by dieselman 106 Replies latest watchtower bible
Like John Calvin, Martin hated anything to Jewish in his Christian cup of tea.
James said you had to do a little good to show you were a real follower of the good Jew Jesus.
To most Western Christian Believers Jesus is more like a Caravaggio painting than a kind itinerant rabbi. They lost touch with his jewishness a long time ago.
Oh, the Epistle of James...I didn't know if that was the one or if there was another, just wanted to be sure.
Well, James doesn't argue against justification by faith alone, he argues that one can't have faith if they have no works and that works with correct intentions count for much.
Shaking the dust off my feet now.
dieselman, I never a met a Jehovah's Witness who wasn't truly a coward at heart. I'm not pulling a holier than thou; I used to cower and quickly leave when I came to the door of an educated Christian. The internet makes it hard to prey on the ignorant here though. Here's how Sola Scriptura works. You just read it:
"be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" - 1 Peter 3:15
The truth is that you have no hope other than a few vague promises from the Watchtower. Christians proudly proclaim the Substitutionary Atonement of Jesus Christ. The reason that I KNOW that my sins are forgiven is because I hold in my hands the blood soaked contract of the New Testament. And, my name is on it.
In the bible the following terms are interchangeable: testament / covenant; they both mean "CONTRACT". This is why the the WT refuses to use the terms old testament and new testament. They do not want to draw undue attention to the legalities of each.
God has only ever offered two contracts for the forgiveness of sins.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of
the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities
of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the
goat, - Levet:16:21
And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the
heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one
for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering,
unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the
Levites. - Numbers 8:12
I'm sure that you bought the WT line about how the sacrifices were all about a"sweet smelling odor". God simply likes barbeque is what we were told. The truth is that Jews could lay their hands on the animal, confess and place their sins on the beast, transfering the sin onto the animal. When the animal was killed, the Sin was killed as well. A person could walk away with the FULL assurance that his sins had gone up in smoke with the costly animal. Oh yeah, getting rid of sin was costly.
The Jews had to accept the exclusivity of Moses as the Mediator of the Old Testament contract. In Numbers ch. 16 you can read all about the outcome of those who try to approach God without an approved Mediator.
Likewise, Jesus is the exclusive Mediator for the eradication of personal sin guilt in the NT:
Hebrews 9:13 - 15 For if the blood of bulls and of goats... sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ...? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
No matter how bad and how hard the Wt tries to make the New Covenant about something other than the forgiveness of sins, they can't. Their deception is exposed by the Word of God.
No blood, no forgviveness:
Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
No contract / no blood / worthy of extra punishment
Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath ...hath counted the blood of the covenant ... an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Matthew 26:27-28 Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
JW's refuse God's contractural offer for the forgiveness of sins; opting instead for begging for forgiveness like a coward and then using the incantation: we-ask-all-this-in-Jesus-name-amen as some sort of fake surety.
Because Christians hold an actual contract, signed in blood by no less of an authority than God himself, they KNOW this:
Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; [God's very Presence]
dieselman, the bottom line is this, you don't have a clue as to whether or not your sins are forgiven. At the end of the day, the only thing that you know for sure is that you can only run from informed Christians who ask "a reason for the hope in you", instead of giving a biblical answer. I have on film Circuit Overseers running from my questions and refusing to answer right in the Kingdom Hall. The WT answer just isn't there.
Jesus ALONE is the only way. Please take your own advice about Sola Scriptura. Then, come fight the good fight on the side of Jesus.
Oooo Perry's got balls, go get em champ, Caravaggio's Jesus needs a good defender.
Shaking the dust off my feet now.
You're leaving? Promise?! He reminds me of a poster from several years ago...a very pontificating personality who engaged in obfuscation via twisting meanings/words and was eventually booted... :)
This is what Protestant philosophy boils down to- God creates Hell and predestines humans, that he created, to be in Hell then has himself killed and resurrects himself to save those who accept this story from the Hell he intended to put people in.
This is an incredibly reductionist explanation of Protestant soteriology. There is a great deal of diversity, to begin with. Somehow, I doubt you spoke with many seminarians.
BTS
Titus
Jas 2:23
and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
This passage gets so butchered. There really is no conflict if you can understand that the good works are the works of God, not of men. It's taking credit for them (thinking they are meritorious) that gets us into trouble.
Luthers problem with James was more complicated than a problem with simply one verse. Luther had a real problem with what he saw as humanism throughout the book.
