Idol worship, a Pharisaic mindset, or belief in Christ? The answer to a simple question reveals where we stand. The Chief Apostle explains what really counts.
Jesus said to her, “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. Do you believe this?” Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider posed this question from John 11: 25–26 to the nearly 2,000 people in a divine service on 4 May 2025 in Saurimo, Angola.
The top three forms of faith
There are various forms of faith in the Bible. The Chief Apostle focussed on three of them and made it clear in the process that there is only one true faith.
Idol worship: God had chosen the people of Israel so that they should be a blessing to all nations. As a sign of their gratitude, they were to keep the commandments. This was difficult for them, especially when it came to the First Commandment: “I am the Lord, your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.” However, the worst thing about it was that they treated God like an idol. “When you need help, you come to Me and bring sacrifices and worship Me. But when you do not need Me, you do not come at all.” The Chief Apostle said that the Israelites had tried to buy God’s help.
Pharisaic mindset: The scribes and Pharisees strictly observed God’s commandments and His will. They wanted God to bless them and give them happiness in earthly life. “They kept the commandments not out of gratitude to God, but out of calculation,” the Chief Apostle said. They even went so far as to believe that “they had been sent by God to punish sinners. They had completely misunderstood God.”
Belief in Christ: “We believe that God is love,” the Chief Apostle explained. “We believe that God wants to lead us into His new land. He wants to give us eternal life in His kingdom.” Important is that we cannot earn this, the Chief Apostle said. “We can only attain this by grace. That is a completely different kind of faith,” he emphasised. “The commandments are kept not out of calculation, but out of love.”
A critical look at our faith and works
“So, brother, sister, now you have a choice. How about your faith?” the Chief Apostle asked. Everyone must examine themselves, he said. “Faith has an effect and is measured by our works.”
Works of idol worship: “There are Christians who come to God when they need something.” If God does not help them, they go elsewhere. And if life is good to them, they do not need God, the Chief Apostle said. “These Christians treat Jesus Christ like an idol.”
Works of a Pharisaic mindset: There are Christians who keep the commandments, are obedient, and attend the divine services. The Chief Apostle explained, “When we come to divine service, we bring our offerings, and we serve the Lord because we want His blessing. We expect something from God. It all comes down to earthly things.” And if God does not help, we think we must do even more for Him. “But the things we do, we do not do for Jesus at all: we are doing them for ourselves.”
Works of true faith: “Our relationship with Jesus Christ is more important to us than our desires in earthy life. What we do, we do out of gratitude and out of love for Jesus Christ,” the Chief Apostle said and added, “We believe that Jesus Christ is eternal life and the resurrection.” He died for us and wanted to share His glory with us. “We want to become like Him.” For this reason, we serve Him, we overcome, we resist sin, and we love God and our neighbour like Jesus did. “Because Jesus was as God wanted human beings to be.”
To achieve this “we need grace. We cannot become as perfect as Jesus Christ,” the Chief Apostle said. If we are humble, repentant, and forgive our neighbour, God will grant us grace and we will be able to enter His kingdom. “Brothers and sisters, this is the true belief of Christians.” The Chief Apostle appealed to the congregation to follow the advice of Apostle Paul: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13: 5).
