Did I waste the last 30 years of my life as a Jehovah’s Witness?

.:HAVE I WASTED THE LAST 30 YEARS OF MY LIFE IN THE WATCHTOWER?

“I was baptized into ‘the truth’ when I was 15 years old and now I’m 45 years old. I just discovered that ‘the truth’ is NOT the truth and I am devastated. Did I waste the last 30 years of my life as a Jehovah’s Witness?  I still love Jehovah, but I don’t know what to do now. I feel so lost. Can you help me?”

OUR RESPONSE:

Hello Dear friend,

My name is David and I know exactly what you are experiencing.  My wife Christine and I were involved in the Watchtower’s interpretation of the “truth” for around 50 years; my wife was born into it and remained one until she was 52.  I served in a number of capacities as an elder and Pioneer and my wife was also a regular Pioneer when I met her.  However, after a number of years, I began to question many of the doctrines we were told were the truth of God’s Word.  I became very discouraged by the many changes to teachings that were the ‘truth’ at one time, only to be told were incorrect a short time later.

During the late 1990s, we began to realize that the Watchtower Organization was not telling the whole truth about their past. So, we were also devastated and angry. One of the things we were very upset about was the fact that we had wasted all of those years in a lie and not the truth.

However, after we got out of captivity to the artfully contrived false teachings, we also felt as if we had become traitors to Jehovah God.  Thankfully, the Lord had His hand on us all the time. So, after 18 months of being in a Spiritual wilderness, I was drawn by the Holy Spirit to walk into a Church that I knew loved people just as they are.  There was no guilt or condemnation.

Within just two weeks, I had given my life to the Lord Jesus Christ as a Born Again Christian and immediately felt His acceptance.  I became a footstep follower of Jesus Christ in obedience to Matthew 28:19, 20 where it tells us to make disciples of JESUS CHRIST.  I then began to read the Bible in a totally different way as all of the New Testament now applied to me and to my dear wife Christine who had also given her life to the Lord just two weeks after I did.

We began seeing Scriptures like John 14:6 where Jesus said I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH and the LIFE and no one comes to the FATHER except through me.  It all seemed to focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified and paying the price for our sins.  We read Romans 8:1 where the Apostle Paul speaks about NO CONDEMNATION for those who remain in Jesus Christ.  We also learned the full meaning of the word GRACE that was never spoken about in the Watchtower religion because we are saved by GRACE and NOT WORKS.  1 John 5:11, 12 says; “He who has the SON has LIFE, he who does not have the SON of God does not have life” **

After a while, our dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ started telling us that what the locusts have eaten, the Lord will restore many times over as Joel 2:25 and 26 promises.  We then realized that our many years as Jehovah’s Witnesses gave us a good grounding in the Bible and also kept us from committing serious sinful things as young people.  We can now understand what Paul meant in Romans 8 verses 28-33 that the Father God knew us before creation and had a plan for our lives.  The Father God Yahweh gave His one and only Son so that ALL can avail themselves of his undeserving Love and Grace.  But the enemy Satan will keep accusing us and trying to condemn us as Revelation 12:10 tells us, but thankfully greater is he (the Holy Spirit) that is in US than he (Satan) who is the world (1 John 4:4).  So, as Born Again believers, we are now released into the Kingdom of God’s Love by means of his Son Jesus Christ, and Paul tells us in the same chapter 8 of Romans verse 10 that we are God’s children.

It now amazes us that as Watchtower followers we accepted the judgmental and unloving treatment of God’s dear sheep and especially the Watchtowers twisted teaching of the Prodigal Son.  When we now read the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we realize that we were all in that position until the Father welcomed us into his arms.  Jesus own words in Luke 15:24 tell us: “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  Many times Jesus spoke about saving the lost and this is what we ALL are until we accept Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father.

For many centuries, our Christian brothers and sisters accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and therefore had a close, loving relationship with their Heavenly Father.  So, how can a man made organization suddenly appear in the late 1800’s and claim that they alone have the truth?  The facts are that Satan will infiltrate any man made religion or group and use man’s egotism and arrogance to twist the Scriptures and teach deception.  Satan wants to keep people away from the precious blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for ALL mankind and not just for an elitist group such as the Watchtower and other high controlling groups claim.  If any religious system or group uses these methods, they are using Satanic deception that will distort the simple truth of the Gospel of Saving Grace.

Therefore, we pray for God’s blessings to be upon you in the name of Jesus Christ and that He will rebuke any feelings you may have of unworthiness, condemnation or guilt.  We would love to welcome you into the family of Jesus Christ, so that you too can have that intimate personal relationship with Father God, Jehovah.  If you would like to take this step, tell the Father God that you love the Lord Jesus Christ and welcome Jesus into your life as your personal Savior.

Tell the Lord that you realize that you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive you.  Tell the Father that you believe that Jesus died so that you can be cleansed of all of your sins and confess with your mouth that you believe that He was raised on the third day and that he has paid the price for your sins (Romans 10:9).  You will now receive the Holy Spirit into your life and receive the adoption as a Son or Daughter of Jesus Christ.  The Bible tells us that if you confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, then you WILL be saved.  The Holy Spirit will reside within you and you will now become a New Creation according to 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

So, to answer your question, you have not wasted anything as the Lord will use all of your testimony for the good of those who love Him according to Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

God bless you,
Pastor David and Christine