Is There Salvation Outside of The New Covenant?
There are a number of ways that the terms of the New Covenant can be violated (and thus nullified) on the part of the recipient like:
1. Attributing Salvation to someone or something other than Jesus
2. Attributing Salvation to someone or something along side of Jesus
3. Attributing Salvation, either wholly or in part to your works
4. Attributing Salvation, either wholly or in part to your infant baptism
The above covers much false doctrine. However, the Watchtower dispenses with all pretext of New Covenant validity for their members and boldly proclaims that the New Covenant is only for those in their church administration (the elderly remnant of the 144,000).
Ask any Jehovah’s Witness if they are part of the New Covenant; and if they don’t know exactly where you are going with the question, they will usually tell you they are, even though they reject it at every Memorial. If you bring up this question up later in a more involved conversation, they will usually tell you that while they are not part of the New Covenant “for a kingdom”, they do receive “benefits” from being under the New Covenant arrangement that Jesus has with their church leaders. This is just spin. A person either has a contract with God for the forgiveness of his sins or he doesn’t.
So the facts are that Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the offer of New Covenant membership and believe that their forgiveness of sins (and the resulting right to life; ie. Salvation) is due to their obedience to Watchtower church leaders and also a vague progressive mixture of not practicing sin, engaging in door to door literature placements, and growing to perfection.
In other words, the Watchtower teaches that the New Covenant has nothing whatsoever to do with the forgiveness of YOUR sin. They base this teaching by exclusively drawing attention to the statement at Luke 22: 29 – “And I appoint unto you a kingdom”. - KJV
The only problem is that the New World Translation (NWT) rendering doesn’t read this way. It reads: “and I make a covenant with YOU … for a kingdom” – NWT
So which is it? Did Jesus appoint a kingdom unto his disciples or did he make a New Covenant for a kingdom? Was this appointment the same thing as the New Covenant or was the use of the word covenant here in the NWT just an excuse to equate it with the better known New Covenant or New Testament?
Typical is this cut and paste response from a JW when pressed:
“We have heard this oppositin before **** and whenJesus held the last supper he was making an a greement for a rulership for his kingdom. The earth is prietty big. And to bring it into a paradise condition it is a huge job. So he was choosing his co kings and priest to rule wtih him. That is what the word annoointed means. When a king was chosen such as was David, he was annoined. Do you think you want to be a king or a priest? I really don't.”
Over and over Jehovah’s Witnesses trust their own feelings on this issue. They reason that since they do not feel like a king, then God must not want them to be one. However, our own feelings on this issue are irrelevant as well as untrustworthy. If God wants to make a king out of lowly sinners, that is his work and his business not ours.
What is our business is 1) determining what it is that God has said and 2) deciding whether or not we choose to seek belief rather than unbelief.
This is really a very simple issue. The blood of the sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament was for the forgiveness of sins. Likewise, Christians behold, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” as John the Baptist announced.
Jesus didn’t spill his blood in order to give a few folks a position in his kingdom government per se. He shed his totally righteous blood so that “whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life”. Or in other words, have their sins forgiven and thus have the right to keep living.
The Jews, from their history learned this principle over and over for thousands of years. But, for most of us gentiles it may be a new concept. So just to make it clear:
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
God’s Law states that the wages of sin is death. Death is the penalty for sinning. However, to circumvent this unforgiving LAW, in the Old Testament (Contract) God allowed animals to die in the place of the sinner in (foreshadowing) satisfying this righteous penalty.
Both Jew and non-Jew proselyte had to first come under the jurisdiction of the Old Testament Contract before they could partake of this sin atoning provision.
In lock step with the sin-forgiving qualities of the Old Testament, the New Testament (Contract) was inaugurated the night of Jesus’ crucifixion for the same purpose:
Hebrews 7:22 - By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Hebrews 9:15 - 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 many false NWT bibles and magazines the Watchtower prints to change the meaning of the New Testament; the words of Jesus can NEVER be erased:
Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
And again:
Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
And again:
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
And again:
Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
The teaching that the New Covenant (Testament) was a small contract only for political kingdom positions is a lie from the pits of hell. It appeals to our feelings of inadequacy that most of us have. Once our sins are forgiven, we have a RIGHT to eternal life irregardless of our feelings. At that moment of forgiveness, we inherit life, rulership, and blessings directly from our Father the King of Kings, just as our children inherit our things. Whether or not a person feels like they are worthy is completely irrelevant to this reality.
John 1: 12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Over and over, God warns us not to trust our feelings. It is his WORD that we are to completely trust, and not our easily swayed hearts and feelings.
It is truly beyond my personal comprehension how so many people, including myself at one time, can so easily miss the meaning and implications of the New Testament, and even take delight in its rejection.
The susceptibility and even a seeming predisposition of the human mind to deception is staggering to say the least.