Answering the Jehovah's Witnesses (Part 5)

If this topic interests you, please note that I have written four articles prior to this one in which I have addressed the Jehovah's Witnesses misconceptions of the identity of Christ. Click here to access the first article in this series.

As I have pointed out in the previous four articles, the Jehovah's Witnesses do not agree with mainstream Christianity that Jesus is a member of the so-called "Trinity" (Father-Son-Holy Spirit), that He is divine and eternal in His existence. Instead, they believe that Jesus is a created being, an archangel to be specific. In this matter, the Jehovah's Witnesses are absolutely wrong, and they are wrong NOT because their belief is different, but because it is unscriptural.

In this article, I want to focus on the issue of divine forgiveness. The Bible is clear that we as humans must forgive those who have wronged us.

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Mt. 6:14-15).

"Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven'" (Mt. 18:21-22).

"...bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do" (Col. 3:13).

The fact is, there will be times when you need the forgiveness of others, and there will be times when you will need to do the forgiving. We all make mistakes, offend others, are careless in our use of words, negligent in our obligations to one another, etc - and in all of this, we need to be accepting of the role of human forgiveness.

However, there is a sense in which we as humans CANNOT forgive. You see, every one of us has at some point committed sin against God (Rom. 3:23) which means that we have all severed our relationship with God and abandoned our innocence before Him. The only way to be reunited with God in fellowship is to be forgiven, and because it is God that we have wronged, it is God that must offer the forgiveness. We must seek that forgiveness from God alone and accept it on HIS terms!

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Other verses could be cited, but the point is, only God can offer forgiveness of sins and restore us to Himself. That is a privilege held only by the deity - by God! In other words, a sinner cannot come to me and expect me to forgive his/her sins so that they can be restored to God (contrary to what the Catholics believe). No clergyman or Christian has the right to perform this divine function!

With all of this in mind, let's turn to Mark 2:4-11...

"And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Sons, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, 'Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins - He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.'"

You see, Jesus forgave this man's sins! It's not that this paralytic had offended Jesus and was seeking His forgiveness as one person might seek forgiveness from another. This man was a sinner! And Jesus forgave him. How did the scribes react? They knew what Jesus had done, and in their minds (not realizing that Jesus was the Son of God), he had committed the ultimate act of blasphemy! In other words, they reacted to Jesus the way we might react to a Catholic priest today who offers forgiveness - it disturbed them deeply because they knew that only God had that right!

If the Jehovah's Witnesses are right in saying that Jesus is just a created being and an angel, they have a problem here in Mark 2; the JWs would have to agree with the scribes and argue that Jesus committed blasphemy. Of course, they are not willing to say that, but isn't that the natural consequence of their doctrine? By rebelling against the truth of the scriptures in one area, they have backed themselves into a corner here, and now are forcing the scriptures to conflict with one another.

Or, we can accept that Jesus is indeed divine, that He DID have the authority to forgive sins.

Keep this argument in mind the next time the Witnesses come knocking.

Click here to read the next installment in this series.