This is the third in a series of excerpts from the new MBC resources, available at mobaptist.org/apologetics. Every Christian should readily acknowledge that the Bible teaches divine election. Disagreements arise with respect to how this doctrine is biblically defined, and how it’s applied. In any case, if you are a follower of Jesus, it is biblically faithful to say, “I am elected.” The word “election” in Scripture is derived from the Greek eklegomai, which means “to choose something for … [Read more...]

This is the first in a series of excerpts from the MBC resource, “What Every Christian Should Know About Salvation,” available at mobaptist.org/apologetics. People use the words salvation and saved in a variety of settings, from sporting events to political campaigns to natural disasters. Even within Christian circles, there is disagreement as to what it means to be saved and how salvation is acquired. So, it’s critical for us to begin with a definition. Stated simply, salvation is God’s … [Read more...]

This is the last in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus. Previously, we looked at passages in the Watch Tower’s official New World Translation 2013 (NWT) that seem to affirm Christ’s deity, even though the Watch Tower blots out Jesus’ divine identity in other verses. Specifically, we looked at both Jehovah and Jesus as Lord, as the Creator of all things, and as the first and the last. Now, let’s consider Jehovah and Jesus as the “I AM.” In … [Read more...]

Previously, we saw how the Watch Tower has effectively scrubbed the deity of Christ from its official version of Scripture, the New World Translation (NWT). If Jehovah’s Witnesses are leery of using any other translation, what hope exists for them to find the real Jesus in the NWT? Have any passages survived the Watch Tower’s theological sanitizing, so we may point our Witness friends to an eternal and divine Jesus who took on flesh to save us from our sins? Fortunately, the answer is … [Read more...]

This is the second in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus. Previously, we looked at how the New World Translation – the Bible Jehovah’s Witnesses use – offers a clear example of what happens when you start with doctrine instead of Scripture. Rather than align its teachings with Scripture, the Watch Tower generated an entirely new translation of the Bible, one that attempts to strip the deity of Christ from its pages. Here are a few … [Read more...]

This is the first in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus. Jehovah’s Witnesses have high regard for Scripture. They believe the Bible is the Word of God. They base their beliefs and practices on it. And they prove themselves adept at using select Bible passages to weave convincing arguments for their unique doctrines – particularly doctrines that place the Watch Tower outside the margins of historic Christianity. These include a denial of the … [Read more...]

One way the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation (NWT) seeks to undermine the Trinity is by consistently rendering the name “Holy Spirit” as the inanimate “holy spirit.” The unnamed translators of the NWT often omit the article “the,” which results in stilted verses such as: “That one [Jesus] will baptize you with holy spirit …” (Matt. 3:11). John the Baptist “will be filled with holy spirit even from before birth” (Luke 1:15). Mary, the mother of Jesus, “was found to be pregnant … [Read more...]

After Simon Peter makes his famous declaration that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus tells the apostle, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:16, 18 NIV). Jesus’ reference to “this rock” has been the subject of much debate. The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, “The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and … [Read more...]

Last month, Russell Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced that God had impressed upon him the urgency of casting off the nickname “Mormon.” Non-Latter-day Saints in the 19th century used the “Mormon” moniker disparagingly to identify members of the organization founded by Joseph Smith, whose followers came to embrace the name as a badge of honor. Even so, Nelson argued that “Mormon” does not do justice to the name that God, in 1838, gave Smith for … [Read more...]

This is the last in a series of articles on the Incarnation. Over the last six columns, we have examined the doctrine of the Incarnation. As we complete our study, let’s test what we’ve learned about the person and work of Jesus. Answer the following questions (feel free to refer to previous columns). The correct responses are listed at the end of each question. 1. What is the Incarnation? (a) The state of living in a country that’s crazy about automobiles (b) The eternal Son of God … [Read more...]