I was never raised in "the Truth", but my mom and sister are both practicing JW's. I escaped the borg, and attended a Lutheran college and was a regular at a Lutheran church for a couple of years. One of the enduring themes of Lutheranism (at least as I understood it at the time - I could be wrong here) is that salvation comes through the grace of God - that it is God's free gift to humanity through Jesus. The idea is that there is NOTHING that we can do to "deserve" salvation (so great is the gift), and that good deeds done on earth are not an effort to win brownie points to get into heaven, but done in gratitude for this gift and a desire to carry on Jesus' work here on earth. Having extensive exposure (but thankfully, not indoctrination) to the beliefs of the Watchtower as a youth, I can't tell you how incredibly refreshing and illuminating I found this view. Truly a theological turn-about.
One of the the most compelling sermons I heard during my brief church going days focused on whether or not we really wanted to get "what we deserved". I had to conclude, and still do, that I want to get much more than I deserve. I think that is true for most of us. How can any of us maintain that we are "deserving" of eternal life? I really like the idea that we don't have to "deserve" it, it's ours as a freely given gift.