World Religions in a Nutshell (6 page)

You:
Have you ever stolen anything, in your whole life?

Marvin:
Yes, when I was younger.

You:
What do you call someone who steals things?

Marvin:
A thief.

You:
Have you ever used God’s name in vain?

Marvin:
Plenty of times. I know it’s wrong to do that.

You:
It certainly is. God gave you life. He gave you eyes to see the beauty of this creation. He gave you ears to enjoy good music, and taste buds to enjoy all the good food. He lavished kindness on you and then you used His holy name as a cuss word. I’m sure you’re aware that that’s a very serious sin called “blasphemy.”

Marvin:
You’re right.

You:
Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have you ever looked with lust?

Marvin:
Plenty of times.

You:
Then you have committed adultery in God’s eyes. So Marvin—and more than likely you, too, Erik—here’s a summation of what we have found. You are not a “good” person in God’s sight. By your own admission (I’m not judging you), you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart.

Marvin:
Yes. But I have repented.

You:
You have to face God on Judgment Day. If He judges you by the Ten Commandments, will you be innocent or guilty?

Marvin:
I will be guilty, if He judges me by the Ten Commandments.

You:
Will you go to Heaven or Hell?

Marvin:
I will go to Heaven, because I have repented.

You:
Did you know that repentance can’t help you? That’s like standing in front of a good judge and saying, “Judge, I am guilty of raping that woman, but I’m sorry and I won’t do it again.” The judge is going to say, “You should be sorry because you have done wrong. And of course you shouldn’t do it again!” And God is far more righteous than a good judge. The Bible says that He will by no means clear the guilty. Repentance alone cannot save you.

Marvin:
Okay. I see what you are saying. But I have also changed my life.

You:
You are a criminal in God’s sight, and any “good works”
you do can’t save you because they are actually an attempt to bribe God. So if you died today and God judged you by the Ten Commandments, you would go to Hell—to “outer darkness.”

[Don’t be afraid to say this, because it’s what will get his attention. Works-righteous religions don’t give the assurance that true faith in Christ alone gives. There is a hidden fear that the adherent may not be good enough. So, you must use the Law to make sure he realizes that his heart is wicked, that he’s sinful by nature, and that there’s nothing he can do to make himself “worthy” in the eyes of God. Once he realizes that, then he’s ready to hear the gospel, that he can be made perfect through faith in Jesus.]

You:
The only way you can be saved from Hell is to trust in Jesus Christ alone.

Marvin:
We believe in Jesus. We are called “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

You:
Is your Jesus the brother of Lucifer?

Marvin:
Yes. We believe that.

You:
Then the Jesus you believe in is different from the Jesus of the Bible. Besides, your church teaches that His suffering on the cross wasn’t enough. Do you remember Jesus’ words on the cross—“It is finished!” The debt for
all
sin was
paid in full. To be saved, you simply need to trust in Jesus for your salvation, rather than in your good works. Good works should proceed from true faith, but they have no bearing on your salvation. If you died today, you have God’s promise that you won’t go to Heaven. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. No thief, blasphemer, or adulterer will inherit the Kingdom of God.

[Sometimes, when speaking with a Mormon, you may find yourself frustrated and feel that you are at a standstill. If that happens, feel free to say (in a loving, concerned tone), “If the Mormon religion is right and I am wrong, I will go to the third Heaven. But if the Bible is right and you are wrong, you are following a false Jesus that cannot save you, and you will end up in Hell forever.”]

Marvin:
Yes, but...

You:
Give me a moment to share something with you, and then you can give me your thoughts. Okay?

Marvin:
Okay.

You:
The Bible says that Jesus Christ came to suffer and die for the sin of the world. We broke God’s Law (the Ten Commandments) but because Jesus paid our fine on the cross 2,000 years ago, God can forgive us. Jesus became a morally perfect human being and gave His life as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. That means that God can dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence. The Bible says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God proved His great love for you through the cross. Then Jesus rose from the dead and defeated the power of the grave. If you repent and trust the Savior, God will forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life. You will be truly born again, with a new heart and new desires. So, repent—turn from your sin—and trust the Savior alone for your salvation—not in a church or in your good works. Does that make sense?

Marvin:
Yes, it does.

You:
Guys, thanks for listening to me.

Marvin (and Erik):
Thank you.

[It’s important to realize that your commission is to preach the gospel to every creature (see Mark 16:15). It is the gospel that is the power of God to salvation. You have just done that, so trust in the power of the gospel and in the faithfulness of God to watch over His Word. The results are in His hands. You have sown good seed. God will make it grow, in His perfect time.]

Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door evangelism. With over 6 million active Witnesses making house calls each year, there’s a very good chance they’ve knocked on your door at least once.

In fact, no religious group in the world spends as many hours proselytizing as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. With followers in 235 countries—1 million in the U.S—they spent over 1.2
billion
hours in 2005 “proclaiming the good news” of Jehovah and His Kingdom.
³
What motivates them to do what they do? What is the so-called “good news” that they are proclaiming that attracts 300,000 new members each year?

The following information will prepare you so the next time you encounter Jehovah’s Witnesses, rather than closing the door in their face, you can be an effective witness for Jesus Christ.

Background

The Jehovah’s Witnesses religious movement was started about 130 years ago by a young man named Charles Russell.
As a teenager, he left his church because he rejected its biblical teachings on eternal punishment in Hell. So Russell reasoned that when man dies, he simply stops existing. He also denied that Jesus was God in human flesh. He didn’t believe in the Trinity and many other essential Christian doctrines.

When he was 18 years old, Russell started a Bible study where he began to spread his beliefs. Then he published his own magazine, now known as
The Watchtower
. Some people were fascinated by his “end-of-the-world” predictions, and in 1884 he started the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

Originally, those who followed Russell were called “Russelites.” The name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” didn’t catch on until almost fifty years later, and is based on Isaiah 43:10,
which reads: “Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen” (American Standard Version).

The Watchtower Society boldly claims to be the
only
channel of divine truth in the world today, and that no one can be saved apart from their organization.

Scriptures

Since many of their doctrines are easily refuted by the Scriptures,
in 1961 the Watchtower Society published their own Bible. Called the
New World Translation
(NWT), it blatantly alters many verses that revealed the errors of the Watchtower teaching.

In addition,
The Watchtower
magazine is one of their main sources of doctrine. The Watchtower Society teaches that only
they
can interpret the Bible, and no individual can learn the truth apart from them. Jehovah’s Witnesses are therefore encouraged to study their Bible
only
in conjunction with the other Watchtower publications, so the Watchtower Society can tell them what it really means.

“
The Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason, the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.”
⁴

Who Is God?

Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the biblical concept of a triune God. Saying that it’s “difficult to love and worship a complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God,” they reason that God cannot be a Trinity. After all, God made man in His image, and “no one has ever seen a three-headed human creature” (
Let God Be True
, 2nd ed., pp. 101–102).