In the Watchtower Bible translation, Ephesians 2:8 says, “By this undeserved kindness you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; rather, it is God’s gift.” (emphasis added)
Despite that, Jehovah’s Witnesses would never say that they have been saved. Continue reading
The Watchtower teaches that salvation is a reward for faithfulness: “Jehovah rewards his faithful servants with life, but life of what kind?” (What Does the Bible Really Teach?, p. 192)
Likewise an online article states, “Jesus saved faithful humans when he gave his life as a ransom sacrifice. (Matthew 20:28).” (emphasis added)
Faithful humans?
If faithfulness is a prerequisite to salvation, we are all in serious trouble because our faithfulness to God is spotty at best. Continue reading
In last week’s post, I asked the question, “How exactly can a sinner who has never been indwelt by the Holy Spirit through the new birth possibly live the righteous kind of life modeled by Jesus?”
That’s a rhetorical question—it’s impossible.
But the Watchtower’s answer seems to be that by striving non-stop, you can do it—that is, by striving diligently, you can change your personality to make yourself into the righteous person God wants you to be.
We can see the difference by looking at how Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses deal with two key passages of scripture— Colossians 3:9-10 and Ephesians 2:22-24. Continue reading
When I first became a Christian, someone joked with me about what it must have been like to be one of the younger children of Mary and Joseph, constantly being asked, “Why can’t you be more like your older brother?”
The Watchtower states, “Today, there are more than six million Witnesses of Jehovah who…make every effort to ‘walk worthy of Jehovah to the end of fully pleasing him,’ applying his standards in every aspect of their lives.” (The Watchtower, “Stirred by ‘the Magnificent Things of God’”, 8/1/2002, p. 17)
My question would be, “How are you coming with that?” Continue reading
We move in our series from Watchtower misconceptions regarding Jesus’ earthly ministry to its misconceptions about Jesus and salvation.
If you ask Jehovah’s Witnesses to explain their understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice, most of them will focus on Adam’s sin rather than on their own sins. Continue reading
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