A person can understand something much better if he can SEE what you are talking about as well as HEAR you. You have heard it said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Also, when a person is LOOKING at something, you have a better chance of explaining it without being interrupted.
The “visual aid” gesture, pictured step-by-step below, has been found EXTREMELY VALUABLE in making the plan of salvation clear and understandable to the lost—especially on the point that the Lord Jesus Christ has made a complete payment for sin.

1) Let this hand represent you and me. Rom 6:23

2) Let this wallet represent our sin. We all have sin on us. Ro 3:23

3) God loves us. Joh 3:16

4) But He hates our sin. Ps 4:5

5) Our sin separates us from God. We cannot get rid of our sin by our good works. Isa 59:2; Eph 2:8-9 Soul Winning Seminars

6) If we pay for our sin, we have to pay for it by death and hell. Rom 6:23

7) Let this hand represent the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no sin. He was perfect. 2Cor 5:21

8) Christ voluntarily took our sin upon Himself. 1Pet 2:24

9) He paid for our sin by dying in our place on the cross. Our sin is no longer on us, because He took it and paid for it. He gives us His righteousness. 2Cor 5:21

10) You can know you have eternal life when you, by faith, accept this payment Christ made for you. 1Joh 5:13

CHAPTER XXII - Literature: Recommended Reading List

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

These recommendations are not intended to be exhaustive. Thousands of books written by Christians have much good information in them, but we are listing some which we have found especially helpful in particular areas. If we have left out one of your favorite books, please do not feel we are inferring it isn't good.

Since only the Bible is the inspired Word of God, no other book is 100% perfect. There may be portions of some books recommended here that you may feel contain some error.

Perhaps there are some things in this book you will disagree with. We must learn how to read a book or hear a preacher, benefiting from the good information and disregarding the poor. Use the Scriptures as the criteria and just pray earnestly and endeavor to keep your own message true to the Word of God.

We believe you will find these books greatly helpful to you and those in your care, under the following categories.

TITLE, AUTHOR, PUBLISHER

SALVATION

All About Repentance, Seymour, Harvest House Publishers

Full Assurance, Ironside, Moody Press

Shall Never Perish, Strombeck, Moody Press

So Great Salvation, Strombeck, Moody Press

The Gift of God, Seymour, Grace Publishing Co.

CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

A Coffer of Jewels, Rice, Sword Of The Lord

A Lawyer Examines the Bible, Linton, Baker Book House

A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament, Wilson, Moody Press

Can I Trust the Bible?, Symposium, Moody Press

Escape from Reason, Schaeffer, InterVarsity Press

General Biblical Introduction, Miller, Word-Bearer Press

Know Why You Believe, Little, Scripture Press

Set Forth Your Case, Pinnock, The Craig Press

The Harmony of Science and Scripture, Rimmer, Eerdmans

The God Who Is There, Schaeffer, InterVarsity Press

SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE

Did Man Just Happen?, Criswell, Zondervan

Evolution, Fact or Theory?, Reno, Moody Press

Studies in the Bible and Science, Morris, Baker Book House

The Bible and Modern Science, Morris, Moody Press

The Theory of Evolution and the Facts of Science, Rimmer, Eerdmans

Why We Believe in Creation, Meldau ,Christian Victory Pub. Co.

CHRISTIAN GROWTH

A Spiritual Clinic, Sanders, Moody Press

Balancing the Christian Life, Ryrie, Moody Press

Disciplined by Grace, Strombeck, Moody Press

Effective Bible Study, Voss, Zondervan

Now That I Believe, Cook, Moody Press

Prayer: Asking and Receiving, Rice, Sword of the Lord

Ready, Set, Grow, Seymour, Harvest House Publishers

DOCTRINE

Bible Doctrines, Cambron, Zondervan

Dispensational Truth, Larkin, Larkin Estate

Holiness: the False and the True, Ironside, Liozeaux Brothers

Major Bible Themes, Chafer, Zondervan

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, Scofield, Loizeaux Brothers

Systematic Theology, Chafer, Dallas Seminary

The Hungry Inherit, Hodges, Moody press

The Sovereign God, Seymour, Harvest House Publishers

WITNESSING

Golden Path to Successful Personal Soulwinning, Rice, Sword of the Lord

Great Personal Workers, Whitesell, Moody Press

Hand Gathered Fruit, Crusade, Last Christian Literature

Soul Winner's Fire, Rice, Moody Press

The Master Plan of Evangelism, Coleman, Revell

RELIGIONS AND CULTS

All About Tongues, Seymour, Harvest House Publishers

Authors of Confusion Gustafson, Frace, Publishers

Chaos of Cults, VanBaalen, Eerdmans

False Doctrines, Rice, Sword of the Lord

Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Foxe, Revell

Heresies Exposed, Irvine, Loizeaux

Jehovah of the Watchtower, Martin & Klann, Zondervan

Kingdom of the Cults, Martin, Bethany Fellowship

Neo-Evangelism, Woodbridge, Bob Jones University Press

So What's the Difference Edited:, Ridenour, Gospel Light Publishers

The Christian and the Cults, Martin, Zondervan

The Christian Science Myth, Martin & Klann, Zondervan

The Coming World Church, (variuos authors), Back to the Bible

The Maze of Mormonism, Martin & Klann, Zondervan

The Modern Tongues Movement, Gromacki, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co.

The New Evangelicalism, Starr, Cornerstone Baptist Church

The New Neutralism, Ashbrook, Calvary Bible Church

GENERAL

How to Win Friends and Influence People, Carnegie, Simon & Schuster

CHAPTER XXI - Helpful Hints

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

1. AIDS TO MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE VERSES

Use 3x5 file cards, writing the verse on one side and the address on the other. This way you can go through the addresses to see if you know the verses, and through the verses to see if you know the addresses.

As you learn your verses, try quoting them as frequently as possible, and you will implant them more firmly in your mind. It is a well-known fact that when you compound reading, hearing, and speaking in the learning process, your retention will be progressively increased. Just listening or reading alone cannot give you skill and effectiveness in USING your knowledge. You must PRACTICE. It is well said that “practice makes perfect that which you practice.”

A periodic review of your memory verses is a good idea, even for the ones you feel you know quite well. If you have your 3x5 cards handy, you can make good use of time that perhaps you would otherwise waste . . . waiting for a bus, sitting in the beauty shop, etc.

Work toward knowing the verses so well that you can quote them immediately upon hearing the address, a portion of the verse, or subject material which the verse could answer or deals with.

Be able to quote them with almost no effort at all. In this way you can quote the verse to the person and actually be free to be thinking of what you will say next, or to be sensing the person's reaction to it. The value of being able to do this is great.

2. DON'T ARGUE

Winning an argument might make you feel good-until you realize that doing so might result in the person's ego being so hurt that his judgment is impaired and he won't trust Christ as his Saviour.

One reason why so few people have a very fruitful soul winning ministry is that they are just plain inconsiderate of the feelings of the person to whom they are witnessing.

It is TRUE that the lost person must repent. He MUST change his mind and come to see that anything he has been trusting in other than Christ alone for his salvation cannot save him.

Christ IS “THE way, THE truth, and THE life.” And as you present the plan of salvation the lost person will discover that he has been wrong in his preconceived idea.

Because of this, BE KIND. You know how bad YOU feel when YOU are wrong about something, so remember the lost person also has feelings, and take great care in HOW you show him the truth of the gospel and the error of anything else.

(Of course, this should never involve a compromise in doctrine. This is just using good sense. Eph 4:15 says to speak “the TRUTH in LOVE.” One does not exclude the other. They should go hand in hand.)

If you have ever been in the position of talking to many people and getting to know their problems, you have already discovered how very lonely and hungry for love and understanding people really are.

The soulwinner who realizes this and will really be kind and considerate of the lost will not only win many souls, but will win life-long friends as well.

3. USING ILLUSTRATIONS

As you read through the Gospels you cannot help noticing our Lord's frequent use of illustrations. They are very valuable in making your points clear and understandable (as well as more interesting) to the person. If we will notice several things about Christ's illustrations and apply them to our own, we will find our illustrations very effective.

A. They should be about subjects familiar to the person.

B. As much as possible, they should be concrete, rather than abstract, forming a picture in the person's mind.

C. They should be short and to the point, not taking up too much time. Don't get carried away with illustrations to the point that they usurp the proper place of Scripture in your presentation. Always bear in mind that your illustrations are a means to an end-to throw additional light upon the Scriptures-and not an end in themselves.

D. Never use illustrations with shady tones. This certainly would defeat your purpose of getting the person's mind more on the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ. It will cause the person to think less of you and less of your message.

E. When you use an illustration from a book or from a person's life, don't tell it as if it happened in your own life. Although examples out of your own experience will naturally carry a certain added interest, it is not necessary that they be so. Just don't lie about it.

4. LOOK NICE

Would you expect the representative of a life insurance company to look neat, clean, and nicely dressed? How long do you think you would listen to his sales talk if he were shabby, dirty, and needed a shave?

Would an ambassador of the United States be representing our country properly as he met to discuss important issues with the ambassador of an important country if he wore an unpressed suit, had grease stains on his tie, needed a haircut, and had “B.O.”?

Would the receptionist of a large, important company have her job long if she came to work and interviewed clients with her hair all messed up, her nail polish peeling off, yesterday's supper still in her teeth, and her dress needing ironing?

OF COURSE NOT!

As Christians, as ambassadors for the King of Kings, desiring to influence people to receive the gift of eternal life, we certainly should look as clean, neat, and attractive as we possibly can.

With careful planning there is no reason why a person should not be able to have an adequate wardrobe even though he is not a millionaire. This doesn't mean you must have every new “fad” that comes along in your closet, but you should make every effort to be reasonably stylish in accordance with the people you come into contact with.

It is absolutely inexcusable to irritate people with “B.O.” and bad breath. Today's provisions against these things are too readily available for you to be offensive here. There is no substitute for cleanliness.

5. SINCERE COMPLIMENTS

Often just one compliment will so soften a person that he will relax and open up to the gospel right away.

When witnessing to a brilliant person, let him know you know he is smart. Compliment, for instance, a good lawyer on his abilities, or a great physician on his accomplishments. And remember, you do not have to study law to witness to a lawyer, or medicine to witness to a doctor. The gospel is your power.

6. AGREE

When a person is right, agree with him. Agree with him vehemently whenever possible. And when you must disagree, please do so in as pleasant a way as you can . . . as it has been said, many Christians are “dispensationally correct, but dispositionally wrong.” The Bible says “be ye kind one to another.”

7. USE “THE HAND GESTURE”

This method of securing the person's attention and then explaining the gospel to him as you use a gesture is fully pictured and developed in Chapter 23. This is one of the most effective things we have ever found to make the gospel clear and understandable to the lost. Use it!

8. TOO MANY VERSES

Because we love the Word of God and find many verses so precious to us, we sometimes find ourselves using so many verses with a lost person that he gets confused. When one verse clarifies the point, leave it there. If you need another verse, fine; use another one. But usually the person's problem will not so much be one of needing many verses, but rather that he does not understand or believe the verse you have just shown him.

9. USING QUESTIONS

Aristotle was famous for teaching by means of asking questions of his students. In this way the student could think out the truth of what he was trying to get across better than if he just lectured them. This is also true in witnessing. If a verse says, “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” you might ask: “Does this verse say, whosoever works, and joins the church, and pays the tithe will not perish? Does this verse say that those who believe will have life until they start sinning again?” Questions will help the person think WITH you about the Scriptures.

10. TELL THE TRUTH

If you are asked a question which you cannot answer at the moment, don't bluff it. Say you don't know, and offer to find the answer and give it to him at a later date. In your own notebook you might want to keep a list of questions and their answers which are difficult for you to answer, along with explanations of passages that are difficult for you to explain. In time, after experience, you will find greater ease even in answering these.

11. HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

If the person doesn't grasp what you are trying to put across, instead of implying that he is “stupid,” why not rather suggest that perhaps you haven't made it clear enough? This will let him “save face” and you will be able to continue your ministry with him.

12. “CHRISTIAN” AMERICA

Since the majority of people in America feel that they are Christians, it isn't good to ask a person if he is a Christian. Most people will say “yes” to this even if they are unsaved, and then you have to prove them wrong before you can lead them to the Lord.

Rather, ask questions like, “What do you think you have to do to go to heaven?” or “Do you know where you are going when you die?” Their answers to questions like these will give you a better idea of what to say to lead them to the Lord.

13. LEARNING FROM OTHERS

If you hear your preacher use a good illustration . . . if you see another soulwinner using a particular method in his soulwinning . . . if you find someone uses a particular phrase which increases his effectiveness in making the gospel clear . . . don't be afraid to do the same.

When a man is leading people to the Lord, try doing what he does. In 1Co 4:16 the Apostle Paul urged his children in the faith to follow his Christian example.

The important thing isn't who originated this or that . . . the important thing is doing everything we can to make the plan of salvation understandable to the lost. All the glory belongs to the Lord.

14. SUGGESTIONS IN WITNESSING TO MEMBERS OF CULTS

A. They are still people. Just treat them as you would any other persons in need of salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone ( including the cultists) if they will believe. Try not to give the appearance of “shock” if you discover some “odd” thing they believe.

B. Often people are attracted to a cult or false religion because of the interest shown to them by the members of that group. Christians ought to show genuine love and concern for people and be all the more careful to “speak the truth in love.”

C. The disciples of cults are usually quite zealous about their beliefs and love to talk. Let them. Don't be rude. Listen attentively so that when they are through with the presentation you may be better equipped to meet their needs in your presentation of the gospel.

D. Remember that these people are blinded by Satan. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not . . .” (2Co 4:4). The entrance of God's Word will give them the light they need (Ps 119:130).

E. Be careful not to get off onto “side issues” which are of no profit to the person's salvation. Stay with the main issue which, in most cases, will still be “grace and works.”

CHAPTER XX - Understanding Predestination

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

BIBLICAL DOCTRINE: “God is absolutely sovereign, and in His sovereignty gave man a free will to accept or reject the salvation that He has provided. It is God's will that all would be saved and that none should perish. God foreknows but does not predetermine any man to be condemned. God permits man's destiny to depend upon man's choice” (Florida Bible College Doctrinal Statement, Point Four) .

1Ti 2:4 tells us that God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God does not predetermine who will believe and who will not believe, but God predetermined what will HAPPEN to the believers and to the unbelievers.

The father who asks the son to mow the yard may have predetermined that if he does, he will reward him, and if he doesn't, he will chasten him. God explains our salvation in this same way . . . that the choice of our salvation is up to us, but He has predetermined the RESULTS of our choices.

Ac 10:34; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; Ro 2:11; and 2Ch 19:7 all point out clearly that God is no respecter of persons and does not choose one to be saved and one to be lost, but loves all alike. This is certainly clear in Joh 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

2Th 2:13 says, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation THROUGH sanctification of the Spirit AND belief of the truth.” We are made pure and holy by sanctification of the Spirit. Look up the word “holy” in the Strong's Concordance, #37 in the Greek New Testament, and you will find it means to be made “holy, pure, and blameless.” God chose those that believe the truth to be sanctified by the Spirit. But He did NOT choose WHO would believe the truth!

Eph 1:4 is addressed to those who have received Christ as their Saviour and says that God predetermined all BELIEVERS to be before Him, holy, and without blame. Fatalists believe that this verse is teaching God chooses some to be saved. But the entire epistle of Ephesians is written to those who are already saved (Eph 1:1), and verse four specifically says this is to those who are already “in Him”- believers who are in Christ. Eph 1:13 tells us we heard the Word of truth first; then, by believing, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Ro 8:29 tells us more about God's foreknowledge, “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Some take this out of its context and say God chose some and made them to be conformed to the image of His Son, instead of realizing that God FOREKNEW those who would believe and predestinated the BELIEVERS to be conformed to the image of His Son. He did not predetermine WHO would believe. He predetermined what would happen to those who did believe. 1Pe 1:2 also tells us we are chosen according to God's foreknowledge of who would believe.

God has a faculty that people do not have. He can see the future perfectly. Perhaps this is because God is “timeless,” and therefore is actually living in the future as well as in the present. If we could see into the future and know exactly what things would take place, we could tell people what would happen in the future . . . not that we would MAKE these things happen . . . but simply that we would KNOW what will happen.

God does not “decide” who will be saved. God does not “make” any one believe, even though He wants all to believe and be saved. But God, since He can see the future, knows who will believe and who will not believe. Long before I was ever born, God knew I would decide to trust Christ as my Saviour. But this “foreknowledge” of His did not CAUSE me to trust Christ as my Saviour.

In Mt 23:37 we find that Christ looked over Jerusalem and said that He would have gathered them together many times, but the people would not receive Him. God did not make these people reject Him. In fact, it is God who is desiring them to accept Him. But it is the people who would not, by their own free will and choice.

Our salvation comes through OUR OWN belief. The Bible is full of Scriptures that point this out. Ro 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that BELIEVETH....” 1Co 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that BELIEVE.” Joh 3:18, “He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath not BELIEVED in the Name of the only begotten Son of God.” See also Hab 2:4; Lu 7:50; Mt 15:28; Ps 119:173; Jude 10, 16-19; Ps 119:30; Ge 6:12; Isa 29:13; Joh 17:8; Ho 4:6; Isa 55:1.

2Pe 3:9 says God is “not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance (change of mind) .”

Lu 2:10-The angel told us that the good news would be to ALL people, not to a limited number.

FATALIST POSITION: Many fatalists teach that faith is a gift of God and that God would have to “give” you the faith in order for you to believe. But God gives everyone the ability to believe (faith). Man may exercise this ability in any direction. Man can have faith in Buddha, Mohammed, or any cult or sect . . . and by their same definition, this would be a God-given ability to believe (faith) in Buddha, etc., as well as Christ. The faith we placed in the Lord Jesus Christ to save us COULD have been placed in Mohammed. The CHOICE was left up to us.

Some fatalists use the “sign theory,” trying to take contradictory statements and make them seem not to be contradictory. They place a sign over heaven saying, “Whosoever will may come.” But after you get to heaven you see the reverse side of the sign which says, “Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.” (This, of course, is only a partial quotation of Scripture, and you just studied the answer to these-the answer is that BELIEVERS are chosen to be before the Lord, holy and blameless someday.) The fatalists say, “We do not understand it,” and they think this explains it.

This “sign theory” cannot be true because you would have to place the same sign over hell in the same way, saying, “Whosoever rejects Christ goes to hell,” and on the other side of the sign you would have to place, “Chosen to go to hell from the foundation of the world.” The reverse side of this sign would be just as unscriptural as the reverse side of the one over heaven.

IN CONCLUSION: “WHOSOEVER shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Ro 10:21.

Praise the Lord that our God is truly one of love, and who offers, “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” ( Jer 29:13) . Ps 107:9 says, “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”

There is no person who has ever lived on the face of the earth that the Holy Spirit of God hasn't worked with continually, showing the person the truths of God. Christ in Joh 16:8 says the Holy Spirit convicts the world (every body) of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. No one can stand before God and say he didn't have the opportunity to hear the truth. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE” (Ro 1:20). “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN” (Tit 2:11).

CHAPTER XIX - Understanding the Two Natures

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

Much confusion arises from improper teaching of the two natures. As a soulwinner, you need to understand this subject, not only so you can answer the questions of others, but also so you can effectively live your own life for the Lord. Without understanding what the Scriptures teach on this subject you will often be confused, doubtful, anxious, and unable to maintain your faithful, effective witnessing.

Lack of understanding of the two natures brings about questions like the following:

(1) Does a truly saved person sin any more?

(2) Can I lose my salvation if I keep sinning?

(3) What happens to a Christian when he sins?

(4) How can a Christian have the power really to serve the Lord?

Study this chapter carefully, looking up the verses in your Bible, and you will discover the answers to these questions.

The new birth is provided by God when a man by sincere faith accepts the payment that the Lord Jesus Christ made for him on the cross. It is not a process or a result of good works. It is not water baptism. It is a birth. Joh 3:5 states a man must be born of water. This is specifically speaking of the Holy Spirit. This is living water, not H20, and is referred to throughout the book of John as the Holy Spirit (Joh 4:11,14; 7:38-39).

The first birth is of the flesh. The second birth is of the Spirit (Joh 3:6). These two are completely separate, and nothing of the birth of the flesh has anything to do with the second birth which is of the Spirit. The flesh birth is from fleshly parents. The spirit birth is from God Himself, who is a Spirit (Joh 1:12-13). Never confuse the two by thinking the flesh can do something to bring on the spirit birth. Like reproduces like, and flesh can reproduce only flesh. Only spirit can give birth to spirit.

The new birth does not come from prayers; neither is speaking in an unknown jargon proof of it. The Holy Spirit is guaranteed by God to all who believe (Joh 7:38-39; 2Co 1:22). The Holy Spirit is always spoken of as a gift of God, not coming by man's efforts (Ro 5:5).

The Apostles never tried to “pray through” or work for the Holy Spirit. They were commanded to wait for the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, and God would send the Holy Spirit to them (Ac 1:4-5). They waited in Jerusalem, and after the 50 days that were prophesied were fulfilled, the Holy Spirit came upon them (Ac 2:1-17). The promise was given to all who would receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour-not to a few. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh” ( Ac 2:17 ) . This was referring to all who would receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

When a person is saved, a man's carnal desires of the flesh do not change or improve one iota. They remain the same. Flesh is flesh, and it remains that way (Joh 3:6). Much unscriptural teaching and confusion come from thinking the old nature should get better after salvation, and when people still see sin in their lives, it brings great doubt as to whether or not their conversion was real, or whether or not they have lost their salvation, etc.

1Jo 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin: for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Beyond any question, this verse teaches that the new birth of the Spirit never commits any sin. There are other verses that teach the old nature never gets any better but remains evil, such as Ro 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

The Bible teaches that the old nature doesn't change, but it can be controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers. Whether the new nature or the old nature will control the individual depends entirely upon the person's decision of which nature he will nurture and allow to rule. Ga 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The Greek meaning of the word “walk” is to be “responsive, controlled, and guided.” In other words, be responsive to the Spirit, controlled by the Spirit, and guided by the Spirit, and you will not be controlled by the flesh. The desires of the flesh will still be present, but you will not be controlled by them.

Please notice that this verse is not saying, “Do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and you will be spiritual.” Many people equate a pious, negative life with being a really spiritual person. Many people in this category become hyper-critical and yet never lead a soul to the Lord.

There is a continual battle between the old and new natures. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Ga 5:17).

If you want the new nature to be victorious in your life, you must feed and exercise that nature. Remember, your old nature has been fed and exercised all your life until you were saved. Your old nature will rule your life unless you feed and exercise your new nature regularly.

For example, in a boxing match the fighter who is the better trained and the stronger wins. They never match two men in a ring, one being very large and strong and the other being small and weak . . . because it would not even be a contest.

The fruit (result) of being controlled by the Spirit is described in Ga 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.”

The fruit (result) of being controlled by the flesh is described in Ga 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The last phrase in verse 21 points out that no evil works can enter heaven, but that they are the results of a man being under the control of the old nature. Only righteousness enters into heaven, which comes only from the new birth. The new birth never sins but is incorruptible (1Pe 1:23).

It is difficult for people to understand clearly that heaven is a perfect place and only a perfectly righteous person can enter therein; but this righteousness is not a result of man's works, but is a result of a perfect righteousness that is given to man through the new birth. 1Co 6:9-10 tells us that no sin shall enter heaven . . . but verse 11 tells us how we are washed and justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, after a person is saved, he has the power to serve the Lord and to be a witness (Ac 1:8).

There is no SECRET to having a “victorious Christian life.” It is very clearly taught in the Bible. 2Ti 2:4 tells us that “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life: that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” To effectively live your life for the Lord, your life must be disciplined-to include the things of the Lord-and to leave out the things of the world. Col 3:2 tells us to “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

When we really keep in mind that people are lost and going to hell, and that we have been entrusted with the gospel message that will lead them to the Lord and heaven, it is not so difficult to determine that our lives are going to COUNT for the Lord. It is an every day, every moment decision. Every time you say “YES” and obey the Lord, instead of saying “NO” and disobeying Him, you are “spiritual”-controlled by the Holy Spirit. And this is how to be a happy, productive child of God.

CHAPTER XVIII - Mormonism

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

HISTORY

Mormonism (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) was organized in 1830 in Fayette, New York. An angel named Moroni was supposed to have appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr., revealing to him the place where golden plates were buried which contained the history of ancient America.

Also, according to Mormon belief, Smith received a pair of special eyeglasses (called “Urim and Thummim”) which turned the “reformed-Egyptian characters” of the plates into English. Smith had a friend copy down the writing on the plates as he (Smith) read it to him. This later became the Book of Mormon, which is claimed by the Mormons to be an additional “revelation” for these latter days. They say it is as authoritative and inspired as the Bible.

In the early days of its history the members of the group were forced to migrate from one part of the country to another. With their pagan teaching of polygamy and frequent charges of a criminal nature against their leaders, the followers were pushed from “pillar to post.” Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, were finally shot to death by an angry mob while they were awaiting trial in jail.

Today the Mormons are divided into two groups: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who followed Brigham Young after Smith's death, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, composed of those who gave their support to Smith's son instead of to Brigham Young. Those who followed Young are the larger of the two.

THEIR DOCTRINE versus THE BIBLE

(1) They have added to the Word of God. They claim other equally inspired books are The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.

Scripture warns against adding to what God has said. “Add thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Pr 30:6). “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man (including Joseph Smith) shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Re 22:18).

(2) They teach salvation by works. In the Articles of Faith of the Mormon Church it is stated, “The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity” (1925 ed., p. 479).

“Salvation” to the Mormons is received through following a system of rules. Their requirements for salvation are:

Belief in Christ

Public Confession

Water Baptism

Laying on of Hands

Obedience to the Ordinances of the Church.

How different this man-made system is from God's way of saving man through the Lord Jesus Christ. Joh 1:12 says, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power ( the right) to become the sons of God, even to THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME.”

(3) They believe Christ was created . . . in the same way that we were created. They teach men existed in eternity past as spirit beings. Later on we were given physical bodies. Christ was simply another spirit being before He came to earth.

If Christ is only one of us, what would that make us? Their book A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel answers the question for us. “God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens” ( p. 190 ) . This teaching is complete blasphemy against the clear teaching of the Word of God. A religion such as this could never be considered “Christian” by the Lord Jesus Christ!

SUGGESTIONS FOR WITNESSING TO MORMONS

(l) When speaking to one, always get him to agree to use only the Bible in the conversation. You can do this with a statement like: “Since you believe the Bible is God's Word, and I do, too; and since I do not believe the Book of Mormon is God's Word, let's confine our conversation to what the BIBLE says. After all, if both books are from God, they certainly wouldn't contradict one another.” He will usually agree to this. Once he does, you can make much better progress. Because the Mormon is not familiar with the plan of salvation, it will be good news to him.

(2) Do not allow the Mormon to leave a passage until he has faced up to it. This is especially important if he tries to quote from the Book of Mormon to prove a point which is contradictory to Scripture.

(3) Remember that the issue is still “grace and works.” Don't let the conversation deviate from this if at ALL possible. The more you talk about other things, the more time it will take to lead him to the Lord, and the more difficult it will be to do so.

(4) If the Mormon speaks of some strange doctrine that may get your curiosity up, just let it drop . . . or you will find he will be doing all the talking and you won't be covering the plan of salvation.

(5) It is always important as you are witnessing to be praying for God to give you wisdom and to direct the thoughts of the unsaved person toward the gospel. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas 1:5).

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place” (2Co 2:14).

CHAPTER XVII - Christian Science and Unity

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (Christian Science)

The founder of this group was Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy. She was born on July 16, 1821, in Bow, New Hampshire, and was the youngest of six children. She was raised in a family of strict Calvinism but was never won to this belief herself.

Her health was very poor; it interrupted her formal education. She was a semi-invalid for years.

George Glover, whom she married in 1843, was the first of her three husbands. In less than a year after their marriage he died, leaving her with an unborn child. Later, after the death of her mother and remarriage of her father, she married Daniel Patterson. Patterson was captured and imprisoned during the Civil War. When he returned, he ran off with a neighbor's wife. Eventually he and Mary were divorced. During all these years she constantly suffered from one thing or another.

While still married to Patterson, Mary heard of Phineas Quimby, who supposedly cured people without the use of medicines. She went to see Quimby when she was 41 years old, and during several weeks at his Portland, Maine, office she received relief which she attributed to God working through Quimby. Quimby denied, however, that God had anything to do with it or that he had any special healing powers.

Mr. Quimby died in 1866 when Mary was 45 years old. Mary Baker Patterson began to portray herself as a healer from this time on. Shortly after Quimby's death she fell on an icy street and injured herself. She claimed that the doctor who examined her injury declared it to be fatal (though the physician's own testimony later on denied this ) . Some friends came to visit her before her supposedly impending death. She had them all leave the room while she read Mt 9. While reading this portion of Scripture she was immediately and completely healed (so she said).

She began a school to teach others to heal, charging from $100 to $300 for a course lasting three weeks. During this time, too, she worked on her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which later became the textbook for the cult. When the book was ready for publication, she had to get the help of her followers to print it for no Boston publisher would.

She was married the third time to Asa G. Eddy. In 1878 she organized and pastored the First Church of Christ Scientist with 26 members. During this period Mr. Eddy died of a bad heart. However, Mrs. Eddy declared he had died by “arsenic poison mentally administered” by their enemies.

Her later life was filled with sickness and nervousness. She died in 1910. Even though she claimed not to believe in the reality of death, she had to keep that appointment which God says every man must keep (Heb 9:27).

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOCTRINE contrasted with the WORD OF GOD, THE BIBLE

“Ge 2:7. Is this addition to His creation real or unreal? Is it the truth, or is it a lie concerning man and God? IT MUST BE A LIE, for God presently curses the ground” (Science and Health, p. 524).

“The second chapter of Genesis CONTAINS A STATEMENT of this material view of God and the universe, a statement WHICH IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH . . .” (ibid., p. 521).

“ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . .” (2Ti 3:16).

“In hope of eternal life, which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began” (Tit 1:2).

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Mt 24:35).

CHRIST'S DEATH FOR SIN

“One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin” (Science and Health, p. 23).

“That God's wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural” (ibid., p. 23).

“The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon 'the accursed tree' than when it was flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father's business” (ibid., p. 25).

“For BY ONE OFFERING He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb 10:14).

“In whom we have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7). “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD HATH LAID ON HIM the iniquity of us all . . . it PLEASED THE LORD to bruise Him” (Isa 53:6,10).

SIN

“Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death” (Science and Health, p. 475).

“To put down the claim of sin, you must detect it, remove the mask, point out the illusion, and thus get the victory over sin and so prove its unreality” (ibid., p. 447).

“For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God” (Ro 3:23).

“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and SINNETH NOT” (Ec 7:20).

THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST

“The virgin-mother conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the name of Jesus-that is, Joshua, or Saviour” (Science and Health, p. 29).

“Jesus was the offspring of Mary's self-conscious communion with God” (ibid., pp. 29, 30).

The angel, not Mary, said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord” (Lu 2:11).

“And Paul . . . reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead; and that THIS JESUS, whom I preach unto you, IS CHRIST” (Ac 17:2-3).

“. . . for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost . . . Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US” (Mt 1:20,22-23).

“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb (not in her mind), and bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus” (Lu 1:31) .

THOUGHTS ON YOUR APPROACH

(1) You must understand the major premise or formula of the Christian Scientist in order to reach him intelligently for the Lord. His basic approach to God, salvation, etc., can be summed up in this way:

God is Love . . . God is Life . . . God is Good . . . God is Spirit . . . God is ALL. (These are all true except for the last. )

Since God is Love and God is ALL, there can be no hate. Since God is Life and God is ALL, there can be no death. Since God is Good and God is ALL, there can be no evil. Since God is Spirit and God is ALL, .there can be no matter. (So they feel there will be no hatred, illness, sin, death, etc., to the person who knows God aright.)

This is another form of “pantheism,” the doctrine or belief that God is not a personality, but that all laws, forces, manifestations, etc., are God. It is strongly adhered to by Christian Scientists. This formula governs nearly all their thinking. Therefore, you need to know how to answer it from Scripture.

(2) SCRIPTURES REFUTING THE IDEA THAT “GOD IS ALL.”

Ge 1:1, “In the beginning God CREATED the heaven and the earth.” Notice it doesn't say God IS the heaven and the earth-but He created it.

Isa 59:2, “Your iniquities have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you....” Again, the truth that God is SEPARATE FROM His creation.

Nu 23:19, “God is NOT A MAN, that He should lie....” Man lies; God does not. No thinking person really believes God is EVERYTHING!

(3) The most important thing to remember is that you must give the Christian Scientist the GOSPEL. Often a person is attracted to this cult because he doesn't want to believe that he is accountable for the sins he has committed. Christian Science gives a convenient way out for such a person and provides a FALSE sense of security. If he understood the gospel, that God loves sinners and has already made a complete payment for sin, he would perhaps respond and accept Christ as his Saviour.

(4) One reason so many elderly people are Christian Scientists is that they fear death and what lies beyond, and they do not know the love of God. The teachings of Christian Science that there is really no sin or death, etc., calm their fears.

(5) As a group, you will find that the Christian Scientists are lovely people who are trying to live the best kind of life they know how. Even though the plan of salvation excludes man's good works for entrance into heaven, there is no reason why you shouldn't compliment a person who is obviously trying to live a good life.

(6) Since the Christian Scientist doesn't believe he is a “sinner,” an effective way to get across to him the truth that he needs a payment for what he has done wrong is to ask, “Are you perfect?” Most people quite readily admit that they are not perfect. When they see this and that they need to be perfect to enter heaven, half your “battle” is won.

(7) Be sure to emphasize Scriptures like Joh 3:16, that point out the great LOVE God has for us, since this will be especially appealing to the Christian Scientist. The gospel-the good news that God has made a payment for sin- is the power God will use to save the Christian Scientist.

Note: “. . . keep that which is committed to thy trust (the gospel), avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of SCIENCE falsely so called, which some professing have ERRED concerning the faith” (1Ti 6:20-21).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (Unity)

Unity was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. At the time, the Fillmores were almost penniless; Charles suffered from numerous ailments, including a withered leg (the result of a childhood skating accident); Mrs. Fillmore had tuberculosis.

They heard a Dr. Weeks speak on “New Thought.” After the lecture Mrs. Fillmore reasoned that since we are all children of God (error), there must be a fixed divine law operating in her life. If she had faith in this law, surely all the negative things of life, like sickness and poverty, would vanish.

After this “discovery” the couple improved in health and financial status. They felt their theory had been proven. In 1889 they decided to devote the rest of their lives to spreading the gospel of their “discovery.” Thus “The Unity School of Christianity” began.

DOCTRINES OF UNITY and the TRUTH FROM THE SCRIPTURES

(1) Reincarnation of man. Heb 9:27; Ro 5:12; Heb 10:30-31.

(2) God never performs miracles. Joh 2:1-11; 6:2; Ac 2:22; 15:12.

(3) Man is part of God. We may all be like Christ now. Isa 53:6; 64:6; Ro 3:10-18,23; Nu 23:19.

(4) There is no evil. Ge 6:5; Joh 8:39-45.

(5) Heaven and hell are states of mind. Joh 14:1-3; 2Co 5:1-2; Jude, verse 7; Mt 25:41.

(6) Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death are not real. Heb 9:27; Ro 5:17-18; 8:18-23; Mt 4:23-24.

(7) The entire Bible is allegory. Joh 17:17; Ps 19:9-11; 119:128,142.

With such people as these, keep Paul's instructions to servants of the Lord in mind: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose them selves” (2Ti 2:24-25).

THOUGHTS ON YOUR APPROACH

(1) Unity's method of interpreting the Bible is “spiritualization.” For instance, according to Unity, “Jerusalem” is not a city at all; it “signifies the heart centre of the individual consciousness.” Peter was a “fisherman” which is “symbolical of a consciousness that is open to and seeking for new ideas.” Their whole approach to the Bible is based on this kind of spiritualization.

(2) The main emphasis of Unity is on health and prosperity. Personal salvation is ignored completely. That man needs to be saved is denied. Its emphasis is on this life now on earth, as it is in many liberal Protestant churches to day. It offers no hope for life after death.

(3) Perhaps one of the greatest dangers of the cult is the fact that many of its sentiments are both beautiful and true -as far as they go. So when someone hears the message of a Unity church, he often misguidedly thinks it is just a more “practical” approach to “Christianity.”

(4) You need to emphasize that the gospel is of grace, not of works. This is essential because of Unity's insistence that man is part of God-as a drop of water is a part of a great ocean. Therefore, according to Unity, man just needs to recognize who he is-part of God-possessing goodness and deserving of God's favor.

(5) Like the Christian Scientists, disciples of Unity don't like to think about sin and its punishment. They need to understand the gospel.

(6) Those who believe in Unity doctrine are usually so intent on looking for the good in man that they will not admit to the presence of any evil. Sometimes you might have to bring them to face reality by a question such as, “Do you think the brutal slaughter of six million Jews under the direction of Hitler was a GOOD thing?” Or, “Do you think a man is showing God-like qualities when he steals, lies, and murders?” (7) I am glad the Lord has given us the Bible, which is a sharp, two-edged sword, and which can penetrate the heart of man and bring in the light of the gospel. Without the power of the gospel from the Word of God, no one could be saved, including those under the teachings of Unity.

CHAPTER XVI - Seventh-Day Adventism

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

William Miller is the forerunner of Seventh-Day Adventism, although the person most identified with the movement is Ellen G. White.

In 1818 Miller, a New England farmer, predicted Christ was coming again on March 21, 1843. (This date was decided upon by interpreting the 2300 days of the prophecy in Da 8:14 as years and adding 2300 years to 457 B.C.) Of course, Christ did not return that year.

The date was changed to October 24, 1844. Again, Christ did not appear. Miller was bitterly disappointed. Before his death in 1849 he even said, “We expected the personal coming of Christ at that time; and now to contend that we were not mistaken is dishonest. We should never be ashamed frankly to confess our errors. I have no confidence in any of the new theories that grew out of the movement . . .” (Good News Broadcaster, June, 1964).

However, many who followed Miller started their own groups, and one of them became the foundation of modern Seventh-Day Adventism. Ellen G. White was one of the leaders of this group. Instead of admitting a mistake in calculation as Miller had done, this group insisted that Christ had come in 1844. They said instead of coming back to the earth, He entered the “Heavenly Sanctuary” to (supposedly) finish the atonement and that when Christ is through with the atonement, He will come the rest of the way to the earth. (See Heb 10:12 - the atonement is finished! )

Mrs. White did a lot of writing. Among her books are The Desire of the Ages, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Acts of the Apostles, Prophets and Kings, and a very popular booklet, Steps to Christ. This booklet has had a distribution of millions. The attitude of those who follow her is that there are no errors in her writings. However, not all Adventists concede that she is a prophet in the same sense as Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.

Some Christian leaders of our day are saying that modern Adventism has departed enough from its original view that it should not be considered “heresy.” If its errors were completely on minor points, we might tend to agree with them. However, since it puts works into salvation, we have no other choice than to point out that such teaching is definitely unscriptural.

BRIEF DOCTRINAL COVERAGE OF ADVENTISM

Questions on Doctrine, 1957, says that Ellen G. White's book The Great Controversy is “one of our standard books.” In this book are found many doctrines strange to the Word of God.

SALVATION

Mrs. White says, “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed in Jesus come in review before God . . . Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased . . . All who have truly repented of sin, AND by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted WORTHY of eternal life” (The Great Controversy, p. 483).

According to this statement of Mrs. White's, even though one “believes on Jesus” he will still be lost if he dies with any sins on his record that he had not repented of. But if a person believes in Jesus AND his character is good, God will give him what he has EARNED through his faith and worthy deeds ...eternal life.

Remember that Ro 11:6 tells us if a person is saved by grace then he CANNOT be saved by works also. Grace means “mercy,” and if you work for something and receive a wage for it, that wage is not given to you out of mercy: It is given to you because it is owed to you . . . you deserve it (Ro 4:4-5). But NO MAN DESERVES SALVATION. God does not owe man anything! We deserve hell, but God in grace gives eternal life to those who trust in Christ and His payment for all their sin. Eternal life does not come to us through faith AND “worthy deeds.” It doesn't come through faith AND anything. It comes through FAITH ALONE in Christ's finished work for us. What passage in Galatians comes to your mind when you hear of someone trying to be saved by grace and works of the law? Ga 5:1-4.

“As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin . . . Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused . . . will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked” (ibid., pp. 485, 486).

But God's Word plainly states, “The Lord hath laid on Him (CHRIST) the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6). CHRIST is the One who has been “made sin for us” (2Co 5:21). Since all of our sins were placed upon Christ, what need is there for any other sinbearer? This doctrine is blasphemy!

SOUL-SLEEP

Adventists teach that the unsaved will be annihilated and not spend eternity in the lake of fire as the Scriptures teach. Neither do they believe that a person has any consciousness after death. This belief is called “soul-sleep” and contradicts precious Scripture on behalf of the believers who have gone home to be with the Lord. See 1Th 4:17; 2Co 5:6-8; Php 1:21,23; Re 6:9-10; and Ps 116:15.

THE SABBATH

The unique issue among Adventists is their teaching that one must keep the Sabbath (Saturday) to be saved. This again is the issue: Are you saved by LAW or GRACE?

Any of the following Scriptures answer this, and you should learn to apply them to any issue such as this as you witness. Keeping the Sabbath or any other “work of the law” has nothing to do with salvation.

“Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him ALL THAT BELIEVE are justified from all things, from which YE COULD NOT be justified by the law of Moses” (Ac 13:38-39).

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. . . . Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith WITHOUT the deeds of the law” (Ro 3:20,28).

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith. AND THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH . . .” (Ga 3:10-12) .

“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the PROMISE BY FAITH of Jesus Christ might be GIVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE” (Ga 3:21-22).

If they want to keep the law to be saved, how much would they have to keep? They would have to keep the WHOLE law, because if they failed in just one point they would then be sinners, and have the results of sin-death (Jas 2:10; Ro 6:23).

Christ asked a pointed question in Joh 7:19, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet NONE of you keepeth the law?”

It is rather foolish to try to keep the law to be saved, or to try to keep the law after you are saved SO THAT you will stay saved. “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Ga 3:3)

Regarding the Sabbath, God says, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Ro 14:5). God doesn't give the power to the local church to tell you that you must observe a particular day above an other.

“Let no man (even Seventh-Day Adventist) therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or OF THE SABBATH . . .” (Col 2:16) .

Agree with them that Saturday is the Sabbath, the seventh day, because it is. The Sabbath has never been changed from the seventh day. But the day one chooses to worship God is not really the issue. You should worship the Lord EVERY day. How one is saved is the important point. Incidentally, the Sabbath was given as a day of REST, not as a day of WORSHIP. When the Adventists go to meetings on Saturday, they are DOING much more and TRAVELING much more than the laws governing the Sabbath allow!

If the Adventists followed the punishment Scripture attaches to disobedience of the Sabbath as prescribed by law, they would soon exterminate themselves. See Nu 15:32-36 and Ex 35:2.

Christians worship on Sunday because the Apostles did, Ac 20:7; and the Apostles did because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Lu 24:1.

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR WITNESSING

(1) Be cautious of the subtle approach used by the Adventists to lure the unsuspecting public through their radio program, “The Voice of Prophecy,” and their telecast, “Faith for Today.” You can listen to or watch these programs without ever hearing of the false doctrine taught by the Seventh-Day Adventists. When you read their literature, the difference between their beliefs and the Bible is more obvious.

(2) At Christmas season a truck full of carolers may ride down your street. As they sing the beautiful songs of Christmas, nice, clean-looking young people will come to your door asking for contributions for missionary hospital work being carried on throughout the world. They are Seventh-Day Adventists, but you would never know it. They don't tell you, and neither can you discover who printed the beautiful literature they leave with you . . . it doesn't say. Sometimes way down on the bottom of a page in very small letters you might see three letters: SDA.

The Seventh-Day Adventists really do much good in maintaining hospitals and schools and promoting high morals. This is one reason people fail to see that it is a dangerous “religion.” They see the good works of their members and assume it must be a good religion. As a soul winner, remember the teaching of 2Co 11:13-15, that Satan's ministers OFTEN promote “righteousness.” More people are “sucked into it” that way.

(3) The Southern Publishing Company in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Review and Herald Publishing Company in Washington, D.C., are their publishing houses. Southern puts out a ten-volume set called the Bible Story, especially for children, you should be aware of.

(4) When witnessing to an Adventist, remember that INDIVIDUAL members of the church may not believe everything taught by the group as a whole. Some, no doubt, know the Lord as their Saviour . . . through God honoring a portion of the Word they perhaps have heard. You need to question each one to determine what he is trusting in to take him to heaven. Invariably you will find that you must go over SIMPLE verses on salvation, especially those that point out that salvation is purely by grace apart from any works or lawkeeping (Ro 4:5; 3:28; 11:6; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5) .

(5) The official teaching (and general belief among the members) is that you cannot be sure of salvation now, and that though you may be saved now, you might lose your salvation before you die. In other words, they do not believe the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE (Ro 6:23). You may have to go over this truth again and again before they see it. Refer to Chapter Two for more on eternal security.

(6) No matter how hard they try to turn the conversation from the gospel to the Sabbath, etc., you must keep the conversation on the gospel. The gospel is good news, especially to those people who have been under the burden of thinking they have to keep the law to be saved.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Col 4:5-6).

CHAPTER XV - Jehovah's Witnesses

by Dr. A. Ray Stanford

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

(As a soulwinner, you should be familiar with the history of the various religions and cults even though you would seldom use this information during your presentation of the gospel itself.)

CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL, born February 16, 1852, was the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses although the group was not called by that name during his lifetime.

As a young teenager, Russell belonged to the Congregational Church. He believed in and had a great fear of hell, but when he was only seventeen, a skeptic persuaded him that hell was not real. From then on, Russell fought the doctrine with all his might.

He conducted a Bible class at the age of eighteen, and when he was twenty, was made “pastor” of the group. This was the beginning of the cult. Russell set the date for the Lord's return as 1874, and he published his first piece of literature that year, entitled The Object and Manner of the Lord's Return.

Russell had some trouble in court . . . He was sued for divorce in 1903 . . . His sale of “miracle wheat” which was supposed to be specially blessed was exposed in court . . . He committed perjury on the witness stand when a pastor, J. J. Ross, and he were in court over a pamphlet Ross wrote exposing Russell.

Russell died of cystitis in 1916.

“JUDGE” RUTHERFORD-Joseph Franklin Rutherford, born in 1869, was a lawyer member of the cult and defended Russell in his many legal suits. In January, 1917, he was chosen to succeed Russell.

During the twenty years he controlled the cult, he wrote approximately 100 books and pamphlets, which were translated into nearly 80 languages with a total distribution of over three hundred million copies.

Rutherford let Russell's books go out of print, so that today some members of the Jehovah's Witnesses do not even know of Russell and the facts regarding him.

After being called “Russellism,” “Millennial Dawnism,” and “International Bible Students,” the cult took on its permanent name in 1931, “Jehovah's Witnesses.” Rutherford claimed divine sanction of the name from Isa 43:10.

NATHAN H. KNORR was chosen as the new leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses at the death of Rutherford in 1942. Knorr was born in 1905 and had become a Witness at the age of sixteen.

Knorr has seen to it that all literature coming from the Watchtower Society ( name of the cult's publishing headquarters) is anonymous. Rutherford's name, too, has faded, so that devotion in today's Jehovah's Witnesses movement is to the “Divine Organization” rather than to a personality.

At this writing Knorr continues as head of the cult.

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The main issue in witnessing to the Jehovah's Witnesses is “grace and works.” They do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, and they do not believe His death on the cross made a payment for all sin of those who would accept that payment by faith. They do not believe a person can KNOW he will go to heaven when he dies. They believe their life hereafter is determined by their actions on earth now.

Verses like Eph 2:8-9 and Ro 4:5 are foreign to their system of theology. Making the plan of salvation understandable to them will be very difficult for you . . . not because you will not present it properly, but because they are often willfully blind to the gospel of God's saving grace. You can show them a clear verse of Scripture, and if they don't want to believe what it is obviously saying, they can somehow just ignore it and turn to some other verse they like better.

Jehovah's Witnesses do possess a reputation for having a great knowledge of the Bible. They certainly appear to, to the average layman. They DO know the verses in the Bible they have been TAUGHT, but very few Jehovah's Witnesses actually know the Bible very well at all from the standpoint of context or literal interpretation of clear doctrine.

The test of any group that claims to be “Christian” is its doctrines and how its doctrines compare with the clear teaching of Scripture. On some points the Jehovah's Witnesses miserably fail. Below are some of their teachings (taken from their own writings) and Scriptures showing the difference between truth and error.

SALVATION ACCORDING TO THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

“The ransom does not guarantee everlasting life to any man, but only a second chance” (Truth Shall Make You Free, pp. 176, 177).

Men will be given a second chance for salvation during the millennium (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 106, 107) .

“One forfeited life could redeem one forfeited life, but no more. The man Christ Jesus redeemed Adam” (ibid., p. 133).

“The second trial will decide whether we may, or may not have everlasting life” ( The Watchtower, February 15, 1960, p. 143).

SALVATION ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE

“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God” (Joh 3:18).

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (Joh 3:36).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Ac 16:31).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (Joh 6:47). Christ's own guarantee to believers.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” ( Heb 9:27) . There is no second chance after death.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave-Himself a ransom for all . . .” (1Ti 2:5-6). Christ was not just a ransom for Adam, but a ransom for ALL!

THE CHRIST OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

“He is a 'mighty God' but not the 'Almighty God who is Jehovah' “ (Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 47).

“He was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God . . . He was the start of God's creative work” (The Kingdom Is at Hand, pp. 46-49).

JESUS CHRIST is JEHOVAH GOD

1. Isa 43:10-11-The LORD, Jehovah, says, “. . . before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.” The LORD, Jehovah, says, “. . . beside Me there is no Saviour.” (See Isa 44:6,8; De 4:39.)

Therefore, if Christ is God in any way, if Christ is the Saviour in any way, then according to the LORD God Jehovah, Christ is GOD.

Lu 2:11 says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Since Christ is the Saviour, then Christ is GOD.

2. Isa 42:8-”I am the LORD: that is My Name: and My glory will I not give to another....”

Only Jehovah God is the LORD of glory. If Christ is the Lord of glory, then He must be Jehovah God.

1Co 2:8 says the crucified Christ is the “Lord of glory.” Since Christ is the Lord of glory, then Christ is GOD.

3. Zec 12:1-10-The LORD, Jehovah, says, “ . . . and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced....”

When was the Lord, Jehovah, pierced?

“But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken, and again another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced” (Joh 19:33-37).

Since Christ was pierced, and Jehovah God said He would be pierced, then Christ is God.

4. Isa 7:14-”Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His Name Immanuel.”

Read Mt 1:18-25. Notice in v. 18, the child was “OF the Holy Ghost . . .” and Mary was with child “BEFORE they (Mary and Joseph) came together.” Again, in v. 20 the angel of the Lord confirms the child is “OF the Holy Ghost.” In v. 21 the child shall be named JESUS because He shall save His people from their sins. The very name Jesus means “God who saves,” etc. And in vv. 22, 23, we learn that “all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken OF THE LORD by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US.”

So God Himself says the child Jesus is actually GOD HIMSELF dwelling with man. This is again clearly confirmed in Joh 1:1-14. “The Word was God . . . And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us....”

5. Mr 2:5 records that Jesus forgave people's sins. The scribes heard Christ doing this and said (v. 7), “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but GOD ONLY?” They failed to realize that Christ wasn't doing anything blasphemous at all. HE WAS

GOD!

6. Lu 1:68 records at the time of the birth of Christ, “Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people.”

7. Lu 8:39-Christ had just cast out demons and told the person, “Return to thine own house and shew how great things GOD hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things JESUS had done unto him.”

This is not a contradiction. Christ did it and said God did it. Christ told the man to say God did it and the man said Christ did it. It is not a contradiction because Christ is GOD.

8. In Joh 9:33-38 is recorded Christ's conversation with a man who wanted to know who Christ was. Christ said He was the Son of God and the man (v. 38) “worshiped Him.” Christ did not reprove this man for worshipping Him, and yet Christ knew the clear commands of the Old Testament not to worship any God but Jehovah God. Ex 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

If Christ were not truly God and accepted the worship from a man without even rebuking the man, then Christ would not even have been an honest man.

Christ did accept worship. For Christ is GOD. ( See Joh 5:23.)

9. Joh 14:7-Christ says, “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him,” and vv. 8, 9, “Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER: and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (See Joh 12:45.)

In Joh 15:24 Christ again says people have “both seen and hated both Me and My Father.”

The reason Christ can say that when someone has seen Him he has also seen the Father is that Christ is GOD, one and the same as the Father.

10. Joh 10:30-33 tells us the same thing. Christ said in v. 30, “I and My Father are ONE.” And “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him” (v. 31). In answer to Christ's questions of why they were stoning Him they replied in verse 33, “. . . for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

The Jews KNEW Christ was claiming to be God. They were so sure of His claims that they wanted to stone Him for what they SUPPOSED to be blasphemy.

But Christ didn't commit blasphemy. Even a good, godly human being would know better than to commit blasphemy, time after time, especially when he was constantly being accused of it.

Christ could say “I and My Father are One” because it is true. Christ is GOD.

11. Ac 20:28 says, “. . . to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.”

When did God shed His blood? God shed His blood when He took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and shed His blood for our sins. Christ said in Lu 22:20, “. . . This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.” Re 1:5 says, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

God shed His blood when Jesus shed His blood because Jesus is GOD.

12. Eze 44:2-”Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.”

This is the gate that the LORD God, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, entered at His “triumphal entry” spoken of in Joh 12:12-16 and each of the other Gospels. The Mohammedans closed the gate soon after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., and it shall remain shut.

13. In Joh 12:26 Christ says, “. . . if any man serve Me (Christ), him will My Father honour.” And yet in Mt 4:10 Christ affirms the Old Testament command, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve.”

Christ, knowing and upholding the Old Testament teaching, would not tell people to serve Him, and would not tell people God the Father would honor their lives when they do serve Him . . . in direct contradiction to the command in the Old Testament to serve only the LORD THY GOD.

Man is honored by God the Father when man serves Christ because Christ is GOD.

14. Re 15:3-4-”. . . Great and marvellous are Thy works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou ONLY art holy.”

But Lu 1:35 records the words of the angel Gabriel, who was sent from God, saying, “. . . that HOLY thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Only the Lord God Almighty is holy . . . but the Son of God is holy because He lS the Lord God Almighty.

15. Ge 1:1 says, “God created the heaven and the earth.” Heb 1:2 and Col 1:15-17 say Christ created it.

16. Tit 3:4 says “God our Saviour.” Tit 3:6 says “Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Isa 43:11 says the LORD (Jehovah) is the ONLY Saviour.

Do these three verses contradict? No! But they WOULD contradict if Jesus Christ and Jehovah God weren't one and the same.

17. 1Jo 5:20 calls Christ “the true God.” Heb 1:8 refers to the Son of God as “O God.” In Re 1:8 Christ is speaking ( see v. 5) and says He is the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY.”

18. Col 2:9-”For in Him (Christ, v. 8) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Everything that is in the Godhead, everything that is God, was in Christ in a bodily form. “For it pleased the Father that IN HIM ( Christ ) should all fulness dwell” ( Col 1:19) .

19. 1Ti 3:16-”And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, (GOD was) justified in the Spirit, (GOD was) seen of angels, (GOD was) preached unto the Gentiles, (GOD was) believed on in the world, (GOD was) received up into glory.”

When did this happen? When Jesus Christ was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.

The Bible says, “God was manifest in the flesh,” etc., because Christ is GOD.

20. In Ro 10:9,13 the Apostle Paul quoted from an Old Testament prophet saying, “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Of course, Paul was speaking of Jesus as Lord (Ro 10:9) . But the verse he was quoting in the Old Testament is Joe 2:32 which says, “. . . whosoever shall call on the Name of the LORD (Jehovah) shall be delivered (saved) .”

Why did the Holy Spirit give the Apostle Paul the liberty to use an Old Testament verse which speaks of JEHOVAH and apply it to the LORD

JESUS CHRIST? Because the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah.

21. Isa 9:6 prophesies of the Messiah to come, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the EVERLASTING FATHER, The Prince of Peace.”

Our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Everlasting Father.

22. Mic 5:2, also prophesying of the coming Messiah, says, “whose goings forth have been from of old, FROM EVERLASTING.”

But Ps 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from EVERLASTING to everlasting, thou art GOD.”

Christ was from everlasting, was in existence and one with God before the world was formed (Joh 17:5) because Christ is GOD.

23. When Moses asked God, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them?” (Ex 3:13) God answered unto Moses (v. 14), “I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Christ, revealing Himself unto the Jewish people, made this life and death statement unto them in Joh 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM (he), ye shall die in your sins.”

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To be saved, a person must believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was truly God Himself, who gave His life to make a death and blood payment for his sin, which He did. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ OUR LORD” (Ro 6:23).

(Reprinted from booklet, Jesus Christ Is Jehovah God, distributed by Soul Winning Seminars, 6/67.)

THE TRINITY DISBELIEVED BY WITNESSES

“There is no authority in the Word of God for the doctrine of the Trinity of the Godhead” (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 5, pp. 54-60). “. . .

Satan is the originator of the 'trinity' doctrine” (Let God Be True, 1946 ed., p. 82).

THE TRINITY TAUGHT IN SCRIPTURE

The Father is God: 2Ti 1:2; 1Th 1:1.

The Holy Spirit is God: Ac 5:1-4; Isa 48:16; Job 33:4; Isa 63:7-10.

The Son, Jesus Christ, is God: See list on preceding pages.

Mt 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the NAME (singular in the Greek) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” If there were three gods, or if one were God, and one were a created being, and the other were just God's “power” ( as the J. W.'s say), then the verse would have to say to baptize in the “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

God is very exact and lets us know in this verse that though there is only one God, He is a triune God.

Even in De 6:4, where it says that “Our God is one LORD (Jehovah),” the Trinity is proven. In Hebrew there are at least two words translated “one.” The word “one” in this verse is “echod” and means “a unity.” The Hebrew word “yachid” is the word meaning “an absolute one.” The word translated “God” in the Hebrew is “Elohim” and means three or more. God says precisely what He means.

MAN ACCORDING TO THE WITNESSES

Man is a soul, but does not have a soul (Let God Be True, p. 60).

“. . . the serpent (the Devil) is the one who originated the doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul” (ibid., p. 66).

MAN ACCORDING TO GOD

“I pray God your whole spirit AND SOUL and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:23).

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (III John 2).

Man was created in God's image (Ge 1:26), a triune being, having body, soul, and spirit. And the Bible says, “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of SOUL, and SPIRIT, and of the JOINTS and MARROW (body) . . .” (Heb 4:12).

DEATH AND HELL as taught by the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY

The penalty of the second chance for life will be the second death, which is annihilation (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, p. 151).

God is too good to sustain an everlasting hell (ibid., p. 127).

“The grave and physical death are the only hell” (Reconciliation, p. 289).

“The doctrine of eternal torment is as false as its author, the devil” (Creation, p. 341 ) .

“It is so plain that the Bible hell is the tomb, the grave, that even an honest little child can understand it, but not the religious theologians” (Let God Be True, p. 72).

DEATH AND HELL as taught by the BIBLE

“And these shall go away into EVERLASTlNG PUNISHMENT ( not annihilation ): but the righteous into life eternal” (Mt 25:46).

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE” (Jude, v. 7). Obviously, it is the PEOPLE in these cities that will suffer. (Cities do not “commit fornication,” but the people IN the cities. )

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up FOR EVER AND EVER; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Re 14:11).

Lu 16:24, “. . . for I am tormented in this flame.”

Lu 16:26, “. . . there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.?”

Lu 16:28, “. . . lest they also come into this place of torment.”

Da 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR WITNESSING

(1) Be courteous and patient. One of the things Jehovah's Witnesses seem to delight in is being persecuted. It is supposed to be some kind of proof that they are God's true servants. When you are rude or abrupt with them it confirms in their minds that they really must be the “true sheep” of the Lord. This makes it that much harder for the next Christian to witness to them. Don't argue. Firmly point out the truth in the Scriptures.

(2) Somewhere in the beginning of your conversation get the Witness to agree to talk only about what is important . . . like salvation. You might say, “Being human, we are bound to disagree on some small points. So why don't we confine our talk to really important subjects like how to be saved?” He will almost always agree to this.

This will help you tremendously. Every time he tries to go off on some side issue, you can politely remind him of the agreement and bring the conversation back to the gospel. In this way you will have a much greater chance of leading him to Christ.

(3) Be an attentive listener. The best soulwinners listen carefully to what the other person is saying so they can catch things they will want to utilize in their witnessing.

(4) Ask questions. It is important to ask the Witness what he means by certain phrases. For instance, what he means by “ransom sacrifice,” Christ being the “Son of God,” and “death,” etc., is often completely different from what you mean.

Often his words sound Biblical, but what he means is unscriptural. In order to combat the error you must know what the error is, and many times the error is not apparent on the surface.

(5) Perhaps even more than with other people, you need to USE THE BIBLE to win them. The Witnesses are under the impression that they are the only ones who really know the Bible. The truth is, they usually do not know the Bible very well . . . only certain “proof texts” which they can readily produce. However, most Protestants ( and many born-again believers) don't usually know as much of God's Word as the Jehovah's Witnesses do. Therefore, when they are speaking to someone they always speak as the teacher, assuming that the listener knows nothing of the Bible.

They are shocked to find someone who knows as much or more than they. However, although it is extremely important to use God's Word as you witness to them, be careful of trying to show them how much you know by using TOO MANY verses. It is almost always best to use as few verses as possible . . . clear ones . . . and stay with them.

(6) Keep in mind that the average Jehovah's Witness is like “quicksilver.” When you show him a verse he doesn't like or doesn't have an answer for, he will want to jump over to some other passage. Often that passage will be off the subject of salvation. DON'T LET HIM DO THIS. Stay on the passage you are showing him until he either admits what the verse is saying, or he admits he does not believe the verse.

This is almost impossible for you to do, but strive for it.

(7) If, after all your best efforts to get him to understand the plan of salvation, he still refuses to accept Christ as his Saviour, DON'T LET HIM LEAVE FEELING COMFORTABLE. This advice goes for any lost person you speak with but especially the Witness, who is so sure that there is no hell to worry about.

(8) A closing remark to an unbelieving Witness might be, “If what you believe is true, and I don't believe it, all I must face is being annihilated. But if what the Bible says about hell is true, and you don't believe it and accept Christ as your Saviour, you face an eternity in the lake of fire.” Let him know that neither you nor God wants him to go to hell. Speak the truth in love.

Chirpz

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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Handbook of Personal Evangelism

Thursday, January 21, 2010

CHAPTER XXIII - Illustration Illustrated

1) Let this hand represent you and me. Rom 6:23

2) Let this wallet represent our sin. We all have sin on us. Ro 3:23

3) God loves us. Joh 3:16

4) But He hates our sin. Ps 4:5

5) Our sin separates us from God. We cannot get rid of our sin by our good works. Isa 59:2; Eph 2:8-9 Soul Winning Seminars

6) If we pay for our sin, we have to pay for it by death and hell. Rom 6:23

7) Let this hand represent the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no sin. He was perfect. 2Cor 5:21

8) Christ voluntarily took our sin upon Himself. 1Pet 2:24

9) He paid for our sin by dying in our place on the cross. Our sin is no longer on us, because He took it and paid for it. He gives us His righteousness. 2Cor 5:21

10) You can know you have eternal life when you, by faith, accept this payment Christ made for you. 1Joh 5:13

CHAPTER XXII - Literature: Recommended Reading List

CHAPTER XXI - Helpful Hints

CHAPTER XX - Understanding Predestination

CHAPTER XIX - Understanding the Two Natures

CHAPTER XVIII - Mormonism

CHAPTER XVII - Christian Science and Unity

CHAPTER XVI - Seventh-Day Adventism

CHAPTER XV - Jehovah's Witnesses

Thoughts with Morning Coffee

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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Thursday, January 21, 2010

1) Let this hand represent you and me. Rom 6:23

2) Let this wallet represent our sin. We all have sin on us. Ro 3:233) God loves us. Joh 3:16

4) But He hates our sin. Ps 4:5

5) Our sin separates us from God. We cannot get rid of our sin by our good works. Isa 59:2; Eph 2:8-9 Soul Winning Seminars

6) If we pay for our sin, we have to pay for it by death and hell. Rom 6:23

7) Let this hand represent the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no sin. He was perfect. 2Cor 5:21

8) Christ voluntarily took our sin upon Himself. 1Pet 2:24

9) He paid for our sin by dying in our place on the cross. Our sin is no longer on us, because He took it and paid for it. He gives us His righteousness. 2Cor 5:21

10) You can know you have eternal life when you, by faith, accept this payment Christ made for you. 1Joh 5:13

2) Let this wallet represent our sin. We all have sin on us. Ro 3:23

3) God loves us. Joh 3:16