On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here is a question from a person named Llyn followed by Ben’s answer.
Question:
I have a question that’s been rolling around in my head for awhile, but has been spurred on by my recent interaction with two lovely elderly Jehovah Witness ladies. As I meet with them, it appears (to me) that they are truly seeking God….not just a sense of belonging or religion or status, etc. My hope for them is found in the Scriptures that those who seek Him shall find Him. Yet, what they have found thus far in their organization is a counterfeit Jesus. I have come to see these women as souls, not just an argument to be won, and I am burdened for them. I remind myself when at the peak of my frustration for not being able to “get through to them” that it is the Holy Spirit who convicts and Jesus who saves, not my eloquent arguments. And so I wonder such things as…how does deception vs. an outright rejection/denial of God play into salvation? I know that we are without excuse because of the evidence of creation, yet these women believe in a god….albeit a false one. This story is repeated over and over again with myriads of people trapped in cults. Aren’t we held somewhat accountable for what we’ve been given, and then, doesn’t it seem unfair that God would take babies or mentally incompetent people to Heaven but not those who are sincere, but sincerely wrong? This would, then, make one want to hide under a bushel and not preach the Gospel. Some of these thoughts smack of the ideas Universalists throw around. I try to rest in the fact that God is the just and merciful judge…and that I am not. Any thoughts?
Answer:
The Biblical reality is that false teachings lead people away from God. The Biblical writers were always warning against being deceived by false teaching. You are right that only God can convict, but He can convict through us and how we present His word. His word is powerful. People do come out of these false teachings to embrace the truth. Keep praying for them. Universalism is certainly appealing, but it is just not Biblical.
Not sure if that helps. The main thing to remember is that it might be you that God will use to finally lead this person away from this cult. At the very least, you may be one step in that process. There is a reason you are encountering theses people. We can’t assume that God isn’t at work in them to lead them to the truth. Rather, we should assume that he is always at work in them. But just like anyone else that God is working on, they can still resist Him, and it is in that resistance that they will be rightly judged for rejecting the truth and clinging instead to false teachings. But the good news is that they do not have to resist, since God empowers and enables them to receive His truth.
