Review of the June 15, 2011 Watchtower Study Edition

You can download this issue of the Watchtower HERE

The most noteworthy quotations are found on p. 15,

19 The fact that the God of love counted Abraham as righteous should be heartening for true Christians today. Jehovah did not declare him righteous in the sense that he does those whom he anoints with spirit to be “joint heirs with Christ.” The limited number of that group are “called to be holy ones” and are accepted as “God’s sons.” (Rom. 1:7; 8:14, 17, 33) In contrast, Abraham came to be “Jehovah’s friend”—and that before the ransom sacrifice was offered. (Jas. 2: 23; Isa. 41:8) What, then, about true Christians who hope to live in the restored earthly Paradise?

20 These have not received “the free gift of righteousness” with heavenly life in view “through the release by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17) Nevertheless, they exercise deep faith in God and his provisions, and they manifest their faith by good works. One such work is that of “preaching the kingdom of God . . . and teaching the things concerning the Lord Je- sus Christ.” (Acts 28:31) Thus, Jehovah can view these as righteous in the sense that he did Abraham. The gift such ones receive —friendship with God—differs from “the free gift” the anointed receive. Yet, it certainly is a gift that they accept with deep gratitude.

Jehovah's Witnesses: Declared righteous by faith and works?

"Giving an answer with gentleness and respect" to a Mormon

If you want to know what a profitable, respectful dialogue looks like between two completely contrasting worldviews, this is a perfect example:

Works of faith and works of law

In a RECENT POST, I addressed an objection using 2 Timothy 1:8-10 in establishing that being declared righteous (a.k.a. justification) can only happen apart from works of any kind. The objection could be phrased something like this;

"Justification certainly happens by faith, but not just faith alone. Works are needed in order to achieve this end. However, the texts which speak of "faith apart from works of the law" is only within the context of the Mosaic Law. That is, it isn't including other types of works, such as works of faith. Therefore, we are still justified by faith and works."

Such objections, though advocated by many, are contradicted by explicit statements in Scripture. And as I came across Titus 3:5 today, I was reminded how the biblical gospel truly thwarts the religions of men; that is, religion that brings works into the salvation equation:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
(Titus 3:5–7)

The apostle Paul is writing these words as a justified believer (Romans 5:1). And in doing so, he claims that his salvation was not on the basis of righteous deeds, but according to mercy. Is there any room in this text for importing "Mosaic law" to the exclusion of "works of faith?"

δικαιοσύνη, “righteousness,” refers either to a Pharisaic obedience to the law (Guthrie, 204; Quinn, 216) or to “upright moral conduct in general” (Kelly, 251, citing 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22; 3:16). The former seems out of context (Knight, Faithful Sayings, 93). It will be balanced by v 7, which summarizes vv 4—6 by saying δικαιωθέντες τῇ ἐκείνου χάριτι, “having been justified by his grace,” a totally Pauline thought. Hanson’s ([1983] 191) comment that “Paul would never use dikaiosune in this way” misses the point if Paul is quoting a source, and it is unreasonable to insist that a person cannot quote a source where a word is used differently from the way the person normally uses it. In addition, the thrust of the phrase is fully Pauline, emphasizing the futility of human effort in contrast to the true righteousness from God by faith (v 7; cf. Phil 3:9).

-William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles (WBC 46; Accordance/Thomas Nelson electronic ed. Waco: Word Books, 2000), 448.

Here, Mounce is careful to distinguish between "Mosaic works" and "upright moral conduct in general." However, in doing so, he emphasizes how Paul has the latter in view. That is, there is a principle at work here: salvation is not, in any way, based upon works of any kind. If it were, there would be no reason to bring mercy into the equation. The reason being, as soon as one adds works to salvation, merit becomes part of the basis. But Paul would have none of this. Instead, God will be glorified through His work of "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit...being justified by His grace."

It truly amazes me how men want to strip God from His glory in having full control of the salvation process. This gift of being justified apart from our good works is such an incredible gift that it boggles my mind as to how men want to add their good works to it. I can only hope and pray that all who read this and hold to a false gospel of works salvation will repent and embrace the pure and unadulterated gospel of mercy and grace.

Salvation apart from works...of the law?

Is salvation accomplish by faith in Christ alone, or by additional added works? The following Scripture would support the former:

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
(Romans 3:28 NASB)

However, many would object in suggesting that texts like these are specifically referring to "works of the law." So, they say, we may not be justified by the Mosaic law, but we can be justified by "works of faith" or something along those lines. But does this argument hold water? Consider the following:

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”
(2 Timothy 1:8–10 NASB)

Interestingly, "works" are not qualified by "law" in this passage. Instead, we have a principle to consider: salvation is not dependent on what we do but on what God does. Whether it be "works of the law" or some other kind of work, salvation is not based upon works of any kind. Also, there is something else that is important to note, and that is the meaning of ἔργα ("works"). BDAG defines it as,

"That which displays itself in activity of any kind, deed, action...of the deeds of humans, exhibiting a consistent moral character, referred to collectively as...κατὰ τὰ ἔργα in accordance w. the deeds (Ps 27:4; 61:13; Pr 24:12; En 100:7; PsSol 2:16) Mt 23:3; Ro 2:6; 2 Ti 1:9; 4:14; Rv 2:23; 20:12f.

-William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 390.

As can be seen, "exhibiting a consistent moral character" is cited with 2 Timothy 1:9, which would provide an interesting paraphrase of ἔργα:

"who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to [exhibiting a consistent moral character], but according to His own purpose and grace."

Certainly, this sheds some interesting light on this text, as well as offering a powerful refutation against any salvation system which adds your works to your justification before God. So, the next time someone objects to your interpretation of Romans 3:28 by expanding justification by faith to include good works, cite 2 Timothy 1:9 and ask them if the works mentioned are strictly works of the Mosaic law.

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses feel condemned?

In many ways, a testimony is more powerful than any argument. Never assume that you have to know everything in order to bring a JW to Christ. This testimony is a great example of that.



(ht: 21Crosscheck21)

Book Review: "The God Who Justifies" by James White

This is easily the best book on the subject available. In "The God Who Justifies," James White spends hundreds of pages exegeting the key texts which actually deal with the doctrine of Justification. This is in contrast to those who seek to go to texts which don't actually deal with "justification" and try to prove that justification is not by faith alone. I think that in order for those objections to hold any water, then they have to consistently do what James White has done, and exegete the primary passages where justification is discussed.

The first portion of the book provides some historical background behind the word "to justify." That is, the Hebrew Scriptures are examined in order for us to see how the Christian writers applied the term. The next portion of the book goes into great depth in exegeting the key passages in which "justification" is used and applied. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book because rather than seeking to establish a doctrine, White actually derived the doctrine by exegeting the passages from start to finish. And I think this truly separates this book from other attemps that have sought to merely "proof-text" rather than discuss the context of those passages.

If you are looking for an in-depth look at the doctrine of justification, then you must have this book. I can think of no other than deals with this issue at such a highly technical level.

Question for Jehovah's Witnesses on Justification