Why did Jesus tell the thief on the cross that he would be in Paradise on that very day? The thief didn't have to work for his salvation but Jehovah's Witnesses think that they do.

 

Hi, Jesus did not tell the thief on the cross that he would be with him in Paradise on that very day. Jesus told him on that very day that the thief would be with him in Paradise.

Luke 23:43, “And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” NWT

Luke 23:43, “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

You can see, by the placing of the comma, that this verse says entirely two different things in the NWT versus the KJV.

By using your common sense and your power of reasoning, it's easy to see the NWT is correct and the KJV is incorrect.

If the KJV is correct, then Jesus is a liar, because Jesus was not going to be in Paradise that very day; he was going to be in his grave that very day where he would be for the next three days. Then, he would be resurrected and would be on earth for 40 days. Jesus knew he would not be in Paradise or even heaven, for that matter, for at least 43 days. (Besides that, Paradise had not even been created yet, nor has it yet been created.) So there's no way Jesus meant he would be with the thief in Paradise that very day.

The NWT, on the other hand, makes complete sense and is the correct translation of the verse, because Jesus recognized the thief's repentance and gifted him salvation because of the faith he showed. Luke 23:40–42 says, “In response the other rebuked him, saying: “Do you not fear God at all, now that you have received the same judgment? 41 And we rightly so, for we are getting back what we deserve for the things we did; but this man did nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said: “Jesus, remember me when you get into your Kingdom.”

Secondly, you are wrong about what Jehovah's Witnesses “think.” We DO NOT “think”, NOR do we teach that salvation is gained by works. We believe AND WE TEACH that salvation is a free gift from Jehovah God, based on our faith that we place in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24 says, “and it is as a free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through the release by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus.”

As far as works are concerned:

James 2:26 says, “Indeed, just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

James 2:17 says, “So, too, faith by itself, without works, is dead.”

James 2:20 says, “But do you care to know, O empty man, that faith without works is useless?”

We know AND WE TEACH that salvation is a free gift from Jehovah and there is NOTHING a person can do to earn it. BUT, we also believe what James 2:18 says, “Nevertheless, someone will say: “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”