We religionists are often accused of being known more for what we stand against than for what we stand for. If that is true to a certain extent about most religions, I think it is particularly true of Jehovah’s Witness. I feel really bad for kids growing up in these families. Of course, their parents will tell them that they should be privileged to be persecuted for the sake of Jehovah, but from where I stand, this is mostly self-imposed, not resulting from specific commandments from God Himself.
Here are a few examples from this religion of “not”:
Serving in the military.
Saluting the flag.
Celebrating Christmas, Easter and any of the other Holidays.
Celebrating Birthdays and anniversaries.
Blood transfusion.
In addition to that, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ teachings also deny the following foundational doctrines of the Christian faith:
Only 144,000 select few will enter heaven.
For the rest, there is only hope for immortality on this earth.
Eternal punishment means annihilation, not suffering in a literal hell.
Jesus was only “a” god, in the same sense that Satan is the god of this world. He is not God incarnate.
Christ’s ransom only takes care of the sin we inherited from Adam. For individual sins, we must be judged by God based on our performance. “His own willful obedience or willful disobedience will decide whether he may or may not have life everlasting.” (Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, p. 152).
Jesus was raised from the dead not in bodily form but as a mighty immortal spirit Son. “The man Jesus is dead, forever dead.” (Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, p. 454).
There is much more I could say but I will stop here. What is obvious from studying Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs and practices is that they have missed the centrality of Christ in their message and instead have put their faith upon a Society which would like for them to believe that it holds power over their life and eternal destiny.
All their efforts to live a holy life, all their dedication to “Bible” studies and religious observance, etc. are nothing more than man-made rules to try somehow to attain to God. They have zeal without knowledge, as Paul says in Romans 10:1-4.
What they need is Christians reaching out to them in love and sharing the true gospel with them. They don’t need another Christian slamming the door on their faces. They need a gentle touch for God Himself, through us, Christ-followers. They need to meet the Head through the body.
Let’s make sure we do our part in this most important endeavor. And if you want to hear more, make sure you join us this Sunday in church. We will hear about ways we can reach out in love to Christ’s other friends who are being led astray by a set of doctrines contrary to God’s Word.
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
pastor ivanildo 