This questions was recently posed to me. I'm interested to see how all of you would respond to it.

"It has been said that God gives us the tools for salvation. If that's true, how do we know the right "tools"? There are hundreds, even thousands of religions. How can we be sure we have the right one?"

Nice question, Alena. It relates to a study we just had at Anaheim. I think the philosophical, ideological answer is extremely simple. As we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. All are Christians, IMHO, who accept the salvation offered by our Lord Jesus Christ by participating in his death in the waters of baptism.

Ro. 6:4,5 - Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection...

This doesn't mean that "I'm OK, you're OK" as long as we've both been immersed for the remission of our sins. We always have the right and obligation to try to lovingly persuade our brethren of the truths in the Scriptures as we understand them, but not to the point of creating factions (denominations) in the body.

Like Steven wrote, we have the right religion when we have the right revelation--i.e., the Word. Once we become believers and throw aside all authority of men to accept only that Word of truth, we no longer are one of hundreds of thousands of religions or sects. We are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

~Kevin