Do
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that salvation comes by faith, or by works? It is a
very rare occasion when this question is posed to a non-JW (including those who
may have been a JW), that one will get the correct response. Rather than give my own
opinion on this issue, I am going to let the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
(WTBTS) provide the answer.
First,
from the book, Reasoning from the Scriptures (which is similar to a
Biblical topical guide), under the subject "Salvation":
Is anything more than faith needed in order to gain salvation?
Eph. 2:8, 9, RS: By grace ["undeserved kindness," NW] is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (The entire provision for salvation is an expression of God’s undeserved kindness. There is no way that a descendant of Adam can gain salvation on his own, no matter how noble his works are. Salvation is a gift from God given to those who put faith in the sin-atoning value of the sacrifice of his Son.)
Heb. 5:9, RS: “He [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Italics added.) (Does this conflict with the statement that Christians are “saved through faith”? Not at all. Obedience simply demonstrates that their faith is genuine.)
James 2:14, 26, RS: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.” (A person does not earn salvation by his works. But anyone who has genuine faith will have works to go with it—works of obedience to the commands of God and Christ, works that demonstrate his faith and love. Without such works, his faith is dead.)
Acts 16:30, 31 RS: “‘Men, what must I do to be saved?’ And they [Paul and Silas] said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” (If that man and his household truly believed, would they not act in harmony with their belief? Certainly.) [Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, 1989, p. 359 - full entry for the "Salvation" topic HERE]
Second, from the entry
"DECLARE RIGHTEOUS", in Insight on the Scriptures:
Finishing his earthly course free
from flaw in any sense of the word, Jesus was acknowledged by God as justified.
He was thus the only man, who through test, stood firmly and positively just,
or righeous before God on his own merit. By this "one act
of justification [form of di•kai'o•ma],"that is, by Jesus'
proving himself perfectly righteous his entire flawless course, including his
sacrifice, he provided the basis for declaring righteous those persons having
faith in Christ.—Rom. 5:17-19; 3:25, 26; 4:25. [Insight on the
Scriptures, 1988, vol. 1.604, 605 - full entry HERE]
The
third selection is from an extensive book published in 1973:
These sheeplike ones are not justified or declared righteous
on the basis of their own works any more than the 144,000 heirs of Christ are.
The prime thing that counted was the thing that was evidenced by their trying
to do what they could in behalf of Christ just as the situation afforded,
namely, their faith in him as the Messiah or Christ of God. They recognized
that they had no righteousness wholly pleasing to God in themselves. In harmony
with this they availed themselves of the propitiatory blood of the sacrificial
Lamb of god, Jesus Christ. (John 1:29, 36) To gain a righteous appearance before
Jehovah God, they did a washing, as it were, of their symbolic robes. [God's
Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, 1973, p. 274]
And
finally, in one of the few full length commentaries published by the WTBTS, we
read:
James attacks several
problems that had arisen in the congregations. One that caused much trouble was
the misunderstanding and misconstruing by some persons of the doctrine of the
free gift of righteousness through faith. (Rom. 5:15-17) These individuals
mistakenly claimed that a Christian, having faith, did not need works-that
faith had nothing to do with works. They overlooked the fact that true faith
would show itself in some form of action. They were thereby denying that Christ
"gave himself for us that he might deliver us from
every sort of lawlessness and cleanse for himself a people peculiarly his own,
zealous for fine works." (Titus 2:14) James was contending with
the idea held by some Christians that a purely intellectual faith was
sufficient for the Christian. This would ignore any need for faith to affect
the heart, and would deny that faith had power to move a person to make
changes in his personality and his life and to do things for others in positive
expression of that faith. They were, if they maintained this idea, becoming
like those of whom Paul speaks as having "a form of godly devotion but
proving false to its power."—2 Tim. 3:5.
It should not be
understood that James argued against the doctrine of righteousness "apart
from works of law," which teaching the apostle Paul clearly defines in
Romans chapters three and four. (Rom. 3:28) James' comments and
counsel on Christian conduct always rest on the basis of "the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ."(Jas. 2:1) James was not in any way saying that
works of themselves can bring salvation. We cannot properly devise a formula or
build a structure through which we can work out our salvation. The faith
must be there first. As James clearly emphasized, good works will come
spontaneously from the heart, with the right motive of helping people in love
and compassion. Jesus' life is an illustration of this. The law that the
Christian follows is "the law of a free people," not a law code like
the Mosaic law. (Jas. 2:12; Rom. 2:29; 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6) It is the divine law
that is written on the Christian's heart.—Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10. (Commentary
on the Letter of James, 1979, pp. 6, 7 - bold emphasis mine.)
A bit later, the book
relates the following:
Genesis 15:1-6 shows that
Abraham was declared righteous by faith when he believed God's promise to
make his seed like the stars of heaven for number, this at a time when
there was no tangible evidence that Abraham would have a child, since Sarah had
long been barren. Why, then, can James state that Abraham was "declared
righteous by works"? Because God later gave a pronouncement or verdict
of righteousness to Abraham as a result of or out of his works, when he
offered Isaac. By this act Abraham proved, demonstrated beyond question,
that his original faith in God and in his power had been, and still was,
genuine. He proved that his faith was a living faith, not a dead one. It was
not Abraham's works of themselves that brought righteousness to him, but his
works were a product of that genuine faith that he had, and God, by his
verdict, affirmed this fact. Abraham's willingness to obey God's command to
sacrifice his son was an outstanding point at which to make the pronouncement
of Genesis 22: 12. (Ibid., p. 85 - bold emphasis mine)
[PDF
copy of the entire book available online HERE]
I
do not feel any need to add commentary to the WTBTS's position on salvation by
faith. However, with that said, a very interesting event took place concerning
the publication of the above book—Commentary on the Letter of James—that I would like to
chronicle, for some folk are of the opinion that it has pertinence to the WTBTS's position on
salvation by faith.
Note
the following from Raymond Franz—a former member of the Governing Body:
It had been very difficult to get the Governing
Body as a whole to agree to the Writing Department’s recommendation for the
preparation of a Bible commentary, not just on the letter of James but any commentary.
For some reason certain members seemed to view it as a risky undertaking, and
voiced strong reservations or negative feelings toward the project. Though
eventually approved, published and included in the study program of the
organization for a period, this commentary (the only actual Bible commentary
the organization ever produced) has since been allowed to go out of print.
Something that helps explain why is a decision made with reference to the book
in one of the Governing Body sessions.
In the paragraph that follows the points quoted
earlier, the book as originally written went on to state:
As James shows, no
Christian should judge his brother or set up human standards that he must
follow, though he may encourage a brother and incite him to fine works: and he
may even reprove his brother where there is definite Scriptural reason and
Scriptural proof for what he says.(Jas. 4:11, 12; Gal. 6:1; Heb. 10:24) When
the right works are performed they must be carried out at the direction of
conscience. The real Christian will not do things by rote, and he does not need
a detailed code of rules. Neither does he carry out his good works because of
pressure from others. The apostle Paul points out these facts at Romans chapter
14. So if a person has a genuine, living faith, the works will reasonably
follow. They will be good works that God will reward, because they are
performed out of heart devotion. However, one who tries to gain righteousness
through a minutely defined structure of "dos" and "don'ts"
will fail. Such "righteousness" is of men and not of God. [Original
paragraph - typed from photocopy provided by Raymond Franz]
This is a photocopy of the way this paragraph (of
page 7) was originally approved by the Writing Committee of the Governing Body,
sent to the Watch Tower’s Brooklyn printing plant, and actually printed up in
hundreds of thousands of copies. Yet outside of the Governing Body members and
a few other persons, no Witness has seen this wording nor will he find it in
the copy of the commentary he possesses. The reason is that due to opposition
of certain Governing Body members the paragraph was rewritten and the hundreds
of thousands of copies already printed were destroyed—not just hundreds of
thousands of individual pages but of sections of 32 pages each. Why? The points they objected to, and ultimately
changed, are significant in what they reveal as to the thinking of the men
themselves.
Consider this same paragraph as it appears in the
commentary as finally published and distributed:
As James shows, no
Christian should judge his brother or set up human standards for gaining
salvation, though he may encourage a brother and incite him to fine works; and
he may even reprove his brother where there is definite Scriptural reason and
Scriptural proof for what he says. (Jas. 4:11, 12; Gal. 6:1; Heb. 10:24) When
the right works are performed they must be carried out in response to direction
from God's Word. The real Christian will not do things by rote, and he does not
need a detailed code of rules. Neither does he carry out his good works just to
please men. So if a person has a genuine, living faith, fine works will
reasonably follow, including preaching and teaching the good news of the
Kingdom. (Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20) They will be good works that God will reward,
because they are performed out of heart devotion. However, one who tries to gain
righteousness through a minutely defined structure of "dos" and
"don'ts" will fail. Such "righteousness" is of men and not
of God. (In Search of Christian Freedom,
Second Edition, 2007, pp. 181-183.)
Though the event related
above is an interesting, historical fact, I do not believe that it should alter
one's understanding of the WTBTS's position on salvation by faith. Have I
perhaps missed something?
Grace and peace,
David
ADDENDUM (06-14-18): Yesterday, I
reread a book I had not opened for more than thirty years. I quickly discovered
that a good number of pages were germane to this thread. Note the following
excerpts:
United
in Worship of the Only True God
(1983)
How
Can We Show Our Faith in Christ?
9
After pointing out to the Jewish high court in Jerusalem how prophecy had been
fulfilled in Jesus, the apostle Peter forcefully concluded: “There is no
salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has
been given among men by which we must get saved.” (Acts 4:11, 12; Ps. 118:22)
All Adam’s offspring are sinners, so their death comes as the condemnation for
sin and holds no merit that can be applied as a ransom for anyone. But Jesus
was perfect, and the laying down of his life has sacrificial value. (Ps.
49:6-9; Heb. 2:9) He offered to God a ransom that exactly corresponded in value
with what Adam had lost for his descendants. How has this benefited us?—1 Tim.
2:5, 6.
10
It has made possible our having a clean conscience because of forgiveness of
sin—something far more than was ever achieved for Israel by the animal
sacrifices under the Mosaic Law. (Acts 13:38, 39; Heb. 9:13, 14) Having this,
of course, requires that we be honest with ourselves and that we have genuine
faith in Jesus Christ. Do we personally appreciate how much we need Christ’s
sacrifice? “If we make the statement: ‘We have no sin,’ we are misleading
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:8, 9.
11
Of course, some who say that they know they are sinners and who profess to
believe in Christ, who even share to some extent in telling others about God’s
Kingdom as Jesus did, nevertheless stop short of full faith in Jesus. In what
way? Well, as shown in the Bible, when persons in the first century truly
became believers, how did they publicly demonstrate that? They got baptized.
Why? Because Jesus had commanded that disciples be baptized. (Matt. 28:19, 20;
Acts 8:12; 18:8) When a person’s heart is really moved by the loving provision
that Jehovah made through Jesus Christ, he will not hold back. He will make any
needed adjustments in his life, dedicate himself to God and symbolize this by
water immersion. As the Bible shows, it is by demonstrating faith in this way
that he makes ‘request to God for a good conscience.’—1 Pet. 3:21.
12
Even after that, of course, sinful traits will show themselves. What then? “I
am writing you these things that you may not commit a sin,” said the apostle
John. So we should not lightly pass off sin in ourselves, whether manifest in
action, speech or attitude. “And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a
helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. And he is a propitiatory
sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.”
(1 John 2:1, 2) Does that mean that, no matter what we do, if we pray to
God, ‘Forgive us our sins,’ everything will be all right? No. The key to
forgiveness is genuine repentance. Help may also be needed from elders in the
Christian congregation. We must recognize the wrongness of what was done and
feel sincere regret over it so that we will make an earnest effort to avoid
repeating it. (Acts 3:19; Jas. 5:13-16) If we do this, we can be assured of
Jesus’ help. On the basis of our faith in the sin-atoning value of his
sacrifice, restoration to Jehovah’s favor is possible, and this is vital if our
worship is to be acceptable to him.
13
Jesus’ sacrifice has also opened to us the opportunity for eternal life—in the
heavens for a “little flock,” and on a Paradise earth for billions more of
mankind. (Luke 12:32; Rev. 20:11, 12; 21:3, 4) This is not a reward that we
earn. No matter how much we do in Jehovah’s service, we can never build up such
merit that God will owe us life. Eternal life is “the gift God gives
. . . by Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-10)
Nevertheless, if we have faith in that gift and appreciation for the manner in
which it was made possible, we will make this manifest. Discerning how
marvelously Jehovah has used Jesus in accomplishing His will and how vital it
is that all of us follow Jesus’ steps closely, we will make the Christian
ministry one of the most important things in our life. Our faith will be
evident from the conviction with which we tell others about this magnificent
gift of God.—Compare Acts 20:24.
14
What a fine, unifying effect such faith has! By means of it we are drawn close
to Jehovah, to his Son and to one another within the Christian congregation.
(1 John 3:23, 24) It causes us to rejoice that Jehovah has kindly given to
his Son “the name that is above every other name [except God’s name], so that
in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on
earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”—Phil. 2:9-11. (pp. 33-37)
Where
Freedom Can Be Found
6
In view of conditions today, it is no surprise that people long for greater
freedom than what they have. But where can real freedom be found? Jesus Christ
said: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32) This freedom is
not the limited kind that men hope for when they reject one political ruler or
form of government in favor of another. Instead, it gets right to the core of
human problems. What Jesus was discussing was freedom from sin, slavish bondage
to sin. (See John 8:24, 34-36.) Thus if a person becomes a true disciple of
Jesus Christ, this results in a notable change in his life, a liberation.
7
That does not mean that at present true Christians no longer feel the effects
of the inborn tendency toward sinful conduct. On the contrary, they have a
struggle because of it. (Rom. 7:21-25) But if a person really lives in harmony
with Jesus’ teachings, he will no longer be an abject slave to sin. Sin will no
longer be to him like a king that gives orders that he obeys. He will no longer
be trapped in a way of life that lacks purpose and that leaves him with a
disturbed conscience. He will enjoy a clean conscience before God because past
sins have been forgiven on the basis of his faith in the sacrifice of Christ.
Sinful inclinations may try to assert themselves, but when he refuses to act on
them because he calls to mind the clean teachings of Christ he will show that
sin is not his master.—Rom. 6:12-17.
8
As Christians we enjoy great freedom. We have been liberated from the effects
of false teachings, from bondage to superstition and servitude to sin. The
grand truths about the condition of the dead and the resurrection have freed us
from the unreasoning fear of violent death that causes men to suppress their
conscience. Knowledge that imperfect human governments will be replaced by
God’s righteous Kingdom frees us from hopelessness. But such freedom does not
justify disregard for law or disrespect for governmental officials on the
premise that soon the old system will be gone.—1 Pet. 2:16, 17; Titus 3:1,
2.
9
Jehovah does not leave us to figure out by trial and error which is the best
way to live. He knows how we are made, what will bring us genuine contentment
and a feeling of personal dignity, and what will be most lastingly beneficial
for us. He also knows his own time schedule for carrying out his purpose and,
therefore, the activities in which it is most worth while for us to engage. He
likewise is aware of thoughts and conduct that can degrade a person or spoil
his relations with others, even bar him from the blessings of God’s Kingdom.
Lovingly he informs us of these things through the Bible and by means of his
visible organization. (Gal. 5:19-23; Mark 13:10; compare 1 Timothy 1:12,
13.) Then it is up to us, using our God-given free will, to decide how we are
going to respond. If we have taken to heart what the Bible tells us about how
Adam lost the freedom given to mankind at the start, we will make those
decisions wisely. We will show that a good relationship with Jehovah is our
main concern in life. (pp. 40-42)
9
Even if severely put to the test, those who truly know Jehovah do not turn away
from him. Satan charged that if Job lost his possessions or was physically
abused, even this one of whom Jehovah spoke highly would desert God. But Job
proved the Devil a liar, and he did it even though he did not know what
accounted for all the calamity that was engulfing him. (Job 2:3, 9, 10) Still
trying to prove his point, Satan later caused an infuriated king of Babylon to
threaten three young Hebrews with death in a fiery furnace if they did not bow
in worship before an image set up by the king. Forced to choose between the
command of the king and Jehovah’s law against idolatry, they firmly made it
known that they served Jehovah and that he was their Supreme Sovereign. More
precious to them than life was faithfulness to God.—Dan. 3:14-18.
10
Are we to conclude from this that to be loyal to Jehovah a person has to be
perfect, that one who makes a mistake has completely failed? By no means! The
Bible specifically tells us about times when Moses fell short. Jehovah was
displeased, but he did not reject Moses. The apostles, though exemplary in many
respects, had their weaknesses. Loyalty requires consistent obedience from the
heart. But, taking into account our inheritance of imperfection, Jehovah is
pleased if we do not deliberately ignore his will in any respect. If,
because of weakness, we become involved in wrongdoing, it is important that we
be sincerely repentant and so not make a practice of it. Thus we demonstrate
that we truly do love what Jehovah says is good and hate what he shows to be
bad. On the basis of our faith in the sin-atoning value of Jesus’ sacrifice, we
can enjoy a clean standing before God.—Amos 5:15; Acts 3:19; Heb. 9:14. (pp.
51, 52)
Equipped
to Be Conquerors
13
Before Jesus’ death he said to his apostles: “Take courage! I have conquered
the world.” So, too, they could be conquerors; and over 60 years later the
apostle John wrote: “Who is the one that conquers the world but he who has
faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” (John 16:33; 1 John 5:5) Such faith
is shown by our obeying Jesus’ commands and relying on God’s Word, even as he
did. What else is required? That we stay close to the congregation of which he
is the head. When we fall short, we must earnestly repent and seek God’s
forgiveness on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice. In this way, despite our
imperfections, we too can be conquerors. (pp. 67, 68)
6
The description of the “great crowd” as found at Revelation 7:9-15 adds further
important details. In telling us how those of the “great crowd” appear after
the “great tribulation,” the Scriptures also draw attention to factors that led
to their being preserved.
7
Though they come from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, they are shown
unitedly “standing before the throne,” giving recognition to Jehovah, the One
seated on the throne, as the Universal Sovereign. They have proved by their way
of life that they are loyal upholders of his rulership. The fact that they have
“washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” indicates
that they have recognized their need of the sin-atoning merit of Jesus’
sacrifice as the Lamb of God. (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2) In faith they have
dedicated themselves to God on the basis of that sacrifice, have symbolized
this by water immersion and now enjoy a clean standing before God, as pictured
by their white robes. They have not held back from publicly making known their
faith in God’s Son. (Matt. 10:32, 33) Consistent with all of this, they are
shown as being in God’s temple, or universal house of worship, as worshipers
who render to God “sacred service day and night.” Thus they have made a record
as loyal supporters of true worship and proclaimers of his Kingdom.—Isa. 2:2,
3. (pp. 106, 107)
Why
the Law?
3
How we view the Law today is affected by whether we understand why Jehovah gave
Israel a Law code. The Scriptures explain: “It was added [to the Abrahamic
covenant] to make transgressions manifest, until the seed should arrive to whom
the promise had been made . . . Consequently the Law has become our
tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith.”
(Gal. 3:19, 24) How did the Law do this?
4
By setting out a perfect pattern covering the various facets of life, it showed
up the Jews as sinners. It became evident that, despite any good intentions and
diligent efforts, they could not measure up to its requirements. Using the Jews
as a sample of the imperfect human family, the Law exposed all the world,
including each one of us, as sinners, liable to God for punishment. (Rom. 3:19,
20) Thus it emphasized the need for a savior for mankind, and it led faithful
ones to Jesus Christ as that Savior. In what way? It identified him as the only
one who kept the Law perfectly, thus the only human who was sinless. Animal
sacrifices under the Law had only limited value, but as a perfect human, Jesus
could offer his life as a sacrifice that would really remove sin and open the
way to eternal life for all those exercising faith.—John 1:29; 3:16;
1 Pet. 1:18, 19. (p. 147)
Jehovah
Unifies His People
6
To Christians in Ephesus the apostle Paul wrote about Jehovah’s program for
unifying his people—God’s arrangement whereby those who exercise faith can
become beloved members of His household, saying: “[God] made known to us the
sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he
purposed in himself for an administration [household management] at the full
limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in
the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.” (Eph. 1:9,
10) This “administration” centers around Jesus Christ. Through him, humans are
brought into an approved condition before God—some with the prospect of being
in heaven; others, on earth—to serve in unity with the angelic sons of God who
have proved loyal to Jehovah.
7
First, starting with Pentecost of 33 C.E., attention was given to “the
things in the heavens,” that is, those who would be joint heirs with Christ in
the heavenly Kingdom. On the basis of their faith in the value of Jesus’
sacrifice, they were declared righteous by God. (Rom. 5:1, 2) Then they were
“born again,” or brought forth as sons of God with the prospect of heavenly
life. (John 3:3; 1:12, 13) With these as a spiritual nation God made the new
covenant. In time, both Jews and Gentiles were to be included, and these would
total 144,000.—Gal. 3:26-29; Rev. 14:1.
8
Though still imperfect in the flesh, the remnant of such heirs of the heavenly
Kingdom enjoy a precious and intimate relationship with the Father. Concerning
this, Paul wrote: “Now because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of
his Son into our hearts and it cries out: ‘Abba, Father!’ So, then, you
are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, also an heir through God.” (Gal.
4:6, 7) That Aramaic expression “Abba” means “father,” but it is an
endearing form of address—the kind used by a young child for his father.
Because of the superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s own undeserved
kindness, these spirit-anointed Christians enjoy a relationship with God that
is more intimate than any that was possible for imperfect humans under the Law.
However, what lies ahead for them is even more wonderful.
9
If they prove faithful until death, they receive the full realization of their
sonship by being resurrected to immortal life in the heavens. There they will
be privileged to serve unitedly in the very presence of Jehovah God. Only a
relatively small number of these sons of God are still on earth.—Rom. 8:14, 23;
1 John 3:1, 2.
Gathering
“the Things on the Earth”
10
The same “administration” that makes it possible for humans to be gathered into
God’s household with heavenly life in view also directs attention to “the
things on the earth.” Particularly since 1935 C.E. have persons with faith
in the sacrifice of Christ been gathered with the prospect of eternal life on
earth. Shoulder to shoulder with the remaining ones of the anointed class, they
magnify the name of Jehovah and exalt his worship. (Zeph. 3:9; Isa. 2:2, 3)
With deep respect these, too, address Jehovah as “Father,” recognizing him as
the Source of life, and they earnestly endeavor to reflect his qualities as he
expects his sons to do. They enjoy an approved standing before him on the basis
of their faith in Jesus’ shed blood. (Matt. 6:9; Rev. 7:9, 14) But they know
that the joy of being fully acknowledged by God as his children is yet in the future
for them.
11
As shown at Romans 8:19-21, they are eagerly waiting for the “revealing of the
sons of God,” because then the time will come for these of the human creation
to be “set free from enslavement to corruption.” That “revealing” will take
place when humans here on earth see evidence that the spirit-anointed sons of
God who have attained their heavenly reward have gone into action as associates
of their glorified Lord, Jesus Christ. This will be manifest in the destruction
of the entire wicked system of things, to be followed by the blessings of the
Thousand Year Reign of Christ in which these “sons of God” will share with him
as kings and priests.—Rev. 2:26, 27; 20:6.
12
How exhilarating it will be when the great tribulation is past and those sons
of God who have been united with Christ join their voices in praise to God,
joyously proclaiming: “Great and wonderful are your works, Jehovah God, the
Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways, King of eternity. Who will not
really fear you, Jehovah, and glorify your name, because you alone are loyal?
For all the nations will come and worship before you, because your righteous
decrees have been made manifest”! (Rev. 15:3, 4) Yes, all mankind, made up of
persons out of all the former nations, will unite in worship of the true God.
Even those in the memorial tombs will be resurrected and be given opportunity
to join their voices in praise to Jehovah.
13
No longer will Satan the Devil be the “god of this system of things.” No longer
will worshipers of Jehovah here on earth have to contend with his vile
influence. (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 20:1-3) No longer will false religion
misrepresent our loving God and serve as a divisive influence in human society.
No longer will servants of the true God experience injustice and exploitation
at the hands of men in governmental office. What marvelous freedom that will
signify for survivors of the great tribulation!
14
As the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” Jesus Christ will
make application of the value of his sacrifice so as to cancel out all the past
sins of mankind. (John 1:29) On earth, when Jesus pronounced a person’s sins
forgiven, he also healed the forgiven one as proof of it. (Matt. 9:1-7) In like
manner, from heaven he will miraculously heal the blind, the deaf, the
speechless, those physically maimed, the mentally afflicted and those with any
other sickness. Gradually, through faithful molding of themselves to God’s
righteous ways, all willing and obedient ones will get “sin’s law” completely
nullified in themselves so that all their actions, their thoughts and the
desires of their hearts will be pleasing both to themselves and to God. (Rom.
7:21-23; compare Isaiah 25:7, 8 and Revelation 21:3, 4.) Before the end of the
Millennium, they will have been aided to full human perfection. They will be
completely freed from sin and all its grievous effects. They will properly
reflect ‘God’s image and likeness’ in the midst of an earthly Paradise that
embraces the entire globe.—Gen. 1:26.
15
When Christ has brought mankind to perfection, he will then return to the
Father the authority that was conferred upon him for this work. As foretold at
1 Corinthians 15:28: “When all things will have been subjected to him [the
Son], then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected
all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.”
16
Now perfected mankind will be given the opportunity to demonstrate that their
unchangeable choice is to serve the only living and true God forever. Hence,
before adopting them as his sons through Jesus Christ, Jehovah will subject all
those perfected humans to a thorough, final test. Satan and his demons will be
loosed from the abyss. This will result in no lasting harm to those who truly
love Jehovah. But any who disloyally allow themselves to be led into
disobedience to Jehovah will be forever destroyed along with the original rebel
and his demons.—Rev. 20:7-10.
17
Jehovah will now lovingly adopt as his sons through Christ all the perfected
humans who withstand that final, decisive test. They will then share to the
full in the “glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:21) They will at
last become a part of God’s united, universal family, to all of whom Jehovah
will forever be the only God, the Universal Sovereign, and their loving Father.
Then all of Jehovah’s intelligent creation, in heaven and on earth, will once
again be united in worship of the only true God. (pp. 186-191)
