A letter to my friend; and by extension to many others I encouraged toward faith in Jehovah's Witnesses over the years. Most of this man's immediate family are wonderful loving people, and mostly they are members of this group. He therefore sees considerable pressure to join. He does not seem a man to readily cower before other men. If he is led to membership; in a few years [3 years, or 30 years] when some of the hypocritical leaders over the group start to press him toward submission to the group, rather than continuing to follow his Bible trained conscience; he may refuse. He would then be disfellowshipped and alienated from his family. I pray that doesn't happen to him! Since I encouraged him toward the group, I must be certain I did my best to absolve myself of responsibility if it does.
Hey Joe,
I hope this finds you and your family well and at peace. During the years I have had the pleasure of knowing you, I have on several occasions enjoyed discussing the Bible with you. Doing so was my effort to have what the Bible calls an interchange of encouragement: Trying to encourage faith in the Bible for the both of us. (Romans 1:11-12) Encouraging you toward faith in Jehovah's Witnesses, as an organization teaching the Bible, has been my goal in the past as well. I must now rescind that latter recommendation, or at least temper it. Since ignorant or wicked men of this group have raised themselves up to judge and publicly mark me as an enemy of God, and have thereby slandered my efforts to encourage you toward faith in the Bible, I am compelled to defend my scriptural witness to you. [These men will assert I want to deceive you of course: They personally told me I am silly and foolish to try to discuss and promote Bible understanding apart from them and their blessing upon me. I can't stop recommending the Bible based on their judgment. (Acts 5:27-29) It is important to me for those I care about to know my heavenly Father; And their action against me amounts to their public declaration that their God is different from mine. It is hard to ignore. Form their mouth to Jehovah's ear. It is for you to decide of course, whether you believe they actually render judgment for Jehovah; As they publicly judge and assert they do. Remember, as you decide where to place your faith: Apart from their action against me and the unscriptural reason for it, this letter would be one encouraging you toward faith in the Bible, just as it remains. I would however, still be directing you toward their organization as well. What I here express is what I learned from their judgment against me [and likely against many others as well]. Their action has made it clear the men leading the group are not who they pretend to be; Nor are they worthy of having people directed to them as ones teaching the Bible. Remember too, I'm not recommending anyone place faith in me, but in what the Bible teaches.
Their judgment hurt me, but after some time has passed, I am most pleased they elected to expose who they really are. (Matthew 7:15) What I herein talk about should serve as a reminder to us all: Jesus and his early followers warned the "Man Of Lawlessness" had to be revealed as a part of the end of this old system. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) Jesus had to deal with hypocrites in his day; and he taught that part of the sign of his presence in kingdom power would be hypocritical and bad men who would conspire to misdirect people from his simple Bible teachings. As a group, all misguided and/or bad people comprise, or make up, that "Man Of Lawlessness." The prophesied exposure of the man of lawlessness would necessarily bring some disagreements. Please don't allow this disagreement among men to make you doubt the Bible as God's inspired word Joe. Such personal witness by individuals can actually encourage your faith. Those who are true followers of Christ should be bold for what they believe; and able to defend it from the Bible. (Matthew 7:22-25; Galatians 2:11) Considering such a disagreement can actually help you in your effort to identify what truth is. You must of course, learn for yourself and know what Bible teaches, so as to be able to identify who really is teaching what Jesus taught. Don't be discouraged Joe, (Galatians 2:11) the truth is not hard to evaluate. God loves us and would not let it be difficult to recognize the truth. Just as I have always encouraged you: Simply plant your feet on the truth of the Bible. (John 8:31-32) Remember that many in Christ's day said he was not the messiah: The religious leaders, with Bible in hand, were the worst ones to do so. We should expect to see some today who say the followers of Christ are bad, and promote their own teachings; all the while proclaiming themselves scholars of the Bible.]
Let me say up front that I believe your whole extended family are loving and kind, and sincere as can be. The simple fact is though, the truth is what it is; And not what we think it is, or think we wish it were. I realize even the men who publicly marked me as wicked are not necessarily bad men. They may simply have gotten puffed up with themselves, and started to imagine Jehovah has made them judges over who is faithful and who is wicked. (Matthew 7:1-5 ; Mark 9:38-40) They may be wicked to the core of course, I simply recognize I am not their judge. The Bible does judge their actions however. Please know I have not changed in my faith in any way to incur their judgment; And I continue to encourage everyone to have absolute faith in the Bible. The Bible provides us knowledge of the perfect and only solution to all our problems. It has been my effort to learn what the Bible teaches most of my life. That is not to assert my own goodness, mind you. My assertion is simply to make clear I believe in the Bible as the only revelation by the God who is good: (Hebrews 11:6) I simply wish to make clear I am a Bible student. I joined Jehovah's Witnesses as a Bible student. I have remained a Bible student for all the years of my membership. Nothing about that has changed; And being a Bible student is what I continue to recommend to everyone. (Please note: My use of the term "Bible student" is not the result of any connection with, or any effort by me, to go back to the old Jehovah's Witnesses name of "International Bible Students." I simply desire to rest my faith in the Bible, and to do so I must know what it says; Therefore, I am, a Bible student.)
What these men have forced me to realize, [and what I must confess I have been shocked to learn,] is that being a Bible student is no longer acceptable to those who have become Doegs* and raised themselves up to usurp control of this organization. In addition to openly asserting my faith was in the Bible all during my association with this group; I also explained to everyone [just as I had opportunity] that the books and magazines produced by the group are simply Bible study aids. I always believed and openly stated those publications are not inspired by God. I have always tried to be submissive to the Bible. I remain so! Sadly, what these men demanded of me, is submission to them without reservation. Some of them proudly stated they didn't present themselves as Bible students anymore: They have become Bible scholars [in their own eyes]. They implied I should become like them. I pray I will remain a Bible student until there is nothing left for me to learn from it. I'm thinking that will be a very long time.
*[God teaches us from his word that a *Doeg is one who loves and respects an organization of imperfect men more than he does Jehovah. In the mind of a Doeg, love of God and love for the organization they are members of is one and the same thing. It is absolutely not so! All must love Jehovah and know what He teaches; and thereby become noble minded. (Acts 17:10-11) [Please take special note Joe: Acts 17 says a person considered noble minded by Jehovah is one who compares everything he learns with the Bible; so as to prove and know it is truth.] We all make mistakes of course, but none who are faithful to Christ can allow themselves to be led along in the errors of men: Whether those errors are contrived errors, or are errors of imperfection and ignorance. (Galatians 2:13; see verses 11-14; Leviticus 5:1; Ephesians 4:14) Please consider the Bible account of Doeg, and the terrible results of his blind obedience to Saul [even though Saul was the anointed king of Jehovah's ancient organization]. (* Please consider 1 Samuel 21:7-22:19) Doeg didn't care about right or wrong, but only about being held in esteem by the leader(s) of the group of men he had come to worship. In his blind surrender to Saul, Doeg unflinchingly followed a wicked order of judgment to kill the faithful priests of Jehovah. While others in King Saul's faithful service rightly refused his evil order to kill the priests, Doeg was happy and anxious to comply. Doeg thus becomes an everlasting Bible example for us all; of what not to become. Being like Doeg seems the opposite of being noble minded.]
The crime these men asserted is that I have refused to teach others that all the literature produced by their organization is spiritual food, and thus become joined with them in placing it above question by any. In other words: I have refused to join them in making their literature equal with the Bible. I have enclosed a copy of a page from the watchtower which would be used by them in support of their judgment. This article was published a few weeks after their judgment to disfellowship me and is likely the result of their action. Asserting all their literature comes from Jehovah [literature which has contained many errors over the years] is absurd. It would seem to be putting all those errors in the mouth of Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4) The Bible is the one and only current source of Jehovah's word; the only source of his spiritual food. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19) Since you are one I spoke with in behalf of this group, I feel compelled to warn you what they have now demonstrated to be true regarding them: If you join Jehovah's Witnesses imagining you are and will remain a Bible student, you will finally be disfellowshipped by the Doegs of the group. If it is your choice to become a follower of men, then disregard my letter; It wouldn't seem to matter who you join. Fact is, as long as you prove yourself noble minded (Acts 17:10-11) by making certain what you learn from them really is supported by the Bible, you may gain Bible knowledge during your association with them. They have some useful Bible study materials - as long as you verify them with the Bible of course. Recognize the danger of membership though! They will, at first, highly esteem you for diligently studying and building faith in the Bible. In the secret group exercising control however, they will expect and gradually pressure you to modify your faith to support their group without reservation. Even if a group of men appear upright; I can't see how making a false God of the most righteous group of men you believe you can find is any better than making a false god of any other group. (Revelation 19:10) Learn what the Bible teaches Joe, and follow the teachings of Christ; Not those of imperfect men, even well meaning ones. (John 8:31-32) After I was disfellowshipped, some of these feller's actually stated to some of my neighbors (three I know of) what a nice guy I am [when they called on those neighbors at their doors]. Previously, out of the other side of their mouth, they had publicly announced I am unworthy of even speaking a greeting to. Such hypocrisy seems beyond simple errors of imperfection. If they can sell that behavior to Jehovah; it is all right with me of course. You can see how it does make it hard to continue to recommend them. The light of the truth Jesus taught is getting brighter and brighter, and is a blessing to those seeking for and finding it; While those turning away to their own teachings are drying up and fading away. How could it really be otherwise?
I had known for years there were some in our group who put their faith in the writings of the organization instead of [or more than] the Bible. I assumed it was just ignorance, and/or human imperfection though, and I hoped they would eventually turn to faith in Jehovah's word. It took two overseers and several years of time, for the man who made himself my enemy to get me thrown out. Some recognized the lack of scriptural support for his efforts and protected me against him for a time. He never relented though. [The account of Haman in the short Bible book of Ester is an encouraging read, and seems consistent with his attitude and actions.] During the years of his assault, I wrote confidential letters to the governors of the organization expressing what was happening to some in the congregations, and how it seemed different from what the organization appeared to intend as they wrote in our Bible study aids. [I did not demand they change mind you, nor did I talk with others in the congregation about the substance of my letters. I simply and respectfully expressed to those in charge what I saw, so they might be better informed as to what is actually happening in the congregations; And therefore be better equipped to make necessary changes. I even went so far as to say if they wanted to trash and disregard my letters, it was their choice to do so; But I also expressed how I felt compelled before Jehovah to write them. Those letters cleared me of complicity before Jehovah regarding what I saw. As they claim responsibility as governors of the group, they also claim responsibility as to how to handle my letters. That is what I expressed to them.] Copies of my confidential letters were sent back to the local elders however, and my letters infuriated the man trying to remove me. He actually told me I was not to write anyone but him. [Some of the elders actually told others in the congregation about my confidential letters. I don't care who they told about what mind you; I am just illustrating it wasn't I who was stirring up the congregation. If anyone ever asserts some thing or other I said in one of my letters, ask them to show you the whole letter; and not misquote me out of context.] Sometimes, with the returned copies of my letters, representatives of the governing body wrote back weighing in on my case. I did not attack these Doegs mind you, I simply asked to be left alone by them and protected from them. I asked to be left to remain and continue as a Bible student. [Even after 30 years with this group, they hadn't helped me understand from the Bible who Doeg was, and what he represents to Bible students. Before their attack, I had only a passing knowledge of Doeg. It now becomes easy to understand why they don't teach "their sheep" about Doeg: The organization doesn't want people really thinking about what Doeg represents. They want everyone to just follow along no matter what. These men inadvertently taught me about Doeg by insisting I carefully consider, and then imitate, the submission of David to King Saul. They implied David submitted to Saul's unholy abuse without reservation. What I found from the Bible is they were wrong: While David wouldn't raise his hand to harm Saul as they asserted, David rightly exposed Saul as bad before all. At their request that I consider David, I now feel about them just as David expressed he felt about Saul: ((1 Samuel 26:19) . . .they are cursed before Jehovah, because they have driven me out today from feeling myself attached to the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!. . .) And right in the middle of the material they demanded I read about David, was the Bible account of good for nothing Doeg.] All during the years of their attack against me, I was largely unconcerned and remained absolutely confident I would be exonerated by the governors of the organization. I believed they were Jehovah's servants. Not with regard to Bible truth do I now speak; But what I sadly learned during my ordeal is that it was not these local men who were ignorant, but it was I: I was ignorant of what the organization really is. What I was forced to realize is that Doegs are the men being cultivated for oversight of the organization. They seek and promote only men who will do absolutely anything they are asked to do; without question or hesitation. Such Doegs naturally hate sincere students of God's word, since the refusal by Bible students to follow their teachings of men expose those ones for what they really are: Hypocritical and judgmental Doegs.
Compounding this problem that they think they are producing new spiritual food from Jehovah; and then seek out men for oversight who will not question anything they are told; is the fact they keep secret books only the "elevated ones" of the group have access to. I have long known secret writings exist of course; But as long as I could consider them uninspired Bible study aids, it didn't bother me so much that they were keeping secrets. "Show me from the Bible" has always been my faith, and I believed it was the organization's standard as well. As long as I could consider the literature just uninspired aids to Bible study, those secret writings were not so alarming. Now that they have asserted all their publications are spiritual food, it makes those secret books very important. The enclosed magazine page is the first time in thirty odd years I have seen them say they are producing [new] spiritual food. The men who judged me wicked led me to believe they had been taught "all the literature is spiritual food" out of those secret writings for years; maybe since before I even became a member. It all leads to the question: What else is contained in those secret books only seen by the governors of the group? I certainly would never have become a member if I had been aware they imagined they were "producing" spiritual food. [I am sure they actually believe they did me a favor by tricking me into membership.] Claiming those writings are spiritual food however, means this organization is now governed from laws found in their own writings, rather than being governed from the Bible. I could never join the Mormons because they asserted to me they have produced their own Bible [the book of Mormon] in these latter days. I believe the Bible cannon was closed with the book of Revelation. What the Witnesses do might be worse, because at least the Mormons are up front about placing faith in extensions of the Bible. (Revelation 22:18-19) The Witnesses hid it from me for thirty years. How can anyone join [or remain a member of] a group governing themselves out of secret books the prospective member can't even see? If you doubt what I say, ask them to allow you to own a copy of an elder book and a district overseer book. If they do so, I'd like to get a look as well. Ask the elders if even they can own and study a district overseer book, or maybe the books the members of the governing body study from. They are anxious to load you up with their literature, but they won't even let you see those secret publications.
While the leaders among the group publicly proclaim "all who are disfellowshipped are unrepentant practicers of some scriptural crime," that is simply not so! For a more complete explanation of disfellowshipping, an action you will be "expected" to support without question as a member, please visit:
http://justbibletruth.com/Disfellowship.html
Anyway... I don't want to be, nor do I suggest that you be, overly concerned about what the Bible does not teach. To summarize briefly: You [and everyone] must be careful to learn and put your faith in what the Bible teaches; and only what the Bible teaches. It seems most everyone, at one time or other, mistakenly puts faith in some group of hypocritical men who proclaim they worship the true God. The other groups going beyond Bible teachings (1 Corinthians 4:6) were easier for me to identify, but those in authority over J.W.'s had me fooled for many years. (Matthew 7:15) To consider what the Bible does teach, please visit:
http://justbibletruth.com
This web site has been up for just over a year, and shown steady increase to over 70,000 hits from over 40 countries [as of Aug. 2011]. The intent of my letter then Joe, remains the same as all our conversations about God: To encourage you to continue to study and have faith in the Bible. There is really no benefit in wasting a lot of time attacking others. Jehovah is rewarding each one according to his actions. My only reason for even mentioning these men, is simply the consequence of their public judgment that I am wicked: In hope you will be able to take me seriously as I continue to encourage you toward faith in the Bible. In my effort to sanctify the name of Jehovah God, I must encourage you that everything I have told you about the Bible is still true. The Bible has been, and is, the explanation of the perfect and only solution to all our problems. No matter what is said about me, I have not changed one iota in that belief. Do not fear listening to anyone who speaks in the name of Christ Jesus; (Mark 9:38-40) as long as you remain noble minded by proving every single thing you learn actually does find support in the Bible. (Acts 17:10-11) You do well to be cautious of those who desire to steal noble mindedness from you though: To steal it away by insisting you listen only to the teachings their organization puts forth. (John 7:48-49) Those who want to promote and protect their respective organization and it's teachings, instead of encouraging faith in the Bible, are easily identified. (Matthew 7:15) Christ's followers are identified by the love they show, (John 13:35) and Doegs are identified by the fact they are judgmental and hateful toward others; (Matthew 7:1-5 ; Luke 6:37 ; Romans 14:13 ; James 4:12) And because they have other teachings in addition to, or instead of, the Bible. Remember: Even though they will assert otherwise, I did not start or cause this dissension. These men have publicly judged I am an enemy of our Creator. They teach even my own wife should have no spiritual dealings with me. They assert I am spiritually dead and unworthy of life unless I repent before them and receive their blessing. My wife struggles with her emotions as most of us do. She sometimes comes home crying from the meetings unable to talk with me about her feelings; Unable to confide in me at the direction of the Doegs of this group mind you. [They will at this point of course, assert I am responsible for her distress. Not so!] It has been said some have committed suicide after being disfellowshipped by these people. The governors of the group know about all of this abuse, and certainly a lot more, and yet they do nothing to make it better. It begs the question: What are such men really capable of? Spreading hatred and strife is a bad thing. Those who figure out how to do so while feigning righteous are the worst kind of hypocrites. It leads to wonder: How many in this organization have been disfellowshipped over the years for nothing more than refusing to become Doegs? I now fear meek and humble Bible students have been among those being thrown out. If I am wicked and foolish as these men publicly assert, maybe recognizing that can help turn you toward the Bible as truth. (Philippians 1:15-20) [Not that it would benefit me to help you in that way of course. If I am the enemy of God these men judge and publicly assert, I will pay the penalty; Just as they are responsible for their judgment.] If on the other hand, they are as ignorant of truth and lacking in loving-kindness as they seem to me, understanding that might keep you from being turned away from faith in the Bible by their arrogance and hypocrisy. [They have the choice to repent and change of course; or if not, just as David said of King Saul: something will happen to them or Jehovah will strike them down. (1 Samuel 26:10)] In any case Joe, you are hearing the good news of the kingdom. Just as we all must do my friend: You must examine your Bible and see who is promoting what it teaches, and only what it teaches. Anything beyond the Bible (1 Corinthians 4:6) is just an opinion, and no imperfect man can judge whose is better. It is a great joy of our life to seek truth Joe. (Matthew 5:3) These are exciting times to be alive! The truth must be, or become, most important to us! (Mark 10:29-30; Matthew 10:34-37; & 10:38) Seek Bible truth and pursue it. (John 8:31-32; John 17:17) World conditions and Bible chronology suggest we today may be among those who will have opportunity to "never die at all." (John 11:26) Do you believe this? Remember, it is knowing and placing faith in Christ based on an accurate knowledge of the Bible that will gain you life, not the approval of some group of men. (Matthew 7:21-23) Doegs just can't comprehend that. They imagine being an approved member of their little group of men is the important thing. Doeg was not made righteous by following Saul in his badness; It rather identified Doeg as bad as well as Saul. Today we can recognize the Bible's warnings, and see current world events in harmony with those warnings: We see the preaching work being done; and we are witness to the man of lawlessness being revealed in harmony with the scriptures. It makes this a great day to be alive!
I wish this letter could not cause distress for your family, but I worry it will. (Matthew 10:34-37) That is one reason the letter is so long in coming. Mostly though, I hope it is not distressing for you. I simply have no choice. (1 Corinthians 9:16) I must continue to encourage you Joe: Always set your faith and hope on the Bible. (Psalms 119:158-160 ; John 17:17) The Bible is the only written material that is spiritual food. It is the only material that is alive and exerts power so as to make things clear, and give you peace in the face of so many problems facing us all. (Hebrews 4:12 ; John 14:27) Jesus said he would send one to help, comfort, and protect us; and he called that one the "spirit of the truth" [among other terms he used]. (John 16:7 ; 16:8-11 ; 16:12-13 ; 16:14-15) Since Jesus referred to all those opposing or replacing his teachings, as a composite "man of lawlessness;" it seems reasonable this helper, this "spirit of truth," might also be thought of as a composite man: Made up of all who turn to the Bible as the only source of spiritual food. (The comforter is also God's holy spirit of course.) Jesus said a time would come when hateful men would expel his true followers from their religious shrines; The Bible "truth" those disfellowshipped ones had put faith in would comfort them. (John 16:1-4) [The dark ages was a terrible period in history, which was brought about as apostate religious leaders abandoned the Bible in favor of their own teachings. Those apostate religious leaders were determined the common people needed them in order to understand the Bible. In attempting to abandon that apostate thinking of the dark ages, and return to the teachings of the Bible, a man named William Tyndale worked to translate and print the Bible in the language of the common man. The religious leaders tried to stop him, as they considered it a crime for a common person to even own a Bible. (It seems they considered the Bible a secret writing.) Mr. Tyndale is quoted as having told one of them that: In a short while, Tyndale would cause a boy following a plow to know more of the scriptures than the self righteous clergy. The religious clergy later put Mr. Tyndale to death; but his Bible translation is one still in use today. William Tyndale did much to bring about the decline of the dark ages, and the brighter spiritual light we have today. It seems likely Mr. Tyndale, and all other faithful followers of Christ, were individual members or parts of the composite comforter Jesus left us. (John 16:1-24) Mr. Tyndale received what belonged to Jesus's Father (John 16:14-15 & 16:23-24) by studying what Jesus taught: By studying the Bible. It seems reasonable, all who sincerely turn toward faith in the Bible become a part of that composite comforter; Or most certainly they are guided by Jehovah's spirit.]
I hate that you [and we all] are caught in this turmoil. I would hate even more to allow you to believe a lie. We've all been caught in turmoil since we were born, one way or another. That turmoil is brought about by satan's influence over mankind. God did not cause it, but has rather made a way out for any who will accept it. The turmoil we are exposed to is thus a prelude to deliverance for the righteously inclined, based on their faith in Christ Jesus. (Luke 21:28) The Bible builds faith and defines truth. No other writings can do that!
Please allow me to restate for clarity: The situation I find myself in is not by my choice. I did not judge these men wicked, nor did I assert myself over them to demand they stop imagining they are producing new spiritual food. I simply made clear to the governors of the organization I would not join them in teaching such a thing. My speaking openly about what has happened will confirm their judgment against me in the minds of many of them. It is not our right however, to choose what truth we are going to speak about, while we at the same time help cover over other truth [and bad acts]. [That is what Achan's family died for helping him do. (Joshua 7 ; note verses 20-26)] Being "in the truth" means being open and upright before all. (Mark 4:22-23)
This letter is long, and not an easy read Joe, [it is not a consideration of the spiritual milk of simply recognizing our need to place faith in Christ,] but it is a consideration of the strong meat of personally knowing who Christ is, and who his true followers are. (1 Corinthians 3:1-4 ; Hebrews 5:11-14) What I say has no significance above the sayings of any other person of course, [including these men,] but what the Bible says does. Consider the scriptures! - justbibletruth.com - Please share this letter with anyone you feel comfortable doing so. Peace from Jehovah Joe, to you and yours, (Matthew 10:12)
Joe C
Ps. These men might only be ignorant and not wicked, but their actions [in separating those familiar with one another] certainly are wicked. (Proverbs 16:28 Remember; it only takes two of them to render judgment in secret; and the one judged wicked is disfellowshipped. They will assert there is an appeal process, but it is perfunctory and for legal protection of the organization.) From the things they said to me, I expect they will discreetly [or maybe belligerently] try and discourage you from listening to what I say. They will caution you that even satan himself quoted and misapplied scripture. They are right. Christ Jesus quoted scripture as well. Everything Jesus said was backed up by, or in harmony with, the scriptures. Quoting scripture is a good thing. It is picking and choosing which scriptures we will put faith in, or mixing manmade teachings with the Bible, that always causes problems. (1 Corinthians 4:6) When any person or group turns from the Bible to their own writings as the source of their spiritual food, those are the people to fear. They are likely the ones misapplying scripture. Otherwise, they would recognize the Bible as the one and only source of spiritual food for our day. These men really expect I should sit quietly in the back and support organizational unity no matter what they do or say. That is not scriptural at all. (Galatians 2:11 and 2:11-3:14) They are abandoning freedom from the Jewish law gained by a faith in Christ, in favor of a return to obeisance to the law of their own writing. (Romans 8:1-4 ; James 2:12-13 ; Luke 11:52 ; Acts 13:38-39) I doubt any of them will talk with you in earnest about this. They will likely cover their ears and demand you not even consider it. (Proverbs 21:13; 2 Timothy 4:4; Acts 7:57) How sad! Their fear should warn you to be cautious of them, even as they assert you should be of me. You can easily examine to see if what I say is supported scripturally. (Please visit: justbibletruth.com. On the web site you can save time in looking up the cited scriptures; They are just a mouse click away. - This letter is actually on the web site now as well.) I must say again: Always remember; learn what the Bible does say without allowing it to be corrupted by the teachings of religious leaders among men. (John 8:31-47) You can't go wrong with Bible truth. Read and re-read the short books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; So as to become intimately familiar with the teachings of Christ Jesus. All you learn about the rest of the Bible will support and clarify what Jesus there taught. If you strive to be noble minded, people can never deceive you with the Bible. They certainly can deceive you however, if they can convince you their own organizational writings are spiritual food. (Matthew 15:9) The things I say to you, and have said to these men, is only what I have learned from Christ Jesus through the Bible. One of my judges actually said to me: That if I thought I had learned something from the Bible, I should keep it to myself unless he and his group taught it to me. Please! Can you even imagine how grandiose they imagine themselves to be? I appreciate any help their organization has been in learning what I have come to know of what the Bible teaches. Truth be told, I wish I could continue to study among the faithful Bible students of their group. I could never bow before Doegs however, and imagine myself faithful to Christ. (Revelation 19:10) They have helped me understand though, why Doegs are afraid for me to talk with those they hold control over: In a little while I will cause a boy walking behind a plow to know more of the scriptures than they do! The truth is a powerful tool. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) The Jews were God's chosen people in Jesus's day. Jesus learned truth in large measure from the Jews, but he certainly didn't go along with everything they did. (John 8:42-44) Those hypocritical religious leaders didn't want Jesus talking with their "sheep" either. The truth is a powerful tool. Blessings from Jehovah upon all who seek truth from his own word the Bible! As you consider truth, do not even be concerned about those who have their own agenda. Whether it be me, or be them, those who are seeking their own agenda are receiving their reward in full. (Matthew 6:2-5; Luke 18:9-14) Just build your faith in the Bible. Call any time Joe.
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