can we earn our salvation by preaching?

by solomon 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Nambo

  Ive thought of a slightly more honest JW version of their comparison, so have made a subtle adjustment:-

  Are You Trying to Earn Salvation by Your Door-to-Door Ministry?

  No. We engage regularly in our door-to-door ministry, but we don’t believe that we earn our salvation by doing such work. (Ephesians 2:8) Why not?

  Think of this comparison: Imagine that a benevolent man promised a gift of $100,000 cash, (gift to be given any day now, hurry in case you miss your "free" gift)to everyone who showed up at a certain location every day until "free gift" day, (or for the rest of your life which ever occurs sooner) from 9am to 5pm and shovelled 16 tons of coal, (It is importsant to note that any given failure to carry out said instructions to shovel 16 tons of coal, unpaid, everyday for whatever reason, forfeits the afore-mentioned totally free gift depite previous e.g.45 years of compliance). If you really believed the man’s promise, even if you knew he had promised "free gift" day was nearly here for at least 100 years, would you follow his instructions? No doubt! Likely, you would also tell your friends and family about the opportunity, so that they too could benefit from it. Even so, you wouldn’t earn the gift by following the man’s instructions. The gift is still a gift. Providing of course you have shovelled 16 tons everyday for the past 45 years for no pay in order to qualify for your"free gift".

  Likewise, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Governing bodys promise of everlasting life for all who obey and work for them unpaid. (Romans 6:23) We endeavor to share our faith with others, hoping that they will benefit us from our promises. But we don’t believe that we earn our salvation by engaging in our ministry. (allthough you can be sure you aint going to get it if you dont!).(Romans 1:17; 3:28) Really, no human could ever do enough to merit such an astounding blessing from God. “ He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. ”—Titus 3:5, Contemporary English Version. Albeit said mercy has to be earned, at least according to Watchtower Bible and Tract society.
• 

  Terry

  Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a WRETCH like me.......

  Define: WRETCH

  Despicable, contemptible, worthless.

  The utterly contemptible person is expected to make WISE choices about the Divine???

  If the wretch actually made the "correct" judgement about exercising Faith in Christ it would disprove the wretched condition of them automatically, would it not??

  How does a worthless and sinful mind make "wise" spiritual choices in the first place?

  If you put a dog turd on fresh bread with lettuce, tomato and your favorite sandwich spread you don't have a WORTHY lunch.

  SIN is the dog turd in the sandwich of Grace.

  You know the cliche' scene in all those B-movies where the detective tries to talk the guy into "putting the gun down" ???

  For that to work the bad guy has to have some kind of good sense in the first place. A WRETCH pulls the trigger!

  Nazarenes, Arminians, and Augustine were aware of the logical implications of Grace vs being a worthless dog turd!

  Sooooo, they fixed the problem. They invented a doctrine!!

  Prevenient Grace. It is grace BEFORE grace. God forces you to NOT resist!

  Naturally, this will seem like God is cheating Free Will....right? Well, it doesn't stop them from inventing a different aspect of "Free" will so that

  the cheating doesn't count!!

  Jehovah's Witnesses are just as intellectually dishonest as the Nazarenes when it comes to Grace.

  They opt for the clumsy "undeserved kindess".

  The official doctrine of JW's is that "deserving ones" obtain "undeserved kindness"!

  Yes, you read that correctly. The Kingdom Ministry, December 1993, page 7 says:
  
  "We want to give *deserving ones* the opportunity to learn of Jehovah’s *undeserved kindness* and the Kingdom hope."

  Preaching door to door is the BRAND of JW's.

  The Watchtower Society was founded as a publishing company as a business for the sale of books and magazines.

  You cannot BE a JW if you don't sell...sell...sell.

  The leverage against having a Kingdom Hall filled with do-nothings is creating a doctrine of Grace (undeserved kindness) that is only PROVISIONAL.

  As long as you keep your sales up you won't get fired by Jehovah!

  As you can see, christianity has always been quick to invent, imagine and describe whatever doctrines necessary to get them what they want.

  Jehovah's Witnesses are merely one out of many who think up stuff and pull doctrines out of their alimentary canal as is convenient!!
• 

  insearchoftruth4

  Pulling out doctrines out of the anal canal, oh yeah, now thats a TURD!
• 

  kurtbethel

  For salvation to be earned, it would be a legally binding contract in which the terms must be spelled out.

  If someone insists that preaching is the currency paid for salvation, then they must prove it. They must demonstrate the exact quantity of preaching that would be needed to meet the price, otherwise the contract is too vague to have any legal force. Ask them to do so, then stand back and watch them gulp like a fish out of water.
• 

  WTWizard

  Jehovah really wants us all enslaved for eternity. Preaching is one way to prepare for that, and if we have to continually waste our time doing useless things like that, there will be no time to develop our souls or actually enjoy our own lives. And, as with any other master, Jehovah will not hesitate to slaughter a slave that doesn't work for him.
• 

  FingersCrossed

  Salvation is by grace, given to us free of charge. But we need to maintain it, by preaching the gospel (not door to door specifically - tonnes of other ways eg via our live testimonies, what others can see through our lives, etc). Even if we preach out of the motive to earn salvation - that does not earn us salvation.

  Matthew 7

  21 "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

  24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

  And what is the greatesrcommandment of God?

  Mark 12

  29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g] There is no commandment greater than these."

  Look carefully at John 3:16:

  16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

  He sent His son because He LOVES first. Thus, doesn't it mean that we ought to love first before we go preach the gospel and save souls? The motive has got to be out of love and not because we want to earn salvation, or any other reasons. Other than love be the motive, those that preach the gospel will be like this mentioned in Matthew 7:21