Study of the Watchtower, How to prepare for baptism?, Week of May 8 to 14, 2023, Comments and Practical Answers.

Watchtower Study, How to prepare for baptism?, 8-14-May-2023, Comments and Answers. 

“What prevents me from being baptized?” (ACTS 8:36).

1, 2. If you are not yet ready to be baptized, why should you not be discouraged? (See cover photos.)

Cuando los ancianos de la congregación consideran que alguien que tiene la meta de bautizarse aún no está listo para ello, esa persona no debe desanimarse, ya que puede seguir progresando para alcanzar esa meta.

COMENTARIOS ADICIONALES

Pues no debería desanimarse porque ya se ha puesto esa meta y el mero hecho de ponersela y desear dedicar su vida a Jehová pues es maravilloso, así que lo que debe hacer es seguir dando los pasos necesarios para poder alcanzar esa meta.

Y si quizás uno ha hablado con los ancianos y le han dicho que no está listo pues no pasa nada porque aunque en este momento no lo esté pero si sigue trabajando pues en el futuro puede estarlo.

En realidad existen muchas razones por las cuales alguien no está listo para bautizarse, Sin embargo, si es el caso de alguien que quiso bautizarse y recibió un no por respuesta. no debería  desanimarse, ya que aún existen muchas oportunidades en la cual Jehová nos permite seguir progresando. Y de esa manera poder alcanzar esa meta, sin importar  ser joven o mayor, lo importante es tener una actitud correcta cuando recibimos una respuesta negativa en ese momento.

ILUSTRACION

Si vemos en la imagen que cualquier esfuerzo merece la pena, no vemos caras tristes no vemos personas desanimadas si nos vemos personas que habrán pasado por cada una su propio proceso su propia adaptación para cumplir con las normas que nos pide Jehová, pero se ve que están pues satisfechos felices y eso es el objetivo que tenemos que perseguir estar ahí.

In the images on the cover, we see young and old all over the world making spiritual progress and being baptized. So if that person has the goal of baptism, the right motivation and get down to work, it will result in Jehovah helping him to achieve that important goal.

People of different ages and backgrounds getting baptized. Throughout the world, young and old are making spiritual progress and are baptized. (See paragraphs 1 and 2).

“WHAT PREVENTS ME FROM BEING BAPTIZED?”

3. What did an Ethiopian official say to Philip, and what question arises? (Acts 8:36, 38).

The Ethiopian official told Felipe: What prevents me from being baptized? So, the logical question arose in this case, are you ready to take that step?

If I ask Felipe what prevents him from being baptized, then it shows that he did want to be baptized but the question is whether he was ready to take that important step.

With this last question, we see that it is very important to have the desire to be baptized, but you also have to be prepared, you have to meet certain requirements, which is what we are going to see now.

4. How did the Ethiopian show that he wanted to continue learning?

The Ethiopian was a Jewish proselyte who knew the scriptures, and in them he had learned about Jehovah. Acts 827 mentions that he had gone to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah. However, when Philip met him on the road, he was reading the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, which contains very profound information. With this he showed that he was not satisfied with learning and understanding only the basics, but that he wanted to continue learning until he deepened. in fact, in the image we notice how attentively he listens to Philip's explanation of the scriptures.

Well, the story begins by saying that he was going to Jerusalem to worship God, so he was undoubtedly a Jewish proselyte, that is, a person who had converted to Judaism and who knew the scriptures well, and then another detail is that when he was found he was reading the Bible, so I wanted to know more.

And he mentions that this part of the Bible that he was reading was very deep information, so this man was not happy with the simple things, but he wants to know the deeper things.

Yes, he was practical and reasonable, he was not left alone with basic teaching, he wanted more, that is to say, there are times when there are people who are satisfied with learning two little things, in this case, not this man, he wanted to go deeper into the meaning of what he was reading. .

ILLUSTRATION

Philip the evangelizer explains the Scriptures to the Ethiopian official. The Ethiopian official wanted to continue learning about Jehovah. (See paragraph 4).

5. What did the Ethiopian do with what he learned?

Despite the fact that the Ethiopian was in charge of all of Queen Candace's treasury, and his many occupations surely kept him very busy, what he learned in the scriptures prompted him to act. Therefore, he traveled from Ethiopia to the temple in Jerusalem to worship Jehovah. This trip was long and expensive, but he didn't care and made the effort.

And although we see that he had many obligations, he was very busy, he says that he took time to worship Jehovah and he was not satisfied with learning the truth if it did not prompt him, he says to act and he was willing to travel from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah and he says that That trip was expensive and long, but he wanted to worship Jehovah and he did not care about the efforts that this involved.

Well, logically, he made an effort because if we see a little how the distance from Ethiopia to Jerusalem is, there is 4000 km, a little more bone and at that time going in cars and others and we see the attitude that he continued to have because he could rest when he traveled and so on, but However, I was reading about the scriptures, so I had the desire to learn and act despite the efforts. 

6, 7. What did the Ethiopian do to increase his love for Jehovah?

When the Ethiopian learned important truths about the Messiah, he felt compelled to learn more about what Jesus had done for him until he was convinced of it. And this conviction made his love for Jehovah and Jesus grow so great that it motivated him to make the important decision to be baptized and become a follower of Jesus. Then, his overtaking was so evident that Felipe baptized him.

So he didn't settle for being a good Jew or following Jewish guidelines or Jewish norms which obviously he was because of the sacrifices he made to go to Jerusalem, but he pursued what was the will of Jehovah and that he had to accept Jesus As the Messiah, when he understood that, he acted in accordance with that knowledge.

And it is that in the example of this Ethiopian we draw many lessons, the first one that we have seen is that it is important to have knowledge, to have an exact knowledge and it is necessary to act in accordance with that, but that it is not necessary to have knowledge of the entire Bible to make the decision to be baptized, it is important that we strengthen our love for Jehovah but not delay the decision too long, he immediately said what prevents me from being baptized and I take action accordingly and that teaches us that we should not lower the decision to be baptized too much.

KEEP LEARNING

8. According to John 17:3, what should you do?

According to John 17:3, we must continue to study the Bible because it is the means to know Jehovah the only true god and his son Jesus Christ. This is a process that never ends, since the more we get to know Jehovah, the closer we get to him, and the same happens in relation to Jesus.

That is the exciting thing about our faith, the more we study the more we learn about Jehovah and Jesus and this is what John invites us to do and we can always learn more about them, we will never get to the point of knowing everything about our creator or his son.

And the note in the study Bible of John 17:3 talks about the connotation that this verb to know has and talks about the idea that it gives us in Greek is to become more familiar with someone, it is not only the knowledge of what is who has in his head what he thinks but the personality of that person with whom we are getting to know to such a degree that not only knowledge grows but also trust grows and when trust grows we get closer to Jehovah.

9. What do we have to do after learning the basic teachings of the Bible?

The basic teachings of the Bible are important because they are the support for the deepest truths. Hence, he must, although this requires effort, dedication, perseverance, time and sometimes even the help of someone more experienced, as was the case of the Ethiopian who required the help of Felipe.

To illustrate, we can give the example of a baby who in his first months of life feeds on breast milk that will prepare his stomach to later support solid food that will make him grow and develop into a strong and healthy adult. In the same way, the basic teachings of the Bible are like that mother's milk, while the deep truths are like solid food. So for the Christian to reach his spiritual maturity, he must not settle for learning only the basics of the scriptures. On the contrary, he must strive to go deeper, although for this he requires the help of more experienced brothers.

Yes, Jehovah wants us to be, as he created us when we are children, we always imagine what we want to be when we grow up, how I am going to grow and reach that goal that I have when we are a child, because when we are learning in a spiritual sense, Jehovah wants us to do the same Let us imagine what I will be like when I am spiritually older, how I will be when I manage to learn more about this topic or this other one. Jehovah wants us not to stay stuck in childhood but to be spiritual adults.

10. Why is studying a challenge for some?

Perhaps because they never had the habit of reading and studying, perhaps because they are mistakenly convinced that they do not get along with books, or simply because nobody instilled this habit in them nor did they have a role model.

Due to the fact that there are many people, well, young people are rarer now, but older people who have not been able to go to school because they may have had to work, so for them it is a great challenge to have to start studying or having to pick up a book and read but we know that there are a lot of people they are not the only ones, so Jehovah is there to help them and he is the best teacher we have apart from whoever gives him the study because he may have to make an effort a little more with a person like that, but we can also, in fact, we have made him teach people to read and write, Jehovah is aware of what the territory is, so to speak.

There are people who have only studied who have not gone to school and perhaps associate studying with something boring and tedious, however studying about Jehovah has nothing to do with it because he created all things and besides it is very interesting it is something that I was going to save the person's life, so we also have to make the person see how different the study of Jehovah is going to be.

11. Why is Jehovah the “Great Teacher”?

There are people who have only studied who have not gone to school and perhaps associate studying with something boring and tedious, however studying about Jehovah has nothing to do with it because he created all things and besides it is very interesting it is something that I was going to save the person's life, so we also have to make the person see how different the study of Jehovah is going to be.

Jehovah is the great instructor because he teaches with patience, kindness, understanding, and because he notices the good things in his students. Also, he never asks for more than we can do. On the other hand, since he is our creator, he is aware of our capabilities and limitations. Therefore, he examines our hearts and when he sees our desire to learn, he does everything possible for us to reach our goals while he gives us all the tools to enjoy the process.

I really like what Psalm 130:3 says that he does not keep a record of our mistakes, he notices that we each have different abilities and circumstances and does not compare us with others, he is reasonable and knows that what each one can give He personally values ​​our efforts, so as long as we want to make an effort, he will help us, but we have to make an effort to take the first step.

I liked the text of Psalm 139:14 that says at the beginning that I praise you because I am made in a wonderfully impressive way, and the paragraph mentions that it is so and gives the example of our brain, which is a wonderful gift that we have and Apart from that, the natural desire that we have to learn and the more we learn, the more we want and he says that this is that he wants us to continue doing it forever and that we enjoy it.

But as we have seen, sometimes it is not easy for many people. What the apostle Peter says in the first letter in chapter 2 verse 2 is interesting because he says that we must develop a strong desire for the truths of Jehovah because it is not something to which we It is better that we have a natural tendency and we can do this by setting goals and reading regularly if you do not reach those goals and day by day you make it a habit, it will be much easier Jehovah will do his part to help us. 

12. Why should we study the life and ministry of Jesus?

To serve Jehovah in these difficult times, it is essential to faithfully follow in the footsteps of Christ.

We must do so because to serve Jehovah in these difficult times it is essential to faithfully follow in the footsteps of Christ. Since Jesus suffered a lot but remained faithful to the end. Hence, we must not only study his life and ministry, but also set ourselves the goal of imitating him every day.

And also because you are the best example we have of serving Jehovah even in difficult times, 1 Peter 2:21 says that Christ suffered and set us an example so that we can faithfully follow in his footsteps, he knew that we would also face difficulties and that he could to be faithful to Jehovah and he knew that his servants could become so, so it is good that we study the life of Jesus and set goals to be able to imitate him like this every day and be faithful to Jehovah. 

13. What should you continue to ask of Jehovah, and why?

We must continue to ask Jehovah to give us more faith. If we have a strong faith based on accurate knowledge and love for our God, we can continue to progress spiritually.

Well, it is necessary to continue asking for faith because faith is going to be the one that is going to move us to serve Jehovah fully and from the heart, knowledge is good, it is necessary, it is good, however, something more is necessary that is that love of Jehovah and that faith It will help us to be solid, to be strong, and to continue growing spiritually, especially those who wish to be baptized. 

ACT ON WHAT YOU LEARN

14. How did Peter emphasize the importance of acting on what we learn? (See also image).

Peter underscored this using the example of Noah. Jehovah told Noah that he would send a flood to destroy all the bad people of the day. So in order to save himself and his family, Noah had to build an ark. In the image we appreciate that before the flood Noah and his family were faithful and acted according to what they knew and had learned. Currently, baptism is our brand, so each person must prepare for his baptism by showing that he acts in accordance with what he is learning. Only then will he reach for salvation.

I explain it very well with the example that Jehovah told Noah that he was going to send a flood where he was going to destroy all the bad people, but it was not enough for Noah to know this, they had to act and they had to make an ark for this Of course it took them time to make this ark and then Peter relates this to what baptism is, baptism also requires action and in the end, we have to make changes in our lives and in the end it is evidenced by baptism and it is the way in which we demonstrate this Faith.

While the ark was being built, Noah and his family had to be very active doing everything that Jehovah had commanded them, it was not worth knowing that there was going to be a flood and that it was going to destroy the whole earth, but they had to act accordingly with all those things that they were learning, therefore, as with baptism, one must act accordingly with all the things that are learned during the study to get to take enough steps for baptism, which is going to be what will help us save.

ILLUSTRATION

Noah and his family are very busy building the ark and preparing food. Before the Flood, Noah and his family were faithful and acted on what they had learned. (See paragraph 14).

15. What does true repentance entail?

True repentance involves making changes. For example, if before the person used bad words, now he will strive to have clean language. And if he finds it difficult to make changes, his sincere repentance will prompt him to seek help either from his Bible teacher or from the congregation elders. And in the case of the youngest who still live with their parents, they will feel compelled to turn to them for help.

16. What does having a good spiritual routine include?

It includes going to meetings and participating in them, as well as preaching regularly from when you become a non-baptized publisher. This is important because the more you do the more faith is cultivated. And the more faith is cultivated, the more it will want to prove it with works. This makes the things we give to Jehovah come from the heart and cause us happiness and encourage us to strive to do better and better.

It includes going to the meetings, being prepared and participating in them, and as you say when you are named as an unbaptized publisher, well, make the habit of regularity in preaching and you will realize that the more you do it, the more you participate in it, because the more you will be able to enjoy

It also refers to some questions that are addressed to young people but can be applied to any non-baptized publisher, and it is if things are done because they come from the heart, no one has to remember who has to go out to preach whoever It is necessary to prepare the meetings well, this is very significant because it will indicate to what degree the unbaptized publisher who has a desire to be baptized is really taking steps to please Jehovah and is becoming stronger. 

STRENGTHEN YOUR LOVE FOR JEHOVAH

17, 18. What quality will help you reach the goal of baptism, and why? (Proverbs 3:3-6).

Love for Jehovah is the quality that helps us reach the goal of Baptism, because that love is the force that drives us to move forward despite life's difficulties.

Proverbs 3:3-6 . He shows that Loyal love and fidelity are like a valuable necklace that we want to wear. They are an absolute demonstration of our trust in Jehovah, in his guidance, and in his word in the Bible. Hence, the stronger that love is, the more driven we will feel to reach the goal of baptism.

It is very beautiful how Psalm 100:5 describes it, which says that Jehovah's loyal love lasts forever and his faithfulness for all generations, and as we know Jehovah loves each one of us and that love makes him never abandon us as we do we are made in his image because the exact same thing will happen, love for Jehovah will lead us to never abandon him.

Yes we are seeing that if we show love to Jehovah Jehovah also loves us more and the reason is very simple he created us in his image and likeness with his same qualities then if we reflect them we will continue to love both Jehovah with us and us to Jehovah.

19. What can you do to be grateful for what Jehovah does for you? (Galatians 2:20).

Proverbs 3:3-6 . To be thankful for what Jehovah does for me, I can pray to him to thank him for specific things. I can also show my appreciation by resisting temptations and dealing with problems successfully. Another way to show my appreciation is by following a spiritual routine and being alert to see how Jehovah shows me his love on a daily basis.

Here we are encouraged to give thanks not only for general things but to think what I can thank Jehovah for the gifts he has given me personally this will strengthen our gratitude trust and friendship with Jehovah.

Galatians 2:20, teaches us that Jehovah shows us his love with his actions and Jesus does exactly the same, and the apostle Paul knew that Jehovah loved him because he had sent Jesus to die for him. So, like the sister in the Enlightenment, the least you can do is thank Jehovah every day.

ILLUSTRATION

In the Illustration, we see a sister enjoying the scenery through her window. She watches a beautiful bird by a tree while she enjoys her aromatic and delicious coffee. The air that moves her curtains must caress her face, which is a sign that she feels good and happy. All these things are a gift from Jehovah, they are samples of her loyal love. So the least she can do is show her appreciation by praying for all the good he has given her that day.

A sister watches a bird smiling from a window. You can thank Jehovah every day. (See paragraph 19).

20. What is involved in making a dedication to Jehovah, and why is this decision so important?

Dedicating yourself to Jehovah implies being a very special prayer where you vow to serve him all your life, both in good times and bad, and to belong to him forever. This is very important because it is a promise that is made only once in a lifetime, so it is something very serious. In fact, it is the most important decision in a person's life.

Dedication also implies beginning to demonstrate fidelity and loyalty to Jehovah, since Satan begins to direct his artillery against the person trying to stop loving and serving him. Hence, the importance of this love for Jehovah becoming stronger every day, and because only in this way can the dedication that has been promised be fulfilled.

21. Why do we say that baptism is only the beginning?

We say this because baptism is not the final goal. Rather, it is just the beginning of an eternal life of service to Jehovah.

In the end we are baptized and now what do we do? The next step is mentioned as talking to the elders to see what steps we have to take, but as we have seen in this article we have to continue learning and that will be for all eternity, so that this, being baptized is not the final goal, but we must set ourselves goals to continue strengthening our love for Jehovah. 

HOW WILL THE FOLLOWING STEPS HELP YOU PREPARE FOR BAPTISM?

Continue learning about Jehovah.

This allows us to continue to know Jehovah, understand and better understand his purposes and what awaits him from each servant of Jehovah What is dedication and baptism.

Knowing Jehovah is a constant process that we will never get to know everything about him and that we should not be satisfied with those elementary truths that whoever begins to study learns, we must deepen that knowledge because that will expand the love we have for him. Jehovah and the desire to serve him. 

Act on what you learn.

Because we will be like Noah who, when he knew about us, had to do something to save himself, and the more we know Jehovah's purpose, we want to participate in that purpose and we want to side with Jehovah, and the only way is by dedicating ourselves and being baptized.

Well, repent from the heart of all sins, take action and leave behind the things that Jehovah hates and also have a good spiritual routine. 

Strengthen your love for Jehovah.

Strengthening your love for Jehovah is important in preparing for baptism because it is a very important quality that helps overcome obstacles on the way to baptism.

Well, one of the reasons is because if we strengthen our love for Jehovah we will be prepared to emerge victorious from all those tests to which we are going to be subjected.