What characteristics set the right church apart?
Answer:
In answering this question, it is important to understand that the word church in the New Testament means a group of people and not a building. To prove whether a particular church (group of people) is part of God's Church, one must determine whether they are following God's instructions.
Jesus said His sheep (followers—those who would be part of His Church) hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). As such, members of God's Church imitate Jesus' example (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21) of keeping the Ten Commandments (John 14:15, 21). Revelation 12:17 tells us that the dragon (a symbol for Satan) was angry with the woman (a symbol of the Church) and went to make war with the woman's descendants (Christians who will be living in the end time). The way these people are identified is by the fact that they keep the commandments of God.
While many people do not kill or steal, there are many more commandments and instructions from God in addition to not lying or stealing. More revealing is whether they keep the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) and the annual Holy Days (Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles, etc.), as did Jesus and the New Testament Church.
Of course, these are just a few of the doctrines and practices of God's Church. For a more complete explanation of how to identify God's Church, read our free booklet, The Church Jesus Built.
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