DAILY TEXT, From today  Sunday September 3, 2023,  Check all things and hold on to what is right (1 Thes. 5:21).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2023

Sunday September 3

Check all things and hold fast to what is right (1 Thes. 5:21).

Are we totally convinced that Jehovah's Witnesses teach the truth and that our way of worshiping God today is the only way he accepts? The Apostle Paul was fully convinced that what he believed was the truth (1 Thess. 1:5). And that security was not a simple emotion. It was the result of a deep study of the Word of God. He believed that "all Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Tim. 3:16). Studying it, Paul found indisputable evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah. However, the Jewish religious leaders chose to ignore these tests. Those hypocrites claimed to represent God, but their works said otherwise (Titus 1:16). In contrast, Paul did not choose which parts of God's Word he wanted to believe and which he did not. He was willing to teach and apply "all the will of God" (Acts 20:27). w21.10 18 pars. 1, 2.

To be convinced that we have the truth, do we need to know the answers to all our questions?

There are those who believe that true religion should be able to answer all questions, even those that are not specifically answered in the Bible. Is it realistic to expect that? Let's look at the example of Paul. It is true that he told Christians to “check all things,” but he also recognized that there were many things he did not understand (1 Thess. 5:21). He explained that “we have incomplete knowledge” and that “we see blurred images in a metal mirror” (1 Cor. 13:9, 12). Pablo didn't know everything, and neither did we. But he understood the basic teachings about Jehovah, he had enough knowledge to be convinced that he had the truth.

How can we strengthen our conviction that we have found the truth?

How can we strengthen our conviction that we have found the truth? One way is by comparing the way Jesus taught to worship God with the way Jehovah's Witnesses worship him today. In this article, we will see that true Christians 1) reject idolatry, 2) respect Jehovah's name, 3) love the truth, and 4) have intense love for one another.

What example did Jesus set in worshiping God, and how can we follow it?

Because Jesus loved Jehovah very much, he worshiped only him, both when he was in heaven and when he was on earth (Luke 4:8). And he taught his disciples to do the same. Neither he nor his faithful disciples ever used images in his worship. Since God is a spirit, nothing man does to represent him can ever come close to his matchless glory (Is. 46:5). And what about making images of so-called saints and praying to them? In the second of the Ten Commandments, Jehovah said: “Do not make for yourself any carved image or anything that has the shape of anything that is in the heavens above, on the earth below, or under the waters. Do not bow down to such things” (Ex. 20:4, 5). For those who wish to please God, these words leave no room for doubt.

What example are Jehovah's Witnesses following today?

Historians acknowledge that first century Christians worshiped only God. For example, a book on the history of Christianity says that early Christians "would have been horrified" at the very idea of ​​placing images in their places of worship (History of the Christian Church). Today, Jehovah's Witnesses follow the example of the first-century Christians. We don't pray to images of “saints” or angels, we don't even pray to Jesus. And we do not perform acts of worship to symbols of the State, such as saluting the flag or others. Come what may, we are determined to obey these words of Jesus: “Worship the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:10).

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