@exWTslave:
Christianity (including Jehovah’s Witnesses) is the rejection of Christ
I don't visit JWN very often (actually it's been awhile), but your topic caught my attention. You listed five points and describe them as reflecting "Jesus’s view of sin and sainthood," which they don't do at all. You and I may not be able to agree on what it means to reject Christ, but with this statement I cannot agree.
Take one of the most important teachings of Jesus:…
I note that you began your post by referring to "one" of Jesus' teachings that you describe as being "most important," and then go on to list five points, which you say "reflect Jesus’s view of sin and sainthood."
Jesus in no way links sin to Adam, Eve and Satan.
Jesus says Satan was a murderer "from the beginning" because Satan lied. Now this links back to Eden, to Adam and to what Satan said to his wife, Eve, which lie is what led to the united rebellion by the three of them against God in the beginning.
He clearly shows that one can CHOOSE to be a sinner or a saint.
Jesus healed a man that had suffered from a crippling disease (palsy) and he was healed after Jesus told him his sins were forgiven. This point I wish to make here may be a tad difficult for you to grasp, but what Jesus said on this occasion linked this man's former physical disability with sin, and he didn't choose to be a sinner, but he was likely born with this physical defect due to the sin he carried (inherited) from his parents.
What proves us to be sinners is that every doer of sin is a slave of sin (just as anyone that must have a glass of wine in the evening has an alcohol problem, which desire could be a precursor to alcoholism). For example: Were we to fail to keep our promise and forget to pick up our spouse's clothes from the cleaners, or we are observed driving in excess of the speed limit and are cited for violating the speed law, such things are transgressions (sins) because we didn't keep our word. We can choose not to go the cleaners, we can choose not to obey the speed laws, but often we forget or become inattentive and end up disappointing ourselves and others by not keeping our word (sinning).
But the Christianity (including Jehovah’s Witnesses) as we know today rejected this simple truth, and brought in the confusing theory of “one man sinned, hence all became sinners” and concealed the simple way Jesus presented as a way to holiness.
There may be in your mind a simple way to holiness, but Christianity is not unlike the field of medicine in this world with so many sick people in it. Lots of religious groups today besides Jehovah's Witnesses are engaged in the practice of espousing Biblical doctrines to others, but the five points you listed in your post only have meaning in the proper context:
Adam sinned and this brought condemnation upon Adam and his children; a ransom to God has been paid that pardons all of Adam's offspring from the law of sin and death under which all of his children had been born as a consequence of Adam's sin, which ransom brought mankind under the law of the spirit of the life in Christ Jesus.
That all mankind has been set free from the law of sin and death is the good news that Jesus' apostles preached, but the fact that we have obtained a pardon from any culpability with regard to Adam's sins didn't make anyone a saint. We became sinners through no fault of our own, but we're still "convicts," as it were, being thoroughly convicted of our sins, so until we are healed of our sinful condition, we will all need to demonstrate a willingness to obey the law of Christ as we seek God's forgiveness of our sins with a view to our becoming reconciled to God.
You may recall Jesus saying that Satan was a murderer from the beginning because it was in the beginning that Satan lied. Now this links back to Eden, to Adam and to what Satan said to Adam's wife, Eve, which lie is what led to the united rebellion by the three of them against God in Eden.
Jesus preached as good news how we can all become reconciled to God and by relating what his role would be in the healing of mankind; he even demonstrated through several miracles the power he would have over the sins that were a part of the human condition. If we are to become reconciled to God, we do need to demonstrate a willingness to obey the law of Christ and adhere to the terms of the conditional pardon we received through Christ.
There is really no simple way to holiness; a sinner cannot choose not to stop sinning. However, it is only by how we live our lives that we can honor Christ Jesus as God's appointed judge and be viewed by God as pursuing holiness. Sainthood is reserved for those called by God to be such and anyone that attains sainthood would be someone that God alone would choose, and so you're mistaken: Whether we are saints wouldn't be up to us. Sainthood isn't necessary for salvation or even a choice within our power to make, but repentance and obedience to the law of Christ is necessary and a choice that is within our own power to make.
@djeggnog
