Comments You Will Not Hear at the 08-16-09 WT Study (June 15, 2009 pages 11-15)(FINE WORKS)
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BE "ZEALOUS FOR FINE WORKS"! "[Jesus] gave himself for us that he might deliver us from every sort of lawlessness and cleanse himself a people peculiarly his own, zealous for fine works."--Titus 2:14
OPENING COMMENTS
Can and individual prove themselves righteous, prove they have true faith by works? Here is case of the WTS speaking out of both sides of their mouth.
QUOTE
*** w86 1/15 p. 10 par. 2 “Exert Yourselves Vigorously” ***
Salvation cannot be earned by attendance at meetings or in any other way
*** w01 2/1 pp. 16-17 pars. 11-12 Are You Living Up to Your Dedication? ***
In any case, our salvation depends, not on anything we might do, but on Jehovah’s undeserved kindness through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Paul clearly explained: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and it is as a free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through the release by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus.” However, our works are proof of our active faith in God’s promises.—Romans 3:23, 24; James 2:17, 18, 24.
There is no need for us to make comparisons with others in regard to our time in God’s service, our placements of Bible literature, or the number of Bible studies we conduct. (Galatians 6:3, 4) Regardless of what we accomplish in the Christian ministry, all of us have to remember Jesus’ humbling words: “So you, also, when you have done all the things assigned to you, say, ‘We are good-for-nothing slaves. What we have done is what we ought to have done.’” (Luke 17:10) How often can we really say that we have done “all the things assigned” to us? So the question is, What should be the quality of our service to God?—2 Corinthians 10:17, 18.
*** w60 6/15 p. 369 par. 8 Showing Kindness to All Men ***
But if the Christian has real kindness in his heart, he will not hold back from sharing his spiritual goodness with strangers, unthankful though many of them may be...That is undeserved kindness on the part of God. Despite the preaching of God’s kingdom and other good works, the Christian is not perfect; he cannot earn salvation.
*** United in Worship (1983) chap. 19 pp. 148-149 par. 7 What the Mosaic Law Means to You ***
Those who argue for continuance of certain features of the Law do not fully appreciate that a righteous standing with God depends, not on one’s works of the Law, but on one’s faith in the value of Jesus’ sacrifice. (Gal. 3:11, 12) They feel that a person must prove himself righteous by such works—something that is impossible for sinful humans. It is, indeed, important to do works in obedience to commands of God and Christ that apply to Christians. (Jas. 2:15-17; Matt. 28:19, 20) These are a means of demonstrating our love and faith, and lack of them would indicate that our faith was dead. But we cannot earn salvation no matter how hard we work. No salvation from sin and death would be possible without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thus eternal life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, an expression of extraordinary undeserved kindness and not payment for our works.—Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:23, 24; 6:23.
START OF ARTICLE
I'm on the road and did not get my normal scan. (SEE BELOW TOO) Here is a scan from another source. Thanks for their efforts.
http://e-jehovahs-witnesses.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3295
COMMENTS
(1) Again the article starts with a reference to Jesus but then proceeds with an article based on OT individuals.
Remember from last week's review that jws today are not allowed to take any corrective action regarding fraud in their religious organization, not even regarding individuals. No jw would be allowed to go into a modern day temple and dump tables of money and whip animals out of the building.
QUOTE*** w97 3/15 pp. 21-22 pars. 17-18 Let Discernment Safeguard You ***
Yet, what if a professing Christian actually defrauded us? Discernment can safeguard us from taking action that may put the congregation in a bad light. Paul advised fellow Christians to let themselves be wronged and even defrauded instead of taking a brother to court.—1 Corinthians 6:7.Our genuine brothers and sisters are not ‘full of fraud and villainy,’ like the sorcerer Bar-Jesus. (Acts 13:6-12) So let us use discernment when money is lost in business ventures involving fellow believers. If we are thinking about taking legal action, we should consider the possible effects on us personally, on the other person or persons, on the congregation, and on outsiders. Pursuing compensation could consume much of our time, energy, and other resources. It might result only in enriching attorneys and other professionals. Sadly, some Christians have sacrificed theocratic privileges because of becoming overly absorbed in these things. Our being sidetracked in this manner must make Satan happy, but we want to make Jehovah’s heart rejoice. (Proverbs 27:11) On the other hand, accepting a loss may spare us heartaches and save much time for us and for the elders. It will help to preserve the congregation’s peace and will enable us to keep on seeking first the Kingdom.
(2) So not only do jws today not pursue fraudulent jws, they do perform "works" such as Jesus did, curing. Nor teaching (not daily in the religious venues such as the "temple" and "synagogue" of today).
(3) So what does the WTS consider "fine works" today? WT works of "placing" WT publications, attending "christian" only jw meetings, following all the WTS/FDS/GB directives obediently and promptly. And now onto the OT again.
(4) Notice that all the sacred poles were rooted out; not the ones used to worship Jehovah. How is it then than when trees are used to honor Christ not pagan gods, that is wrong.
(5) So were all the Israelites at this "convention"? Did some stay home? Were all the towns and cities emptied of inhabitants?
While Josiah became king at 8, when did he start ruling on his own, 20. Doesn't that show that 8 is not a good age to be baptized?
(6) If jws are supposed to help people break free of false teaching and idolatry how is it that jws wear tetragrammatons as jewelry, as art work, even using the WT symbol the same way?
So is the WTS saying that immediately upon praying that God sends 2 jws? So when you were a jw how many times were you an answer to a prayer?
(7) Do jws "thoroughly" cover their territory? Do they keep careful not-at-home records? If they do, do they come back or do they end up in their bags to be lost forever? Or the brother who never kept them because the the territory would be worked again? Or the ones who never made their return visits until 8 months had passed and they forgot what the person looked like? Or the jws that always go during the day when everyone is at work and only the dogs are home (doghouses)? Can you imagine going up to a door and asking the woman of the house that you want to talk to her husband this time, or the children?
(8) God's servants of modern times--only jws
Need greater--how many did you know who did this? one or two over a ten year period? How long did they stay before the difficult living situation drove them back to the modern amenities of home?
How many switched to other language groups and actually learned the language well enough to give talks, comments, conduct studies, go door to door, converse socially? How many go and understand nothing, probably a plus from the English congregation?
(9) Did these teachers have magazines or God's word? Do jws teach from the Bible or WTS publications? How much material that is read is from the Bible or the publication? Do jws feature the bible by having it in hand when they go to the door or WTS publications.
We had one CO that said that we should go to the door with the magazines in hand. The next one said it should be the bible. The next one said that we should avoid identifying ourselves right away at the door as jws....
Women's husband had a stroke: jws pay attention here is a perfect opportunity to suck someone into the organization, look for people with troubles. BTW, no mention that this led to his being baptized. A typical way the WTS approaches "experiences." Leave out the less than positive points.
(10) Notice that Josiah was 20 not 8.
Young people = only jws
(11) So was Hannah's only family her father? What about the rest of the family? Did Hannah's father learn French well enough to function giving talks, comments, going door to door?
(12) So how was Rachel "cruising along" since 1995? So is she pioneering now? No mention of that. So if someone has to put for effort, it means they lack real zeal? Hmmmm........
Relationship with Jehovah and no mention of Jesus.
(13) So who pressured Luke to pursue "financial security through higher education"? His jw parents, people at school, non-jw family....who?
So who is going to support Luke while he "expands his ministry." Will it be like Mormon parents who support their children in their missionary activities? Growing up, few male jws stayed pioneers after they got married. And few female jws. The ones that persist are female jws that could not attract a mate, or there was no jw male available, or they did not want to submit to male headship of the jw style.
So is the WTS saying that everyone not pioneering have goals that do not truly honor God?
(14) So who defines what is acceptable--The WTS.
Note how the WTS characterizes 7 billion people, men, women and children:
VICE-RIDDEN SOCIETY
It is older jws that struggle with the sin of pornography based on my survey of local elders and based on the WTS own publications.
God's servants--only jws
(15) Hatred of WHAT is bad or WHO is bad?
So he moved his pc into a public area...what if no one was home, what stopped him from using computers at work, at someone else's home? or a laptop with wifi?
Using only for business with wife at his side...come on, that's all she had time to do, how would she know he wasn't using it other times, did it have a lock and she had the only "key"? These were obviously grown men, not youths had this problem.
(16) young men and women in Jehovah's service = only jws
This copier guy should come to where I work...no bad language...does that mean they are the true religion? No wages????? They must have mentioned their stipend, travel money, clothing allowance, free food and lodging, subsidized by family and people at the congregation who want a Bethelite on their social list, especially young men if they have young daughters. This guy evidently hasn't met the young men and women from the local Baptist church in my area and see them work to clean the property, put in the new parking lot, run the food pantry, help fix the homes of local older people (not necessarily in the church).
(17) Those who are secularly employed in the right kind of job for the right kind of money. More honor goes to pioneers and Bethelites. The implication in this paragraph is that non-jws are lazy bastards stealing from the employers. Where I work no consideration is given to anyone based on their relgion; it is based on seniority.
(18) obedience to God's or WTS instructions or does God = WTS?
Full share = and who judges how much that is = WTS and its representatives
From both Bible and modern-day examples, what did you learn about
How to manifest your zeal by preaching and teaching
How Christian youths can be "zealous for fine works"?
How to break free from corrupting habits?
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
So how can the rank and file survive in a VICE RIDDEN SOCIETY? Like there are no vices at the kingdom hall: fornication, adultery, fraud, pedophiles, rapists, murderers, thieves, burglars, and don't forget liars (friers per Revelation 21:8). I wonder what other "fine works" can be found in the WTS.?
Love, Blondie
