XPost: alt.religion.christian   
   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   The false teaching liar of Satan, who proclaims a false Jesus and a   
   false gospel, comes in here to try and exalt his heresy by finding fault   
   with the church.   
      
   The Lord Jesus indeed said, “You received without paying; give without   
   pay” (Matthew 10:8, ESV). Yet the context of that statement concerns the   
   *free offer of the gospel*, not the question of whether God’s servants   
   may receive financial support for their labor. Christ sent His apostles   
   out to preach without charge, not to commercialize the message, but He   
   also said in the very same commissioning, “The laborer deserves his   
   food” (Matthew 10:10, ESV). Paul later applied this same principle to   
   those who serve in ministry:   
      
   “The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their   
   living by the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14, ESV).   
      
   Paul refused support at times to avoid being a burden or giving critics   
   reason to accuse him, but he affirmed the right of ministers to receive   
   material help from those they serve (1 Corinthians 9:11–12; Galatians   
   6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17–18). The key distinction is motive—whether a man   
   seeks *personal gain* or *faithful service*. God condemns greed in   
   ministry, not the provision of needs for His servants.   
      
   As for churches mixing pagan customs with worship, that's exactly what   
   "Jehovah's Witnesses" do. Jehovah’s Witnesses condemn paganism publicly,   
   but many of their doctrines and practices have *roots or parallels in   
   pagan or human-origin traditions*, despite their claims of purity.   
      
   Several key examples include:   
      
   1. *Denial of Christ’s deity and worship* –   
      
   Refusing to honor Jesus as God is not biblical purity but mirrors   
   *ancient Arianism*, a 4th-century heresy that denied Christ’s full   
   divinity. Arianism itself borrowed from *Greek philosophical ideas* that   
   saw God as too transcendent to share His essence with another being.   
   Thus, their teaching descends from *pagan-influenced rationalism*, not   
   from apostolic Christianity (John 1:1; 20:28; Colossians 2:9).   
      
   2. *Teaching that the human soul ceases to exist at death* –   
      
   This belief aligns with *materialist philosophies* like *Epicureanism*   
   and *Sadduceeism*, which both denied an afterlife and spiritual   
   existence. Scripture teaches the opposite: the soul continues after   
   death (Luke 16:22–23; Philippians 1:23; Revelation 6:9–10).   
      
   3. *False prophecies and date-setting* –   
      
   Predicting Christ’s return in 1914, 1925, 1975, etc., follows the   
   pattern of *pagan divination and astrology*, which God forbids   
   (Deuteronomy 18:10–12). True prophecy comes only from God and never   
   fails (Deuteronomy 18:22).   
      
   4. *Misuse of God’s name as an exclusive badge* –   
      
   While claiming to restore divine honor by using “Jehovah,” the   
   Watchtower organization has turned the Name into a *sectarian identity*,   
   echoing pagan religions that used secret or sacred names for spiritual   
   power. Yet the New Testament centers faith on *Jesus’ name* (Acts 4:12;   
   Philippians 2:9–11).   
      
   5. *Organization-centered authority* –   
      
   The governing body’s control over members mirrors *hierarchical   
   priesthoods* and *state religions* of pagan empires. True Christianity   
   teaches direct access to God through Christ, not through an earthly   
   organization (Hebrews 4:14–16; 10:19–22) or the "faithful slave".   
      
   6. *Rejection of Christ’s bodily resurrection* –   
      
   Their claim that Jesus rose as a “spirit creature” resembles *Gnostic   
   and pagan dualism*, which denied the goodness of the physical body.   
   Scripture plainly teaches that He rose bodily (Luke 24:39; John 20:27; 1   
   Corinthians 15:4–8).   
      
   So, although Jehovah’s Witnesses accuse others of pagan compromise,   
   their own system borrows heavily from *pagan philosophy, human   
   speculation, and false prophecy*, rather than from the pure revelation   
   of Scripture centered on the risen, divine Son of God.   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)