Key Scripture: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)

The objective of The Come to Jesus Approach is to help Jehovah’s Witnesses see their need to come to Jesus Christ personally in order to obtain salvation.

The problem

How would you react if someone told you that you need to pray to Michael the archangel and ask him to forgive your sins? That’s how Jehovah’s Witnesses feel if we tell them they need to come to Jesus for forgiveness. It’s only God we should pray to. Only God can forgive sin. And they think Jesus is Michael, not God. For the same reason, Witnesses would consider it sinful and idolatrous to try to have a personal relationship with Jesus. (pp. 73-74)

If you try to address the issue by showing them Jesus is God, the need to come to him for salvation often gets forgotten aside amidst controversy over the deity of Christ or over the Trinity doctrine. You can avoid this problem by bypassing identity issues in order to focus attention on the Witnesses’ need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. (p. 74)

The unexpected approach

The key to the Come to Jesus Approach is to show the Witnesses that Jehovah wants them—indeed, commands them—to come to Jesus in order to have their sins forgiven. Because they believe Jehovah is the ultimate authority, they need to know that they are obeying Jehovah God if they come to Jesus for forgiveness and that they are disobeying Jehovah God if they won’t. This concept will surprise them. The Watchtower hasn’t trained them to deal with it. (p. 74)

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it is the Father (Jehovah) who forgives sins, not Jesus.

Accordingly, please request that they read aloud and give you their understanding of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:6: “‘But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’” (p. 75)

Ask:

  • According to that verse, who has the authority to forgive our sins?
  • Do you see from that verse why I believe that it’s Jesus who has the authority to forgive sins?
  • Do you see from that why I believe we need to come to Jesus if we want our sins forgiven?

They probably will ask, “Who gave him that authority?” Rather than getting sidetracked into an argument about who Jesus really is, simply answer, “Jehovah gave him that authority. That’s my point. It seems to me that this passage says that’s Jehovah’s arrangement for our salvation. He has delegated to the Son of Man the authority to forgive sins.” (pp. 75-76)

Sometimes, Witnesses will say that Jehovah does the actual forgiving and that Jesus just announces what Jehovah has decided. If so, you can request one of them to read aloud John 5:22-23: “Moreover, the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

You can follow up by asking (p. 76):

  • According to this passage, who will judge us?
  • Is it blasphemous to honor the Son just as we honor the Father?
  • Is the Father offended if we honor Jesus just as we honor him or is that what he wants?

Study Questions

  1. Why is it hard to persuade Jehovah’s Witnesses to come to Jesus for salvation? Who is Jesus, according to the Watchtower? (pp. 73-74)
  1. How would you react if someone told you that you need to have a personal relationship with Michael the archangel? How would you respond if someone tried to get you to bow your head and pray to Michael to save you?
  1. As important as Jesus’ identity is, how can disputing with Jehovah’s Witnesses about his deity get in the way of our goal of getting them to see that they need to come to Jesus in order to be forgiven of theirs sins? (p. 74)
  1. Why is it important to show Jehovah’s Witnesses that they are obeying Jehovah God if they come to Jesus personally for forgiveness of sins and disobeying Jehovah God if they try to get forgiven by coming to the Father directly? (p. 74)
  1. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it is the Father (Jehovah) who forgives sins, not Jesus. How do you think Matthew 9:6 and the concept that Jehovah has delegated to Jesus the authority to forgive sins might affect them? If God had told us that we need to come to Moses to have our sins forgiven, then to whom would we need to go? (pp. 75-76)
  1. John 5:22-23 says, “Moreover, the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” How might a Jehovah’s Witness respond to these targeted questions about these verses? (p. 76)
  • According to this passage, who will judge us?
  • Is it blasphemous to honor the Son just as we honor the Father?
  • Is the Father offended if we honor Jesus just as we honor him or is that what he wants?
  1. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it is the Father (Jehovah) who forgives sins, not Jesus. How do you think Matthew 9:6 and the concept that Jehovah has delegated to Jesus the authority to forgive sins might affect them? If God had told us that we need to come to Moses to have our sins forgiven, then to whom would we need to go? (pp. 75-76)

 

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