2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works…”

As I reflect on different encounters I’ve experienced with other religious groups, I recognize they all house common denominators.  Groups such as Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, 12 Tribes of Israel, Muslims, Catholicism, Messianic Congregations and God Mother, all claim to be the ‘true’ church and they all focus on ‘works.’

It’s funny how things work sometimes.  I love watching Tiny Home shows on YouTube, and there’s a particular channel I am subscribed to that showcases Tiny Homeowners, throughout the country. One episode I tuned into showed a woman who had the cutest Tiny Home.  I learned she was a Christian counselor, and that piqued my interest.  I ended up going onto her channel, and saw she had a WhatsApp group. Unbeknownst to be, she was a Seven Day Adventist.  After discovering her beliefs, it did not deter me, as I’ve come from a background of worshipping on Saturdays (being a part of a Messianic Congregation) and the grace of God bringing me out of legalistic mindsets. I used to be a strong advocator of Sabbath keeping and would challenge those who felt otherwise. I am thankful for the grace of God.  It took me some time to truly understand we are under grace, and not the law (Romans 6:14).  The more I understood the grace of God, the freer I became. The Truth removes layers, not add yokes.

However, there are tenants of Adventism I admire, such as their focus on eating healthy.  I’m currently on a health and wellness journey, and there’s certain food’s I avoid, so I can appreciate their level of discipline in that area.  One of the reasons I believe I connected with this group, was to learn more about health and nutrition, as I continue to embark on this journey.  I also appreciate having a day of rest.  I believe it’s important to take time out to unplug from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5, and busyness of life.  As the saying goes, “how can one pour from an empty cup?” There’s a difference in keeping the Sabbath from a place of relationship with God vs from a place of obligation. It can even be viewed as idolatry from the worship of the day all together. While I appreciate all those things, I also recognize the dogma’s that are attached to these belief systems. The WhatsApp group is comprised of all women, who share encouraging scriptures, recipes and act as a place of fellowship.  Most of the woman in the group came through a SDA channel, whether through their churches, conferences, etc.  I believe I may be the only one who learned about the group through the organizers YouTube channel.  The ladies in the group are aware I am not an Adventist but are still welcoming.

A few years ago, while I was out on a walk, I came across two Mormon missionaries. They were walking ahead of me, and I told myself if they try to get my attention again, I will stop and engage them.  As I was headed back, one of the young men stopped, turned around and waved at me and I took that as my sign to engage them. From that moment on, I would have a series of monthly meetings with these young men, at the leasing office in our apartment complex.  After meeting them, I learned they both lived in my same building. The gospel of Christ is simplistic but leave it up to man to complicate things.  When I encountered the young men, I told them I genuinely wanted to understand what they believe from their own perspective, and not from the speculation and biases out there.  There was a genuineness about our conversations I truly appreciated. I would bring my bible to each meeting, and they would have their Book of Mormon, other extracurricular literature and the King James Bible as a reference.  I say reference because the bible is not infallible or their only source as they believe God’s Word has been tainted.  For the first few months of our conversations, I simply listened. What I saw was two young men who sincerely had a hunger for God. I saw their zeal for truth and their pure devotion.  It got to the point where they invited me out to their church and I went, and I invited them to mine, and they were able to meet my Pastor at the time. I become fond of these young men, as we built a genuine relationship. Throughout our discussions, I would propose questions that challenged their teachings.  Concepts such as ‘sealing,’ or ‘prayers for the dead.’  Teachings on eternity, priesthood, etc. My aim was never to debate, but to simple pose questions against what the bible stated and what the Book of Mormon taught.  I witnessed God’s hand over the entire relationship. He would open doors for me to speak with their then President and wife, have conversations with other young Mormon men in their chapter, etc.  I always recognize a subtly from these groups, a pull to become one of them as an ultimate end goal.

“The Truth removes layers, not add yokes.”

There was a season in my life where I would run into individuals of the ‘God Mother,’ church. In a nutshell, they believe there’s God the Father and God the Mother and base it off a cherry picked scripture from Galatians 4:26, “But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”  I recall leaving the bank one Saturday, and while in the parking lot, an older woman approached me and asked if I was aware of the final restoration.  In that moment, I said a prayer to myself, and begin to conversate with her.  She tried to debate about the truth of scripture, and that is where we bumped heads.  I told her she was putting herself back under the law, of which she disagreed. I am grateful that God has freed me from the ideal of our works make us righteous before Him. A lot of these religious groups adhere to ‘doing’ and not in what ‘God has already done,’ the finished work in Christ. Ironically, as we were talking in the parking lot, another woman came and joined our conversation, who happened to be Roman Catholic. The older lady and I would continue to have conversations following our initial meeting, and it was clear she was deeply entrenched in their false ideology of which I had to dust my feet and move forward. Another time, I was out eating at one of my favorite restaurants, reading scripture and the waitress came over and begin to inquire about my beliefs.  She then begins to discuss the Sabbath day and was persistent in inviting me out to her church.  I quickly recognized she was a part of the ‘God Mother,’ church.  I wanted to build a genuine friendship in getting to know her, but it was clear her agenda was for me to plug into her church.  She asked if I was keeping the feast days, and then I proceeded to tell her we are not under the law.

“I always recognize a subtly from these groups, a pull to become one of them as an ultimate end goal.”

I hold to the concept of one plants, another waters and God brings the increase. On my mother’s side, two of my aunts are Jehovah Witnesses. My cousin, who grew up as a Jehovah Witnesses has over recent years denounced the religion and is now agnostic. We would have conversations at length about God, but I saw the unfortunate impact of false dogma and religiosity and how it played out in his life. The amazing thing about God is His mercy and goodness. He knows and understands our why, and how we were fashioned. His love is patient. Recently while on travel, I dined at a restaurant called, “Yellow Deli” with an elderly woman who I met while hiking on a trail.  I later found the restaurant was connected to the ’Twelve Tribes,’ ideology. The woman I met was a Christian, but not a part of the 12 Tribe clan, though she wasn’t sure if what they taught was valid or not.  I know our encounter was divine, as I begin to share with her my background and testimony of coming out of religious groups.  Those who adhere to the Twelve Tribe teachings are Sabbath day keepers, and believe in communal living, as seen by the early church did in the book of Acts. Though I could appreciate the beauty of the simplicity of their lifestyles, whether through homesteading, education, etc., there are undertones of bondage. There are commonalities within these religious groups that I find interesting. Ironically, I would go out on a limb to say they share strong similarities to the Hebrew Israelites ideology in terms of using Hebrew names and addressing Jesus as Yeshua. The Twelve Tribes incorporate tenants of Judaism as well.  When I saw the dances the Twelve Tribes practice, it was identical to what I witnessed while going to a Messianic Congregation. There’s an overlapping in a lot of these religious beliefs.  As far as the Yellow Deli is concerned, their restaurant food is top notch, but if one is not grounded in their beliefs, it is clear how a person could be lead astray.

In some of these groups, there is no meat to chew, but only bones to spew out. God is faithful, into leading us into all truth.