Jehovah's Witnesses
Why You Should Never Tell a JW, "No thanks!"
That might seem like a strange intro for a post, but I really do have a reason for wording it that way. You see, I've realized that when we get people like Jehovah's Witnesses coming to our door to spread their false doctrine, telling them to go away is like saying, "No thanks, I don't have the time or concern to deal with your soul right now, please go infect someone else with your damnable lies." How many of us want to say that? I certainly didn't when one came to my door this Christmas break!
This time I talked to him and asked him lots of questions. If you do not know much about a certain cult (There will invariably be lots of people who belongs to a certain group that you are not familiar with. This is OK! Just ask questions. It is the best way to get information and the best way to find out if they are teaching sound doctrine). Apparently these are really common questions, because he kept saying that all my questions were answered in this little book that he had. He offered it to me, so I took it, wanting to have an authoritative reference book from which to learn JW docrine. It's really small, so I was able to actually read through the whole thing in a relatively short amount of time. What I did was scour through it with an orange highlighter, and marked it up, noticing all the "interesting" things that were said in there.
There were several heresies littered through this book, but I suspect that many Christians would not be able to defend themselves against the lies if a JW should 'witness' to them! It was obvious to me, hearing this man's testimony, that this is what happened with him as he was first approached by JWs. He said that he started seeing things in orthodox Christianity that didn't line up with the Bible. The example he gave was the Trinity! I wonder how many people could defend the deity of Christ and the Trinity from the Bible should someone object (1 Pet 3:15)?
Now, for anyone who might think I'm just being nit picky or overly critical, let me say that this is an absolute essential of the Christian faith, therefore you need to be able to defend it! If you do not believe that Jesus is Divine, you are on a very direct path to hell (John 8:24). You are on the wide road of destruction, and the end does not look good for you. Your Jesus cannot save you. You need to repent and put your trust in the true savior right now. This is not a debatable issue! Yet it is one that JWs deny. They're Christ is not Divine and is a created being; therefore, he cannot save!
It is important to remember to keep things in the proper perspective when dealing with issues such as cult-members coming to your door. They don't have the true gospel; the Christian does. That is a very big deal (Gal 1:8-9)!They need to be evangelized, rather than looked down upon for trying to evangelize others. They're fervor should put anyone to shame who does not pursue the souls of others with the same intensity. Let me encourage you to learn how to defend your faith against the cults, and, furthermore, how to share your faith with cult members so that they realize they are not in the truth and need to be regenerated!
I will do my best to help you to do this is my follow up blog on this topic. Stay strong in the faith. Do not judge in the non-essentials (Rom 14). Do not budge in the essentials. Let's serve the King with our whole hearts.
4 comments:
In general I would agree, but what would you do with this text in Jude:
17But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 19It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22And have mercy on those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
So, it would seem that there are some with whom we must be extremely careful in approaching, to the degree that we would actually refrain from being near them (if we can't approach their garments, we certainly can't approach them. And note that this is hyperbole). Most people think that the proselytizers of any heterodox group would be those we should be careful in approaching. Especially if you are not confident that you can give an answer. They will be most experienced in attacking the true faith and defending their own.
Ryan,
Thank you for your input and contribution to my post. It's nice to see that people outside my own acquaintances are reading my blog. It certainly encourages me to keep contributing to it.
My response follows:
It seems that you have isolated one phrase, "hating the garment stained by the flesh," and taken it to mean that we should not talk to people who know their stuff, or even approach them.
1) I do not know what our physical proximity to false teachers has to do with what Jude means when he uses that phrase.
2) The verse reminds me of something Paul said in one of his epistles:
"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Gal 6:1).
MacArthur suggests that this verse indicates successively less hopeful states of people who are in danger of "wandering from the faith" (1 Tim 4:1; 6:10,21). The first is people who have those familiar and sincere doubts. The second are people who are moving in the direction of leaving Christianity. The third are people who perhaps seem to have left Christianity and gone apostate, yet all hope is not lost. We should have mercy on them, yet watch out or else we may be enticed and drawn away as well. The "flesh" and "garment" refer to sinfulness and, perhaps, the appearance of sinfulness, respectively. Our goal is to be above reproach.
Concerning the extent to which this applies to Jehovah's Witnesses: They are unregenerate and need to be evangelized and corrected with patience. Perhaps some of them once grew up in an orthodox Christian church and left. Fine, then be careful, but still "have mercy." Do the loving thing and talk to them.
3) The verse never says we can't approach their garments. That is something you have added to the text. Perhaps you did not realize this.
4) You should always be careful of anyone preaching false doctrines, but this doesn't mean they aren't to be corrected or even physically approached.
5) If you are not confident that you can give an answer then perhaps you need to ponder whether you line up to the requirements of 1 Pet 3:15 to "always be ready to give an answer."
6) I've found that when you have no idea what a group believes or how to address it, focus more on asking questions and getting the groundwork laid out than trying to refute everything they say. In any case, you have a responsibility to know your stuff, since you must again "always be ready" (1 Pet 3:15), "cast down arguments" (2 Cor 10:4-5), and "not be taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy" (Col 2:8). It is your duty as a Christian to know what you believe and be able to defend it.
"people outside my acquaintances"
Unless you're the Ryan who just drove me down to long beach and back this weekend!
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