Question:  Dear Greg,

            I have struggled with alcoholism but conquered it with God’s help, strong prayer, self-discipline and some counseling.  I have siblings that struggle badly--for example, my older brother is homeless.  Please pray for him.  He has been struggling with alcohol and severe depression for 25 years.

            My question: a colleague at work is a Jehovah’s Witness.  Her basic belief seems to be the same as mine.  She believes Jesus is our Savior and died on the cross to save us from sin’s consequences.  We started a “weekly Bible study” about three weeks ago.  I know her Bible is different from mine in some ways.  Should I continue having this weekly Bible study?

            Deborah

Answer:  Dear Deborah,

            We will pray for your brother as he struggles with his addiction and depression.

            As far as your Jehovah’s Witness friend at work—I have to tell you that her conviction is not the same as yours.  She, if she is a good Jehovah’s Witness, does not believe that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient to save her.  Jehovah’s Witnesses do not even believe in saying the word “cross”, believing it to be pagan.  They substitute the word “stake”.  They do not believe that Jesus was and is the second person of the Trinity, the Eternal Son of God or the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.  They believe that he was an angel before his human birth.  They do not believe Jesus was or is God, but only a human.

            Should you have the Bible study?  That depends on how the Bible study goes.  Jehovah’s Witnesses are instructed to have Bible studies with Christians to convert them to the teachings of the Watchtower.  They are given clever answers and clever arguments which sound logical, but are actually deceptive and more than that—unbiblical.  They will try to teach the Bible with certain passages, guiding others carefully through the Bible with selected passages that seem to make what they teach to be correct.  They will do so, if you let them, with their own version of the Bible.

            If she wants to study the Bible, then I suggest that you start with the gospel of John using one of the established translations (King James, New King James, NIV, Revised or New Revised, New English, etc.).  A great book for those who are trapped by the cultic teachings of the Watchtower.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht