The doorbell rang at my home yesterday morning to a not uncommon visit from two members of the Jehovah Witness Church. This is I’m sure a common occurrence for many readers, as I can remember my home receiving similar visits from the time I was a child. Over the past several years, I have made it a point to use these visits as an opportunity for me to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah Witnesses which is usually the opposite intent of their visit to my home.
On this occasion, this Jehovah Witness couple warmly accepted my position without offering anything to the contrary, and shared their agreement that apart from Christ we are nothing. Yes the gentleman at the end of our exchange offered to leave some of their material with me, to which I politely declined honestly expressing that I would likely not be reading it.
I write this post because in the future you may indeed entertain people of various or no religion at your home or in the streets. Though their belief or doctrine of Christianity may not agree with yours, God asks us to present Him to others gently: Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. (2 Timothy 2:23-25 NIV) I must say I probably fail at this command as much as I succeed. I pray that the Holy Spirit will override my unreliable flesh more and more in the future on this issue. If you see yourself in this post, then I pray the same for you as well.
I don’t pretend to know a whole lot about the beliefs and tenets of this Church, and I certainly don’t consider myself any more of a saved sinner than they may be. As it happened on this occasion, after welcoming the couple (a middle aged man and woman…about 10-20 years my senior), I immediately identified myself as a Christian. My initial point to them was that I was a believer in the entire gospel of Jesus Christ, and though we may have some doctrinal differences, if they too believed and accepted that Jesus Christ died for their sins, then we were brothers and sisters in Christ. I make this point because as believers in the Christ we sometimes make the differences between us to be the basis on which we relate to each other, as opposed to our unity in and total dependence on Christ. What we think we do for Christ is nothing compared to what He has already done for us: When you came to Christ...you were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. (Colossians 2: 11-13 truncated NLT)
On this occasion, this Jehovah Witness couple warmly accepted my position without offering anything to the contrary, and shared their agreement that apart from Christ we are nothing. Yes the gentleman at the end of our exchange offered to leave some of their material with me, to which I politely declined honestly expressing that I would likely not be reading it.
I write this post because in the future you may indeed entertain people of various or no religion at your home or in the streets. Though their belief or doctrine of Christianity may not agree with yours, God asks us to present Him to others gently: Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. (2 Timothy 2:23-25 NIV) I must say I probably fail at this command as much as I succeed. I pray that the Holy Spirit will override my unreliable flesh more and more in the future on this issue. If you see yourself in this post, then I pray the same for you as well.