad thing is, JW's don't believe they are saved yet. They think they'll have to prove themselves worthy and it will take going through the Great Tribulation and even the entire Millennial Kingdom as well ... then maybe ... as God weighs their works, He will save them ... or not. Btw, that is not faith, the assurance, certainty of something promised by Christ. We, who believe are saved NOW, that is faith. Jesus says we have salvation now, even if we die, we live. That is what born again means.
Your theology all aligns with JWs. This above statement you made was like a light bulb that was turned on.
IF you are a JW then why hide it?
JWs are banned from Syria, so no Kingdom Halls there, which makes it very rare to be one and if you are, difficult to practice your religion. But they meet secretly in private homes or of they have sense, flee the country.

 

[Ghada]

You misinterpret my words and make false claims ... bearing false witness against me.

So, you don't preach in being a saved sinner? You do preach doing righteousness at all times and walking as Jesus walked?

There you go again, that is NOT a quote from me!

You're not still sinning in life? Or, by your doctrine, you're just not sinning with the devil in life?

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

So, you don't preach in being a saved sinner? You do preach doing righteousness at all times and walking as Jesus walked?


You're not still sinning in life? Or, by your doctrine, you're just not sinning with the devil in life?

Are you a Jehovah Witness?

 

[mailmandan]

Are you a Jehovah Witness?

Still no answer.

 

[Rapture Bound]

Oh ... now I get it, that figures. You don't believe it was a cross (stauros) that He died on. The Word crucifixion comes from crux, cross. It remains as a symbol that is proudly erected all over the globe and as art and jewelry in remembrance that identifies us, what we believe in. But JW's refute and deny this! Because their leaders way back when had to find ways to separate themselves from the rest of the false BODY/ Church. That leaves only one option, a torture stake right?
Are you a Jehovah Witness?
I know JW's real well, they are in my family, lots of them. They believe in salvation by faith PLUS works. They cling to that verse in James and avoid all the other scriptures we offered.
The sad thing is, JW's don't believed they are saved yet. They think they'll have to prove themselves worthy and it will take going through the Great Tribulation and even the entire Millennial Kingdom as well ... then maybe ... as God weighs their works, He will save them ... or not. Btw, that is not faith, the assurance, certainty of something promised by Christ. We, who believe are saved NOW, that is faith. Jesus says we have salvation now, even if we die, we live. That is what born again means.
Your theology all aligns with JWs. This above statement you made was like a light bulb that was turned on.
IF you are a JW then why hide it?
JWs are banned from Syria, so no Kingdom Halls there, which makes it very rare to be one and if you are, difficult to practice your religion. But they meet secretly in private homes or of they have sense, flee the country.

Ghada may also be a Roman Catholic ... his soteriology lines up perfectly with it.

 

[mailmandan]

Ghada may also be a Roman Catholic ... his soteriology lines up perfectly with it.

With certain people on this board it's like pulling teeth to get a yes or no answer out of them.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Still no answer.

My Pastor taught me to be transparent and most Christians I know were forthright in revealing their church they were proud to have been part of and their flaws as well. Heck, the first thing Evangelical Pastors would reveal was the dark life they came from and how God transformed them - their testimony.
JW's are usually very proud of their religion, especially their claim that " We know the truth"! But many have been secretive online, a strategy to cleverly lure us into their fold - lol. It doesn't work though. In America, they (1.3 million JW's) knock on doors 200 million hours/ year - imagine that. People trickle intontheirnfold at a snails pace. And after over 100 years, they still only amount to a little more than 0.1 % of the world population. In the DOOR that narrow?
The Holy Spirit does not grow churches with many false doctrines. This is nothing new, it was prevalent in the 1st century. Look at he Seven Churches in Revelation. Only two did not receive rebuke. Pergamos was a worldly church with false doctrines, sin and materialism; Thyatira tolerated sin and was undisciplined; Sardis was dead with no growth and only a few would be saved; Laodicia was neither hot nor cold - and the Lord was about to vomit them out of His mouth. When a church denies that the Holy Spirit is a person, God, Whom we are to be guided by and have a relationship with, I doubt He will take up residence in them, IMHO. I attended one of their baptisms. Strange, nothing was said during the dunking, nothing. I didn't hear any words to spiritually prepare their hearts for this. They weren't asked if they were sorry for their sins, to confess the the believed in Jesus, that He died for our sins and rose on the third day. Obviously there was no Pastor pronouncing after their "absent" confession, " I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Nothing - just a dunk ... I thought well, you're wet and smiling ... what does that mean?
We had to attend a pre- baptism class that prepared us. We needed to know what this was all about, the outward symbolism that represented an inner transformation.
In 1900 there were 500 million Christians and now 2.65 billion - that's growth, that's fruit. That is God at work!