Thursday, March 31, 2011

Somebody knockin' at the door; Somebody ringin' the bell.

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What I reply to JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES when they say, "Jesus is not God. He is only the son of God."


"You cannot be the 'son of God' without being God any more than you can be 'son of man' without being human."
You can go on to show and explain to the Jehovah's Witness how the Bible presents Jesus as possessing the essential properties both of deity and humanity and the different meanings of the word "son" as far as you are prepared to do so, but I have found that this simple response accomplishes two things. First, it catches them off balance. They are not usually prepared to deal with this answer from your average Christian. Second, it leaves them with something to think about, sort of like "putting a pebble in their shoe."

6 comments:

Persis said...

I need to remember this. There are a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses in our town.

stranger.strange.land said...

They come to my house all the time. I think they appreciate a place where the door is not abruptly closed in their face, and someone is willing to talk with them. It is sometimes difficult for me to not let them take control of the conversation, reciting their well rehearsed script.

If you and other believers are interested in witnessing to the Witnesses, perhaps I should do a few posts sharing what I have learned over the last few years in speaking with these precious souls.

Note: The most profitable lessons I have learned is through having made mistakes, then figuring out a better approach for the next time.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Craig

Persis said...

Any tips would be appreciated. I know very little about JW in general. As the weather gets warmer, they'll be out doing their door-to-door.

stranger.strange.land said...

Okay, I'll start planning some posts; but in the meantime here is a free tip, just in case they come knockin' before I get something up on the blog.

No matter what subject they try to steer you into, try to keep the topic of the conversation on the person of Jesus Christ, and your salvation from sin solely through faith in Him. Remind them that unless a man is "born again" he cannot enter the Kingdom of God, there are no exceptions - John 3:3

That should get you started : )

Craig

Persis said...

Thanks, Craig. A sister from church had a run with a JW at a grocery store and stayed on the topic of Jesus Christ as the only way for salvation. The JW was actually quite upset at the end of their conversation, because my friend wouldn't let her go into her standard spiel.

stranger.strange.land said...

Sounds like the sister from church wanted to faithfully present the gospel to her. Good.

A dialogue like that sometimes comes to a screeching halt if the Christian mentions "Jesus' death on the cross" They are trained to interrupt with, "Jesus did not die on a cross." They are taught that Jesus died on an upright stake with no cross beam. This is important to them because it is something that sets them apart from most of "Christiandom."

Recently, I spent some time having to explain to two JW ladies that when we speak of "the cross" we are talking about what happened there, what Christ accomplished, not so much how the wood was shaped or formed.