Study of the Book of the congregation, April 24-30, 2023, Lesson: 44 points 1-4 and note 5, Answers.
Congregation Bible study (30 min.): lff lesson 44 points 1-4 and note 5.
1. Why is Jehovah not in favor of many festivals?
Jehovah is not in favor, because these celebrations may have pagan roots, or have to do with false religions, or may be related to the occult and promote beliefs that the soul is immortal, or are based on teachings that the Bible does not supports. Hence, in 2 Corinthians 6:17, we are warned that we must separate and stop participating in these parties because they are impure.
Jehovah is against many festivals because they are pagan and directly or indirectly related to false religion and practices prohibited by the Bible such as the occult, the immortal soul, superstitions or luck.
2. What does Jehovah think of festivals that bring too much honor to human beings?
Jehovah thinks that these festivals promote ideas that go against his purpose. This is because they generally promote trust in mere human beings and also because they honor rulers, symbols, and national dates. They also promote political ideologies or social movements or organizations. Hence the warning of Jeremiah 17:5, that we should not be like the people of the world who trust mere human beings, since this is one more trap of Satan.
Jeremiah 17:5 that we have read is very clear, and it says that this man is cursed because he supports the strength of the human being and his heart turns away from Jehovah because he would be paying homage to an imperfect person.
As Christians, we must be careful, as 1 John 5:21 says, with idols, because we could be giving more importance to the values or ideas of a person, to a certain social movement than to the ideas and the will of Jehovah.
3. What conduct would make a celebration unacceptable?
According to 1 Peter 4:3, a celebration becomes unacceptable to Jehovah when there is excessive drinking, people lose control or behave indecently, when brazen behavior is manifested, when there are displays of unbridled passions and traits of idolatry.
Although we attend a party that does not go against the Bible, we have to be aware that Jehovah is a God of control and honor, so if our conduct deviates from what is established in the Bible, that party would also be invalid. , such as an uncontrolled party or excessive alcohol.
The first thing a Christian has to do before attending a party or celebration is to see if it is due to pagan practices. If it is not almost, we must take into account what 1 Peter 4:3 says, in which our conduct or that party cannot incite us or be a stumbling block for acts of brazen conduct, unbridled passions, excesses with drink, parties uncontrolled, to drink or illegal idolatry.
LET'S DEEPER INTO THE SUBJECT
4. Do not participate in parties that disrespect Jehovah
Read Ephesians 5:10 and discuss the following:
What should we make sure of when deciding whether to celebrate a certain party or not?
According to Ephesians 5:10, before attending a party we must make sure that the celebration is pleasing to Jehovah. Hence, it is advisable to investigate who will attend, the reason for the celebration, what food will be served, if there will be alcoholic beverages, and if a speech is going to be given, we must make sure that it will be spoken. Since although it is something recreational, we must make sure that this celebration contributes to our edification and not the opposite.
As Ephesians 5:10 says, we must ensure that our attendance and presence with the acts that we could perform at said party or celebration will be to God's liking or we could put him at risk.
What festivals are celebrated where you live?
National dates such as Independence Day, religious holidays such as Christmas, there are also holidays or jubilation days in honor of Saints, virgins and heroes of independence. In the same way, birthdays, Mother's Day, Labor Day, among others, are celebrated.
Many local, national and patron saint festivals are celebrated in our territory, perhaps the best known are carnival, Christmas, Easter, the day of the cross, pilgrimages, the sardine festival, the bonfires of San Juan, Halloween, the birthday etc
Do you think Jehovah sees them well?
No. Jehovah cannot see well a celebration or party where homage is paid to people and institutions, where idolatry is promoted, political ideologies, or have roots that violate Jehovah's principles.
Obviously, all the festivals that we have mentioned above are pagan and although they are now of a commercial nature, a part of the history of their origin will always remain behind, so a Christian should refrain from celebrating them.
For example, have you ever wondered what God thinks about birthdays? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that any servant of God participated in a birthday, but it does speak of two birthdays celebrated by people who did not worship him. Read Genesis 40:20-22 and Matthew 14:6-10. Then talk about the following:
What do these two birthdays have in common?
They have in common that both occasions were held banquets, favors were granted and executions were carried out. In the one mentioned in Genesis, they executed the head of Pharaoh's bakers and in the one mentioned in Matthew, John the Baptist was beheaded.
What those two birthday parties have in common is that one person ended up dead. Therefore, although the Bible does not say that one should not participate, it does give us an idea for reflection, and it is that they do not usually end well.
After reading these accounts, what do you think Jehovah thinks about birthdays?
I think he thinks that they are detestable parties, because they are based on false beliefs or of pagan origin where honor is melted to people. In addition, in these celebrations traits of idolatry and occultism are manifested, excesses are also committed and their fair norms and Biblical principles are violated.
We see, that we have reasons why Christians do not celebrate birthdays, and that is that although their non-celebration is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, it is a type of party in which non-Christian behavior is manifested.
Still, you may wonder, “Does Jehovah really care if I celebrate a birthday or attend a party that the Bible does not support?” Read Exodus 32:1-8. Then watch the VIDEO and talk about the following:
VIDEO: Parties and celebrations that do not please God (5:07)
Why should we be sure of what Jehovah accepts?
We must be careful because we could be mixing our beliefs based on the Bible with false beliefs. That is, we must make sure that Jehovah accepts a certain party or celebration in order not to contaminate our pure worship.
We must be sure because as we saw in the video and with the story of Aaron, perhaps by thinking that we are doing something good, we would actually be sinning against God with the punishment that entails, as happened with the golden calf, even though Aaron's intention, pressed on his moment, it was not bad at first
How do we do that?
To make sure that a party or celebration is accepted by Jehovah, we must investigate its origin, analyze if in some way through it too much honor is being paid to any human being, organization or patriotic symbol. And above all, we must make sure that he does not violate any biblical rule or principle, because we must keep ourselves physically, morally and spiritually clean.
We have to study the Word of God in awareness and depth, and although we may not find the direct text to apply in a certain situation, other passages from the Bible and examples from ancient times can help us reflect on the consequences of other acts in situations Similar.
On the other hand, if even after investigating and delving into several biblical passages, we still have doubts, we can ask for help from an experienced brother to help us find in the Bible what dispels our doubts.
We must never forget that all the knowledge and research of the Bible, as well as the advice that we can receive from the elderly or experienced brothers, we must always pray to Jehovah and tell him how we feel and what worries us so that help us find the guidance we need.
5. Parties and celebrations
Christians do not participate in parties that Jehovah does not approve. But each Christian will be guided by his or her Bible-educated conscience in deciding how to handle certain holiday-related situations. Look at the following examples.
Someone wishes you happy holidays.
We will simply say thank you and if possible, we will explain to the person why we do not celebrate that party.
A very frequent situation is when they wish us happy holidays, in this case, if it is contrary to the Bible, we will limit ourselves to saying thank you only. And in case the person seems strange to you, we can delve into why we don't share those parties.
Your husband or wife, who is not a Jehovah's Witness, asks you to go eat with relatives on a holiday.
If the celebration includes pagan customs, we will not participate in it, and tactfully, we will explain in advance why our conscience prevents us from attending.
Another frequent situation when our spouse or relatives are not Christians are the dates on which the family gathers to eat, which normally coincides with the celebration of a party. In that case, we would explain our situation and not participate in it.
Your boss offers you a bonus or extra pay during a holiday.
We don't necessarily have to reject it. In this case, we must weigh whether the bonus is strictly part of the festivity or if it is just a way of saying thanks for our good work.
A situation that depends on the context and the awareness of how we perceive that remuneration is when we are given a bonus at work during a holiday.
Someone gives you a gift at a festive time.
Before deciding whether or not to accept, we must reason whether the person who gives us the gift wants to test our faith, or perhaps his intention is for us to participate in the celebration in some way, or he is simply doing it with probability. This is important because our decision must leave us with a clear conscience and with our loyalty to Jehovah without any stain.
Another situation of conscience is to accept a gift during a holiday period even though the person who gives it to us knows that we are not celebrating it but still wants to give us a gift, how will our conscience be?
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