According to Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ is not God, but rather a created being. JW's believe that He is Michael the archangel, the first created being, who took human form. The truth, however, is that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Trinity. To deny Christ's deity is to ignore a fundamental truth in which you must believe to be saved.

Jesus claimed to be God

John 10:30-33

30 "The Father and I are one."

31 The Jewish leaders picked up rocks again to stone him to death. 32 Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?" 33 The Jewish leaders replied, "We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God."John 10:30-33

Jesus' claim is quite clear: "The Father and [Jesus] are one." If there were any confusion about the meaning of this, the Jewish leaders made their own understanding of the statement clear: "You, a man, are claiming to be God."

John 8:58-59

58 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!" 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area.John 8:58-59

The Jews picked up stones to throw at Jesus because they recognized His statement as a claim to be God. This understanding comes from Exodus, where God referred to Himself as "I AM."

God said to Moses, "I am that I am." And he said, "You must say this to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'"Exodus 3:14

Jesus clearly intended these words to proclaim His deity.

Jesus accepted worship

Jesus was worshiped and accepted worship.

• The wise men worshiped Jesus (Matthew 2:2,11)
• The disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus (Matthew 14:33)
• The women worshiped Jesus after the resurrection (Matthew 28:9)
• The once-blind man worshiped Jesus (John 9:38)
• The Father commands the angels to worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6)

Yet, Jesus said that only God was to be worshiped (Matthew 4:10). If Jesus were not God, why did He accept worship, which He proclaimed was reserved for God alone?

Jesus is Jehovah

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jehovah is God. Since Jesus is Jehovah, JWs should accept Jesus as God, as well.

Objections

The New World Translation, used by the Jehovah's Witnesses, translates Jesus' words in John 8 as: "Before Abraham came into existence, I have been." This makes does away (conveniently) with Jesus' claim to be God. The original Greek here is ego eimi. I am no Greek scholar, but those who are seem to be in complete agreement that the proper translation here is not "I have been," as the JW's would like, but "I am." Further, the Jews did not understand Jesus as saying "I have been," but as saying, "I AM!" If Jesus had not claimed here to be God, the Jews would not have tried to stone Him.

Mark 14:62-64

62 "I am," said Jesus, "and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." 63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?" They all condemned him as deserving death.Mark 14:62-64

Here is yet another one of Jesus' claims to be God using the phrase "I am." The meaning is once again indicated by the Jews' response--they tore their clothes and said, "You have heard the blasphemy!" Clearly the Jews understood Christ's claim as a claim to divinity, so much so that they asked, "Why do we still need witnesses?"

It is also important to not overlook Christ's reference to Himself as "the Son of Man." This is an allusion to the book of Daniel.

13 "And with the clouds of the sky
one like a son of man was approaching.
He went up to the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before him.
13 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.
All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him.
His authority is eternal and will not pass away.
His kingdom will not be destroyed."Daniel 7:13-14

The phrase "son of man" is actually a divine reference. The identification of the "son of man" as the Messiah is "the eldest and, in past Jewish and Christian exegesis, the prevailing opinion" (Montgomery, J. A., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1979). Jerome, rabbinical exegesis, and the Talmud all support this interpretation. "The Gospels, Acts, Revelation, 1 Enoch, and 4 Ezra 13 could not all have been incorrect in seeing a messianic individual in Daniel 7 (Miller, Stephen R., Daniel: The New American Commentary, Broadman and Holman, 1994, p209). John 12:34 indicates that the people of Jesus' day had already identified the Son of Man as the Messiah. Interestingly, Daniel 7 lists two unique individuals--the Ancient of Days, and the "son of man." Both are deity, and yet both are distinct. Daniel both teaches the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, mentioning God (the first person) and the Son (the second person).

Note that only God can forgive sins:

I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake; your sins I do not remember.Isaiah 45:23

"Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"Mark 2:7

Christ answers His critics, responding that the Son of Man can forgive sins:

"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..."Mark 2:10

Clearly Christ was claiming to do what only God could do, and was taking the divine designation for Himself. JW's believe that Jesus was sinless. If Christ was sinless, He could not be a blasphemer. If Christ was not blaspheming when He claimed to be the Son of Man, and claimed to have the power to forgive sins (which only God can do), then isn't it only logical to believe that Christ is in fact God?