Witnessing takes practice
The apostle Peter tells us to always be ready to give an account of the hope that we have. It is easy to think that you are ready and then not be.
A few weeks ago, shortly before Christmas, I took my car in to Dobbs Honda for repair. While waiting for it, I did as I usually do and walked around the area reading. As I passed a Mapco on Mendenhall, a young lady approached me, held out a flyer and said something like, "I see you like to read, here is something else for you to read." I was almost certain what it was without looking, but I looked at it quickly and verified that it was Watchtower (Jehovah's Witnesses) literature. I said, "Ma'am, I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ." She replied, "I believe in Jesus, too." Here is where I made my mistake. I said, "No, you're not. You believe in a Jesus who was created, not a Jesus who was God incarnate." She looked somewhat taken aback and replied, "You don't even know me. How do you know what I believe?" I pointed to the flyer and said that I knew what group put that out and what they taught. I said that Jesus was "God of God, Light of Light, begotten not made." She replied, "Jesus came into existence because of what the Father did." When I continued to insist in the divinity of Jesus, she thanked me for my time and walked away.
I fear that I botched that witnessing opportunity. When she said that she believed in Jesus too, I should have said, "Tell me what you believe about Jesus." Then I could have drawn her out with questions, and she could not have argued with me because she would have put forth her errors with her own mouth. I ask God to forgive me for that blunder.
But notice also how deceitful her statements were. The statement "Jesus came into existence because of what the Father did" is ambiguous: purposely so in my view. It sounds like it might refer to the Christian concept of the incarnation, but in reality it refers to the Arian notion of Jesus as a created being. I do not know whether she came up with that herself or had been trained to say it. It certainly is a clever deceit.
It is ironic that this exchange came just before the great celebration of the incarnation.
Beware of these people. They preach another gospel, which is really no gospel at all.
Perhaps God will use even my blunder to shock her into considering the truth. I pray that it is so. Please pray for this lady to see the truth, and for me to be able to present it more ably when I have another chance.
A few weeks ago, shortly before Christmas, I took my car in to Dobbs Honda for repair. While waiting for it, I did as I usually do and walked around the area reading. As I passed a Mapco on Mendenhall, a young lady approached me, held out a flyer and said something like, "I see you like to read, here is something else for you to read." I was almost certain what it was without looking, but I looked at it quickly and verified that it was Watchtower (Jehovah's Witnesses) literature. I said, "Ma'am, I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ." She replied, "I believe in Jesus, too." Here is where I made my mistake. I said, "No, you're not. You believe in a Jesus who was created, not a Jesus who was God incarnate." She looked somewhat taken aback and replied, "You don't even know me. How do you know what I believe?" I pointed to the flyer and said that I knew what group put that out and what they taught. I said that Jesus was "God of God, Light of Light, begotten not made." She replied, "Jesus came into existence because of what the Father did." When I continued to insist in the divinity of Jesus, she thanked me for my time and walked away.
I fear that I botched that witnessing opportunity. When she said that she believed in Jesus too, I should have said, "Tell me what you believe about Jesus." Then I could have drawn her out with questions, and she could not have argued with me because she would have put forth her errors with her own mouth. I ask God to forgive me for that blunder.
But notice also how deceitful her statements were. The statement "Jesus came into existence because of what the Father did" is ambiguous: purposely so in my view. It sounds like it might refer to the Christian concept of the incarnation, but in reality it refers to the Arian notion of Jesus as a created being. I do not know whether she came up with that herself or had been trained to say it. It certainly is a clever deceit.
It is ironic that this exchange came just before the great celebration of the incarnation.
Beware of these people. They preach another gospel, which is really no gospel at all.
Perhaps God will use even my blunder to shock her into considering the truth. I pray that it is so. Please pray for this lady to see the truth, and for me to be able to present it more ably when I have another chance.
posted by John at 8:49 PM
3 Comments:
Hi there,
I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I was wondering where it is in the Bible that you feel Jesus is being described as God incarnate. Throughout the scriptures I see him presented as God's Son and a servant of Jehovah.
Thanks,
TJ
I'm at work right now, and I'll post a real response when I have more time. This is the first comment that I have received on my blog, so thank you for your interest and your comment! I have several Scriptures in mind, and I hope that they will help to answer your question. Stay tuned.
I feel that a topic of this magnitude deserves its own separate primary post, so I have made one. Please see that post for my answer to this question.
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