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Author
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Topic: Jehovah witnesses
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clark
Advanced Member
Member # 10632
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posted
I think 1 and 4 would be the best ways to share the gospel also another way is if they come to you teach the truth then. Do not go scripture for scripture with them it could just turn them futher away from the Lord and could confuse you about the truth as well.
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God's word is truth
Posts: 303 | From: TN | Registered: Mar 2013
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
"I am a Jehovah's Witness. Why should I consider becoming a Christian?"
Perhaps the most important commonality between Evangelical Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses is our belief and trust in the Bible as the ultimate authority inspired by God, on issues concerning God and His expectations for us. While we may understand things differently, Jehovah’s Witnesses are to be highly commended for their dependence on and diligence in studying the Holy Scriptures to know God and His will. Like the Bereans, we would be wise to examine all things in life, in light of the Scriptures. To that end, we shall examine verses of the New World Translation (the version of the Bible published by their Watchtower Society) to clear up some common misunderstandings.
A Rose by Any Other Name…
Christians get their name from being followers and worshipers of Jesus Christ, first called “Christians” in Antioch during Paul’s ministry (Acts 11:26). Paul repeatedly made it clear that to be a Christian was to be a witness to men concerning the person of Christ, to be a witness to the words and works of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the other hand, believe that we are to focus our worship exclusively on God the Father (who is sometimes referred to in the Bible as “Jehovah”). This name, however, was a hybrid name created by Christians by adding vowels to the tetragrammaton “YHWH,” which was the original rendering which we now know as “Yahweh” in the Hebrew and “Jehovah” in the Greek. Evangelical Christians understand Jesus to be God in all His fullness, equal in deity, but different in function from God the Father. Christians acknowledge that one of the names for God the Father is Jehovah; however, there are many other names and titles which the Scriptures use in reference to God the Father.
Jehovah’s Witnesses understand Jesus to be Michael the Archangel, and categorically deny His deity. As we shall see, if we understand Jesus to be anything other than God, many verses present obvious contradictions. However, we know that God’s Word is inerrant and does not contradict itself. Therefore, we must understand the truth of God’s Word in a way that is consistent and faithful to His revelation. You will notice that these same verses lack any contradiction if we understand Jesus to be God the Son—the fullness of God in bodily form—who surrendered His rights to be the suffering servant and sacrifice for our sin. (All verses are quoted directly from the Jehovah’s Witnesses New World Translation.)
God’s Glory
(Verses regarding God the Father)
Isaiah 42:8 “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 “…And to no one else shall I give my own glory.”
(Verses regarding Jesus)
John 8:54 “…It is my Father that glorifies me, he who you say is YOUR God”
John 16:14 “That one will glorify me…”
John 17:1 “…Father, the hour has come; glorify your son…”
John 17:5 “So now you, Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was.”
Philippians 2:10 “so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground”
Hebrews 5:5 “So too the Christ did not glorify himself by becoming a high priest, but [was glorified by him] who spoke with reference to him; ‘You are my son; I, today, I have become your father.”
The Savior
(About the Father)
Isaiah 43:3 “For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel your Savior.”
Isaiah 43:11 “I am Jehovah and besides me there is no savior.”
Isaiah 45:21 “Is it not I, Jehovah besides whom there is no other God; a righteous God and a Savior, there being none excepting me?”
(About Jesus)
Luke 2:11 “because there was born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…”
Acts 13:23 “From the offspring of this [man] according to his promise God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.”
Titus 1:4 “…May there be underserved kindness and peace from God [the] Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
Whose name are we to have faith in?
(said about Jesus or by Jesus)
John 14:12 “Most truly I say to YOU, He that exercises faith in me, that one also will do the works that I do…”
Acts 4:12 “Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 26:18 “…and inheritance among those sanctified by [their] faith in me.”
Revelation 2:13 “I know where you are dwelling, that is where the throne of Satan is, and yet you keep on holding fast my name, and you did not deny your faith in me…”
John 20:28 “In answer Thomas said to him: My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me have you believed?
John 20:31 “ But these have been written down that YOU may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that, because of believing YOU may have life by means of his name.”
Acts 2:38 “Peter [said] to them: ‘Repent, and let each one of YOU be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...”
1 John 3:23 “Indeed, this is his commandment, that we have faith in the name of his Son Jesus Christ…”
Created or Creator?
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jehovah created Jesus as an angel, and that Jesus then created all other things. What do the scriptures say?
(About the Father)
Isaiah 66:2 “Now all these things my own hand has made, so that all these came to be.”
Isaiah 44:24 “…I, Jehovah, am doing everything, stretching out the heavens, by myself…”
(About Jesus)
John 1:3 “All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.” If all things came into existence through Jesus, He could not have been created because He is included in the “all things.”
Status, Names and Titles of Jesus and Jehovah
Isaiah 9:6 “For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us, and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:17-18 “…I am the First and the Last, and the living one, and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys to death and of Hades.”
Revelation 2:8 “…These are the things that he says, ‘the First and the Last, who became dead, and came to life [again]”
Revelation 22:12-16 “Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end…I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you people of these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star.”
Revelation 21:6-7 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the fountain of the water of life free. Anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son.” If Jehovah is the Alpha and Omega (the first and last Greek letters), then the “first and the last” must refer to Jehovah, so the Witnesses claim. But when did Jehovah become dead? The only “first and last” who died and lived again is Jesus.
Hebrews 1:13 “But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said ‘Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet”?
Truth and Unity
Jesus’ substitutionary atonement was accepted for one reason: God accepts only His own righteousness. The righteousness of a man or an angel is insufficient to hold up to the holy and perfect standard of God’s righteous law. Jesus was the only suitable sacrifice because He was the righteousness of God, and as God’s law required shed blood, Jesus took on flesh so that He might be a ransom for all who believe in His name.
Notice that if we understand Jesus to be God incarnate, then all the above verses can be understood to be true and mutually consistent in their claims. They can also be understood clearly with plain reason, taken at face value. However, if we attempt to suggest that Jesus is something less than God—Michael the archangel—then these verses are mutually exclusive and cannot both be true, when taken in their natural context. Therefore, the truth of God’s Word necessitates that we must come to another understanding in which all Scripture is unified, interconnected, interdependent, inerrant and true. That unifying truth can be found only in the person and deity of Jesus Christ. May we see the truth revealed in Scripture as it is, not as we would each have it to be, and may God receive all the glory.
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah-Witness-Christian.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Hi Bloodbought,
I think these articles contain some good advice. I hope you find them helpful.
Witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses - what is the key?
Jehovah’s Witnesses say they are the only true Christians, but they are neither Protestant nor Catholic. The fundamental doctrinal issue that distinguishes them from orthodox Christianity is the Trinity. They say it is a pagan teaching, but they misrepresent it, saying that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit must be three gods. They actually agree with the Trinity doctrine when it says that the Father and the Son are two Persons, but imagine they need to prove this to Trinitarians! They fail to grasp how the three Persons comprise the One Being of God, and so they come up with the idea of a Big God and a little god – two gods. They say Jesus was created (Arianism) and was Michael the archangel and that Jesus’ body was not resurrected; it simply disappeared and He rose as a spirit creature. They say the Holy Spirit is not a person but is Jehovah’s active force or energy.
Because they say that Jesus is a demi-god, their understanding of salvation and atonement is wrong. They say Jesus, who was a perfect Man, died only to atone for the sin of Adam and that when we die, our death pays the penalty of our own sin. Only some 10,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses today can possibly claim to be born-again and have a heavenly hope. The rest say they don’t want to go to heaven to be with the Lord but they want to live forever on a paradise earth (Restorationism). They believe if they remain faithful and obedient till the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ Jesus, they will ‘earn the right to be declared righteous’ and that’s why they have to keep on striving, with no assurance of salvation. Only today’s ‘remnant’ of the 144,000 can say they are in the new covenant, and that Christ Jesus is their mediator. All must be obedient to the leaders (the Watchtower Society and its Governing Body) if they wish to survive Armageddon. To disagree with what they say is to disagree with Jehovah because He uses them as His sole channel of communication to dispense ‘the truth.’ Only they saw ‘with spiritual eyes of discernment’ that Christ Jesus started to rule from heaven in 1914, an invisible ‘second presence.’ Also, they say Christ Jesus will never return to earth, but will remain in heaven, there to rule with the 144,000 over the earth.
With all these unbiblical beliefs, where does one begin to witness to a Jehovah’s Witness? There is only one place to begin—with the person of Christ Jesus, whose deity is the foundation of Christianity. Jehovah’s Witnesses are unable to grasp the significance of Jesus’ death and why they must be born again in order to have their sins forgiven. Before they can put all their trust in the finished work of Christ Jesus, they have to understand they are not saved, which means they are presently lost in their sin. No Witness has the assurance of salvation which is the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who belong to the Father through Christ (Romans 8:16). The full deity of Jesus Christ can only be revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, who they relegate to commodity status, like electricity. To the Witnesses, the Holy Spirit is a “thing,” not a Person.
Witnessing to the Witnesses must be done in Christian love and with compassion. Remember, they have been deceived and believe a false gospel, yet many have a genuine love for God and are utterly sincere in their beliefs. Do not be afraid of them (1 John 4:17-19), but let them know how much you care about their eternal salvation. Share your Christian testimony with them. Talk to them, discuss spiritual matters with them, but do not allow them to conduct what they describe as a Bible study, which is actually a study of their literature. Be aware they will not read any non-Watchtower literature or attend a church service. They say they will only accept what the Bible says, but their New World Translation has been drastically altered to reflect their theology, and every reference in the New Testament to the deity of Christ Jesus has been removed. It always comes as a surprise to them to meet people who love the Lord, display the fruit of the Spirit, and use the Bible as the basis for their faith (Hebrews 4:12). Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Direct all your conversation to the person of Christ and the need to put total faith in what He has done. Do not allow them to lead you down the path they wish you to take, namely, considering how you can survive Armageddon to live on a paradise earth. This is not the gospel. Above all else, pray for them.
http://www.gotquestions.org/witnessing-Jehovahs-Witnesses.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Bloodbought
Advanced Member
Member # 4365
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posted
Jehovah witnesses are very zealous when it comes to proclaiming what they believe. They teach that only Jehovah witnesses will survive Armageddon and live forever in paradise earth. Everyone else, they say, will be annihilated in the battle of Armageddon.
They believe that Jehovah is the one true God and that Jesus was a god, but not almighty God. They teach that Jesus was the archangel Michael and that He was the first created being who created all other things. They deny the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
They have given many dates regarding the end of the world that were false.
They believe they must work hard and knock as many doors and do as many bible studies as possible to earn favor with Jehovah God.
They are taught not to investigate any Christian literature other than the watchtower publications, because it could cause them to leave the so-called truth and become apostate.
Sadly they are brainwashed by a cult that can only survive by keeping them in fear of doing anything that could lead them to the truth and away from the watchtower teachings.
Since they are taught to close their ears to anything other than watchtower teachings, is there any point in trying to witness to them and if so what is the best approach?
Would you,
1 gave your testimony.
2 use scripture to counteract their false doctrine.
3 use scripture to show them that Christ is the only remedy for sin and how faith in Him can save sinners.
4 slam the door and pray that God would open their eyes?
Thanks in advance.
Posts: 822 | From: Ireland | Registered: Feb 2005
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