By Evangelist – Mark Brannen
PURPOSE: To educate members of the Body of Christ about this cult, so they can effectively share the Gospel of the grace of God with them and bring them to salvation. Glory to God and His precious son The Lord Jesus Christ.
WHO ARE THEY ?
1) Founded by Charles Taze Russell, who was raised as a Congregationalist and rejected Bible doctrines of eternal punishment and the Deity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
2) Russell starts his own Bible study in 1870 at the age of 18 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
His Bible class elects him as pastor in 1876, he is never ordained by any recognized Christian faith.
They take the name Dawn Bible Students, and in 1879, he starts the Herald of the Morning publication and takes a stand against what he calls organized religion, and the basic Christian beliefs.
Starts with 6,000 copies a month which now has grown to more than 18 million copies a month in 106 languages.
Russell comments on his work called “Studies in the Scriptures” “If the six volumes of Scripture Studies are practically the Bible, topically arranged with Bible proof texts given, we might not improperly name the volumes THE BIBLE IN AN ARRANGED FORM. That is to say, they are not mere comments on the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself…. Furthermore not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the Scripture Studies aside, even after he used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years, if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the Scripture Studies with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures.”
To which the word of God replies: 1 Cor 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
3) Russell died in October of 1916, however his book “The Finished Mystery” caused a split in the organization in 1917. The Dawn Bible Students Assoc. split from the larger group that followed Judge J.F. Rutherford. Rutherford coined the name the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931.
4) The fraudulent character of both men is brought to light in the legal court system over shady money deals and out right lies about Bible knowledge and their man made doctrines. ( miracle wheat, Russellite beliefs, ability to speak and translate Hebrew) Proven to be liars and heretics, people still don’t hesitate to trust their eternal destiny in Russell’s man made maze of religious teachings.
WHAT THEY TEACH ABOUT SALVATION
1) “Immortality is a reward for faithfulness. It does not come automatically to a human at birth”
2) “Those people of good will today who avail themselves of the provision and who steadfastly abide in this confidence will find Christ Jesus to be their everlasting father.”
3) “We have learned that a person could fall away and be judged unfavorably either now or at Armageddon, or during the thousand years of Christ’s reign, or at the end of the final test into everlasting destruction”
4) Salvation is earthly, only 144,000 go to heaven in the kingdom in which they are establishing. Rutherford stated at Russell’s funeral, that he was translated into God’s heavenly realm instantly at his death and took on divine nature at that time.
SALVATION BY WORKS or HOW TO TWIST THE SCRIPTURES TO YOUR OWN DESTRUCTION
1) First of all, you must have faith in Jehovah and in his promises. You must earnestly seek Him. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
2) You need to trust God as a son or daughter trust a loving and merciful father. Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Prov 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.)
3) However more than faith is needed. There must also be works to demonstrate what your true feelings are about Jehovah. James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
4) Have you turned around, that is, rejected in any wrong course that you may have been following, and have you begun doing the things God requires? Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
5) You should approach God in Jesus’ name and tell him in prayer that you want to be his servant, that you want to belong to him. In this way you dedicate yourself to God.
6) After you have made your dedication to God, he will expect you to live up to it.
7) However, you must do more than privately tell Jehovah that you want to belong to him you need to show before others that you have made a dedication to serve God. You do this by getting baptized in water, this shows you have dedicated your life to Jehovah and are presenting yourself to do his will.
REFUTATION BY RIGHT DIVISION OF THE SCRIPTURES
1) The scripture clearly teaches “But to him that worketh not but believeth”….. Romans 4:5 and “For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works…. Ephesians 2:8,9 and “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.. Titus 3:5 and finally “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is though the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Phil.3:9
2) Repentance is not the idea of turning from sin, and living a sinless life, but it is a change of mind; in the context of Acts 3:19 the issue is Israel changing their mind about who Jesus Christ really was, their king. Otherwise, verses like Gen.6:6 and 1Samuel 15:35 would make God himself a sinner.
3) The issue of belonging to God is simply being part of the Body of Christ by receiving Gods’ free gift of salvation through faith, in that the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary was sufficient and that nothing else is needed or accepted. Galatians 5:4,1Cor.1:17
4) Gods’ expectations of us living up to His requirements is just as impossible as us being able to save ourselves by trying to keep His perfect law. Our own self efforts fall far short of Gods’ perfection. The basic bible truth of the believer being indwelt by Christ, and that it is Christ in us that does the work that is recognized by God is totally missed or dismissed by the Watchtower Society. 2Cor.3:5, 2Cor.5:17, Eph.2:10, Col.1:28, Col. 3:3
5) The doctrine of water baptism as a part of salvation, is taken from Christ’s’ earthly ministry and was mandatory to show Israel’s’ identification with Christ and who they believed he was. Paul the apostle to the gentiles, writing in the dispensation of the grace of God, states there is only one baptism, Eph.4:5 and it is not water, 1Cor.12:13 Paul is very clear on the water baptism issue for he states in 1Cor.1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel”…..out of fourteen different baptisms in the bible, Paul defines the one that is required for the present dispensation, is by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ.
Conclusion
This is an American Cult. They are not much different from the other American cults started in the 1800’s in that they all require works, repentance (perverted view) and water baptism just as the mother of all such religions do i.e. the Roman Catholic Church.
Keep in mind that when you are dealing with these people that they have been blinded by Satan and need to be rescued. Their rescue lies only in a clear presentation of the gospel of the grace of God from the word of God rightly divided.
Evangelist – Mark Brannen