question: why are there so many religions?

answer: demons

scripture: now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from

the faith, giving heed to SEDUCING SPIRITS, and DOCTRINES OF DEVILS(1timothy 4:1).

for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of

Christ. and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed int an angel of light. therefore it is

no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose

end shall be according to their works(2corinthians 11:13-15).

we're in a spiritual warfare and our armor to put on by faith is in Ephesians 6:10-18.

the distance between heaven and hell is the distance between the head and the heart.

you have people that say we're all god's children(creation, not children) and you have

people like Oprah saying there are many roads to god and people suck that up. they

gamble and put their eternity in these famous people because it sounds good. we all should

be like the Christians at berea who searched the scriptures daily to see if they're being

told the truth(acts 17:11). alot of people are going to hell because the true church is'nt

being what god meant for it to be. we have gotten spirituall fat, lazy, apathetic and

lukewarm which god hates(revelation 3:15,16).

religion is what a person picks and owns, Christianity is being bought and owned by Christ.

you are the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which ye have of god, and ye are not

your own. for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify god in your body, and in your

spirit, which are god's(1corinthians 6:19,20).

those that come to god must FIRST BELIEVE that he is(Hebrews 11:6). most people

think believing is enough because they haven't been witnessed to or given a track.

they don't know you can BELIEVE and yet be DAMNED!!! thou believest that there is one

god; thou do est well: the DEVILS also BELIEVE and TREMBLE(James 2:19).

there is ONE body, and ONE spirit, even as ye are called in ONE hope of your calling;

ONE lord, ONE FAITH, ONE baptism(Ephesians 4:4,5). ONE FAITH and that's the BIBLE

FAITH. for faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of god(Romans 10:17).

DEMONS AND RELIGION:

for all that is in the world, the LUST of the FLESH, and the LUST of the EYES, and the

PRIDE of LIFE, is not of the father, but is of the world(1john 2:16).

LUST OF THE FLESH: religion is called the opiate of the masses. when people practice

their religion it makes them feel good, and religion makes them comfortable in their sin.

LUST OF THE EYES: the great religious robes and fish hats, the great cathedrals

and silver and golden statues and ceiling art!! it gives to the eyes RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY!!

PRIDE OF LIFE: people devoutly religious like the pharisees of Jesus' day at times will

show great piety and at other times wear their religion on their sleeves.

two men went up to pray; one a pharisee, and the other a publican. the pharisee stood

and prayed thus with HIMSELF(god didn't hear him), god i thank thee, that i am not as

other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican(luke 18:10,11).


if we were demons, what would we not want people to know?

1) Jesus is the ONLY WAY to god(john 14:6).

2) if people do know Jesus is the ONLY WAY we need to get them to believe they have

to add their GOOD WORKS as to help god along. that's TOTAL ERROR!!! (Ephesians 2:8,9;

Titus 3:5; Isaiah 64:6).

god is not unjust and is not a respecter of persons(Romans 2:11) and has given EVERY

MAN...THE...measure of faith. not...A MEASURE...but THE. god did not give more to one

than another. again, no respecter of persons.

even those who haven't heard the name of Christ, god takes that into account as he has

given his creation(Romans 1:20;psalm 19:1) to believe and trust him!!

it's the church not being salt and light to the world, people that hate god, comfortable

in their sin hardening their hearts and LUST that so many are going to hell.

for the time will come when they WILL NOT endure SOUND DOCTRINE; but after their

own LUSTS shall they heap to themselves TEACHERS, having ITCHING EARS; and they

shall turn away their ears from the TRUTH, and shall be turned to FABLES(2timothy 4:3,4).




the lord is long suffering toward us, NOT WILLING that any should perish, but that ALL

should come to repentance(2peter 3:9). Ed

Dear Edwinrad,

A recent tabulation concluded that there are 10 main religions and some 10,000 sects. Of these, some 6,000 exist in Africa, 1,200 in the United States, and hundreds in other lands.

Many factors have contributed to the development of new religious groups. Some have said that the various religions all represent different ways of presenting religious truth. But a comparison of their teachings and practices with the Bible indicates, rather, that the diversity of religions is because people have become followers of men instead of listening to God. It is noteworthy that, to a large extent, teachings they hold in common, but that differ from the Bible, originated in ancient Babylon.

Jesus started one true Christian religion. So today there must be just one body, or group, of true worshipers of Jehovah God. (John 4:23, 24; Ephesians 4:4, 5) The Bible teaches that only a few people are on the narrow road to life.-Matthew 7:13, 14.
The Bible foretold that after the death of the apostles, wrong teachings and unchristian practices would slowly come into the Christian congregation. Men would draw away believers to follow them instead of Christ. (Matthew 7:15, 21-23; Acts 20:29, 30) That is why we see so many different religions that claim to be Christian. How can we identify true Christians?

It is clear who the instigator of such religious confusion is. The Bible identifies Satan the Devil as “the god of this system of things.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) It warns us that “the things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.” (1 Corinthians 10:20) How vitally important, then, to make sure that we really are worshiping the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and that our worship is pleasing to him!
Consider a few related scriptures. Judges 10:6, 7: If a person worships any thing or any person other than the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, it is evident that his form of worship is not acceptable to Jehovah.

Mark 7:6, 7: Regardless of whom groups profess to worship; if they hold to doctrines of men instead of the inspired Word of God, their worship is in vain.

Romans 10:2, 3: People may have God’s written Word but lack accurate knowledge of what it contains, because they have not been taught properly. They may feel that they are zealous for God, but they may not be doing what he requires. Their worship is not going to please God.

2 Corinthians 11:14, 15: Here we are cautioned that not everything that originates with Satan may appear hideous. One of his chief methods of deceiving mankind has been false religion of all kinds, to some of which he gives a righteous appearance.

2 Timothy. 3:2, 5: (Regardless of their outward professions of love for God, if those with whom you worship do not sincerely apply his Word in their own lives, the Bible urges you to break off such association.

Mark51,

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Ah good question and food for thought. There are many reasons for so many religions and the one that puts it on the head of the pin sort of speak is,that , man wants to go his own way and has his own motives are sought and thought. The skill of taking scripture out of context has been practiced for over 6,000 years now. And a thus saith the Lord has been shunned. Pardon my forgetfulness but the scriptures say we have each all gone astray and gone are own way. Wish I had the brain recall to take you to the text. I do remember Matt 7: 15 beware of wolfs in sheep clothing. It is a study on how men have come representing the lamb of God, but their motives are really to lead Gods children away from truth taught from the beginning. Satan first lead are first parents away with the first lie, surely you shall not die, and believe it or not many religions perpetuate this lie. There is no short simple answer to this question, but just ask for the Holy Spirit to come and guide you into all truth and he will, your only part is to be willing to go. Good luck and my you find a deep understand of all truth in Christ Jesus

hi... satan lures people in with the Truth that resonates within then he minces in lies and they forget to check it against Gods Word

That is just it Satan dose not use truth he twists it. Remember he came to Jesus in the wilderness as an angel of the light quoting Scriptures or should I say miss quoting scriptures.

personally, i think it's because...
we as a people are confused on what exactly to believe in. both sides of the equation offers us something: science and creation. when those got blended, they evolved into different forms later on, combining the both, sometimes.

we often come up with new ideas (more as feelings, , knowing we may doubt the other religions before our sight. coming up with new feelings about creation.
sometimesw it's because of so-called (or real, depending on the perspective) hersey, or even basic disagreement.

some people may even hate the idea of faith (being blind to something that's invisible), repulsive.
that may cause mixed beliefs, or seek of a new religion to make or follow.

There is no need for confusion, only study, scripture upon scripture and truth reigns clear. From there it is only believe or unbelief. Often Jesus said: " according to your belief you are healed, or according to your faith He sometimes said".So, the need is for us to spend the time in the word. First to know Him so He can build are faith, then to trust Him and give all are dreams, thoughts, imaginations, hopes and desires, over to Him and in-trust Him, He is faithful to fill are hearts desires with a great joy, peace, and love that we will desire to give to all. It is all about love. The first four parts of the ten commandments is how to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, the second part it how we are to love are fellow man. Love is what all the law hinges on.
Your sister in Christ. Joy

I addressed this problem in a sermon a number of years ago:

CHRISTIANITY, WHAT WENT WRONG?

Sermon/Essay by JRT

To anyone who has taken the time to objectively view Christianity in the world today, the view is almost uniformly bleak. The fragmentation of the Christian church is a scandal not only to ourselves but to those who view us from the outside. Not only is the Church divided into the broad divisions of Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, but each of those is subdivided into smaller denominations or factions or national churches. And even these smaller divisions have yet smaller divisions within them. How many different kinds of Baptist are there? or of Pentecostal? or of Evangelical? We have not yet even arrived at the fringe groups and cults whose number seems to increase almost on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, a recent estimate puts the count at over 38,400 Christian denominations! Is it any wonder that we are viewed with such a skeptical eye by those outside the Christian church? But wait! It gets worse! Not only are we plagued by this divisiveness but many of us are actively engaged in condemning each other. In attempting to converse with other Christians, I have been called "the spawn of Satan" and even "the antichrist". Some fundamentalist and/or evangelistic groups are especially good at this, and many would not even consider the majority of Christians beyond their own circle to even be Christian.

This rather negative view is made all the worse by our rather naïve misconception that in the beginning all was perfect peace and unity within the Christian church. Not so! Even during his own short ministry, Jesus heard complaints from his disciples that others unknown to themselves were casting out demons in Jesus' name. The epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles refer to a dispute between Paul and the Jerusalem church under James and Peter. It seems that right from the very beginning the apostles and disciples each had their own view of Jesus and this was reflected in their missionary activities. If there ever was perfect unity, it must have been extremely short lived.

A thorough analysis would take years and fill volumes. In fact, it already has! What I most want to do in this short sermon / essay is to just identify and comment briefly on what I feel are some of the more important issues. I will also try to limit myself to those early decades when Christianity was still in it's infancy because I am convinced that many of the present problems in the Christian church have their roots, so to speak, in the cradle.

** My first observation has to do with the extremely short duration of the active ministry of Jesus. The gospels indicate that this ministry could have been as short as a single year and possibly as long as three. Compared to other great religious leaders and thinkers, like the Buddha, or Lao Tse, or Muhammad, all of whom had decades to develop and clarify their thoughts, to gather and teach their disciples, the ministry of Jesus was tragically ended before it had hardly begun. I am personally convinced that even though he had a powerful influence on them, he simply did not have the time to teach his disciples properly. To put things in a nutshell, the disciples "just didn't get it". This confusion is evident in the fact that at several different branches of Christian thought have been found to have been in existence even before the first canonical gospel (Mark) was written.

The present Christian church, even in it's sadly fragmented state, is the spiritual descendant of just one of these. We could call this the "Pauline" church. The great things about being on the winning side of a competition such as this, is that you get to call the losers heretics, you get to excommunicate them, you get to persecute them and you get to burn their books so that even their thoughts die with them. All of this happened and especially so after the Pauline church allied itself with Roman Imperial power. The persecuted church became the persecuting church and they were very good at it.

** My second point is that we all too easily forget that in it's origins Christianity was little more than a Jewish splinter group. Jesus was born, raised, lived and died a Jew. The first disciples were all Jews. The Jerusalem church, the first Christian congregation, continued in the Jewish tradition of daily temple worship. This Jewish character of the early church was lost within a very few decades and it is only within recent years that we have come to realize the profound implications of this loss.
This loss occurred in two ways. First, the Jews tired of the Christian cult within their own ranks. This was exacerbated by the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD70 when up to as many as 1 400 000 Jews were either killed, starved to death or sold into slavery. This was the beginning of the great Diaspora of the Jews. As with any group whose identity and very survival are at stake, they retreated within themselves, becoming very intolerant of any perceived threat whether from within or without. The end result was that the rabbinical council in Jamniah about AD89 rejected any use of Christian scriptures as readings in synagogue services. This resulted in the final expulsion of the Jewish Christians from within the ranks of Judaism.

On the other hand, the Jewish Christians themselves realized that they were losing the battle for the heart and soul of Judaism. There must have been a certain amount of bitterness in this realization. Following the destruction of the temple, they also recognized that if the message of Jesus were to survive at all, it would have to do so in a Gentile world dominated by Roman Imperial power. These early Christians were also beginning to experience persecution by the Roman authorities. It was a very real embarrassment that Jesus had been executed by these same Romans as a political dissident. It is my personal conviction that the biblical narrative of the trial and execution of Jesus was structured in such a way so as to minimize Roman involvement and to pass the blame on to the Jewish religious authorities and even to the Jewish people themselves. The unintentional side effect of this has been almost 2 000 years of anti-Semitism.

** So Judaism and Christianity parted ways with blame residing on both sides. How did this affect the further development of Christianity and Christian thought? Put very simply it is just this --- the scriptures began to be read with Gentile rather than Jewish eyes. The early interpreters of scripture, and I include the "Church Fathers" in this number, no longer had the ability to understand the Jewish world view, metaphors, images and literary styles inherent in the gospels. They read them as literal history when the plain fact of the matter is that the gospel writers did not intend them as literal and the first readers did not read them as literal. It is only just recently that we have rediscovered this very crucial fact, namely that the gospels were written in the style of Jewish sacred writing known as "haggadic midrashic".

Let me illustrate with just a very brief example. The Jewish scriptures, our Old Testament, were written in a style known as midrashic literature. In this style of writing every effort was made to incorporate and interpret new events in terms of events that were already in scripture. In doing so historical accuracy was not nearly as important as meaning. An example will illustrate this. In Exodus 14 we read that Moses parted the waters of the Reed Sea (yes, I said Reed not Red) to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt. In Joshua 3, we read that Joshua parted the waters of the Jordan River to lead the Hebrew people into the promised land. Did this event actually happen exactly as described? I suspect not. Certainly the river was crossed but the "parting of the waters" has it's most important meaning as a literary device linking Joshua to Moses. God's plan was being carried forward. This midrash of the parting of waters was used again in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 2 when the waters of the Jordan were parted by both the prophet Elijah and the prophet Elisha.

This midrash is carried forward into the New Testament in Mark 1 when at the baptism of Jesus the heavens were parted to permit the descent of the Holy Spirit and God's words of benediction. The meaning is obvious…Jesus becomes the new Moses leading his people from an old life to a new. But Jesus is also portrayed as greater than Moses. For Moses, God only parted waters, but for Jesus, the very heavens were parted. When read for meaning, the historical accuracy of the event assumes little importance. It is when we of the twentieth century read these stories without knowing their literary background, that the mistake is made of assuming that the stories are historically true exactly as written.

There is a further, almost comical, side effect here. Modern fundamentalist Christians, who regard the Bible both literally and inerrantly, are forced into the posture of rejecting the modern scientific theory of evolution while at the same time they search the Bible diligently for verses suggesting that the earth is not really flat. On the one hand they vigorously defend Genesis, while on the other they reject the biblical world view of a flat earth in a three tiered universe! When we lose sight of our origins, when we lose sight of history, we are sometimes forced into ludicrous positions.

** The “Christ story” so beloved to Christians for almost 2000 years is not unique with Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, in pagan mythologies, the same story can be traced back at least 5000 years. It is the age-old story of the tortured (frequently crucified), dying, resurrecting, redeeming savior. There were at least sixteen such saviors before Jesus.

What the very early Christians did was to take this pagan myth of “the Christ”, present it in a Jewish context by linking it to Hebrew prophesy, and to then to marry it to the story of a real man --- a very charismatic itinerant rabbi who fell afoul of the Roman authorities and the Jewish high priesthood. Tragically Rabbi Yeshua Bar Miriam was executed. Paul added an element of Greek philosophy to the mix.

Starting in the second century and following, we Christians made a tragic mistake. You see, the pagans knew that their mythology was a mythology. They knew that it was to be understood as allegory and to be interpreted for the message that lay beyond the literal story. What we Christians did was to attach the myth to the person of Jesus and to read the entire story as if it were a literal history. This has led us to assume a position of self-righteous authority and exclusivity and to condemn in a wholesale fashion everyone who thinks differently.

** Another consideration is that very early on the Jesus movement became institutionalized in the form of churches. This was mentioned in an earlier point. These churches organized themselves hierarchically. This form of church government tends to consolidate power at the top of the pyramid and almost inevitably becomes rigid and self serving. It becomes rigid not just in its structure and authority but also in its belief. Generally speaking the development of dogma and creed serve less to enlighten the faithful than to confuse them. It becomes a litmus test to identify the faithful as either one of ours or one of those horrible heretics. Dogma and creed become sacrosanct ---- locked in place and not to be tampered with even when new information or new understandings of old information comes along. Even in the rare event that an enlightened progressive leader takes power, the structure itself ensures that little if any real change takes place.

This then is where our fragmented churches stand. The very worst thing we can do is circle the wagons and in a figurative way say 'We are right and everyone else is wrong and we're not even going to talk about it'. What we do need today is an openness to dialogue and worship together. A willingness to set aside old slights and injustices. A decision to refuse to condemn and exclude. In short, we need to carefully untie the various knots that we have twisted ourselves into. Of course this is very much easier said than done! Prayer, study and compassion would constitute a beginning.

I commend these words to you in the name of Jesus, our brother and our teacher.

hi .. I agree with Joy, there are so many religions because we have not studied Gods Word for ourselves.. we have let everything/everyone influence us when Jesus Himself was under the influence of Gods Holy Spirit... as God calls us out of Babylon(false worship) there will be only 2 sides, Gods or satans... Truth or lies.... may we all study to show ourselves approved... blessings

before you read this, you should pray to God to open your eyes and heart for understanding and wisdom so that you understand this teaching.

Why so many religions?

God tells us exactly what pure religion is!

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.




And as for being a Christian.
The Greek word for "Christian," is Christianos. This means "follower of Christ; Christian." According to Hayford’s Bible Handbook (page 570):
The word occurs three times in the New Testament.

The designation of the early followers of Christ as Christians was initiated by the non-Christian population of Antioch (Acts 11:26), and originally it was probably a term of mocking or derision – "little Christs." Eventually, however, Christians used it of themselves as a name of honor, not of shame (Acts 26:28; I Peter 4:16). Prior to their adoption of the name, the Christians called themselves believers (Acts 5:14), brothers (Acts 6:3), or saints (Acts 9:13), names which also continued to be used…."

So if you are a Christian you are not in religion, your in Christ, and Christ is in you!

The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.”

Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to me by which we must be saved" ( Acts 4:12)

Growing in your Relationship with Christ

God desires to empower you through the Holy Spirit to live a Christ-directed life. As you continue to breathe spiritually (confess your sin and claim the fullness of the Spirit), you will experience a deepening fellowship with God enabling you to grow in Christian maturity.

1. What does it mean to grow in Christ?

It means to increase in your knowledge of Christ, your love for Him, and in obedience to Him.

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

a) What does Jesus say is the essence of eternal life?


"Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."

b) There are more than 600 commands in the Old Testament. Why do you think Jesus singled out this one in Matthew 22:37,38?


c) How would loving God with all your heart, soul and mind affect your life?


(Christ speaking) "Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" (John 14:21).

d) What will be a result of your growing love for Him?


Just as it is a natural process for a child to grow in a loving relationship with a parent, so it is also natural for you to grow in your love relationship with God.

How can you grow in Christ?

Communication is vital to any relationship, including your relationship with Christ.
There are four aspects of communication that will help you grow in your relationship with Christ as you live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. God communicates with us through the Bible, revealing His character and His will.

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

a) How would you define each benefit described in this passage?


b) Which of these benefits would be most helpful to you right now?


c) How would you evaluate the helpfulness of the Bible reading you have done so far?


3. We communicate with God through prayer -- sharing our thoughts, our needs and our desires to do His will.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,7)

"This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of Him" (1 John 5:14,15).

a) What do these verses tell us about prayer?


b) What are some things you can be praying about?


"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

c) Why is it important to be thanking God?


4. We communicate with Christians through fellowship -- encouraging and building up one another.

"And let is consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10: 24,25).

a) Why is it important to spend time with other Christians?


b) Why would this be important for you now?


The Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, means "sharing in common." We desperately need to share our Christian experience with others who love God and walk with Him, and likewise allow them to share with us. The church where we can meet other Christians and hear God's word, is God's appointed place for Christians to meet. Bible studies and meetings are also extremely helpful.

5. We communicate with non-Christians by witnessing -- sharing about our relationship with Christ.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to me by which we must be saved" ( Acts 4:12)

a) What would motivate you to tell another person about Christ?


b) Who would you like to tell about what Christ has done in your life?




Summary: Read 1 Corinthians 3:6,7. God is the source of your growth. You cannot develop spiritual maturity just by trying real hard. As you walk in power of the Holy Spirit, read the Bible, pray, tell people about Christ and spend time with other believers, God will be at work in you producing fruitfulness and maturity.

Suggestions for Further Growth

Set aside time and a place for daily personal Bible study and prayer. A good book to begin with is the New Testament book of John. As you read, underline particularly meaningful verses. Pray and ask God to show you who He is and how you can respond to Him. Some additional suggested passages for study are the ones in this lesson. Other passages are: Colossians 1:9-12;
Matthew 7:7-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Psalm 1; 34; 103; 145; John 15:1-7; and Luke 9:23-26.

Answers: 1a) Knowing God. 1b) If we truly love God we will fulfil the other commandments. 2a) Teaching --presents truth about God and ourselves; rebuking -- points out what is wrong; correction -- shows us how to do what is right; training in righteousness --describes how to live a life which pleases God. 3a) Pray about everything. When we pray according to God's will, He hears and answers us. 3c) God wants us to; by thanking God, we express our trust in Him. 4a) To be in an environment of mutual encouragement to love and do good deeds.

Why so many religions?

It's satan way to confuse and make all people not know the True God! Because he wants to be God himself!

Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Romans 16:13

Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. 15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. 16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. 17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen