Jehovah's Witnesses Sinner's Prayer

by NotFormer 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    I've noted before certain similarities between JWs and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists, such as door to door work. The IFBs call it "soul winning". The goal is usually to give a quick tour of a few Bible verses, get the householder to "repeat after me" a formulaic prayer confessing faith in Jesus. In the eyes of the IFB preacher, the householder is now saved from Hell.

    Here is the Billy Graham version of a sinner's prayer: "Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.⁠"

    Here's the Jack Chick version: "Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour" (note that Chick uses British spelling for "saviour", presumably because that's the way the KJV spells it [they're KJV Only over there])

    To my point: now that we believe (still to be officially confirmed) that the WT is allowing for last minute, i.e. "cheap" salvation, they're probably going to need some similarly formulaic prayer or confession for the prospect to say to be saved from Armageddon.

    Please give suggestions for such last minute prayers or confessions. 👍😉

  • TTWSYF
    TTWSYF

    To be saved from your sins takes a lot more than saying a 'sinners prayer' or inviting Jesus into your heart or any other option where the sinner does not have to change their behavior.

    Teaching that you are saved through an acceptance of a faith or a prayer without changing your behavior will not save you.

    Jesus said that many would say 'Lord, Lord' and HE said 'away from me, I never knew you'

    HE wants us to cloth the naked, feed the hungry, teach the ignorant, tend to the sick and elderly and basically live the teaching of 'love thy neighbor'

    If you think that you're saved by being a Christian without acting like one, you're in for a rude awakening.

    just saying

    TTWSYF

  • Vanderhoven7
    Vanderhoven7

    Hmmm...Are people saved by:

    faith alone

    faith plus works

    works alone

  • TTWSYF
    TTWSYF

    Bible is explicit in citing works and faith with the understanding that faith illicits works that when pleasing to God produces good fruits.

    No fruits? Then the works were not pleasing to God. Pretty easy to see if your prayers and works are efficacious. Just saying, cause it’s true.

    ttwsyf

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    NOT FORMER:

    That would be interesting to see because Jehovah’s Witnesses are a works-based religion! No Christlike Grace for them! Besides, theirs is a superficial works and not real charity anyway.

    You are only as good as the last good thing that you did that benefits them. Or, how many HOURS you got! Ooops! You don’t need hours anymore. Well, what are they to do now?🤷🏻‍♀️

    Personally I think salvation should be faith with at least a few works that are real charity to benefit the community. Not ‘free bible studies’ - which are really their publications’ studies.

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    LongHairGal: "You are only as good as the last good thing that you did that benefits them. Or, how many HOURS you got! Ooops! You don’t need hours anymore. Well, what are they to do now?🤷🏻‍♀️"

    This is the sort of paradox I'm wondering about. I don't know if they realise it yet, but they may be on the path from "works based" to "cheap grace". Hence speculation about some sort of "sinner's prayer".

    The Watchtower seems to be transitioning to being less nasty, but it's got a long way to go, and let's face it, no-one knows what the end product will look like! 🧐🤔😱

  • Nathan Natas
    Nathan Natas

    It seems to me that this "new light" doctrine of last-minute salvation kind of lets the air out of the only (if there's another, according to Watchtower mythology, enlighten me) "WORK" by which the individual *might* earn her personal salvation. A half-century ago (yeah, I was there) this required THOUSANDS of hours of door knocking, conducting free home Watchtower studies, with the goal og getting the sucker to sign on the bottom line and dedicate her life to The Watchtower.

    "Hot patootie, bless my soul, I really love that rock n' roll!"

  • Vanderhoven7
    Vanderhoven7

    According to the Watchtower gospel neither faith nor works are needed to be saved, I.e., to make it into the new system.

    If you are just an average worldling, simply make sure you die before the GT and your death pays for all your sins. Yes and you will be raised with all the JWs who believed so hard in the Faithful Slave and worked tirelessly preaching the Organization message 10 hours a month for the last 50 years.

    So, for Jehovah’s Witnesses, salvation is by faith plus works.

    For the average Joe it's salvation by dying.

    The past 100 years of preaching were a waste of time.

  • Nathan Natas
    Nathan Natas

    I gotta give it to ya,Vanderhoven7, you did it! You revealed the "salvation by dying soon" doctrine. Well done!

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