Author Archives: pastorjeremyhelmuth

What to Say When a Jehovah’s Witness Knocks on Your Door

JW door(My wife took this picture of our interaction to remember to pray for them)

The doorbell rang on Saturday morning. As I walked to the door, my two middle daughters (ages 3 and 6) scampered along with me. As I opened the door, there were two females. One was in her mid to late forties, while the other was just starting her teen years. I knew exactly who they were the moment I locked eyes with them: Jehovah’s Witnesses!

Over the years, I have been approached by Jehovah’s Witnesses many different times. It was always groups of two or three people, usually an older person along with someone who was learning how to go “door to door” and reach the world for Jehovah. Before I opened my mouth, I prayed silently that this would be a moment for these two women that would change their eternal destiny.

“You’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, aren’t you?” This is how our conversation started. They did not know that they had knocked on the door of a pastor who had actually taught about their form of religion in a class called “Cults and other World Religions.” I was ready to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Many people wonder whether or not Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians. The answer is a definite “no” when you ask them what they believe about basic, orthodox Christianity. Jehovah’s Witnesses and traditional, historical Christianity do not have much in common when you look at what is taught by each side. In this article, I am going to give you a few main topics to talk with Jehovah’s Witnesses about so that when you are approached by a JW, you will be comfortable interacting with them. You should burn with a desire for them to see the truth of the Bible so that they realize what they believe is not only false, but will send them to hell.

Jehovah’s Witnesses will probably bring up all of these topics in the course of your conversation. Here is how I answered them from a biblical perspective. Please read through all four. The last one is the most important and has really shaken them to their core. Topic #4 is worth the entire read in this article. But all of these topics will come up with a JW if you talk long enough with them.

Topic #1: Who exactly is Jehovah?

JW cross

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe in Jehovah and only He is God.

Christian’s Response: I also believe in Jehovah (Yahweh), but I believe that Jesus and Jehovah are the same God. Let’s look at these verses that prove that Jesus is fully God:

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).

Jesus even said that “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).

“In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God” (John 1:1).

You will have a hard time convincing a Jehovah’s Witness with the verse in John 1:1 because their leadership has translated it “the Word was a god.” But this is an inappropriate translation. If you talk with any Greek scholar, you will find that one should never place an “a” before the word god in this context. As you can see, this is why it is difficult to really talk through truth with someone who has been misinformed about the Bible.

A response you will probably hear from a Jehovah’s Witness when you try to tell them that Jesus is God is this verse:

Jesus stated himself that “the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).

Does this mean that Jesus is denying His godhood? No, it doesn’t. You cannot use just one verse to try to prove your point. That is why I presented several verses a few paragraphs above. But the lady that Saturday morning just kept repeating this one verse. She was taught this one verse and apparently none of the other ones. And too often, we forget to look at the context of the verse that becomes a proof text. In this context, Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit to the apostles after the resurrection. Jesus says repeatedly that He is doing the Father’s will, implying that He is somehow subservient to the Father. The question then becomes how can Jesus be equal to God when by His own admission He is subservient to the will of God? The answer lies within the nature of the incarnation (i.e. when Jesus became man and came to this earth).

During the incarnation, Jesus was temporarily “made lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:9), which refers to Jesus’ status. The doctrine of the incarnation says that Jesus took on human flesh. By taking on human nature, Jesus didn’t relinquish His divine nature. How do we reconcile the fact that the second Person (Jesus) of the Trinity is fully divine yet fully human and by definition lower than the angels? The answer is found in Philippians 2:5-11. When Jesus took on human form, something amazing and mysterious happened: “Christ made Himself nothing.” What does this mean? Jesus voluntarily made Himself different as He was on this earth. Somehow, someway, Jesus gave some things up to become a servant unto death on the cross. This “emptying” included following the will of His Father in heaven. And remember, subservience in role does not equate to subservience in essence.

You will most likely talk through this topic most of the time. You believe that Jesus is God, but they deny that Jesus is fully God. This is why topic #4 will put all of this together! Read the others first.

Topic #2: The Trinity

JW trinity

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe in one God called Jehovah and you believe in three gods.

Christian’s Response: I believe in the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. All three persons are one God. They are mysteriously separate and yet one at the same time. Let’s look at these verses which teach the Trinity:

“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Thomas said to Him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)!

“You’ve lied to the Holy Spirit…You’ve not lied just to human beings but to God” (Acts 5:3-4).

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor [Holy Spirit; John 14:26], Mighty God, Everlasting Father [Father; 14:16], Prince of Peace [Jesus; John 14:27]” (Isaiah 9:6).

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus states that He is of the same essence of His heavenly Father. When Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, he cried out that Jesus was now his God. And we see in the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit can be lied to and there is a direct reference to the Holy Spirit being referred to as God.

These last two verses don’t say the word Trinity, but they do present three distinct persons in the form of God. These first two topics connect with each other and one must accept the deity of Jesus before they will accept the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity can really trip up many people who want to believe. As Christians, we must be humble about this and state clearly that the Trinity is a mystery that we must accept in faith. There is biblical evidence, but we do not know exactly how it all works.

Topic #3: The 144,000

JW paradise

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe that only 144,000 believers will go to heaven. The rest of us will stay here on paradise earth.

Christian’s Response: It appears that the 144,000 in Revelation 7 are referring to actual tribes of Israel. Each of the tribes represents 12,000, possibly hinting towards the idea that this number is symbolic and that during the Great Tribulation God will save a large number of Jews who rejected Jesus earlier in their life. There also seems to be another group of people who are believers and this multitude cannot even be counted (Revelation 7:9). To say that there are only 144,000 individuals going to heaven totally disregards the rules of biblical interpretation.

I would like to talk about your three main leaders and their false prophecies. Here are four examples:

False Prophesy #1: The return of Jesus Christ in 1914. Charles T. Russell, the man who founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses, calculated when Jesus Christ was going to return to this earth: 1874. When Jesus didn’t show up, he changed the year to 1914. When 1914 came and went, he redefined the second coming of Jesus to mean that Jesus came invisibly as a spirit in 1914 to help set up his organization.

False Prophesy #2: Return of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob between 1925-1929. Joseph Franklin Rutherford, the second main leader of Jehovah’s Witnesses, prophesied that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would return to this earth to promote the kingdom of God between 1925-1929. He built a large mansion in San Diego for these three patriarchs to live in when they arrived. But by the end of 1929, they never showed up, so Rutherford moved into the mansion himself and lived there until he died in 1942.

False Prophesy #3: The 144,000. After Rutherford became president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1917, he started prophesying that Armageddon was right around the corner. To increase membership, he taught that only 144,000 people were going to make it to heaven. By 1935 they grew larger than 144,000 people. Heaven was filled and Armageddon had yet to occur. Another revelation came to Rutherford: everyone who became a Jehovah’s Witness before 1935 would go to heaven, while everyone who became a Jehovah’s Witness after 1935 would stay here on earth and live in a new paradise.

False Prophesy #4: Armageddon is coming in 1975. Nathan H. Knorr, the third main leader, prophesied that in 1975 Armageddon would come to usher in the end of the age. In 1976 and 1977 over one million Jehovah’s Witnesses left the organization because of this false prophecy.

The first three leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Organization were all false prophets. This would be like having Paul, John and Peter give specific predictions in the early church and none of them are fulfilled. It would dishearten all the followers to the point of asking: “Is this really the right way to God and heaven?” If your main leaders have falsely predicted future events that have not come to pass, then how can you trust them with other teachings? Try your best to help them see that their own leaders are deceiving them. It will feel like it is impossible, but you have God on your side who wants these wonderful people to see the light so that they will no longer be led astray by falsehood.

Topic #4: The Book of Revelation

Christian: Can I show you a few verses in the book of Revelation?

Jehovah’s Witness: Sure, I love that book!

After talking through the first three topics, I felt like it was time to use a few verses in Revelation. I knew that this would make these two ladies run from my house, but it was time to present to them some powerful truth about Jesus. I asked the forty-something lady to turn in her Bible to Revelation 1:8. I always use their New World Translation because they will be much more comfortable with that. I even asked her to read it:

JW alpha omega“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I asked her who was speaking. Who is the Alpha and Omega? She responded with a resounding, “Jehovah God.” I told her that she was right and I asked her to turn to Revelation 21:5-7.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

“Who is this?” I asked. Once again, she stated that Alpha and Omega is Jehovah God. “Could you turn to Revelation 22:13 and read it?”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

By this time, she was losing patience with me, but told me again that the Alpha and Omega refers to Jehovah God. I asked her if she could turn to one last passage. I had her read it out loud. It is Revelation 1:17.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”

I had her stop at verse 17 and asked her, “Who is the First and the Last? She said that the First and the Last is Alpha and Omega, who is Jehovah God. Then I had her read verse 18:

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

“When did Jehovah die?” I looked her in the eye and asked her this question. She just stared at the page and then looked at me. And then she kept repeating, “Jehovah never died! Jehovah never died!” I told her that this is referring to Jesus and that Jesus is Jehovah God and that He died on the cross for our sins! She had no answer. She told me that she was not familiar with these passages and that it was time for her to go. I could tell that she was frazzled. She gave a bewildered and concern look to her daughter as they walked away. As she was walking away, I pleaded with her to study the verses and ask God to show her the truth about Jesus. I shut the door and that was it. I had won the argument, but I also had a sick feeling in my stomach. Here was a wonderful lady and a young girl who were headed in the wrong direction. Their blindness kept them from understanding the truth. I prayed for them, that this interaction might shake them in such a way that they will find the truth and the truth will set them free!

4 Reasons Why I Don’t Observe LENT  

lent1

I must admit that I did not grow up observing Lent.  I am a non-denominational pastor of a fairly non-traditional church.  So, some people might dismiss me before they read any further because of my background.  But with anything in life, sometimes an outside view is the best one when something on the inside might need to be reconsidered.

According to the Roman Catholic Church, Lent is a 40 day period of preparation for Easter Sunday.  It is a season marked by prayer, fasting, abstinence and giving.  For most people who follow Lent, it begins on Ash Wednesday, which is today.  In theory, the idea of Lent can be a good one.  But here are a few cautions I have observed over the years from my friends who decide to “give up something for Lent.”

Caution #1: Lent can lead us to focus on giving up the wrong things and leads to a false righteousness.   In high school I dated a Catholic girl during the season of Lent.  I remember that she gave up chocolate.  I also remember that she cheated on me with her ex-boyfriend who was away at college during that same season of Lent.  When we started dating, we had made a commitment to remain pure with each other because that was the right thing to do.  The logic behind “give up chocolate” but engage in “sexual immorality” has just never made sense to me.  But sadly, many Christians do something similar to this when they observe the season of Lent.  They give up chocolate, but not sin.

Maybe, instead of giving up chocolate and coffee for Lent, we could give up what the Bible actually tells us to give up: “Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed…rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices” (Colossians 3:5,8-9).

Caution #2: Lent often involves a fast which is frivolous.  When we give up candy or soda pop or something like that and call it fasting, we need to be careful to not make that which is holy all too common.  I used to teach that fasting was anything that you would give up for a time period to show God that you were serious about acknowledging Him as the leader in your life.  Fasting could be giving up television for a week.  Fasting could be just about anything.  I don’t believe that anyone.  Why?  Because a couple months ago I came across the teachings of someone who was dedicated to fasting.  It changed the way I will think about it until the day I die.  This “spiritual giant” has fasted for years.  He has fasted for a 24 hour period and also for 21 and 40 day periods.  He fasts by withholding from himself food and sometimes water.  This is what he said about fasting: “Biblical Fasting is always connected to food and water.  And there is a reason for that.  We cannot live without food and water.  When we give up one or both of these things for a period of time, we are showing God that we hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

If you want to give up coffee or candy for Lent, go ahead.  Just be careful about calling it fasting.  When your stomach growls because you haven’t eaten for a day, you are reminded that you are to hunger for righteousness.  When you decide to not drink water for a day, you are reminded that the true Living Water is the only One who will quench your thirst.  True fasting involves food and water because the substitutes (coffee, soda) fall short in bringing the human soul to acknowledge the supernatural work of God in your life.  Giving up candy doesn’t cause you to hunger or thirst.  Giving up your favorite television channel doesn’t cause you to hunger or thirst.  An empty stomach and a dry mouth has much greater potential to remind you of your need for the God of the universe.

Caution #3: Lent can wrongly lead people to believe that they can be saved by their works.   Since the beginning of the early church, people have engaged in asceticism in order to find salvation.  Let me give you a few example of asceticism over the centuries.  In the middle ages, monks would…

…mix sand with their bread and then eat it.

…stand for 7 years without ever sitting.

…allow beetles to eat them and do nothing about it.

…only eat uncooked food for 7 years.

…live in a swamp for 6 months.

…refuse to lie down for 40 years to sleep.

…not speak for one full year.

…keep a record of how long they would go without seeing a woman.

…even carry heavy weights everywhere they would go.

All this would be done so that they might become righteous before God.  They believed that by denying themselves of certain things, that would make them more spiritually fit as a Christian.  But when Jesus told us to deny ourselves, He was not referring to standing for 7 years or sitting in swamps.  He was referring to selfishness.  A certain kind of pride often creeps in and we think we are better than others when we do things in the name of denial.  So if you do some things in the name of Christ, don’t tell other people.  If you fast, do it in secret and only tell those who really need to know about it.  Don’t announce to the world what you are giving up for Jesus!  Just do it and let the world know that there is something different about you.

lent

The picture you are looking at is the 12th century Ladder of Divine Ascent in Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Egypt.  This picture shows monks, led by John Climacus, ascending the ladder to Jesus, at the top right.  These monks are climbing on a ladder with 30 steps.  They are to do 30 things in order to find their place with Jesus, to be worthy to get to heaven.  But along the way are demons with arrows that are trying to take them down.  This is asceticism and it has no place in the doctrine of salvation by grace.  The belief that if you work hard enough in certain areas, you will succeed in your entrance to heaven, has sent many well meaning people to hell.  It is not asceticism which saves you.  It is the grace of Jesus Christ.  Lent can sometimes turn into asceticism.

Caution #4: Lent often becomes ritualistic instead of deepening our relationship with God.  Even though I didn’t grow up Catholic, I did grow up with my own set of rituals and traditions that I was taught to follow.  Over the years, I have decided that most of the traditions I was taught were extra-biblical and do not lead me into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.  So, I have decided to stop following those traditions.  It has been an important part in my spiritual journey.

In the local church I lead, I estimate that we have at least 100-150 people who grew up in the Catholic Church but now attend Central Church.  As much as they have appreciated their heritage and the good foundation that the Catholic Church gave them, they almost always share with me a common theme after attending for a while: “For the first time, I realize that my Christian faith is about a relationship with Jesus Christ.”  For too many church-goers, it is all about going through the motions of a mindless ritual, and yet they are just as far from God as before they entered the church building.

Maybe Lent is a spiritually moving event for you.  Maybe you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ like no other time because you are giving something up for Him.  But maybe it has become a tradition that you do because you were taught it was important for a good Christian to do.  Maybe, just maybe, God’s plan for you is much bigger than 40 days.  Maybe, God wants you to deny yourself 365 days a year and get rid of your sin and instead clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).

In the words of Job, who once had ashes on himself: “I know that my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).  The season leading up to Easter should be one of complete joy, for we know that our redeemer lives!   We are not in a season of death, for our redeemer lives!  Our redeemer has paid the ultimate sacrifice!  We cannot and should not add to our Savior’s sacrifice.  Our redeemer lives!