necessary steps to bring himself into an acceptable condition so that Jehovah will acknowledge his dedication and water baptism and deal with him. Therefore, let us turn to God’s Word and find what he wants of those who would please him.

“Fear the True God and Keep His Commandments”

1. What must one first have in order to meet the requirements set by God for those he favors?

BEFORE one can undertake any assignment in life and be successful one must know something about the requirements of the assignment. Basically, for one to bring oneself to the point of dedication of oneself to the doing of Jehovah’s will, one has to have an accurate knowledge of God’s Word and know what God requires of those whom he favors.

2. Why is recognition of a visible earthly channnel of Jehovah necessary for one seeking to serve God?

² For example, to be pleasing to Jehovah one has to recognize the earthly channel that God is using to dispense accurate knowledge to people of all the world. From the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden to this day there has been the producing of two seeds, Jehovah’s seed and the Devil’s seed. (Gen. 3:15) Therefore, just as God dealt with a certain people in the days before the flood, namely, Noah and his sons, and in the days thereafter with Abraham and his seed, so down to this day Jehovah is dealing with those whom he has approved to represent him upon the earth. A person recognizing who Jehovah God and his Son Jesus Christ are, and what the holy spirit represents, needs to appreciate also that Jehovah God has on this earth in this time a visible organization representing his interests. Jesus spoke of such a group as a “faithful and discreet slave.” (Matt. 24:45-47) Thus the person desiring to do Jehovah’s will must associate with the “slave” organization that is charged with the oversight of everything belonging to the Master, Christ Jesus. That person cannot feel that there are many roads leading to life, but must realize there is only one. If all religions were simply different roads leading to life everlasting and God’s favor, there would have been no need for Jesus to have organized his followers for the work he commissioned them to do. The Jewish teachings would have been sufficient. The Christian, then, realizes that broad and spacious is the road leading off to destruction, but narrow the gate and cramped the way leading off into life.—Matt. 7:13, 14.