Jehovah's Witnesses and Faith

In the general area of salvation, the JWs make much the same mistake other folks do. On the official Watchtower site, we are told, "Christ's human life was paid as a ransom for obedient humans." Elsewhere we are told:

To become a friend of God, you must obtain a good knowledge of Bible truth (1 Timothy 2:3, 4), put faith in the things you have learned (Hebrews 11:6), repent of your sins (Acts 17:30, 31), and turn around in your course of life. (Acts 3:19) Then your love for God should move you to dedicate yourself to him.
...After you have made a dedication, Jehovah will expect you to live up to your promise. (Psalm 50:14; Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5) The Devil will try to stop you from serving Jehovah. (1 Peter 5:8) But draw close to God in prayer. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Study his Word each day. (Psalm 1:1-3) Stick close to the congregation. (Hebrews 13:17) By doing all of this, you will gain the strength to stay faithful to God. For all eternity you thus can do the things that God requires of you.

Rhodes [Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses, 283ff] quotes other JW publications as saying:

...unless we are in touch with this channel of communication [the Watchtower Society] that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life...

...to get one's name written in the Book of Life will depend upon one's works.

Rhodes quotes another JW work as saying, "faith must be demonstrated by consistent works." In truth, the word to use is not "must" but "will." The JWs are on target in terms of the sort of fruit to be produced, but as with others, are off-base in ascertaining the source.

Grace involves simply the opportunity to work out salvation -- and thus, we have in the major details a theory of salvation like unto Mormonism, a type of covenantal nomism.

As with the Mormons, this is refuted by an understanding of relation between faith and works, or thought and action, in the ancient Jewish mind.

-JPH