“It is one of those study articles that will make each JW feel rather “useless” as there is always something that one needs to improve, according to the WBTS doctrine. But in none of the verses reviewed, does the Bible make it clear that these so-called weaknesses need to be worked on in order to be “acceptable” to God, in order to gain His approval. I always wonder, to what would that approval lead? Also, until one received that so-called approval, what is his position towards God?”
Then, while logging into the web sites, I found this appeal for help on Discuss the Truth:
“The organization has made a connection between service time and qualifying for certain privileges. I recently had someone close to me (mother in law) feel the effects of this. My Father in Law is no longer able to go to Warwick and assist even though he is an active elder because my Mother in Law’s service time is low.”
Have Jehovah’s Witnesses become the Pharisees of the 21st Century, striving to be declared righteous by works?
Before answering that, let’s discuss why Romans 8 might be relevant to this discussion.
“Therefore, those in union with Christ Jesus have no condemnation. 2 For the law of the spirit that gives life in union with Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 What the Law was incapable of doing because it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, condemning sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk, not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, on the things of the spirit. 6 For setting the mind on the flesh means death, but setting the mind on the spirit means life and peace; 7 because setting the mind on the flesh means enmity with God, for it is not in subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be. 8 So those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are in harmony, not with the flesh, but with the spirit, if God’s spirit truly dwells in you. But if anyone does not have Christ’s spirit, this person does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:1-9)
I would have missed the full meaning of this had I not just read the preceding chapters. I had always believed that setting “the mind on the flesh” meant thinking about fleshly desires, specifically wrong desires such as the works of the flesh listed at Galatians 5:19-21. Of course, setting the mind on such things goes contrary to the spirit, but that is not Paul’s point here. He is not saying, ‘Stop thinking about fleshly sins, so that you can be saved.’ Who of us can stop that? Paul just spent the previous chapter explaining how impossible that was, even for him. (Romans 7:13-25)
When Paul here speaks of minding the flesh, he is speaking of minding the Law of Moses, or more specifically, the idea of justification by obedience to that Law. Minding the flesh in this context means striving for salvation by works. This is a vain attempt, one doomed to fail, because as he tells the Galatians, “due to works of law no flesh will be declared righteous.” (Ga 2:15, 16)
So when Paul comes to chapter 8, he isn’t suddenly switching themes. Rather, he’s about to wrap up his argument.
He starts by contrasting “the law of the spirit” with the Mosaic Law, “the law of sin and of death” (vs. 2).
Then he connects the latter to the flesh: “What the Law was incapable of doing because it was weak through the flesh…” (vs. 3). The Mosaic Law could not achieve salvation because the flesh is weak; it cannot obey perfectly.
His argument to this point is that if the Jewish Christians tried to achieve justification or salvation by obedience to the law, they were minding the flesh, not the spirit.
“For setting the mind on the flesh means death, but setting the mind on the spirit means life and peace;” (Romans 8:6)
We must bear in mind that the flesh is of us, but the spirit is of God. Trying to achieve salvation by the flesh is doomed to fail, because we are trying to achieve it by ourselves—an impossible task. Achieving salvation by God’s grace through the spirit is our only chance. So when Paul speaks of minding the flesh, he is referring to striving for “salvation by works”, but minding the spirit means “salvation by faith”.
To emphasize this once more, when Paul says, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh”, he is not speaking of people whose minds are filled with sinful desires. He is referring to those who strive to achieve salvation by works of the flesh.
How sad it is to have to say that this now aptly describes the situation in the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The publications may overtly teach that salvation is by faith, but in a myriad of subtle ways they teach the opposite. This creates an oral law that infiltrates JW thinking from the top down to the local level and results in a Pharisaical mindset.
It has been said that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Judeo-Christian religion with heavy emphasis on the “Judeo”. Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to see themselves as a modern-day equivalent to the nation of Israel with its rules and laws. Obedience to the Organization is seen as vital to survival. To be outside of it is to die. (w89 9/1 p. 19 par. 7 “Remaining Organized for Survival Into the Millennium”)
This means we must conform to the Organization’s rules and laws which frequently deny the individual the choice of conscience. Fail to comply, and run the risk of being disfellowshipped which means losing out on life.
At this year’s convention we saw a video depicting a brother named Kevin who declined to participate in the special condemnatory preaching campaign (the so-called Judgment Message) the Governing Body will at some point require all to engage in. As a result, he was excluded from the life-saving provision of being inside “Jehovah’s Organization” when the end came. In short, to be saved, we have to be in the Organization, and to be in the Organization, we must go out in field service and report our time. If we don’t report our time, we are not counted as members of the Organization and will not get the call when the time comes. We will not know the “secret knock” that leads to salvation.
It doesn’t stop there. We must also obey all the other rules, even seemingly minor ones (the tenth of the dill and the cumin). For instance, if we do not put in a certain, orally determined, number of hours, we will be denied “privileges” of sacred service to God. In other words, Jehovah doesn’t want our sacred service if we are performing below the congregation average, which condemns many in any congregation because for there to be an average, some have to be below it. (That's just simple math.) If God doesn’t want our sacred service in some construction project because our hours are too low, how could he want us to live in the New World?
Even our dress and grooming can become a matter of salvation. A brother wearing jeans, or a sister in a pant suit, will likely be denied participation in the field service. No field service means eventually one is not counted as a member of the congregation which means one won’t be saved through Armageddon. Dress, grooming, association, education, recreation, type of work—the list goes on—are all regulated by rules which, if followed, allow a Witness to stay in the Organization. Salvation depends on being in the Organization.
This is the “Judeo” part—the mindset of the Pharisee with his oral law that exalted some while denigrating the majority. (Mt 23:23-24; John 7:49)
In summary, what Paul warned the Christians in Rome about is counsel which Jehovah’s Witnesses have failed to heed. Salvation by Organization amounts to “minding the flesh”. If the Jews could not be saved by minding the Laws of God given through Moses, how much less can minding the laws of the Organization result in being declared righteous by Jehovah?
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Comment by MarthaMartha on 2016-07-20 18:02:32
Thanks Meleti, a very timely article.
I was mulling over Psalm 33:11 the other day , which led me to pondering on the Law Covenant and the superiority of Christ's law. It has become more and more common for us to be directed to laws from the old obsolete law as ' principles' to be cherry picked at the will of those in authority, and used as goads to get us to follow their particular rules. When in fact the whole point of the Mosaic law was to separate and protect the line of the seed, and to make it plain that we are all doomed without the messiah. The law was a tutor leading to Christ.
I was talking to my husband about this, and said " we are being told that our being saved is dependent on being in a human organisation!"
Then I read the brothers comments on DTT and read it out to my husband, who said, " it's no surprise, send them my comment.... The Pharisees are alive and kicking in this organisation".
I followed your comment on DTT to this article and it was like a mirror of our discussions. ?
Your insight into Romans was a joy to read and we'll be reading all of that context ( again , as its one of our favourite parts) with new interest in the next day or so.
Thanks for your work. Greetings and love to all here and on DTT.
MMReply by Thaddeus on 2017-08-26 11:14:53
Martha Martha
You brought up the higher ups cherry picking and enforcing certain laws of the Mosaic Law,you're so right.
One of the ones that disturb me the most is thier use of Leviticus 5:1 to create and enforce a snitch system in the Congregation. This in turn, in my view, has led to individuals and families keeping each other at a distance. Especially the Elders, it's almost secretive even with some. I see very few that are close outside of our Congregation Meetings.
Exclusive instead of inclusive.
Comment by GodsWordIsTruth on 2016-07-20 14:24:24
Beautiful article Meleti. That brother's comments along with the forcefulness of this article brought me to tears.
We really need to stick together. (Matthew 25:40) It truly heartbreaking to watch Men who claim to speak for God mistreat millions of his sheep. And all for what? For whose Glory??
Agape,
GWITReply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-07-21 09:32:54
Thanks, GWIT. Good to hear from you.
Comment by Karen on 2016-07-21 00:53:29
Thank you Meleti for yet another thought provoking article... Now I understand why guilt is so much apart of this organisation we know as WT. No matter what we did, how many hours we clocked up, it was never enough.... I felt sometimes as if I had just climbed a mountain only to be told ....'So is that all, do it again'
The comment you make about teaching the opposite of 'salvation by faith' is yet another subtle rule WT has made for us... We are judged by hours clocked rather than by our faith. The intensity and depth of this Organisation's hold it has upon individuals is alarming. As I emerge to yet another level of the grieving process, I am now amazed that this American made religion is so powerful.... Reminds me of the book 1984 was it? When history would simply be rewritten according to the thoughts of the serving government of the day.... The WT has done the same and amazingly we believed it, accepted it all as 'new understanding' ....
If we did not grasp this new understanding then rather than question it's validity, we blamed ourselves for not having studied it enough to understand, not being spiritual enough to grasp the new meaning, or the original WT meaning for that matter.
How can they be so incredibly mind controlling and successful at what they do? Many witnesses are not simple uneducated gullible people searching for solace, easily conned... Most are well educated individuals yet we were so convinced that this was Jehovah's organisation!!!
Thank you again to you and your team Meleti for working so tirelessly in writing such beautiful articles and assisting so many newly awakened ones to the lie we thought was truth. It makes the journey less painful. Knowing we are not bad apostates, rather enlightened individuals who have finally realised it is okay not to be a clone of everyone else. Jehovah made us unique, in appearance as well as thought. His Word to us was meant to be understood surely if the message was to be life saving. Why then has an organisation abducted that precious gift from Jehovah AND His Son and held it to ransom? Answer? ..... Power and money .....
Bless you all at Beroean Pickets ...
Comment by pquin7 on 2016-07-21 01:04:46
When you read verse 7 your interpretation of the phrase minding of the flesh as meaning the minding of the law of Moses, does not make sense for the text says. in verse..7 because setting the mind on the flesh means enmity with God, for it is not in subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be. Notice the little word It there the it there he is referring to is The minding of the Flesh...which you say means minding the law of Moses.....so are you saying that the minding of the law of Moses is not subject to the law of God? See my point....the law of God is the law of Moses he is talking about. You may need to reassess your thoughts.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-07-21 09:30:55
Thank you for your comment, pquin7.
One thing to bear in mind is that Paul is now speaking with a Christian mindset. The Law of Moses has passed away; been replaced with a new law, the Law of the Christ. So those minding the old law are minding the flesh. It is not that the Law of Moses is bad, but that those who would strive to keep it as a means to salvation now that the Christ has arrived, are doing so out of a desire to attain to salvation by works. They are minding the flesh by minding the law of "sin and of death" rather than the "law of faith".
Romans 8:6-8 says: "For setting the mind on the flesh means death, but setting the mind on the spirit means life and peace; 7 because setting the mind on the flesh means enmity with God, for it is not in subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be. 8 So those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God."
The "it" Paul referred to here is not the Law of Moses, but the flesh. The flesh cannot be in subjection to the law of God (referring to the Mosaic Law) because it cannot obey perfectly. Only Jesus kept the Mosaic Law perfectly.Reply by GodsWordIsTruth on 2016-07-21 14:36:06
Well said Meleti !
Reply by pquin7 on 2016-07-22 11:33:00
I believe you misunderstood my statement I never said as you state The “it” Paul referred to here is the law of Moses ...your the one who i believe implied that... I quote your own words : When Paul here speaks of minding the flesh, he is speaking of minding the Law of Moses, or more specifically, the idea of justification by obedience to that Law. I am just trying to understand what you mean by the statement of minding of the flesh. I take it as thinking about fleshly matters, specifically more of practicing sin as 1 john 3:4-9 when you compare Romans 8:5 with 1 john it's the same thought. in ver 9 it says: No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. now compare that with Romans 8 :5,7 ..For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law--( teaching) ; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Now notice ver 9 of Romans :You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. compare now the words of 1 john 3:6..No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him....but i am in full agreement with your last words which you said i quote: The flesh cannot be in subjection to the law of God (referring to the Mosaic Law) because it cannot obey perfectly. Only Jesus kept the Mosaic Law perfectly....so as you can see my only disagreement with you is the meaning of Paul's words of minding of the flesh. But then again i could be wrong, But we are all trying to understand his words.... thanks again brother.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-07-22 12:07:08
I agree that minding the flesh, in general terms, can refer to "thinking about fleshly matters, specifically more of practicing sin", as you say. And if we take Paul's words that way, we won't go wrong to avoid such things.
However, I believe in this instance his focus is on a particular method of "minding the flesh." (Again, this is an essay so I'm not preaching dogma here, but just a point of view.) There is, I believe, a great benefit to be had by this understanding. The reason is that viewing his words as only applying to the more obvious practice of sin might allow sin to slip in unnoticed. For example, if a person is viewing pornography, he is minding the flesh and that's a bad thing. It is so obviously a bad thing that no valid argument can be made to support such conduct. However, what if one has the mind of the Pharisee? That too is sin, but not so obviously so.
Many in the congregation keep all the rules and give the appearance of righteousness by their many deeds and works. Like the Pharisees of old, they believe they are the blessed of God because of all their works before men. They don't view this as a "minding of the flesh" and as such, do not realize they are sinning.
The people of Jesus' day surely looked upon the Pharisees and priests as the holiest and most righteous of men. Perhaps even Jesus' disciples had this idea to some degree. The power of indoctrination, as we've seen in our organization, is very strong. However, there came the day when their evil became manifest. They killed the son of God. What is fornication or drunkenness compared to such a gross sin?
Obviously Paul was not excluding the general practice of sin when condemning the minding of the flesh, but what he is focusing on to the Romans based on the context, in my view at least, is the more insidious practice of sin based on self-righteousness, since that particular method of minding the flesh masquerades as virtue.Reply by Thaddeus on 2017-08-26 10:41:35
Very interesting food for thought. It's certainly very, very true that in "our" organization certain works or positions make one viewed as more righteous than the rest. I'm sitting in class right now, day 6 of Pioneer Service School. This idea that Pioneers are above the "publisher" is most definitely been taught although not directly said.
I could go on and on.
Comment by Rick.mcgowan on 2016-07-26 06:22:22
A Judeo-Christian religion - indeed; a protestant preacher I visited back in the late 60's called us "a reformed Jewish movement". I couldn't understand what he meant back then but I do now. He must have been way ahead of me.