| To become a friend of God, you must obtain a good knowledge of Bible truth (1 Timothy 2:3, 4), put faith in the things you have learned (Hebrews 11:6), repent of your sins (Acts 17:30, 31), and turn around in your course of life. (Acts 3:19) Then your love for God should move you to dedicate yourself to him. This means that in a personal, private prayer you tell him that you are giving yourself to him to do his will. (Matthew 16:24; 22:37) |
1 Timothy 2:3, 4 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Acts 17:30, 31 "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord... Matthew 16:24; 22:37 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." ... Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" |
To become a friend of God, you must obtain a good knowledge of the Bible truth... Note that the scripture reference states, This...pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. This knowledge is the fact that "there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men."(vv5-6) This is all the knowledge a person needs, because it is the simplest truth - we must trust in Jesus for our salvation. No other knowledge or acts are necessary. ...turn around in your course of life... The scripture says, turn to God. A simple change in lifestyle is not enough. Then ... dedicate yourself to him. Why then? Why is this the last thing on the list? None of the other acts are possible until after you have turned to God. This means that in a personal, private prayer you tell him that you are giving yourself to him to do his will. There is no mention of such a personal, private prayer in the scripture reference (nor that I can think of in the Bible). Also, "the telling is not the doing." As stated, without faith it is impossible to please God. Any promises we try to make are given over to our sinful nature. We cannot keep our promises. All we can do is keep turning back after every mistake and repenting anew. Finally, a note on bartering. Bartering with God is what happens when we say we’ll do something for Him in return for His doing something for us. When you dedicate yourself to him, are you truly expressing your love for Him and your desire to be faithful to Him, or are you saying, "I’ll try to do what’s right if You promise to save me"? |
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After you have made your dedication to God, you should be baptized. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Baptism lets everyone know that you have dedicated yourself to Jehovah. So baptism is only for those who are old enough to make a decision to serve God. When a person is baptized, his whole body should be put under the water momentarily.* (Mark 1:9, 10; Acts 8:36) * A study of Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, or similar book published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, is recommended in preparation for baptism. |
Matthew 28:19, 20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Mark 1:9, 10 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Acts 8:36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" |
Baptism lets everyone know that you have dedicated yourself to Jehovah. So this is the point of Baptism? Again, an outward sign to others? So baptism is only for those who are old enough to make a decision to serve God. If the above statement is true (Baptism lets everyone know...), then this statement is also true. Many Christian denominations use the sign of Baptism when a child is born, not as a sign that the child has dedicated himself to God, but as a sign that God can save the child. Even in the scripture (Mark 1), God provided His own sign at the time of Baptism. Jesus did not make any statements at that moment, but God did. When a person is baptized, his whole body should be put under the water momentarily. The scripture never says this. |
| After you have made a dedication, Jehovah will expect you to live up to your promise. (Psalm 50:14; Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5) The Devil will try to stop you from serving Jehovah. (1 Peter 5:8) But draw close to God in prayer. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Study his Word each day. (Psalm 1:1-3) Stick close to the congregation. (Hebrews 13:17) By doing all of this, you will gain the strength to stay faithful to God. For all eternity you thus can do the things that God requires of you! |
Psalm 50:14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High... Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Philippians 4:6, 7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. |
After you have made a dedication, Jehovah will expect you to live up to your promise. This again brings up the idea of bartering: I can earn my salvation by making a deal with God. And again, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God the Father, the Just, does demand our perfection, but we are unable to offer it to Him. However, the Father has turned over the act of Judgement to the Son, who has atoned for our sins and justified us. When we break our promises, or when we sin, we must repent in order for Jesus to atone for them. Striving to be sin-free is a good thing, but expecting such behavior to be the road to salvation is erroneous. This point also implies that God is more concerned about our behavior than the intentions behind the behavior. Anyone can try to "be good", but all the "being good" in the world is still not good enough to save us. What God wants is for us to try to be close to Him. He wants to be close to us. The more we align ourselves with God’s thoughts, the closer to Him we will be. The key, though, is the closeness - the yearning for God - not the quality or quantity of the works. By doing all of this, you will gain the strength to stay faithful to God. Our strength does not come from ourselves, but from God. (Exodus 15:2; 2 Samuel 22:33; 1 Chronicles 16:11, 16:28; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 18:1, 28:7, 29:11, 33:16, 46:1, 73:26, 84:5, 105:4, 118:14, 119:28; Isaiah 12:2, 40:31, 41:10; Habakkuk 3:19; 1 Corinthians 1:8,25; Ephesians 3:16, 6:10; Philippians 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:17; Hebrews 12:12; 1 Peter 4:11, 5:10 ... just to name a few of the applicable passages.) For all eternity you thus can do the things that God requires of you! Only through the intervention of Jesus can we do what God requires. Only when He has given us new bodies and made a new earth will we be in a position where we can actually do the things we ought to do. And, even then, it will not be by our own power, but by the fact that we are in the presence of God. |
