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How to share
your faith with
Jehovah’s Witnesses (Q&A)
This article is a brief and basic outline of how to effectively witness
to JWs:
Questions to the JWs.
The Deity of Jesus Christ:
Jesus is Jehovah God in the Old Testament
(Christophanies) and Jesus is God in the New
Testament
Jesus said unless you believe that I AM (egw
eimi,
egō
eimi) you will die in your sins (cf. John 8:24; cf. Gk.). Salvation is
predicated on believing and knowing that Jesus is fully God. But the Jehovah
's Witnesses reject Christ by asserting that He was merely a created
angel. Hence, in Watchtower theology Jesus is "a god" not the
Almighty God.
Effective Verses to Show that Jesus Christ is Jehovah
Quick Answers for the Jehovah's Witnesses: The deity of Christ
The term "Jehovah" and the Jehovah's Witnesses
The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Doctrine of the Trinity (see also A Concise Look at the Doctrine of the Trinity: The Nature of God
The Jehovah's Witnesses spend much ink in Watchtower
publications teaching their members that the doctrine of the Trinity is a
false doctrine. Because of their misunderstanding of the doctrine they
commonly misrepresent the Trinity as three gods.
God the Holy Spirit:
The
Third Person of the Trinity
Objections to the Doctrine of the Trinity
In their struggle to defend their anti-Trinitarian position the Jehovah's Witnesses utilize ill-logic and bad
argumentation. Removing passages from their context, and not considering the
original meanings of words is how they can teach their fearfully dependent
unstudied devotees into thinking that Jesus is not God and the Trinity is
false. Furthermore, Watchtower publications grossly
misrepresent church history, church Fathers, and Christian theologians on the
subject of the Trinity.
The Bible of the Jehovah's
Witnesses: New World Translation
The Bible of the Jehovah's Witnesses is the New World Translation.
But is it a reliable translation? Does it accurately represent the
original autographs? Does the Watchtower alter the Greek text to support their
prior theological commitments?
Also see:
Who
Can you Trust: Is the New World Translation Reliable?
(a comparative chart)
Colossians 1:15-17 and the Jehovah Witnesses’ NWT
A word about the term firstborn here.
Is the Watchtower a True Prophet of Jehovah?
Who will be Jehovah’s prophet? Who will be the modern day Jeremiah? The plain facts show God has been pleased to use Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower, 15 January, 1959, 40-41).
Because of their many claims to be a true prophet of Jehovah, the
Watchtower should not fear critical examination. After all, true prophets of
God never promulgated false prophecies.
*Witnessing Tip*
to Jehovah's Witnesses*
Note on Romans 10:13:
“Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved” (Rom.
10:13 NWT).
JW are taught that the term “Jehovah” is the *true* name of God (see http://www.christiandefense.org/Article%20on%20Jehovah.htm). Further, they assert that the term “Jehovah” was actually removed from the original Greek NT and thus faithfully restored by the NWT. Except, of course, when the OT passages is referring to Jesus Christ, they do not follow their own rule. For example, the phrase “Jesus as Lord” in Romans 10:9 is clearly the antecedent to the occurrences of the pronoun “Him” and “Lord” following up to verse 13:
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 For “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD [YHWH] WILL BE SAVED” (emphasis added).
“Jesus as Lord” is the object of salvation from verse 9-13. Throughout these passages, it is the same “Him” and same “Lord” beginning in verse 9. To say that the “Lord” in verse 9 is a different “Lord” than in verse 13 completely breaks the flow of the passages. The Lord that one confesses (v. 9) is the same Lord that one calls upon for salvation (v. 13). In verse 13, Paul cites Joel 2:32: “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [Heb. YHWH] will be delivered.” Just as he does in Philippians 2:10-11, Paul cites a passage referring to YHWH and applies it to Jesus. Thus, whoever confessing and calls upon Jesus as Lord, that is, Jesus as YHWH will be saved.
In fact, there are many places where the NT authors cite OT passages referring to YHWH and apply them to Jesus Christ. This is a great way to share the truth about Jesus to JWs. For example, compare Psalms 102:25-27 with Hebrews 1:10-12; Isaiah 6:1-10 with John 12:39-41; Isaiah 8:12-13 with 1 Peter 3:14-15; Isaiah 45:23 with Philippians 2:10-11; Joel 2:32 with Romans 10:13. The most productive way to use this witnessing tactic is to first take the JW to the OT passage first, then have him read the NT passage where the author cites the OT passage and applies it to Jesus.
In v. 9, Jesus is called “Lord.” And from vv. 9-13, all
pronouns refer grammatically to Jesus (i.e., “Him” in
vv. 9, 11, 13, and 13 refer to the closest named person:
“Jesus”).
Therefore, Paul in v. 13 sees Jesus as the Yahweh of
Joel 2:32 (“whoever calls on the name of the LORD [YHWH]
will be delivered”; NASB) whereby those confessing Jesus
as Yahweh will be saved (cf. v. 9). This is one of many
places where the NT authors cite OT passages referring
to Yahweh and apply them to Christ (e.g., compare
Ps. 45:6-7 with Heb. 1:8-9; esp. Ps. 102:25-27 with Heb.
1:10-12; Isa. 6:1, 10 with John 12:40-41; Isa. 8:12-13
with 1 Pet. 3:14-15; Isa. 45:23 with Phil. 2:10-11; etc.).
When using this way of showing that Jesus is the
"Jehovah" of the OT (distinct from the
Father, though) have the JW read the OT passage first.
Then, after agreeing that "Jehovah" is being referred
to, have he or she read the NT passage in which the NT
author applies the OT passage to Christ Jesus.
A Question Regarding Proverbs 8:22 and the Jehovah's Witnesses
copyright:
