No Compromise!

11. Who have not compromised on the issue of sovereignty, and whose example do they follow?

¹¹ Do God’s devoted servants compromise on this issue of sovereignty? Far from it, as the Bible record clearly shows! (Daniel 3:28; 6:25-27; Hebrews 11:32-38; Revelation 2:2, 3, 13, 19) Loyal Christians today uphold Jehovah’s sovereignty and Kingdom despite all the cruel reproaches and persecutions that the bullying modern-day Goliath heaps upon them. Thus, they follow in the steps of Jesus, “the Son of David,” who boldly waged spiritual warfare in behalf of Jehovah’s sovereignty, while at the same time maintaining strict neutrality toward the world’s conflicts and politics. In prayer to his Father, Jesus stated that his followers, true Christians, are also “no part of the world.”​—Matthew 4:8-10, 17; 21:9; John 6:15; 17:14, 16; 18:36, 37; 1 Peter 2:21.

13. (a) How did Christendom’s clergy compromise during the oppression in Hitler’s Germany? (b) What did the book Mothers in the Fatherland report about the uncompromising Witnesses?

¹³ An outstanding modern example of bullying by Goliathlike political rulerships took place in Hitler’s Germany. The mainline religions, both Catholic and Protestant, compromised woefully in paying homage to Nazism, idolizing the führer, saluting his swastika flag, and blessing his troops as they sallied forth to slaughter their fellow believers in neighboring nations. So-called Christians of all faiths​—but not Jehovah’s Witnesses—​were caught up in the patriotic fervor. The book Mothers in the Fatherland reported: “[Jehovah’s Witnesses] were sent to concentration camps, a thousand of them were executed, and another thousand died between 1933 and 1945. . . . Catholics and Protestants heard their clergy urge them to cooperate with Hitler. If they resisted, they did so against orders from both church and state.” How bloodguilty both Church and State became!​—Jeremiah 2:34.b

14. Why are Jehovah’s Witnesses often persecuted?

¹⁴ To this day, cruel oppression of Jehovah’s Witnesses continues in many lands, just as Jesus foretold. But under all circumstances, these Christians zealously keep on preaching “this good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 24:9, 13, 14) The irony of the situation is that the Witnesses are recognized in most countries as honest, clean-living citizens, exemplary in upholding law and order. (Romans 13:1-7) Yet they are often persecuted. Why? Since worship belongs exclusively to Jehovah, they refrain from bowing to representations of the State or hailing them. (Deuteronomy 4:23, 24; 5:8-10; 6:13-15) Uncompromisingly, they worship Jehovah, “him alone,” making Jehovah the Sovereign Lord of their lives. (Matthew 4:8-10; Psalm 71:5; 73:28) Being “no part of the world,” they maintain Christian neutrality toward the world’s politics and wars.​—John 15:18-21; 16:33.

15, 16. (a) Whose example can Witnesses of all ages follow when the modern-day Goliath threatens them, and how was this illustrated by a six-year-old Christian girl? (b) Christian parents want to train their little ones to be like whom?

¹⁵ The modern-day Goliath often threatens these integrity keepers, who put the worship of Jehovah ahead of idolatrous practices. (Compare Revelation 13:16, 17.) But Witnesses, young and old, can follow David’s example by fearlessly answering the challenge. In a Latin-American land, a six-year-old Christian girl had received fine home training from infancy. (Compare Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:14, 15.) This had contributed to making her the brightest student in her class at school. But her Bible-trained conscience caused her to refrain from taking part in idolatrous class ceremonies. When she explained her stand, the teacher exclaimed that a girl of her age was too young to have a conscience! The six-year-old proved the teacher wrong by giving an impressive witness.