Mrs. [Redacted],
Thank you for your letter of May 7. I read it and am always eager to engage with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Over the years I have harbored a number of questions about the differences between what I understand from the Bible and the Witnesses. Perhaps you could read over these and help me see what I am missing?
1) I went to the online Bible provided by JW.org and looked up a few verses that I don’t understand. Maybe you could look them up as well.
· I would ask you to read Isaiah 44:6 in the NWT Bible. Now, read Revelation 1:8.
· These seem to be saying the same thing. Who is saying these statements? I think it is Jehovah. That’s what the NWT indicates.
· Now flip a few chapters to Revelation 22:13 and then verse 16. Who is speaking these words? Jesus is.
This seems to be a problem for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jesus is claiming that he is the First and the Last just like Jehovah does. But Jehovah said that he alone is God in Isaiah 44:6. Further, in Revelation 1:8, it is clear that the Lord God (Jehovah) is speaking those words. But it is clear that it is Jesus saying the same words in chapter 22.
What is clear is that Jesus seemed to understand himself to be equal with God the Father. As an aside, I have found that most JW’s I have met seem to disagree with a view of the Trinity that orthodox Christians do not hold. Most JW’s that I have interacted with (forgive me, I know this is anecdotal) seem to reject Modalism, which is not the orthodox Trinitarian view.
2) Jehovah’s Witnesses have always impressed upon me that they are Christians. I understand their genuineness when they say this. But as Christians, this means that Jehovah’s Witnesses must be monotheists: they believe in one God. This is a basic definition of Christianity. Christians believe in one God. However, the rendering of John 1:1 in the New World Translation communicates that the Word (Jesus) was “a god.” While I will leave my concerns about this translation issue aside, it seems clear that calling Jesus “a god” means that there is more than one God in JW theology. This would place the Watchtower outside of historic Christianity because Christians are monotheists, not polytheists.
3) I have always found compelling Jesus’ “I am” statements in the Gospels (John 6:35, 8:12, 10:9, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1). These seem to be emphatic signals from Jesus about his identity. He is echoing Jehovah’s “I AM” statements in the Old Testament. Jesus seems to be signaling to us that he is equal with the Father. Indeed, this is the very reason Jesus was crucified: “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:18. It seems clear how the Jews understood Jesus: he was claiming to be God.
4) Finally, there is the issue of grace. I have learned that JW’s use the same vocabulary as I do, but seem to have a different dictionary. We seem to use the same words, but mean different things by those words. Grace is a big one. Here is how I understand Grace.
I am a wretched sinner. I don’t even seek for God because no one seeks for God (Rom 3:11). Further, I am dead in my trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). Dead people don’t do anything. They don’t want God, they don’t search for him, and they can’t earn anything because dead people just don’t do, well, much of anything!
But God! He made me alive in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:5). It was all of him! If I could earn it, I would have a reason to boast. But that would take glory away from God! This seems to be the Achilles Heel of “working toward God”: even if you could do it, the glory would be yours for achieving it! This is not what the Bible says happens to believers upon regeneration. Titus puts it this way: “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us…” Note who did the work! Him! Isn’t this beautiful?
Paul continues: “…not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”
Regeneration is the doctrine of God making us alive so that we can – for the first time – want him and choose him. We aren’t saved because we figure something out or achieve his favor. We are saved according to his mercy! Isn’t this good news? What’s even better is that when you read Titus 3, it demonstrates the proper place for works. We work out of worship because our debt has been paid. We don’t work out of obligation to earn a paid debt. These truths are immensely freeing!
A Personal Note: I spent so many years of my life wondering if I could please God. Then I realized the most freeing truth: Of course I couldn’t please God!
God has been pleased with the finished work of his Son on the Cross. If we are “in Him” (Eph 1), we will be saved. But this only works if our savior is a perfect mediator, fully God and fully man, able to mediate between the father who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16) and we dirty sinners.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim 2:5
I pray this truth would grip your heart and free you from the same burden of works under which I for so long labored. After all, all of our good deeds are nothing more than filthy rags (Isa 64:6).
I pray I haven’t been too forward, but I know Jehovah’s Witnesses to be serious people who take these issues seriously, so I feel a certain freedom to speak openly to you. You see, I consider these issues to be life-and-death. Your life and your soul matters immensely to me and to God and he desires for you to know him deeply.
May God bless you and may you remember that you can always write back, call, or text. My wife and I will say a prayer for you tonight.
Sincerely,
Greg Mathis
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