SPELLING EDITED
Most Christians, as well as people in the world, know that some Christian church denominations and some world religions SHUN their people for a number of different reasons. The purpose of this study is to learn if shunning fellow believers in Jesus Christ is God's WILL according to what the Bible teaches. In other words, WHAT does the Bible ITSELF teach us concerning SHUNNING? Does the Bible itself teach DISFELLOWSHIPPING? Does the Bible itself teach EXCOMMUNICATION from the church? In order to answer these questions with SOUND BIBLICAL teaching, then we must take a closer look at what the Bible ITSELF teaches us concerning SHUNNING by closely examining all the verses on this subject of shunning. To say this another way is to answer the question, “What is the BIBLE DEFINITION of SHUNNING?” According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “SHUN” means to deliberately and consistently AVOID a person, a group, or a thing. But is this a BIBLICAL definition of this word shun? There is only ONE verse in the entire King James Version of the Bible that uses the English word “SHUN” and that verse is found in 1Timothy 2:16, which says.
1Timothy 2:16. “But SHUN (Shun WHAT? shun) profane and vain babbling: (WHY? Why shun or avoid profane and vain babbling?) for they (Speaking of the profane and vain babbling) will increase unto more ungodliness.”
Please notice that this verse does NOT say to shun the PERSON but rather we are to shun the profane and vain babbling because such talk will lead to more UNGODLINESS. Now the TRUTH does not lead anyone to ungodliness. So this verse DEFINES what the Bible itself means by profane and vain babbling. So then, this verse in 1 Timothy 2:16 does NOT teach us to shun a fellow believer but rather we are to shun the profane and vain babbling a believer MAY or may NOT be speaking. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, what MAY APPEAR to be profane and vain babbling to YOU may NOT ALWAYS be profane and vain babbling. Remember that this verse DEFINES what the Bible ITSELF means by profane and vain babbling and that is if a fellow believer is teaching something that may lead a person to UNGODLINESS. And we also have to define what ungodliness means by what the Bible itself teaches us and NOT upon the traditions of men. Now if so be what is being taught by a fellow believer does indeed lead other believers to UNGODLINESS, then it would most certainly be PROFANE and VAIN babbling and therefore it is indeed Biblical to shun what they are TEACHING. But we are NOT to shun the PERSON according to this verse we just read in 1Timothy 2:16. So then, just because a fellow believer is only trying to share what he or she truly believes that the Holy Spirit is showing them, which they sincerely believe, that what they are trying to share with their brothers and sisters in the Lord does NOT agree with what has come to be the accepted teaching by that particular church denomination does NOT automatically make a DIFFERENT teaching a PROFANE and VAIN babbling. We will go deeper into what I mean by this further on in this study of God's word. But for now, let us continue to take a closer look at WHAT the Bible itself teaches us to SHUN. Please read Proverbs 3:3-7 which teaches us that we are indeed to shun EVIL, but at the same time, while we are shunning EVIL we are to NOT let MERCY and TRUTH be LEAVING us.
Proverbs 3:3-7.
“Let NOT mercy and truth forsake you (Or you must not be letting mercy and grace to leave you): bind them about your neck; write them upon the table of your heart: 4. So shall you find favor and good UNDERSTANDING in the SIGHT of God AND man. 5. TRUST in the LORD with all your heart; and lean NOT unto your OWN understanding. 6. In ALL your ways acknowledge him, and HE shall direct your paths. (In other words, EVERY situation is DIFFERENT. So do NOT be so dogmatic to follow MAN-MADE GUIDELINES. But rather TRUST in Almighty God and HE shall show you what is FAVORABLE in HIS sight that will also be favorable in the sight of men as well. And I have to say that SOME practices of SHUNNING in some Christian church denominations or organizations are NOT favorable EITHER in the sight of Almighty God himself OR are they favorable in the sight of men.) 7. Be NOT wise in YOUR OWN eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from EVIL.”
Again, this verse does NOT say to DEPART or SHUN the PERSON, but rather depart or shun EVIL. We are to fear God with reverent respect knowing that he is a JUST God. And then, this Godly fear will move us to depart from or to “SHUN” EVIL. So then, it is EVIL itself that we are to SHUN and NOT our dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. Please read Job 28:28, which teaches us that Job had the CORRECT UNDERSTANDING to shun EVIL.
Job 28:28.
“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from EVIL is understanding.”
So it takes both the Godly fear of the just judgment of God and the correct understanding that were are to depart or shun EVIL ONLY and NOT forsake MERCY and GRACE by shunning our fellow brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told in Job 1:8 that Job was a blameless and upright man who feared the Lord and proved his love and reverent respectful fear of God by SHUNNING EVIL.
Job 1:8.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschews (Or SHUNS) EVIL?”
So then, shunning EVIL is a GOOD thing and a CORRECT UNDERSTAND of God's WILL, but to shun PEOPLE is NOT what the WHOLE word of God teaches us. Is a person EVIL just because they QUESTION what they are being taught by their church denomination? If this were true, then the very foundation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses would be EVIL for QUESTIONING the doctrine of the Trinity taught by the Trinitarian denomination that he once followed and believed. But while reading the Bible for himself, the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to the TRUTH and he was seen as a heretic by his fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord who would not even give him the time of day to at least LISTEN to what God was revealing to him. I mean there would be NO Jehovah’s Witnesses today if he was FORBIDDEN to ever QUESTION what he was taught by his church denomination. One more verse about shunning EVIL and then we will move to the QUESTIONABLE verses that SEEM to be saying that we are to shun believers who SIN. Please read Proverbs 16:6 and then we will move to the New Testament to those verses that SEEM to be saying something that they are NOT TRULY saying.
Proverbs 16:6.
“By MERCY and TRUTH iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from EVIL.”
Please pay close attention to what this verse is teaching us as to HOW we are to restore a fellow believer who has SINNED back to God. Please notice that the WAY the Bible ITSELF teaches us HOW to restore a believer, who has sinned, is through MERCY and TRUTH teaching them about God’s MERCY and the TRUTH concerning his JUDGMENT so that they will embrace the fear of the Lord and turn from their sin. In other words, the WAY that we are to treat our fellow brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who fall back into SIN is with MERCY and GRACE. In other words, the SAME WAY in which we PERSUADE UNBELIEVERS about the LOVE, MERCY and GRACE is the way that we are to HELP our dear brothers and sisters in the Lord who have fallen captive, by the enemy, to turn back to sin. And THEN, when they learn a correct understanding of Godly fear, then THEY will depart or SHUN EVIL by hiding God’s word in their own heart. Nowhere in God's word are we taught to shun PEOPLE in the WAY or MANNER that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Amish Christians SHUN their fellow believers in the Lord. The SHUNNING practice among some Christian churches is NOT favorable in the SIGHT of Almighty God, NOR is shunning PEOPLE favorable in the sight of MEN. It is a satanic practice which has caused some, who have been shunned, to commit suicide. Shunning PEOPLE is the same as ABORTION. You are throwing that person away. They are dead to you. Also, by shunning people you are KILLING them SPIRITUALLY. And sometimes you are even CAUSING their physical death by taking away their family members and leaving them ALONE and without any hope. And thus they commit suicide because they have no one to help them. May God have mercy on your souls on the Day of Judgment? Would you abandon a baby and leave that small child alone to fend for themselves? That is a CRIME in a civilized society. Now some of you in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and in the Amish fellowships may be chomping at the bit so to speak saying, “Well what about 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 where we are plainly told NOT to keep COMPANY with a brother who is living in SIN?” As I have said many times throughout the studies that I have written, that any verse, when viewed OUT of CONTEXT or alone and apart from the REST of God's word may SEEM to be saying something that it is NOT TRULY saying in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God. First, we will read that verse OUT of its context where it does indeed SEEM to be saying that we are NOT to keep COMPANY with a fellow believer who is living in SIN.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11.
“I wrote unto you in an epistle NOT to company with fornicators: 10. YET not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must you need to go out of the world. 11. But now I have written unto you NOT to keep company if any man that is called a BROTHER be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.”
Now, those few church denominations or organizations like the Jehovah’s Witnesses that practice SHUNNING, use this verse as a proof text to justify total and complete SHUNNING of a fellow believer if they are not following ALL the TEACHINGS of that particular denomination or organization. Do you see the word TEACHING anywhere in this verse? So then, all I am asking you is to take a closer look at YOUR shunning practice to see if YOUR own personal INTERPRETATION of this verse to practice SHUNNING, in the MANNER in which YOU practice shunning, is a SOUND BIBLICAL practice? Let us read this verse being left IN its CONTEXT to learn what it is truly teaching us.
Please read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.
“It is reported COMMONLY that there is fornication among you (Not just ONE brother or sister in the Lord who ALONE is committing fornication or indulging in prostitution, but rather it is a COMMON practice AMONG several believers in this particular fellowship), and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. (And not just any fornication which is bad enough but rather a type of fornication that the Gentiles do not even commit, where a brother among you has gone as far to have sex with his father's wife) 2. AND you are PUFFED up and have not rather mourned, (In other words, and you think nothing of this EVIL DEED that this brother in the Lord has done) THAT (Or so that) he that has done this DEED might be taken away from among you. (The LITERAL meaning of this verse is NOT that BELIEVERS themselves be CAST OUT of the church, but rather that the EVIL which they have done be REMOVED from the lives of ALL believers in the SAME way that we help sinners in the world turn from their wicked ways. This is God's WILL for ALL men to be saved and walk in RIGHTEOUSNESS. Remember what we have learned about NOT allowing MERCY and GRACE to leave us when we are shunning EVIL.) 3. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that has so done this DEED, 4. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are GATHER TOGETHER, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5. To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that (Or so that) the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6. Your GLORYING is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (Remember that fornication was being committed commonly by several in that fellowship who thought nothing wrong with it. So Paul is speaking of purging out the SIN from the whole congregation) 7. Purge out, therefore, the OLD LEAVEN (The word “leaven” is speaking of TEACHING or that which they have been taught in the past as Pagans. In other words, Paul is saying purge out that OLD lifestyle of prostitution and incest from among you), that you may be a new lump, as YOU are unleavened. (NOT just the brother who committed fornication with his father’s wife but that YOU who have the WRONG teaching concerning this SIN of fornication and drunkenness. You need to renew your mind to the word of God so that you may be THAT NEW lump or that new KNEADING because you are now under NEW teaching of TRUTH under the New Covenant) For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: 8. Therefore let us keep the feast (The word translated as feast here is not speaking of the feast of Passover. But rather, this word carries the meaning of a LIFESTYLE of our celebrating all that Christianity is. So then the Christian feast of Passover is celebrated EVERY DAY, It is a celebration of our new life in Jesus Christ. Every time we take communion we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Now, please understand that the actual word translated as feast here also does not specifically speak of CELEBRATING communion but the CONTEXT does. So then, let us celebrate Jesus Christ our Savior), NOT with old leaven (The Pagan teaching of the PAST that wrongly taught that there is nothing evil about prostitution and incest), neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness (And NEITHER with BELIEVERS who are LIVING in this LIFESTYLE of sin wrongly believing that they are doing nothing wrong.); but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (But rather we are to gather together to celebrate our life in Jesus Christ and to EAT the broken bread of communion in sincerity and in TRUTH, the true teaching that we are NEW creatures in Jesus Christ who are taught to shun EVIL.) 9. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10. Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must you needs to go out of the world. (Paul is saying here that we are NOT to separate the world from us, as in, totally turning our BACK and IGNORING all of mankind who are not Christians, because how will we win them to Jesus? But rather this verse means that the EVIL DEEDS of the world we are to shun. We are to TEACH them and show them that if they continue committing these sins that they will perish. And we are to treat our fellow brothers and sisters who SIN the SAME way we treat those in the world who are non-believers who sin. Do we allow non-believer to come to our church and learn the TRUTH of God’s word? Do we LOVE on those non-believers showing them the LOVE of God? Do we do everything we know to do to try and PERSUADE those non-believers to turn from their sin by first REPENTING and confessing their sin to God? But what we do NOT do is ALLOW NON-BELIEVERS to partake in our communion service and take communion. They can attend that service and watch us as believers eat the bread and drink the wine but we do NOT ALLOW the non-believer to EAT WITH US.) 11. But now I have written unto you NOT to keep COMPANY, if any man that is called a BROTHER be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; (Again HOW can we win back a fellow believer by turning our BACKS to them as if they no longer exist? This is NOT MERCY and GRACE. The word translated as “COMPANY” here does NOT mean COMPLETE removal in every way with absolutely no contact as some practice shunning, but rather the CONTEXT says) with such a one, no NOT to EAT. (And the CONTEXT of EATING in this passage of scripture is the EATING of the Lord's Supper, the keeping and celebrating of the breaking of bread whereby we do remember our Lord's death and CELEBRATE our Lord's RESURRECTION. So then, we are NOT to partake of communion with a believer who is living in SIN.) 12. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not you judge them that are within? 13. But them that are without God judges. Therefore, put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
Verse 13 here, when interpreted in the light of the CONTEXT and the rest of God's word is speaking of NOT ALLOWING those who are opening KNOWN as to be living in SIN to partake of COMMUNION. And the core meaning of this whole passage of Scripture is to TEACH GODLINESS and purge out the LEARNED ACCEPTED FORMER lifestyles of SIN from the PAST of these Pagan believers because we are a NEW creation in Jesus Christ where we are taught to live godly in this present world. Please read Titus 1:11,12, where it is by GRACE that we are TAUGHT to deny EVIL and ungodliness. So HOW shall a SHUNNED believer, who is CAST OUT of the church COMPLETELY, as if he or she no longer exists then LEARN to shun evil if no GRACE and MERCY is shown to them?
Titus 1:11,12.
“For the GRACE of God that BRINGS salvation has appeared to all men, 12. TEACHING us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
Faith comes by HEARING the word of Almighty God and NOT by REMOVING the word of God from a believer who has fallen captive by the enemy. Does not the word of God teach us to DO unto others as WE would HAVE them do unto us? What if the devil were to DECEIVE YOU to give in to sin and become SNARED in your old lifestyle of SIN! Would YOU want them to CAST YOU out of the church and treat you without MERCY and GRACE as if you never existed? I am warning you my dear brothers and sisters in the Jehovah’s Witnesses of your UNGODLY practice of SHUNNING PEOPLE which is NOT a favorable practice in the SIGHT of Almighty God. NOR is YOUR manner of HOW you SHUN your fellow brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ favorable in the sight of men. Again, may God have mercy on your souls on the Day of Judgment for committing ABORTION by cutting off those you SHUN from their God. Those in the world are looking at YOU saying, “If that is Christianity, then I do NOT want any part of it!” WAKE UP church and reach out to those who are struggling with sin rather than throwing them aside like some bag of trash not worth RESTORING to the kingdom of God. Please read Galatians 6:1, which clearly teaches us that we are to do our best to RESTORE a believer who has fallen back into SIN.
Galatians 6:1.
“Brethren, if a man is OVERTAKEN in a FAULT (Or SIN), you which are spiritual, RESTORE such a one in the spirit of meekness; (That means do NOT go and shake your high and mighty finger in his face calling him a no good, good for nothing SINNER! But rather in the Spirit of MEEKNESS, the WAY that YOU would like someone to HELP you see how to overcome sin) considering yourself, lest (The word “LEST” means for FEAR that. So there is a REAL danger that if one who is weak in faith helps a sinner back out of sin that they themselves will fall PREY to the enemy and) you ALSO be tempted.”
The word “RESTORE” here means to “BE EQUIPPING” them, as in, to be TEACHING them the grace and POWER of God to overcome sin. This cannot be done by DISFELLOWSHIPPING them in all manner of NO LONGER associating yourself with them ever again unless they repent on their OWN without any HELP from you. Is that what you would like for them to do to YOU? Is that the golden rule of God’s word? NO! It is NOT LOVING your brother or sister in the Lord, to turn your back on them like they do not exist. That is Satan’s way, NOT God’s way. Now the TRUTH of what Paul was teaching us from God’s word of truth in 1 Corinthians 5 is about turning a believer, who is living in sin, to Satan for the destruction of his or her flesh, is NOT to leave them to the WORLD so that they can somehow learn on their OWN that they are sinners so that they will return to God on their OWN. Rather, Paul is saying to take AUTHORITY over the spirit of darkness in the NAME of Jesus. If this does not bring about their repentance, then one who is strong in faith is to turn the believer, who is living in SIN, over to Satan so that he is no longer under the protection of God and the covering of your prayers. This does not mean complete SHUNNING as if they no longer exist! Again, the Bible itself does NOT teach us to shun PEOPLE, but rather to shun EVIL DEEDS. So then, rather than shunning the PERSON, we are to do everything we know to do to RESTORE them by showing them love and meekness to EQUIP the fallen saint with KNOWLEDGE of the greater one who dwells in him so that he WILL be restored back to Almighty God and his Son Jesus. Perhaps a personal testimony will shed some light on what I am saying. Years back a youth pastor in a church I attended when I lived in another city was having an affair with another woman who was also a Christian. He was asked to step down from being a youth pastor, but he was not excommunicated from the church or SHUNNED. This particular church denomination believes in grace and mercy. They believe in giving a believer living in sin space to repent like the word of God teaches us. They believe in doing everything we can to HELP restore a person who is living in sin to be restored to God. They believe in never giving up on a fellow brother or sister in our Lord Jesus Christ who fell back into living in sin. To make a long story short he was really liked by the youth, but under the circumstances, he was not allowed to be a LEADER in the church, which is wise and certainly understandable. God was using me, at that time in my life, in intercessory prayer. God is using me now more so in teaching, but back then, it seemed that I prayed more for others than I did teaching others. The Holy Spirit brought the verse of Scripture of turning one over to Satan so that they would repent of their sin. Knowing our authority that we ALL have in the NAME of Jesus, I prayed the pastor's name and his lover's name out and committed them into the hands of Satan for their flesh to be destroyed and that they will return to the faith to be saved and not perish. I maintained this confession of faith along with my positive confession of faith that they would be restored. The church continued to pray that their eyes to be opened to the truth and the elders of the church, along with the senior pastor, kept ministering to him. She would not give a listening ear to what they had to say. It took almost a year but he repented of his sin and reunited with his wife who forgave him. He was restored to his office of a youth pastor and continued to receive counseling from wise mature Christians. The woman, however, left with yet another married man from a different church and I myself have lost contact with her so I do not KNOW her present state. Now shunning MAY work on some people, but it is definitely NOT a sound Biblical way to restore a believer who is living in sin. And shunning will NEVER work on a Christian who can no longer believe a church doctrine that is NOT sound Biblical teaching. What I mean by this is that many Jehovah’s Witnesses are being shunned by their families because they can no longer agree with the FALSE teachings of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Please be aware that it is not a 100% GUARANTEE that the ones we pray and witness to will ALL come back to the Lord. But SHUNNING them, in the MANNER that the Jehovah’s Witnesses SHUN their brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, IS almost an absolute certainty or a guarantee that they will NOT come BACK to your FELLOWSHIP. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Jehovah’s Witness that MOST of those that you have SHUNNED have NOT LEFT God? But rather they have left the FALSE TEACHINGS of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. They have NOT left their FAMILIES. But rather their families are the ones who LEFT THEM by WRONGLY thinking that they are doing God’s will while all along Satan is LAUGHING at them. The truth of the matter is that those who practice shunning use it MORE for CONTROLLING their flock than they do to restore a brother who has SINNED back to God. What I mean by this is that certain denominations, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, the LEADERS of the church have dogmatically taught their flock to use SHUNNING on any Jehovah's Witness who does not AGREE with every point of DOCTRINE that is put forth by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. But what does the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, teach us about Christians who may be causing division in the church by what they are teaching fellow believers. First of all, it should be PROVEN beyond any shadow of a doubt as to what they are teaching does indeed CONTRADICT what God's word teaches. You see, dear child of God, it is NOT ALWAYS the LAITY who is teaching FALSE doctrine, but rather at times it is the church DENOMINATION LEADERS who are in ERROR. Remember the doctrine of the Trinity and how your founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses QUESTIONED that Trinity doctrine because he SINCERELY believed that it is in error to what the Bible ITSELF teaches. Think of how HE was NOT listened to by the Trinitarian LEADERS who THINK that they ALONE have the truth and no mere LAY person can possibly understand how to interpret the Bible. Secondly whether in error or not, NO believer should be CAST OUT of a church simply because they QUESTION what they are being TAUGHT. Just to make my readers aware, the Jehovah's Witnesses have quite a record of SHUNNING their people SIMPLY because they have QUESTIONED the teachings of the Watchtower Society. Many who are now EX Jehovah's Witnesses have shared their personal testimony of how whole families have been destroyed over this ungodly practice of shunning that is NOT favorable in the SIGHT of Almighty God Jehovah. Nor is it favorable in the sight of men. Unlike other Christian church denominations, who FREELY ALLOW any of their flock to go to another church if they do NOT AGREE with what that particular denomination teaches, the Jehovah's Witnesses or more precisely the Watchtower Society FORCES the family members of the one who has QUESTIONED the teaching of the Watchtower to SHUN their family member OR ELSE be SHUNNED themselves. You can go to any ex Jehovah's Witness website and read their testimonies for yourself. Here is a list of just a few websites to get you started: http://www.4jehovah.org/ex-jehovahs-witnesses/ex-jw-testimonies/
http://www.watchthetower.net/test.html
http://www.evidenceministries.org/jehovahs-witnesses/jehovahs-witnesses-testimonies/
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/jehovahs-witness-experiences.php
http://www.towerwatch.com/Testimonies/testimonies.htm
http://christianity.about.com/od/lossoffaith/a/marietestimony.htm
http://americanhumanist.org/hnn/details/2012-03-on-jehovahs-witnesses-as-told-by-an-ex-jehovahs-witn
Now back to the word of God to see what Almighty God himself has to say as to HOW we are to deal with FALSE teaching.
# 1. SEARCH the word of God for OURSELVES:
The Bible teaches us in Acts 17:11 that we are to search the word daily in order to see if what we are being taught is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God.
Acts 17:11,12.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and SEARCHED the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12. Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.”
Once you see the TRUTH directly from God's word for YOURSELF, the enemy can never steal it from you. This is God himself building the house. The very gates of hell shall not prevail against the REVEALED truth that Almighty God reveals to us through his Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into all truth. But on the other hand, if it is a MAN teaches you, then you can be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
#2. STUDY to show yourself approved:
“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16. But shun profane and vain babbling: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18. Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”
Verse 16 is often taken out of context and used as a general blanket statement to call EVERY occurrence of a believer QUESTIONING what they are being taught as being PERVERSE and VAIN BABBLING. This is simply NOT the case. All one needs to do is for then to look at history and the REFORMATION of the church. These believers, during that period of history, had sound Biblical cause to speak out and PROTEST against the practices of the Roman Catholic Church who has 'LORDED OVER' the LAITY almost from it's beginning. More on this further on in this study. For now, I want to point out the FACT that no church denomination has a cornered market as being the ONLY true church who ALONE is the SOLE church denomination or ORGANIZATION whereby men can be saved. And this is exactly what some churches who practice SHUNNING dogmatically demand. There is no hiding the FACT that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society make the claim that they ALONE have the truth and if a person is not part of the Jehovah's Witness ORGANIZATION then they cannot be saved. Here is what the Watchtower Society says about itself:
Jehovah’s Witnesses- The Gospel of the Kingdom ceased to be proclaimed shortly after the death of the apostles. It was not preached again until after 1918. (WT, 12/1/1928, pp. 363-64) We acknowledge as the visible organization of Jehovah on earth the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and recognize the Society as the Channel or instrument through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction and meat in due season to the household of faith. (Watchtower, April 15, 1939 p. 125) “ The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel which the Lord has used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning of the harvest period?” (WT 4/1/1919, p. 6414) “The world is full of Bibles…why then do the people not know which way to go? Because, they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light.”(WT 5/1/1957, p.274) “Outside the true Christian congregation, what alternative organization is there? Only Satan’s organization…”(Watchtower 3/1/1979 p.24) “Consider too, the fact that Jehovah's organization alone in all the earth is directed by God's holy spirit or active force.” (Watchtower, July 1, 1973, page 402)
So then, by their OWN admission, the elders and leaders of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society openly say that they do NOT have any divine revelation and that the publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society are NOT inspired teachings as is the Holy Bible. Below is a quote from their OFFICIAL website:
“Those who are serious about religion should think that the one they’ve chosen is acceptable to God and Jesus. Otherwise, why would they be involved in it? Jesus Christ didn’t agree with the view that there are many religions, many roads, all leading to salvation. Rather, he said: “Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:14) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they’ve found that road. Otherwise, they’d look for another religion.”
And this is the main ISSUE of this study in God's word. It is EASY to become a part of this man-made religion or ORGANIZATION, but their followers have to pay a very costly price if their eyes are open to the TRUTH of God's word that the Watchtower Society has MISLED them. You see dear children of God, if one desires to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses, they will be SHUNNED and or DISFELLOWSHIPPED. For those of you who do not know what this truly means then they cannot understand the heavy price that these believers pay for leaving a man-made religion that has NO divine revelation from God as to what they teach just because they can no longer accept what they are being taught by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as being the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So while the last statement in the quote above, by the leaders of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, that a Jehovah’s Witness may leave freely may SEEM to be saying, that if a Jehovah's Witnesses no longer agrees with the teachings of the Watchtower Society, then they are FREE to leave and join another church, this is simply NOT the case. Again just read the vast number of testimonies of those who left the Jehovah's Witnesses to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God in another church or just merely from the Bible ITSELF and you will find that their families are forced to SHUN them for FEAR of being SHUNNED themselves for not obeying the teachings of the Watch Tower to SHUN their family members. And at times entire families have been destroyed simply because of the Satanic PRIDE of SELF EXALTATION of the LEADERS who proclaim that they alone are the only ORGANIZATION to lead people to God. Once again this practice of SHUNNING is NOT a favorable practice in the SIGHT of Yahweh, the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God, including being God OVER his SON Jesus. The Bible does NOT teach us that we are to SHUN PEOPLE, but rather we are to shun false teachings and EVIL DEEDS. Let us continue to take a closer look at the verses used to try and teach that shunning is taught in the Bible.
Please read Romans 16:17.
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and AVOID them.”
The word translated as “AVOID” here carries the meaning to “LEAN” just as the Bible teaches us to LEAN not to our own understanding. This word does not directly carry the meaning of to lean AWAY from the PERSON, but rather it teaches us, in the light of the whole word of God, to lean away from what they are teaching and also to lean toward them to show them the ERROR of their ways, both in doctrine and in deeds. So in no way does this verse teach us to COMPLETELY shun the PERSON, as if, they no longer exist, but rather to shun the FALSE TEACHINGS if so be that they are indeed found to be false teachings. We are to shun the EVIL DEEDS and then reach out to help the person to be restored to The God and to HIS truth. If a believer is causing division, then that means one side or the other is not teaching the truth of the WHOLE word of God, because TRUTH cannot be proven wrong or in error. Now, it MAY be that the church denomination has it right in what they are teaching, and thus, it is indeed the believer, who is causing division, needs to have his or her eyes opened to the truth through the WORD of God. And we should never use the handed down man-made doctrines because traditional church doctrine has NOT always been without error. But what IF the believer, who is causing the division, is teaching the TRUTH and thus it is NOT he or she who is teaching the TRUTH who is actually causing the division but rather it is the church denomination that refuses to LISTEN to a word they are trying to share with them, to bring them out of the darkness and into the light, that are the ones causing the division. So then, it MAY be that the TRUTH is causing the division BECAUSE this believer is indeed teaching the TRUTH and therefore it is the other believers in that church denomination who need THEIR eyes being opened to the TRUTH. Just because something is WIDELY accepted by the church, as a whole, does NOT automatically make it be the TRUTH. And just because verses in the Bible are used to teach a church doctrine does NOT make it be the TRUTH. Let us move on to the next verse used to try and teach shunning is taught in the Bible.
2 John 1:10,11.
“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11. For he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
As I have said many times any verse viewed ALONE and apart from the REST of God word may SEEM to be saying something that it is not truly saying. When this verse is LEFT in its CONTEXT we can see that it is NOT teaching shunning in the MANNER that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Amish Christians practice their WAY of SHUNNING. First of all, the context of this passage of scripture is speaking of the very FOUNDATION of all of Christianity or Christendom. And if you do not believe that Jesus is the SON OF the living God, who is the CHRIST, the ANOINTED OF God, then you do NOT believe that the one true and only Almighty God is the FATHER either. Therefore, you are NOT worshiping Yahweh, the one and ONLY true God, who is the only Almighty God in SPIRIT and in TRUTH the WAY that Almighty God DESIRES to be worshiped. To say this another way, if we as Christians do NOT honor the SON Jesus, our Lord, EVEN AS we honor the Father, then we are NOT honoring Yahweh, the one true and only Almighty God in the WAY that the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible teaches us, which is to worship Almighty God as our FATHER in Spirit and in TRUTH. So then, 2 John 1:10,11 is concerning the CORE doctrine of CHRIST which means the ANOINTING. The doctrine of Christ means that the ANOINTED came in the FLESH of Jesus. So the Apostle John is teaching us that if someone else comes preaching a DIFFERENT gospel, then what the Apostle taught, then we are not to bid them God speed. We are not to WELCOME them into our house in the MANNER that we AGREE with what they teach and COMMEND them for teaching the truth when we KNOW that they are teaching a false gospel. John is NOT teaching us that we are to treat them as if they have the plague and not fellowship with them but rather when they do fellowship with us and we with them, we are NOT to bid them God speed. The words “God speed” means that we should not be REJOICING with their TEACHING as if it is sound Biblical teaching when we KNOW that it is NOT sound Biblical teaching. This verse has nothing whatsoever to do with SHUNNING, DISFELLOWSHIP or excommunicating a brother or sister in our Lord Jesus Christ who is teaching a FALSE doctrine of any kind. But it has everything to do with a Christian REJOICING IN their FALSE doctrine when we KNOW that it is a FALSE doctrine. For HOW will they come to KNOW that what they are teaching is a FALSE doctrine if we say AMEN to what they teach? Let us take a short side journey to fully understand what it means NOT to let those in our homes who are not teaching the true FOUNDATION on how to be saved AND bid them Godspeed as if we APPROVE of all they teach. In other words, if some Mormons come to your door, or some Jehovah's Witnesses come to your door, you are to KNOW what the WORD of God teaches so that you will NOT be deceived by false teaching. It is NOT wrong to let them come inside your house to teach THEM the truth, but it is a falling away from the truth if you allow THEM to deceive you. And it is also wrong if you bid them Godspeed as if they are teaching the TRUTH when you know that they are NOT teaching the truth in that AREA or on that particular SUBJECT. Now the SUBJECT being spoken of in 2 John 1:10,11 is the ANOINTING who came and dwelt IN the FLESH of Jesus. This verse does not say that God the Son came in the flesh. Nor does it say that Yahweh himself came in the flesh. What it says in the LITERAL translation is that Jesus ANOINTED came in the flesh. Let us take that side journey now so all my Oneness and Trinitarian brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus, the Christ, can see that the Bible ITSELF teaches us that Jesus was the son of MAN whom God ANOINTED with power from on high to do the works that his God and Father COMMISSIONED him to do. Please read John 17:3, where Jesus HIMSELF calls HIS God and Father the ONE TRUE God. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking in the first person TO his God and Father when this verse is kept in its CONTEXT.
John 17:3.
“And THIS is life eternal, that they might KNOW YOU the ONLY TRUE God, AND Jesus Christ, whom YOU have SENT.”
Now I want you to notice a very important point that is brought out in this verse and this vital TRUTH is that the SUBJECT of this verse is ETERNAL LIFE. The first part of this verse says, “And THIS is LIFE ETERNAL....” WHAT is LIFE ETERNAL or ETERNAL LIFE as it says in some other translations? THAT whosoever believes might KNOW YOU, Heavenly FATHER, to be the ONLY TRUE God, AND that they may ALSO KNOW your SON Jesus to be the CHRIST, the ANOINTED of you Father, whom you have SENT to suffer and die on the cross for their sins so the WHOSOEVER believes on me may have ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. In other words, if you want to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come you MUST believe in the ONE TRUE and ONLY Almighty God the FATHER, AND you MUST ALSO believe in his SON Jesus whom The Father has SENT. The Jews do not have eternal life abiding in them even though they believe in the same one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Muslims do not have eternal life abiding in them even though they believe in the God of Abraham. ONLY those who believe that Jesus is the CHRIST and the SON OF the living God have eternal life abiding in them. You see, the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, clearly teaches us that if you do NOT have the SON, then you do NOT have the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God the FATHER. So to all Muslims who SAY that we all worship the SAME God do NOT worship the ONE TRUE ALMIGHTY God in Spirit and in TRUTH, the WAY that Almighty God himself desires, because you’re Quran DENIES that Almighty God is the FATHER of Jesus his SON. So I implore you to read the BOOK, the word of TRUTH that your Quran teaches you to read and to ask people of the BOOK for UNDERSTANDING. The BOOK is the Bible and the people of the book are true born-again Christians. Read the studies I have here at AMatterOfTruth.com on how to be saved so your eyes of understanding will be opened to see the TRUTH of the whole word of Almighty God. And to any Jews who are reading this study in God's word, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob REJECTS you, because you have rejected his SON Jesus as being the CHRIST, your Messiah as being God’s SON. This does not mean that God rejects all Muslims and all Jews, but rather only those who CONTINUE to REJECT his SON Jesus, as being the MESSIAH who died for the sins of the WHOLE world, so that WHOSOEVER believes on Jesus the SON OF God shall be saved. And to my ONENESS brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus the CHRIST, since you believe and teach that there is only ONE ALMIGHTY God and his name is Jesus, then you also do DENY the word of TRUTH that CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches us that there are TWO separate and distinct individuals who are in AGREEMENT as ONE. Jesus is NOT the Father as you wrongly teach. Please read 2 John 1:6-9 that CLEARLY teaches us that we MUST have BOTH Almighty God the Father AND his SON Jesus in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE.
2 John 1:6-9.
“And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment (The word commandment here is NOT speaking directly of the Ten Commandments. But rather, the word commandment in this passage of Scripture, is referring to a precept, as in, referring to a TEACHING), That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. 7. For many DECEIVERS are entered into the world, who confess NOT that Jesus Christ (Or Jesus ANOINTED) is come in the FLESH. This is a DECEIVER and an ANTICHRIST. (Or anti-ANOINTING. In other words, teaching that Almighty God the Father did NOT DWELL IN his SON Jesus. Or that Jesus is NOT the Messiah, but JUST a prophet of God. It is not that Oneness and Trinitarian Christians are against Jesus being anointed but rather that their teaching HIDES or even REPLACES the ANOINTING of Jesus by wrongly teaching that Jesus is fully the Almighty God and fully a man at the same time during the days of his FLESH) 8. Look to yourselves, that we lose NOT those things which we have wrought, but that we RECEIVE a full reward. 9. Whosoever transgresses, and abides NOT in the doctrine of CHRIST, has NOT God. He that abides IN the doctrine of CHRIST, he has BOTH the Father AND the Son.”
Now the doctrine of CHRIST is to believe the TEACHING of the word of TRUTH, which is that the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God, who ALONE is the Father, SENT His thoughts as that word that was within Himself, in the BEGINNING, into the world by his Angel Gabriel, to the Virgin Mary, who then RECEIVED that SPOKEN word of God spoken to her by the angel Gabriel and at that moment in TIME that the word or spoken SAYING of God was conceived in Mary. Then nine months later Mary gave BIRTH to a human son and called his NAME Jesus, which means the salvation OF Yahweh. In other words, the Word was MADE FLESH or the spoken word BECAME a HUMAN BEING. Then this HUMAN child then grew in both stature or grew physically and grew in favor with God. Isaiah teaches us that Almighty God the Father taught his SON morning by morning. Then at the appointed time, Almighty God led his SON to be baptized in water by John the Baptist, which is when Jesus was ANOINTED by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God the Father. This is when the Holy Spirit began to DWELL IN the SON OF God to EMPOWER Jesus to overcome the devil and do the mighty works of healing that Jesus did in the sight of men. Jesus was then tempted by the devil and overcame this temptation by FAITH in the written word of God and the Holy Spirit that DWELT IN Him. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the Devil by the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God the Father that DWELT IN him. Jesus then became OBEDIENT unto death on the cross and was raised back to life on the third day by his God and Father. It is THIS DAY that Almighty God the Father speaks of as THIS DAY have I BEGOTTEN you. You see dear children of God, it was only AFTER Jesus became OBEDIENT unto death on the cross that his God and Father HIGHLY EXALTED his SON and GAVE him a NAME that is above every name. EVERYthing that Jesus is and that Jesus has was GIVEN to him by HIS God and Father, the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God. Please understand that a DAY with God is not measured as a single 24 hour day, thus THIS day actually BEGAN the very moment the spoken word of Almighty God was conceived in the womb of Mary and extended to the ascension of Jesus to his God and Father right after he was raised from the dead which is WHEN Almighty God the Father GAVE his Son eternal life and even as the Father has always had in himself. Then Jesus descended back to earth to show himself alive forevermore for forty days. And then Jesus ascended back a second time to his God and Father's right hand on his Father's throne. So then, the “DOCTRINE” of CHRIST is to BELIEVE that Jesus IS the MESSIAH AND to ALSO believe that Almighty God ANOINTED his SON Jesus with his own Holy Spirit to EMPOWER his SON to live his life WITHOUT SIN and OFFER himself on the cross to redeem mankind back to the Father. The Biblical meaning of ANOINTED means to have Almighty God the Father DWELLING IN his Son Jesus, this is how God is WITH us, who are truly born-again Christians. The SAME ANOINTING who dwelt IN Jesus NOW DWELLS IN us as believers in God’s Son as the Christ. Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament to be called Immanuel being interpreted God WITH us. God was WITH his Son Jesus by DWELLING IN his Son and this is why Jesus was called Emmanuel in the New Testament. You see everyone in Jesus' day saw Jesus as a MAN and some even came to know that God was WITH the MAN Jesus by the works they saw Jesus do. But Jesus plainly told them and us that he could do NOTHING in and of himself and that the Father IN him was the one doing the works. When Peter healed that lame man the people who saw this miracle thought Peter himself healed this lame man, but Peter said to the people why do you look on us as if by OUR power this man is healed. NO! A many thousands of times NO, it is not by our own power, but rather, it was by this man's FAITH in the NAME of Jesus that healed this man. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus the CHRIST, in order to ABIDE IN the DOCTRINE of CHRIST you MUST believe in BOTH the FATHER and in the SON. You MUST believe in the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God, who ALONE is the FATHER, AND you MUST believe in his SON whom he SENT to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world. THIS is ETERNAL LIFE. The doctrine of Christ is Almighty God DWELLING IN his Son Jesus and who NOW dwells in us. This FAITH, this BELIEF in BOTH the Father AND in his SON is what Almighty God himself DESIRES us to believe, but the devil does not, because the devil knows that when Christians truly see that Jesus was a MAN, who was ANOINTED with the Holy Spirit, who DWELT IN Jesus to empower him to heal the sick, raise the dead, and overcome any and all sin all the time, then Satan's goose is cooked so to speak. The devil knows that once Christians get a hold of this truth that he will no longer be able to deceive them, oppress them or overcome them. So, Satan does NOT want Christians to KNOW that Almighty God the Father DWELLS IN them in the same way that Almighty God the Father DWELT IN his SON Jesus. The word of TRUTH teaches us that we must HONOR the SON EVEN AS we honor the Father. This word “honor” means to reverently worship BOTH the Father and his Son Jesus. We MUST have BOTH the Father and his SON Jesus in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. The word of TRUTH teaches us that if we do NOT have the SON, then we do NOT have the Father.
Please read 1 John 2:18-28, which says.
“Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that ANTICHRIST shall come, even now are there many ANTICHRISTS; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19. They went out from us (Or they left our congregation), but they were not of us (Or they do not believe and follow what we taught them); for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us (Teaching the same things which we teach): but they went out (Or they left our fellowship), that they might be made manifest that they were not ALL of us (So obviously some who went out from that particular congregation did indeed believe and follow what they were taught, but there were also some who left this congregation and taught FALSE doctrine. Imagine that! False teaching in the early church, how could that be? Some Christians simply miss this simple truth that there were DIVISIONS in the early church as well). 20. But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. (Meaning that you have the Holy Spirit IN you who is showing you that they are not teaching the truth) 21. I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that NO LIE is of the TRUTH. 22. WHO is a LIAR but he that DENIES that Jesus is the CHRIST (The ANOINTED ONE that Almighty God chose to be his LAMB to redeem mankind back to himself and IN whom the Father DWELT and did the works. And whosoever DENIES this truth)? He is ANTICHRIST, that DENIES the Father and the Son (In other words, if you DENY either one, then you DENY them BOTH. If you deny that the Father DWELT IN his SON Jesus, then you deny the very words of Jesus and the words Jesus said will judge us in the last day). 23. Whosoever DENIES the Son, the SAME has NOT the Father: (But) he that acknowledges the Son has the Father ALSO. (Both Muslims and Jews are indeed of the seed of Abraham, but neither religious group, as a whole, believes that Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God who died for their sins. And Jesus said that if you do not believe that I am HE then you shall remain dead in your sins. Then Jews asked Jesus, WHO are you and Jesus answered, I am the same one that I have told you I am from the BEGINNING. Then if we go back to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus we clearly see that Jesus says that he is the CHRIST by him saying God had ANOINTED him. Jesus then closed the book of Isaiah and sat down. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the SCRIPTURES that speak of HIM as the coming MESSIAH. And if you do NOT believe in the SON OF God who died for YOUR sins, then you shall REMAIN condemned to the second death which is the lake of fire.) 24. Let that, therefore, abide IN you, which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall REMAIN in you, you also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. (This verse is NOT talking about what you have heard from the beginning by your church DENOMINATION, but rather what these early disciples of Jesus heard Jesus himself teach. Jesus did NOT teach that he is the FATHER and Jesus did NOT teach that God is a Trinity Godhead.) 25. And THIS is the promise that HE has promised US, even ETERNAL LIFE. (The words you hear at church may or may not lead you to eternal life, so YOU yourself must read and study the Bible for YOURSELF in order to see if what you are being taught is indeed the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God.) 26. These things have I written unto you concerning them that SEDUCE you. (This is my heart as well, dear children of God. The care of the churches comes upon me daily and I do not want to see any of my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus, the CHRIST, to be seduced and deceived by the enemy who uses good, well-meaning Christians to do his dirty work of deception. The simple truth is that there are many doctrines of devils in the church today.) 27. But the ANOINTING which you have received of him abides IN you, and you need NOT that any man teach you: but as the same ANOINTING teaches YOU of all things, and is TRUTH, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him. (So when the Holy Spirit begins to show you in the word of God things that contradict what you have been taught by your church denomination, then LISTEN to the Holy Spirit. Search the word of God daily to see if what you are being taught by your church denomination. And if your church denomination frowns upon you reading the Bible for yourself, then that church denomination is AFRAID of the TRUTH. Chances are they have taught something that is false for so long that they FEAR that if they come clean then they will lose all their followers.) 28. And now, little children, abide in him (The ANOINTING, the Father dwelling IN you, the same Spirit of the CHRIST or the same eternal Holy Spirit who DWELT IN Jesus the CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE); that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and NOT be ashamed before him at his coming.”
Sometimes I wonder if some Jehovah Witnesses truly have this CONFIDENCE of KNOWING that they are saved. The Word was MADE flesh. THIS DAY have I begotten you says Almighty God the Father. The HUMAN Jesus had a BEGINNING. The MAN Jesus was BROUGHT FORTH INTO EXISTENCE. The SON, Jesus, is NOT SELF EXISTING like the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God the Father from all eternity past. Jesus was GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE BY HIS God and Father the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God AFTER Jesus became obedient even to die on the cross for our sins. Plain and simple Jesus is NOT one and the self-same being as ALMIGHTY God HIMSELF. Now, this is NOT to say that Almighty God himself did not himself BECOME a human being. I will explain more on this point further on in this study. But for now, I want you to see that if Jesus were truly fully Almighty God himself and fully man at the same time then he would not have needed to be GIVEN eternal life BY HIS God and Father, because he would have already been an eternal being if so be that he was truly fully Almighty God himself as some church denominations wrongly teach. If you could just truly SEE that the same Almighty God the Father who DWELT IN his SON Jesus now dwells in YOU to EMPOWER you to do the SAME works that the Father did in his Son Jesus, then we could move to the meat of God's word. But first, you have to know that you have been GIVEN power in the name of Jesus to do the SAME works that Jesus did. The POWER of the BODY of Jesus, the ANOINTED ONE, will return in all its glory to magnify God. Christians will be a bright and shining LIGHT unto the world. They will walk before God and man WITHOUT sin. They will heal the sick and even raise the dead. And with more boldness and authority we will preach repentance to the world. Yes, the world will hate us all the more for reproving them of sin, but on the day of the coming of our Lord, WE will hear the words of Jesus saying WELL DONE my good and FAITHFUL servant ENTER into the JOY of your Lord! Please read John 5:16-31 which CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches us in SIMPLICITY that Almighty God the Father GAVE to his SON Jesus ETERNAL LIFE even AS or in the same way that Almighty God ALREADY HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN HIMSELF from all eternity past. Also, keep in mind that the Gospels were written AFTER the FACT. In other words, Jesus is not actually speaking in the PRESENT tense in the gospels, but rather John and the other writers of the gospels are the recordings of the account of the life of Jesus AFTER the FACT. To say this another way, Jesus, the SON God was GIVEN eternal life after God raised his Son from the dead. Jesus knew beforehand that his God was going to grant the Son of Man eternal life. This was the JOY that was set before Jesus that strengthened him to endure the cross. We have to compare Scripture with Scripture and Philippians explains very clearly as to when Jesus was HIGHLY EXALTED and given a name above every name, which was AFTER Jesus became obedient even unto death on the cross.
John 5:16-31.
“And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. 17. But Jesus answered them, My Father works hitherto, and I work. (Meaning I simply obey what I see my Father do and says for me to do.) 18. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath but said also that God was his Father, making himself EQUAL with God. (This is an ACCUSATION from the Jews who were persecuting and trying to kill Jesus who said that Jesus was making himself EQUAL with God. But Jesus answered this FALSE accusation) 19. Then ANSWERED Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily (Or truly, truly), I say unto you, The SON can DO NOTHING OF HIMSELF, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise (In words, Jesus is saying, NO I am NOT making myself equal with my God and Father, the truth of the matter is that the Son can do NOTHING in and of himself. In other places in the Bible, we see that Jesus both heard and saw things that his God and Father was doing. Now, whether Jesus saw his Father doing these mighty works in a vision or a dream we are not told. All we know for sure is that Jesus simply did what he saw his Father doing in a vision or in a dream. But again, it was Almighty God DWELLING IN his SON Jesus that was the one who was actually DOING those mighty works being done through the hands of the Son of man, Jesus). 20. For the Father loves the Son and SHOWS him (And the Father shows the Son) all things that HIMSELF DOES: (And the Father shows the Son all things that the Father HIMSELF does) and he will show him (And the Father will show the Son) greater WORKS than these, that you may marvel. 21. For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them (Gives life to them); even so the Son quicken whom he will. 22. FOR (Or BECAUSE) the Father judges no man, BUT has COMMITTED all judgment UNTO the SON: 23. That (Or so that) all men should HONOR the SON, EVEN As they HONOR the Father. He that honors NOT the SON honors NOT the Father which has SENT him. 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that HEARS my word, and believes on him that SENT me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (If your church denomination is NOT teaching you these words of Jesus HIMSELF, then you are listening to MAN-made doctrines and not the words of Jesus. Jesus said the words that I speak shall JUDGE men on the last day, so be absolutely sure you are believing and following the words of JESUS over man-made doctrines. In other words, are you obeying God's word to live without sin: OR are you obeying man-made doctrines that falsely teach you that you are just a SINNER saved by grace and that you are only human and only Jesus can live without sin? In other words, do you believe that you will always be a sinner until you get to heaven? If so be that you believe that you will always be a sinner, then how can you ever truly believe and be SURE that you will be given the right to eat of the tree of life if you continue to sin and break God's commandments? If I were you, I would most definitely read and FOLLOW the words of JESUS over these man-made teachings that TICKLE the ear of believers. Please read Revelation 22:14,15 and then follow up and read the entire study called “IS ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED BIBLICAL?” for your very soul may be at stake. Jesus said that he did not come to judge the world, speaking of his first coming, and went on to say that the WORDS which he taught would judge us. In other words, if we do not believe and obey the words of JESUS over man-made teaching, then WHOSE words will be your JUDGE? You can take the chance that you are being taught the truth by your church denomination, but I myself am going to search the word of TRUTH, for myself, and follow what the Holy Spirit IN me is teaching me. And one of the things that the Holy Spirit revealed to me in God's word is that Jesus was GIVEN eternal life only AFTER he became OBEDIENT to do all his God and Father's WILL. So then, if the FIRST begotten, from the dead, NEEDED to OBEY his God and Father, what makes some Christians THINK that they do NOT have to obey the words of Almighty God and his Son Jesus? The deceiver has planted many doctrines of devils in the church of today, so read God's word for YOURSELF!) 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the SON OF God: and they that hear shall live. 26. For AS the Father HAS LIFE IN HIMSELF; SO HAS he GIVEN to the SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF (In other words, Jesus was NOT an ETERNAL BEING who existed from all eternity as some FALSELY teach, because Jesus, the SON that was BEGOTTEN THIS DAY, at a specific point in time, by the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God and then the SON OF God was GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE just as Almighty God HAS ALWAYS HAD LIFE IN HIMSELF); 27. AND has GIVEN him AUTHORITY to execute judgment ALSO, BECAUSE (Because WHY? Because Jesus was ALMIGHTY God himself? NO! Because Jesus was the SON OF Almighty God? NO! But rather the CLEAR PLAIN and SIMPLE word of TRUTH says, BECAUSE) he is the Son of MAN. (These are the words of JESUS that Jesus himself is teaching us. So whose words are you going to believe, the words of Jesus himself or the man-made teaching of your church denomination?) 28. Marvel NOT at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 30. I can of mine OWN self do NOTHING: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek NOT mine OWN WILL, but the will of the Father which has SENT me. 31. If I bear witness of MYSELF, my witness is NOT true.”
There is NO WAY that anyone who truly considers the WHOLE word of God can say that Jesus was CLAIMING to BE ALMIGHTY God himself or even EQUAL with HIS God and Father the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God, when verse 18, where the Jews accused Jesus of making himself equal with God is LEFT in the CONTEXT of where it is found. I mean these Jews also accused Jews of having a devil. So are you going to believe the Jews or are you going to believe the words of JESUS? Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus the CHRIST, that whatever FORM that Jesus WAS in the beginning, when the Word was with God, BEFORE the Word was MADE FLESH on that certain DAY that Almighty God decided to BRING FORTH a HUMAN Son into EXISTENCE, that this divine FORM or divine NATURE of Almighty God PUT OFF his divine NATURE and BECAME FULLY HUMAN in NATURE being WITHOUT any DIVINE nature. To say otherwise is to ignore and twist the Scripture to make them say what you want them to say. So once again, some church denominations use the THREAT of SHUNNING to MANIPULATE the flock to follow WITHOUT QUESTIONING anything that that denomination or organization teaches. This is oh so wrong in many ways. God's word teaches us to study his word so that we will NOT be CONFUSED. The Greek word that is translated as, so that we be not “ASHAMED” means, so that we be not REPREHENSIBLE, or that what we teach cannot be rebuked, or so that what we teach cannot be proven to be FALSE teaching by the word of God. The SOUND BIBLICAL correct way to address the problem of believers who are living in SIN is to persuade them of the error of their ways. The following BIBLICAL way of addressing the brethren who are living a lifestyle of SIN also applies to address believers who are teaching a FALSE doctrine that will cause a fellow brother or sister in the Lord the fall away from God and lose their reward of eternal life. The first step is to go to them privately as we are taught in Matthew 18:1-28, and if they do not repent, then we are to take two elders with you and persuade the brother who has sinned against you and if he still does not repent, we are to take the brother, who has sinned against you, before the whole congregation and if the brother still yet does not repent, we are to treat him as one in the world who is under the condemnation of sin. We as Christians are NOT to EVER turn our backs on those in the world as if they no longer exist. And even more, so we must NEVER turn our backs on our own brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to preach and teach the word of God to them. We are to pray for them. We are to love THEM, but we are NOT to approve of their sin. In NO way do we SHUN those in the world like some church denominations SHUN their own brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses cares more for those in the WORLD than they do for their OWN family and their OWN brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 18:1-28.
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2. And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3. And said, Verily I say unto you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5. And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. 6. BUT whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me (Word translated as offend here means to cause to stumble, to cause to SIN), it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he was drowned in the depth of the sea. (So to the Watchtower Society are YOU absolutely sure that YOUR teaching is NOT causing your flock to stumble and err from the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God? If you truly believe that you are teaching the truth, then WHY do you NOT allow you follower to search the truth out for THEMSELVES? Why do you NOT allow them to search the Internet? Why do you NOT allow them to fellowship with OTHER Christians? WHAT are you afraid of, if so be that you are teaching the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? But most of all, WHY do you SHUN any believer for QUESTIONING what you teach? The word of God teaches us that we have no need for ANY MAN to teach us because the SAME ANOINTING that was in Jesus is now dwelling in us as true born-again Christians. You LEADERS are no more Spiritual or more anointed than any other Christian.) 7. Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs to be that offenses come; but WOE to that man (Or WOE to that man-made religious ORGANIZATION) BY whom the offense comes (Or by whom those who teach false teachings that cause these little ones to stumble and fall away from the truth of God's word comes.)! 8. Wherefore (Speaking to you the FLOCK, the little ones to whom your God is revealing the TRUTH) if your hand or your foot offend you, cut them off, and cast them from you (This is speaking of the flock or the little ones making their OWN choice to separate THEMSELVES from man-made organizations that are NOT teaching them the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. Sometimes it does come with a high price of losing family members and friends. But IF SO BE that those family members and friends are CAUSING you, these little ones, to STUMBLE and fall away from God.): it is better for you to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10. Take heed that you (Referring to all believers, but seems to be more directed to the leaders of the church) despise not one of these little ones (Or do NOT think DOWN, disesteem, and think against any of these little ones); for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12. How think you? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray? 13. And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. (We as Christians are never to SHUN and turn our back on ANY believer for ANY REASON, but rather the WHOLE congregation should be made KNOWN of the PROBLEM so that they can pray for their brothers or sisters in the Lord to be restored to the faith. Now, if a MORAL CRIME against another person or Christian has been committed, then we are to NOT harbor that CRIMINAL, but rather we are to obey the law of the land and turn that brother or sister over to the authorities to be arrested for his of her MORAL CRIME against another person. But just a MERE disagreement of church doctrine has absolutely NO grounds to warrant the expelling of any Christians from the church. The solution to false teachers is to let the TRUTH defend itself by laying out ALL the evidence and then see who it is that is teaching the truth based upon the WHOLE word of God. And if so be that it is the little ones who are in error and eyes are not opened to the truth, then the REST of the flock will NOT be deceived by his or her false teaching. But if it is the LEADERS who are in error, then the whole flock will be set free from false teaching. And IF the leaders are WISE, then they will repent and CHANGE what they teach. There should never be any reason to FEAR your flock asking questions and sharing their own opinion, even if what they share is indeed the TRUTH.) 14. Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. 15. Moreover if your brother shall trespass against YOU (The topic has switched to a trespass or crime against YOU specifically), go and tell him his fault between you and him ALONE (This is the FIRST step): if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother. (Forgive and forget. It is over. It is in the past. ALL is forgiven. NEVER bring it up again) 16. But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (This is the second step to restore a dear brother or sister to the Lord) 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican. (So then, HOW do we treat sinners in the world? Do we SHUN them? Do we turn our BACK on them? Do we treat them as if they do not exist? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We LOVE them. We hate their DEEDS, but we are to LOVE sinners and do our best to give them LIGHT, so they will come to the knowledge of the TRUTH and be saved! We PRAY for them. The following verses are about the different kinds of prayer we use to defeat the enemy. No PERSON is our enemy. Any person who fights against us is being DECEIVED by the god of this present world.) 18. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often (Or how many times) shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22. Jesus said unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (To the leaders of the churches, if there comes a brother or sister to you 490 times in a single day with a QUESTION about what is being taught by your church DENOMINATION or organization then it is YOUR responsibility to LISTEN, because it may well be that what they are QUESTIONING is INDEED the truth of the whole word of God meaning that YOU now have to make a decision to either keep teaching a false doctrine or go against your church denomination and teach the TRUTH. On judgment day you are NOT going to stand before any man-made church denomination or organization, but rather you are going to be standing before Jesus and HIS WORDS shall judge you. So again, the words of Jesus, WOE to those who cause these little ones to turn away from the Son of Almighty God the Father. And know this! Some Jehovah’s Witnesses believe so much that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is the ONLY one who has the TRUTH and when they find out that it is not so, then they become an atheist not trusting anyone who has the truth. So you do ERROR by CLAIMING that you ALONE have the truth and God will judge you for LYING. Remember that NO LIAR shall enter into the city of God to rule and reign with Jesus in the world to come.) 23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25. But for as much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26. The servant, therefore, fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. 27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe. 29. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. 30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. (Those servants who do NOT have mercy and grace for their fellow brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, to forgive them and to reach out and HELP them to be restored to God shall give account to Almighty God and his Son Jesus.) 31. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you desired me: 33. Should not you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you? 34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, IF you from your hearts forgive NOT every one his brother their trespasses.”
So then, if your PRIDE and OBEDIENCE for your man-made church organization that has exalted itself ABOVE the very word of Almighty God causes even ONE of these little ones to stumble away from the truth of the whole word of God and sin, then YOU will be held accountable ALONG with the leaders of these man-made religious organizations. Take HEED to stop lording over the flock of Jesus, our chief shepherd. If we just merely SAY that we love God and do NOT love our own dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, the word of God says we are liars. The Bible teaches us that we are even to love our enemies.
Matthew 5:44.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
The word that is translated as “despitefully” use you means that we are to PRAY for and NOT SHUN those who FALSELY ACCUSE us, who insult us, who abusively treat us, and who accuse us of being evildoers. We are to PRAY for and NOT SHUN those who despitefully USE us. Shunning, as defined by, a refusal to speak to someone, is NOT Biblical. Shunning, as defined by, a total severing of all ties, goes beyond what the Bible advocates. Excommunication from the church is NOT a sound Biblical practice. Lording OVER the sheep or LAITY is a practice that Jesus HATES. Jesus HATES religious ORGANIZATIONS that lord over their flock. There is absolutely no lack of evidence of the CONTROL that the Watchtower Society has over its SLAVES, the LAITY, and the flock, who call themselves the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is this CONTROL “lording” OVER, the deeds of the Nicolaitans that Jesus hates and that I am WARNING my readers to be aware. Please read Revelation 2:6 where Jesus is speaking to the church of Ephesus.
Revelation 2:6.
“But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
So then, what are the deeds of the Nicolaitans? The name “Nicolaitans” is translated from the Greek word “nikolaos”, which is a compound of the two Greek words “nikos” and “laos”. The Greek word “nikos” means to CONQUER or to SUBDUE. And the Greek word “lao” means “the people”. This Greek word “laos” is also where we get the word “laity”. Then when these two words are compounded into one word, they form the name Nicolaitans, which literally means those who conquer or subdue the people. Thus the Nicolaitans were conquering and subduing the people or the LAITY.
The LITERAL translation of Revelation 2:6 says.
“But this you are having that you are hating the act of CONQUER-PEOPLES which also I am hating.”
Now on the outside looking in, it is blatantly obvious that the Watchtower Society is LORDING OVER its people, which our Lord Jesus Christ HATES. The Bible clearly teaches us that we are NOT to LORD OVER the flock.
Please read 1 Peter 5:1-4.
“The ELDERS which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3. Neither as being LORDS OVER over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.”
God has placed leaders in the church to guide and EQUIPT us to OVERCOME the enemy and NOT to LORD OVER us forbidding their flock to neither read nor believe anything OTHER than that which their own church denomination teaches. So ANY church denomination or religious organization that does NOT allow you to QUESTION what they are being taught, then THOSE church denominations and religious organizations are NOT following the word of Almighty God. All I am saying is that it is YOUR reward of eternal life that is on the line and Jesus himself WARNS us to not LET any man STEAL our crown of LIFE. In closing, I want to assure my dear brothers and sisters, who are Jehovah's Witnesses that the point of this study is to share the LOVE that God has for ALL of mankind. For God so LOVED the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son so the WHOSOEVER BELIEVES on him should not perish, but have eternal life. PLEASE, please do NOT misunderstand what I am saying my dear brothers and sisters within or UNDER the teaching of the Jehovah's Witness Bible and Tract organization. I am NOT JUDGING you and dogmatically demanding that you stop being a WITNESS for our God Yahweh who ALONE is the ONE TRUE and only ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father. But rather I am saying to STOP JUDGING your fellow brothers and sisters in OUR Lord Jesus, the CHRIST, as NOT being TRUE born-again Christians who have a testimony of faith that Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God the Father who died for THEIR sins the SAME as he died for your sins, and NOT ONLY for our sins who BELIEVE, but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE world, so that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES shall be saved. No church denomination or organization is the ONLY true church and if you CLAIM that you are then you will be found a LIAR on the Day of Judgment. Trust me when I say that you do NOT want to be found a LIAR on the Day of Judgment so I implore you to STOP claiming that you ONLY have the truth and ONLY Jehovah’s Witnesses are saved. Let there be UNITY and LOVE among the BRETHREN, for how shall we love the world if we cannot love our own brothers and sisters in OUR Lord Jesus Christ is ALL the many different church denominations. A dear brother OR sister in the Lord has been quoted as asking the Lord “how much he LOVES us”. Below is that quote from this unknown believer. Perhaps he or she was once a Jehovah's Witness whose eyes were opened to the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God.
“I asked Jesus, ‘How much do you love me?’ And Jesus said, ‘This much.’ Then He stretched out His arms and died.”
Author Unknown.
I put you in REMEMBRANCE of Almighty God himself who makes it blatantly clear that if we just merely SAY that we love God and we love NOT our brothers and sisters in the Lord then God is NOT in us!
1 John 4:3-21.
“YOU are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. 5. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world hears them. 6. WE are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that LOVES is born of God, and knows God. 8. He that loves NOT knows NOT God; for God is love. 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. (The Son of Almighty God who STRETCHED OUT his open arms to die for our sins, and not only our sin but also for the sins of the whole world in order to receive WHOSOEVER will come to be embraced in his OPEN arms of LOVE.) 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. (This word ought is not just a suggestion, but rather a command that we must without fail LOVE one another!) 12. No man has seen God at any time. IF we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13. Hereby KNOW we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15. WHOSEVER shall confess that Jesus is the SON OF God, (That means WHOSOEVER whether they be Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Hebrew Roots Movement, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Calvinist, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox or any other church denomination so long as WHOSOEVER shall BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, the SON OF God who DIED for YOUR sins and whom God raised from the dead shall BE BEING SAVED. And that process of BEING saved to receive the END of our salvation, our promised reward of ETERNAL LIFE is that we walk in LOVE one toward another! And IF we walk in LOVE then)God dwells in him, and he in God. (Please read the study “WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?” 16. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwells in LOVE dwells in God, and God in him. 17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as HE IS, SO ARE WE in this world. 18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. (Do you fear, wonder or have any doubt to whether you are saved or not. Do you worry as to whether or not you are doing ENOUGH WORKS to please God? If this is you, then I implore you to read the study in God's word called “HOW CAN I KNOW THAT I AM SAVED?” ) 19. We love him because he first loved us. 20. If a man SAY, I love God, and HATE his brother, he is a LIAR: for (Or because) he that loves NOT his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21. And this COMMANDMENT we have from him, That he who loves God LOVE his brother ALSO.”
And SHUNNING is NOT so-called tuff-love. Shunning is just plain WRONG! Shunning is NOT Biblical? Thanks for reading and may God richly bless you as you continue in the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God and his Son Jesus. If you are thinking about becoming a Jehovah's Witnesses I implore you to do your OWN research to hear ALL sides, because once you are in the Jehovah’s Witness organization it is NO easy task to get OUT without paying a heavy price! Many former Jehovah’s Witnesses have lost their entire family and all of their Jehovah’s Witness friends. Please, I implore you to take a CLOSE look at what EX Jehovah's Witnesses have to say EXPOSING what the Watchtower keeps HIDDEN from their new recruits until it is too late. Here is a link that speaks the truth without hatred in his words toward the Watchtower organization or the Jehovah's witnesses. While I do not agree with all of his beliefs, I do see his love for people NOT to be deceived by the Watchtower Society. I have talked with a lot of ex Jehovah's Witnesses and they all say the same thing, “It was easy to join, but there is a STEEP price to pay if you want out, SIMPLY because you can no longer believe what the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society teaches because the Holy Spirit has revealed the TRUTH to you.” To me personally, this practice of SHUNNING is a sign of a cult that LORDS OVER the people which our Lord Jesus Christ HATES. Here is the link to this EX Jehovah's Witness site:
http://thejehovahswitnesses,org/christian.php
Your brother in our Lord Jesus the CHRIST, Brother Mark.
TO RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT
|
|
|
