Episode 61

In this episode of the Removing Barriers podcast, we explore the religion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Joining us is pastor Gary, one whom the Lord had graciously saved out of a nominal Jehovah’s Witness home many years ago. He shares his understanding of the faith from a personal point of view, helping us to understand what the religion actually believes, how to witness to them, and what pitfalls to avoid. Join us on this episode as we learn more about this religion, in whose grip are millions who need the true saving faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And even though they’ve been wrong in the past, even though they’ve changed their statement or some of these theorems or some of the the Jaho is with profile because they’ll use Proverbs for 18. But the path of just is shining light in more and more to the day. We made some mistakes. We’ve been in the dark, but we’re getting new light every day. We’re getting brighter and brighter and it’s really just sad and not to quote the book 1984 Georgia or well, but he said the past was a race, the erasure was forgotten, the loud became truth. I mean, it’s the Joe as Witnesses.

Thank you for tuning into the Removing Barriers podcast. I’m Jay and I’m MCG and we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross.

This is episode 61 of the Removing Barriers Podcast, and this is the first in the series of What Do You Believe? And in this episode we will be looking at what Jehovah Witnesses believe. Joining us in this episode is pastor Gary. Pastor Gary grew up in a nominal, Jehovah witness home and study their belief in depth after his Salvation. You can listen to Pastor Gary’s testimony in episode 60. Pastor Gary, welcome back to the Removing Barriers Podcast and thank you once again for joining us.

Well, thank you for letting me join you and it’s always a blessing to give your testimony. Like you said, I grew up in a nominal Jehovah’s Witness home and then I got saved. I forgot married and didn’t feel any allegiance to the Kingdom. Hold your hopes with through that I studied and found out why it wasn’t caused in building allegiance to the Kingdom Hall or was with.

All right, great. Well, let’s get into it. Paste Gary, who are the Jehovah’s witnesses and where are they in the world? Let’s give us a brief overview of who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Well, their attendance fluctuates, especially when they make a prophecy and it doesn’t come true. Of course, their prophecy 1975 would be the end of the world as we know it. Well, when that didn’t happen, their attendance and their membership dropped. But for now, just bounce back. And probably most Jos witnessing today don’t know about 1975 in the end times, but right now it’s probably 8 million or more around the world. Africa seems to have the most and I’m not sure why it’s probably over a million in America and they came from really Charles are so it’s a man made religion and he studied and he was under the mill. Right. We know now is the 7th day Adventist. And from that he got really interested in prophecy in towns, setting dates. And from that came that they were called students of the watched our society. And from that they become the Joes Witnesses that we know today

The history of the Jehovah’s Witness that intrigues me because I am always fascinated with how can a man deceive so many into following him? Was this man the sort of charismatic sort of guide that just kind of galvanized people behind him? Or was he just so eloquent in his speech and perhaps in his mannerisms or his studies? And he perhaps charmed people into following him?

It’s probably all the above. It was very charming. He was just a down to Earth person that quit his business and had a lot of information. And people were impressed about the information he was given out. Go back to if you remember y two K, we’re going from 1999 to 2000. Changes entry. I’ll go back 100 years before that. The late 18 hundreds. One is 1900 in prophecy with a big thing, both in year 2000 and year 1900 and prior. So it was the interest in the things of prophecy. And they seem to have the answers that really made sense looking at it from the Earth. Of course, the early 19 hundreds, you had the dust bowl, you had World War One, you had the stock market crash and all those things. He come along with the answers that the end is near and a lot of people bought into it. And then as the leaders come on, some leaders are more charismatic. And it was really, really like I said, they were very convincing. And once again, it’s delusion and set. The bowel tells us that in the end times the Devils are going to use to see going to have a split. Right is wrong. Wrong is right. And they received as a deception. And it was a very well orchestrate deception.

Pastor, can you go into that a little deeper? What are the points of deception that would characterize the core beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witness faith? You know how, like, for example, Bible believing Christians have, like, the core non negotiables of the faith. Can you give us a rundown or summary of the core tenants or the core beliefs of the Jehovah Witness faith?

Well, they are a manmade religion and so really anything you could think of as the core beliefs, let’s say, of a Christian, you know, the Virgin birth, resurrection, the death of the Burg of resurrection coming again. They believe all those, but they believe them wrongly. They don’t believe it fully. For example, they believed that Jesus Christ was Virgin born, but they don’t believe that he is God with us. They believe that he died not on a cross but on a steak, and he rose again, but not bodily. And it’s just really, if you were to think of what can we agree on? Probably in Genesis one, one in the beginning, God. We probably couldn’t agree on that, because if you don’t use the name Jehovah, that is like a slap in the face of God. But in the beginning, God created heaven, Earth. And that’s probably about the only viewers and Joe’s Witnesses could agree on, and even that the creation once again to get their property and the show fulfillment. They don’t believe they were. They believe they were a thousand year periods. And of course, they use scripture to back all this up, whether that’s what it means or not. But they have an answer for everything. The Psalmist and even Peter said, A day of the Lord a thousand years. They take that literally. So they believe that they are the only true religion and they spend a lot of time in graining and the people that all the other religions are wrong. All the other churches are wrong. All the other denominations are wrong. They’re the only one that is a true religion.

So pastor dive a little bit deeper into this with the core beliefs and also what’s in a name, why Jehovah Witnesses?

They feel that they’re the only true religion. And they take issue if you say, hey, you know that they were influenced by the Miller rights or any other religion. But they are and they trace their roots back to the Apostles and even beyond. Really like all the promises. And when he talks about Israel, they really apply those verses to themselves. For example, in Isaiah, Isaiah talk about let all nations be together together, that the people be assembled and bring forth or witnesses. And verse ten says, you are my witnesses of there 43 ten. And they literally take that then year, my witnesses saith the Lord and we know the King James battle Lord capital L capital O capital R, capital D. Well, of course, their Bible says the New World translation as HOA. So that’s where they get their name from. See, they’re saying it’s biblical and the go so far as in Revelation chapter eleven, verse twelve is talking about the two witnesses. Whenever the word witnesses you they take a literal like a Jehovah’s Witness that you would think of the day when those two witnesses were resurrected and they heard a voice that said, Come up together, they literally take that as that proves that they are the true religion.

Wow. How does this compare to what we will refer to as true biblical Christianity? So what they believe compared to what? I guess I could put it this way. What the Bible actually teaches?

Well, going back to the question your wife asks about Charles Tays Russell. He was a prolific writer and he wrote The Mystery in Scriptures, and it’s a managed mini volumes. And it explains the Bible. So where we would believe that God’s word, I believe believe it all or not at all. They believe the Bible, but you have to have the writings and the teaching and the literature to be able to understand the Bible. If you don’t have those writings and don’t stay as witnesses, if you study the Bible alone, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, you slip back into apostasy and back into the world or to the other religions. So really, they’re not true Christianity. They call Christianity, Christine. They really slur it. They really slander it. And they do anything to avoid looking like the churches. I mean, if you’ve ever been in a Kingdom Hall or if you know anything about it, they don’t have pus, they don’t have pulps. They don’t have any kind of art. I remember as a child we weren’t allowed to have, like, even praying hands in the household because it was an idol. You can’t salute the flag, you can’t do. The pleasure is all that equated to balance an idol. So really, it’s not true Christianity at all.

So then, according to the Jehovah’s Witness, how is someone to be reconciled to God? The reason I ask that question is because we know from the scriptures that God has revealed himself to us in special revelation through the scriptures. We can’t know God apart from the scriptures. And if the Jehovah’s Witnesses are telling people, well, if you read the scriptures apart and no other literature from us, you’re going to slip back into apostasy. So according to the Jehovah’s Witness, how can someone be reconciled to God through the organization?

What they do is they’ll spend time with training you and they’ll put a time limit on it. If you aren’t progressing within so long, they will drop you back when they got started. I mean, certain minorities, they just said, don’t waste time on them because the end is so close. Now today last report, I they’ll work with you, like six months. And if you don’t progress along to where they trust you, they will take you out on calls and things like that. And when they’re satisfied with your training, then your Baptist understand that baptism is a really big deal to them. So after they’re satisfied with the new converge training, they’ll take them out. They’ll vet them and they’ll let them speak, maybe in a service or maybe their door door visitation. And when they have baptism, they have it in like big arenas. They have swimming pools full of water to baptism. And you understand they believe that Jesus Christ his death. All it was was buying back what Adam and Eve lost. Adam and Eve sold the title deed to the world, the devil. And he bought it back. And they may use terms like born again. But it means something different to them. Really, what they use is the truth. When they feel you’re comfortable with the truth or you know, how long have you been in the truth? We would say, how long have you been save? They would say, how long you been in truth. So when they’re satisfied with that, they make baptism a big deal. And they’ll have small stadiums or whatever full of swimming pools. And they’ll ask them two questions on the basis of sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Have you repented your Sands and dedicate yourself to jog and do his wheel? Second question is, do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one Jaho Witnesses Association with God’s Spirit directed organization. In other words. And they backed out and the baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit directed organization. And basically, which one is your agreeing to be in a slave to the organization? And they really use that term.

How do they make money? Because they say they don’t have typical Church. They don’t pick up offerings. Am I right in that? How do they support themselves?

You know, I’m not really sure. In other words, they don’t have pastors, they have overseers and I’m sure there’s some money involved there. They make a lot of money off their printing. They have a lot of printing and of course, any good hope witnessed buy this printing and then a lot of times they sell it. A lot of people are bad if it means they’ll leave them alone and they have people who are dedicated to it. So a lot of it comes from their headquarters, New York, now the overseas. I’m not sure about salary stuff. They don’t call the pastors to call and you know, that’s a question I’m rough.

Interesting. You said that when they baptizing or someone is enter into the fate of the Jehovah Witnesses, that they actually have repented of your fan and trust Jesus as the Savior of being born again. Which is the verb is just sound pretty biblical. Could you expand on that exactly what they believe when they’re saying that?

Well, I understand and is what they say it is. No, I hate to bring it up, but the book about George Orwell 1984 and, you know, the thought police and the classes and everything they really operate on 1948 when George Orwell wrote that book, I mean, they were doing a lot of things prophecy and things like that. They really were mind control. They had what they call mine. Crime, thought crimes face crime. And there are some Jos witnesses that are shunned or is fellowship because they didn’t like the look on their face when they were told some sand that they committed. They’re very big on work. So in the early days, a lot of vaccines, a lot of organ transplants and things like that was wrong. You didn’t do that. Those were sins. Blood transfusion is a sin. And you don’t do that. I don’t think that will error go away. I don’t think they ever changed their mind or that some of these vaccines and things in the early days of Joe’s Witnesses, they were opposed to. They kind of soft and change their mind on celebrating holidays, Christmas and Easter. Those are San along with all the other Sims that adultery, pornography, drugs and all those. And they want to give you the impression that those things are not in Jehovah organization, and they present as a happy organization. The flesh is the flesh. I don’t care if your Mormon, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, atheist, the flesh is a flash, you know. So those things are in the organization, and they usually take care of it. But as far as getting rid of them. But once again, then is what they make it serving. And Terry Saluting the flag. All those things are crimes they won’t tolerate those.

Are there any script verses that they used to back up these things? Like not taking vaccine? I guess that’s a big thing now with their current virus vaccine. But in cities, they used to defend that, not taking vaccine, blood transfusion, organ donation or accept in organ at any verses they use or biblical principles falsely so that they may use to defend those fate. Are those beliefs?

Yes. One simple rule about the terminal of false religion is that their teachings on marriage and on that. And you’ll see that they’re bit play. They’re awful marriage. For example, Jehovah’s witnesses won’t get married because they’re waiting for Paradise Earth. I’m going to put off children because of Paradise Earth. So look at how they treat marriage and then look how they treat. That what it is. It’s a dietary law. And the Old Testament. They weren’t to eat blood. And from that they get some of these vaccines. They have hormones or like stem cells and things like that. That would be blood. And so they use a dietary law, the Old Testament, not to eat the blood. And they apply that. And they believe that’s what it means. And when I talked to my dad, my dad put off surgery because the doctor won’t guarantee he won’t need blood transtition. And they talked to him and said, Well, use your own blood. He was good with that for a while. And then he backed out from that. But I told him about it. I said, no, does it say not to eat the blood, not to eat the fat also, so you can apply this, you know, and it is so ingrained in these rules that they come up with.

And I even see myself the thing with blood transfusion all my life against a given blood. You know, you just. And even years after I got saved, I was in Bible College and they re announcing the blood drive. Give blood, though you shouldn’t do that a Church. I’m just thinking to myself. And then I realized I had never settled that. And I settled it years later because it’s so in in, you know, this is wrong. And I never settled that. I thought that was so strange. Save years called into the Ministry on the Bible College. And if you ask him, I asked. I was wanting what happened. If you do get a blood transfusion, I mean, they have kidnapped their children out of hospitals and all kinds of things like that allow the children to die because they just will not get a blood transfusion. And they’ll say, Well, if you get a blood transfer, you’ll lose your Salvation.

And of course, they’ll use the verses like, what will man give an exchange for a soul? Well, I asked them, Are you saved? And they’ll tell you, no, nobody can know you’re saving. That’s the thing that gets me about these people who think you can lose your Salvation. You ask them, are you saved? And they said, no, nobody can the save. But you can lose your Salvation. Yes. So I’ll ask them, well, you know, you can lose something you don’t know you have they’ll say, no, I don’t understand. It’s really circular in and even though they’ve been wrong in the past, even though they’ve changed their statement or some of these terms, some of the the as with profile because they’ll use proper for 18. But the path of just shining light shine more and more to the day. Yeah, we made some mistakes. We’ve been in the dark but we’re getting new light every day. We’re getting brighter and brighter and it’s really just sad. And not to quote the book 1984 Georgia or well, but he said the past was a race. The erasure was forgotten, the loud became truth. I mean, it’s the Joe as witnesses and it’s sad.

Yeah. This thing goes much deeper than I even imagine it did. Because, you know, I didn’t realize that they tie blood transfusion and organ donation receiving organ to your Salvation.

They call it cannibalism taking blood. And they know that’s, of course, forbidden. And they will use the Old Testament dietary laws. And even in Acts chapter 15 were Peter and Paul and Barbs had that meeting and they said to stain from meet, off of the idols and from blood. So they still apply that to those things. But they tied into Salvation.

This is the Removing Barriers podcast. We will be right back.

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It seems like just listening to you describe all of their dos and don’ts and they’ll shout and they’ll shout nuts. They remind me of Pilgrim and Pilgrim’s progress at the beginning, where he’s got this gigantic load on his back that he can’t get off out for Pilgrim. It was his own sin, right? But for them not only is it their own sin, it’s all of these rules and arbitrary regulations that the society puts on them. And it’s so miserable pitiful. Just very sad thing to even imagine or to see. And I’ve met Jehovah’s Witnesses who are absolutely convinced that they are following the truth and that they’re the only ones that know the way to be saved. How can we witness to someone who is so deeply deceived as a Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Very carefully. I mean, what you have to do is show him the love of Jesus. They know only of Jesus as really Jesus Jehovah. We think of them as they think of Jesus as Michael the Archangel. And of course, Michael is warring and things like that, they think of it like Armageddon is all they talk about. They see Jaho is only a judgmental God. You show them the love of Jesus. The worst thing that we can do is get angry. I’ve heard of preachers just up in their face, just yelling at on leaders sticking out of their neck. You know, what you just did is you put a jewel in their Crown because they truly operate off of praise, execution and paranoia. You can tell all Baptists free literate. But if you praise them for the zeal, they’ll take, that what they hear. But even the Baptist Church praises us for our zeal. And if you get up in their face, it’s hard not to get angry because they are butchering the world of God so much and Salvation simplicitas in it. But if you get up in their face, you just put another feather in the cap that we persecuted because that shows where the truth because he persecuted.

And then they’re so paranoid. Even if they have questions, understand, they can’t go back and ask the Jehova’s witness these questions because that’s one of those face crowns, one of those thought crowns, you know, and question the organization whether right or wrong, where they got a point. And if so paranoid, they can’t go into a Christian bookstore and you get tons of answers to their questions. They get answers to the question. But the girl was witnessing won’t let our cows at the old watch tears be exposed. I mean, they used to believe that Jesus Christ hung on a cross. They don’t believe that anymore. And they won’t allow the witness to go back into the archive to see those things. They used to use the King James Bible. And of course, now they’ve got their own printed and social media, YouTube. Those things that can be found on that and not to endorse. But the actress le remaining, I think, is how you pronounce your name. I’m not endorsing the actress. I don’t know a whole lot about her, the shows or movies or whatever. But Leah Remini has turned on the Church of Scientology, and she’s done a series of documentaries, Scientology and the Aftermath. And Joe as Witnesses kept coming up. So she did a documentary. And I want to say 2018, you could probably get it strained and spoke to witnesses that were either former witnesses or part of the family. Or they had family members that were and just most of them, most of them committed suicide is like what you were saying about the stress and the pressure that they were under. And they were under such extreme pressure, trying to keep all the rules and ever changing rules and the truth. A lot of them committed suicide, and they committed that because they thought their chances of having and leaving on Paradise Earth works better if they commit suicide than breaking all the rules. And I I find it all these things are documented. And so it’s kind of interesting, but it’s sad. It’s really sad.

Yeah. Dig a little bit deeper. Personally, what were some of those rules that you had to live on when you were growing up because of your father’s Jehovah’s witness feet?

Well, of course, we could say the Pledge of Allegiance at school. We were never in a Christmas plays. And one rule was, the members can’t smoke, you can’t smoke. And they were all right with drinking alcohol. But smoking was a problem. They have more problems with alcohol than to do with smoking. But smoking is a definite no no. And that was why my dad was fellowshipped. And that was about the time I was 13 years old. And that’s when I got out of it. Then I’m a teen years and then I got married and we wanted to go to Church. We just didn’t know what Church to go to, and we just didn’t want to go to the Kingdom Hall.

So a lot of rules, some one were enforced, but generally they have none. I was witness friends at school for her not to do the pledge. They’re not Lupin flag in any way. They’re not to serve the military, and it’s just rules and rules. If you read testimonies of people who have come out of it, I say, look, they just talk about how Gray everything is in the people, and there’s no joy, even though they present them as a happy family unit. But the joy because it truly is a works Salvation. Possibly you have a chance, maybe. Yes. So do you think it is necessary to adjust the errors in the doctrine when you’re trying to witness to them? I don’t think it’s necessary because you have to understand there are no errors. They are so indoctrinated that there are no errors.

So really, when you discuss their errors, they put up a wall and that’s more of that persecution and things. So I’m very careful now, but it doesn’t hurt to know where they’re coming from. Paul said when he preached on Mars Hill and Act ch 17, he said, even as one of your own poets said, were all his offspring. So he used their own literature against them, even told Titus that the creation or liar, he will be slow bellies, just like their own profits. So he’s using their own actions and literature against them. But this is where you’re wrong. This is where you’re wrong. Like I said, this wall comes up and they take offence of it. So you put a barrier up that you’re never going to break down. But it doesn’t hurt to know where they’re coming from. And like I said, I studied a lot that I know about him is from studying from the outside, looking in just to know where they’re coming from.

So are there any other special consideration we should keep in mind when witnessing to Jehovah’s witnesses? We should try to avoid per se, creating barriers by mentioning they believe that it might be false because it seems like this is going to be very difficult to witness to them if we can’t say, hey, you know, Jesus Christ is God and you have it wrong. How do we navigate that?

Well, you’re not going to have a lot of time. What I do if I try to get them off of their schedule on their spiel, they come to you just like a salesman and they’ve got, you know, this whole thing verbatim memorize. This is what you’re going to say. In other words, they’re on the all fence. You got to get them all fancy what I usually tell them to do if I’m saying he called in, managing and safer, you know, 40 years, I will give all that up and be the Kingdom haul if you can prove what you believe from your bottle. Of course they love that. And so they’re going to do. They’re going to attack areas that most believers can’t defend their faith. The Trinity, for example, holidays. I know of a lot of believers. When a job is witness comes the door, they don’t even answer the door or they’ll hide. And so what I’ll do is that’s one of the first things they’ll bring up the Trinity. And if you know a little bit about their literature and their teachings, they’ll ask you whether you believe in that, because it’s not in the Bible. I’ll say, yes. I believe in Trenity more than the Jehovah’s Witnesses do. Of course, they deny believe in Trinity. So let’s go with what we agree on. According to Isaiah, chapter nine versus it says that a son is given. He is the mighty God. They say, right? He is the mighty God, not Almighty God. The mighty God. Say. Okay. We’ll agree that your literature says is the mighty God. Then they didn’t take them to John. Chapter one, verse one in the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God. The Bible says a God. I said, okay, so we can agree that Jesus Christ is a God. According to your literature, he is a God. So he’s mighty God and a God. Yes. Okay. You also believe that he’s Michael the Archangel. Yes. That’s the one they really struggle with. That really embarrasses them. I said, so you believe that one person is mighty God, a God and Michael the Archangel? No. Yeah. You know, you know, a little bit about where they’re coming from.

And the trend is something they’re really big on. And, you know, the believe it can’t defend what they believe. But I make them defend what they believe and the thing that gets you me whenever you do in the fall, tell them what they believe, and they get angry with you. I am. I’m just telling you what you believe. So my policy is no attack, no retreat, stand. And then you could use something like John chapter 19 no, we’re Thomas left. I see the print of nails in his hand. The Bible says that unless I see the print of the nails in the hand, but they don’t believe that Jesus Christ was hung on the cross. They believe it was unnailed through both hands on a steak. But doubting, Thomas said, unless I see the print of the nails in his hands. So I mean, you can say that’s a minor thing, but if they’re wrong on that, then what you’re trying to prove is that they could be wrong and other things and probably about them. They’re going to be ready to lead. They’re not going to hang around long. If you can defend yourself. They’re not going to hang around long. But I try to at them for a while because I figured it’s that much less time they had to go down the street and make someone the twofold child a hell that they already are. And what I do is I end with this. I just tell them I’ll pray for you. Just think if you’re right, I have nothing to worry about. But if the babble is right, you’ll be wrong for all eternity and tell them that you love them and you’ll be praying for them, because that is something that they rarely get. And I mean, I can go on and on about their teachings. But you’re not going to get that far, because once they realize and the training, if you’re not open to the teaching, they’ll write you off, they’ll tell you they’ve got another meeting to go to or something, or they’ll be back. But they’re not coming back.

Yeah. As I mentioned Episode 60, when we were talking as a teenager, I had Jehovah’s witness who was coming to my home, I would say for probably four Saturday straight before I started doing some classes on Saturdays. And I wasn’t home anymore. And I know they came several times after that because my sister in particular told me that they came looking for me and the direction I took with them. The conversation was more of what you advised not to do. I was going towards attacking what they believe and all that stuff. We were arguing hell, whether people go to hell and the big burning there forever. We were arguing whether Jesus was God. We were arguing about the charity stuff like that. And we were going back and forth. And the last time I had a conversation with him was that instead of me opening my Bible and reading diverses that I have for him. I asked him to read the verse in his Bible, and then I’ll read it in mind. I use that to show. Hey, here, we have different authority. And I think that was probably the best conversation I had with him in terms of showing him the error of his fate.

Right. Right. And I think that’s what Paul did. He would use their own literature against them. I mean, it’s in writing. And like I said, I’ve had folks they get angry with them. I’m just telling you what your literature says. A few years ago, the BBC did a documentary called The Purple Triangle. The Purple Triangle is what the Joe as witness he had to wear during World War Two. The Jews had to wear the yellow star, and they push that. They really were impressed that, you know, not that was wise produced it. The BBC produced it. And a lot of things that were in that documentary that they were so proud of didn’t equate what they believed. There were people in there that knew they were going to live in paradise heart. So I ask them, do you know you’re going to live on paradise or no, you can’t know that. And then there’s other things. You know, one reason they were persecuted, called the Jehovah’s Witnesses were preaching. The Jews returned to their homeland. Well, I know that Jehovah Witnesses believe Jehovah God is not dealing with anyone else. But as with and I told him, do you believe that? No. Never have believe it. Never will believe it. Yeah. But your literature says you believed it, and that’s why you are persecuted. No, you’re looking at it wrong. You know, their own literature. And like you said, there are certain things that really I try to avoid.

Luke Chapter 16 The Rich Man and Hill because this wall comes up, they believe that that’s a parable and a parable is a fictional story according to their definition. Now you can look up the word parable. And I’ve never found the definition, say with a fictional story. But my question is that if it comes up, okay, it’s a terrible what. But what I usually do is I use the warnings from March. Chapter nine about if your eye and the plug out better than going to the hell. You know, like that really the warnings of hell. And if you know their literature, I’ll take them. If I get the opportunity, I’ll take them to act. Chapter 16, where the Philippian jailer came in and ask, what must I do to be saved? And Paul and Sal answer, if they can’t answer, leave on the Lord Jesus Christ and that shall be safe. They can’t give the answer. But the Bible answers. And you know, there’s no reason to go any further. And even when Philip dealt with Ethiopian eunuch, he asked, here’s, Water, what hinders me from being Baptist? Phil said, if you believe with all your heart names and he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is is on a God. That first isn’t even in the New World translation. It’s just a blank spot. And so, like I said, really getting them to read their own literature, hopefully reading it for the first time in a different setting. It has a powerful impact. They might not let you know it because they’re so conditioned that even if they’re in trouble with the Jones, even if they’re disfellowshipped or Sean, they still won’t turn against the Joe’s Witness because it’s so ingrained in them that they’re the only truth. If you’re out of truth, you have nowhere to turn to.

Are there any more pitfalls we need to be careful of to avoid when witness into them?

Well, don’t get into a verbal debate this. Yes, you do. No, I don’t. You believe this? No, we don’t. You know, it’s easy to get angry, but just like I said, avoid the praise, the persecution. And don’t be reactionary. I guess when they say something and no, it doesn’t say that when they see that reaction, they take it as a personal assault on them and an insult. And that’s a barrier that it’s hard to get past. Pastor now that we’ve talked a little bit about what the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and how their beliefs are so contradictory to Scripture and how it sounds like the practicing believing Jehovah’s Witness is just saddled with all manner of burden and sin and rules and hindrances barriers we should say towards Salvation. Could you go into the gospel and tell us in the audience listening? Do you think that believing, practicing Jehovah’s Witness is biblically saved? Why or why not in light of the gospel? Well, I don’t believe they’re saying they’re very sincere and they’re very zealous, but they’re sincerely wrong and they don’t believe in the bodily resurrection. Jesus Christ, how can you be safe if they don’t believe that Jesus Christ, I got in the flesh? How can you be saved now, when I got saved? I didn’t know anything about the Trinity. I probably didn’t know the Old Testament from the New Testament. And you know, I studied it out about the Trinity. They believe that your save migrates through face plus being a member of Jehovah’s organization and see it all means that different. The words have different meanings and our meaning. They have different words for them. And once again, it’s any religion that is work Salvation. There’s no way a person can be saved in that it’s Grace attacking the law and we know that the law was fulfilled and we now live under Grace. And they’re really the works. When Paul is to work out our own Salvation, he didn’t mean to work for our Salvation. And that’s what they go on. And they’ll tell you that they’re not saved because you can’t know the only hope they have is that they will survive arm again and being Jehova’s Grace after arm again, the Earth will turn to paradise. And I hope you have. You might have a chance to survive Armageddon either. Endure it to the end shall be saved. So they put all their hope in that they don’t put their hope in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. How can you be saved if you can’t get that?

So let me give you the floor and imagine a drier witness happen in the Privacy of the home to listen to the podcast. And they would like to know how to be saved. How would you walk them through that?

Well, my first advice would be to them is to study the Scripture, study the Bible, study what the Babel says, even staying your own scripture. And I would give them some scripture. I didn’t even give them how I dealt with Ethiopian and how that person their battle. But to look to Jesus author and finisher of our faith, we’ve all got faith. My question would be then what or who is the object of your face? And they will tell you over the organization. They would tell you their work, their hope. So maybe no. The author and finisher for our face is Jesus Christ. He’s the beginning. In the end revelation, he says, I’m the Alpha and that mega and even take them to John chapter 14 no man comes to the Father, but by me a verse that just came to my mind, and this is a verse that they like to use, but they don’t use part of it. John chapter 17, verse three says, and this is life eternal. And that’s what they talk about. Eternal life, everlasting life on paradise through. And this is life eternal. They might know the only true God. And that’s where they stop. But the rest of the verse says, And Jesus Christ, who that was sent. That’s the verse I would probably take them to, because that is a core belief. There the way to know the only true God. But they don’t go in Jesus Christ, whom he had sent. And hopefully you get a dialogue from that. Probably if you can get them to yourself to themselves, by themselves.

Your opportunities are better when they come to your door. The one who’s doing a lot of talking is probably the one who’s under the gun is being trained and the person over him is looking at him and seeing he handles himself. And that’s probably the person you would really want to deal with and how you ever get them by himself again going to be difficult because they’re going to be ordered not to go back, not to talk to you. Now what I do a lot of times is I’ll tell, Well, I’ve got some questions and they promise to come back. I said, Well, that’s great. Give me a call and answer these questions that I have. And what I’ll do is say here’s my phone number and I’ll write it down on a gospel track because they can’t take those things. If you write the number down to call me, they’ll take that a lot quicker. That may be sneaky or whatever, but you know, like I said, I try to get the gospel in their hand, any one person, and just pray the go with the gospel in their heart.

Amen. Pastor Gary, It’s a pleasure. Thank you for joining us and the Removing Barriers Podcast.

Thank you for having me, and I hope that helps some Jehova’s witness along the way.

Outro

Thank you for listening to get a hold of us to support this podcast or to learn more about removing barriers, go to RemovingBarriers.net. This has been the Removing Barriers podcast. We attempted to remove barriers so that we all can have a clear view of the cross.