• The Meaning of Your Baptism
    United in Worship of the Only True God

    • Living Up to Our Responsibilities

      12. Why is one’s getting baptized not in itself a guarantee of salvation?

      12 It would be a mistake to conclude that being baptized is in itself a guarantee of salvation. It has value only if a person truly has dedicated himself to Jehovah through Jesus Christ and thereafter carries out God’s will, faithful to the end.​—Matt. 24:13.

      13. (a) What is God’s will as to the way that baptized Christians use their lives? (b) How important should Christian discipleship be in our lives?

      13 God’s will for Jesus included how he used his life as a human. It was to be laid down in death as a sacrifice. In our case our bodies are to be presented to God, to carry on a self-sacrificing life. They are to be used exclusively in the doing of God’s will. (Rom. 12:1, 2) Certainly we would not be doing that if, even occasionally, we deliberately conducted ourselves like the world around us or if we built our lives around selfish pursuits while giving only token service to God. (1 Pet. 4:1-3; 1 John 2:15-17) When a certain Jew asked what he must do to get everlasting life, Jesus reminded him of the importance of living a morally clean life, and then he pointed out the need to make Christian discipleship, being a follower of Jesus, the primary thing in life. It could not take second place to material pursuits.​—Matt. 19:16-21.

      14. (a) What responsibility in connection with the Kingdom do all Christians have? (b) As illustrated on page 101, what are some effective ways in which to do this work? (c) If we truly share in such activity wholeheartedly, of what does that give evidence?

      14 It should also be remembered that God’s will for Jesus included vital activity in connection with the Kingdom. Jesus was himself anointed to be King. But while on earth he was also a zealous witness concerning the Kingdom. We have a similar witnessing work to do and we have every reason to engage in it wholeheartedly. By so doing we demonstrate our appreciation for Jehovah’s sovereignty and our love for fellow humans. Also we show that we are united with fellow worshipers worldwide, all of whom are Kingdom witnesses, in pressing on toward the goal of everlasting life in the realm of that Kingdom.