Ex-JWs who were born-in: if you are now Christian, would you say?

Question

this scripture applies to us in that we have left false religion?

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:14-15

THA, I don't see how serving the Lord makes me "apostate," as you so much love to throw out there.

Are you "apostate" to your former church?

kj7qs, that scripture was used in the broadest of sense, meaning we'd left behind the manner in which we served their version of the Lord. It helps to have been one to understand the context in which I used it.

tHA, I'm sure your former church is worried for your soul. It's never too late to return to the Lord.

Moises, are you an ex-JW?

all you JWs who answered here, you cannot sully the grace we feel worshiping the Lord in Truth. We pray for you that you find your way to the light.
In Jesus name, Amen.

Answer 1

Most certainly. In 2 Corinthians 11: 3, 4, Paul says that there would be those who would preach a different gospel and a different Jesus than what the apostles preached. He said that such false doctrines are from the devil and should not be regarded. Therefore, anyone who rejects the Jesus and the message that the apostles preached, that is the one who is an apostate.

Does the WT teach a different Jesus? It teaches that Jesus was an archangel named Michael, rather than that he was God come in the flesh. This is NOT the Jesus taught by the Apostles. No apostle ever claimed such a thing anywhere in Scripture.

Does the WT teach a different Gospel? ANY religion that teaches salvation by works, rather than by Grace, is a false Gospel because the Bible teaches that our salvation comes by grace and that no amount of works we may do can make us righteous in God's eyes.

Therefore, since it is the WT that has strayed from Biblical teaching, it is the WT that is the true apostate religion. For a person to leave false religion and find his/her way back to Biblical truth, that person is not an apostate because their theology is coming back into line with what the apostles preached, rather than moving away from it.

Answer 2

Yes, I would agree with the application of this scripture.
I no longer worship in the manner than my family indoctrinated me into at an early age. My eyes have been opened to the love and grace of true worship and service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I worship now out of my own love not because it was expected of me to do this or that to keep up the congregations averages. I can truly say that the truth has set me free, and for this I lift my eyes up and praise God.
Although I am labeled as an apostate, I believe I have left false religion and found the truth.
Although JW's think that labeling me as an apostate is a negative thing, I disagree. I believe it to be a "pat on the back" a reassuring that I am on that narrow path that leads to eternal life.

God Bless.

Answer 3

I was going to put this answer under a question from Suzanne, about "I prayed and JWs came to my door! How?

Suzanne went on to say how it must have been a mistake etc.

By the time I got it together, the question was deleted by "Customer Care." So I'm going to put my answer here since the same cronies are present. I might add that the term false religion can hardly apply to a mere six million people, and again, you don't specify this great true religion you have supposedly found. And believe it or not, now you are serving the gods of your forefathers and the gods of the Amorites in that you believe in the trinity.

This was my answer to Suzanne's question:
Maybe God is just weeding some people out of the organization, even the people in their eighties spoken of in a comment.

I also prayed to God for the true religion, and the JWs came to my door. I had never heard of them before that. Now everyone knows about them. How else would I have found a religion? No one else goes door to door, except for the Mormons, and they don't present the same picture. I don't think they were doing that then anyway.

All of you who supposedly have found the "second truth" never say what chuch that is. Christian is too broad of a description. There are too many sects in Chirstendom. So come on, tell us your secret, what is this new great religion that you have found, and what makes it so great? And if it is so great, why aren't you going door to door to spread the word?

If I recall from the bible, King David, an annointed one of Jehovah, committed a grave sin with Bathsheba, and then arranged for her loyal husband to be killed in battle, yet the bible says that Jehovah forgave him, although he experienced turmoil in his life later. So why think that the organization does not have Jehovah's blessing because of mistakes made by imperfect men. Especially since so many wolves in sheeps clothing have sneaked into the flock, then left because "they couldn't deal with the deception" or some other concocted story, and now they are earning a nice living "exposing their former brothers." Talk about Judas, he was an angel compared to some of you.

Answer 4

As a non-JW, I believe that particular passage has little to do with what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. The "gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living" have to do with Pagan worship, not necessarily an alternate view of who Christ was. It's a bit of a stretch to say that JW theology is Pagan thinking.

I don't normally rush to JW defense, but if we're going to debate them we must do so within a context that aligns more closely with the content we're using to refute them.

Answer 5

So before you use to believe that Jesus will rule the earth during 1000 years (Revel. 5:10) and this planet will change to a paradise and illness and death is gone (Isaiah 35:5-6, Acts 24:15, John 5:23-24, Psalms 73:16) and humans will be perfect, now you say that is a lie that Jesus won´t change this planet and never ever this planet will be a paradise for humans?

then what is the hope this world have?

all the people that are against God´s kingdom says that this planet never will become a paradise as God decided in the begining, that is why I know that JWs are the one that are telling the true the rest of the organization only talk about trinity but as soon as you take it out of that topic and talk about God´s kingdom in earth they just can´t talk anything.

Answer 6

I went searching for Actual truth after it was revealed to me that I was involved in and used by a cult.
God took his time and finally brought me int o the real light, and now I am not in bondage to works, but saved by christian grace.



Misplaced mother ........has misplaced her thinking cap today: 6 million worshipers of false religion not possible? Really . then explain your belief of the Jews...Muslems..Budists...Hindews etc..It is faulty logic to assume that just because there are many false worshipers that they could not be deceived.

Misplaced Mother direct quote:
" I might add that the term false religion can hardly apply to a mere six million people, and again,"

LOL

Answer 7

APOSTATE?

--APOSTASY only takes place in true worship!

*** it-1 p. 126 Apostasy ***

This term in Greek (a·po·sta·si′a) comes from the verb a·phi′ste·mi, literally meaning “stand away from.” The noun has the sense of “desertion, abandonment or rebellion.” (Ac 21:21, ftn) In classical Greek the noun was used to refer to political defection, and the verb is evidently employed in this sense at Acts 5:37, concerning Judas the Galilean who “drew off” (a·pe′ste·se, form of a·phi′ste·mi) followers. The Greek Septuagint uses the term at Genesis 14:4 with reference to such a rebellion. However, in the Christian Greek Scriptures it is used primarily with regard to religious defection; a withdrawal or abandonment of the true cause, worship, and service of God, and hence an abandonment of what one has previously professed and a total desertion of principles or faith. The religious leaders of Jerusalem charged Paul with such an apostasy against the Mosaic Law."

--THE FACT that you apostate in the use & love of Jehovah God's name that represent him as the MOST UNIQUE personage in life is indeed the greatest of APOSTATE ACTS!