Watchtower Study, What you hope for will come true, Week of February 12 to 18, 2024, Comments and Responses.

Watchtower Study, What you hope for will come true, February 12-18, 2024, Comments and Responses.

“Hope does not disappoint” (ROM. 5:5).

1. Why can we say that Abraham's hope was secure?

Well, in addition to faith, he also had hope that Jehovah was going to fulfill his promise, so he took it as a sure thing.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, something interesting is that as the paragraph mentioned, Abraham was sure that Jehovah would keep his word or his promise, because his faith was deep. 

He also had an intimate relationship with Jehovah, so this faith was based on absolute trust in God's faithfulness to fulfill what he has promised, that is why Abraham had that secure Hope.

That hope was safe, although from a human point of view it was impossible to fulfill. Abraham and his wife Sarah, since they could no longer hope to have children, were very old for them, but they still had a lot of faith, which is why, as the apostle Paul said. In his letter to the Romans, although there was no hope, he was based on hope and had faith that he would be the father of many nations.

We know that he had a lot of faith in Jehovah because he always had it and so it is logical that if Jehovah had promised him that his descendants would come for him, it was logical to wait even though their age was no longer logical, but we know that Jehovah can do anything thing can do a miracle.

2. Why was Abraham fully convinced that Jehovah would keep his promise?

That unwavering faith that Abraham had in Jehovah and in his promise gave rise to hope and he is completely sure that God could do everything he had promised him.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Because Abraham knew Jehovah very well, and knew that Jehovah always keeps his promises. Furthermore, Abraham's deep faith in God was reflected in absolute trust, that is, he did not doubt that Jehovah would fulfill his promise.

Romans 4:18 is saying although there was logically no hope from a human point of view seeing the ages that Sarah and Abraham were already, it seemed that it was impossible, however, since Abraham had faith in what Jehovah had promised him, he did put hope precisely in what I had told him.

We must strive to get to know Jehovah very well and in this way he will declare us righteous and not only that we will also have his approval so therefore because of this we can have that hope and have that faith as much as Abraham had it.

3. What does Paul explain about hope?

Paul tells us that hope will never disappoint us and that is what he begins by saying in Romans 5 verse 5, but he also says that to have that hope we must strengthen it.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, he tells us that hope will never disappoint us, which is what he begins by saying in Romans chapter 5, verse 5, but he also says that for this our hope must be strengthened.

So when Paul is talking in Roman 5:5 precisely about that hope does not disappoint, in one of our publications he clarified that this expression in Greek meant that we are not ashamed and that it then indicates that the person who has true faith in God You will never have to be ashamed or disappointed and those of us who have faith and trust know precisely that Jehovah always fulfills his promises and will not fail to fulfill them.

Following the same line, he says, think about how your hope has been strengthening over time, perhaps at the beginning when we learned the truth because we were told about a wonderful hope for the future but as the years have passed we have seen how that Hope has become increasingly stronger. We have seen how many prophecies have been fulfilled. We have seen the great increase in how Jehovah's organization has also been progressing. All of this makes us see that hope is increasingly a strong anchor that we have. It is in each of us that we must make this something that helps us on a daily basis not to lose that hope even though the conditions or difficulties of this world may cause us to lose it. 

OUR WONDERFUL HOPE

4. What does Romans 5:1, 2 talk about?

They had learned about Jehovah and Jesus, had shown faith, and had become Christians.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Romans begins by talking about faith and that this faith can make Jehovah declare us righteous now, since we are already righteous we can then enjoy the hope that God gives to his servants. 

Yes, and he anointed him with holy spirit and from then on they even had a wonderful and sure hope.

Yes, as we have read very well, Paul speaks of these brothers who were in the congregation of Rome, they had known Jehovah and Jesus and, as he says, as a result of that faith they had become Christians, they had been baptized and now they had been anointed with spirit. The saint says in verse 2 that they now had every reason to rejoice because they had received an incredible hope.

5. What hope do the anointed have?

Well, he has the good hope of being resurrected and living in heaven where they can reign with Christ.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

And that is how Paul told the Christians of Ephesus that they would have an inheritance for the saints and to those of the congregation of Colossae he told them that this would be reserved for you in heaven.

Well we all know that the Anointed Ones have the hope of going to heaven, but to expand a little further, in Ephesians Chapter 1 verse 8 and Colossians 1 4 to 5, well it says there that they have the hope of receiving the inheritance for the saints , now this inheritance is reserved for them in heaven. Which implies a resurrection and eternal life, but in heaven and where they will Reign with Jesus.

An additional detail is that it says that the second death has no authority over them which means that Jehovah gives them immortality.

6. What did an anointed brother say about his hope?

Yes, he said that his hope was a sure hope that he knew would be completely fulfilled and throughout his faithful service to Jehovah, he never lost that hope but on the contrary, he hoped for it even more eagerly.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Frederick Franz said that his hope was certain that it would be completely fulfilled in the case of all 144,000 members of the little flock to a degree that surpasses even what we have imagined and well he says that after serving decades he said that even if they passed a thousand years he was going to maintain that heavenly hope.

The anointed brother expressed that he wholeheartedly valued the hope he had, and that this Hope was sure and would be completely fulfilled for each of the 144,000 of the little flock. Despite serving God faithfully for decades, he explained to her that he had not lost his sense of the value of this hope, but, on the contrary, he appreciated it even more the longer he had to wait for it. He claimed that this Hope was worth waiting for, even if it required a million years, and that he held it in higher esteem than ever before.

So they feel that with all their heart they have that hope and that it is worth fighting for and that although more and more their hope is held in higher esteem than before, it is worth it for them to hold on because the truth is that there is no greater honor. That is to serve with Jesus in the kingdom.

Well, I would ask myself when I dedicated myself to Jehovah and was baptized, did the contract I put in have an expiration date or did I tell Jehovah that I was going to serve him for all eternity, so what does it matter when the date is, as Brother Frank said, if they As anointed with a desire to be able to exercise dominion to settle the affairs of the earth, they were in no hurry because it is in the hands of the best legislator, because we.

ILLUSTRATION

And in the image we are seeing the brother who, well, has served faithfully and is speaking that it was in '91, so we see how a brother who, well, many years ago no longer had his firm hope, and that is an example for us now, perhaps even if the years pass or even older brothers who have gone through a lot of trials, then continue with that firm hope like this brother did who is seen looking ahead confidently and with a firm position knowing that that hope is so sure even more than at the beginning of when studied the Bible.

Yes And it is a good image and a good example because Brother Francis lived almost 100 years 99 years he could have thought well I won't see him anymore or for how long but his reflection is very beautiful you can see that the brother by his look his gesture his temperance he truly believed, the other I heard how a brother illustrated it said that it is like waiting for a baby, the baby may be late and late and it does not arrive and it does not arrive but how little does that matter when it finally arrives, because with that same attitude and enthusiasm and enthusiasm Brother Frank leaves waiting for his reward.

Brother Frederick Franz. Next to it is a quote that says: “Our hope is sure […]. It is something worth waiting for.” Brother Frederick Franz explained that anointed Christians are sure of the hope they have. (See paragraph 6).

7, 8. What hope do most of God's servants have? (Romans 8:20, 21).

We learned at the beginning because we have our hope there like an anchor, waiting as the brother said in the previous paragraph, waiting all the time and that hope increases more and more every day until what comes to us, all of us brothers, are waiting for.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Most people who serve Jehovah today have the hope of living forever on earth under the Kingdom of God, similar to the hope that Abraham had. This Hope includes freedom from sin and perfection, as well as the excitement of knowing that loved ones will be resurrected and live in paradise. Therefore, thanks to the hope that God offers, an extraordinary future lies ahead.

Well, the same hope that Abraham had to live forever in paradise on earth and the truth is that the more time passes, the more we learn and the more we want to maintain this hope in ourselves.

The basis and hope but also in paragraph eight it says that this can become stronger every day so it will depend on us if that hope becomes stronger or not and what was previously said in paragraph 6 of Brother Frank is fulfilled, who It was well worth the wait.

The hope of living forever on earth under the kingdom of God is that this hope will free us from the sin of being perfect and also from seeing our loved ones who are going to be resurrected and live with us in paradise, as well that thanks to that great hope that God has given us, we have a wonderful future ahead of us.

Furthermore, that life will not be like the one we are living now because as we saw in Romans 8 and even creation was subjected to sin like us, it will also be freed from that and it will be much better, much more beautiful to live in a world made into a paradise.

According to Paul's words in Romans 20:21, Jehovah did not destroy the first man Adam when he sinned but allowed him to have his descendants and also did not leave them without hope, and Jehovah kindly encouraged them by giving them hope through the promised descendants who are Jesus Christ.

Hope can be strengthened and that is the work each of us must do to strengthen our hope.

HOW HOPE IS STRENGTHENED

9, 10. Like Paul, what do we know is going to happen to us? (Romans 5:3; see also images).

Like Paul, we know that we will go through difficulties. This is a reality for all Christians. How it is expressed In the Bible, since we begin to have faith in Jesus and follow him, we can face various difficult situations. This may include ridicule or mistreatment by friends or family, difficulties at work due to our determination to be honest in everything, opposition from the government for sharing our hope with others, among other things.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Yes, as far as the images there also describe it, we see how as young people we can go through tribulations at school because they turn on us because of our beliefs or in the family that we can also have opposition, also there we see that it seems that it is her husband who is who is receiving position from him or also at work we can also receive bribes for being honest or also the last image how the brother is seen as imprisoned for his beliefs.

But there is another thing that we know is going to happen to us. It is true that we are going to go through difficulties. This is a reality, but Romans 5:3 says that these difficulties are also going to produce endurance. This is also going to happen, and as paragraph 10 says at the end. This is going to be a cause of joy for us so putting all this from this perspective also helps us to make that endurance greater when we face.

As we have been talking about everything, he who begins to study as a Jehovah's Witness knows what is going to be thrown at him and the second of Corinthians 3:17 always comes to mind, which says well, well, Jehovah is the spirit and where is he? the spirit of Jehovah there is freedom.

ILLUSTRATION

Images of siblings undergoing trials: 1. A young woman who is about to pray to give thanks for the food notices that two of her schoolmates are whispering right behind her. 2. A sister is yelled at by her husband, who is not a Witness. 3. A brother refuses to accept a bribe at work. 4. A brother looks out of his cell. All Christians know that we will face difficult situations. (See paragraphs 9 and 10).

11. Why should we be determined to endure?

We must be determined to endure because difficulties help us develop an important quality: We are referring to endurance, since all Christians go through difficulties, for this reason it is necessary that we be determined to endure. Only in this way will we persevere through these difficulties, and thus will we receive the reward we so long await.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

We have to be determined to endure because only in this way will we receive the reward that we so long for and that is that we do not want to be like the people who compare Jesus in the book of Matthew. They are seeds that fall on rocky ground. At first, they sprout quickly, accepting the word. with joy but as soon as difficulties arise they end up withering.

Yes, we also know that a test either refines you or destroys you, but if we endure the test it can help us to be complete because it prepares us for the most difficult moments that will come and will help us to be more complete.

Furthermore, we do not want to be like the people Jesus described in the parable of the seeds falling on rocky ground, who accept the word with joy but stumble when faced with difficulties or persecution. Although suffering or facing trials is not something we like, enduring benefits us and produces good results.

It has been commented that the difficulties are like a training that produces endurance and endurance produces the approval of God and the approval of God produces this hope, it is not that by our own merits we can earn the reward that God gives us but it is by endurance, If we remain faithful to God, enduring difficulties, we will have a hope that is secure because God promises it to us, he gives it to us for having been faithful and enduring until the end.

So to endure we have to have roots, of course Jesus Christ illustrated this very well with the sower, he sowed in different lands and of course what happened that the one that was on good soil was the one that took root, the one that carried there was a person or land that, since it had little depth or there were rocks there were thorns well these hearts well maybe for a while they were happy they were happy yes yes it is the truth we have found it but of course when there were difficulties that occurred as they did not really appreciate from the heart they did not have that faith that these people needed well Of course they left it, but people who really love the truth have faith, they strengthen that faith, truth with that hope that we learn from the Bible, because then it is the one that takes root and is the plant or the person that really continues to produce and is the one that brings the praise to Jehovah. 

12. What are the advantages of holding on?

When we endure we become more complete Christians because we develop more qualities such as patience, the faith that we have in Jehovah or that we depend on him, we trust him more and that is why we become better.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Enduring has several advantages as highlighted by the disciple Santiago. First, he allows Endurance to complete his work in us, resulting in us being complete and healthy in every way, lacking nothing. Furthermore, endurance helps us develop more patience, increase our faith and trust more in God.

The disciple Santiago says that endurance completes the work of ourselves as individuals by enduring, as has been said, we develop those other qualities that a Christian will continue to need. If we do not endure, it is worthless because we leave everything and that's it, it's over, but What endurance makes us become better servants of Jehovah.

For this endurance, the example of coal has always been given, not because when coal is subjected to great pressures there comes a time when it becomes a diamond. So we are the same. When we meet Jehovah, we are a coal, perhaps that does not look very good, it is fragile, but When we begin to have these pressures, these problems, there comes a time when through that endurance we come to shine before Jehovah and we are like those diamonds for Jehovah.

13, 14. What happens when we endure, and what effect does it have on our hope? (Romans 5:4).

When we endure, we earn God's approval, as Paul mentions in Romans 5:4. This means that although God is not happy when we go through difficulties, he is happy when we persevere and endure. This knowledge is encouraging because it shows us that by remaining faithful and persevering, we can make Jehovah happy.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

An example of this is Abraham, who earned God's approval by enduring the trials he faced, being considered his friend and a righteous person, likewise, we can also earn God's approval by staying faithful and enduring.

Therefore, when we face trials if we remain faithful, we can be sure that we will obtain God's approval. This assurance strengthens our hope in knowing that Jehovah is happy with us.

Because there are people who have very outstanding qualities, they are generous, happy, friendly, and what does that indicate that these people have something important in common? The slave says that we can have this quality of endurance. Why, because he says that it is within everyone's reach, then endurance can. be something personal something ours.

It is a beautiful exercise of equality, we have all carried spiritual baggage of decades, but our circumstances have changed. It would be fair for Jehovah to now ask and demand the same thing that we gave when we were 20, 30, 40 years old, because what encouragement, what equality for Jehovah to see that if we are all persevering, no matter the circumstances, in his eyes we are perfect candidates for all his blessings.

AN EVEN STRONGER HOPE

15. How did Paul continue his explanation, and what might we wonder?

Paul continued his explanation by indicating that God's approval produces hope, and this hope does not disappoint, and earlier in Romans 5:2, Paul had already mentioned that the Christians of Rome had a hope. So if those Christians already had a hope, why did Paul does he talk about hope again?

Well, he said that God's approval produces hope and that hope does not disappoint, so if these Christians already had hope, the question that arises is why Paul speaks again about hope.

16. Explain how someone can become convinced that the hope the Bible gives is real. (See also images).

To convince yourself that the hope offered by the Bible is real, it is important to consider that this Hope has the ability to strengthen over time. When you hear it for the first time you may think that it is unreal, which requires time, so through continuous study of the Bible, knowledge of God's will and personal experience of The Christian life this hope becomes more solid and convincing for those who seek it.

Because when you know the truth, Jehovah is impressed by everything you are told, the fact of eternal life, perfection, the resurrection of the dead, everything is fine, but as time goes by, you see how Jehovah acts with you. same, then the hope we have no longer only refers to what Jehovah gives us but to what Jehovah does personally with us, so it is in the new world we have the capacity to see ourselves there because the hope that at one moment we read We have seen how Jehovah is already acting in us as he is already helping us, so that is why it becomes much stronger.

In fact, Romans 5:5 shows that what makes that hope more firm in us is that we come to feel the love of God in our hearts through the holy spirit and that is what gives us confirmation that It's worth putting up with.

17. How has your hope strengthened after you were baptized?

Well, because with the passage of time what the apostle Paul commented in Romans may have happened to us, we have not been facing those circumstances, those problems in life and our faith becomes greater, our hope is strengthened because we see how Jehovah has helped and will help us in the future so our hope is strengthened.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

After we were baptized, although we have experienced difficulties, studying the Bible and getting to know Jehovah and also experiencing his care has strengthened my hope and it has become more certain.

And returning to the image that we had for these two paragraphs, these brothers and sisters surely had hope before going through the trials that we saw at the beginning of the article, but now, as has been mentioned, their hope is stronger, more intense, deeper, but we can even think about the things they faced in the future but now we see that this hope produces joy because in the future when trials come then they will be happy and so will we when we face them because we know the fruit that facing these trials produces we will not know that we will be able to polish ourselves The more we know that we can make our hope stronger and even make Jehovah a little happier.

It is interesting to analyze verses 2 to 4 of Romans because in verse 2 it says that we have hope of receiving the glory of God, one in heaven and another on earth, then verse 3 talks about when we go through difficulties and endure them from verse 4 that Endurance produces the approval of God and that approval gives us hope but it is not a different hope than that of verse 2, simply what it is saying is that this hope becomes stronger in us, the more solid we are, the more convinced we are of it.

Yes, when we were baptized we learned many biblical truths about the future, paradise, the resurrection. But when is the hope of the resurrection more real, more personal, more intense? After losing a loved one or when we have gone through a serious illness, it is so beautiful to realize. that the more you know Jehovah and when you endure and see how Jehovah helps you, it becomes more real and more personal. 

ILLUSTRATION

And this is what we see in the images: these brothers increase in hope because they know Jehovah more. The girl explains what she has learned about Jehovah to her partner. This sister with the opposite family reads the Bible, meditates on it. The brother gives good comments. At the meeting, preparation is made and the last brother approaches Jehovah in prayer, so knowing Jehovah more strengthens our hope.

Images of the same brothers from before: 1. The young woman preaches to a classmate. 2. The sister who is married meditates on what she reads from the Bible. 3. The brother who rejected the bribe comments at the meeting. 4. The brother prays from his cell. The beautiful hope he has now is much stronger, more intense and deeper than when he first learned it. (See paragraphs 16 and 17).

18. What guarantee does Jehovah give us?

If we know, we have proven that Jehovah cannot lie, therefore, if he makes a promise it will be fulfilled with complete certainty.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Jehovah gives us the guarantee that our hope will not disappoint us. Paul assured Christians that this hope will be fulfilled, because God's love has been demonstrated to his servants.

And this is a very important guarantee because who of us can guarantee something that is going to happen or that we are going to fulfill, no one but Jehovah yes Jehovah everything he has promised has his guarantee the seal of guarantee that it will be fulfilled and that without a doubt that calms us.

19. What are we sure of?

Like Abraham, if we are faithful to Jehovah we will be rewarded.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

We are sure that if we are faithful to Jehovah, our hope will not end in disappointment and that we will be rewarded. Furthermore, we can trust that our hopes will be fulfilled because, as we have studied, it is real and fills us with joy.

And as the paragraph says at the end that the God who gives hope so that we can ask Jehovah for help to have more hope just as we ask for faith but we can also look at the examples of so many brothers who have demonstrated this hope through the times and of course to think that we are already pleasing Jehovah thanks to this hope that gives us value because it is something that encourages and motivates us and that is something that we want to produce or cultivate little by little so that we have this hope very firm and solid.

So we have to, like Abraham, continue to demonstrate patience, not until we receive that promise that Jehovah has given us that wonderful hope that we have, even if we face problems or difficulties as we have analyzed in the article, we must continue waiting on Jehovah because that will May our faith and our hope grow and in this way it will be stronger.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

What hope did Paul talk about in Romans 5:2?

Of the 144,000 and has the hope of living in heaven reigning with Jesus Christ.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Paul spoke of the hope that God gives to those he considers adjustments, as a reward for enduring and being faithful.

Well, there it was commented that all Christians were going to go through difficulties, it was a reality as a result of those difficulties. Difficulties produce endurance and enduring ultimately ends in God's approval.

And in the end this approval from God ends up producing hope in us.

According to Romans 5:3, 4, what is the process that Christians go through?

Like Paul, we know that we will go through difficulties. This is a reality for all Christians, as expressed in the Bible. Since we begin to have faith in Jesus and follow him, we can face various difficult situations. This can lead to ridicule or mistreatment from friends or family, difficulties at work due to our determination to be honest in everything, opposition from the government for sharing our hope with others, among other things.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Yes, the question talks about a process and it is true, it is like entering a washing process in a washing machine, no one would like to go into a washing machine, you go back and forth, the tests rock us but it doesn't come out any cleaner, it is true that it is a A process that can be painful when one is in the test. The result, as we have seen, not only improves our qualities but also brings us closer to Jehovah.

But the process we go through is first that we are all going to have difficulties but if we endure them what we have is the approval of Jehovah and then our hope is strengthened and he says hope Paul does not disappoint what does it mean that Jehovah can be sure that he will fulfill that promise if we remain faithful. 

How has the hope you have now changed from the hope you had when you learned the truth?

Well, because now it is stronger, it is more real and it is also safer than what I evidently had or had when I was baptized.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

It has changed a lot because at first we thought it was too good to be true, but as time has passed and with our study of the Bible, as well as getting to know Jehovah more, our hope has become more real and stronger.

Our hope is more real and that makes us feel much better.

We can compare it to a tree when we started. We were a beautiful little tree determined to grow, but over time we nourish ourselves. We know many things. We know the experiences of brothers that Jehovah has been promising and fulfilling, and today we are also living among brothers who demonstrate faith. and an unbreakable hope, all of this nourishes us and makes us huge, leafy trees eager to move forward.

It has changed a lot because at first we thought it was too good to be true, but as time has passed and with our study of the Bible, as well as getting to know Jehovah more, our hope has become more real and stronger.