1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,480 Grab my notes right here and we are going to talk today. 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,520 Oh, hello. If you're watching online, we're 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,439 glad to be able to see you and we'll be talking about the JW's 10 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:34,000 and the fundamentals of the faith. 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,840 Now we talked about the fundamentals of the Jehovah 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,360 Witnesses a couple of weeks ago, but I want to go deeper, just as 13 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,320 we did with Islam and not just talk about their fundamentals, 14 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,560 but how do their fundamentals match with the fundamentals of, 15 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,400 well, the word of God. Because as we often say, the 16 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,640 Bible says let God be true and every man a liar. 17 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,360 Listen, it's not about being a Baptist, being a Jehovah 18 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,720 Witness, being a Mormon, being a Muslim, being a Catholic. 19 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,480 Listen, it's about being a biblicist. 20 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:03,240 Now again, I'm a Baptist because I believe being a Baptist is the 21 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,840 way to follow the Bible. But at the same time, I'm not a 22 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,560 Baptist. And then follow the Bible. 23 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,120 I follow the Bible, and that makes me a Baptist. 24 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,560 A real following this morning. All right, I'm on decaf this 25 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:13,960 morning. Man, imagine if I had caffeine. 26 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:15,920 All right, boy, I would be like out of here. 27 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,680 All right. But anyway, someone might have 28 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:20,480 spiked it. John. 29 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:21,480 Thank you. I can. 30 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,960 I can still hear John. All right, so I'm feeling frisky 31 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,160 this morning. All right, so let's let's go. 32 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,400 No, but no, all joking aside, it's good to be a Baptist, but 33 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,200 we're Baptist, not out of tradition or because our parents 34 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,040 were or because it's just something cultural. 35 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,520 We're Baptist, I believe, because we want to follow the 36 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,040 Word of God, and that takes us to that logical conclusion. 37 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,560 So as biblical believers, how do we compare what the Bible says 38 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,120 about key doctrines to what the Jehovah Witnesses teach? 39 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,560 Now we're going to look at 5 different areas this morning, by 40 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,560 God's grace as the time allows, to be able to look at what the 41 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,040 Jehovah Witnesses believe and how it applies the Word of God. 42 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,400 Now you can see some commonalities with some things 43 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,160 because obviously we talked about the Muslims and how they 44 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:06,600 don't believe in the deity of Christ. 45 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,840 And well, the Jehovah Witnesses aren't going to believe in the 46 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,320 deity of Christ either. And so there'll be some overlap 47 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,840 of what the Word of God says. And I will be able to take for 48 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,440 granted a little bit that we've gone over some of those things 49 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,200 before. But we do want to compare and 50 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,200 contrast the truth and error. And we'll do that here this 51 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:22,640 morning. And the 1st place that we're 52 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:26,960 going to do that is in the issue of creation and evolution. 53 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:32,760 Creation and evolution and the Jehovah Witnesses reject 54 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,480 atheistic evolution. You say, what is atheistic 55 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,200 evolution? Atheistic evolution means that 56 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,800 there is no God and that there was a Big Bang and from that Big 57 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,320 Bang came everything that we see around us. 58 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,800 Theistic evolution, however, is a way that there are some groups 59 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,400 that try to marry 2 completely different thought processes that 60 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,760 there's God and there's evolution, theistic God 61 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,600 evolution, the evolutionary process that normally we think 62 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:03,840 of and try to marry the two together. 63 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,560 The Jehovah Witnesses very much believe in theistic evolution, 64 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,320 and you're going to see that in just a moment by God's grace in 65 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,000 a video that I want to show. You have three different ones 66 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,360 today that and not from my perspective, but from their own 67 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,200 perspective from jw.org. And if we have any problems 68 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,600 showing the videos, and I know that we're still working on 69 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,400 getting that fixed, you can always turn around and watch. 70 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,800 And if you're online, you'll have no problem watching that 71 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:29,480 which we're about to show. But in the meantime. 72 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:31,360 But then let's see if we can queue up the first video. 73 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,320 The universe is vast and awe inspiring. 74 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,320 Earth and life on it are amazingly complex. 75 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:11,680 How did it all get here? The Bible book of Genesis says 76 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:16,480 that there is a creator, but the account is often misunderstood 77 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:23,680 or even dismissed as a myth. Is what the Bible says about the 78 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:25,920 origin of the universe plausible? 79 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,960 Scientists estimate that the universe is 14 billion years 80 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,000 old. This implies that the universe, 81 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,360 including Earth, had a beginning. 82 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,680 The Bible agrees, Genesis 11 reads. 83 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,400 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 84 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,560 The account does not say when or how the universe began. 85 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,360 Rather, it focuses on the creative process that took place 86 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:05,360 on earth over six periods of time, which the Bible calls 87 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:11,440 days. Were these 624 hour days as many 88 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,320 believe? No. 89 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,720 The Hebrew word used in the Bible for day can refer to 90 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:23,120 various lengths of time. Genesis even summarizes the six 91 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:28,920 days of creation as one day, the day that Jehovah God made earth 92 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,520 and heaven. Each day in Genesis chapter 1 93 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,320 must have spanned extremely long periods of time. 94 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,880 The accounts perspective is also important. 95 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,240 The writer describes the creative periods as they would 96 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,800 have appeared to an observer on the Earth had someone been 97 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,400 there. He would have seen events that 98 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,960 started in one period and then progress into the following 99 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:03,680 periods. Light penetrates the atmosphere 100 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,360 to reveal alternating day and night. 101 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:12,120 Earth was covered with water and vapour filled the air. 102 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,560 The dense clouds lifted from the waters that covered the earth, 103 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,960 forming an expansive sky between them. 104 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,080 Water receded to uncover dry ground and the first plants 105 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,840 appeared. The atmosphere cleared further 106 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:36,760 to reveal the sun and the moon. God created living creatures in 107 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:42,000 the sea and flying creatures above, and in the last period 108 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:54,200 God created land, animals and humans in harmony with the 109 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:59,760 Genesis account. The Bible says Of course every 110 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,440 house is constructed by someone, but the one who constructed all 111 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,480 things is God. The Bible does not speak in 112 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,000 scientific detail, but it's account of creation is logical 113 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:19,840 and reasonable. The Bible also offers logical 114 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,600 and reasonable answers to other important questions. 115 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,880 Does our planet exist for a purpose? 116 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,560 What is the meaning of life? What does the future hold? 117 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:39,040 To see the Bible's answers, go to jw.org or fill out the online 118 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,280 request for one of Jehovah's Witnesses to visit at a time and 119 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:45,560 place convenient for you. All right. 120 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,640 Yeah. So it's made pretty clear that 121 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:53,760 they believe in the biblical account. 122 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,880 However, they dismiss the very literal biblical account of 123 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:01,440 which they are claiming to hold on to in saying that each day is 124 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,560 not an actual day, a 24 hour literal period, but rather a 125 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,920 longer period of time. And this goes all the way back 126 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,160 to Charles Tays Russell. And it was Charles Tays Russell, 127 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,760 yes, the founder of the Jehovah Witnesses, who said in the 128 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,360 beginning we have merely the physical forces out of which the 129 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:21,000 grand structure is made by a gradually unfolding, or if one 130 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,680 prefers to say so, an evolutionary process that there 131 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,080 is a divine plan of evolution appears on the face of the whole 132 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,200 chapter saying Genesis chapter 1 to say that. 133 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,480 Listen, if you have a plain and honest reading of Genesis 134 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,360 chapter 1, you find evolution. And the answer to that is nobody 135 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,679 for thousands of years thought that to be the case until 136 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,560 Charles Darwin really codified some who were atheists who 137 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:48,800 wanted to find a way that God was not the creator of all, but 138 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,600 really created what is popularized now as the theory of 139 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,000 evolution. So Jehovah Witnesses believe 140 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,960 that the six days are actually 6 epochs of time, each one lasting 141 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:04,280 around a period of 7000 years. So a day is not really a day, 142 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:09,880 each one is 7000 years beyond that before day one that the 143 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:15,080 earth was formed. But yet was uninhabited and void 144 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,800 for those 13 or so billion years that were mentioned. 145 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,720 And so it is the Jehovah Witnesses way of trying to be 146 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,840 able to say we believe the Bible, but we also believe in 147 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:26,520 the evolutionary process as well. 148 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,520 Which two thoughts do not harmonize at all. 149 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,840 Excuse me? The March 2014 Awake magazine 150 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:37,640 states the Bible does not support fundamentalists and 151 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,320 creationists who claim that the creative days were literal 24 152 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,840 hour days. They say the Bible does not 153 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,520 support that. In another Awake magazine just 154 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,760 recently, they said this God created the universe, including 155 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,760 the earth in the indefinite past in the beginning. 156 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,440 As Genesis 11 says, modern science agrees that the universe 157 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,000 has a beginning. A recent scientific model 158 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,760 suggests that it's almost 14 billion years old. 159 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,160 And the same article speaks of the false ideas of creationists 160 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,000 that could lead one to dismiss the Bible altogether. 161 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,040 And basically they're saying this, we have to embrace 162 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,560 evolution because if not, nobody will believe us, they won't take 163 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:15,760 us seriously. And the fact of the matter is, 164 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,880 we embrace the truth for what it is, and we leave the 165 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,280 consequences to the Lord. And so, sure, if a biblical 166 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,680 account of creation is what the Bible says, which it does, then 167 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:26,920 we embrace it. And what? 168 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:28,960 Well, we just let the chips fall where they may. 169 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,400 We believe God and we don't believe what we believe out of 170 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,160 the Bible, depending on what the consequences might be and how 171 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,320 we're perceived in public. That's certainly not belief. 172 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,520 That's certainly not faith. Now we understand that the world 173 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,840 was created in six literal days. Now, contrasting to what the 174 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,000 Bible says, what do we find? We find that in the evening in 175 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,480 the morning we're the first day Genesis chapter one in the 176 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,640 evening in the morning we're the second day that over and over it 177 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,680 is reiterated that these days are literal morning and evening 178 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:03,040 days, literal 24 hour cycles in the way that we would know them 179 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:05,720 today. Exodus 20 verse 11 when the 10 180 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,680 commandments were given, it was said for in six days the Lord 181 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,640 made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is and 182 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,880 rested the 7th day wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and 183 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,320 hallowed it. So they're very in the very Ten 184 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:25,280 Commandments is shown that the earth was created and all around 185 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:30,240 us in those six days, including the fact that Romans chapter 5 186 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,080 verse 12 says there was no death before sin. 187 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,280 Can you imagine animals living in those epochs of time they 188 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:38,960 would have had to continue to live and to procreate. 189 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,120 Romans 512 states wherefore is by one man. 190 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,000 Sin entered in the world and death by sin and so death passed 191 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,040 upon all men for that all have sinned. 192 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,320 We know there was no death before the fall of creation. 193 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,600 So again, there's just really no way that you can harmonize what 194 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,680 we see in the Word of God and also the Jehovah Witness view of 195 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,640 evolution. Now, they did make a point that 196 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,520 the word day as it's rendered in the Hebrew doesn't have to be an 197 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,680 actual day. And I would concede that that is 198 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:10,680 true. The word Yom, that's what it is 199 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,520 in the Hebrew. The word Yom can often mean or 200 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,320 maybe not often, but occasionally mean a day in the 201 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,280 sense of an epoch and era and age. 202 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,400 And we mean that today too, don't we? 203 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,320 So times we use the word day and we don't mean it in a 24 hour 204 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,880 cycle. We live in the day of AI right 205 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:30,880 now, don't we? I mean, everything's AI right 206 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,000 now. You turn on the news, you turn 207 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,760 on a television show, a movie, everybody's talking about AI. 208 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,080 Where I mean, it's not like it wasn't around before people 209 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,800 would talk about it, but we're, it's everywhere right now. 210 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,600 AI. We live in the day of AI, but 211 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,400 nobody thinks, well for the next 24 hours people are going to be 212 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,360 dealing with AI. It's very understood in the 213 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,080 context of the way that you use it that it's talking about not 214 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,600 just a 24 hour period, but something much longer. 215 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,400 So while the word Yom in Genesis chapter one could be referring 216 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:06,320 to a longer age than 24 hours, the very essence of the chapter, 217 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,600 the evening and the morning or the first day, the context makes 218 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,200 it clear what's being spoken of. It's not using one of those 219 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:17,000 occasional references to something as the day of AI or 220 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,640 the day of Christianity or the day of whatever you would want 221 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,160 to speak. You know, we're talking about 222 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,120 back in the day. That's a great illustration of 223 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,200 that. No, no, what are we looking at? 224 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,640 No, we're looking at a 24 hour period that's found in the word 225 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,000 of God. And so that's the first contrast 226 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,680 that we would make with Jehovah Witnesses. 227 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:37,920 And again, there are many more that we're going to be able to 228 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,640 cover this morning. Understand that, but we'll give 229 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,040 you some of the highlights here today. 230 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,280 The second deals with the character of God, the character 231 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,280 of God. The Jehovah Witnesses deny the 232 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,760 truth of the Trinity, focusing on the Father alone, in which 233 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,400 they call Jehovah. And again, we would call Jehovah 234 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,520 God Jehovah as well. Jehovah is his name. 235 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,160 There is no doubt about that whatsoever. 236 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:03,640 However, they focus on Jehovah. In fact, we'll look at this next 237 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:05,840 week, Lord willing, as we get into how to converse with a 238 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:07,560 Jehovah Witness in the right way. 239 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,400 They will want to have a conversation with about this. 240 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:15,160 What's God's name? And they will probably get most 241 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,080 people off on a tangent of which they normally don't think of. 242 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,680 And really, we're having a conversation right before 243 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,080 church. The one of the greatest things 244 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,240 you can do is is to be able to take that say. 245 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:27,800 Well, before I answer that, let me ask you this. 246 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,800 Who do you believe Jesus Christ is? 247 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,360 And really, that gets them onto a whole different track that 248 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,840 they probably don't want to be discussing at that moment. 249 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,000 The Jehovah Witnesses fixate on the name of Jehovah to the point 250 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,160 that they say we are commanded to be able to call him Jehovah. 251 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,040 Now Jehovah is his name. In our King James Bible, when 252 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,720 you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, the King 253 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,520 James translators have done that to us in their wisdom to be able 254 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,360 to help us to understand where the name of Jehovah is the Lord. 255 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,240 However, we find nowhere in Scriptures where we are 256 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,520 commanded or we are in sin. If we do not call him Jehovah, 257 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:06,160 there's nowhere found in the Bible. 258 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,360 As I mentioned last week, in the New World translation, the New 259 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,440 Testament, the name of Jehovah is added multiple times, 260 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,360 hundreds of times where it's never even found in the Greek 261 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,680 text. And so the Jehovah Witnesses 262 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,520 have made this a very core belief. 263 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,280 And I'll, I'll take this as an aside for just a moment too. 264 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,520 They, they, they believe that if you do not use the name of 265 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,240 Jehovah properly, that again is a grave error. 266 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,640 But I do find it interesting that they call themselves JW's 267 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,840 because it would seem like that's a very flippant way to be 268 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,560 able to use the name of Jehovah. For somebody who fixates on the 269 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,000 name of Jehovah. What was that yet, JW Jim 270 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,520 Weather. But I've been using your name in 271 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,440 vain for the last several weeks. Boy, no wonder. 272 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,400 No wonder if you look so agitated, Jim. 273 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:53,080 But everybody's feeling good this morning, aren't we? 274 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:55,960 All right, this is good. But Ralph, you know, we're all 275 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,320 we're all set, man. This is good. 276 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:58,520 Yeah, he's good. He's good. 277 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:03,360 But the JWS, they will do this. And, and again, this isn't me 278 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,600 saying that they call themselves JW, jw.org. 279 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,960 We just talked about that. It would seem like if you have 280 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,520 this high reverence for the name of Jehovah, you wouldn't just 281 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:16,720 call him J. So I, I just, that's just a side 282 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,200 of something that I've been kind of chewing on the last few days. 283 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,520 Now the Jehovah Witnesses do believe that God is a loving and 284 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,920 merciful God, which I hope no one here today would argue with, 285 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,160 because certainly we believe the same, that our God is loving, 286 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,720 our God is merciful. However, they believe that 287 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:38,480 Jehovah is so loving that there is no punishment for sin and 288 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,360 there would be no punishment for sin whatsoever. 289 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,840 But however, this does run contrary to the very nature of 290 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,120 God itself, because while God is merciful and while God is 291 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,920 loving, he is also a God who is just as well. 292 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,680 Why do you think Jesus Christ needed to go to the cross for 293 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:59,000 our sins to fulfill the penalty of which we could not, We would 294 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,520 have had to pay ourselves that Jesus Christ took that upon 295 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,720 himself. But they believe that God is so 296 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,800 loving that he could not be just and that he could not be someone 297 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:13,800 who could make people to be able to answer for their sins. 298 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,040 And this goes so far and we'll look at this in just a moment 299 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,760 that their belief of life after death has been skewed quite a 300 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,920 bit because there could not be a literal place called hell 301 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,119 because God would never quote send anyone there. 302 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,840 We'll be showing you a pretty powerful but also very, very 303 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,240 manipulative video about that in just a couple of moments. 304 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,520 Why I'm so passionate about showing these videos, not 305 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,240 necessarily because it's, you know, fill in time and I have 306 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,440 less to teach, you know, but it's because I really want you 307 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,600 to see these things from their own mouths. 308 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,600 Not just me saying it, but also to be able to maybe understand 309 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,200 propaganda, to be able to understand how to spot it and to 310 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,960 be able to identify when verses are being used improperly, those 311 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,160 types of things as well. The Jehovah Witnesses also 312 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,440 refused to acknowledge that God is omniscient going so far. 313 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,680 You know when we say omniscient that God knows everything, right 314 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,120 Omni? Everything That God is all 315 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:10,480 knowing? In fact, they believe that God 316 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,560 had no idea that Adam and Eve were going to sin. 317 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,880 If Adam and Eve were going to sin, then God and his omniscient 318 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,720 should not have created them. And so God selectively decided 319 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,800 not to know what would happen with Adam and Eve after they 320 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,600 sin. And again, there's no biblical 321 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,880 foundation for this whatsoever. Our God is all knowing. 322 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,880 He knows the beginning from the end because he is the beginning 323 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,480 and the end, the alpha and Omega. 324 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,200 And in case you're curious, he was before the beginning and 325 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,520 he'll be after the end because in the beginning God created the 326 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,880 heaven and the earth. And I love the fact that even 327 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:46,880 Genesis 11 doesn't make the plea to believe that God was. 328 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:48,360 It just states that he already was. 329 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,280 There's no longwell, let me explain to you why God really 330 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,480 did exist. You know, it's just like you 331 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:56,600 already know He exists, right? So let's get right to it. 332 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,720 And that's the beautiful opening to the Word of God. 333 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,440 It couldn't be. It just could not be that God 334 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,440 had no idea. By the way, if He didn't know 335 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:05,680 about that, what else does he know about? 336 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,440 I'll tell you this, not a comforting thought that God 337 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,320 wouldn't have known that they were going to send. 338 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,280 Does that mean that He doesn't know when we're going to send? 339 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:14,760 What selective foreknowledge does he have? 340 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,120 When does he take it? And again, when you get away 341 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:21,200 from the moorings of the Word of God, you can go anywhere and no 342 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,480 one can argue with you. And so when the faithful and 343 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,320 discreet slave, which again is what they would call themselves, 344 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,680 decides on a new doctrine or changes a doctrine when it's not 345 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,080 connected to the Word of God, you can't really argue with it. 346 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,360 You just have to keep following along where they have taken you. 347 00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:39,600 And so the character of God is this. 348 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,040 And we'll look more at Jesus Christ specifically in a few 349 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,200 moments, but the character of God in general, there is no 350 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,440 Trinity. God is not all knowing. 351 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:51,080 God is loving and merciful, but He truly is not just, and He is 352 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,320 certainly not the God of the Bible. 353 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,840 Well, third goes hand in hand with #2 which I just alluded to 354 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,600 a moment ago, which is life after death. 355 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,520 The witnesses believe that the dead simply cease to exist. 356 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,900 Of those who have died without being part of their quote UN 357 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:12,080 quote elect, of those who are the quote UN quote redeemed, 358 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:17,040 they just simply cease to exist. Death acquits a person from 359 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,720 their own personal sin. Some will be resurrected, yet 360 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:22,920 others won't. Now turn your Bibles to Romans 361 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,040 chapter 6. And I want you to do that to 362 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,560 kind of get you ready for what we're about to see, because I do 363 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,760 want you to see if you can spot several places of error and 364 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,520 again, an emotional manipulation as well in the video that we're 365 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,280 going to see. So go ahead and turn to Roman 6. 366 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:39,920 I'll give you just a moment to be able to do that. 367 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,400 And then they'll be queuing up the second video. 368 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,000 We'll show that just a moment, but I want to make sure 369 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,240 everyone's got the pages where they are. 370 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,080 And we'll look at Roman 6 in just a moment. 371 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,600 But in the meantime, let's roll that second piece of footage. 372 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:00,240 Many religions teach that God condemns the wicked to eternal 373 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,680 torment after they die and hope that this fear of torment 374 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:09,960 prevents them from doing bad. Does God really punish people 375 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:26,560 after they die? The Bible reassures us that the 376 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,280 dead are unconscious and that they know nothing at all. 377 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,320 If the dead are unconscious, they cannot suffer. 378 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,160 Does that mean God does not punish wicked people at all? 379 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:46,000 No, God explained to the first human couple how they would be 380 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,960 punished if they rebelled against Him. 381 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,480 God said nothing about torment or hell. 382 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,920 He simply said you will certainly die. 383 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,960 And after being expelled from the Garden of Eden, that is 384 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,880 exactly what happened to wicked Adam and Eve. 385 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,200 They passed away and became dust. 386 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,400 The Bible says that after death one is no longer accountable for 387 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,080 past mistakes because the one who has died has been acquitted 388 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,280 from his sin. But there is an even greater 389 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,760 reason why a hell of torment could never exist. 390 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:37,320 The Bible tells us God is love. Would a loving God command that 391 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,120 sinners be tormented not just for minutes, but for all 392 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,720 eternity? Consider the following. 393 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:51,440 In Bible times, God condemned the practice of sacrificing 394 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,040 children in the fire to false gods. 395 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:01,480 He said that such a cruel deed never even entered his heart. 396 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:08,320 We hate the idea of such brutality because we are made in 397 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,440 the image of a loving, merciful God. 398 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:16,600 Clearly, we do not need to worry that our dead loved ones might 399 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,640 be suffering punishment somewhere. 400 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,880 The Bible tells us that they are at peace, at rest. 401 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:31,280 But why do good people die? What happens to them when they 402 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:35,600 die? What hope is there for our dead 403 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:42,320 loved ones? To learn more, go to jw.org and 404 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,840 search for these topics or fill in the online request for one of 405 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,080 Jehovah's Witnesses to contact you. 406 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,360 Again, the emotional manipulation of the video with 407 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,560 the small child, with the flames, with the music swelling 408 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,080 at the right times is very, very high. 409 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,840 But what we also see was there was a lot of of mistruth, I 410 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,400 mean, from beginning to end, from the point of being able to 411 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,800 say the verse from Ecclesiastes that the dead know nothing. 412 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,960 And, and really that was contrasting the idea. 413 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,280 And Ecclesiastes don't have time to turn there, but we could. 414 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,840 And I would encourage you to look up any of these verses on 415 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,320 your own. Again, there's certainly nothing 416 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,640 to be hidden here whatsoever. The way to debunk these types of 417 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,240 false doctrines is we will go straight to the word of God. 418 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,600 But the idea was, what's the book of Ecclesiastes about the 419 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,400 vanity of life, that you just keep going and going and doing 420 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,720 and doing. But Solomon, for the more he 421 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:37,720 got, the more he did, he realized, I still feel 422 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,440 unfulfilled. But really the idea was, listen, 423 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,200 what you're going to do, you do it in this life because the 424 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,120 decisions that you make in this life affect the life to come, 425 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:49,480 but not the fact that there was no life to come whatsoever. 426 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,800 That just wasn't taught. It says those who are dead were 427 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:55,680 acquitted from sin. That was the big one to me. 428 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,520 Romans chapter 6, like, you know, basically saying that 429 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,320 look, so when you die, you are found not guilty anymore for 430 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,680 everything that you ever did. The question would be then why 431 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,320 would Jesus need to die on the cross then if there was a full 432 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,560 acquittal and if they were acquitted of those sins when you 433 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,560 die, then why couldn't you also be one of the elect as well? 434 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,320 Well, what does Romans chapter 6 actually say? 435 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,880 Well, again, it's important to go to the word of God says this. 436 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,880 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 437 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:25,680 grace may abound? Now is this being talked to 438 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,520 about to believers or unbelievers? 439 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:29,400 This is talking to believers here. 440 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,760 God forbid. How shall we that are dead to 441 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,600 sin live any longer therein, though he not? 442 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,120 That so many of us that were baptized into Jesus Christ were 443 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,880 baptized into His death, therefore we are buried with him 444 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,840 by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised 445 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,160 up from the dead by the glory of the Father, Even so we also 446 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,040 should walk a newness of life. For if we have been planted 447 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,520 together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the 448 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,360 likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man 449 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,400 is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, 450 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,120 that henceforth we should not serve sin, For he that is dead 451 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,400 is freed from sin. What is it talking about that 452 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,880 once you are saved, you're free from the sin you used to live 453 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,440 in? It's not talking about, it's 454 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,800 talking about a completely different that video talks about 455 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:20,000 something completely different than what is being mentioned 456 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,760 there at all. I mean, absolutely to be able to 457 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:26,800 take something over here and say no, no, look over here, don't 458 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,000 look at that. And what they are hoping and 459 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,720 praying that people will do is not open a Bible and not look at 460 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,440 these verses and say, well, well, I mean, that's what it 461 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:36,920 says. It says it in the Bible, but not 462 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:40,080 realize, well, it says that in the Bible, but it's taken and 463 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,120 twisted so much that that's out of context, that that's not at 464 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:45,520 all what's being said. And that's certainly not just 465 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,400 being said here. Is God love? 466 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,520 Absolutely that God would condemn people to hell. 467 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,560 No, when Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which is 468 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,880 lost, the desire was that all come to repentance. 469 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,880 That was the desire of Jesus Christ at the heart of God. 470 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,640 Even today that he finds no pleasure in the death of the 471 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,080 wicked. He makes that very clear in the 472 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,160 word of God. You know, it's not God that 473 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,120 condemns. Remember, the hell was prepared 474 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,200 for Satan and his angels. But at the same time, there are 475 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,520 those who continue to rebuff the advances of Jesus Christ. 476 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,800 They rebuff the gospel. They do not want it. 477 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,680 It's not that Christ desires that again, that's why he died 478 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,960 on the cross for his sins. But yet they say this place does 479 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,680 not exist. The Bible makes it clear it 480 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,040 does. And no one talked about it more 481 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,560 than Jesus did. Jesus talked about it quite a 482 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:31,880 bit. You can go to Revelation chapter 483 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,640 20, Revelation chapter #21 it's a place, a lake of fire, of 484 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,480 torment, of smoke. You can talk about the rich man 485 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,200 and Lazarus, all of these things. 486 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,920 The rich man and Lazarus isn't a parable, I believe, because 487 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,080 parables don't name people. So here's Lazarus, who's in hell 488 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,560 and torments. The Bible says no, no, these are 489 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:54,280 very, very real things. And then to try to equate the 490 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,680 children going to hell with those who are being sacrificed. 491 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,520 And again, the the absolute disingenuineness and the 492 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,680 dishonesty of the Jehovah Witnesses in that video. 493 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:09,000 Because many Christians believe, as I do as well, that those 494 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,840 before an age of accountability, those who don't know how to 495 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,480 accept Jesus Christ their Savior, are safe with the Lord. 496 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,800 That a child who was one or two years old or even older who 497 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,400 could never call upon Christ to save them are safe with the 498 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,480 Lord. Just as David said when his 499 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,160 newborn baby died. He says that I will go to him. 500 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,000 I will be where he is someday. In indicating that that David 501 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,000 would see that child in heaven, you say, well pastor, how does 502 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:36,800 all of that work? I don't know how all of that 503 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:38,240 works other than the Bible says so. 504 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,880 And so I don't need to know all the insurance and outs of it 505 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,160 other than to just trust what the Bible says. 506 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,440 And just so try to equate children being sacrificed to 507 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,400 false gods like Molech. And to say that, well, that we 508 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,520 would be saying that's what God is doing is is again, so 509 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,080 dishonest on its face. And so you could see a great 510 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,320 difference between what the the leadership of the Jehovah 511 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,360 Witness would say about life after death and what the Bible 512 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,800 says. But then we also see the 4th and 513 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,960 perhaps even the biggest difference would be in the deity 514 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:11,960 of Christ. Now we've used the word deity of 515 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:12,880 Christ. What do we mean? 516 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,080 We're talking about that Christ is God right now. 517 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,280 Jesus made it very clear over and over and over again that he 518 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,560 was God. He was accused of that at his 519 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,480 trials. He was attempted to be stoned 520 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,520 when he said I and the Father are one. 521 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,480 Everyone knew as time went on of who he was. 522 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,360 He was very quiet about it at first to allow people to come to 523 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,360 their own conclusions at their own time. 524 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,880 But when times allowed it, and when Jesus in his perfect wisdom 525 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,120 sought the need to, he made very clear who he was. 526 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,560 And there was no doubt by the time he was on the cross who he 527 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:49,000 was. And people had to make that 528 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,520 decision, each and everyone on their own. 529 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,840 But yet the Jehovah Witnesses would say that Jesus is not God. 530 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,640 He is the Son of God, but not God the Son. 531 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,640 Say that that sounds kind of confusing, no? 532 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,560 Well, that he is literally a son of God. 533 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,480 Like I am the Son of Victor, but I am not Victor, right? 534 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,640 I am the son of Victor. We would say that God is not 535 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:16,000 just the Son of God, but he's also God the Son, meaning that 536 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,040 he is the Son of God, but he's also God himself because he's 3 537 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,120 and he's one. Say, pastor, how is all that for 538 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:22,880 the Trinity? We don't understand all of that 539 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,200 other than to say the Bible makes it clear that's what it 540 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:26,560 is. We're not worshipping 3 gods. 541 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,560 We worship one God and three persons and the Godhead. 542 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,280 So what do they believe about the deity of Christ? 543 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,200 Well, we have our third and final video and it hasn't been 544 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:36,560 going good this morning. Man, this is great. 545 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,400 We hadn't had to crane our necks or, you know, get back pain 546 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:40,760 today to watch it. This is good. 547 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,480 So thank you for fixing that, Brother Anthony. 548 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:56,700 So let's watch this last video. Many people regard Jesus as the 549 00:30:56,700 --> 00:31:02,660 most influential person in history, but is he Almighty God 550 00:31:02,660 --> 00:31:07,020 himself, or was he simply a good man? 551 00:31:09,380 --> 00:31:13,500 Many people personally met Jesus and some of their accounts are 552 00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:17,520 found in the Bible revealing who Jesus really is. 553 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,720 For instance, an Angel spoke to Jesus mother about her unborn 554 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,240 son and said this one will be great and will be called Son of 555 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:37,360 the Most High. When Jesus was being baptized, 556 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,040 God's own voice confirmed Jesus identity. 557 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:46,320 This is my Son, the Beloved, whom whom I have approved. 558 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,600 What did his followers believe? When Jesus asked who they 559 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,280 thought he was? Peter responded. 560 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,720 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 561 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:10,320 What did Jesus enemies say? Those wanting to kill him 562 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:15,400 explained why, according to the law, he ought to die because he 563 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:24,280 made himself God's son. What did Jesus himself say about 564 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,680 his identity and relationship to God? 565 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:32,160 He told his followers, The Father is greater than I am. 566 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,360 Even after his death in resurrection, Jesus said this 567 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:46,840 about his future. I am ascending to my Father and 568 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:50,280 your Father and to my God and your God. 569 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,640 The biblical record makes it clear that Jesus is a distinct 570 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,480 person separate from God Almighty. 571 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,760 In fact, the Bible teaches that although Jesus is a powerful 572 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:13,040 spirit creature in heaven, he is still subject to his God and 573 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:17,080 Father. Still, God has given a special 574 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,680 assignment to his Son to bring everlasting life and happiness 575 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,400 to all humankind, just as God originally purposed. 576 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,000 What else does the Bible say about Jesus? 577 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,040 Did Jesus really perform miracles? 578 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,680 Why did Jesus die? Will Jesus return? 579 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:50,120 To learn more, search for thesetopics@jw.org or fill out 580 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,120 the online request for one of Jehovah's Witnesses to visit 581 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,160 all. Right, you can have you can have 582 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,160 wonderful graphics and good music blasphemy still blasphemy. 583 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,280 And what we just watched was blasphemy of the highest order. 584 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,320 It's interesting that they use the verse that I had just 585 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:11,600 mentioned to you about the Jesus calling himself the Son of God 586 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:16,120 and and they're being upset the Pharisees and such at that. 587 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:18,920 What will they were upset because they understood that 588 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:23,040 that term Son of God meant that he was deity that if you go to 589 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:27,120 the book of Daniel and you find the term the son of God and see 590 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:31,040 that that was made very clear in Daniel Chapter 7. 591 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:36,120 I believe that that yes, that the Son of God was God, that not 592 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:41,760 just a, a relationship of God and a lesser form of God or some 593 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,360 other spirit. No, no, they understood. 594 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,920 And for them to use that very verse, I thought was quite 595 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:49,639 ironic that they didn't explain why they would have been so 596 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:51,520 upset. And certainly that would be the 597 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:54,040 case. The person of Christ is the 598 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:56,000 single most important issue of Christianity. 599 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,000 Now Jesus is the cornerstone of the faith as it says in 600 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:02,440 Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20. You get the truth about Jesus 601 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:04,360 Christ wrong and everything else is wrong. 602 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,320 Jesus Christ, he is the chief cornerstone. 603 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,520 He is our foundation. We must get this information 604 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,480 right. Jehovah Witnesses believe that 605 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,640 Jehovah created the pre human Jesus as a spirit creature. 606 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,480 Did you get that term? That spirit creature manifest 607 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:24,880 himself as the Angel Michael, and that contradicts what the 608 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,960 Bible says about angels and about of all kinds of other 609 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:30,520 things, particularly Hebrews chapter 1. 610 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:35,480 After the Virgin Mary was with child, the spirit of Michael the 611 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,600 Archangel then entered Jesus the Teacher. 612 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,160 Jesus lived a perfect life, although he always could have 613 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,160 sinned and failed in his mid. He's always been subordinate to 614 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,440 his heavenly Father and he must not be worshipped or prayed to. 615 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:50,320 They teach that the cross is not called a cross. 616 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,800 He died on a what they call a torture stake. 617 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,280 But they refused to use the term cross. 618 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,440 They refused to show a cross. You will not find one in a 619 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:01,640 Kingdom hall. And although Jesus did die, his 620 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:05,440 body simply disappeared, was never to be found, and that he 621 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,800 is now again a spirit creature. And again, that was referenced 622 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,920 in that video. Although Jehovah Witnesses say 623 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,080 that Jesus is the Son of God, they deny that he was fully man, 624 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,520 that he was fully God, and they deny his resurrection. 625 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:23,400 They do not believe that he was the true Savior. 626 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,880 And so because of that, really nothing else on this list even 627 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:28,520 matters. You could just get to this point 628 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:32,000 alone and say, well, there's nothing here because they don't 629 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,240 believe in who Jesus isn't. A reminder, we identify cults 630 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:38,840 oftentimes 1 by usually a charismatic leader or group of 631 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:43,240 leaders that require a total allegiance and following. 632 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:46,400 But also we identify Christian cults by the fact that they use 633 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:50,000 the name and terms of Jesus. But yet at the same time, the 634 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,560 Jesus that they speak of is not the Jesus of the Bible. 635 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:54,080 We look at that Jehovah witnesses. 636 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,440 We'll be looking at that in the Mormons not too long as well. 637 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,520 And so they believe that the deity of Christ is not the case. 638 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,000 And 5th and finally, I don't want to, I want to just, we 639 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:06,760 don't have a video for this, but I do want to go over this 640 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:08,880 quickly. How are you saved as Jehovah 641 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,720 Witness? All right, we understand that. 642 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:13,480 Well, you accept Jesus Christ your Savior to be saved, don't 643 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,760 you, That you realize that you're a Sinner, only Jesus can 644 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:18,520 save you. You repent of those sins, you 645 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,520 call on Christ, you become a believer. 646 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,240 That's the way that it works. It's pretty cut and dry. 647 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:24,880 You understand what the Bible says. 648 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,160 You call upon Christ. Many of us remember the date, 649 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,280 the time we know where we were. And even if you don't know the 650 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:33,240 date and time, you remember what Jesus Christ did in your life 651 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,600 because it was a transformative moment in your life when you 652 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:40,280 pass from death unto life. Now the Bible says salvation's 653 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,640 deliverance by the grace of God from eternal punishment for sin 654 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:48,680 granted to those who accept by faith the message of the gospel. 655 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:53,200 It's the result of Jesus substitutionary death because of 656 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,760 his precious blood. It is undeserved on our behalf. 657 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:01,480 It's a gracious gift given to us by God through faith. 658 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,600 It involves repentance and calling upon the name of the 659 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,800 Lord. Now the Jehovah Witnesses have a 660 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,720 different view of salvation, one that relies on human works and 661 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,760 careful obedience. In fact, it's interesting that I 662 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,200 could not find a video on how to be saved. 663 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,160 It's interesting, you know, you go to most churches websites. 664 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:23,720 Our church has a page, my libertybaptist.org/jesus and you 665 00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:25,800 find out about Jesus and how you can be saved. 666 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,640 Some churches have a video where the pastor will explain how you 667 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:30,600 can be saved. You know, you can search high 668 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,840 and low on the Jehovah Witnesses website, jw.org, All right, And 669 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,880 you can find out that there's no video that you can find like 670 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,000 that just to explain to somebody, how do I become a 671 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:41,640 Jehovah Witness? It's not that easy. 672 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:46,400 Well, deep in the murky recesses of the Jehovah Witness website, 673 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,400 I did find this page. And so I actually took a 674 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,520 screenshot to be able to show you this, and I'm not going to 675 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,080 break it all down for you here today, but this is a screenshot 676 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,120 that I just took this week from jw.org. 677 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,160 What must I do to be saved? You must believe that Jesus 678 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:01,960 sacrificed his life for our sins. 679 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,720 You must learn what the Bible really teaches. 680 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:07,600 Now may I remind you, that means that you must use a New World 681 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,000 translation, that you must follow the not just the New 682 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,400 World translation, but the Watchtower, the Awake magazines 683 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:18,800 and all of their publications because only those will show you 684 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,240 the true way of life. Because remember, the Christian 685 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,680 Church has been corrupted. It's been corrupted for 686 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,320 thousands of years. That couple 1000 years repent. 687 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,880 Of course we wouldn't argue with that in and of itself. 688 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:32,240 How do you be saved? You got to be baptized and of 689 00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:34,440 course the word of God doesn't say that salvation is part of 690 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,240 baptism, does it? We'll see this morning. 691 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:39,400 Acts chapter 2. They were saved, were baptized 692 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,040 and they were added under the church that salvation comes 693 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,080 first. Baptism is a picture. 694 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:45,800 Maybe we're just looking at Romans chapter 6. 695 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:51,240 Death, burial, resurrection, the picture of what it is then you 696 00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:54,000 must obey Jesus instructions. What does that mean? 697 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:58,160 Follow the Watchtower, you must do what they say. 698 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:02,520 There is total obedience without any questioning whatsoever. 699 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,040 Now, some of their directives uphold the moral stands of the 700 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:07,640 Bible. They forbid the lying, sexual 701 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:10,240 immorality, gambling in those areas. 702 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:12,000 The Witnesses are acting biblically. 703 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:14,880 But others, such as the prohibition against celebrating 704 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:18,480 birthdays, holidays, you cannot salute the fat flag. 705 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:21,960 These there's no basis in Scripture for these whatsoever. 706 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,680 You cannot take an oath in a court of law. 707 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,960 These are the types of things you cannot have a blood 708 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:28,320 transfusion. Remember we talked about this a 709 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,120 few weeks ago and how that changed over a dozen times that 710 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:33,800 edict changed a dozen times over the years. 711 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,320 And so obey Jesus instructions is not just well, first of all, 712 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,480 we don't obey Jesus instructions to get saved. 713 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:42,760 We get saved and then follow his instructions, but we follow his 714 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:46,320 instructions, not those of man putting words in Jesus's mouth. 715 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:47,960 And that's what the Jehovah Witnesses do. 716 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,680 And then you got to endure the end meaning this and get this. 717 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,880 If you get nothing else from this point right here, that you 718 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,520 can live your life as a good Jehovah Witness your entire 719 00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:59,920 life, and you cannot know for sure that you will make it to 720 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:02,080 the end. There is no hope. 721 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,120 And that's why they continue to go to the Kingdom Hall. 722 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:08,240 That's why they continue to go to the meetings. 723 00:41:08,240 --> 00:41:11,920 That's why they continue to stand by those communication 724 00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:13,520 racks, and that's why they go door to door. 725 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:15,440 Why? Because they got to keep doing 726 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:17,720 it. And if you stop, you may not 727 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:20,840 endure to the end. There is no way that you can 728 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,520 truly know. Not a single Jehovah Witness has 729 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:26,320 assurance of salvation. They must remain faithful and 730 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:29,040 obedient until they die. Any witness could stumble and 731 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,520 fall and thereby lose hope of living forever in the restored 732 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,200 earthly paradise. Paradise. 733 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,600 Even the quote UN quote anointed remnant do not have any 734 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:40,880 assurance of salvation because they too could fail to cross the 735 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,280 finish line. Which means this salvation is 736 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:48,040 all up to you, but also through the organization, the faithful 737 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,480 and discreet slave. There is not a lot of comfort in 738 00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:52,560 that friend. You know where there is comfort 739 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:55,840 to be able to be in the hands of Jesus Christ and know that He 740 00:41:55,840 --> 00:42:00,040 holds you safe till eternity and that eternal life starts now and 741 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:03,800 last for, well, eternity. What a blessing that is, isn't 742 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,360 it? So how do we breakthrough, I'll 743 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:08,600 be honest with you, it's difficult, isn't it? 744 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:12,160 Because when they have their own Bible that have erased many of 745 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:15,360 the proof texts that we would use to be able to show someone 746 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,560 what it means to be safe. How do we communicate with them? 747 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:19,760 How do we help them? How do we talk to them, by the 748 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:23,160 way, how do we do so in a loving manner without mocking them and 749 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:24,960 making fun of them? Can you imagine how many of them 750 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,920 stand on those St. corners and already mocked and made fun of 751 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:31,680 and and they're already bracing themselves for you to come up 752 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,720 and do the same? How do we, in a loving and 753 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:35,960 compassionate way, show them Jesus Christ? 754 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:38,120 Well, we can find that out next week. 755 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,960 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 756 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:44,880 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 757 00:42:44,880 --> 00:42:48,320 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 758 00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:52,960 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 759 00:42:53,240 --> 00:42:57,760 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 760 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,600 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 761 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:01,800 grow in His Word.