Category: New Birth and New Covenant (page 2 of 4)

The New Birth Approach

Key Scripture: “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’.” (John 3:3)

 The objective of The New Birth Approach is to show Jehovah’s Witnesses that the new birth involves an inner transformation of a person by the Holy Spirit and is the only way by which anyone can obtain eternal life.

 The challenge

 If the Watchtower’s two-class salvation system were only a matter of location—whether all Christians will go to heaven or whether most of them will live forever in paradise on earth—the topic would be of little practical significance. However, because of the Watchtower’s erroneous teachings, the vast majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the new birth and the new covenant are not for them. Continue reading

Irreconcilable Differences Regarding Salvation

Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses agree that all descendants of Adam (except Jesus) are born under condemnation and that faith in Christ’s sacrifice is essential to salvation, but there the similarity ends. The Watchtower salvation system and the Bible’s way of salvation are completely incompatible. The chapter sets out the contrast in a nutshell and then goes on to explain the differences in greater detail. (pp. 55-56) Continue reading

Our Need for Inner Transformation

Bible teach Ch 19

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

“Bible Teach”, Chapter 19, paragraph 7 (p. 186) says, “As described in the Bible, love for God is much more than a feeling… The Bible teaches: ‘This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.’ (1 John 5:3). To be genuine, love for God must bear fine fruit. It must be expressed in actions.”

What the Watchtower fails to understand is that none of this is possible without the inner transformation provided by the new birth (see The New Birth Approach from my book, Getting Through to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways, pp. 131-133).

You can drive the point home by asking the Witnesses to tell you honestly how they think they are doing at keeping all of Jehovah’s commandments. Are they certain if they died tonight that Jehovah would consider them worthy to be resurrected? Continue reading

The Meaning of Baptism

Bible teach Ch 18

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

What is baptism all about?

“Bible Teach,” Chapter 18, paragraph 23 (p. 182) states that baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit… means that a baptism candidate recognizes the authority of Jehovah God and of Jesus Christ. He also recognizes the function and activity of God’s holy spirit, or active force.”

This provides a good opportunity to use The Holy Spirit is God Approach from my book, Getting Through to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways, especially pp. 193 and 197 regarding the “name” shared by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Continue reading

What Makes Us Precious to God?

Bible teach Ch 14

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

In contrast to earlier chapters which dealt with the identity of Jesus, the Watchtower’s “sovereignty challenge” view of life, and the like, Chapter 14—“How to Make Your Family Life Happy—isn’t heavy on doctrine.

Accordingly, my primary goal is to get the Witnesses to think outside the Watchtower box. Continue reading

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