Earth or heaven are equally irrelevant if your sins are not forgiven. The point is that their sins were forgiven by means of the covenant.
SHOCK ! (1) You are Not Justified (2) Jehovah is Not Your Father (3) Jesus is Not Your Mediator
by Perry 38 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Perry
Since JW members are taught to reject the New Covenant for themselves, they simutaneously reject the inherent forgiveness of sins that it was created for. If they believed God instead of the Watchtower they wouldn't do that. The Gospel message is fixed and cannot be moved until Christs return.
"even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to YOU as good news something beyond what we declared to YOU as good news, let him be accursed". - Gal. 1: 8 (NWT)
This warning makes it VERY EASY for very simple-minded people (like myself) to spot error. The bible tells me that I am "fully competent" and "COMPLETELY equipped" by just using the bible alone as my spiritual guide.
All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. 2 Tim. 3: 16 (NWT)
Cults inflate their estimation of themselves as necessary for salvation. Sound congregations uphold the bible as the only source of authority for believers.
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designs
'let him be accursed' still prey to some fake Jew's threats.
For those interested in the various views of the New Covenant and those that think it is future you might want to brush up on Darby, Scofield and Pentecost, or the work Things To Come pages 121-128.
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OnTheWayOut
Hey, I wanted to be just like Perry and comment totally off-thread-subject here.
Perry says:
IMO, the most effective pro-god argument is a person's personal testimony regarding what God did for him after coming to a saving faith in Christ Alone.
My life changed from a drug addicted, cigarette-chain-smoking, burned-out rage-a-holic to a drug-free, peace-loving family-man. I can't take credit for this. God literally saved my life and possibly others as well.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not fundamental christians because they have no testimony of God actually living inside of them. It's all socialization and will-power. But quite apart from socialization and any will power of my own....God works inside me.
I was an alcohol-addicted, cigarette-chain-smoking, burned-out fornicator with a death wish. I used to give "Jehovah" credit for bringing me out of that, but I had to learn the hard way that I get the credit. If God takes the credit, then I will never forgive the S.O.B. for doing it by putting me in a dangerous mind-control cult, and putting others there as well.
As far as personal testimony, maybe JW's don't go that route, but Joseph Smith did, the Governing Body claims it to some degree, Pat Robertson, AGuest, etc. etc. etc. claim personal testimony. Why do they disagree? Which personal testimony do I listen to? If I need my own, then shut up and God will tell me what he wants me to know.
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Perry
I was an alcohol-addicted, cigarette-chain-smoking, burned-out fornicator with a death wish. I used to give "Jehovah" credit for bringing me out of that, but I had to learn the hard way that I get the credit. If God takes the credit, then I will never forgive the S.O.B. for doing it by putting me in a dangerous mind-control cult, and putting others there as well.
OTWO,
Did God put you in a cult or did you do it yourself? Your issue that you bring up here was a HUGH source of confusion and angst for me for a long time. If you'll indulge me a bit I'll tell you a little of my story.
Even though I was a 4th gen born-in, I never believed the Watchtower very much after 1975 (age 12). This was a devastating event to me as an adolescent. I made my parents really pay with a lot of grief. At age 23, now dealing drugs for a living, I came to the end of myself and I started praying a lot for a couple of months for God to change me and make me hate what was bad and love what was good. I was very cynical and didn't believe in anyone or anything except myself.
After a couple of months God did something to me... he convicted me of my sin. I really felt changed somehow. I no longer wanted to do the things I used to, and when I did, they no longer delivered the same pleasure even if temporary.
I moved to a different city and became an active JW for 8 years. The conviction of sin gradually wore off and I had serious doubts about the WT because things just weren't working out all that great for me. Business was good, plenty of money....but no peace. I was really disappointed in the lack of love in the congregation. Then the Nov. 1995 issue of the watchtower came out and the generation doctrine was mostly jettisoned.
The devastation of being lied to about 1975 that I felt as a child came back with a vengence when this 2nd prediction failed. I split and went off to college to get "a real education".
I was really angry at God for a long time because I figured God must have known how serious I was when I asked for a change in my life. In my opinion He failed me. I was very agnostic, tried to go atheist but couldn't quite get there because I kept remembering that SOMETHING had indeed happened to me at age 23.
Ten years later, at age 40....single and back into things to drown the pain, I finally gave my life to Jesus Christ alone. Part of my agreement to do this was that I would not put forth any effort to try and be good. I told God that I wasn't going to go out of my way to sin, but this whole issue was now his problem and not mine any longer. Slowly over the next few months .... living according to this creed things got better and better. Supernatural blessings came my way. The rough edges of my personality were smoothed out a bit.... but mostly, I still stayed me somehow.
I got married to a nice young atheist lady who later surrendered in her own way to Christ ... and we had two boys. BUT, I still held resentment (and some confusion) as to why God allowed me to waste 8 years (much morre than that if you count my youth) of my life in a destructive cult. The answers came slowly and the reason was that I was not yet willing to say goodbye to my rather large family of origin. I wanted it both ways. I was made to understand that the actual contract with God wasn't ratified until I gave myself over completely and stopped trying to "be good" on my own will power....which was considerable.
The Romans were very practical administrators and reasoned that a professional military that would bring about a measure of law and order was a good bargain for their conquored peoples to pay a tax for. They could pretty much do as they pleased as long as they paid the tax. Against this political practicality Jesus told this short parable in Luke 14:
what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Unlike the practical Romans who only wanted a relatively small tax in exchange for a professional protecting military, Jesus terms were All of It .
I don't make the rules. These are Gods terms, not mine. Regardless of all my efforts to "be good", irrespective of all my wasted effort in delivering watchtower literature, God refused to give me one iota of consideration until I was willing to say goodbye to my mother and father and others, and declare (at least when asked) that I wasn't ashamed of Christ (even if I was still mad at him for making me wait so long). This was obviously beyond my own strength, God gave me the ability to do this too.
I recall that when I got baptized as a JW I was in a bathroom getting changed and I starting weeping. I could hear a young elder's son in the stall next to mine weeping as well. No doubt he was under conviction at that time as well. Yet, without giving my life of to Jesus ALONE, it was impossible to be born again and experience the kinds of things I read about in the New Testament.
I wonder how many EX-JWs felt that same conviction at one time and then when things didn't work out .... they just wrote it all off as an emotional experience. I tried to myself for many years.
Please don't take my story as an indication that "I know how you feel" or that your experience is similar to mine. I am not saying that at all. I offer my experience because I found the answer as to why the WT didn't work for me and why I didn't permanently experience the new life that I read about in the NT.
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designs
The ignoratio elenchi fallacies- false premises, incorrect propositions.
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OnTheWayOut
Yeah Perry, why the hell didn't God free your family from the cult before you had to join it?
Is it like killing hundreds of thousands of innocent children to teach us Americans how to come to the aid of others?
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Pterist
Here is an honest reply from a seasoned JW on a forum that shows how they are robbed of the benefits of the Christ's ransom sacrifice..
Question I asked her/him, do you have the gift of righteousness and the forgiveness of sin in your life ?
Answer: Personally I have not attained justification. I am a member of those spoken of in the scriptures, as the “great crowd,” who survive the “great tribulation,” are are not yet declared righteous for life.
This made me so sad for this person, the organisation has robbed them of this gift from Jehovah that changes the heart.
Shalom
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FlyingHighNow
I'll tell ya, if I had known, while I was still in that Jesus was not my mediator, that one thing would have convinced me the entire WTBTS was bogus.