by lookingnow22 28 Replies latest jw friends
I've always been taught that each disciple of Christ has a scriptural obligation to preach, and to do so in imitation of Jesus and his disciples. They did this by house to house, in synagogues, and in the marketplaces.
This is one thing that has always kept me close to Jehovah's Witnesses. How do many of you feel about this commission, isn't it our scriptural duty?
Looking
p.s. - I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just now looking for truth.
If you want to follow Jesus' pattern of preaching, fine.
He showed true Christians our obligations are to charitable acts like feeding the hungry (even when they're NOT interested in the preaching).
Although we can't perform miracles a la Jesus, we can perform charitable works as a precursor to selling magazines.
And if you really want to preach, feel free. But I'll suggest you not go to the 'meeting for field service' with just your Bible--to JWs preaching is synonymous with 'literature placement.'
HMMMM since Jesus could do all those miracles, I wonder why he didnt replicate the scrolls so everyone could have their own personal copy!?!?!
Hey lookingnow:
I don't have time to now but I had to respond. the simple fct of the mater is that all christians are not required to be preachers of the good news. Preaching the good news seems to be a calling. If one feels he is called by God to do it then he should. However it is totally unethical and unscriptural to require a christian to preach to others.
ONE....
Bigboi
"it ain't what ya do. it's how you do it" quote from the song "True Honeybunz" by Bahamadia
Lookingnow,
Thanks for posting, looking forward to hearing more of your story!
You said
Each disciple of Christ has a scriptural obligation to preach.
You said
They did this by house to house, in synagogues, and in the marketplaces.
I'm not sure it's scripturally provable that all 1st century Christians went house to house. (BTW, the wording and context of Acts 20:20 is debatable, and does not necessarily prove that all Christians went house to house.)
Yes, they bore witness as they went about their day-to-day lives, both by conduct, by works of love, and by their word. No doubt that would include the synagogues and marketplaces.
However, consider that there are non-JW Christian evangelical groups that have grown from a small beginning to EVEN LARGER numbers than JW's did by the end of the 20th century. How did they increase their numbers? How did they witness? Not door to door, but more by personal contact, word of mouth, and conduct (as did the first Century Christians).
Also consider Ephesians 4:11, which says, "And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, SOME as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers." Did you note that only SOME would be given as evangelizers? These were no doubt outstanding in the gift given. Apparently, not all would be able to accomplish by word of mouth those who were 'given' as evangelizers.
So yes a Christian witness can be given, and it doesn't need to resemble the sometimes inefficient, difficult house-to-house method that the JW organization insists on.
Gopher
Thanks for the replies.
Gopher,
What about the wording of Acts 20:20 is debatable? Does it read differently in translations other than the NWT?
Sincerely,
lookingnow22
Thanks for that response Goph. My father- in- law brought this up to me too(out of the blue). All I told him was that I see Mormons out doing the same thing(going door to door) and they have more members, so what is your point. Then he said that they dont procalim the Kingdom message like JW's do but I wasnt in the mood for wrangling(I had better things to do). I was getting ready to go fishing that morn with my son. I could have went on and on and told him that even Paul and Peter and Jesus dont preach the same message as Jdubs, but it is a waste of time for me.
One thing to add- wasnt the commision to preach and to baptize in the name of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit? Do the Witnesses even do this anymore?
My dear lookingnow22,
I too had the same question and you are indeed correct, just as our Master was 'sent forth' "we" are being 'sent forth.'
One thing that is most widely dismissed are our Master's instructions on preaching.
You said:
"They did this by house to house, in synagogues, and in the marketplaces."
And thus you asked:
"What about the wording of Acts 20:20 is debatable? "
The Lord said, however,
"Go NOT from house to house"
Luke 10:7
Acts 20:20 was "according to homes" meaning that whenever he was INVITED to 'enter a home,' he greeted the household with peace and spoke FURTHER about the free gift of God available to 'anyone asking, anyone thirsting.'
Just like how the Master did. He entered in villages and preached only in PUBLIC PLACES like the synagogue. The only time he went to a "home" was when someone came to him and asked, "Lord will you dine with me in my home tonight?"
It was then, that he taught "according to homes." And the apostles who WALKED WITH HIM did the same thing.
I'll talk more about what it is we are SUPPOSED to offer to 'anyone thirsting' later. It is a "free gift of God" and to 'offer' it, you must 'recieve it.' Once you "recieved free, give free."
Peace to you,
Aaron
What about the wording of Acts 20:20 is debatable? Does it read differently in translations other than the NWT?
Take a peek, here's one site with 10 versions of the Bible online. http://www.ccel.org/wwsb/
Welcome aboard.
Michelle
The most deadly of all sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit. -Erik H. Erikson
Just a couple of thoughts. The comment on preaching in Matt. 24:14 is a prophecy, and not a command. At Matt. 28:19,20, Jesus was instructing only his closest disciples (apostles) and associates, and not all of those who followed him. Finally, the preaching activity pertained to the time before the destruction of Jerusalem, as a warning to those people of impending destruction. That happened already. All done!!
To lookingnow22:
In addition to some fine points made above, consider this: If Jesus wanted his followers to preach, he must have wanted them to preach truth. JWs preach a mixture of truth and falsehood, but the latter dominates their message, so of what value is it?
Why can I truthfully say that JWs preach falsehood? Because their basic message is "put faith in our Governing Body as Jehovah's spokesman". This message is based on their demonstrably false "Bible chronology" which has Christ returning invisibly to the earth in 1914, being put on an invisible throne then, and appointing Rutherford and his cronies "over all his earthly belongings" in 1919. Since there is no evidence for the latter, and a great deal of evidence that disproves their claim that their leaders comprise a divinely appointed "faithful slave", their basic message is false. Therefore the preaching that JWs do is worse than valueless -- it is anti-christian.
AlanF
