Jehovah Witness encounter

I was mowing the yard this morning when I noticed a car pulling up in a neighbors driveway. I kept tabs on it while mowing then then drove to another driveway. For someone reason JW came to my mind. They skipped me, so I thought, then I found a women waiting for me near my front door while mowing. I played dumb during the conversation and actually took control of the conversation. The women said she was very surprised at my bible knowledge and said that it is apparent I have thought through these things alot. She mentioned the Kingdom of God a little then I interjected about other things.

She mentioned wanting to come back and talk about the kingdom of God. I don't know what that means from a JW pov. As in do they show up unexpectedly hoping I will be here. This is what I am actually thinking and in such a case I want to gear myself up for a short dialogue with them to get them thinking.

Does anyway have any short pointers on dealing with a JW?

I have watched Paul on 2 days in which he deals with them. I also watched a guy say you just need 2 questions and a bible passage.....ask Is Jesus equal to God? What would it mean if Jesus were equal to God? Bible passage was John 5 that shows Jesus is equal to God in a demonstration of a healing. How legit is that for a JW? This guy mentioned it because it reads the same in the NWT as in the KJV.

Opinions?

John

the best book on the subject

Approaching Jehovah's Witnesses in Love: How to Witness Effectively Without Arguing
by Wilbur Lingle

http://www.amazon.com/Approaching-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Love-Effectively/dp/0875087787

"....A MORE SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY
If you are ever going to be successful in reaching out to a JW, you are going to have to
build a meaningful friendship and this takes time. You need to have a plan and go very slow.
From my experience I find that most Christians go way too fast.
When JW’s come to your door you must be polite. Listen attentively to what they initially
have to say.
You want to play a little hard to get. You can say, "I am a person who is very inquisitive
and like to ask a lot of questions (which I truly am).” Most questions that Christians ask JW’s are
standardized so they are well acquainted with them, thus they will take it as a challenge and it
won’t drive them away. They will usually respond by telling you that they don’t mind answering
questions.
Continue by explaining that you don’t mind talking with them if they understand you will
have a lot of questions and therefore it will take a long time. Ask them if they would be willing
to come over a long period of time so that you would not be wasting their time or yours? Usually
they will agree to come over a long period of time. It is hard for them to have "Bible studies” in
order to gain "brownie points,” so at first they will agree to almost anything.
A word of caution. In you initial meeting do not let them know you are an active
Christian. (You can do this when you give your testimony.) Don’t tell them if you go to church
or not and of course don’t give them the name of your church. (They want to pin you down later
and can use this information to do so.)
You need to play ignorant. You are not deceiving, but you don’t have to tell them all
about yourself at the door on the initial meetings. People who can think or have studied the
history of the Watchtower Society don’t usually become Jehovah’s Witnesses!
When the JW’s do come, you do not have to wear a suit and tie, like the JW men do, but
it is best to at least dress in nice casual clothes and be well groomed. Also, try to have you house
presentable...."

read more : http://www.lovetoshareministries.com/images/JW/jw-outreach-strategy.pdf

They will question the Trinity.
They will talk about the evil in today's world.
They will talk about God's plan to restore the kingdom of God on Earth.

They will have a well memorized plan to attack your understanding of the Scriptures. This plan is based on the logic written out in their little black book.

They do not understand or see the Holy One of Israel in the Old Testament. If they did they could not argue against the doctrine of the Trinity. They teach that Christ was an angle before He became man. So one should then ask...

Heb 1:5
For to which of the angels did He ever say:

"You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”? [fn]
And again:

"I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”? [fn]

The important question to focus on "to which of the angels did He EVER say..."

This means that God has never said to any angel....

Which means their teaching on Christ being an angel is false...

I remember haveing a chat with two one day at home the thing that basically destroyed there little witness thing toward me was ,i was very honest ,and said from the beginning i did not believe there teachings .

I established that we should only worship and pray to god , and they said yes the father ,then from there own bible ,i showed that Stephen prayed to Jesus calling him god ,and said receive my spirit .. They were lost for words then i kindly pounced on them in love ,filled with the spirit ,and pointed out the other doctrines i didnt believe in gave scriptural references ,it was a one sided chat .I invited them back , but they didnt come

On another occasion i talked briefly with one ,told him from the start i was a born again Christian gave my testimony of being set free from sin repentance and how my faith was a supernatural gift of god ,and he seemed happy for me ,we talked about the time we lived in how ungodly it was .It felt like we had a connection he never tryed to witness his doctrine ,,we seemed to love one another and blessed one other .Very strange it was for me because he seemed to me to have the holy spirit ,where as the others iv met had the spirit of the prince and power of the air no doubt

Trust in the holy spirit when you plan to have a chat with them rather then get a list of stuff you want to say so to speak ,our fathers spirit will do the job ,he will bring to reference what the bible says ,if you allready read it enough .....

There was a brother who used to frequent this site that was a former Jehovah's Witness and became a true follower of Christ. For those interested, he wrote a thread that gives some insightful understanding into Jehovah's Witnesses;

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?forum=35&topic_id=7322&viewmode=thread&order=0

In Christ,

Ron

My philosophy is to keep things simple and 'light' especially knowing that JW's are robotic. This is all contingent on whether or not she and others eventually come back.

"Does anyway have any short pointers on dealing with a JW?"

Let me start by saying that there was a time in my life that I had to make a decision between becoming a JW and denying the deity of Jesus Christ or believing in His deity. I had started Bible college as a new believer a couple of months before trying to "rescue" someone from becoming a JW. It was both the most terrible and the best experience as a new believer. As we know God is able to make good come of all things. Whether it was all part of His plan or simply making best of my ignorance, it did serve to bring me to my knees and in utter despair to cry out to God for the truth. You see, there were 2 elders that were , unbeknownst to me, invited to the "rescue" meeting that I had agreed to. They had all sorts of questions - and the answers too - when I could give no reasonable apology for my beliefs. They could argue their beliefs, albeit erroneous, from Scripture when all I could do was to spout the "party line." All of this to say, be careful and be ready. You must be firm in your beliefs and understanding of the truth before going one on one with any heresy.

I actually used to, after much study (I would not allow any person except God to teach me what was true) and a year or two, begin to seek out and witness to JWs on the street. I would point out the typical discrepancies of belief between what they believed and what I knew to be the truth. Years later I felt it best to find a different basis for arguing. Now when I cross paths with a JW, or Mormon or whatever I remind them that Scripture from beginning to end teaches us that those that earnestly seek Him will find Him. Then I ask them if they can honestly say that that they have earnestly and diligently sought after Him, especially through prayer. I might give a short testimony of how I had to cry out to God to know the truth and that true to His Word He revealed Himself and the truth to me. I freely admit to them that one of us is wrong because we both know that we are different sides of the fence when it comes to doctrine. I cried out to God, could they say the same. Then I would simply encourage them to trust no one, not even me, but to go home and earnestly seek from God to know the truth because their eternity rests upon knowing truth and not believing a lie. I remind them that God is faithful to His promises to reveal Himself to those that diligently seek Him. They cannot argue against what I have then shared with them but must decide for themselves if they are going to go home and earnestly seek God or continue in their false beliefs. I have actually had some to thank me profusely for sharing with them. But of course the glory goes to God alone.
2 Chronicles 15:2 The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

1 Chronicles 28:9 If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Psalm 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in you, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm 14:2
The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

I was walking downtown a few months ago and a Jehovah's witness walked up to me and asked me if I wanted a Watchtower magazine. I declined, and talked to her for a few minutes. She said she had tried several eastern religions before finally becoming a Jehovah's witness. I simply asked her "You have religion, but do you have love, peace and joy?" She had no answer, so I asked her "Do you know your sins are forgiven?" She reacted like she was stung, and it literally looked like someone had slapped her. Her eyes were wide, and she said hesitantly, "Well, I was baptized in the Kingdom Hall..." I then told her that forgiveness does not come from being baptized, and that Jesus is actually Jehovah and that she could have forgiveness if she acknowledged this, repented of her sins and trusted in Christ's sacrifice alone for forgiveness. Since that time I have not seen her handing out Watchtower magazines anymore. (Before this time she had done this regularly.)
Sometimes it is useless to argue theology with someone. Just ask them straightforward questions and let God do the rest.
Anyways, I sincerely hope she listened to what I said, and that God continues to convict her.

The best way to deal with Jehovah Witnesses
is to open your bible and read scriptures
to them confronting their erroneous beliefs.

I have had them agreeing with me on
doctrine that opposes their beliefs. They
will give up soon when the truth is staring
them in the face.

The spirit that they have received can be
discerned, It is very oppressive.

Mike

This is the kind of conversation I like and I use when talking to people of any religious faith. It is genuine and you are not hiding behind the quotation of scripture but yet using it in a practical way. I find it can disarm people and you hear their heart more.

My conversation was somewhat similar to this. In fact I could tell this woman was a bit hungry for God simply by her reaction and we had a good rapport going. I was a bit shocked by how she responded to me. I thought we had a great conversation. We never did talk about JW stuff beyond her introduction. It was about God, the Bible and people in general.

I was walking downtown a few months ago and a Jehovah's witness walked up to me and asked me if I wanted a Watchtower magazine. I declined, and talked to her for a few minutes. She said she had tried several eastern religions before finally becoming a Jehovah's witness. I simply asked her "You have religion, but do you have love, peace and joy?" She had no answer, so I asked her "Do you know your sins are forgiven?" She reacted like she was stung, and it literally looked like someone had slapped her. Her eyes were wide, and she said hesitantly, "Well, I was baptized in the Kingdom Hall..." I then told her that forgiveness does not come from being baptized, and that Jesus is actually Jehovah and that she could have forgiveness if she acknowledged this, repented of her sins and trusted in Christ's sacrifice alone for forgiveness. Since that time I have not seen her handing out Watchtower magazines anymore. (Before this time she had done this regularly.)
Sometimes it is useless to argue theology with someone. Just ask them straightforward questions and let God do the rest.
Anyways, I sincerely hope she listened to what I said, and that God continues to convict her.

Some excellent answers here. I find that JWs have changed their approach considerably in the last twenty years. So have I. Before I was a Christian I slammed the door into their faces. Then, as a new Christian, I invited them in to debate them. At that time their standard opening line was about the wonderful new earth that is coming, and wouldn't I like to live there? After the first heated debate with them I was so pumped I wanted to walk straight into the Kingdom Hall to preach the Gospel to them but, surpisingly for me at that time, the Holy Spirit said No to this idea in no uncertain terms. I have never again invited them into my house based on 1 Jn 1:9-10:

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Then something I still find unbelievable happened to me last year: When a neighbor,who had become a friend, started debating me on the deity of Christ I quickly realized where she had learned her beliefs(from her JW sister). I read the material she presented to me and we poured over the scriptures together repeatedly. I felt that I succeeded in making points that she couldn't refuse and she eventually withdrew from that argument. Yet afterwards, to my utter shock, I started having trouble addressing Jesus as God. It took months of prayer until the nagging doubts and questions left. I can pinpoint a specific prayer time after which I found sudden relief from the doubts and Jesus finally was back on his rightful place in my heart. I'm sharing this with embarrassment yet as a warning. These days when I hear JWs come to the door they sound like genuine Christians. They have learned the lingo, they are non-confrontational, but their doctrine is as poisonous as ever and even more deceiving to those who are seeking.

When it comes to interacting with cult followers, how do you guys apply 2 John 1:7-10?

"For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

Hi brother yuehan

"For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."

What is you understanding of : "who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh ?"

"For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."

What is you understanding of : "who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh ?"

Hi proudpapa,

I had actually hoped to place more emphasis on the remainder of the verses - "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God... If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

Anyone who is preaching a false version of Jesus Christ certainly does not have "the doctrine of Christ".

And SolaVeritas' testimony underlines our spiritual vulnerability if we open ourselves to influences which are not of God.

So how do you guys apply 2 John 1:7-10?

The way I deal with them is. I love you, but I am not interested in a polite way, most witnesses will thank you for your honesty and happily move on to the next home, in hopes of finding an interested one. And avoid getting into a debate, worst thing that can happen, I will just walk away if they persist.

JW's don't come to my door very often. It becomes sort of hard to know how to deal with them beyond the polite smile. Debating a religious ideology is futile with anyone imo.

This scenario I had with a JW was probably the best conversation I ever had because I actually controlled it and spoke from my heart about sin and God without getting into deep theological stuff. She remarked that I have really thought this through. The only thing I don't think through much is the end times stuff because it really doesn't go anywhere for me.

If I regretted anything from my conversation it was no taking my glasses off to meet her eyes and giving her a handshake. Just as common courtesy. Somehow I wonder if they will be back seeing that she said I appeared very knowledgeable about things. It may intimidate them? She mentioned the street I was on and said it would be an easy one to remember. Who knows.

I have listened to some podcasts about how to witness to them. I look for something very simple in which I can do without having to think so much.

One example may be asking them how did they become a Jehovah Witness, after their speech, and then giving them my testimony. Being that JW's don't come I find it should be important to keep the conversation light hearted while sowing some conviction. Am I wrong for thinking it this way?

John

One example may be asking them how did they become a Jehovah Witness, after their speech, and then giving them my testimony. Being that JW's don't come I find it should be important to keep the conversation light hearted while sowing some conviction. Am I wrong for thinking it this way?

I was at a dinner function, and was seated next to some Mormons. Hoping for an opportunity to witness, I thought asking them about their religion, and why they believed it, would naturally offer an opening. It seemed like a non-confrontational strategy too, and would allow me to play the "nice guy".

What in fact happened was that the witnessing opportunity never came. He waxed eloquently about his beliefs, but never once asked me in return about mine.

I believe that God in His sovereignty had arranged this encounter. It made clear the foolishness of relying on my own 'clever' ideas instead of God Himself.

I used to employ that "tactic" from time to time. However, there was one experience I had which made me realize that this was not spiritually wise.

I was at a dinner function, and was seated next to some Mormons. Hoping for an opportunity to witness, I thought asking them about their religion, and why they believed it, would naturally offer an opening. It seemed like a non-confrontational strategy too, and would allow me to play the "nice guy".

What in fact happened was that the witnessing opportunity never came. He waxed eloquently about his beliefs, but never once asked me in return about mine.

I believe that God in His sovereignty had arranged this encounter. It made clear the foolishness of relying on my own 'clever' ideas instead of God Himself.

I definitely would not do such a think with Mormons. They are very, very slick.