|
Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the good news; it is, in fact, God’s power for salvation to everyone having faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek; 17 for in it God’s righteousness is being revealed by reason of faith and toward faith, just as it is written: “But the righteous one—by means of faith he will live.”
The way we prove our faith depends on what our faith is in.
For example, if a tightrope walker has faith in the high wire, he'll prove it by walking across it. If a football manager has faith in his star striker, he proves it by playing the striker in his starting 11.
Christians place their faith in Christ, in his name, in his sacrifice and in his being raised from the dead (Romans 3:22). It is their faith in Jesus that will result in their salvation and because their faith is in Jesus, a Christian enjoys the peace of God that excels understanding.
So, how does a Jehovah's Witness prove their faith?
The answer to this will demonstrate where a Jehovah's Witnesses faith is actually placed.
The Watchtower of January 15 2008, page 26 provides us with the answer;
"The other sheep companions of the congregation of anointed Christians prove their faith in various ways. First they support the anointed in proclaiming the good news of God's Kingdom. Second, they willingly submit themselves to the direction provided by the Governing Body. Third, they support their anointed brothers by living in harmony with Jehovah's righteous principles."
We'll sidestep the obvious problem with the first four words of this paragraph; "the other sheep companions" is a term that is central to the doctrines, belief and teachings of the Watch Tower Society, as expounded in their publications. However, "the other sheep companions", while a central teaching, is not found anywhere in Scripture. Yes, Jesus did refer to "other sheep", but the concept of them being secondary class companions to anyone is missing from the Bible. This will be discussed in a future article.
The thrust of the above quoted paragraph is to teach Jehovah's Witnesses how they should, not just demonstrate, but prove their faith. Their faith is therefore placed on, and held fast by, what follows;
- the anointed Christians
- the Governing Body
- Jehovah's righteous principles
It should be noted that the order in which their faith has to be proved places Jehovah's righteous principles in a lesserposition to obeying the Governing Body. Therefore, one may conclude that submitting themselves to the Governing Body takes precedence over what Jehovah has recorded in his inspired Word. Why should that be?
The question that any Christian would ask when reviewing this Watch Tower teaching is, where is Jesus? Jehovah's Witnesses do not place Jesus anywhere in the top 3 list of ways that they prove their faith. Should this be surprising? Probably not, considering that Jesus said Christians were to be witnesses of him, not of Jehovah (Acts 1:8).
Jehovah's righteous principles are recorded in the Bible and the Bible alone is inspired. The Bible contains the teachings and sayings of life. The Bible also warns against placing our trust in 'the son of earthling man' because no salvation belongs to him (Ps 146:3).
Only Jesus has the authority to demand our trust, our obedience and our submission. He is the 'chief agent and perfecter of our faith'.
Close examination of Hebrews 12:1,2 reveals the following;
" So, then, because we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 as we look intently at the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus. For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Indeed, consider closely the one who has endured such contrary talk by sinners against their own interests, that YOU may not get tired and give out in YOUR souls."
Jesus is the one that should be followed, submitted to, obeyed, imitated and the one on whom our faith should be placed. If our faith is placed in Jesus, the one who perfects faith, then that will be demonstrated by looking to him alone, bearing his name and listening to him as he speaks from the Bible. Jesus said we are to follow him. At no time did he mention the need for Christians to follow anyone else, let alone imperfect, un-inspired men on earth.
Jesus also has not deferred his power to anyone else. Yes, the Governing Body claim to have been chosen to be God's mouthpiece on earth, but how well are they able to back that claim up with evidence? Yes, the Governing Body put themselves above even Jehovah's righteous principles (principles that are embodied in Jesus Christ alone), but does that mean they have Divine providence to do so? Yes, Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to willingly submit to the Governing Body, but do you, as a Jehovah's Witness, temper your submission with John's counsel in 1 John 4:1?
Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Please, carefully examine your faith and weigh up where it's placed. The Governing Body want you to put your faith in them, but do they have the sayings of life? The Governing Body claims that Jehovah and Jesus trust them, but how well are they able to prove - not by pointing to their earthly possessions, but from the Bible - that this is the case?
Jesus said in John 10:7 that he is the gate for the sheep. He goes on to explain that those who came before him, the religious leaders, where thieves and robbers. In verse 10 he says that thieves only come to steal and kill and destroy, but that he came to give life, life to the full.
Can an organisation made up of admittedly imperfect and uninspired men give life, life to the full? Did a group of imperfect and uninspired men give their life for you?
If the answer to either question is no, then please carefully examine where your faith is place and how you go about proving it.
Trackback(0)
 |
People 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
