Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Thursday
April 24, 2019
Pastor Rick Kabrick
1PE 3:15, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
They truly believe they already possess the Truth, and only they possess the truth, and only they have the right Bible which teaches the truth.
Only because almost any denomination could be referred to as a cult in one way or another using various descriptions or definitions.
You must remember that the JW’s are their world. Their friends, their family are the other members of the JW’s.
So, their world apart from perhaps their jobs is made up of the JW world.
They expect you to ignore them, they expect you to be rude and to argue. To them this is a form of persecution to them as faithful witnesses.
So, the first step to take is to be nice.
Father please let the spiritual eyes be opened and the truth be made apparent.
Being nice doesn’t mean you compromise your Biblical stand, it is just that you don’t have to yell, or be mean.
Their Bible is not the Bible. Their Bible is their Bible. We will see more of that point later.
The JW's were founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, who didn't like the teaching of the church he was attending.
1CO 15:13, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
JW’s are not Christian because they don’t believe that the LORD Jesus Christ is the LORD Jesus Christ, they don’t believe HE is fully GOD.
In fact they believe that Jesus Christ the LORD was created.
JOH 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.
No translation, no early manuscript, no other version of the Bible has this rendering that the word was a GOD.
But from that they say that Jesus was a GOD but not the GOD. They believe HE is a created being.
If you ask the JW’s at your door which camp they are in they will most likely tell you that they are in the big crowd.
One great question to ask the JW is are you one of the 144,000. Most will say no, which means they are not going to Heaven, they instead have placed their bets on paradise earth.
REV 14:4-5, These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves as virgins…
And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless…
So they have to be men, have to be virgins and have to be blameless.
This would mean means that Peter (not a virgin), Mary the Mother of Jesus (not a male), and Jehovah’s Witnesses founder Charles Taze Russel (not a Jew) will not be in heaven. Just for a start.
REV 20:15, And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
REV 14:11, “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
The problem is once you have an equation of forgiveness of salvation that is: “salvation = faith + works”, it’s always the works that matter. Because then without works there is no faith.
JAM 2:17-18, Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, by itself. But someone may say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Works are not the cause of salvation; good works are the result of salvation.
There is a great error in regards to works and faith when people like JW’s attempt to make works part of what justifies us before GOD.
ROM 4:5, To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
JAM 2:26, Faith without works is dead.
However, those works that follow salvation do not make us any more righteous before GOD; they simply flow from our so great a salvation.
Your goal is to simply raise some doubts in their mind. They are taught to be aware and fearful of false teachers and apostates. And you are both of those.
Truth is truth and has always been truth and will always be truth, and truth is truth whether one believes it or not. Truth can be hidden, but it cannot be destroyed.
We Need Help to Understand the Bible. And GOD Always Uses an Organization of men to Communicate HIS Truth.
Well our mentor is our helper, the person of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Appointed the Watchtower Organization to Dispense Spiritual Truth in the Last Days. And therefore the Watchtower Organization is the Only True Religion on Earth Today.
This particular story begins with William Miller, a Baptist preacher who, in 1816, began proclaiming that Christ would return in 1843.
A comfortable timeframe for him to gain a sizable following. And he captured the imagination and loyalty of many thousands.
To be loyal to his teachings he forced his followers to separate from other church bodies and to create a denomination of their own.
Beginning by setting specific dates for the return of Christ and the Rapture, Russell went farther in 1882 by openly rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity.
A man by the name of Joseph Rutherford took over the organization of the Watchtower magazine and publications and teachings.
Like Russell, Rutherford tried his hand at prophecy and predicted that biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be resurrected in 1925 to rule as princes over the earth. They didn’t get the memo, and failed to show up, and Rutherford quit predicting dates.
Readers were directed to show respect for the JW organization claiming it is the beloved wife of our heavenly Father, Jehovah God." (The Watchtower, May 1, 1957, p. 285)
1897 Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874, (Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 4, p. 621).
1899 The 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' which will end in 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership (The Time Is at Hand, 1908 edition, p. 101).
1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873," (The Time Is at Hand, forward, p. ii).
1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection," (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89).
1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge," (Watchtower, Apr. 1, 1923, p. 106).
1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year," (Watchtower, Jan. 1, 1925, p. 3).
1926 "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything," (Watchtower, p. 232).
1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time . . . and they also learned to quit fixing dates," (Vindication, p. 338).
1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon," (Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1941, p. 288).
1968 "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing? . . . Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them," (Awake, Oct. 8, 1968).
“According to trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975” —Life Everlasting – In Freedom of the Sons of God, 1966, p. 29.
They do not believe in the GOD head, they don’t believe that there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
They believe that there is no such thing as a hell of everlasting torment.
GEN 37:35, Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
MAT 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;’”