I Know That Voice

 "...his sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." John 10: 4, 5

    While I waited for the pharmacy crew at CVS to open, my body language spoke of the fatigue that permeated my frame. Legs stretched before me, arms folded over my chest, I was almost nodding off when a kind woman sat opposite me. With a concerned expression, she asked about my welfare but I assured her I was not ill, only tired. She offered that she had a burden to bear with her husband's schizophrenia so we struck up a conversation as we both waited.

    She seemed so serene and joyful that I felt certain she was a Christian while, together, we shared a few of our most encouraging Bible verses. However, the connection I thought we had was severed as soon as she bade me to explore the website of her belief: JW.org. I could never share a faith relationship with a Jehovah's Witness.

    The founder of the Jehovah's Witness organization, Charles Taze Russell, claimed the Scriptures would remain dark apart from his interpretations of them. There's the first red flag right there: Know the Scriptures by reading them for yourself. Do not rely on another person's two cents. The JWs have their own version of the Bible, the New World translation, which supports their teachings. They claim that Jesus is not the Son of God, but that he was a creature (not the Creator), namely Michael the archangel, and that he did not experience a bodily resurrection, only a spiritual one. 

    Jesus said his sheep will be able to recognize his voice but how is this done? By knowing the Bible for myself, I am confident of the deity of Jesus by reading, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) By reading chapter 20 of that same gospel, I know Peter and John verified Mary Magdalene's testimony of the empty grave. I also know that there's nothing I can do to earn my salvation by reading Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 which says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Just in case doubt remains, John 14:6 erases all by plainly stating: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

    So, as genuine as the woman's faith seemed, the Voice of Jesus tells me she is sadly following false doctrine. The deity and resurrection of Jesus is a solid rock foundation; all other ground is sinking sand.

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4: 3, 4