Jehovah’s Witnesses

Recently, a young man knocked on my door to share his beliefs because he noticed some Christian symbols displayed on the door. I was surprised because the method of his door-to-door approach differs from what JCC does, so I asked him which church he was from and he said he was a Jehovah’s Witness. He was a pleasant fellow, so I chatted with him for about 10 minutes.

Since this group of people might probably knock on your door one day, I have listed down some of their beliefs for you to be aware of their position that contradicts many traditional Christian doctrines (including the divinity of Christ).

• They do not believe in the Trinity. They believe that Jesus Christ is St. Michael the archangel. They think the Holy Spirit is an “impersonal force” and not the third person of the Trinity.
• They believe that Jesus Christ was a mere human, not God incarnate to save mankind from their sins. They do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
• Jehovah’s Witnesses use their own Bible translation called the New World Translation.
• They believe that only 144,000 people are going to make it into Heaven. All other believers will remain on Earth.
• They do not believe in a literal hell. They tell their followers that hell is the common grave where people are buried when they die, and that the wicked will simply cease to exist.
• To attain salvation, Jehovah’s Witnesses must live in accordance with the teachings of the Watchtower Society, which includes door-to-door evangelism, following moral and ethical standards, and active participation in the Jehovah’s Witness community.
• Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas or Easter.

I took the opportunity during our conversation to explain that Christians believe we are saved by grace, “through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I added that “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)

I told him clearly that we are not of the same belief system since he doesn’t believe that Jesus is God.  He shared with me a bible verse.  Here, be aware that their bible version is uniquely their own translation.

If you encounter a Jehovah’s Witness, you can concisely share your understanding of salvation through faith in Jesus and not by works.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

You may offer John 3:16 as a core expression of your Christian faith, but do not argue about Bible verses because their bible, the New World Translation (NWT), has attempted to eliminate almost all references to the divinity of Jesus in the New Testament.

Martin Cheah