About Renae Expertise I am willing to answer any reasonable questions you may have regarding my faith. 1 Peter 3:15 - "But sanctify the Christ is Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you, but doing so with a mild temper and deep respect."
Experience I have been one of Jehovah's Witnesses for 17 years, but it has only been during the last 8 years that I have truly dedicated my life, delved into research and proven what I believe in to myself through many secular sources as well as God's word the Bible.
Education/Credentials 8 years of research. I am still learning and perfecting my faith through Jesus teachings and God's will. I understand many of the deeper things of the Bible that now make much more sense to me and I am able to back up my beliefs with other resources such as Encyclopedias including the Catholic Encyclopedia, various journalist's articles, in detail as well as comparison of different biblical translations in order to get the full effect of the scriptures.
Question In the 'You can live forever in paradise on earth' book (a book used in the 1980's by the society) on pages 170 and 171 there is a discussion about the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous. On page 171 referring to the repentant criminal who died on the stake beside Jesus the book says that "this man did bad things. He was unrighteous. Due to the fact that this man was repentant in the last few minutes of his life should he not be referred to as being a righteous man. Would his sins not have been forgiven by Jesus?
Answer Hi P.J. Thank you for your question.
Yes the criminal next to Jesus was repentant, he showed his repentance by telling Jesus he knew Jesus was a heavenly king when he said :"remeber me when you get into your kingdom". This man was by no means a righteous man. A righteous man is one who does not "practice" sin. This man clearly practiced sin. And if he was not hanging on a torture stake he might not have stopped practicing sin. But he knew he was about to die, so he wanted to let Jesus know he believed him. In this way he showed repentance for his past course and gained a chance at everlasting life.
