When I was growing up in church, I thought that the purpose of God’s Law was to make us righteous: “Be a good boy and do as you are told.”

The problem is that Paul tells us that law-keeping won’t make us righteous.

So what is the purpose of God’s Law?

 

The most effective way I know to discuss this with Jehovah’s Witnesses is to go through Galatians 3 with them.

The most non-threatening way to do this is to let the scripture speak for itself and to let the Witnesses be the teachers.

Draw out the meaning of the text by asking good diagnostic stone-in-the-shoe questions.

Ask one of the Witnesses to read Galatians 3:1-5 aloud:

O senseless Galatians! Who has brought you under this evil influence, you who had Jesus Christ openly portrayed before you as nailed to the stake? This one thing I want to ask you: Did you receive the spirit through works of law or because of faith in what you heard? Are you so senseless? After starting on a spiritual course, are you finishing on a fleshly course? Did you undergo so many sufferings for nothing? If it really was for nothing. Therefore, does the one who supplies you the spirit and performs powerful works among you do it because of your works of law or because of your faith in what you heard?

Ask:

  • What does Paul mean by this? 
  • Isn’t trying to keep God’s Law a good thing?
  • What exactly were the Galatians doing wrong? 
  • How does this differ from what the people will supposed to be doing during Christ’s 1000-year reign in order to obtain God’s approval?

Continue by asking one of the Witnesses to read aloud Galatians 3:6-9:

Just as Abraham “put faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Surely you know that it is those who adhere to faith who are sons of Abraham. Now the scripture, foreseeing that God would declare people of the nations righteous through faith, declared the good news beforehand to Abraham, namely: “By means of you all the nations will be blessed.” So those who adhere to faith are being blessed together with Abraham, who had faith.

Ask:

  • What does Paul mean by God declaring people righteous through faith? 
  • How does that different from people being declared righteous by keeping God’s law?

Let them wrestle with this issue. If they want to jump to what James says on the issue, agree to set aside a time to do that, but focus on what Paul says here.

Have them continue by asking them to read aloud Galatians 3:10: “All those who depend on works of law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not remain in all the things written in the scroll of the Law by doing them.”

Ask:

  • Why are those who depend on works of law under a curse?
  • If we rely on keeping the law, how much of the law do we have to keep and how well do we have to keep it?

Have them go on to Galatians 3:11: “Moreover, it is evident that by law no one is declared righteous with God, because “the righteous one will live by reason of faith.”

Ask:

  • Is it fair to conclude that to Paul, trying to please God by law-keeping seems to be the opposite of living by faith in Christ and his sacrifice?

Next, move to Galatians 3:12-14:

Now the Law is not based on faith. Rather, “anyone who does these things will live by means of them.” Christ purchased us, releasing us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hung upon a stake.” This was so that the blessing of Abraham would come to the nations by means of Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promised spirit through our faith.

Ask:

  • Why does Paul call the law a curse?

(Because we are unable to keep it.)

  • When Paul talks about receiving the promised Spirit through faith, do you believe that is something only for the 144,000 or is it for anyone who will put their faith in Christ and his sacrifice?

If they say it is only for the 144,000, ask:

  • Where does Paul say there is a different way of salvation for everyone else?
  • I’m not asking about destination (heaven or earth); I’m asking about on what basis Jehovah declares people righteous.

Ask one of the Witnesses to read aloud Galatians 3:15-18:

Brothers, I speak using a human illustration: Once a covenant is validated, even if only by a man, no one annuls it or attaches additions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “and to your descendants,” in the sense of many. Rather, it says, “and to your offspring,” in the sense of one, who is Christ. Further, I say this: The Law, which came into being 430 years later, does not invalidate the covenant previously made by God, so as to abolish the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has kindly given it to Abraham through a promise.

Ask:

  • What is Paul trying to convey here?

If they get stuck, ask:

  • Which came first—God’s promise to Abraham or the giving of the Law to Moses?
  • Was the giving of the law to Moses intended to provide a different way of being declared righteous?

Ask the Witnesses to read aloud Galatians 3:19-20: “Why, then, the law? It was added to make transgressions manifest, until the offspring should arrive to whom the promise had been made; and it was transmitted through angels by the hand of a mediator.”

Ask:

  • What does “make transgressions manifest?” mean?
  • What does Paul mean when he says that the law was added “until the offspring should arrive?”
  • Who is the offspring?

Ask them to read aloud Galatians 3:21: “Is the Law, therefore, against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, righteousness would actually have been by means of law.”

Ask:

  • Was the law given so that by keeping God’s law well enough we could prove worthy of everlasting life?

Have them read aloud Galatians 3:22-24:

But the Scripture handed all things over to the custody of sin, so that the promise resulting from faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those exercising faith. However, before the faith arrived, we were being guarded under law, being handed over into custody, looking to the faith that was about to be revealed. So the Law became our guardian leading to Christ, so that we might be declared righteous through faith.

Ask:

  • In what way was the law our guardian?

It showed us how sinful we are, how the natural man is unable to keep the righteous requirements of God.

We all need a supernatural transformation, which God gives us as a result of our faith in Christ and his sacrifice.

Finish with Galatians 3:25-27: “But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a guardian. You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

 Ask:

  • According to Paul, are Christians still under the law, or has the law fulfilled its purpose?

Summary

As you summarize, some good stone-in-the-shoe questions are:

  • Does Paul make any distinctions at all here? 
  • Is there one way of salvation involving law-keeping for one class of people but a different way involving empowerment by God’s Spirit for others?

It should be clear that the answer is no.

Pray that the meaning of Galatians 3 as brought out through your questions will be a stone in the shoe of Jehovah’s Witnesses and that they will see that faithfully keeping the Watchtower’s rules is not the path to salvation.