I need help *Sharing * Jesus with a Jehovah's Witness coworker*

[Laish]

I have for the past few months or so ben sharing the gospel with a friend at work .

I will call him Joe (not his real name ) .Joe actually started the whole conservation . He noticed that I read my Bible on my break , an asked me if I was a Christian ,I sad yes . His quickly asked questions concerning the Trinity . I answered him with biblical answers which he said that he would need to check out . A few days later ,after complete silence on the subject , Joe returned to the conservation . He said that he had something for me to read . He gave me a photocopied handout with excerpts from a booklet called Should you believe the Trinity . I took it an said I needed some time to read it . I went thru the copies an researched some unreferenced quotes an out of context Bible verses an told him about misquotes an the out of context Bible verses ,and where the booklet had it wrong or where it was outright dishonest . The next few days I was not ignored , but Joe did not talk about anything concerning God . Joe was soon his old self an invited me to do a Bible study . I had to decline . I just did not have the time . So we only talk at work .Many times when we talk he seems to have questions in mind before hand . I answer him an he will ether ask for time to read up or changes the subject . To make a note here Joe has not once after given time to check something out come back with a answer . I have come to the conclusion that no amount of scripture quoting will help . I am thinking that if I am to make any headway I will need to show where the Watchtower society has it wrong now an in the past . I would appreciate any input on reaching my friend . If any of you have had any success in reaching a Jehovah's Witness please share your success, an if you did not get anywhere please share too Anything could help . I truly like Joe an hope that he my see the light .
Your Brother in Christ
Bill

[Vhayes]

prayer that the Holy Spirit will prepare your co-workers heart and give you the words to say.

My advice? Just keep sharing the love of the Lord and what He has done in your life. Jehovah's Witnesses are hard nuts to crack; they are certain they have the inside track and are terrified to let go or open up. So, the best thing to do is just love him.

[andrew_no_one]

Jehovah's Witnesses try very hard to be self-righteous, as their religion is a religion of works. They also have no idea who Jesus is (they think he's Michael, the archangel). They also don't believe in the Trinity, thinking it to be polytheism.
You can debate doctrine with them all day, and they are good at it, because they don't think they'll get to Heaven without a long laundry list of works and knowledge (and door knocking).
You have to use the Law of God to humble them, stop their mouths and show them that it is impossible to be righteous before God and in themselves there is no hope for righteousness. All our righteousness are as filthy rags.
Because they think they can possess righteousness from their own efforts, they will never accept God's grace without the use of the Law...they don't think they need grace and they certainly don't think it sufficient.
Remember that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and that the Law is the schoolmaster that brings them to Christ and prepares the heart for grace.

[Vanderhoven7]

I have for the past few months or so ben sharing the gospel with a friend at work .

I will call him Joe (not his real name ) .Joe actually started the whole conservation . He noticed that I read my Bible on my break , an asked me if I was a Christian ,I sad yes . His quickly asked questions concerning the Trinity . I answered him with biblical answers which he said that he would need to check out . A few days later ,after complete silence on the subject , Joe returned to the conservation . He said that he had something for me to read . He gave me a photocopied handout with excerpts from a booklet called Should you believe the Trinity . I took it an said I needed some time to read it . I went thru the copies an researched some unreferenced quotes an out of context Bible verses an told him about misquotes an the out of context Bible verses ,and where the booklet had it wrong or where it was outright dishonest . The next few days I was not ignored , but Joe did not talk about anything concerning God . Joe was soon his old self an invited me to do a Bible study . I had to decline . I just did not have the time . So we only talk at work .Many times when we talk he seems to have questions in mind before hand . I answer him an he will ether ask for time to read up or changes the subject . To make a note here Joe has not once after given time to check something out come back with a answer . I have come to the conclusion that no amount of scripture quoting will help . I am thinking that if I am to make any headway I will need to show where the Watchtower society has it wrong now an in the past . I would appreciate any input on reaching my friend . If any of you have had any success in reaching a Jehovah's Witness please share your success, an if you did not get anywhere please share too Anything could help . I truly like Joe an hope that he my see the light .
Your Brother in Christ
Bill

"Joe" seems a little inexperienced at witnessing. He would rather get you to a study where others, who are more knowledgeable will take over. You are right, Joe's biggest problem is that he does not have a relationship with Jesus. He can't call on Jesus as all new testament Christians did; he can't come to angel Jesus with his troubles and share his burdens with Him. That would constitute spiritism. And Joe will never have a relationship with Jesus as long as he is affiliated with the Watchtower. They are his strong man that keep him bound. If he ever called on Jesus Christ or voiced any disagreement with any doctrine of the organization, he would be disfellowshiped and disowned/shunned by his friends and even his Witness family members. Complete agreement is required.

Impress this on your spirit: You can't teach Joe anything. So don't bother trying. You will only spin your wheels on "hell" and the "Trinity" playing Bible ping-pong. Joe will not receive the gospel until you have dealt with the strong man that has him bound. Here is a method that works to achieve this.

Joe's religion is entirely extra-biblical. Get this: Every doctrine which is unique and original to Joe's religion is extra-biblical...the speculations of men. This includes their entire eschatology, their mythical foundational teachings, their angelic Jesus and their two-class gospel. So your job is to know their unique teachings and ask him for biblical support for them. Get him to teach you using the Bible alone, because you can tell him, you don't trust anything else. This counter-cult methodology is called "Validation-Evangelism". This approach gets to the root of the problem...which is trust in men...which brings with it a curse.

Vander

[Laish]

prayer that the Holy Spirit will prepare your co-workers heart and give you the words to say.

My advice? Just keep sharing the love of the Lord and what He has done in your life. Jehovah's Witnesses are hard nuts to crack; they are certain they have the inside track and are terrified to let go or open up. So, the best thing to do is just love him.

Vhayes thankyou for the reminder to prepare with prayer before I talk with my friend .I have many times neglected to do so
. We all need to rember that we may share the truth in love but it is the Holyspirit that dose the heavy lifting .
Thankyou
Your brother in Christ
Bill

[Vanderhoven7]

In case anyone is interested in evangelizing Jehovah's Witnesses, here are the areas I believe are effective to explore:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LowZ...hannel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LowZJLAiJQ&list=UUj6NrnNaTOPN08sYM59R0wA& index=7&feature=plcp

[Laish]

Jehovah's Witnesses try very hard to be self-righteous, as their religion is a religion of works. They also have no idea who Jesus is (they think he's Michael, the archangel). They also don't believe in the Trinity, thinking it to be polytheism.
You can debate doctrine with them all day, and they are good at it, because they don't think they'll get to Heaven without a long laundry list of works and knowledge (and door knocking).
You have to use the Law of God to humble them, stop their mouths and show them that it is impossible to be righteous before God and in themselves there is no hope for righteousness. All our righteousness are as filthy rags.
Because they think they can possess righteousness from their own efforts, they will never accept God's grace without the use of the Law...they don't think they need grace and they certainly don't think it sufficient.
Remember that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and that the Law is the schoolmaster that brings them to Christ and prepares the heart for grace.

Thanks Andrew_no_one. You are right concerning works . Joe believes that his effort will let him live forever here on a paradise earth . It is sad . Joes has ben taught he has no hope for Heaven , Only a chance for life on a renewed Earth . If he works hard enough going door to door, an making sure his card had enough homes visited listed on it . When ever I talk to him about Christ's return there is this feeling of desperation an a need to do his door to door work .

Your brother in Christ
Bill

[dan]

Remember that Joe has everything written down for him. JW's have books written about how they should witness to others.

They also practice witnessing to each other.

When you appear too strong in your faith, they generally leave you alone. But they keep track of your progress, or lack thereof. All other JW groups that witness know not to go to certain houses.

They even film their own services. Although, the exact purpose of that is not known to me.

[Laish]

"Joe" seems a little inexperienced at witnessing. He would rather get you to a study where others, who are more knowledgeable will take over. You are right, Joe's biggest problem is that he does not have a relationship with Jesus. He can't call on Jesus as all new testament Christians did; he can't come to angel Jesus with his troubles and share his burdens with Him. That would constitute spiritism. And Joe will never have a relationship with Jesus as long as he is affiliated with the Watchtower. They are his strong man that keep him bound. If he ever called on Jesus Christ or voiced any disagreement with any doctrine of the organization, he would be disfellowshiped and disowned/shunned by his friends and even his Witness family members. Complete agreement is required.

Impress this on your spirit: You can't teach Joe anything. So don't bother trying. You will only spin your wheels on "hell" and the "Trinity" playing Bible ping-pong. Joe will not receive the gospel until you have dealt with the strong man that has him bound. Here is a method that works to achieve this.

Joe's religion is entirely extra-biblical. Get this: Every doctrine which is unique and original to Joe's religion is extra-biblical...the speculations of men. This includes their entire eschatology, their mythical foundational teachings, their angelic Jesus and their two-class gospel. So your job is to know their unique teachings and ask him for biblical support for them. Get him to teach you using the Bible alone, because you can tell him, you don't trust anything else. This counter-cult methodology is called "Validation-Evangelism". This approach gets to the root of the problem...which is trust in men...which brings with it a curse.

Vander

Thankyou for your reply . This helps a lot an confirms much of what I have thought an read about Jehovah's wittness .
I believe you are right that Joe may be inexperienced .He converted within the past 6 years or so . His knowledge of certain Bible passages is good but the context is not there . Example knowing about Sodom and Gomorrah an not knowing who Lot
Lot was or how Abraham fits in to the story . You do have a point that the back an forth verse quotes is not the way ,an that going to his faith in the watchtower organization is best . Again thankyou .

Your brother in Christ
Bill

[Bandit]

I have for the past few months or so ben sharing the gospel with a friend at work .
...

Hello Bill,

This sounds like a typical interaction with a JW. (And I would advise you to not go to his bible study - you will be outnumbered and they will gang up on you - that is their plan.) Keep your meetings to a neutral site.

[Laish]

Sense Joe an I usually do not have a theological discussion until Tuesday or later ( probably after he talks to someone about what was talked about earlier ) . I thought that I would try to seen where my friend is coming from on certain issues .

Joe has talked about how being a Jehovah's wittiness affects his world view . I have looked up some of this stuff on the net an found conflicting info . I am hoping someone here may have more experience with these issues . If so ,can you tell me why they take these positions ? Here is just a few things that I can remember off the top of my head .

1 It was wrong to get involved in WW II . Stopping Hitler halted the coming of God's kingdom .
2. That the United Nations is apart of God's governance of the world .
3. That China is taking over the U.S. banking system
4 Feeding the hungry clothing the poor an giving shelter to the homeless takes a back seat to evangelism ( I mean a far back seat with other things In-between ) . That one really boggles the mind .
I am not wanting this to be a bashing thread I just want to know why they think these things ,so I may be better equipped to help
I know bad Theology is the broad reason ,but what part of their belief system dose this come from
Your brother in Christ
Bill

[Vhayes]

Sense Joe an I usually do not have a theological discussion until Tuesday or later ( probably after he talks to someone about what was talked about earlier ) . I thought that I would try to seen where my friend is coming from on certain issues .

Joe has talked about how being a Jehovah's wittiness affects his world view . I have looked up some of this stuff on the net an found conflicting info . I am hoping someone here may have more experience with these issues . If so ,can you tell me why they take these positions ? Here is just a few things that I can remember off the top of my head .

1 It was wrong to get involved in WW II . Stopping Hitler halted the coming of God's kingdom .
2. That the United Nations is apart of God's governance of the world .
3. That China is taking over the U.S. banking system
4 Feeding the hungry clothing the poor an giving shelter to the homeless takes a back seat to evangelism ( I mean a far back seat with other things In-between ) . That one really boggles the mind .
I am not wanting this to be a bashing thread I just want to know why they think these things ,so I may be better equipped to help
I know bad Theology is the broad reason ,but what part of their belief system dose this come from
Your brother in Christ
Bill

Hi Bill -

A couple of things stand out to me in the point you have posted. NONE of them can be disproven. It's like me telling you that if I hadn't spent the money I had in my pocket Tuesday, July 29, 1967, I would be a multimillionaire now. HOW do you disprove that? You can't. But I CAN'T PROVE it either.

It's all a shell game. All of it.

Point one in particular is troubling. According to the Witnesses, FDR, Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton and Montgomery were more powerful than the Lord Jesus Christ. Do they really believe that ANYTHING can stop Jesus Christ from returning when the Father says, "GO!!!" Really?? They have to teach that because that was just about the time the had their 144,000th member - and guess what? They now have over a million - and if only 144,000 can go to heaven (which is what they taught for YEARS) then, uh oh, gotta be a reason.... Yeahhhh, the Kingdon was SUPPOSED to come then but mankind messed it up. Yeahhhhhh, that's the ticket.

As I said, it's all a shell game. Shift the pieces here and there, move them just a little and bingo - you can make people believe anything.

Don't argue with this man. Love "Joe" with the love you have in your heart for him, knowing that the way he is headed is straight to hell and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is all that can save him. You are Christ's ambassador to "Joe". Represent the King.

Prayers continuing for you and for "Joe".

(((((Hugs)))))
V

[TrustGzus]

One thing that I try to do to in order to keep motivated is that I make my goal to just put a stone in their shoe. If you make a good point, it's not likely Joe will come right out and say "you've got a very good point". However, it might bother him as he walks on that "stone in his shoe". The results may come a long time from now.

To make it your goal to get him to the cross is the ultimate. However, it's not likely in most cases with JW's and you might get frustrated. However, getting a stone in his shoe is a very attainable goal and can be done over and over and over again.

A great resource is Ron Rhodes' book Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses. He gives lots of good ideas for questions that can put that stone in their shoe.

I've read through the book at least twice. I can't say enough good about it.

[Laish]

Hi Bill -

A couple of things stand out to me in the point you have posted. NONE of them can be disproven. It's like me telling you that if I hadn't spent the money I had in my pocket Tuesday, July 29, 1967, I would be a multimillionaire now. HOW do you disprove that? You can't. But I CAN'T PROVE it either.

It's all a shell game. All of it.

Point one in particular is troubling. According to the Witnesses, FDR, Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton and Montgomery were more powerful than the Lord Jesus Christ. Do they really believe that ANYTHING can stop Jesus Christ from returning when the Father says, "GO!!!" Really?? They have to teach that because that was just about the time the had their 144,000th member - and guess what? They now have over a million - and if only 144,000 can go to heaven (which is what they taught for YEARS) then, uh oh, gotta be a reason.... Yeahhhh, the Kingdon was SUPPOSED to come then but mankind messed it up. Yeahhhhhh, that's the ticket.

As I said, it's all a shell game. Shift the pieces here and there, move them just a little and bingo - you can make people believe anything.

Don't argue with this man. Love "Joe" with the love you have in your heart for him, knowing that the way he is headed is straight to hell and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is all that can save him. You are Christ's ambassador to "Joe". Represent the King.

Prayers continuing for you and for "Joe".

(((((Hugs)))))
V

Thanks Vhayes for your post an most of all your prayers .
I believe you hit on something when you said that the points Joe made are hard to refute . These points are probably made that way to strengthen the watchtower 's hold on people like Joe . Meaning if you can't disprove this teaching about the world today how can anything you say be true about what is written down in scripture .
I will also take your advice to heart an rember not to argue but talk in love . Thanks so much .
You brother in Christ
Bill

[Laish]

One thing that I try to do to in order to keep motivated is that I make my goal to just put a stone in their shoe. If you make a good point, it's not likely Joe will come right out and say "you've got a very good point". However, it might bother him as he walks on that "stone in his shoe". The results may come a long time from now.

To make it your goal to get him to the cross is the ultimate. However, it's not likely in most cases with JW's and you might get frustrated. However, getting a stone in his shoe is a very attainable goal and can be done over and over and over again.

A great resource is Ron Rhodes' book Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses. He gives lots of good ideas for questions that can put that stone in their shoe.

I've read through the book at least twice. I can't say enough good about it.

Thanks TrustGzus for your advice I am looking up the book an will probably load it on my iPad .
Again thankyou
Your brother in Christ
Bill