What is the Gospel? What is Christianity?

What is the Gospel?

1. God loves you!  “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  (John 3:16 and context)

 

2. You are a sinner.  “"There is no one righteous, not even one; For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”  (Romans 3:10,23)

 

3. You have earned death. “For the wages of sin is death”  (Romans 6:23) “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.” (Romans 4:4)

4. Jesus took our punishment.  “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5,11) “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

5. Eternal life is a gift: “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast”  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

6. Jesus rose from the dead.  “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”  (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)

 

7. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who believe in Him. “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (John 7:37-39)

 

“He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’  They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household’”  (Acts 16:30-31)

 

What is Christianity?

Christianity is the life and salvation God has given in and through Jesus Christ.

“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 “Whoever has the Son has the Father also” 1 John 2:23

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-5

Notice that it is after salvation, and after being justified (declared righteous), and after becoming heirs that this is said in verse 8:  ^"The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people."

"We all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:3-9

Once again we notice that it is being saved by receiving the gift of God, that enables us to do good works in verse 10:  "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Am I special?

I wanted to share a bit of my feelings when I went from JW to Christian... It was actually difficult to struggle with the realization that I do not have special knowledge, I am no longer a member of an elite group. I cannot feel good about knowing more about God than the next Christian. I had to admit that what God has revealed to me and He reveals to everyone who receives Christ. How humbling! I mean really it was crushing at times!

I also had to admit that my sins put me in the same boat as everyone else. I am a sinner saved, not by any goodness of my own, but the grace of God and the mercy of Christ. I am not special. I am no more special than the child of God sitting next to me in a church pew. You know, the one who has known Jesus since she was 3? Or the one who met Jesus after dating her husband... who started going to church with him and never had to deprogram her mind, never lost any family members for her faith... We are all children of God. All sinners. All saved by Jesus to be joint heirs. All of us.


I am also no more special than the people who are still Jehovah's Witnesses, or those who left Jehovah's Witnesses and never became Christians. I did not figure this out with my superior love for God, or my superior reasoning skills. I am a Christian because the Father called, not because of anything good in me.


Jesus died for them all, just as He died for me. Jesus loves you, just as he loves me. All I do is receive His love. Receive. I am special for that?

All that is good in me is due to He who dwells within.

Spirits of the dead, what does the Bible say?

“When a person dies, he or she does not pass on to the spirit world as many people think.” – Spirits of the Dead by Jehovah's Witnesses page 4

Let’s have a look at what "many people think":


1. They were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

2. But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

3. Rhoda … reported that Peter was standing at the gate. and they kept saying, “It is his angel.”

4. ”In Hades he lifted up his eyes…and he cried out and said”




1. The apostles at Matthew 14:26 
2. Jesus’ disciples at Luke 24:37

3. First century Christians at Acts 12:13-15
4. Jesus at Luke 16:23-24

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses observe the Memorial since they don't believe that Jesus is God? and don't they celebrate Jesus' resurrection?

This is the question I was asked:

What are they observing? That a man (who claimed to be God) died on a tree? Did their version rise from the dead?



The best explanation that I can give you of the Jehovah's Witness belief:

That God's son who is the only being created directly by the Father took the form of a man and died a sacrificial death to break the curse of Adamic sin. When he died he was non-existent, but held in the Father's memory so that his life-pattern could exist again in spirit form.

Though Jesus neither commanded nor blessed any holidays, he did tell us to observe this and only this. 

What is the Purpose of Life?

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and  transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven  and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or  authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:13

For who has  known the mind of YHWH? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.  Isaiah 40:13; Romans 11:34-36

Why does God call us?

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 1 John 1:3

And our fellowship is with the Father. 1 Corinthians 1:9

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from
his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion. Philippians 2:1

If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7
  
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

An example of a Mind Control technique: Information control

Destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE:

Behavior Control
Information Control
Thought Control
Emotional Control

It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause.

It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mind controlled cult members can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently. - From chapter two of Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs by Steve Hassan.

Here we see one type of Information Control, access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged:


"False religious propaganda from any source should be avoided like poison! Really, since our Lord has used ‘the faithful and discreet slave’ to convey to us ‘sayings of everlasting life,’ why should we ever want to look anywhere else?—John 6:68.” – w87 11/1 p.20 par. 16



"Wise King Solomon wrote: ‘Take a warning: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.’ (Ecclesiastes 12:12) One might add that the reading of many books published today is not only wearisome to the flesh but, frankly, dangerous to the mind.” – w00 10/1 p. 10 par. 9

The Good News of God's Kingdom?

How and when do we enter God's Kingdom?

Jehovah's Witnesses say: 
"Only a limited number are born again. The great crowd does not need to be born again. Their life is earthly, not heavenly." - Watchtower 4/1/1988, p. 4

But wait, what is the Kingdom of God?

    He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14 ESV)

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5 ESV)