LOYALTY UNDER PRESSURE

21. In what way do many Christian youths show loyalty to God’s Word in school even when under pressure?

²¹ Loyalty or the lack of it becomes particularly manifest when a person is faced with hardship or put under pressure. And that is something that is experienced by everyone who walks in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. (2 Tim. 3:12) It is not difficult to speak in agreement with God’s Word when in the company of those who agree with you. But what do you do when confronted with those who belittle the Scriptures? If you are attending school, for example, what happens when teachers or students make disparaging remarks about the Bible record? Do you demonstrate your loyalty to God’s Word? In all parts of the earth there are Christian youths who do so, seizing these opportunities to speak out in behalf of the truth. Sometimes this brings ridicule from classmates. (1 Pet. 2:19, 20) In other cases it has opened the way to explain at length the reasons for one’s beliefs, resulting in a fine witness concerning Jehovah and his purposes.

22. How did three Hebrew youths in ancient Babylon demonstrate their loyalty to Jehovah and his law?

²² Loyal servants of Jehovah at all times have stood firm in their devotion to him. Hebrew youths in ancient Babylon were put under pressure to violate Jehovah’s law against idolatry. Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the empire, became enraged at the report that they had not obeyed his imperial edict to bow before the towering image that he had set up. It was not that the king refused to recognize the religion of the Jews at all. (Dan. 2:46-49) But pride now impaired his reason. He demanded that these young men conform to his decree. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not disrespectful to the king, but they knew Jehovah’s law forbidding the worship of images. They recognized Jehovah as the Supreme Sovereign, so it was to him that they owed loyalty. They showed their loyalty by faithfulness to God’s law even when the king of Babylon threatened them with death.​—Dan. 3:13-24.

23, 24. How do Jehovah’s witnesses today prove their loyalty to Jehovah in the face of demands of human governments?

²³ The apostles of Jesus Christ were faced with a similar test of loyalty. Haled before the high court in Jerusalem, they were ordered to quit preaching in the name of Jesus. They were not told that they could not read the Scriptures at all, or that they could not talk about these to others. But there was this one matter that the officials found to be offensive. (Acts 4:15-18) Similarly, in some lands today government officials tell Jehovah’s witnesses that they have no objection to their reading the Bible or discussing it among themselves, but they do not like to have them preaching that “it is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Matt. 4:10) They do not want them to be telling people, as Jesus did, that true Christians are “no part of the world.” (John 17:14) They want their people to be involved in the affairs of the world and to be willing to demonstrate their devotion to the State by prescribed acts of devotion.

²⁴ What should Jehovah’s witnesses do when governments make such demands upon them? Would it be right for them to hide portions of the Bible from public view, in order to please worldly rulers? What would you do? Peter and John, apostles of Jesus Christ, showed the loyal thing to do, when they said to the Jewish court: “Whether it is righteous in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” And when brought before the court a second time, the apostles again made their position clear: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”​—Acts 4:19, 20; 5:29.

29, 30. What does one’s heart attitude on morals have to do with one’s loyalty toward Jehovah?

²⁹ Loyalty involves the heart, and the heart represents what a person is deep inside. (Luke 5:22) Jehovah observes, not only what we appear to be on the outside, but also what our hearts are. “Every way of a man is upright in his own eyes, but Jehovah is making an estimate of hearts.”​—Prov. 21:2.

³⁰ When God makes an estimate of your heart, what does he find? Is it a good condition? (Isa. 65:14) Does he find a heart that has treasured up his sayings and that takes delight in his law? (Ps. 119:11, 97) Does he find that genuinely, deep down inside, you view immoral conduct in the same way that he does? Do you truly hate what is bad? That is what the Bible psalmist urges us to do, saying: “O you lovers of Jehovah, hate what is bad. He is guarding the souls of his loyal ones.” (Ps. 97:10) If we heed that counsel, it gives evidence of loyalty on our part, and we can be assured that our souls will be precious in the eyes of Jehovah.

TAKING YOUR STAND WITH JEHOVAH’S LOYAL ONES

31. If a person truly believes what the Bible says, how will this be manifest?

³¹ Now is the time to make one’s position in relation to Jehovah God and his Word unmistakably clear. Do you really believe what God says in his Word the Bible? If so, your speech will reflect it. Your conduct will show it. It will also be evident in your choice of associates. You will make it a point to act in harmony with Psalm 149:1, which says: “Praise Jah, you people! Sing to Jehovah a new song, his praise in the congregation of loyal ones.”

34. How have hundreds of thousands of persons earth wide demonstrated their desire to prove loyal to Jehovah and his Word?

³⁴ If you do not agree with their position it is vital to show it. And there are hundreds of thousands of persons in all parts of the earth who have done just that. They want no part with any religious organization that is disloyal to Jehovah God and his Word the Bible. (2 Cor. 6:14-17; Rev. 18:4) For that reason they have quit the churches, but they have not stopped worshiping God. They regularly gather for worship in the more than 25,000 congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses earth wide. They believe what the Bible says. They uphold its moral standards. In almost any community they can be seen each week calling at the homes of their neighbors to encourage them to look into the Bible. They are glad to present to any sincere person the overwhelming evidence that the Bible truly is the Word of God. And, more than that, they gladly offer a free home Bible-study service to help such persons to get an accurate knowledge of God’s Word so that they can live in harmony with it.