But God is merciful and doesn’t want to send people to hell, which is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. So Jesus took the punishment that we deserved, so we don’t have to be sent to hell by God. But we need to repent (leave our sins) from our sins and have faith that Jesus is able to save us from God’s judgement and give us strength to live a holy life. This is what is meant by being born-again, and this is what I have done. I left my sins even though I enjoyed them, so I can be at peace with God. And I hope you can do the same.

It was very disappointing to see Jehovah Witnesses, who don’t have the truth but heresy, going out in numbers to evangelise people, while a notice was included in my church’s weekly bulletin that there will be an outreach and believers are encouraged to attend, yet people didn’t show up. The fact that Jehovah Witnesses were there, even bringing their own kids, while none of my Baptist brothers and sisters were there was very disappointing, especially since the spot we use is just a couple of meters away from our church. Our pastor once told of a visit he got from Jehovah Witnesses, and how he rebuked them for their heresy, yet they rebuked him for the fact that none of his parishioners evangelise.

I quickly realised that I needed to evangelise these Jehovah Witnesses, and I spoke to a nice and likeable guy called Barry. He is in his 40s and was born and raised a Jehovah Witness, and I gave him an opportunity to explain his religion to me and how it differs from Christianity. He told me that there’s no hell, and people get annihilated after death. But I used the opportunity to show him in his own bible (New World Translation) that there is hell, at least the lake of fire as he disputed if Sheol, Hades and Gehenna should be translated as hell, and that all who break God’s Law will find themselves in that lake (see Revelations 21:8). He tried to look in his tracts (very well written tracts I must say) but he couldn’t find a refutable argument or verse he could bring against what I showed him in the bible. He told me that the book of Revelations is not literal, but I also showed him that Jesus Himself also preached about the lake of fire, and he acknowledged that the bible does preach about such a place. He was very disturbed when he became aware of what I showed him, and I could see that he was having trouble digesting this truth. He quickly ended the conversation, but asked for my phone numbers so we can meet again and discus this issue further. I hope to meet him again this week, so I can show him the truth about Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ, and hope that he can be rescued from this cult. He left immediately afterwards, and I was left with more Jehovah Witnesses to speak to.      

I went to speak to two ladies in their late 20s, also Jehovah Witnesses, holding all kinds of tracts they distribute, dealing with all kinds of issues and questions that people have. I asked them what they think happens when people die, and they quickly drew a tract called “Would you like to know the Truth?” that denies the existence of an after-life, and says “At death, humans cease to exist” and they quote Ecclesiastes 9:5 and Psalm146:3-4. As soon as I wanted to use their bible to show them what the bible really says, they told me that we needed to meet again so we can discuss the issue further, so they took my phone numbers and promised to meet with me again this week.

I learned few things from these conversations with Jehovah Witnesses, one of them being that good tracts are a necessity, not just tracts that show a person how to be saved but also those that answer questions that most people struggle against. Jehovah Witnesses are equipped with enough tracts that provide answers that an average person in the streets will bring up, even though we know that those answers are heresy. This made me aware that we really need to put a lot of work on tracts, and have all different kinds of tracts dealing with different situations and questions that people have. Which is why I’m excited that Gary and Lungisa are working on a couple of tracts, while I’m also always working on new ideas for tracts. I also realised that a printing press should be a medium term goal that we need to work towards if we are to reach the masses with the Gospel.

The most important lesson I learned while speaking to Jehovah Witnesses is that they are winnable for Christ. The first impression we have of Jehovah Witnesses is that they are heretics (which is true) whose aim in life is to bring to fruition Satan’s plan on earth, but some of them are genuinely lost people who really need the Gospel truth so they can be rescued from this cult. I think we also have the same impression of Muslims – that they can’t be saved because they are so deep in their cults, but the Gospel has the power to save any man regardless of whatever cult they are involved in. People involved in cults are brainwashed, and the Gospel truth is the only tool you can use to bring them to light, and Jehovah Witnesses or Muslims are not different. I realised that I shouldn’t avoid them, but I should rather gently and respectfully show them what their own bibles say about Christ, hell and salvation.

We think that the New World Translation has been perfectly MIS-translated so it can suit Jehovah Witnesses’ theology but it’s not, and there are still a lot of bible verses that are not tainted by their agenda. The worst thing that could ever happen to a Jehovah Witness is to show him that his own bible is against his belief, and that’s what I saw happen to Barry. During the early moments of our conversation, I wanted to show him that his bible is mistranslated and rather we should use the KJV bible (which I had), but I realised that we would just debate an issue that will get us nowhere since we are both not Greek or Hebrew scholars. And that worked out perfectly because I ended up using his bible to show him the truth. I believe it’s about time we start believing in the Word of God that it’s powerful enough to save any man, Jehovah Witness or not, and go to where they are in the streets and evangelise them.

Of course I had to undo the damage they had done to one soul who was their victim. There was a young Zimbabwean Muslim man who was distributing tracts from a sangoma (witch doctor) who promises to heal everything from Aids to sexual problems. They had given him their tracts to read, and told him that it’s compatible with the Quran. I told this young man that these Jehovah Witnesses are liars and he shouldn’t believe anything they said, but I also told him that his sangoma boss is also a wicked man and that his own religion (Islam) warns him against getting involved in witchcraft. I used the Quran to show him that Muslims recognise the Ten Commandments, and whether he had obeyed them or not, and warned that he needed to repent from his sins or face eternity in hell.

Pray for Barry so God can convict him and show him that he is involved in a cult, as I am about to meet him this week.

Edited: New World Translation instead of New Living Translation

“If God’s primary purpose for the saved were loving fellowship, He would take believers immediately to heaven, where spiritual fellowship is perfect, unhindered by sin, disharmony, or loneliness. If His primary purpose for the saved were the learning of His Word, He would also take believers immediately to heaven, where His Word is perfectly known and understood. And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending. There is only one reason the Lord allows His Church to remain on earth: to seek and to save the lost, just as Christ’s only reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. “As the Father has sent Me,” He declared, “I also send you” (John 20:21). Therefore, believers who are not committed to winning the lost for Jesus Christ should reexamine their relationship to the Lord and certainly their divine reason for existence. Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the Church but are rather the preparation of the Church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost. And just as in athletics, training should never be confused with or substituted for actually competing in the game, which is the reason for all the training.”

1. A true convert admits he or she is a sinner. He does not believe he can go to heaven by being a “good” person. She understands her own totally depravity. (1 John 1:8)

2. A true convert lives a life of obedience by keeping God’s commandments more often than breaking them. A true convert is not a habitual sinner. There’s a difference between stumbl…ing into sin and jumping in with both feet. While true converts may continue to sin as part of the struggle with our sin nature, the life of a true convert is marked by a desire to pursue holiness and walk in obedience to God’s Word. (1 John 2:3-6, 3:6, 5:2)

3. A true convert does not harbor hate for his brother but displays forgiveness, love, and compassion. (1 John 2:9, 2:11, 3:15, 4:16, 4:20)

4. A true convert does not love the world or the things of the world, nor the world’s system of evil, ruled by Satan. (1 John 2:15)

5. A true convert proclaims Jesus Christ as the Son of God and defends the exclusivity of Christ in a world of multiple religious systems. (1 John 4:15)

6. A true convert hopes and longs for the return of the Lord. (1 John 3:2-3)

7. A true convert desires to serve and help other Christians. (1 John 3:17, 3:14)

8. A true convert loves being with other believers and hearing the Word taught. (1 John 5:1)

9. A true convert rejects false teaching. (1 John 2:22-23)

10. A true convert remains in the truth and perseveres in the faith. (1 John 2:24)

 ”Moreover, he [Moses] has rightly detested the weasel [Lev. 11:29]. For he means, ‘Thou shall not be like to those whom we hear of as committing wickedness with the mouth with the body through uncleanness [orally consummated sex]; nor shall thou be joined to those impure women who commit iniquity with the mouth with the body through uncleanness’” (Letter of Barnabas10:8 [A.D. 74]). 

Clement of Alexandria

 ”Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted” (The Instructor of Children 2:10:91:2 [A.D. 191]). 

“To have coitus other than to procreate children is to do injury to nature” (ibid., 2:10:95:3). 

 Hippolytus

“[Christian women with male concubines], on account of their prominent ancestry and great property, the so-called faithful want no children from slaves or lowborn commoners, [so] they use drugs of sterility or bind themselves tightly in order to expel a fetus which has already been engendered” (Refutation of All Heresies 9:12 [A.D. 225]). 

Lactantius

“[Some] complain of the scantiness of their means, and allege that they have not enough for bringing up more children, as though, in truth, their means were in [their] power . . . or God did not daily make the rich poor and the poor rich. Wherefore, if any one on any account of poverty shall be unable to bring up children, it is better to abstain from relations with his wife” (Divine Institutes6:20 [A.D. 307]). 

“God gave us eyes not to see and desire pleasure, but to see acts to be performed for the needs of life; so too, the genital [’generating’] part of the body, as the name itself teaches, has been received by us for no other purpose than the generation of offspring” (ibid., 6:23:18). 

Council of Nicaea I

“[I]f anyone in sound health has castrated himself, it behooves that such a one, if enrolled among the clergy, should cease [from his ministry], and that from henceforth no such person should be promoted. But, as it is evident that this is said of those who willfully do the thing and presume to castrate themselves, so if any have been made eunuchs by barbarians, or by their masters, and should otherwise be found worthy, such men this canon admits to the clergy” (Canon 1 [A.D. 325]). 

Epiphanius of Salamis

“They [certain Egyptian heretics] exercise genital acts, yet prevent the conceiving of children. Not in order to produce offspring, but to satisfy lust, are they eager for corruption” (Medicine Chest Against Heresies 26:5:2 [A.D. 375]). 

Augustine

“This proves that you [Manicheans] approve of having a wife, not for the procreation of children, but for the gratification of passion. In marriage, as the marriage law declares, the man and woman come together for the procreation of children. Therefore, whoever makes the procreation of children a greater sin than copulation, forbids marriage and makes the woman not a wife but a mistress, who for some gifts presented to her is joined to the man to gratify his passion” (The Morals of the Manichees 18:65 [A.D. 388]). 

“You [Manicheans] make your auditors adulterers of their wives when they take care lest the women with whom they copulate conceive. They take wives according to the laws of matrimony by tablets announcing that the marriage is contracted to procreate children; and then, fearing because of your law [against childbearing] . . . they copulate in a shameful union only to satisfy lust for their wives. They are unwilling to have children, on whose account alone marriages are made. How is it, then, that you are not those prohibiting marriage, as the apostle predicted of you so long ago [1 Tim. 4:1–4], when you try to take from marriage what marriage is? When this is taken away, husbands are shameful lovers, wives are harlots, bridal chambers are brothels, fathers-in-law are pimps” (Against Faustus 15:7 [A.D. 400]). 

“For thus the eternal law, that is, the will of God creator of all creatures, taking counsel for the conservation of natural order, not to serve lust, but to see to the preservation of the race, permits the delight of mortal flesh to be released from the control of reason in copulation only to propagate progeny” (ibid., 22:30). 

“For necessary sexual intercourse for begetting [children] is alone worthy of marriage. But that which goes beyond this necessity no longer follows reason but lust. And yet it pertains to the character of marriage . . . to yield it to the partner lest by fornication the other sin damnably [through adultery]. . . . [T]hey [must] not turn away from them the mercy of God . . . by changing the natural use into that which is against nature, which is more damnable when it is done in the case of husband or wife. For, whereas that natural use, when it pass beyond the compact of marriage, that is, beyond the necessity of begetting [children], is pardonable in the case of a wife, damnable in the case of a harlot; that which is against nature is execrable when done in the case of a harlot, but more execrable in the case of a wife. Of so great power is the ordinance of the Creator, and the order of creation, that . . . when the man shall wish to use a body part of the wife not allowed for this purpose [orally or anally consummated sex], the wife is more shameful, if she suffer it to take place in her own case, than if in the case of another woman” (The Good of Marriage 11–12 [A.D. 401]). 

“I am supposing, then, although you are not lying [with your wife] for the sake of procreating offspring, you are not for the sake of lust obstructing their procreation by an evil prayer or an evil deed. Those who do this, although they are called husband and wife, are not; nor do they retain any reality of marriage, but with a respectable name cover a shame. Sometimes this lustful cruelty, or cruel lust, comes to this, that they even procure poisons of sterility. . . . Assuredly if both husband and wife are like this, they are not married, and if they were like this from the beginning they come together not joined in matrimony but in seduction. If both are not like this, I dare to say that either the wife is in a fashion the harlot of her husband or he is an adulterer with his own wife” (Marriage and Concupiscence 1:15:17 [A.D. 419]). 

John Chrysostom

“Why do you sow where the field is eager to destroy the fruit, where there are medicines of sterility [oral contraceptives], where there is murder before birth? You do not even let a harlot remain only a harlot, but you make her a murderess as well. . . . Indeed, it is something worse than murder, and I do not know what to call it; for she does not kill what is formed but prevents its formation. What then? Do you condemn the gift of God and fight with his [natural] laws? . . . Yet such turpitude . . . the matter still seems indifferent to many men—even to many men having wives. In this indifference of the married men there is greater evil filth; for then poisons are prepared, not against the womb of a prostitute, but against your injured wife. Against her are these innumerable tricks” (Homilies on Romans 24 [A.D. 391]). 

“[I]n truth, all men know that they who are under the power of this disease [the sin of covetousness] are wearied even of their father’s old age [wishing him to die so they can inherit]; and that which is sweet, and universally desirable, the having of children, they esteem grievous and unwelcome. Many at least with this view have even paid money to be childless, and have mutilated nature, not only killing the newborn, but even acting to prevent their beginning to live” (Homilies on Matthew 28:5 [A.D. 391]). 

“[T]he man who has mutilated himself, in fact, is subject even to a curse, as Paul says, ‘I would that they who trouble you would cut the whole thing off’ [Gal. 5:12]. And very reasonably, for such a person is venturing on the deeds of murderers, and giving occasion to them that slander God’s creation, and opens the mouths of the Manicheans, and is guilty of the same unlawful acts as they that mutilate themselves among the Greeks. For to cut off our members has been from the beginning a work of demonical agency, and satanic device, that they may bring up a bad report upon the works of God, that they may mar this living creature, that imputing all not to the choice, but to the nature of our members, the more part of them may sin in security as being irresponsible, and doubly harm this living creature, both by mutilating the members and by impeding the forwardness of the free choice in behalf of good deeds” (ibid., 62:3). 

“Observe how bitterly he [Paul] speaks against their deceivers . . . ‘I would that they which trouble you would cut the whole thing off’ [Gal. 5:12]. . . . On this account he curses them, and his meaning is as follows: ‘For them I have no concern, “A man that is heretical after the first and second admonition refuse” [Titus 3:10]. If they will, let them not only be circumcised but mutilated.’ Where then are those who dare to mutilate themselves, seeing that they draw down the apostolic curse, and accuse the workmanship of God, and take part with the Manichees?” (Commentary on Galatians 5:12 [A.D. 395]). 

Jerome

“But I wonder why he [the heretic Jovinianus] set Judah and Tamar before us for an example, unless perchance even harlots give him pleasure; or Onan, who was slain because he grudged his brother seed. Does he imagine that we approve of any sexual intercourse except for the procreation of children?” (Against Jovinian 1:19 [A.D. 393]). 

“You may see a number of women who are widows before they are wives. Others, indeed, will drink sterility and murder a man not yet born, [and some commit abortion]” (Letters 22:13 [A.D. 396]). 

Caesarius of Arles

“Who is he who cannot warn that no woman may take a potion so that she is unable to conceive or condemns in herself the nature which God willed to be fecund? As often as she could have conceived or given birth, of that many homicides she will be held guilty, and, unless she undergoes suitable penance, she will be damned by eternal death in hell. If a woman does not wish to have children, let her enter into a religious agreement with her husband; for chastity is the sole sterility of a Christian woman” (Sermons 1:12 [A.D. 522]).

This quotes were originally quoted here.

God’s objective for giving us the Ten Commandments was not to stifle our lives, but He has very good reasons for hating prostitution. The bible says:

• Prostitution degrades women (see Ezekiel 23:43, Leviticus 19:29)
• Prostitution degrades families (see Leviticus 21:9)
• Prostitution leads to unnecessary deaths (see Job 36:14)
• Prostitution defiles a person (Psalm 106:39)
• Buying the services of a prostitution is squandering wealth (Proverbs 29:3)
• Prostitution leads people astray  and make them unfaithful to God (Hosea 4:12)
• Prostitution defiles one’s body (1 Corinthians 6:16)

More importantly, the bible says:

• Prostitution turn the whole land into wickedness (Leviticus 19:29)

Pro-prostitution activists tell us that legalization of the trade will lead to a safer environment for those involved in the trade, while reducing the transmission of sexual diseases, and will allow the authorities to have a good oversight over it, but they don’t tell you where the prostitutes are coming from! One of the saddest days of my life is when I learned that prostitution is built on the back of human trafficking, meaning those who use services of a prostitute are doing so in support of human trafficking and slavery of women and children (especially children). Countries like Thailand and Vietnam are known for prostitution and they unfortunately are infested with drugs, human trafficking, gang violence, and all kind of wickedness just as God said in the bible.

A charity organization dedicated to preventing trafficking of women and children, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), had this to say about prostitution:

“In 2006, the US State Department reported that one million children are exploited in the global sex trade. Sex tourists, seeking anonymity and impunity in foreign lands, exploit many of these children in child sex tourism. Child trafficking can occur when children are abducted from the streets, sold into sexual slavery and forced marriage by relatives, or in any place where traffickers, pimps and recruiters prey upon a child’s vulnerabilities. Poverty is the pre-condition that makes it easier for traffickers to operate. The greatest factor in promoting child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation is the demand for younger and younger victims worldwide. This demand comes from the mostly male buyers who become the customers in the growing global sex industry. Most women in prostitution are trafficked into the sex industry as children. 75-80 percent of women in prostitution were sexually abused as children. Worldwide, the average age of entrance into prostitution is 13. When girls in prostitution become 18, their prostitution does not become a self-determined choice.”.

CATW mentions a very important issue; they say after a certain point it becomes difficult for a person to make a self-determined choice on prostitution. God is not going to judge prostitutes based on decisions they couldn’t make themselves, when somebody forced those decisions on them. However, those who willingly participated in prostitution will have a case to answer against God, and every man who promotes human trafficking by his demand of prostitutes will stand in front of a holy God one day and give account. The next time you see a prostitute on your way home from a movie or your work, you should remember that she might have been trafficked from a very young age, and she is probably held against her will. If on the other hand you have used a prostitute before, then you’ll be glad to know that you may have participated in human trafficking, and have given your money to fund trafficking of another young girl so she can also be a prostitute.

Even though James was the brother of Jesus, there is no evidence that suggests that he was a follower of Jesus before the crucifixion, or believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be. In fact we have evidence that proves that James, like his brothers, thought Jesus was a mad man. In Mark, Jesus’ family (probably including James) says about Jesus: “He is out of his mind” (3:21). In John we are told that “even his brothers did not believe in him” (6:7). One important thing to notice about James is that he was a faithful believer in Judaism, as attested by Paul, a fellow believer in Judaism at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion (see Galatians 2:12). So there is no doubt that James didn’t believe in Jesus before He was crucified.

We know that James wasn’t a believer in Jesus’ before the crucifixion, but we have evidence that James became a leader in the Christian church after the claimed resurrection of Jesus. In Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, we are told that he met the elders of the church which included James (Acts 15:12-21, Galatians 1:19). Hegesippus, an early second century historian, says “James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the apostles”. The explanation for James’ conversion to Christianity and ascendency to the leadership of the church is because of the claim that he had an experience of the risen Jesus. Paul says Jesus “appeared to James” (1 Corinthians 15:7). We also know that James went on to be a martyr for his belief in Jesus, whom he believed was resurrected from the dead.

Paul’s belief that he had an experience with the resurrected Jesus is crucial in the historicity of Jesus, as Paul was an enemy of Jesus and His disciples. A case can be made that Jesus’ disciples wanted to believe in Jesus’ resurrection because of the embarrassment and curse the death of Jesus brought to them. Think about it, Jesus’ disciples had left their employments and family so they can follow Jesus everywhere because they believed He will conquer His enemies and rule with them just as it’s prophesied by their prophets, and all of a sudden He was crucified and cursed by God. The only thing that would have saved the disciples from shame was the miraculous resurrection of Jesus, and it can’t be put past them that they could have invented the story that Jesus was resurrected and appeared to them. It can be safely concluded that the disciples were biased, and had hoped for the resurrection of Jesus for their own selfish reasons, but there’s no suggestion whatsoever that Paul had hoped for the resurrection of Jesus.

Paul was happy that Jesus was crucified, and he had intended to crucify as many of Jesus’ followers as possible. We are told by Luke in his Book of Acts how Paul was approving the stoning of a Jesus’ follower called Stephen, and how he went on a man-hunt to persecute and arrest Jesus’ follower. So we have no suggestion whatsoever that Paul would have hoped to see Jesus resurrected. As such Paul’s account of the risen Jesus is the most important piece in this puzzle as he was a foe of Jesus, and he couldn’t have invented this story as he had nothing to gain from it. Bart D Ehrman said “There is no doubt that [Paul] believed that he saw Jesus’ real but glorified body raised from the dead”.

Disciples’ belief in the resurrection of Jesus transformed their lives. They went from being doubters of Jesus’ messianic claims to being bold proclaimers of His resurrection. Peter, who had denied knowledge of Jesus and any association with Him (see Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62 and John 18), was now a bold proclaimer of Jesus’ resurrection even when threatened with death (see Acts 2:14-41, Acts 4:1-21). If the disciples were fabricating the resurrection of Jesus, then they would have given up the lie when persecution broke out against them, yet we know that most of the disciples were killed for their belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Peter himself is said to have been crucified by Romans for his faith, while James the brother of John was killed with the sword. Although people’s willingness to die for their beliefs doesn’t mean their claims are true, what it does though is prove that they are sincere in their beliefs. Like Mike Licona usually say: “liars make poor martyrs”, as such there’s no evidence that the disciples were lying about Jesus’ apparent appearance to them.  

Bart D Ehrman confirmed this fact, he said “Why, then, did some of the disciples claim to see Jesus alive after his crucifixion? I don’t doubt at all that some disciples claimed this. We don’t have any of their written testimony, but Paul, writing about twenty-five years later, indicates that this is what they claimed, and I don’t think he is making it up. And he knew are least a couple of them, whom he met just three years after the event (Galatians 1:18-19)”.