In short, the true religion or best religion is the one that is based on God’s truth and that brings about salvation. So how do we find that out?
In the quest for truth, one needs to examine the religious leaders and “holy books” associated with the various beliefs.
In other words, are their claims valid? By examining Jesus of Nazareth compared to all other religious leaders, one discovers that Jesus of Nazareth alone:
- fulfilled numerous prophecies about where, when and how the Messiah would die (Psa. 22; Isa. 53; Micah 5:2; etc.)
- live a perfectly sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; etc.)
- resurrected bodily (Lk. 24:39; Phil 3:21; Rom. 6:9; etc.)
- claimed and proved to be God (Jn. 8:51; 14:14; Isa. 40:3 cf. Mt. 3:1-3; Heb. 1:6,8; etc.)
No other world religious leader has such exceptional credentials. Hence, the findings, even at this point, exclude Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. – all non-Christian faiths.
But there is something else to notice, that is, what did the proven Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teach about the scriptures themselves? The Lord Jesus:
- affirmed the entire Old Testament (Mt. 5:18; 22:29; 24:35; Jn. 10:35; 17:17; etc.) and
- promised the New Testament (Jn. 16:13; 14:26)
So the one and only proven Messiah, by his own unparalleled credentials, endorsed what we call the bible, a compilation of 66 Holy Spirit inspired books. That means the true religion centers around the Lord Jesus Christ, his teachings and the bible. It is Christianity.
Salvation Quiz
Which Branch of Christianity?
Unfortunately, because there are so many factions and divisions within what is considered to be Christianity, our search to get precise must continue. 
Each of the various hundreds of groups (or more) claiming to be Christian-based asserts itself to be the truest. Ultimately, one will have to earnestly seek the truth of the bible, especially the New Testament, in order to learn what the Lord Jesus and his disciples taught about salvation and God.
To learn the truth from the bible will require humility and a heart to receive what it says, but first you must turn to the Lord to have your spiritual blockage to understanding scripture removed (2 Cor. 3:16). It is much easier to turn to the Lord, when you realize your sins are dragging you to eternal fire:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. ( 1Cor. 6:9-11, NASB)
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 13:41,42).
You must repent of your sins or you will perish (Lk. 13:3,5; 2 Pet. 3:9; 2 Cor. 7:10; etc.).
Foundational to the Earliest Christian Beliefs
Foundational to the earliest Christian beliefs is: God’s written word is to be the basis of all Christian teaching, correction, etc. and the man of God is thoroughly equipped with scripture alone:
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 Tim 3:16,17).
That truth excludes papal decrees, Marian apparitions, what canonized saints and the so-called church fathers taught, thereby excluding Catholicism, the bulk (nearly 59%) of what is considered Christianity in our day!
All liberal forms of Christianity are also excluded because their focus is not a heart-felt humble commitment to Jesus and turning from wickedness to serve God (1 Thess. 1:9b; Luke 9:23; Mt. 10:38; Gal. 5:24; etc.) results in holy living and a radical new creation in Christ change. They tend to focus on mere religious acts like water baptism and communion instead.
Moreover, examining the prophecies of various religious founders will identify them as false prophets, i.e., Joseph Smith Jr. of Mormonism and Charles Taze Russell of the Jehovah’s Witnesses just to mention two. There are many false teachers.
The False Grace of Eternal Security
How to Get Forgiven of Sins
The true religion results in salvation because it points to Jesus Christ, who is eternal life (1 Jn. 1:2). When one learns the truth of God and receives it, he will be miraculously and radically changed. God’s truth, if acted upon, results in forgiveness and freedom from sin’s addictions (Rom. 6:22), that is, heart purity (Acts 15:9 cf. Mt. 5:8; Heb. 12:14; Rev. 21:27).
That is known as getting born again, which occurs before and without water baptism as was the case with Cornelius and others (Acts 10:43-48; Lk. 18:13,14; 23:42,43; etc.). After being spiritually cleansed initially, the battle continues. Now a main part of the Christian life is to keep yourself pure (1 Tim. 5:22), hold on to what you have (Rev. 3:11) and bringing forth good fruit (Jn. 15:1-6). To actually enter God’s Paradise kingdom after death, we must endure to the end (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Gal. 6:8,9; Rev. 2:10,11), which many do not. There is no once saved always saved. We are told to be afraid of being cut off and to continue (Rom. 11:20-22).
Your enemy the devil, will surely try to destroy you spiritually. Resist his deceptions and temptations (James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9) and patiently endure hardships (Rev. 3:10; 2 Tim. 2:3), sticking to scripture and following Jesus, which sadly doesn’t always happen:
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud” (2 Pet 2:20-22).
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pet 1:9).
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap ETERNAL LIFE. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal 6:8,9)
So now you know the truest and best religion is the one centered on Jesus Christ and is bible based for all teachings. Also, Christianity is a religion (1 Tim. 5:4; James 1:26,27). The truth of God demands repentance and a heart-felt submissive faith in Jesus Christ to serve him — the one who shed his blood and died on the cross for our sins.
That type of faith will: result in eternal life; set one free from their sin addictions (Rom. 6:22; Tit. 3:3; Jn. 8:34-36); grant rest for their soul (Mt. 11:29); produce real love for bible-defined Christians (1 Jn. 3:14) and give you the Holy Spirit to guide and teach (Jn. 16:13; 1 Jn. 2:27; etc.). The Christian is ashamed of his past sinful life (Rom. 6:21) and walking in holy obedience to Jesus NOW (Heb. 5:9; 1 Jn. 2:3,4; Jn. 14:21; Lk. 8:21; Eph. 5:5-7; etc.).
We know that we have come to know him (Jesus) if we OBEY his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3,4).
