Fake religions & false gods (#7)

There are about 4200 religions in the world and two of them, Christianity and Judaism, are from our God Jehovah. All the rest of them are fake religions sponsored by Satan, the god of this world, to lead man away from the truth of God and eternal life in heaven. Judaism is the ninth largest religion in the world with 17 million followers. God gave his laws and his covenants through Moses to the Israelites, his chosen people, at Mount Sinai around 1440 BC after God brought his people out of bondage in Egypt. When Jesus Christ came to earth as the prophesied Messiah the Jews rejected him and crucified him. God then turned to the Gentiles to build his church based on the new covenant of the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. For the last 2000 years of the church age the Gentiles have spread the gospel of Christ. One day Jesus will come in the air to rapture all Christians to the clouds to join Jesus in the air before taking all believers back to heaven with him. In the meantime, all Jews who die without Christ are condemned to hell. On the last Day God will save a Jewish remnant that will enter heaven along with the Gentile believers.

SIKHISM

Sikhism is a religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century. Sikhs believe in reincarnation like the other Indian religions but they differ from the other religions in their belief about god. The Hindus believe in a thousand gods and the Buddhists believe in no god. The Sikhs fall in the middle because they are monotheistic, believing in one god who is shapeless, timeless, incomprehensible and invisible. Sikhism is one of the youngest of the major religions and the fifth largest religion in the world with 28 million followers. The word Sikh means “student” or “disciple” of the guru (teacher).

Psalm 145:20 – The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.

Isaiah 42:8 – I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another.

Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before Me.

Sikhism developed from the teachings of the first guru, Guru Nanak (1469-1539 AD). He was succeeded by ten other gurus and the last one, Gobind Sing (1666-1708 AD) named the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, as his successor, bringing to a close the line of human gurus and establishing the scripture as the eternal religious spiritual guide for all Sikhs. The first guru taught that living an active, creative and practical life of truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity is above the metaphysical truth. Sikhs believe the ideal man established union with god, knows his will and carries out that will. Sikh ethics emphasize the congruence between spiritual development and everyday conduct.

John 1:1,14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Romans 5:1 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 6:7 – (Jesus speaking) – And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their many words.

The core beliefs of Sikhism include faith and meditation on the name of Vaheguru, the one creator; divine unity and equality of all humankind; engaging in selfless service; striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder’s life. Sikhs reject the claims of any particular religious tradition having a monopoly on absolute truth. Most of the early converts to Sikhism came for disgruntled Hindus and Muslims living in northwest India. Mughal rulers of India felt threatened by the new religion so they tortured and executed two of the gurus after they refused to convert to Islam. In 1699 Guru Gobind Sing created a warrior class of Sikhs to protect their religious freedom against outsiders.

Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:13 – For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other.

In Sikh scripture god is “ik onkar”, the formless one. Sikhs say god was never incarnated and he has created life on many worlds. Like the other Indian religions Sikhs believe our physical world is an illusion and the term for the illusion of this world is “maga.” Sikhs believe the world is in a state of spiritual darkness because of man’s love of and attachment to “maga.” Sikhs believe the influences of ego, anger, greed, attachment and lust in our lives are distracting and hurtful and keeps us in “maga”. To the Sikhs the supreme purpose of human life is to reconnect with god (Vaheguru) by the accumulation of the selfless search for truth. The human body is just a means to achieve this reunion with god through our consciousness.

Genesis 2:7 – And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart form the deeds of the law.

Joshua 24:23 – Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.

Once truth starts to shine in a person’s heart, the essence of current and past holy books of all religions is understood by the person. Sikh teaching are not founded on a final destination of heaven or hell but on a spiritual reunion with god, which results in salvation, which to Sikhs mean enlightenment and liberation within one’s lifetime. This concept is also found in Hinduism. Although the Sikhs believe in reincarnation they also believe in salvation by god’s grace. The goal of all Sikhs is to get closer to god and avoid “maga” while associating mostly with others of their faith.

Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Isaiah 45:5 – I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.

Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.

Sikhs are big on reciting scriptures from their holy book and singing hymns during the prayers held morning, evening and at night. Sikhs are very inclusive by accepting the gods of Hinduism and Islam because they consider them to be just alternative names for their god. Sikh temples are called gurdwaras and Sikhs have their own particular festivals, ceremonies and customs. The Sikhs mantra is live and let live. We’ve all seen the Sikhs and wondered what they believe. They always looked menacing to me because they never smiled. They always look immaculately dressed with manicured beards and massive turbans. What I’ve learned from my study is Sikhs are not to be feared. They are friendly but reserved. They just want to be left alone which is fine with me.

Isaiah 32:11 – I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.

Hosea 13:4 – Yet I am the Lord your God…there is no Savior besides Me.

John 11:25-26 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

At the end of the day Sikhism is still a fake religion and they worship a formless god that is a false god. Sikhs do not know the true God Jehovah and they don’t believe God came down to earth from heaven in the incarnation of Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the sins of man so we could inherit eternal life in a physical heaven. Sikhs don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. Sikhs don’t believe in the Trinity. When Sikhs die they will face the wrath of God on the last Day for not believing in Jehovah and the gospel of Christ. All sikhs will end up in the lake of fire for eternity.

Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.

Proverbs 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.