The Watchtower Study, «Article 31», Week September 25 to October 1, 2023, “Stand firm, immovable”, Answers.

The Study Watchtower, «Article 31», 25-September-1-October-2023, “Stand firm, immovable”, Answers. 

“My dear brothers, stand firm, immovable” (1 COR. 15:58).

1, 2. In what sense are Christians similar to a certain skyscraper in Tokyo? (1 Corinthians 15:58).

In the sense that, those of us who serve God must maintain balance between firmness and flexibility, the skyscraper was made with the purpose of being Solid and at the same time flexible, we must be prepared to obey God and not violate never its principles.

Well, this skyscraper that is mentioned was designed to withstand earthquakes and for that the engineers made it solid but at the same time so that it was flexible to withstand, as Christians we must have these two qualities: firmness and flexibility in our way of thinking and in our Way of acting.

For we must be steadfast in supporting the worship of Jehovah in every way.

IN WHICH FIELDS SHOULD WE BE FIRM?

3. What laws does Jehovah give us in Acts 15:28, 29?

Jehovah, being our supreme legislator, has the maximum authority, which is why he has always given his people clear rules. In Acts 15:28,29, we see that the Governing Body of the first century pointed out three areas in which every Christian must stand firm. For example, by rejecting idolatry and worshiping only Jehovah, respecting blood as something sacred, and faithfully complying with the high standards of sexual morality found in the Bible.

Yes, we see that as a judge of everything and he is our best legislator, he knows best what is good for us, so he has established, as was recorded in the first century, when the governing body determined that there were three things that Jehovah rejected, which was idolatry that We only had to worship Jehovah also in terms of respecting the blood that was sacred and also in terms of sexual immorality.

Yes, what we are talking about right now is in Acts 15:28 and 29, we all know that it says to abstain from blood, that's why transfusions and not only does it say it there, it also says it in Leviticus in Genesis and in a lot of other texts.

And we see that the fact is that these laws remain firm, they will give us something that is life or will save us as Isaiah 33:22 says, but it is important that we can fulfill them.

4. What does it mean to give exclusive devotion to Jehovah? (Revelation 4:11).

It implies rejecting idolatry, since true Christians do not venerate religious images. We also do not idolize any human being and do not treat them as if they were gods, nor do we follow religious leaders, politicians, sports and entertainment stars. But we take sides with Jehovah, the creator of all things, and worship him alone.

We have to live according to his moral standards because Jehovah is our creator, he deserves our exclusive devotion, so that means we must love and worship him alone without using any idol, any image or any symbol.

Not only about the images of false religions but also taking care of a human being like soccer players and singers who today are so worshiped, rather we have to focus on worshiping Jehovah who is the only one who can do it. He deserves it since he is our creator.

Revelation 4:11 | Well, Jehovah is our creator and therefore he is worthy of us giving him all the glory and all the honor.

And the best example we have of this is Jesus again, he was tempted by Satan, he gave him everything that his father was going to give him later and he could have had it before, he could have had it right away simply by loving to do an act to him. of worship of Satan but we see how he stood firm and did not do it but rather waited the time he had to wait and everything he had to go through as we have seen in the speech to be able to have everything that his father was going to give him.

When you read this text from Revelation 4:11, it comes to mind when the apostles gathered to pray in Acts 4:24, there they made a very beautiful prayer and they began by saying sovereign Lord, what do you think about heaven, earth, the sea and everything? What fills it because it makes me remember this and that because it helps me to be able to help people in preaching to understand that the one the apostles gave praise and adoration to is Jehovah, commenting that he was the sovereign over the entire Earth.

5. Why do we respect life and blood as something sacred?

Because Jehovah says that blood represents life, and life is a precious gift from him. For this reason, Jehovah prohibits us from consuming, both in Biblical times and in the first century we are prohibited from eating blood, that is why true Christians abstain from blood because for Jehovah blood is very valuable.

Yes, because Jehovah says that blood represents life and life is a precious gift from him.

And we can see how Jehovah throughout history has shown How we must respect the blood, first he gave this command to Noah and then in the Mosaic law the command is also repeated again and after the Mosaic law is abolished in the Christian congregation through the holy spirit again Jehovah gives them this command that we continue to abstain from blood.

Yes, precisely for this reason, when we want to make an important decision that has to do with something related to health, we firmly follow this mandate, so we investigate, we seek information to be able to continue taking into account these advice to respect life and blood as something sacred.

6. What measures will help us obey Jehovah’s high moral standards?

The apostle Paul gave us wise advice, that we put to death the members of our body. With this powerful phrase he encourages us to act firmly to eliminate our bad desires. And to achieve this we must avoid looking or doing anything that could lead us to sexual immorality. So we must reject any thought or action that could harm us.

Paul advises us that we should eliminate our evil desires and avoid sexual immorality. When faced with temptation, we must reject any thoughts or actions that harm our friendship with God.

Well, the apostle Paul was very clear when he said about putting to death or putting to death the members of his body, what he meant was that we have to avoid looking at or doing things that could lead us to sexual immorality or get us involved and when temptation may be offered, then reject it outright in any thought or action because this will harm the friendship we have with Jehovah.

Yes, in Job 31:1 we find some very simple but very easy to understand words. Job says that he had made a pact with his eyes not to take undue interest in a young woman who was not his wife, so what is going to help us to be firm for Both men and women avoid seeing or doing anything, whether on the cell phone or in person, that awakens bad desires in us and leads us to do something that goes against Jehovah.

In the news we have become accustomed to hearing how more and more minors commit very serious crimes of sexual indolence and experts are asking why all this is happening and have come to the conclusion that it is because children at a very young age with Even 8 and 9 years old are accessing pornography, so we see the wisdom of Jehovah that for centuries has warned us to avoid this type of behavior that can lead us to sexual immorality.

Hebrews 13:4 is saying that everyone honors marriage and that no one defiles the marriage bed because God is going to judge those who are sexually immoral and that is why we are advised that any desire that comes before us to act immediately to erase it so that we do not fall into it.

7. What should we be determined to do, and why?

We must be determined to please Jehovah and have the same attitude as the Psalmist who said: “I am determined to obey your rules all the time until the end.” Because we are convinced that its rules and laws are always for our own good.

Well, we must be determined to take the same attitude that the psalmist took who said I am determined to obey your rules all the time until the end and the reason is because we know as Isaiah 48:17 and 18 says that the rules and laws of Jehovah are always for our good and help us make very good decisions in life.

Yes, so when we have to make a decision, we must first think about what Jehovah wants us to do, but we don't have to stop there. Afterwards, we have to do it. Sometimes it can be difficult, but no matter how difficult a decision is, we have to be clear that the Jehovah's rules and laws are for our good and are really non-negotiable and also that Jehovah will always be there as our loving father to help us guide us so we can continue obeying his righteous rules day after day.

And we must be determined because, as the paragraph also says, there is someone who wants to weaken us. We know that Satan is going to try to stop us from remaining firm and is going to use tactics as we are going to see below.

WHAT TACTICS DOES SATAN USE TO WEAKEN OUR DETERMINATION?

8. For what purpose does Satan use persecution?

With the aim of weakening our faith and thus devouring us, that is, destroying our friendship with Jehovah.

Just as he did with first century Christians, Satan today also uses persecution to weaken our resolve, attacking us physically and emotionally with the goal of destroying our friendship.

First Peter 5:8 says that the devil walks around like a roaring lion trying to devour someone and his objective is to destroy our friendship with Jehovah so that we stop serving him.

Yes, since the first century, direct persecution used this tactic in the story of events, since it is mentioned how they were taken before the Sanhedrin and beaten, and even later in the story of Acts from 54 to 60, it is told how they reached Stephen. stone him to death but even so Stephen maintained his integrity so we already know what Satan, Satan wants to separate us from Jehovah and we have to be prepared because at any moment we can be persecuted.

In fact in our times many Christians face this type of direct persecution we have reports on our website of our brothers in Russia in Eritrea in other other countries where they are suffering even imprisonment for many years to maintain their integrity to Jehovah and it is not necessary to reach this point, many brothers are facing opposition from family members, etc. because Satan tries to make their integrity broken.

Yes, Satan also attacks us in a physical and emotional way that is his objective is to devour us.

9. Explain with an example why we should be on guard against more subtle pressures.

Satan not only attacks us, but he uses doubts and traps. And we have the example of our brother Bob who was hospitalized because he was going to undergo major surgery. He told the doctors that under no circumstances would he accept a blood transfusion, the surgeon promised to respect his decision. However, the night before the operation, when he and his family had left, the anesthetist told him that they probably wouldn't give him blood, but that he would have it on hand just in case. Maybe he would have thought that Bob would change his mind when he saw that his family wasn't with him. But Bob stood his ground and said that he would not accept bloodshed whatever happened.

An example of why we should be on guard against the most useful pressures is the case of Bob, who was hospitalized for major surgery. He told the doctors that under no circumstances would he accept a blood transfusion, but one of the doctors, after his family left, told him that during the operation he would bleed his hand in case it was necessary, thinking that perhaps he would change his mind. , but no, our brother was determined to remain firm in his decision not to have blood transferred to him no matter what.

If, as Ephesians 6:11 says, it speaks of the cunning tricks of the devil and we see it clearly in this case when it can happen to anyone that when it seems that everything has already been discussed, everything is fine, the doctor seems to have not given us any problems, they take advantage of any loophole at a time when we are alone we are nervous we are in a difficult situation to try to undermine our integrity so we have to be very clear in advance so that this does not happen to us.

And Bob's example also makes me think how important it is that our firmness does not depend, that is, it is based on the signature of others, it is important that our study, our love and our trust in Jehovah is personal and then he will help us to face any problem.

10. Why is the thinking of those who do not serve Jehovah dangerous? (1 Corinthians 3:19, 20).

The way of thinking of those who do not serve Jehovah is dangerous because they can push us to turn our backs and ignore his just norms. In the first century the congregation of Pergamon and Thyatira allowed themselves to be influenced by this spirit, and accepted the way of thinking. that evil is good, and that the advice of the Bible was outdated.

Family and acquaintances encourage us to follow our hearts and ignore Jehovah's rules. And they argue that there is nothing wrong with giving in to our desires and that the standards of the Bible are outdated. If we adopt this way of thinking, we might abandon Jehovah and disregard his righteous standards.

Because if we start thinking like the people of the world, we could turn our backs on Jehovah and ignore his rules.

Family members or acquaintances may encourage us to follow our hearts and disregard Jehovah's standards. They may claim that there is nothing wrong with following our desires or that the standards in the Bible are outdated or too strict. That is why we should avoid having a close relationship with these types of people.

And in the text that we have read, the wisdom of this world is described as absurd and the advice of the wise as useless and why, because they only tend to want to satisfy our desires, to think of ourselves and not of others, and that is why, as is well known, has said, if little by little we allow this influence of the world not to penetrate us, we may end up turning our backs on Jehovah.

And this human way of thinking can also reach us through movies, television series, songs, all of these things influence us a lot and sometimes in a very subtle way and promote lifestyles that are very different from ours, which is why it is important that we learn to identify these ways of thinking and get them out of our minds as soon as possible.

11. What should we avoid?

We avoid thinking that certain instructions that Jehovah gives us should be more detailed. We may even be tempted to go beyond the things that are written. That is why we do not go beyond what is written in the Bible or invent rules on personal matters to impose them on others. 

We must avoid thinking that the laws that Jehovah gives us should be more detailed. Because we would think like the religious leaders of Jesus' time who began to add to God's law more rules that they themselves invented. And they began to be the heaviest burdens for the people. So we must avoid going beyond what the Bible teaches.

In first Corinthians 46 we are told not to go beyond the things that are written as we know. Jehovah has made the instructions that he has given us very clear so that we can all understand them and there is no need for us to add anything or Let's invent nothing because as it says at the end of First Corinthians and we do that, it's going to make us proud and it's going to make us turn against each other.

And that is why we do not want to imitate the example of the religious leaders who, as mentioned in Matthew 23:4, say that they prepared heavy burdens and put them on the shoulders of the people, so they put their own standards, their own traditions on others and became like this burden, so we want to avoid putting unnecessary burdens on our brothers by perhaps wanting to impose our opinion or rules of what the Bible does not mention.

12. How does Satan promote false reasoning?

Satan uses false reasons and worldly things to deceive and divide people. He uses the media and social networks to spread conspiracy theories and fake news, especially during the pandemic. Jehovah's Witnesses who followed the organization's instructions avoided problems and stress.

In the first century Satan used philosophies and other human ideas, Jewish teachings that were not based on the Bible, and the belief that Christians had to follow the Mosaic law. Which were false reasonings because they caused people not to pay attention to the true source of wisdom, Jehovah. Currently, Satan uses the media and social networks to spread conspiracy theories and fake news promoted by political leaders.

Well, it uses philosophies of human ideas that are against what the Bible says and in that way it tries to confuse us. We saw it, for example, as the paragraph mentions during the covid pandemic, how much news there was that tried to confuse us, we didn't know if it was true, if not They were true but all this type of news makes Satan use them to make our way of thinking doubt whether any of them are true or not.

And as the paragraph advised us, what we did was follow the instructions of the organization because that made us avoid having the problems that other people had, the stress they experienced with the fear they lived due to false information and that is what we have to do by following the instructions. steps that the organization is giving us.

Yes, we have been warned many times that, for example, when we share information, even about our brothers, that we are worried about them when they have been in Russia, that they are having a bad time, etc., that all we get is always JW because otherwise we may be passing videos. passing around photos that are not really true and as the experts say we now live in the greatest age of misinformation, it is a tactic that Satan is using and we do not want to support this misinformation when we are not clear where that information comes from.

13. Why should we not allow anything to distract us?

Distractions rob us of time and attention that we could invest in more profitable things. Activities of the day such as eating, drinking, having fun, and working can distract us if we let them become the center of our lives. We must not lose sight of what things are most important.

We must be on guard so that these things that Satan places before us in order to distract us do not weaken our determination to serve Jehovah.

Distractions steal our valuable time and leave aside what is most important, which is to dedicate it to Jehovah, so maintaining a balanced point about what we need and what we want means having our spiritual routine and the time that is left over for our hobbies. a healthy way and it will make everything be in order and we will never get carried away by human opinions and it will help us to stand firm in the true teachings of our God Jehovah.

And these include social and political debates, sometimes there are television channels that are on all day, it doesn't affect me, I am neutral but by assimilation one can end up on one side or the other, for example if one is not a pensioner and a political party says of increasing pensions another of lowering them, perhaps they end up supporting the party or it is a young man who talks about aid to youth and another does not in the end as he says, even within ourselves we can take sides and this is a distraction that Satan could use.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO STAY FIRM?

14. What can help us stand firm at Jehovah's side?

What can help us is to think about why we dedicate ourselves and baptize. Remembering that we took those steps because we wanted to take Jehovah's side. And it was Jehovah who helped us convince ourselves that this is the truth.

Knowing that we are in the truth helps us stand firm, since when we are baptized we begin to have a wonderful friendship with Jehovah and this drives us to go to meetings and preach to others.

Well, think about why we dedicate ourselves and baptize ourselves to Jehovah, if we do that exercise we realize what steps we had to take how we came to know him how we came to love him how we saw him as ours really as our heavenly father that It will lead to laying good foundations to be able to stand firm.

ILLUSTRATION

The image that we see reflected in the article we can see that the most important thing to stay firm is a good base and that base is what has made us convince ourselves in its day that the truth is there, that is why it is as important as the note says. Study the word of God, meditate on it and reflect, as just mentioned, on the reasons we have to love Jehovah.

Series of images: 1. A very tall building is built on a firm and solid foundation. 2. A brother fills out his blood refusal card. Next to him he has his tablet with lesson 39 of the book “Enjoy life”. To remain firm, let us think about why we dedicate ourselves and baptize, let us study the Word of God and meditate on it, have a firm heart and trust in Jehovah. (See paragraphs 14 to 18).

15. How does studying the Word of God and meditating on it help us?

When we study and meditate our faith is strengthened, and we become more and more convinced that God's teachings are the best. Therefore we must meditate on how Jehovah's servants in the past benefited from his instructions, counsel, and protection.

By studying the word of God we become like those trees with deep roots that hold firmly to the ground. If we develop a firm spirituality, we will be more convinced that these teachings are the best.

Here he gives us the example of a tree that the more we study, the more we do what Jehovah wants, the more we have meetings, we go out to preach and do Jehovah's will, because of course we are going to grow like a leafy tree that grows more roots every time it grows. and has more security.

Yes, to achieve this we have to dedicate time, as we see the brother in the Enlightenment, we have to take time and go deeper like the tree, deepen its roots, we have to go deeper into Jehovah's thoughts, the rules, the laws and the benefits because our own life is involved. in her.

The example of Ezekiel, who had a vision in which an angel took measurements of Jehovah's temple, explains to us that Ezekiel paid close attention to these details because the worship of Jehovah has measures, it has rules that we have to follow if we want to worship Jehovah. as he wants, so looking at these examples and delving deeper into the issues of the Bible will help us also know how to follow Jehovah's rules.

Colossians 27 is saying that if we continue meditating and continue rooted and following the example of Jesus Christ we will be much firmer in faith and more stabilized and this is achieved by studying and meditating and in this way we will become more and more convinced that what Jehovah has taught us is the best way.

In the Illustration it is also seen as a construction that is very tall, perhaps the tallest in that entire environment and that is surely growing or developing because as you can see it has very good foundations, it is being built on very strong and deep foundations and just Next to it is the photograph of the brother who is studying, he is forging those foundations to grow both in his faith and in his appreciation of Jehovah and his standards.

16. How did having a strong heart help Bob? (Psalm 112:7).

When Bob was told that they would have blood available just in case, he replied that if there was even the slightest chance that they would give them the blood, it would be immediately. He says that he did not hesitate for a second and he did not worry about what might happen.

Well, I helped him because he didn't have any doubts for even a moment and he also wasn't afraid because he completely trusted in Jehovah.

It helps us make decisions without hesitation, as in the case of Bob, when they answered that there was that possibility, he said that it did exist and that he was going to leave immediately and then he himself mentioned that he did not doubt it for a second and that he was not worried about it either. that could happen because he totally trusted in Jehovah.

Yes, the text also mentions bad news and it seems that when we turn on the news the only thing we receive is bad news that seems to try to keep the entire population in fear, so if we trust in Jehovah then we will probably reduce the time we spend watching the news. and of course we will not allow this to affect our hearts.

17. What do we learn from Bob's experience? (See also images).

Bob decided to stand his ground long before he was in the hospital. For he was convinced that he would be rewarded if he followed Jehovah's standards. Like Bob, we can have a firm heart in the face of any trial.

From this experience we can learn that we too can have a firm heart in the face of any trial that comes our way.

He did not wait to be in the hospital to stand firm but he had already made the decision and first of all he wanted with all his heart to be happy to Jehovah and secondly he says that he studied everything the Bible says in our publications about the theme of the life of the blood and we can see it perfectly in the image he having built his building as represented here with a firm foundation although he went to the doctor at night after he was already alone and tired surely he having a firm foundation held up perfectly and he was able to have good faith before Jehovah.

Yes, it is very important to study the publications on the sanctity of blood for a reason and because we are going to see the Bible and Jehovah's organization makes it clear what Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept regarding blood, but there are many other things. They are a personal decision and depend on our own conscience and that is precisely where we have to investigate further because we have to make our own decisions and other times it is not easy, which is why it is so necessary to do this prior research.

Yes, that is why these three points that we have seen are not optional, that is, we cannot do one and leave another, but rather they are like protection beams for our building so that it remains firm, that is, so that we have a faith that is strong.

The contrast is seen because the image of the building is not the same as the earthquake in those around it and of course that makes us think that having clear decisions, a firm spirituality is not casual, it is a personal decision if one dedicates oneself to meditate and prepare oneself for the trials. can be victorious.

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. The building is still standing. Instead, those around them collapsed due to a natural disaster. 2. The brother, who is now hospitalized, talks to a doctor late at night. If we develop strong faith, we can stand firm in the face of any trial that comes our way. (See paragraph 17).

18. What does Barak's example teach us? (See cover drawing).

From this example we can learn that all of us must trust in Jehovah and follow his instructions that he gives us through his organization, and Jehovah will surely give us victory in any problem.

Although the Israelites were not prepared to go into battle. Jehovah told Barak to go fight against Sisera and his Canaanite army. Although on the ground the chariots would no longer have an advantage, however, Barak obeyed.

Well, Barak had to put a lot of trust in Jehovah because as we have read and as we can see in the story, they were in inferiority, the Enlightenment can be seen. They only had swords, they did not even have shields or spears, they were not armed and the others were more. They had 900 war chariots, it would have been a carnage if Jehovah had not intervened but Barak listened and even in that situation that they were at a disadvantage, he trusted in Jehovah and then it was Jehovah who gave them victory.

We observe that what Barak was to trust in Jehovah but also follow the instructions that the prophetess gave him because she told him what he had to do and he did not doubt he did not say but that is suicide he followed the instructions, so today we have to trust the same in Jehovah and follow the instructions that the organization gives us.

ILLUSTRATION

In the middle of a downpour, Barak and his men quickly go down the mountain. They are determined to fight Sisera's army, whose chariots are stuck in the mud. Barak and his men bravely pursue Sisera's army. (See paragraph 18).

LET US BE DETERMINED TO STAY FIRM

19. Why do you want to remain firm?

I want to remain steadfast because that way I will be more determined to love Jehovah, and I will not allow persecution, subtler pressures, human thinking, false reasoning and distractions to shake me, but rather I am determined to love Jehovah, obey your fair rules and of course I want to remain reasonable.

Well, because for nothing in the world will I let persecution, the most subtle pressures, the human way of thinking, false reasoning and distractions, I will never let these tactics of Satan weaken me in doing the right thing, he says that I will always remain firm immovable and we will always be determined to love Jehovah and obey his rules.

Yes, so the reason is love for Jehovah, it is not because others do it, not because we follow other men, but because from the heart we think these rules are the best and we do it out of love.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

In what areas should we firmly obey Jehovah's laws and regulations?

We reject idolatry and worship Jehovah alone, respect life and blood as sacred, and strive to faithfully uphold Jehovah's high standards of sexual morality.

What tactics does Satan use to try to weaken our resolve to stand firm?

The persecution, the subtler pressures, the human way of thinking, the false reasoning and the distractions.

What four things will help us stay strong?

Think about why we dedicate ourselves and baptize, study the word of God and meditate on it and have a firm heart, finally trust in Jehovah.