Doubt For False Hope

10/2/14                 Sergio                about 30
Sometimes I try to sow seeds of doubt rather than hope!  Why?  Because some people have hope, lots of hope, but a false hope that can only distract them from the real thing.  They won’t place their hope where they should because they see no need to.  This is why I spent time today at Home Depot talking with Sergio, a Jehovah’s Witness.  Sergio actively makes witnessing house calls as JW’s do, so he was used to talking about his beliefs.  Our conversation was friendly enough, so I got right to the point:  “I’m sure you know the basic differences between Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  We believe Jesus is God’s Son, Creator, not creation, but you believe He is just an angel – Michael the Archangel, in his earthly form.”  Sergio agreed so I continued.  “But if Jesus is just an angel, He wouldn’t be a worthy sacrifice for our sins against an infinitely holy God.  Hebrews says “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”  This is because they are only created beings, and would be an unworthy sacrifice for our sins against an infinitely worthy Creator.”  This is why JW’s believe Jesus death isn’t enough, that to be forgiven they must add to it with good deeds like witnessing door to door.  One is rewarded for a combination of belief in Jesus and a lifetime of service, rather than being saved through faith alone, so I challenged Sergio with this question:  “If I had a knife in my back with just minutes to live, and I asked you how I could be saved, what would you say?  At this point Sergio began saying that we need to meet and go through the Bible together – because he had no answer – no hope – for someone with only minutes to live.  My prayer is that I have helped raise some doubts in Sergio that he has any true hope at all, because only by losing that false hope can gain the true hope that is Jesus alone.