Apologetic Training Module An Apologetic Against Jehovah’s Witnesses Week 1

Apologetic Training Module

An Apologetic Against

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Week 1

Course Objectives

• By the end of the course, each participant will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a general knowledge of the false doctrines of the cult of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

2. Demonstrate an accurate knowledge of the biblical revelation of God and His Gospel.

3. Demonstrate the ability to give both biblical and logical responses to the false beliefs of JW’s.

4. Demonstrate to JW’s the truth of the Bible and refute their theology.

A Brief History of the Jehovah’s Witnesses

• The Jehovah’s Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell in 1870 when at the age of 18, he organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh (Martin 1985, 38).

• Russell was raised as a Congregationalist but rejected the doctrine of eternal punishment (Martin 1985, 38).

• Through his studies, Russell also came to reject the doctrines of the Trinity, deity of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other cardinal doctrines of the Bible (Martin 1985, 45).


• In 1879 Russell founded The Herald of the Morning which developed into today’s The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom (Martin 1985, 38).

• Russell claimed that the Bible could only be understood according to his interpretations (Martin 1985, 46).


• After the death of Russell in 1916, a Missouri lawyer named Joseph F. Rutherford took over the presidency of the Watch Tower Society and changed the name of the organization to the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” (Martin 1985, 38).

• The Jehovah’s Witnesses urge their converts to participate in weekly book studies where they are constantly exposed to counter Christian teachings (www.carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses-history, accessed November 14, 2011).

http://www.carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses-history

The Need for an ApologeticAgainst Jehovah’s Witnesses

• It is commanded in Scripture – 1 Peter 3:15• We are in a war for truth and the souls of

men – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-17; Romans 16:17-18.

• The Jehovah’s Witnesses are attacking professing Christians who are not well grounded in Scripture and deceiving many into their clutches (Martin 1985, 125).

Homework

• Read and study:

1. 1 Peter 3:15

2. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

3. Ephesians 6:10-17

4. 1 John 4:1-6




Week 2

Suiting up for Battle

• Ephesians 6:10-17.

• Be strong in the Lord.

• Put on the full armor of God.

• “So that” – purpose statement – you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

• Shoes with steel cleats needed.

Putting on the Gospel Shoes

• Understanding the gospel in its redemptive-historical context will enable you to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

God is Creator

• The resurrection of Jesus means that God is Creator and transcendent Lord

• Evolution is false – Jehovah’s Witnesses will agree on this point

• Since God transcends His creation, to know Him rightly, He must reveal Himself in a special manner

• Inference from creation cannot arrive at knowing God rightly

Adam was the First Man

• The resurrection of Jesus means that Adam was the first man created by God as both the progenitor and representative of all people born through his seed.

• Theistic evolution is false.• Solidarity with an original historical first

man.• In Adam, all are sinners by nature

God is Covenant Maker

• The resurrection of Jesus means that God is covenant maker who promises life for obedience and death for disobedience to His covenant.

• God keeps His promises.

• There is a reason you can’t get blood out of a turnip!

Adam was Covenant Breaker

• The resurrection of Jesus means that Adam disobeyed God, broke His covenant, and earned death for himself and all his offspring.

• Sin is a capital crime earning capital punishment.• Why is disobedience to God’s covenant a capital

crime?• All men born into Adam’s race have a natural

hatred for God and His covenant.

Jesus Is the Second Adam

• The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is the second Adam, born without the agency of a human father in order to bypass inheriting Adam’s sin nature.

• In order to confirm the covenant promises of God, Jesus would have to live in perfect obedience to the law of God.

Jesus Is the Second Adam

• Jesus would be born of a virgin to be free from the taint of Adam’s sin.

• The virgin birth implies the deity of Jesus.

• Jesus was God in human flesh – God/Man.

• Son of God with supreme love for God.

• Son of man without a sin nature.

Jesus Is Covenant Keeper

• The resurrection of Jesus means that He is the covenant keeper and redeemer who earned life for Himself and all His offspring by their solidarity with Him through faith.

• Galatians 4:4-5.

• Jesus lived in perfect obedience to God because of His perfect love for God.


• Adam failed to love God with all his heart and as a result he violated God’s command, became a capital offender, and earned death for himself and all his offspring.

• God’s covenant with Adam was that if he disobeyed he would die.

• The wages of sin is death.


• Jesus lived a perfect life under God’s Law to fulfill its precepts, died a sacrificial death to pay the penalty of breaking God’s Law for sinners, and experienced a supernatural resurrection to fulfill the Law’s promise of life for the one who obeyed it.

• Jesus earned life for Himself and all who have solidarity with Him through faith.

Jesus Is Lord

• The resurrection of Jesus means that He is Lord.

• Jesus is the one to whom all allegiance is due from men who are sinners.

• Jesus alone is the source of life and the only one upon whom men can call for salvation.

Jesus Is Lord

• As the sinless second Adam, Jesus became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).

• Jesus is the one who pours out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33).

• Jesus is God’s appointed and anointed King over all men (Psalm 2; Acts 2:36).

• Jesus is to be worshiped and obeyed as Lord.

Jesus Is Judge

• The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is Judge.

• As the supreme man, Jesus is the standard of men. • Any who do not live up to His standard, the life

He lived based on His love for God, will be shown to be the capital offenders they really are.

• Jesus is Judge by virtue of His person (John 5:22, 27).

Homework

• Read and Study

1. John 1:1-3

2. Hebrews 1:1-14




Week 3

Wielding the Sword

• Ephesians 6:17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

Comparison of JesusJ. W.’s verses Christianity

• First creation of God• Created everything

else• Archangel Michael• A god• Not to be worshiped• Resurrected spiritually

not physically

• Uncreated• Creator of everything

created• Not an angel• God• To be worshiped• Resurrected physically

Problem Texts for J. W.’s

• John 1:1

• Hebrews 1:1-14

• Revelation 1:8; 22:13; then 1:17-18

• Revelation 22:8-9

• Revelation 5:8-14

Logical Problems for J. W.’s

• They believe Jesus is an angel created by God and yet Jesus received worship.

• If Jesus was created by God and not His eternal Son then salvation cost God nothing.

• Salvation through Jesus is not a demonstration of love if Jesus was created.

• If Jesus was created and was a god as the JW’s believe, then they are guilty of polytheism.

• JW’s reject God’s revelation of the Trinity.

Homework

• Read and Study

1. John 16:5-15

2. Acts 5:3-4

3. Acts 13:2-4




Week 4

The Trinity

A Balanced View of the Doctrine

of the

Trinity

Definition of Trinity

• A reference to the doctrine that God is one and yet exists eternally in three Persons

• Trinity is not a biblical word. Tertullian invented the term

• Trinity is a biblical doctrine and is affirmed by Christians

False Views of the Trinity

• Sabellianism– Sometimes called “modal monarchianism”– Taught by Sabellius at Rome (215 AD)– A view that God was one person, not three, but that He

revealed Himself successfully in three different modes• The Father as essence• The Son and the Spirit as His modes of self expression• The father projected Himself first as the Son and then as the

Spirit

– With this view the question could rightly be asked, “Who was Jesus praying to when He was on earth?”

False Views of the Trinity

• Arianism– This takes the name from Arius, a presbyter of

Alexandria (250-326 AD)– Held that there is only one God, God the Father

• The Son is a personal creature whom the Father formed out of nothing

– A time when Christ was not– Jesus is seen as the first and highest creation of God

• The Spirit is not a person but is the energy of God– This view is held by Jehovah’s Witnesses today and

they deny the doctrine of the Trinity and with it the Deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit

The Outcome of the False Views of the Trinity

• Any religious organization that denies the biblical teaching of the Trinity is not truly Christian.– Some so-called Christian movements:

• The United Pentecostal Movement– They hold to the deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but

deny their being distinct, coexistent Persons. This is Sabelliansim

• The Jehovah’s Witnesses– They deny the deity of the Lord Jesus and the deity and

personality of the Holy Spirit. This is Arianism

The True Doctrine of the Trinity

• The Trinity Summary– There is one God; the Godhead consists of three

Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct, coexistent, eternal Persons; and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God

• The Trinity Formula– There is only one God

– God exists eternally in three Persons

– The Persons are completely equal


• The New Testament teaching– There is one God

• 1 Corinthians 8:4

• Galatians 3:20

– The Godhead consists of three Persons• Matthew 28:19

– Each member is God• The Father is God (John 6:27)

• The Son is God (Hebrews 1:8)

• The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4)


• The Old Testament teaching– There is one God

• Deuteronomy 6:4

– The Godhead consists of three Persons• Indicated by the plural pronoun “Us” (Gen. 1:26)• Isaiah 48:16

– Each member is God• Psalm 110:1• Jeremiah 31:33-34

Two Ways of Looking at the Trinity

• The Bible shows a subordination among the Members of the Godhead.

• This subordination is represented by an arrangement of the names and activities of the Persons in a dependent series in respect to Their order and work

• This subordination does not represent “qualitative” differences; each is co-equal


• Ontologically (within the being of God)– Their subordination in order

• Expressed by the arrangement of Their names: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

• Rises from their eternal, internal relationship– Father is unbegotten

– Son is only begotten

– Holy Spirit is proceeding from the Father through the Son


• Economically (roles)• Their subordination in activity

– Expressed by their external relation to and dealings with the universe.

» The Father is the Originating Cause (Initiator)

» The Son is the Instrumental Cause (Agent/Means)

» The Holy Spirit is the Dynamic Cause (Completer)

Conclusion

• “The Christian understanding of God is Trinitarian, and anything less than fully Trinitarian is not fully Christian.” John Jefferson Davis

Conclusion

• Teachings about the doctrine of the Trinity are the most unique teaching of the Christian faith.

• “Try to explain it, you will lose your mind”

Conclusion

• “Try to deny it, you’ll lose your soul.”




Week 5

Evaluation

• That’s a clever way for saying, “Test time!”

1. Describe the Jehovah’s Witness beliefs about Jesus Christ.

2. How would you defend against their false beliefs concerning Jesus Christ?

3. Starting with God as Creator, describe the Gospel in its redemptive-historical context.

Evaluation

4. Why won’t the Jehovah’s Witnesses worship Jesus Christ?

5. What are some problem texts for Jehovah’s Witnesses?

6. What are some logical problems that face the Jehovah’s Witnesses if Jesus was not divine?

Evaluation

7. Why do the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity?

8. Why should we concern ourselves with an apologetic against Jehovah’s Witnesses?

9. Give a biblical response for why Jesus is not an angel created by God.

10. How would you prove from the Bible that Jesus is God?

Reference List

Martin, Walter. 1985. The Kingdom of the Cults: Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers.

1982. You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth: Brooklyn, New York: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. and International Bible Students Association.

Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. www.carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses-history: accessed November 14, 2011.

http://www.carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses-history

Documents

Apologetic Training Module An Apologetic Against Jehovah’s Witnesses Week 1