Chapter 12
Living in a Way that Pleases God.
The book says;
Jehovah chooses friends, just as humans do, looking for compatibility. Jehovah’s friends listen to his voice, obey him and please him. In return, God looks after his friends.
Satan challenged our motives for serving God, saying that we do so for selfish reasons. The story of Job is related in the book (see the OT Bible book for the full story - Job). We too, have an opportunity to show that we will serve God through thick and thin.
Satan uses all kinds of methods to turn us away from God. “Satan’s influence may be seen when friends, relatives or others oppose your efforts to study the Bible and apply what you learn….. Satan “keeps disguising himself as an angel of light“ (2 Corinthians 11:14)”.
We can answer Satan’s challenge by obeying Jehovah’s commandments listed in the box (p.122 English language version) which says;
”Shun what Jehovah hates: manslaughter, sexual immorality, spiritism, idolatry, drunkenness, stealing, lying, greed, violence, improper speech, misuse of blood, refusal to provide for one’s family participation in wars or political controversies of this world and use of tobacco or so-called recreational drugs”.
“Some practices listed might not seem so bad”, but to follow them is the way to happiness and pleasing God, who does not ask more of us than we can reasonably do.
It’s not enough to hate what God hates. We must love what God loves too. Jehovah’s friends display “the fruitage of the spirit” (Galatians 5:22, 23)
“Strengthen your love for Jehovah” by reading the Bible.
Pleasing God takes effort, like stripping off an old personality and donning a new one, but if we do so, we will give an answer to Satan’s challenge.
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The Old Testament tells us about God’s many friends. In the New Testament, friendship and love of Jesus Christ is emphasised.
My response:
Like many accounts, the poetic story of Job is very useful in laying out the universal conflict between God and Satan or Good and Evil.
Notice again, how the Watchtower teachers want you to react to your loved ones’ response to your Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses and the behavioural changes you make in your life
How fascinating that the Watchtower teachers quote 2 Corinthians 11:14 only partially! I have told you repeatedly to check your sources, including what I say to you.
Look now, at the context (verses 12-15) and you will see that Paul is talking about false teachers who, like Satan, turn themselves into “ministers of righteousness”!
There is quite a list of commandments on p122. If you exercise your “free will” and do not obey all of these, you will be expelled from the congregation and shunned by all Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Witnesses believe they are the most moral people on this planet. When one of their members is caught breaking any of these rules, they will be expelled “to keep the congregation clean” unless they repent and change their ways. The fact is, worldwide, tens of thousands of Witnesses are expelled each year, mostly for sexual sins, so they can hardly claim to be more moral than any other population.
There is another, much more serious problem though; all Witness crime is dealt with “in-house”. Congregation elders are instructed to phone the local Watchtower branch office for legal advice in cases of crimes such as child molestation. The legal department does not advise them to call Police unless local laws insist on this.
Recently, the Australian Royal Commission uncovered over 1,000 cases among Jehovah's Witnesses in that country alone, in which child molesters had not been reported to the authorities. Most of these were allowed to remain as Jehovah’s Witnesses, in contact with children, because they had “shown repentance“. This covering over of serious crime to avoid “bringing shame on Jehovah’s name” is common in Witness congregations worldwide and the 1,000 cases in Australia are but the tip of an iceberg.
Compare the long list of rules in the book with Jesus’ two simple commands to Christians; “Love God and love your neighbour”. In these, the whole law is fulfilled. Jesus was telling us to avoid legalism and the rules that weighed down followers of the Jewish system, so why does the Watchtower leadership keep putting heavy burdens on the shoulders of Jehovah’s Witnesses, like the Pharisees in Jesus' day?
Christians desire to follow Christ and please him, so they are moved by conscience and love, to avoid practices harmful to themselves and others.
The “fruitage of the Spirit” is seen in those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, so despite human imperfection, those nine virtues are displayed in the lives of Christians. (Galatians 5:19-26). However, Jehovah’s Witnesses think they have to “work on” these, making an earnest effort to “be good”. They don’t know the Holy Spirit or have Him dwelling in them, as Jesus promised would happen
“Being good” is all about “answering Satan’s challenge” which is very commendable, but it makes a lot of Jehovah’s Witnesses paranoid. They are constantly anxious about “displeasing Jehovah”. Contrast this with what Jesus Christ requires of us.
Further reading:
Look at any Introductory book on Ethics by Peter Singer or Julian Baggini
hi Anthony, I'm paralyzed with fear about Armageddon, I want to forget it but I can't. Do you still fear it?
ReplyDeleteNo.
DeleteAbsolutely not!
I'll explain why ASAP, hopefully before Wednesday.
Hang on in there!
Thank you! I look forward to it Anthony
DeleteONE
ReplyDeleteThe first reason I don't fear Armageddon is that I have come to terms with the fact that ALL humans grow old and die or suffer sudden death, according to random chance. It is a fact of life!
For most of my young adult life, I actually believed that I would never die. Incredible? Of course! But we were taught that those faithful JWs alive at Armageddon would survive under God's protection, into the "new world soon" and continue to live, forever. That is the sick teaching of the Watchtower, repeating Satan's lie to Eve - "you will not die at all".
As for the idea of Armageddon, what is it based upon? One obscure reference in a symbolic book and a cleverly contrived false teaching around Matthew 24.
The "imminence" of this speculative great battle depends primarily on the accuracy and relevance of the date 1914 in Watchtower teaching and the supposed "invisible return" of Christ.
It doesn't require much effort today, with the internet, to confirm that the Watchtower's 1914 date is false because their starting date for 2520 years of "the gentile times" is not 607 BC as Watchtower insists. Every historian (and his dog!) will confirm that Jerusalem fell to Babylon about 20 years later.
But you might say, "what about all those "signs" given by Christ in Matt. 24? Don't they identify uniquely with the 20th Century? The answer is "No".
TWO
ReplyDeleteI cannot do better than direct you to Olaf Jonsson's book "The Signs of the Last Days - When?" I read this book when I exited JWs in the late 90s. It shows clearly and simply, that the so-called significant signs that the Watchtower claims as proof, are of little significance in relation to world history, on which subject, the Governing Body is woefully ignorant (as on many other things). I touch on this matter of history in my blog article #9 discussing Watchtower basic teachings, “Are We in the Last Days?”.
Finally, on a philosophical note, I would say that, like taxes, death cannot be avoided in the human condition, so why worry about how or when it comes? Once we put the fear of the inevitable - death - aside, there is nothing more to fear and we become strong.
If it’s any consolation, remember that everyone dies, including JWs. However, unlike JWs, you are no longer mentally diseased by the Watchtower's false teachings, so you are not going to be disillusioned like them.
Do you remember this Proverb? “Expectation postponed is making the heart sick”? That is the condition of JWs. They are awaiting and hoping constantly, for something that is NEVER going to happen. Can you imagine how disappointed, frustrated, desperate, even heartbroken, they are and will be, as they see their lives and vitality wasting away, and their promised “new world soon” has not come as they approach a natural death in old age? That is hardly the recipe for happiness, is it?
You, on the other hand, have no such delusions now. You might decide to live for today or, if you find faith in Jesus Christ (or some other philosophy), you will have another hope while LIVING a life TODAY, for today and doing something NOW.
Look up those books.
Jehovah's Witnesses: Their Claims, Doctrinal Changes, and Prophetic – Edmund C. Gruss
I came across this while looking for the Jonsson book. Isn’t the internet wonderful? Wish I’d had it in the 60s!! NOTICE I have not read this, but it looks promising and it’s a free download.
"The "Sign" of the Last Days - When?" -- Carl Olof Jonsson /Wolfgang Herbst
This I have read and recommend. It shows that the 20th Century was no different historically from any other and that 1914 is not a “special date” (unless it was your birthday!).
When you see the news and hear expressions like "peace and security" or discussions about "how bad people are today" or "critical times, hard to deal with" remember, these are just common expressions.
Human nature and life's problems have been the same for thousands of years. You can see this in the plays of the ancients Greeks - Euripedes and Sophokles and later, Shakespeare and this will continue so long as humans exist.
I hope this helps!
But if you have any more questions, just ask.
Kind regards and Best to you!