Flirtin' with Disaster: Introduction to Jehovah's Witnesses Sermon Series Minister Gerald A. “Doc” Thomas, Westside Baptist Church

[Doc Thomas]

 

I'm travelin' down the road and I'm flirtin' with disaster; I've got the pedal to the floor and my life is running faster; I'm outta money outta hope it looks like self destruction; Well how much more can we take with all of this corruption. This is a song that was popular when I was in high school decades ago however; it seems to perfectly depict the plight of the Jehovah's Witnesses belief system. They flirt with disaster because they don't believe that Jesus is God but is a god. They flirt with disaster because they believe like the Mormons believe, that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers and that Lucifer rebelled and Christ, then called Michael, the Captain of Jehovah's hosts, remained obedient. They are flirting with disaster because they say the Holy Spirit is not a person but is Jehovah’s active force or energy. They flirt with disaster because they don't believe in hell but believe that through the redemption of Christ, man is kept from eternal death and is preserved in a consciousless state in Sheol until the resurrection when he will be reawakened and will remember himself. Do you believe this line of thinking? Are you confident in what you believe? Can the gentle spirits of the Jehovah's Witnesses salespeople rope you into their web of deception? We must be girded up for the upcoming battles and always be ready to give a defense of the Gospel.

 

Believers in Christ must always be ready to give a defense; especially in cases where confrontation with JWs, Mormons, Buddhist, Muslims, humanist, liberals, etc... rear their ugly heads. 1 Peter 3:15-16 states: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.” Not being prepared when the JW's rap on your door, shows that you too are flirting with disaster. We must know WHO Jesus is, WHAT He came to do, WHAT He is coming back to do, and WHAT He will do in the future. Like in our sermon series on Mormonism, we must refute this false doctrine, expose its leaders, show that Jesus is in fact God, Biblically and show that their doctrines are indeed false. Are these statements important to us? Should we be concerned with what these people teach? What if they were teaching this to your child? Will you then take their teaching and beliefs serious? If not, you're flirtin with disaster!

 

Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their Bible (New World Translation) to make it fit their doctrine. John 1:1 is the most infamous translation error. Most of the Scriptures that have been changed are Scriptures that refer to the Deity of Christ, a Scriptural fact Jehovah's Witnesses try to deny. The JW's Doctrine of Christ is riddled with ways of stripping Him of His Deity. In the Studies in Scripture Volume 5, page 84, they believe that Christ was the “only begotten,” which means to them that He was the highest of all creatures. Is Jesus indeed the Only Begotten, the One who is of the same essence as the Father or is He a created being and therefore a demi-god? Does this describe the Savior of the World; your God; the person that your knee will bow to? I don't think so! If this is your belief, you're indeed flirtin with disaster!

A Demi-god is defined as a male being, often the offspring of a god and a mortal, who has some but not all of the powers of a god; An inferior deity; a minor god; a person with outstanding or godlike attributes. I tested this in light of Scripture and came to the verse that describe my answer best: “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. The Watchtower leaders are liars bent on deceiving and leading weak or new believers away from the Truth. They hold court on those already in the organization who desire to leave them and if the person or persons don't show up for the hearing, they will be tried as absentees. This kind of conduct, their leaders show is not Biblical. They are truly flirtin with disaster. What do you believe? Is this proper church discipline as depicted in the Bible?

 

If we follow this foolishness then we are flirting with disaster since Jesus has made it perfectly clear that He was in fact God. In John 10: 29-31 it reads: “My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” If Jesus was not God or wasn't claiming to be God, why would the Jews attempt to stone Him? Jesus also claimed to be the only way to the Father: In John 14:5-6, it reads: Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus spoke with authority and for that He was hated! Does these comments sound as if they are coming from a demi-god; an imposter; a liar; a boaster or do they cut to the quick as the words coming directly from the mouth of Almighty God? Who do you believe, Charles Taze Russell, Judge Rutherford, The Watchtower, the New World Translation, The Studies in the Scriptures or the inerrant, infallible, God-breathed Word of God!

 

This passive-aggressive attack on the Christ's Deity is paramount in their doctrine. In Studies in the Scriptures Five; Study Three: The Mediator of the Atonement: The Only Begotten One; it provides seven hard-hitting points directed to passively and aggressively attack Jesus' Deity: First, Our Redeemer existed as a spirit being before he was made flesh and dwelt amongst men. Jesus did not exist as a spirit being because He always existed with the Father and the Spirit. The Bible let us know that there are no demi-gods; there's only one God. For instance in Deuteronomy 6:4 it reads: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” and in Mark 12:28-30 it reads: ”Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” What do you believe? Does this sound like Mormonism? It should since they are both steeped in Masonic beliefs. If you are a Mason, you must understand that you are serving a false god! The Jehovah Witnesses are a Satanic organization, based upon the occult of Freemasonry. Charles Taze Russell was a 33rd Degree Freemason; as was Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon cult.

Second point reads: At that time, as well as subsequently, he was properly known as "a god"--a mighty one. As chief of the angels and next to the Father, he was known as the Archangel (highest angel or messenger), whose name, Michael, signifies, "Who as God," or God's representative. Jesus isn't Michael. The Bible nowhere identifies Jesus as Michael. Hebrews 1:5-8 draws a clear distinction between Jesus & angels, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be His Father, and He will be my Son’? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God's angels worship Him.’ In speaking of the angels He says, ‘He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.’ But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.’”--Hebrews 1:8. Do you believe Jesus is a god; if so you're Flirtin with disaster! What do you believe?

The hierarchy of heavenly beings is made clear in this passage—angels worship Jesus who, as God, is alone, worthy of worship. No angel has ever received worship in Scripture; therefore, Jesus, worthy of worship, cannot be Michael or any other angel. Angels are not worthy of worship. The angels are called sons of God as depicted in Genesis 6:2-4; Job 1:6;2:1; 38:7 but Jesus is THE Son of God as it is written in Hebrews 1:8; Matthew 4:3-6.

Michael the Archangel is perhaps the highest of all the angels and is the only angel in the Bible who is designated “the Archangel”--Jude verse 9. Michael the Archangel, though, is only an angel. He is NOT God. The clear distinction in the power and authority of Michael & Jesus can be seen in comparing Matthew 4:10 where Jesus rebukes Satan, and Jude verse 9 where Michael the Archangel “dared not bring a judgment of blasphemy” against Satan & calls on the Lord to rebuke him. Jesus is God incarnate John 1:1,14. Michael is a powerful angel, but still ONLY an angel. Again, what do you believe? Is He God Almighty or just another created being? How will you be saved or how are you saved if you believe that Jesus is less than God?

 

The third comment is: As he was the highest of all Jehovah's creation, so also he was the first, the direct creation of God, the "Only Begotten," and then he, as Jehovah's representative, and in the exercise of Jehovah's power, and in His name, created all things--angels, principalities and powers, as well as the earthly creation. This is what Scripture say about Jesus in Colossians 1:15-20: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” Do you believe in the blood? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow or are they a dingy yellow; fake purity? You still can come to the cross where there's still room for you! Will you come or will you continue flirtin with disaster?

While Philippians 2:8-11 explains it this way: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Neither of these passages suggest that Jesus is ANYTHING less than God. What say you? Do you believe that He is less than God? Do you believe that He is a demi-god? If this is your belief, you too are flirtin with disaster!

 

Fourth comment states: When he was made flesh, to be our Redeemer, it was not of compulsion, but a voluntary matter, the result of his complete harmony with the Father, and his joyful acquiescence in carrying out every feature of the divine will-- which he had learned to respect and love, as the very essence of Justice, Wisdom and Love.

Wow, they didn't look at Him being the same essence as the Father but instead speaks of that he learned to respect and love. As God, Jesus is Love and He's Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent! I encourage you to study more about the person, power and authority of Jesus. In Colossians 2:8-10 its states: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” What part of this passage doesn't the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and other cults fail to understand? He is not a god; spirit brother of Lucifer which both Mormons and JW's believe, or the Archangel Michael! Are you convinced of this yet or do you have to put your finger in the holes in His hands?

 

Fifth comment: This humiliation to man's condition was not intended to be perpetual. It accomplished its purpose when our Lord had given himself, a human being, as our ransom, or "corresponding price." Hence, his resurrection was not in the flesh, but, as the Apostle declares, "He was put to death in the flesh but quickened in spirit."1 Peter 3:18. Here again, the JW's get it wrong by misinterpreting Scripture. 1 Peter 3:18 actually states: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Again, just like I mentioned in the sermon series on Mormonism, it is easy to come to such unbiblical conclusions when you create your own Bible. This Bible was created by Charles Taze Russell, founder of the JW's, who was enamored with the writings and beliefs of Ellen G. White, founder of the Seven Day Adventist. Here also, the JW's refuse to identify The Spirit but say in spirit. Is this blasphemy? Why disrespect the Spirit of God? This will be covered in more detail in part two of this series. The mountain of evidence to refute their claims is so overwhelming that it can take years to explain them all out. These people are enemies or Christ....enemies of the Cross. What do you believe? Reading the Bible, studying it line by line, praying before, during and after your study will bring forth the relationship with Christ that you need if you're looking for it. He tells us to “seek and we shall find.” Find Him today!

Sixth comment: His resurrection not only restored to him a spirit nature, but in addition conferred upon him a still higher honor, and, as the Father's reward for his faithfulness, made him partaker of the divine nature--the very highest of the spirit natures, possessed of immortality. Where does the JW's get this information? This is more created gobbledygook from their own resources! The risen Christ solves the riddle of life and shows that the “more excellent way” of love is not a delusion and that “the way of the cross leads home.” The risen Christ can penetrate all the walls of fear and prejudice that men ever erect. We cannot effectually shut Him out. The risen Christ is unexplainable but He is also unavoidable and irresistible. The fact of the resurrection is that which makes Christianity unique. No other religion can make such a claim for its founder. Upon those who question the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the burden of proof must fall; for it is declared by the best of scholarship to be one of the most authentic facts in all of human history. The resurrection of Christ must unhesitatingly be pronounced as the best established fact in history. What say you? Is this factual or an allegory? Many find this impossible to believe because it is unfathomable! Why would anyone go willingly to die such a horrific and unthinkable death? What would this prove? Is this person God in the flesh or a martyr for others to follow in like-manner? This is the sin-debt that He PAID-IN-FULL!

 

The NT is an historical document, genuine and authentic, and its four independent records of the life and bodily resurrection of Jesus leave no room for question. All four agree that Jesus was crucified and actually died and that His body was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. This was near the scene of the crucifixion just outside the city of Jerusalem. It also records that on the third day, He arose from the dead and appeared to His followers in a spiritual body however, it was one that was identified with the body they had known in the flesh and had seen laid away in the grave. All of His appearances, however, were to those He loved and who loved Him—those “chosen before by God.” Acts 10:40-41 reads: Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. Why would anyone question this passage? Many do because they do not want to think that God Almighty would some in the flesh and suffer for sinners. They can't see themselves volunteering for such a ridiculous act....but they are not Jesus and they can't even save themselves!

 

The seventh & final comment is: It is this great One, who has been thus highly exalted and honored by Jehovah, whom we delight to honor and to worship and to serve, as one with the Heavenly Father, in word, in work, in purpose and in spirit. Again, they deny His deity. We must understand that Christ is a seeking Savior & He'll meet us on the low sense plane on which we live in order that He may lift us up to the heights where “we walk by faith and not by sight” for “the just shall live by faith.” Believing the writings & doctrines of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is foolishness! They are not justified or just. They don't have the kind of faith that they need to enter into the narrow way. They don't have grace, God's unmerited favor, to have the faith needed. They have NOT received the gift of God so they can refuse to boast. They claim everyone is wrong but they had to rewrite the Bible to prove their point.

Jesus never fails to keep His word. Here is the risen Christ and although He had appeared in human form among his followers, there was something about Him that called forth worship. The JW's don't believe in the worship of Christ and states that He was never worshipped. You can read what the Bible says and look at the incident at Gethsemane when the soldier fell down, when the demons answered in and was tossed into the swine, when the woman at the well responded, when Mary was ready to touch Him after his resurrection, when Thomas was in awe to see and believe? Who will you believe? Will you believe these people that cannot prove their claims or will you believe the Written Word of God? The time has come for you to come forth and give your answer! You're either a believer in Christ or you are an enemy of His. Which one are YOU? Are you flirtin with disaster?

 

Again, the JW's state that Jesus was as one with the Heavenly Father, in word, in work, in purpose and in spirit but the Apostle Paul stated it this way in Romans 1:1-7: Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the Gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. JW's as well as the other cults must understand that the resurrection did not make Jesus the Son of God; it simply revealed who He was. Declared in this passage, is from the same Greek word horizo. Jesus is declared, He is horizoned, the Son of God. This gives us the perfect humanity of Christ and the perfect Deity of Christ. He is very man of very man and He is very God of very God. He is not any more man because He is God and He is not any less God because He is man....He is God-man! We must know how to explain Jesus to cults & not take for granted that they're speaking of the same person. Their words, although spelled the same, carry a totally different meaning. Jesus from Christianity isn't the Jesus of the cults!

 

The Lord Jesus Christ, crucified, dead, buried & risen again, is given the place of final authority by God Himself. John 5:22-27 says: “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” If Jesus is going to “execute judgment,” what will these people that deny His Deity do? Their knee will bow to the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob! My heart cries out to them as should yours. Their destruction is sure if they don't believe that Jesus is God and God saves. Flirtin with disaster is no longer an option, they are headed to sure destruction!

Jesus is the King over all creation and we must come to the conclusion that whether saved or lost, they are going to appear before Christ. Regardless of what the JW's may say, Jesus definitely puts Himself on a par with God the Father. The time is now when Christ gives spiritual life. It is not too late for you to come to Him whether you're Mormon, JW, Buddhist, Muslim, New Thought, Zen, etc..... Come to the open arms of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in Him and YOU will be saved! If you're Mormon, Jehovah's Witnesses, or another cult, are you ready to turn away from this way of believing after such a mountain of evidence refuting their doctrines? If you aren't ready to turn away; you're flirting with disaster!

 

The Jehovah Witnesses are a Satanic organization, based upon the occult of Freemasonry. Charles Taze Russell was a 33rd Degree Freemason; as was Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon cult. Russell is buried at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center with the illuminati pyramid as his headstone with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society etched on this structure. In the Book “Be Wise as Serpents,” there's a red triangle and on the left side it states: “The Magical Watchtowers,” on the right side: “The Masonic Tower of Babel,” and at its base, it reads: “Christianity's Systematic Destruction.” Are these statements that further the Gospel, prove Jesus to be God or refute it, and what's the purpose of having such demonic comments as the “Tower of Babel” and “Christianity's Systematic Destruction.” Can you or will you NOT call this heresy? If you don't, you're flirtin with disaster!

 

Many today still make the comments that we need the religion of Jesus however; we must realize that He had no religion. He didn't need one—He is God! What we need today is to have a religion that is about Jesus, that surrounds Him, that is all about what He has done. Jesus is actually God..He cannot worship; He is to be worshipped. You may say, “but He prayed.” Yes, because He took the place of humanity. He stooped down to save the worthless and gave them value by making them His own. If you were not a believer before this message and want to know what need to be done to have everlasting life with Jesus, look around and look for the leaders in this church and ask them how you too can be part of the family of God. Christ died for you and left His throne above to save you from your sins. Don't allow another Jesus come along and keep you from a relationship with the real Jesus...the God-Man; the Redeemer; the Author and Finisher of our faith. Come as you are either boldly of tremblingly before the Throne of Grace.

 

In closing, we must look at the cultist NOT as a lost cause and turn away from them. We are to speak the truth in love to them and remember that to leave a cult is truly a tug-of-war! They face the struggle to hold true to personal conscience in the face of pressure from religious authority. In this tug-of-war, they feel impelled to reject the imposing authority between themselves and their Creator; to reject religious dogmatism, legalism, and authoritarianism, to hold true to the teaching that Jesus, not any other human religious body, is “the head of every man.” On the other hand, they face the risk of losing life-long friends, seeing family relationships traumatically affected, sacrificing a religious heritage that may reach back for generations. With this kind of crossroad, decisions don't come easy.