Are We Really "Walking by Faith"?

As Jehovah's Witnesses, we know what the Bible says. We know what God's plans are for the future, what His will is for man, and what regulations He wants us to follow. We try our hardest to follow these commands. And that is good.

However, put ourselves in the shoes of the rich, young ruler. As we talk to Jesus Christ, and he says to us "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother", would we answer just as the ruler did? "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth on." (Mark 10:19-20) Just as the rich, young ruler thought, would we think the same way? I have followed the Law, what else do I need?

Jesus makes a good point to this man. To the ruler, these are regulations he has always worked to keep, relying on his own strength. His faith in God did not tell him that he cannot perfectly keep them. He fell into the same trap as the Israelites. Paul says, "Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. For what reason? Because he pursued it, not by faith, but as by works." (Romans 9:31-32) Many, though not even close to all, Jehovah's Witnesses follow the "law of the Christ" in exactly the same manner. We look at it and try to accomplish this "by works". How many of us have ever prayed, "Jehovah, help me keep your laws. I cannot do it on my own?"

This type of prayer is not uncommon. Jesus said in his model prayer for us to ask Jehovah, "Do not bring us into temptation." (Matthew 6:13) We know that Jehovah does not tempt anyone at all. (James 1:13) So this phrase cannot mean that. What it truly means is that Jehovah protect us from temptation. We are to ask for Jehovah to keep us from sinning.

This is echoing the words of Hezekiah when he said, "Cause me to tread in the pathway of your commandments, for in it I have taken delight. Incline my heart to your reminders, and not to profits. Make my eyes pass on from seeing what is worthless; preserve me alive in your own way." (Psalm 119:35-37) We have to beg Jehovah to help us to keep His commandments.

Now, I am about to quote a very familiar passage from Scripture. Read it with spiritual eyes and see how you can apply it through faith, not works.

"Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, 'Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' [Jesus] said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you understand it?' The expert answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.' But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.' Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?' The expert in religious law said, 'The one who showed mercy to him.' So Jesus said to him, 'Go and do the same.'"-Luke 10:25-37, New English Translation

The admonition of the Apostle Paul is this: "Keep walking by spirit and you will carry out no fleshly desire at all." (Galatians 5:16) Jehovah will give us His holy spirit if we ask for it. In turn, Jehovah, by that same holy spirit, will help us to keep "the law of the Christ". All this is only possible if we seek to accomplish this by faith and not by works.

As we ponder all of this do we feel that we need to follow the words of Zephaniah again, as we did when we were new to this spiritual walk? "Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness." (Zephaniah 2:3) Remember, Zephaniah is speaking to those people who have already "practiced [Jehovah's] own judicial decision" and followed it.

Stop walking with Jehovah in the Truth by works and walk with Jehovah in the Truth by faith. Only then can you truly know what it is like to serve Jehovah.

What Jehovah's Witnesses Believe

This is a list of some of the most important beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses as presented in the Bible. I like to tell people that what we believe is surprisingly similar, though not completely identical to the Nicene Creed. While we believe that many things that are not true were added to the altered version of the Nicene Creed, things that were truth were added as well.

The things from the Nicene Creed that we believe, with the further additions added later presented in italics, are: "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds...by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy [Spirit] of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was [impaled] for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end...And in the Holy [Spirit]...who proceedeth from the Father...we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."


NOTE: This list is not exhaustive
There is one God, the Father, whose Name is Jehovah. He has existed eternally and will exist for eternity. He is the Creator.-Isaiah 44:6; Exodus 3:15; 6:3; Psalm 90:2; Revelation 4:11

The Bible is the unerring Word of God, completely perfect as we have it today and entirely inspired of Jehovah.-1 Thessalonians 2:13; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Jesus Christ is the perfect Son of God who existed in Heaven before he came to earth as an infant. He is also King of the Kingdom of God. We can only be saved by putting faith in his name.-1 Peter 2:22; Matthew 16:16; John 1:1-3; Philippians 2:5-8; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 4:12

Jesus Christ is not equal to God. He and Jehovah are not part of the Trinity. Jesus is a created being who is subordinate to the Father and does everything that Jehovah tells him.-John 14:28, 31; Mark 10:17-18; 12:29; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14; John 5:19

The holy spirit is not God but is only God's power that He uses.-Job 33:4; Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20
Only a "Little Flock" of "144,000" are going to receive heavenly life. These will rule as Kings and Priests alongside Jesus Christ.-Luke 12:32; Revelation 14:1-3, Revelation 5:9-10

A majority of faithful mankind will have the wonderful privilege of living on a perfected earth forever.-Psalm 37:11, 29; 72:16; Proverbs 2:21; Micah 4:1-4; Matthew 5:5; Revelation 21:4

Jesus Christ will come with his angels to destroy all the wicked on the earth. In the end, Satan and the demons will be destroyed for eternity.-Psalm 37:10; Proverbs 2:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 19:11-19; 20:10

The dead are not conscious of anything. They are just "asleep".-Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:4, 20; John 11:11-14

The vast majority of those who have died--including your loved ones--will be resurrected by Jesus Christ back to the earth.-John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:11-13

Hell is not a real place. "Everlasting Fire" only signifies eternal destruction.-Jude 7; Revelation 20:14

This Was Funny, So I Took It

When God's Parents Lost Him
Trinitarians insist that whenever we see the word "Jesus" in the Bible, we can be sure the Bible writers were referring to God the Son. They claim this was God walking in the land of Israel. So if Jesus is God .....

Now the parents of God went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when God was twelve years old, they went up according to custom and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, God stayed behind in Jerusalem. The parents of God did not know it, but supposing God to be in their company they went a day's journey, and they sought God among their kinsfolk and acquaintances and when they did not find God, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking God. After three days they found God in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard God were amazed at the understanding of God and His answers. And when they saw God they were astonished and the mother of God said to him, "God, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And God said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in the house of my Father?" And they did not understand the saying which God spoke to them. And God went down with them and came to Nazareth and God was obedient to them and the mother of God kept all these things in her heart. And God increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.-Luke 2:40-52


Holy Spirit Absurdities
If the Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity then:

Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. "I have filled him with [the third person of the Trinity] in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge-Exodus 31:1-3

Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your [third person of the Trinity] from me.-Psalm 51:11

Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My [third person of the Trinity] upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.-Isaiah 42:1

I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My [third person of the Trinity] on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.-Ezekiel 39:29

It will come about after this that I will pour out My [third person of the Trinity] on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.-Joel 2:28

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with [the third person of the Trinity] and fire-Matthew 3:11

Jesus, full of [the third person of the Trinity], returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness-Luke 4:1

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give [the third person of the Trinity to those who ask Him?-Luke 11:13

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives [the third person of the Trinity] without measure.-John 3:34

Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of [the third person of the Trinity], Jesus has poured forth this which you both see and hear.-Acts 2:33

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive [the third person of the Trinity] for [the third person of the Trinity] had not yet fallen on any of them... Then they laid their hands on them and they received [the third person of the Trinity]... Now when Simon saw that [the third person of the Trinity] was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money.-Acts 8:14-15

While Peter was still saying this, [the third person of the Trinity] fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of [the third person of the Trinity] had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received [the third person of the Trinity] just as we have?"-Acts 10:43-47

But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have [the third person of the Trinity].-1 Corinthians 7:40

Did you receive [the third person of the Trinity] by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in [the third person of the Trinity], are you now being perfected by the flesh?-Galatians 3:2-3

By this you know [the third person of the Trinity]: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.-1 John 4:2

On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit.-Revelation 1:10 (It originally had the alternate rendering but my conscience will not let me post the alternate rendering due to the fact that it is from the book of Revelation and I do not want to be guilty of breaking the commandment at Revelation 22:18-19.

I Did Not Want to Go to the Meeting

I remembered, though, Paul's admonition continue to "consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near" and so I went. (Hebrews 10:24-25) Afterwards, I couldn't be happier that I made that decision.

The talk was entitled, "Lovers of Pleasures or Lovers of God?" based off of 2 Timothy 3:1, 4 by a visiting brother. The talk was very good, I really enjoyed it. The article in The Watchtower about Jesus Christ based off of John 14:6, "I am the Way and the Truth and Life. No one comes to the Father except through me" was very nice and interesting. We had our bound volumes and WT CD-ROM's come in and I personally approached the brothers and sisters to give them their copies, instead of having them come to us.

I found that after the meeting, I was so happy and in good-spirits. Jehovah's holy spirit really works wonders, does it not? And I know that Jesus, as head of the congregation, was with us as we worshiped. (Matthew 18:20) I thank Jehovah God through Jesus Christ my Lord for all of the things He has done for us and the spiritual food He has provided for us!

A Second Isaiah?

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 1-39 and Isaiah 40-66 were written by two different people, one before the fall of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. and one after the fall of Jerusalem. One reason they claim this is because of of the change in writing style in the two "halves" of the book. Is this a problem?

Absolutely not!

From chapters 1-39 and chapters 40-66, there is an immense change of subject from these two "halves". 1-39 are more pronouncements of destruction to Judah and surrounding evil nations, while 40-66 are reassurances of restoration. (Isaiah 34:5-8, contrast Isaiah 55:12-13) Furthermore, certain phrases that are nearly unique to Isaiah are a good indication of the oneness of the two "halves". For example, the term "the Holy One of Israel" is found 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 13 times in 40-66. Throughout the rest of the Bible, that phrase is found only 6 times!-Isaiah 12:6; 54:5

Another indication of the book having been written by one author is the fact that Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul quoted from all parts of the book of Isaiah and accredited the one man. Obviously, Jesus would have been aware if Isaiah had been written by two different people.

Why, though, do critics make this charge and why are the so adamant about it? Because, if it is true that Isaiah wrote the entire book, it presents problems. You see, the book of Isaiah makes a startling prophecy which is very detailed and very accurate. And the prophecy was written nearly 200 years in advance!

"[Jehovah], the One making the word of his servant come true, and the One that carries out completely the counsel of his own messengers; the One saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, and her desolated places I shall raise up'; the One saying to the watery deep, 'Be evaporated; and all your rivers I shall dry up'; the One saying of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out'; even in my saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'You will have your foundation laid.'

"This is what Jehovah has said to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before him nations, so that I may ungird even the hips of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, so that even the gates will not be shut: 'Before you I myself shall go, and the swells of land I shall straighten out. The copper doors I shall break in pieces, and the iron bars I shall cut down.'"-Isaiah 44:26-45:2

This prophecy is of interest because it foretells--in great, accurate detail--the fall of Babylon and the restoration of Jerusalem. It even names the man who is to accomplish this--Cyrus. Did this prophecy come true?

Two hundred years after Isaiah, the Jews were in captivity in Babylon. One night, while a wild party was going on, the gates of Babylon were left open. Then a man, Cyrus the Great, diverted the water of the Euphrates River, making the protective water moat drain until Cyrus and his armies could cross on foot. This army walked right through the open gates of Babylon and took the city, virtually without a fight. Then, this new world power, the Medo-Persian world power, allowed all of the captives to return home, including the Jews. They even gave a command saying that the temple should be rebuilt. All of this happened as Isaiah foretold.

Now, in the book of Isaiah, yet another prophecy is awaiting fulfillment.

"And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."-Isaiah 11:6-9

This is one of the first detailed prophecies about a coming paradise earth in the Bible.

In the second part of Isaiah, another prophecy regarding the same thing is uttered.

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: 'Look! My own servants will eat, but you yourselves will go hungry. Look! My own servants will drink, but you yourselves will go thirsty. Look! My own servants will rejoice, but you yourselves will suffer shame. Look! My own servants will cry out joyfully because of the good condition of the heart, but you yourselves will make outcries because of the pain of heart and you will howl because of sheer breakdown of spirit...For here I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart. But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating. For here I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joyfulness and her people a cause for exultation. And I will be joyful in Jerusalem and exult in my people; and no more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping or the sound of a plaintive cry.'

"'No more will there come to be a suckling a few days old from that place, neither an old man that does not fulfill his days; And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them. And it will actually occur that before they call out I myself shall answer; while they are yet speaking, I myself shall hear.'"-Isaiah 65:13-24

Yes, our God, Jehovah, has promised an earthly paradise where all men will live in peace under the reign of Jesus Christ. He used His holy spirit to inspire Isaiah to write these things. He used the same Isaiah to write the first and second half of this book. The harmony throughout the book testifies to this. People who want to discredit the great prophecy mentioned at in Isaiah 44-45 will use any means necessary to make it seem unauthentic. However, we, with a little study and meditation, can surely see the hand of Jehovah on the same man--Isaiah!

Are We All Sons of God?

I have heard many people say that they are a son or daughter of God and for many years I believed that this was the case. However, the Scriptures do not teach that. We are not all Sons of God. How can we come to this conclusion?

In the Bible, there are only a handful of people and two groups that are called God's Sons. The first group were the faithful angels. "Where did you happen to be when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you do know understanding...When the morning stars joyfully cried out together, and all the sons of God began shouting in applause?" (Job 38:4, 7) Further, Israel as a group is called a Son of God.-Deuteronomy 14:1; Isaiah 43:6

The people that are called Sons of God are Adam, Solomon, and Jesus. (Luke 3:38; John 10:36) Solomon is a special case. He was called God's son when he was king of Jehovah's nation, Israel. And even then, he was not called God's son until God bestowed that title upon him, showing that this was not something he was from the very beginning of his life. (2 Samuel 7:14) The nation of Israel was a collective son of God because they were a "holy people...special property, out of all peoples" and because Jehovah had helped them along from the very beginning after He made the covenant with Abraham.-Deuteronomy 14:1-2*

After Israel lost this privilege, it was given to others--Anointed Christians. They were not, however, full sons of God. "God sent forth his Son, who came to be out of a woman and who came to be under law, that he might release by purchase those under law, that we, in turn, might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5) Did all humans become adopted sons of God after Jesus' death, as some may argue the Scripture as saying? Paul says, "You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus."-Galatians 3:26; 4:6-7; John 1:11-12

Now, we must find out if this applies to all Christians, Anointed and the Great Crowd, or only to one group. Do we all become God's sons (by adoption) upon faith in Christ? No.

"For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but you received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: 'Abba, Father!' The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together." -Romans 8:14-17

Paul promises that these will be joint heirs with Christ and that they will be glorified, both of which do not apply to the Great Crowd.

Now, these Anointed Ones are not full sons of God, but only adopted sons. Will they be in this state forever? No. "[God] has also put his seal upon us and has given us the token of what is to come, that is, the spirit, in our hearts." (2 Corinthians 1:22) One day they will be full sons of God while now patiently waiting and gladly being sons of God by adoption.

However, there is more! John says that Anointed Christians are "Firstfruits". This means that there must be ones who receive blessings afterwards. Yes, one day, all humans who pass the final test mentioned at Revelation 20:7-10 will be able to become earthly sons of God! Romans 8:19-23 is an indication that those with the earthly hope will one day become children of God.[1]

One other Scripture that proves that point is found in the book of Revelation.

"With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: 'Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away...anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son.'" -Revelation 21:3-7

The context shows that those who reside on earth will be God's son.

So, while we are not sons of God as many people claim due to our being separate from God due to sin, this will not be the case forever. In fact, one day we, whether or the Anointed or the Great Crowd, will all have the "glorious freedom of the children of God!"-Romans 8:21

*The Israelites lost their position as a collective "son" after they lost his favor. (See Matthew 23:37-38; John 8:41-47) This is indication that sonship was not just from being descendants of Adam or Abraham but on their spiritual relationship.

References

[1] Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 999, pp. 5-7

Jesus--The Best Candidate of All

He has cures to all diseases and ailments-"At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped. At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness."-Isaiah 35:5-6

He proposes the ultimate healthcare program-"And no resident will say: 'I am sick.' The people that are dwelling in [the land] will be those pardoned for their error."-Isaiah 33:24
"And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”-Revelation 21:4

He provides food and shelter for all-"And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full."-Isaiah 65:21-22

He plans to end all wars-"He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire."-Psalm 46:9
"And he will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore."-Micah 4:3

He promises to make the death rate drop to zero-"He will actually swallow up death forever."-Isaiah 25:8
"'Death is swallowed up forever.' 'Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?'”-1 Corinthians 15:55-56

He intends to drop the crime rate to zero-"And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be."-Psalms 37:10
"As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."-Proverbs 2:22

He judges fairly, not based on income or race-"After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: 'Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb'...because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes."-Revelation 7:9-10, 17

He stays calm under pressure-"He was hard pressed, and he was letting himself be afflicted; yet he would not open his mouth. He was being brought just like a sheep to the slaughtering; and like a ewe that before her shearers has become mute, he also would not open his mouth."-Isaiah 53:7

He will never be replaced or kicked out of office-"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite."-Daniel 2:44

Does God Torment People in Eternal Hell?

"God is love." (1 John 4:8, 16) Imagine a person is being roasted on a hot iron plate. In his agony he screams for mercy, but nobody listens. The torture goes on and on, hour after hour, day after day—without pause! Whatever crime the victim may have committed, would not your heart go out to him? What of the one who ordered the torture? Could he be a loving person? In no way! Love is merciful and shows pity. A loving father may punish his children, but he would never torture them!

If you were walking in a jail and you saw this torture, what would you do? If you inquired as to what the person was being tortured for and the torturer said, "Because he didn't believe in the judge who could sentence him to this torture," honestly, what would you think about this judge? If you inquired further and the man said, "Well, a while back he got a parking violation that he didn't pay off. He was fined a fair amount and then after he paid the fine we decided to torture him for the next forty years." Wouldn't that be unjust?

Imagine that judge is God. The jailer torturing the man is Jesus Christ. The man being tortured is a man who has just died. Let us say this traffic violator was a doctor who saved countless lives, gave much to those in need, even adopted two children from poor countries, and showed himself to be a good husband, father, friend, brother. In short, he was always helping others. However, this man was not "saved by grace". Is he deserving of being tortured in hell for all eternity? Absolutely not. If "God is love" as the Scriptures say and "perfect is his activity" (Deuteronomy 32:4) then would He be a kind, merciful God if He tortured this man for all eternity because he wasn't "saved by grace?"

Furthermore, torturing people with fire was something that God never even considered. Speaking of people who would burn their children in fire as sacrifices to God, Jeremiah 7:31 says of the practice that this was something that God "had not commanded and that had not come up into [his] heart." Yes, God had never even considered the thought of people being tortured with fire, much less forever.

Even the idea that the soul lives on after death is something completely foreign to the Bible. In fact it says simply, "The soul that sins--it itself will die." (Ezekiel 18:4) At Ecclesiastes 9:5 the Bible says, "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all!"

The soul dies? The dead are conscious of nothing at all? If people did go to hell after they died then that would completely contradict those verses. Then where does the doctrine of hell come from? From mistranslations of the Bible! There is no hell in the sense that people who claim to be Christians teach. The concepts of hell in the Bible were completely different from what Jesus and the apostles thought of as hell. Plus, ask yourself, is it really a just punishment to torture people for all eternity for something they did for just seventy or eighty years of their life? Let your morality be the judge. If our morality says "no" then God, who is perfect and loving, would likewise say no, right?

Then what is the punishment for sins? Romans 6:23 tells us: "For the wages sin pays is death." Yes, we pay for our sins upon death. James 1:14, 15 says, "Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it becomes fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death." So we die because we sin, and yet Romans 6:7 says, "For he who has died has been acquitted ["acquitted", NWT and HCSB, footnote; KJV, NIV, and others say "freed"] from his sin." We have paid off our "debt" of sin by dying. Do you torture someone for incurring a debt after they have paid it off? No. They are free to go after they have paid their debt.

What about those Scriptures that plainly speak of people tortured with fire for all eternity? Well, fire in the Bible is symbolic for destruction. So when the Bible says that someone is to be punished with eternal fire, it simply means eternal destruction. One case in point is found for us at Jude 7. "So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them...are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire." Are Sodom and Gomorrah actually burning today? No! In fact, they are most likely now underwater, their remains submerged in the Dead Sea! Sodom and Gomorrah are not burning forever, they are destroyed forever, never to be rebuilt.

What we really need to examine, though, is what the Bible says the final end for people will be. According to Peter, "But these men, like unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things of which they are ignorant and speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction, wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing." (2 Peter 2:12-13) Peter tells us that wicked people will suffer destruction, not eternal torment. Another name for this everlasting destruction is "the second death". In fact, we are told that the second death is "the lake of fire." The lake of fire cannot be hell because "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."-Revelation 20:14, King James Version

One last point worth consideration on this, fire equaling destruction, is what the Bible says will be the final end to Satan the Devil. We read, "And the Devil who was misleading them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulphur...and [he] will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation 20:10) However, Hebrews 2:14 says that Jesus will "destroy him." (King James Version) This falls right into place when we understand the true meaning of the lake of fire. Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for ever. In other words, he will be dead, yes, destroyed, forever and ever.

What about such Scriptures as Mark 9:43-48? The New International Version has this as:

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

This is a quote of Isaiah 66:24. "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind." One commentary says that this Scripture is refers to going out "of Jerusalem to the surrounding Hinnom Valley (Gehenna), where human sacrifice was once practiced (Jeremiah 7:31) and which eventually became the city's refuse heap." [1] What is the verse speaking of? It is not talking about being tortured; it speaks of dead bodies. What is speaks of as not dying is worms--not human lives or immortal souls.

One Bible commentary commenting on Mark 9:48 says, "[The] phrase is taken from Isaiah 66:24. The prophet shows the two ways corpses were usually destroyed: putrefaction and incineration...The juxtaposition in the text of the maggots and fire reinforces the idea of destruction...Both destructive forces are described as permanent ('is not quenched, does not die'): there is simply no way to escape them. In this image, the only survivors are the maggot and the fire--not the man--and they both annihilate anything that falls within their power. Hence, this is not a description of everlasting torment, but one of total destruction." [2] Obviously, the doctrine of eternal torment is debunked from four different angles: 1) Bible Commentators, 2) Moral Reasoning, 3) Understanding the Person of God, 4) Using the Bible Itself. There is no punishment after death for the wicked.

So, is death the end, since it is unconsciousness? No. Acts 24:15 says, "I have a hope toward God, which these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous." (See also John 5:28, 29; Revelation 20:12, 13) Almost everyone who has ever lived will have the opportunity to live again in a perfected earth without Satan, sin, and wickedness to get in the way of coming to Jehovah God.


References

[1] The Jerome Biblical Commentary

[2] El evangelio de Marcos. Analisis linguistico y comentario exegetico, (The Gospel of Mark. Linguistic Analysis and Exegesis Commentary), Vol. 2

Thank You, Jehovah

"I will exalt you, O my God the King. And I will bless your name to time indefinite, even forever. All day long I will bless you. And I will praise your name to dime indefinite, even forever. Jehovah is great and very much to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation will commend your works, and about your mighty acts they will tell. The glorious splendor of your dignity and the matters of your wonderful works I will make my concern."-Psalm 145:1-5

Just sit back for one moment and think about Jehovah. Think about our wonderful. Thank our wonderful God. We turned to Him and He removed the veil from over our eyes. He is our Wonderful Maker. He will protect us when are in danger. He will comfort us when we are afraid. He will always be there for us. "For I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand. The One saying to you, "Do not be afraid, I myself will help you."-Isaiah 41:13

We spend so much time in our busy days and barely give a thought to our wonderful God. I love you Jehovah. Help me to be a better Christian. Help me to rely on you. Help me to be the type of person that invites your spirit into my life. I know that Jesus Christ, my savior, loves me so much that he died for me and I can always rely on that sacrifice to carry me through. Thank you for all of the spiritual food that you provide and thank you for your sustaining power. Help me to never forget that you care for me and help me, please, to always draw close to you.-1 Peter 5:7; James 4:8

Jehovah God, thank you. Thank you for being so powerful. Thank you for being our wonderful Owner. "Behold, to Jehovah your God belong the heavens, even the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that is in it." (Deuteronomy 10:14) "God thunders with his voice in a wonderful way, doing great things that we cannot know." (Job 37:5) "Everything He has made pretty in its time. Even time indefinite He has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the true God has made from the start to the finish."-Ecclesiastes 3:11

"Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:7) Yes, like Jesus my savior, "I love the Father."-John 14:31

Moving Mountains With a Word

"Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it." (Hebrews 11:1, New Century Version) We today have never seen Jesus Christ. However, the words in the Bible are so powerful that we cannot help but "see" him in a spiritual sense nor can we help but love him. Our sentiments match the words of the Apostle Peter: "Though you never saw him, you love him. Though you are not looking upon him at present, yet you exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy."-1 Peter 1:8

Peter saw Jesus Christ. He knew him intimately and loved him. We do not have the privilege but we still love our Lord and Savior. The same goes with Jehovah God. We have never seen Him and yet we still love Him. Our faith is what keeps that love for both of them intact. We know that the Bible is God's Word and that everything it says is true. It, like our God and like our Lord, has proven itself many times.

Yes, faith is powerful.

How powerful, though, is faith? Jesus Christ said, "Truly I say to you, If you have faith the size of a mustard grain, you will say to this mountain, 'Transfer from here to there,' and it will transfer, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) Was Christ being literal here? How can we truly know? Has anyone ever moved a mountain before? We can confidently say no. Perhaps, too, Christ was trying to make a point as to how powerful faith actually is.

One reason that we can possibly take that statement seriously is found in an account where the power of faith was made manifest.

"[Jesus] compelled his disciples to board the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away. Eventually, having sent the crowds away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. Though it became late, he was there alone. By now the boat was many hundreds of yards away from land, being hard put to it by the waves, because the wind was against them. But in the fourth watch period of the night he came to them, walking over the sea. When they caught sight of him walking on the sea, the disciples were troubled, saying: 'It is an apparition!' And they cried out in their fear. But at once Jesus spoke to them with the words: 'Take courage, it is I; have no fear.' In reply Peter said to him: 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you over the waters.' He said: 'Come!' Thereupon Peter, getting down off the boat, walked over the waters and went toward Jesus."-Matthew 14:22-29

Faith is a powerful thing. It enabled a man to walk on the water. Yet, notice something further about Christ's statement in Matthew 17:20. He said, "If you have faith the size of a mustard grain..." The mustard seed was the smallest known seed in that area of the world at that time. This is an excellent point.

To illustrate: Imagine yourself on an airplane. Across the aisle you see a businessman who is very calm, perhaps typing on a laptop. You can tell that he has been on many flights. Next to him is a little old lady who has never been on an airplane before. You can tell that this old lady is very scared. You realize that she must have had a small amount of faith that the plane would not crash or she would have never gotten on. Just then the plane takes off and you make it to your destination safely. Although the businessman had more faith then the little old lady, both were carried through. Their faith got them to their destination because, if they had no faith, they would have never gotten on the plane.

Now, if Jesus' words are literal, and if you even have the smallest amount of faith to move a mountain, then what is keeping you from it? Well, a lack of faith. You know Jesus' words and you even believe them. Somewhere, though, there is something in the back of your head that doubts. If you remove all doubt, you may find that you can move mountains.

And really, is moving mountains with a word so hard to believe. Faith made a man walk on water. When he lacked that faith, he could no longer do it. (Matthew 14:30-31) Further, any amount of faith that we have can work wonders through us. The Apostle John said, "This is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith." (1 John 5:4) Think about it. Because of our faith, no matter how big or small, we conquered the world! We conquered Satan and the demons, we conquered opposition, persecution, materialism, governments, and the spirit of the world! If we can conquer this with our faith, is moving mountains with a word really so awesome?

Is Jesus Coming Back?

On the island of Patmos, the Apostle John, nearly 100 years old, saw a vision from God, given to Jesus, transmitted to John through an angel. (Revelation 1:1) At the very end of his apocalyptic book, he faithfully repeated the words of Jesus Christ. "Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is,...Yes, I am coming quickly." (Revelation 22:12, 20a) John, as confidant as ever in his old age, replied, "Amen! Come Lord Jesus."-Revelation 22:20b

That begs the question: Is Jesus going to come back one day? Well, since Revelation is a book inspired by God, the answer has to be yes. "However", many may say, "Revelation is a complex and hard-to-understand book. Even those phrases may be open to interpretation." If that is true, then we cannot rely on just this book. Is there another book that even mentions this momentous event?

There is! The return of Jesus Christ is a very important subject in the New Testament. Paul, an enemy of the Christ but later a faithful believer, wrote many times on this subject. One that is worth consideration is in one of his letters to the congregation in Thessalonica. After speaking of tribulation that we as Christians must endure, Paul spoke of "relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

So, we can see that the return of Christ is a certainty. However, when looking at this Scripture, it brings up another question. Is the return of Christ something that we as Christians should fear? We are told that Christ is coming "with his powerful angels in a flaming fire" and that sounds a little scary. A little background as to the return of Christ is probably in order.

Going back to the days of the prophet Ezekiel we read, "This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: 'Will it not be in that day when my people Israel are dwelling in security that you will know it? And you will certainly come from your place, from the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great congregation, even a numerous military force. And you will be bound to come up against my people Israel, like clouds to cover the land.'" (Ezekiel 38:14-16a) What is going to happen? Ezekiel goes on to explain further, quoting Jehovah God. "And it must occur in that day, in the day when Gog comes in upon the soil of Israel...that my rage will come up into my nose. And in my ardor, in the fire of my fury, I shall have to speak. Surely in that day a great quaking will occur in the soil of Israel...And I will call forth against him throughout all my mountainous region a sword...And I will bring myself into judgment with him, with pestilence and with blood; and a flooding downpour and hailstones, fire and sulphur I shall rain down upon him and upon his bands and upon the many peoples that will be with him."-Ezekiel 38:18-19, 21-22

Satan, as Gog of Magog, is going to come against the anointed remnant, "the Israel of God" and their companions, the Great Crowd. (Galatians 6:16; Revelation 7:9) After that, Jehovah is going to stop His people from being completely destroyed. How? He is going to use Jesus Christ as his military commander. (Revelation 19:11, 15, 19-21) Christ will use his position to defeat Satan, his demons, and their human followers. Then the prophecy in Proverbs 2:21-22 will find fulfillment. "For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."

Are there any developments that are going to take place before all of this comes about that will reveal any signs that the return of the Messiah is imminent? Let us look in the Bible for the answer.

At Matthew 24 (and the alternate account at Luke 21) the Apostles speak to Jesus Christ about an important event, asking him, "What will be the sign...of the conclusion of the system of things?" (Matthew 24:3) Jesus tells them that there is a possibility in that time period for people to be mislead by false Christs. (Matthew 24:4-5) He then warns them that there will be wars and rumors of wars. He even says that "nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom". Then he says that there are going to be "food shortages and earthquakes". (Matthew 24:6-7) Luke, in his account, says that there are going to be pestilences and "fearful sights and from heaven great signs." (Luke 21:11) Both Matthew and Luke then talk about persecution against the true followers of Jehovah God.-Matthew 24:9-12; Luke 21:12-17

After all of this, Jesus points to good things that are going to happen. He says that "this good news of the kingdom will be preached" in the entire earth for a witness. Until then, the end will not come. (Matthew 24:14) During all of this, something miraculous is going to happen. We now turn to the book of Revelation to find out what it is.

In the book of Revelation at chapters 17-18, we find a prophecy about Babylon the Great. Through holy spirit and intense Bible study, Jehovah's Witnesses have found that Babylon the Great is the world empire of false religion. We are first warned to "get out of [Babylon the Great] my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins...For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind." (Revelation 18:4-5) Part of the reason Babylon the great is so guilty is because she has had a hand in politics, commercial business, and other ungodly practices.-Revelation 18:9-19

How is Jehovah going to accomplish this? He is going to use the wild beast, or the United Nations (see Revelation 13:1, 14-15 and Revelation 17:8, 11) to destroy her. Jehovah says, "And the ten horns that you saw, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought, even to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished." (Revelation 17:16-17) Jehovah will make the nations turn against religion. What will this start?

Going back to Jesus' prophecy we read, "For then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again." (Matthew 24:21-22) After another warning about my false prophets and false Christs, the conclusion: After those signs in the sky that Luke talked about we read: "And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity."-Matthew 24:30-31

Obviously, Jesus is coming back. Many books of the Bible besides Matthew, Luke, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation discuss it. If we are not on the side Jehovah you are not going to survive. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Will there be any blessings for those who do survive? Will anything change?

"But there are a new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise and in these righteousness is to dwell." (2 Peter 3:13) In the Bible, we are given a glimpse as to what life will be like after the wicked are destroyed. It will be a good time. Just think of these blessings that the Bible promises.

1. No one will be sick.-Isaiah 33:24
2. The lame, mute, blind and deaf will be healed.-Isaiah 35:5-6
3. There will be enough food for everyone.-Psalm 72:16; Revelation 7:16
4. Death will be abolished.-Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4
5. The dead will be raised back to life.-Isaiah 26:19; John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15
6. War will be gone forever.-Psalm 46:9; 72:7; Micah 4:1-5
7. Animals will live in peace with humans and one another-Isaiah 11:6-9
8. There will be adequate housing for everyone.-Isaiah 65:21-22
9. We will live under a righteous government.-Daniel 2:44; 1 Timothy 1:17
10. We will live forever!-Psalm 37:11, 29

There are many reasons to learn the truth about all of this. It means our everlasting life. (John 17:3) If you would like to live in peace under a perfect government that will bring many blessings, Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you! Please accept our invitation to have a study and learn about our God, Jehovah, and our King, Jesus Christ.

Remember, the Lord Jesus is coming. Will you be ready?

What is the Good News?

Someone in the field ministry asked me what the Gospel was to Jehovah's Witnesses. I answered that it was what Jehovah God was going to do for all faithful mankind through Jesus Christ as King. I told him that the first thing we'd talk about was who God was and the blessings that He is going to pour out on mankind in the very near future.

He told me I was wrong. He told me that the Gospel was the Jesus Christ came to the earth, died for our sins, and was resurrected. Well, I was confused and realized that maybe I didn't know what the Gospel really was. I went home and studied for the next few hours and came up with many Scriptures.

1. The Good News of the Kingdom [1]
The Good News of the Kingdom is very important. So important that God wants everyone to hear it. If it was not being preached, God would hold off bringing the end. (Matthew 24:14) This is one of the three terms presented as the Good News more then once in the Holy Scriptures. To Jehovah's Witnesses, this aspect of the Good News is the one that is preached most often because of the imminence of its arrival. (Mark 1:15) Also, preaching this Kingdom is a direct command from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Jesus said, "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7, New International Version) Also, Christ made it his object to preach this Gospel. The Bible says of him, "He went journeying from city to city and from village to village, preaching and declaring the good news of the kingdom of God."-Luke 8:1

Jesus made sure that everyone had the opportunity to hear his message. In fact, in all four gospel accounts, the Kingdom of God is mentioned 109 times, not counting all of the other books of the Old and New Testaments. Surely, the Kingdom Message is an important one.

2. The Good News of Jesus Christ [2]
The Good News of Jesus Christ is another aspect of the Good News mentioned more then once. This is important because it fulfills prophecy. (1 Corinthians 15:3-5) It is also important because of what Jesus Christ did. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Yes, "He is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s."-1 John 2:2

Jesus' death opened the way to salvation for our sins. We were all sinners, all subject to death. (James 1:15) In fact, we were deserving of that very thing, death. However, when we wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb, we have forgiveness of sins.-Revelation 7:14

In fulfilling OT prophecy, only Christ could have done that. There are many, many numerous prophecies that speak of the coming of the Savior and, although many claimed to be him, none could do what he did. He had God's backing and His spirit to help him because he truly was the promised Messiah.-Matthew 3:16-17

3. Good News of God [3]
This is the last thing in the Bible called the Good News more then once. This one is important because it helps us to realize that we have to make known who the Almighty Father really is. The Bible names God in the book of Psalms. The King James Version has it as this: "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." (Psalm 83:18) Jehovah is a God "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth."-Exodus 34:6

The most dominate quality of God's is love. In fact, God is love personified. (1 John 4:8, 16) Everything about Him is loving. All of His dealings acknowledge this fact. (Genesis 6:7-14, 17-22; 19:12-17) Also, God is perfect in justice, power, and wisdom. (Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 40:26; Romans 11:3) He has myriads upon myriads of angels at His command. (Genesis 3:22-24; Psalm 148:2; Jude 14) He is a good God, truly looking out for all of His people on the earth.-Matthew 5:45

Most of all, though, is the fact that Jehovah is deserving of all our praise. (Revelation 4:11) The Name of Jehovah is a Name that deserves our attention. Unfortunately, that will not be the case for long. Jehovah's name has been forgotten by the very people who claim to worship Him. Jehovah's Witnesses have tried to warn them and they will not pay attention. When Jehovah reveals it to them all, it will be to late.-Ezekiel 38:23; Philippians 2:9-11

4. Good News of the undeserved kindness of God; Good News about your salvation [4]
These two things go hand-in-hand. Why? "By this undeserved kindness, indeed, you have been saved through faith; and this not owing to you, it is God’s gift. No, it is not owing to works, in order that no man should have ground for boasting." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Many Bible translations have "grace" instead of undeserved kindness here. This is a mistranslation of the actual Greek word--a mistranslation that has started its own doctrine.

The original Greek word, Kha'ris implies "a favor freely done, without claim or expectation of return." [5] and "the idea of kindness which bestows upon one what he does not deserve." [6] Obviously, what undeserved kindness is is the gift that God gave us by sending His Son to die for us. That was the "grace" or undeserved kindness, not an after-affect of Christ's death which we can now receive or a mystic force that comes into your heart when you ask for it as the churches teach. That is why we were saved by undeserved kindness. We were sinners. Christ didn't have to die for us. Actually, we didn't deserve Christ to die for us. We deserved death, pure and simple.

Paul said to Titus, "For the undeserved kindness of God which brings salvation to all sorts of men has been manifested." (Titus 2:11) Many say that Jehovah's Witnesses try to earn their salvation by works but that is not true. We earn our salvation by putting our faith in Jesus Christ sacrifice, which was an undeserved kindness on his part. We have to believe that Christ died for us and have faith that his death will actually save us. We continue to do works because we know that our faith is shown by our works and our faith is actually dead without works. (James 2:18-26) When something is dead, it is non-existent. Only a shell of its former life remains. So only a shell of our former faith remains. And if we do not have faith, it is impossible to please God.-Hebrews 11:6

5. The Good News of Peace; Good News of Great Joy [7]
What else could bring us more joy and even peace then what we have discussed above? Yes, the Good News is a peace-inspiring teaching and a joy-inciting hope. The Apostle Paul said to us, "Always rejoice in the Lord. Once more I will say, Rejoice!" -Philippians 4:4

The peace that the Good News inspires in us is from the same God who inspired Paul to write: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) Knowing that we were once sinners alienated from God but now we are reconciled brings Jehovah's Witnesses great peace. We have a hope to live forever on a paradise earth.

Joy and Peace are very important in the life of a Christians striving to walk with God and Christ with holy spirit. If we manifest those in our lives we are actually manifesting two of the aspects of that spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Many times throughout the NT, the writers emphasize our joy and peace. (2 Corinthians 8:2; Philippians 1:26; Philemon 1:3; 3 John 14) May we always have joy and peace in our Christian walk!

The Good News in Your Life
With all of this in mind, how would you like to gain salvation by undeserved kindness through Jesus Christ, sent from God, so that we might live under the Kingdom and have joy and peace? If you feel like that is something you would like to learn about this, contact Jehovah's Witnesses, the ones who practice true Christianity, locally in your area or click here!


References

[1] Matthew 4:23

[2] Mark 1:1

[3] Romans 1:1

[4] Acts 20:24; Ephesians 1:13

[5] "Synonyms of the New Testament" by Scholar R.C. Trench

[6] "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament" by Joseph H. Thayer, a translator who worked on the American Standard Version

[7] Ephesians 6:15; Luke 2:10

Can God Break His Promises?

According to Exodus 32, when the people were waiting for Moses the 40 days he was on Mount Sinai, they became impatient saying, "Get up, make for us a god who will go ahead of us, because as regards this Moses, the man who led us up out of the land of Egypt, we certainly do not know what has happened to him." (Exodus 32:1) Evidently, Moses was the glue that held the Israelite camp to Jehovah God. Without him, they didn't want his God.

So Aaron, the brother of Moses, gave them what they wanted. He took their gold jewelry, threw into a fire, and "formed it with a graving tool and proceeded to make it into a molten statue of a calf." (Exodus 32:3) He told them that this was the god who had led them out of Egypt. What did Jehovah do?

Before we take a look at that, let us see why this is so important. Go back in time over 500 years. We find a man named Abram. Abram is a righteous man. So much so that God decides that this is the man that He is going to use to fulfill His promise made at Genesis 3:15. So Jehovah tells Abram to get up, leave his home country in Ur (a very rich, prosperous land), and dwell in tents as a nomad. Abram, "not knowing where he was going" showed his faith by traveling there anyway. Where did he end up? In the land of Canaan.-Hebrews 11:8; Genesis 12:1-5

Once in Canaan, God told Abram this: "To your seed I am going to give this land." (Genesis 12:7) God promised Abraham that his descendent's would inherit the land of Canaan--the Promised Land. After some time, God narrowed it down some and said that this seed that would inherit the land would come through Isaac and then Jacob. Finally, Jehovah said to Jacob. "The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him the obedience of the peoples will belong."-Genesis 49:10

There would be a king coming from the son of Jacob, Judah. This was a promise of God and God cannot lie. (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2) Now that had been established. There would be a people coming from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who would inherit this land and then a king would come out of Judah.

Going forward to this incident on Mount Sinai, after Jehovah commanded Moses to go down Mount Sinai He said, "I have looked at this people and here it is a stiff-necked people. 10 So now let me be, that my anger may blaze against them and I may exterminate them, and let me make you into a great nation."-Exodus 32:9-10, see also Numbers 14:12

Was there a problem with this? God said that a king would come through Judah and that Abraham would be the father of the nation of Israel. Yet Moses was through the line of Levi. If Jehovah destroyed everyone how could He fulfill His promise to Jacob and make a king through Judah? No one from Judah would have been alive.

Now we have to think: Who broke the promise at this point? God or the Israelites? The Israelites had already accepted a relationship with God by word and action. They agreed to do the things that Jehovah asked when they allowed themselves to be saved by Him but even more so when He brought them through the Red Sea alive. (Exodus 12:24-27, 43-50; 13:1-5; 15:2, 13, 16-18) So, when the God of their forefathers was left off from being worshiped in exchange for the golden calf, that was breaking their promise to "have no other gods against [Jehovah's] face."-Exodus 20:2-5

To look at another example of this, think of King Solomon. God said to Solomon after he prayed at the dedication of the temple: "I have heard your prayer...And you, if you will walk before me, just as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and with uprightness by doing according to all that I have commanded you, and you will keep my regulations and my judicial decisions, I also shall indeed establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel to time indefinite, just as I promised David your father, saying, 'Not a man of yours will be cut off from sitting upon the throne of Israel.'"-1 Kings 9:3-5, see also 2 Samuel 7:16

What happened with King Solomon? Solomon went bad and Jehovah took Israel away from his son, Rehoboam for this. He gave ten of the twelve tribes to Jeroboam, leaving Judah with Solomon's son.

Did God break His promise in this instance? Absolutely Not! God has set standards as to what is allowed and what isn't allowed. If we humans break that rule, then God is free as to His part of the bargain.

Today, God has made a new promise, one that will never be changed even if one who has been the recipient of the promise breaks their end of the bargain. To seal this promise, God sent His Only-Begotten Son into the world to save humanity from sin and death. (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Timothy 2:5-6) He as promised that this One, Jesus Christ, will rule in heaven as King and High Priest forever. (1 Timothy 6:15, Hebrews 6:20) What is more, God has promised to take 144,000 humans from the earth to be co-rulers with Christ in the heavens. These too are kings and priests.-Revelation 14:1-3, 20;6

By doing this, is God breaking His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? No. He said that someone from the tribe of Judah would reign on the throne forever. Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah. (Luke 3:23, 33-34; Revelation 5:5) Isn't it interesting, though, how Christ is also a priest, for Paul mentioned, "For it is quite plain that our Lord has sprung up out of Judah, a tribe about which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests." (Hebrews 7:14) And those other 144,000 co-rulers? They are out of every "tribe and tongue and people and nation", not just from the tribe of Levi.-Revelation 5:9-10

It is true that the Jews were at one time the chosen people of God. However, God rejected them because they rejected His Son, Jesus Christ. (Matthew 21:43; 23:37-38) After this, a new covenant was put into effect, "a covenant...for a kingdom." (Luke 22:28-30) In this new covenant, people would now have the opportunity to go to heaven. When did this new covenant start?

Evidently, the New Covenant started at Pentecost 33 C.E. with 120 disciples when holy spirit was poured out upon them. How do we know? Well, this new covenant was for a kingdom, as Christ said. A kingdom in heaven. In other words, this new covenant will take people from earth to heaven to rule with Christ. After that day on Pentecost, the disciples began speaking of a heavenly hope, something that is absent in the gospels and the first chapter of Acts. Throughout the gospels, God's people always spoke of an earthly hope. (Luke 19:11; 24:21; Acts 1:6) After that day, they always discussed a heavenly hope.-Ephesians 2:6-7; 1 Peter 1:3-4

This hope had been open only to Jews at first. (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; Luke 14:16-21a) When they rejected Christ, it was opened to everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike. (Luke 14:21b-24; Romans 1:16; 2:10) Now, this people became something new. The Bible says of them, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people for special possession."-1 Peter 2:9a

From then on out, the new race of people would be the Anointed Ones, the spiritual brothers of Christ. These were not literal Jews for those were no longer God's people. So if the Jew's were no longer God's chosen people, how could Jehovah keep His promise to Abraham? Paul answers that question.

"You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one person in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise." (Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 3:7-8) There you have it. By doing what is right and following Christ, these Anointed become descendent's of Abraham. They are "heirs with reference to a promise." What promise? The promise that they will one day become God's children and joint heirs with Christ in the heavens.-Romans 8:14-17

Yes, not all who are from Israel are really Israel. This is not in the sense that they are not natural descendent's of Abraham but that they are not God's children. (Romans 2:26-29; 9:6) To be Abraham's children, you need to be righteous--and Anointed! Those are the ones who inherit the promise to rule forever.

Now how do we of the "Great Crowd" benefit from this promise? (Revelation 7:9-10) Our most important blessing is that we can wash ourselves clean in the blood of Jesus Christ. We are able to worship God forever in His spiritual temple and be shepherded by the Lamb of God to waters of life. Finally, we will have all tears wiped from our eyes! (Revelation 7:13-17) What benefits! Through the reign of the Christ and his spiritual brothers, we have the hope of all those blessing mentioned in Revelation 7:9-17. As the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, the Anointed will be able to, like their heavenly husband, shower rich blessing on all of us on the earth forever. (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2, 9-10) May we all strive to remain faithful so as to live under the blessings of Jesus Christ and the 144,000 of God.-Psalm 37:29; Revelation 21:4

The Bible Does Not Teach the Trinity!

Here are 115 Scriptures that can effectively be used to disprove the Trinity if the person we are talking to has a right heart and is being drawn to Jehovah God.




Basic Bible Teachings about God and Jesus (48)
God is one, not three-Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Galatians 3:20

No one can see God-Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 1 John 4:12

Jesus was a created being-Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14

Jesus was subordinate while on Earth-John 5:19; John 6:38; John 8:28

Jesus is subordinate even in Heaven-Acts 4:27, 30; 1 Corinthians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3

God sent Jesus to the world-John 17:18

Jesus did not know everything and had to learn things-Matthew 24:36; Hebrews 5:8

Jesus had a God when he was on Earth-John 20:17

Jesus has a God now that he is in Heaven-2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:17; Revelation 3:12

Jesus said the Father was Greater-John 14:28

God and Jesus separate-Matthew 3:16, 17; John 1:2; John 17:3; Acts 7:55; Colossians 3:1

Jesus prayed to God-Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Luke 22:41, 42; John 11:41, 42; John 17:1; Hebrews 5:7

Jesus makes supplication to God for people-Luke 22:31, 32

Jesus always does God's will, not his own-Matthew 27:39; John 6:38

Jesus worships God-Matthew 4:9, 10; John 4:22

Jesus gave titles to God that he would not apply to himself-Matthew 23:9; Mark 10:17, 18

Prophecies Show Jesus lower then the Father-Psalm 89:26; Psalm 110:1; Proverbs 8:22; Daniel 7:13, 14; Isaiah 61:1

Other Scriptures disproving the Trinity-John 3:16; Ephesians 4:4, 5; Ephesians 5:2

Things God Gave Jesus (25)
Everything-Matthew 11:27; John 3:35; 1 Corinthians 15:27
Authority-John 5:27; John 17:2; Revelation 2:26-28
Exultation-Acts 5:31; Philippians 2:9
Disciples-John 17:6, 9
Glory-John 17:22; 1 Peter 1:21
High Priesthood-Hebrews 5:10
Judgeship-John 5:22; Acts 10:42
Kingship-Luke 1:31, 32
Life-John 5:26
Lordship-Acts 2:36
Love-John 10:17; John 17:23
Resurrection-Acts 3:15; Acts 5:30; Romans 4:24; Romans 10:9
Revelation-Revelation 1:1
Words-John 17:8


Titles of Jesus Showing He is Lower then God (8)
The Holy One of God-Mark 1:24
Son of the Most High God-Mark 5:7
Gift of God-John 4:10
Son of God-John 20:31
Lamb of God-John 1:36
Son of the Father-2 John 1:3
Word of God-Revelation 19:13
Mediator Between God and Man-1 Timothy 2:5, 6

1st Century Christians Did Not Believe Jesus was God; Almost All Books of NT Show Otherwise (25)
Romans 1:7; Romans 16:27
1 Corinthians 1:1, 3;
2 Corinthians 2:15
Galatians 1:3
Ephesians 1:2; Ephesians 6:23
Philippians 1:2
Colossians 1:3
1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:11
2 Thessalonians 1:2
1 Timothy 1:1, 2; 1 Timothy 5:21
2 Timothy 1:2
Titus 1:4
Philemon 1:3
Hebrews 1:1, 2
James 1:1
1 Peter 1:3
2 Peter 1:2
1 John 1:3; 1 John 2:22
2 John 1:3
Jude 1:1

Holy Spirit is Not God (9)
The "Spirit of God", not the "Spirit is God"-Genesis 1:2; Numbers 24:2; Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 12:3
The holy spirit is God's power, not God himself-Luke 11:20 compare Matthew 12:28
The holy spirit is God's breath-Job 33:4
Holy spirit separate from God and Jesus-1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14

One True Christian Religion

Which sect of Christianity is right? That is a question that may be hard to pinpoint the answer. The world over there are so many versions of Christianity each with teachings somewhat in conflict with others. Inside of these sects, there are many smaller sects that claim that they are the correct version of their major belief and hold the correct interpretation. Is there a way to determine this correctness?

Yes! Most of these "Christian" religions all claim to follow one guidebook, The Holy Bible. First, however, how do we know that all of these sects cannot be correct?

In the first century of Christianity, a title applied to this baby religion was "The Way." This title for the religion was used before the time "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." (Acts 11:26, New International Version) In this title, The Way, a great deal is gleaned.

The disciples knew that their way of believing was the only way of believing, the right way of believing. Anyone who believed otherwise was ultimately removed from the Church so that their bad influence would not contaminate it.-2 John 9-11

The Apostle Paul twice reiterated that there was only one true faith. At Ephesians 4:5 he said that there was only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Those two words, "one faith" is an indication that Christians are to believe one way and one way only. Furthermore, Paul told all Christians in his letter to Corinth, "Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement. and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought."-1 Corinthians 1:10

These sects of Christianity is a bad thing. They shouldn't be there. Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Methodists, Christadelphian's, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Presbyterians, Mormon's, Episcopalians, Christian Scientist, Pentecostals, and all these other religions cannot be right. Only one of them can be correct. When people say that two or more of these sects can be right, they are mistaken. That is an indication of what their heart really is for Paul calls divisions and sects "works of the flesh" and says that people "who practice such things will not inherit God's Kingdom."-Galatians 5:19-21

As we learn this we realize that we have to learn which one of these is right? How can we do this? Well, upon realizing that each one claims to follow the Bible, we need to go into the Bible to find out what it teaches. Then we can match each teaching with one of the religions and come to a conclusion. So: What Does the Bible really teach?

What the Bible Teaches

The Bible calls the Almighty God, Jehovah or Yahweh. Jehovah/Yahweh is the name that God gave to himself. (Exodus 3:15; 6:3) He lives in heaven above. He created the entire universe. (Genesis 1:1) He is no part of a Trinity with His Son, Jesus Christ or the holy spirit. (Job 33:4; Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20; John 14:28; 20:17; 2 Corinthians 1:3) Yet, Jesus Christ plays a very important role. He came to earth as the Only-Begotten Son of God to die for our sins. (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2) He was created as the first of God's creation. (Proverbs 8:23-25; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14) He is coming back. (Matthew 24:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) Only 144,000 are going to Heaven. (Luke 12:32; Revelation 14:1-3) A Great Crowd will live on earth forever. (Psalm 37:10-11, 29; Proverbs 2:21; Matthew 5:5) Satan the Devil is a real person. (Matthew 4:1-10; Revelation 12:9) The dead are unconscious, awaiting a resurrection. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:4; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) True Christians are to remain neutral in all political and military affairs. (John 17:14-16; James 4:4) The Bible is God's inspired Word.-2 Timothy 3:16-17

If your religion does not teach even one of these things, then you must ask yourself, "Can my religion truly be the true religion?" Any of the millions of Jehovah's Witnesses earth-wide can answer in the affirmative. If you would like to learn the Truth in the Bible go to the "Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses" linked to the right of this blog. Click on the link for a Bible Study and you can receive everlasting life.-John 17:3

The Atonement Day and Jesus Christ

Perhaps the most important day in ancient Israel was Atonement Day. On Atonement Day, the High Priest was to sacrifice animals for himself and all Israel. Then he was supposed to take two goats and stand before the Tent of Meeting. By lots, he was to choose one goat to be slaughtered and then the other goat would be sent off into the wilderness to carry the sins of the Israelites away. He was then to sacrifice a bull to cleanse himself. After this, he was supposed to take a fire holder full of burning coals along with handfuls of fine, perfumed incense and bring them inside the curtain. Thus, the High Priest entered into the Holy Place.-Leviticus 16:2-12

From there, the High Priest was to put the fire holder before Jehovah and put the incense upon the Ark of the Covenant. He would then take some of the blood of the bull and spatter it with his finger on the cover a specific number of times. Then he would do the same with the goat which he slaughtered. In this way, he must make atonement for the sins of the entire Israelite nation.-Leviticus 16:13-16

The High Priest was to then come out and spatter some of the blood of the bull and goat on the altar seven times, then put his hands on the other live goat and confess the sins of Israel over it. That is when the goat was to be sent away into the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:18-22) Although the ritual continues, this is about the gist of it. One question that may arise is why the need for so much blood? Because the power of atonement was in the blood for the reason that the life was in the blood. If there was no blood, there would be no life.-Levitucs 17:11

What did all this mean? All of this pointed to Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. In Hebrews 5:10 Jesus is said to be a High Priest. In Hebrews 9:11-28, Paul gives us an in depth description of the meaning of the Atonement Day. Atonement Day happened once a year, ever year, again and again because the effect of the blood of the bulls and goats could only cleanse temporarily. That is why Christ had to appear. His sacrifice was everlasting.

"However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. For if the blood of goats and of bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who have been defiled sanctifies to the extent of cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of the Christ, who through an everlasting spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works that we may render sacred service to the living God?"-Hebrews 9:11-14

Christ, being a High Priest, did not have to enter into the literal tabernacle or temple to atone for us. He did that when he was resurrected. Even more, his own blood was sufficient to obtain an everlasting deliverance for us. Since the blood of bulls and goats had atoning properties, the blood of a perfect man do much more for us. Yes, only because Christ was "without blemish" could we obtain deliverance through him.

Now, all of this was a fulfillment of a very important prophecy in Isaiah 53. "Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5) The healing by his wounds is a spiritual healing. You see, we are all captives of sin. It rules over us as a king, making us unwilling slaves.-Romans 5:12, 21; 6:6; 7:21-25

Sin is a very powerful enemy. There is nothing that we can do about it. Sin can be likened to a disease that all men that have ever lived (besides Jesus Christ) have caught. The death rate is 100%. If anyone tries to convince us that they are sinless, then they are liars. (1 John 1:8-10) As said above, the only man to ever be sinless was the Lord Jesus. (1 Peter 2:22) Again, because of this and his sacrifice, Jesus is the only name on which we can be forgiven of our sins. (Acts 4:12) Why is this of such importance?

In the beginning, God created Adam a perfect man. There was only one thing that Adam could not do and that was eat from a certain tree in the center of the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, Adam chose to disobey and became a sinner. After this, mankind needed a redeemer. Since Adam was a perfect man then there had to be a perfect man who could gain back what Adam lost. That man was Jesus. The Bible tells us, "For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive."-1 Corinthians 15:22

As we know, one Atonement Day was not enough for humans. Without Christ, the same ritual would have had to be repeated for all eternity. However, that changed upon his death and resurrection. Before discussing that, though, it is important to mention that in Israel, the slaughtering of the Atonement Day bull and goat was not enough. The blood had to be offered by the High Priest. Likewise, the same was true of Christ. "For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us."-Hebrews 9:24

If the blood of Christ had not had to be offered to God, he would have not had to be resurrected. His death would have been sufficient. However, someone--the High Priest--had to offer the blood to God. Since the High Priest was Jesus, he would have to be resurrected to approach God and offer his own blood. That is why Christ's resurrection was so important. His death alone was not enough. And, since he was the High Priest, only he could offer the shed blood.

When the Messiah offered the blood, another physical prophecy was fulfilled. When the human High Priest in Israel went to offer the blood, he would have to enter the Holy Place. This place was so holy that the priest could only enter once a year and then only when he had performed special rituals and when he was wearing special clothing. The place that Christ entered into was much better. The holy place made with hands on earth was only a copy of the real thing. Christ had to literally enter in front of God to offer his blood. The human priest only stood before the Ark of the Covenant, which was a symbol of God with Israel.

"Neither is it in order that he should offer himself often, as indeed the high priest enters into the holy place from year to year with blood not his own. Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world."-Hebrews 9:25-26

This Atonement Day occurred once a year, every year. As noted above, once was not enough because the blood offered was not perfect, human blood. But Christ, a perfect man, was able to enter only once. If not, as Paul says, Jesus would have had to suffer often from the founding of the world.

That was the first time Christ came. Next time he comes, none of this will be necessary. What will happen then? For some, his return will be a joyous time, for others, a grievous time. To be in the former group, we have to follow the command of the Apostle Peter who said, "Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the free gift of the holy spirit." (Acts 2:38) It is paramount that we put our trust in this sacrifice. Only by accepting this sacrifice can we be forgiven. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Even more, and this is the part that people seem to forget, more is required then just accepting this sacrifice. We have to have good works and follow Jesus. (John 3:36; James 2:26) After that, we have to stop sinning. We cannot continue to sin after learning the truth.-Romans 6:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8; Hebrews 10:26-31

Christ is coming back one more time. "The second time that [Christ] appears it will be apart from sin and to those earnestly looking for him for their salvation." (Hebrews 9:28) Christ is returning to save those of us who have put our faith in him. May all who the Father is drawing be part of that group.-John 6:44

The average, ignorant American and politics today

I don't really follow politics. I don't vote, and keep from having an opinion. Obviously, though, keeping yourself entirely free of a presidential election, and definitely this one, is kind of hard. There are so many absurdities in it. From McCain rambling on about Obama's celebrity status to praising Palin about her's, to Palin going out and buying $150,000 worth of clothes, to Michelle Obama's "For the first time in my adult life" blunder, there has been no other election that has been this crazy to keep track of. The "Iron my Shirt" incident was priceless.

Part of the reason, though, that I have been keeping such a close watch on this election is because of a man at my job, Mick.* Mick is a staunch McCain supporter. He literally hates Barack Obama. He criticizes everything Obama does. I bet if Obama didn't let down the toilet seat, Mick would scream how he was not fit to be president.

At one point, Mick was talking to me about Ayers, Obama's acquaintance who was at one time a terrorist. He asked me if I knew anything about this and I told him I heard about it but wasn't extremely knowledgeable on the matter. He then proceeded to tell me how I represented the average, ignorant American. I took offense but kept my mouth shut. He then showed me some facts about the Obama-Ayers relationship. When he thought he had my full attention and was starting to sway me to his side (I can assure you he wasn't. I think he believes that I am an Obama supporter because I'm bi-racial, black mother, white father. I don't have the heart to tell him I don't have an opinion) he finally let me get back to work.

When I got home I proceeded to check his statements and found that he didn't know his facts. He is so against Obama that he will believe anything anyone tells him that paints Obama in a bad light. I can't stand listening to him but I have a problem that whenever something bad is said about McCain, I have to prod him about it. I can't wait until November 4. If Obama wins, I will let him have it! It is very exciting!

Another thing Mick did that was so funny is how he completely changed his opinion to match the circumstances. When the big deal was Obama v.s. Clinton, Mick told me that he wanted Obama to beat Clinton because America was not ready for a female president. He said women relied too much on emotion then they should and not enough on logic. He then said that even if Obama won, he wanted McCain to beat him because Obama was too much of a celebrity and didn't have enough experience.

Enter Sarah Palin. Extremely low experience, woman, and bigger celebrity then Obama. Yet Mick said that she had enough experience, America is ready for a woman president, and that her celebrity status is a good thing. It can only help McCain in the long run.

Needless to say, I wanted to puke. If anything, Mick is a prime example of your "average, ignorant American." I won't tell him any of this but I honestly feel that since I have more of a neutral view of this, I can see the entire picture clearly, not blur the parts I want to ignore and brighten the parts I want to focus on.

If only everyone could be like that. Indeed, if only people could see how Christians should view politics.

Jesus Christ, when on earth, said this in prayer to his Father, Jehovah. "I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am not part of the world. I request you, not to take them out of the world, but to watch over them because of the wicked one. They are no part of the world,just as I am no part of the world."-John 17:14-16

Christ made it very clear that we as Christians are to be no part of the world. Why? Because neither God nor Christ is ruler of the world. Who is? Satan the Devil! The Bible calls Satan "ruler of the world" and "God of this world" as well as saying that the "whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4, English Standard Version; 1 John 5:19) For a Christian to be a part of the world would be partaking in what the Bible calls "the spirit of the world."-1 Corinthians 2:12, compare Ephesians 2:1-2

Being separate from the world means being neutral in politics, like Jesus Christ was. (John 6:15) Too, being separate means shunning materialism and self-centeredness. (1 John 2:15-17) Regarding people who did these things James said, "Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God."-James 4:4

Why is this Christian separateness so important? "The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world." (James 1:27) Our very worship is affected when we are not free from the world!

You see, two things are important to consider when we speak of this. First, the true government under Jesus Christ is the government that Christians uphold. This is called "Kingdom of God". (Mark 1:15) This Kingdom will destroy all wickedness and usher in world-wide peace. (Psalm 37:10-11, 29; Daniel 2:44) For us to throw in a vote for an earthly government is to vote against God's Kingdom and Jesus Christ.

Second, to be a good subject of any government, you must follow the laws of that government. The King, Jesus, has told us to refrain from being materialistic. (Matthew 6:19-23; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 12:15-21) If we do these things, as well as follow his other commands, our worship will be clean and undefiled to our God.