The Watchtower — March 1, 1952

Keeping the Organization Clean

“Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?”—2 Cor. 6:14, NW.

1. Why is Jehovah interested in keeping his organization clean, and what does he want its members to be?

JEHOVAH is very much interested in keeping his organization clean and separate from this evil, wicked world in which we are now living. He has a reason for this. His servants belong to him, they stand for his name, they stand for his Word, and they stand for clean worship. Jehovah God wants them to be imitators of him. That is why he inspired his servant Paul to write in Ephesians 5:1, 2 (NW), “Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love, just as the Christ also loved you and delivered himself up for you as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling odor.”

2. (a) Whom did Jesus imitate and thus how did he himself set a pattern for imitation? (b) Through such imitation, in what way would his followers differ from the world?

² Now when Christ Jesus was on earth he imitated his heavenly Father. What he was interested in was doing his Father’s will at all times. And so he was a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor to Him. His footstep followers must be people of the same kind. They should offer to God sacrifices of sweet-smelling savor, and they can do this by imitating God, by imitating Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:18; 1 Pet. 2:5) Jesus showed love for his people. He laid down his life so that he might redeem them, and in showing his love for his people he wanted his followers to be different from this old world. He wanted them to come out from this decaying system of things and gain life. The old world is wicked. It is not imitating Jehovah God. God’s people must be different, different from this old world. The difference comes in their way of living, and that has to do with our love one toward another. In John 13:34 (NW), Jesus said, “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This loving one another is so different from the way the world operates. The world operates on selfishness, hatred. Jesus introduced something entirely new, new to this world. It was a principle of love: people coming together in a congregation, loving one another, getting along with one another. This love is possible if we imitate God. If we do not imitate him, we are not going to have this love, because God is love.

3. On what basis is the congregation built up, and so what would be the general reason for disfellowshiping anyone?

³ We might wonder, then, since this congregation which God is developing or bringing into existence is based on love, why anyone should ever want to talk about disfellowshiping or putting people out of this congregation. There certainly must be some reason. Well, the reason for disfellowshiping is that some persons get into this congregation of God that do not love Christ. “Well, everyone, of course, loves Christ,” you say. But that is really a fact: they no longer are imitators of Christ or imitators of the Father, Jehovah God. They no longer walk in Christ’s footsteps. The whole purpose of bringing his servants, his people, into an organization is to keep them clean from the Devil’s organization. As long as we walk in the way of the Devil’s crowd we cannot remain clean. So God has built his own organization. There are two organizations in the world today. One is God’s and the other belongs to the Devil, who is the “god of this system of things”. So the organization that Jehovah God is now building up for the vindication of his name and word is built up on love. This whole organization works together in unity. And thus we read at Ephesians 4:16 (NW): “From him all the body, by being harmoniously joined together and being made to cooperate through every joint which gives what is needed, according to the functioning of each respective member in due measure, makes for the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” There is your basis, love. Hence when one gets away from that principle of love and devotion one toward another in this congregation, it is time for that individual to be put out of the congregation.

MISBEHAVIOR

4, 5. In this connection, with whom does the wrong lie, and why must there be a cutting of someone off from the Christian body?

⁴ The reason for disfellowshiping people is that of their wrongdoing. The congregation is not wrong, for that is God’s. But it is someone in the congregation now who is not imitating God or following out his principles of truth and righteousness. He is not being built up in love. He is no longer imitating Jehovah, or the Son, or the apostles. Therefore we are advised at 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 7, 11 (NW): “Now we are giving you orders, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition you received from us. For you yourselves know the way you ought to imitate us, because we did not behave disorderly among you. For we hear certain ones are walking disorderly among you, not working at all but meddling with what does not concern them.”

⁵ Here Paul is pointing out that he, the apostle, when he walked among them, was not disorderly, so it was not his misbehavior that was sending any of them in the wrong direction. Jehovah God does not misbehave. Christ Jesus does not misbehave. We have perfect examples to follow. We have good words of counsel from them that we can heed. So then, if this body becomes disorderly, or any part of the body becomes disorderly, it would mean that the body would get sick. It would not continue being built up in love. A correction has to be made. It may mean the removal of something. In the case of the body we are talking of, the congregation of God, it may mean the removal of an individual because he is disorderly, not being built up in love.

6. Why must we not be hasty in putting anyone out, but what does Paul admonish us to do toward the disorderly ones?

⁶ However, we do not have to be hasty about the matter and, because we hear of someone doing wrong, just take action and put him out of the congregation. There is a possibility that these persons who do wrong will repent, changing their course of action. And so it is stated in 2 Thessalonians 3:13-15 (NW): “For your part, brothers, do not give up in doing right. But if anyone is not obedient to our word through this letter, keep this one marked, stop associating with him, that he may become ashamed. And yet do not be considering him as an enemy, but continue admonishing him as a brother.” So, then, all of us in the congregation of the Lord have a responsibility toward those that may be disorderly. All of us in the congregation must keep on doing right for the benefit of the others. We may be able to benefit some of those that are a little disorderly. We keep on doing the right thing, regardless of their course of action, but if they keep on going in the wrong way they must be marked. We must stop associating with them, because they are not clean. They are not working in the defense of Jehovah’s name and his Word. They are not working in the interest of building up this body in love. They are working against the organization.

7. Are we to coerce any erring one into a right course, and how are we to use our freedom as God’s people?

⁷ However, we may be able to save a brother, and he may start out on the right course again if he heeds the admonition, if he heeds the correction that is given him. We are free people. We may use our minds the way we want to. We are not coerced or forced or browbeaten into the course of action we take, but we have been made free because of Christ Jesus’ purchasing us. And that is why Peter said in his first letter, 1 Pe chapter 2, verses 16, 17 (NW): “Be as free people.” Do your thinking, but you must still be an imitator of God, for you are free to think along the lines that are based on truth. The wicked world will take you into the grave; the truth will give you life. So, “be as free people,” says Peter, “and yet holding your freedom, not as a blind for moral badness, but as slaves of God. Honor men of all kinds, have love for the whole association of brothers, be in fear of God, have honor for the king.” So we see we must remember the congregation of our brothers and keep it clean. We cannot come into this organization with some reservation in our heads for the sake of moral badness. We are not free to do the things we want for the gratification of the flesh and our own pleasures. We are in this congregation for a purpose, to honor Jehovah’s name and his Word.

GROUNDS

8. (a) What things may make a congregation unclean? (b) What action did Paul take toward the unclean and why?

⁸ Well, now, if we are going to keep the organization clean, what are some of the things that might make it unclean? What are the things which we may observe going on in the congregation that we should clear out of the congregation? Since there are spiritual grounds and moral grounds for disfellowshiping, some of these things are adultery, fornication, stealing, and drunkenness. Just let us touch on the one of fornication for a moment. Paul had to do with that in his letter when he was writing to the Corinthians. There was a young man there who had taken his father’s wife in fornication. Paul in his letter said: “Actually fornication is reported among you, and such fornication as is not even among the nations, that a certain man has a wife of his father.” Strange, but the congregation paid no serious attention to it. They looked on it as a cause for fame through notoriety. Paul said, ‘You are puffed up about the matter; you are proud because this thing has taken place in your midst. You should be mourning, you should be worried about the situation that is existing in the congregation of the Lord, this corruption that is brought in.’ But Paul, an apostle of the Lord, had authority to take action, and he took action. He disfellowshiped that one. He did not ask the congregation: “Now give me authority or vote on what I’m doing.” Paul, a servant of God, saw to it that that one was removed. He had the authority to do so. That is why he said he had already judged the man and ordered them to “hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh”. (1 Cor. 5:1-12, NW) Such an individual has no place in the clean organization or congregation of God. He should go back to the wicked group that he once came from and die with that wicked group with Satan’s organization.

9. By disfellowshiping action, what must be saved among the congregation?

⁹ Let the wicked go his wicked way, for he cannot remain in the congregation of God, because that congregation must remain clean. It must stay clean, why? “In order that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” God’s holy spirit operates upon his people. It is his active force; it is his direction upon his congregation. We, the congregation, must have the same spirit of God. We must bear witness one to the other. That spirit that we get from the understanding of God’s Word must remain active, it must be preserved, it must be saved. And if this early congregation in Corinth had this man who had committed fornication remain in their midst, or if Paul had not taken action, then that little leaven would ferment and would corrupt the whole congregation, or the whole lump. “A little yeast ferments the whole lump,” said Paul. That is why Paul had to take action and clean it out, so that the spirit of God, this pure, holy spirit or active force of God, and the spirit of the congregation based on God’s Word, would remain and be saved, all to the honor of Jehovah’s name.

10. What moral corruption does Paul say debars one from the Kingdom, and what must a Christian do about such things?

¹⁰ In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NW) Paul says: “What! Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom. And yet that is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean, but you have been sanctified, but you have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.” Paul is pointing out that persons of these types of sinners have come out of the world into God’s congregation, but all of these types of sin may not remain in the congregation of God after those who once committed such sins have once been washed clean. When a person comes to God’s organization and dedicates himself to Him, he is cleaned up. From then on he ought to make straight paths for his feet and follow the Word of God. He should not be practicing these things, and the Lord forgives him for all those things that have been in his life in times past. Their stain is washed away, and he must not go back to them. If he does go back to them, then he is committing a sin that is worthy of disfellowshiping. He is in danger of corrupting the congregation of God, and that corruption must be taken out. It is moral corruption.

11, 12. (a) What spiritual grounds for disfellowshiping are there? (b) To have unity of mind in the congregation what must we do?

¹¹ But there are also spiritual grounds for removing persons from God’s organization. Backbiting, bringing forth false doctrines, causing divisions; just as Paul wrote to the Romans: “Now I exhort you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who create divisions and causes for stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and avoid them.” (Rom. 16:17, NW) It is very plain. The true Word of God was taught to them by Paul. Now if anyone comes into the congregation to try to upset adherence to that true Word of God and causes stumbling or a division in the congregation, it is necessary to avoid that one. The best way to avoid him is to disfellowship that person, set him aside, get him out of the congregation, so that the whole congregation may remain clean.

¹² Against division and disunity of mind, we read at 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NW), “Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” God’s thoughts must become yours. That is why we come together as a congregation to study the Word of God, so that his thoughts become ours. If we do not have God’s thoughts, if we do not meditate upon these things that the inspired disciples brought to the attention of the early church and that have been recorded for our learning now, if we do not learn these things, we are not going to have God’s thoughts; and only those who love righteousness are the ones that are going to inherit the kingdom of heaven. As he said, “Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom?” So in order to inherit that kingdom or the blessings of the new world our minds must turn toward God’s teaching, and not back to that other organization, the Devil’s organization, which is going to be destroyed.

EXAMPLES

13. Why do we today consider ancient Bible examples of disfellowshiping?

¹³ Now let us look at some examples from the Bible of Jehovah God’s casting out people, away from his congregation, getting rid of them because of their wrongdoing; for, just as he did it in times past, he will do it today, because he wants his representative people to be clean people that will be servants of his and will stand for his name and for his true worship. There are many examples in the Bible, but let us take just a few of them.

14. What lesson do we draw from the example of Korah and his allies?

¹⁴ Take Korah. There were some there in the time of Moses that became proud, three of them, in fact, that thought, ‘Well, we have just as good a standing with God as Moses has, being of the tribes of Israel. Why should he get all the credit to be the mediator?’ But they were talking against God’s representative. Moses came to the fore and made his statements very clear. He said, ‘Tomorrow morning we’ll see who is God’s servant and whom he is using to carry on his work now. What happens on the morrow is not going to be just the natural death of these people, but God is going to perform a miracle and clean out from the congregation Korah, Dathan, Abiram and all those associated with them.’ Next morning what happened? The ground opened up, and all of their property, their children, and their wives went down into this hole alive. And Korah and the 250 princes who offered incense were devoured by fire from Jehovah. Numbers 16:32, 35 (AS) says: “And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. And fire came forth from Jehovah, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.” God was showing his displeasure with people that blasphemed against him, who would not accept the arrangement that God made. So then, those that rebel against God he will disfellowship. He will get rid of them. He will clean them out of the congregation.

15. How does Miriam’s experience illustrate the matter?

¹⁵ Now we can turn to another example in the Bible. Numbers 12 tells us about Miriam and Aaron. They got a little high-minded. Miriam was Aaron and Moses’ sister, but she became proud and foolish. Because she wanted to take the position of a man in the congregation and have something to say about the arrangements of the Lord among the Israelites, she was stricken with leprosy. She had to be disfellowshiped or put out of the congregation for seven days; and then only after the pleading of her brother Moses to Jehovah to save her life so He would not kill her with leprosy, she was cleansed and came back. She had acted proudly and foolishly. The Lord God was not going to have that kind of people in his congregation. She came around. She came back, but first she was punished, and Aaron learned his own place from this experience of his sister.

16. How does Achan’s experience show God will not tolerate thieves?

¹⁶ Then we have thieves, whom the Lord God will not tolerate in his organization. We have the example of Achan. When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan and took Jericho under the direction of Jehovah, he winning their battles for them, the instructions were given to the Israelites that all of the things that were in the city were devoted to destruction, except that the things of gold, silver, brass and iron were to be reserved for Jehovah. No one must take any of the spoil for himself. But Achan thought a little bit differently about that. When he got into Jericho he found a Babylonian mantle, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold 50 shekels in weight, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll just take that home and bury it and keep it for myself. No one will ever find it out.’ But he was in Jehovah’s congregation; now corruption was inside it. This had to be found out. They went on to battle at Ai and the Israelite armies were failing. They could not win. Joshua learned there was corruption in the congregation. It had to be gotten out, and according to Jehovah’s arrangement the evidence pointed to Achan as the corrupter. They found he had his spoil hid in his tent. Now what happened? God did not just throw him out of the congregation and put him away for seven days as he did Miriam. He had Achan stoned to death, and his family with him, because he was a thief.—Josh. 6:17 to 7:26.

17. How do the fallen “sons of God” illustrate disfellowshiping?

¹⁷ Centuries earlier, in Noah’s days before the flood, there were those angels in heaven, spirit creatures, who became disobedient. They saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they left their estate and came down to earth and took to themselves wives. In this they were disobedient. And so 2 Peter 2:4 (NW) tells us concerning them: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned.” No, but he threw them into Tartarus, delivering them “to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment”. They were disobedient, they violated God’s law, and he barred them from his counsels. For a test of his faithful creatures they are still in existence, yes, but God’s judgments are written against them for their final destruction.

18. How does Jude show putting up a hard fight for the faith has a connection with this matter?

¹⁸ Finally we can go on to Jude’s letter. In it we are told that we must put up a hard fight for the faith. This faith was delivered to us by Christ Jesus; we have to fight for it. It is the faith that was given to the congregation of the followers of Christ Jesus, and he does not want that faith corrupted or changed in any manner. Anyone who tries to change it, whether he be rebellious, proud, thievish, disobedient or corrupt morally, is going to be cleaned out. He is going to be removed. Now we do see that evil men slip in, ungodly men, and these we must try to find and throw out of the congregation. Just as Jude says at the 8th and 16th Jude verses 8 and 16: “These men, too, indulging in dreams, are defiling the flesh and disregarding lordship and speaking abusively of glorious ones. These men are murmurers, complainers about their lot in life, proceeding according to their own desires, and their mouths speak swelling things, while they are admiring personalities for the sake of their own benefit.” Yes, these types of persons that have just been described are the kind we do not want in the congregation of the Lord, and if they are there then they must be removed by the congregation. Otherwise a little yeast ferments the whole lump.

Propriety of Disfellowshiping

1. Is it proper to disfellowship, and what does Titus 3:10, 11 say?

IS IT proper to disfellowship? Yes, as we have just seen in the above article, God put out of his congregation those that were opposed to him and that were corrupt. He disfellowshiped them. He got rid of them, and he advises us to do so with such persons. At Titus 3:10, 11 (NW) we read: “As for a man that promotes a sect, reject him after a first and a second admonition, knowing that such a man has been turned out of the way and is sinning, he being self-condemned.” So there is authority in the Greek Scriptures for anyone that starts sects or divisions to be rejected after he has been talked to a first and a second time and still he does not change his course of action.

2. (a) What authority for it do we have at Romans 16:17, 18? (b) According to Revelation 3:16, for what does Jesus disfellowship?

² We have other authority, too, in Romans 16:17, 18 (NW): “Now I exhort you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who create divisions and causes for stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and avoid them. For men of that kind are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own bellies, and by smooth talk and complimentary speech they seduce the hearts of guileless ones.” Here we have a plain statement from God’s Word that we should get rid of these persons that cause offense and divisions within His congregation. We have the authority, we have the right, and it is proper to get rid of them. They have no place in the congregation of God. Christ Jesus even disfellowships on what we probably might think less grounds than all of the things described above. Just because a person is lukewarm, and he is neither hot nor cold, Christ Jesus spews him out. He also declares, at Revelation 3:16 (NW): “So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.” Well, that is a disfellowshiping. Christ Jesus is not going to have any lukewarm persons permanently in his organization. You are either for him or against him. You will either come into the congregation of the Lord God and be his minister or eventually go out into the Devil’s organization. You cannot pussyfoot. You cannot be lukewarm. You cannot be passive. You have to be positively for the Lord God.

3. How did God disfellowship Jerusalem and natural Israel?

³ God disfellowships, too. We have seen that in the examples given above, but we remember that in Matthew 23:38 (NW) Jesus, speaking to Jerusalem, said: “Look! your house is abandoned to you.” He had been dealing with the Jews for a long period of time, and now the time had come to abandon them and their house or temple. Why? Because he had nursed them along and taken care of them like a hen with its little chicks, but they did not pay any attention to his Father in heaven, and now the time had come for God to abandon the whole business because they furnished only a faithful remnant and he was obliged to call out from the Gentile nations a people for his name.

4. To have fellowship with God, what action must his people take toward the world and toward those of their numbers who turn to darkness?

⁴ At 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NW) the apostle Paul said: “What fellowship does light have with darkness? . . . And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said: ‘I shall reside among them and walk among them, and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing,”’ ‘“and I will take you in.”’ ‘“And I shall be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,” says Jehovah the Almighty.’” Yes, Jehovah will disfellowship those who become lawless, turn to darkness and set up idols. He will expel such persons from his organization. If you want to be of the Lord’s organization, keep clean of the Devil’s world. If you do not want to, then get out of it. Those who are impure, immoral, are not spiritually fit for God’s organization. If such lukewarm compromisers or apostates do not voluntarily get out of his organization, then under his direction the organization itself will put them out.

PROCEDURE

5. What is the proper procedure for disfellowshiping, and how did Paul illustrate this procedure?

⁵ There is a proper procedure to follow in this regard. It must be an official act. Someone in authority must make the decision, and then the person is removed. At 1 Timothy 1:19, 20 (NW) is an example of the authority used by Paul, for he said: “Holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside and have experienced shipwreck concerning their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander belong to these, and I have handed them over to Satan that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme.” They were put out of the congregation by an authorized servant. Paul did the same in the case recorded in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, when he got rid of that professed Christian that had intercourse with his father’s wife. Paul took the action there because the ones in charge of the congregation had failed. He had the authority. A servant of Jehovah acted. In our present day we have congregations or companies of Jehovah’s witnesses and we have servants in our companies. These servants must discharge the responsibility that goes with the servant’s position to keep the congregation clean and must take the action. They are to be good shepherds and shepherd the flock.

6. So what must be laid against the one concerned, and before it can be accepted what must be done?

⁶ So first of all a charge must be made, by someone in the congregation or by some interested mature brother, about a person that has gone wrong. But just because a charge is made does not mean that we can disfellowship him. The Scriptures show that witnesses must be brought forth. No charge can be accepted unless there are two or three witnesses to establish the fact. That means an investigation. The company servant, the assistant company servant, the Bible study servant, and maybe some other mature brothers in the company should be called together to have a hearing, and those who are charged and the witnesses must be brought in and the matter be discussed. They cannot come to a conclusion that this person should be put out of the congregation on mere rumor or gossip. There must be two or three eyewitnesses that know such and such a thing occurred or was said. A decision cannot be made on guesswork. It may be that by a feeling or a sense that we have we believe the person is not good, but we may not be able to prove it. As long as we cannot prove it out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, that person cannot rightly be rejected. Otherwise you may be doing that individual a great harm.

7. How then is a decision made, what is done with it, and what does it fall to the company to do about it?

⁷ So then when we have our witnesses, we have our meeting with these persons who are obstreperous or going wrong or not living according to the law of God. We give them a fair hearing, we discuss the matter, we try to help them. But proof must be there of uncleanness, morally or spiritually, before anything can be done to them in the way of putting them out of the congregation. The servants certainly should be mature brothers and be willing to take the full responsibility in making their decision. Then their decision is presented to the company. Not for the company to vote on. No, but the company servant, the assistant company servant and the Bible study servant have to take all the responsibility for the course of action that is to be taken. If they are thoroughly convinced in their minds that that individual is wrong and should be put out of the company and the person has not made any steps toward repentance, then they tell the company, in the form of a resolution, of what they have done. They do not ask the company to vote on that resolution and say, “We approve your action.” No, the servants in the company are charged with the responsibility of shepherding the flock and of keeping the congregation clean. So the servants tell the company what action has been taken and that the offensive individual is no longer a member of this congregation. Then the congregation should co-operate to the fullest extent with the advice given by those who are looking after their interests, the servants in the organization.

8. Who must admonish the disorderly, and what must take place if he does not heed the admonition?

⁸ At 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NW) Paul says: “We exhort you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, speak comfortingly to the depressed souls, support the weak, be long-suffering toward all.” It is the responsibility of the servants of God to look after the interests of the congregation. They admonish the disorderly one, but this disorderly one does not take the admonition. He still wants to walk in his way. When he will not repent, will not change his course of action, then he has to be set aside, he must be avoided.

9. By whom must the separation be determined upon, and how did Paul illustrate this at Ephesus?

⁹ Acts 19:9 (NW) says concerning Paul at Ephesus in Asia Minor: “But when some went on hardening themselves and not believing, speaking injuriously about the Way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and separated the disciples from them, daily giving talks in the school auditorium of Tyrannus.” Paul was interested in those that he was teaching there in the Jewish synagogue, and when he saw a group of synagogue attenders trying to pull away the disciples he made, then he took his true followers away from their company. He was not going to let them be contaminated by associating with those who were teaching false doctrines and abusing the truth. So, today the servants who carry the responsibility for the company set the policy according to God’s Word. The congregation accepts that policy on the part of the servants.

10. What did Paul instruct at 1 Corinthians 5:11, and how does the congregation support its servants in this connection?

¹⁰ At 1 Corinthians 5:11 (NW) Paul told the Christian congregation: “But now I am writing you to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.” No communion at all with these persons that are disfellowshiped or put out of the congregation. Why? Because this congregation of God must remain clean, undefiled, preserved for pure worship of the Most High. Consequently when that action of disfellowshiping is taken it really removes a person. He is out. Therefore all the congregation, all those who have dedicated their lives to God, should abide by the recommendation or the resolution on the part of the servants. They must support them.

11. What does the company disfellowshiping do in behalf of the Society and other companies, and why?

¹¹ Well, now, what about this disfellowshiped person? First of all the company should report the matter to the Society, briefly stating facts, telling the Society who he is and why he was disfellowshiped and set aside, so it is informed. Now if this individual that was disfellowshiped leaves the community and goes to some other company and the company that disfellowshiped him knows of the matter, then out of the goodness of their heart and for the protection of the other company, it should be informed of the action they have taken. Not that the other company now has to disfellowship him. That was already done by the first congregation on behalf of and for the protection of all of Jehovah’s people. The disfellowshiping takes place in the company where the wrong was done, and he is disfellowshiped from that company and from all other companies. They know that this little leaven lodging anywhere in the loaf will corrupt the whole loaf. Necessarily then a warning should be given to the other company where this individual has gone, as Paul notified Timothy of Phygelus and Hermogenes and of Hymenaeus and Philetus. (2 Tim. 1:15; 2:17, NW) That is why they notify the Society, so it is cognizant of the fact.

12. Whom does Jude warn the companies against, and why must we be careful about letter writing?

¹² Jude tells about men who were sneaking into the organization to corrupt it morally. Such men certainly should be reported to any company that they are drifting around in, because these slipped in only for the sake of loose conduct. For the safety of all of our brothers and sisters in the congregations round about they should be reported. That does not mean that individually you should write a lot of letters and say a lot of bad things about them, of what they have been doing. The fact should be reported that this man was at one time with us, but because of his course of action he has been disfellowshiped, and the reasons why should be given very briefly. Otherwise, it may be that in this day you would be accused of libel or slander and you might get yourself into difficulty. But our brothers may be warned of that individual. He is no longer allowed to be one of us, because we want to protect the organization, the congregation of the Lord God.

RESTRICTION OF PRIVILEGES

13. What course do some disfellowshiped ones take toward field service, but what fact must this not be allowed to hide?

¹³ Now some persons think they can stay in the truth, but they do not want to work according to God’s standards. So they keep going out in the field service, they go from door to door, they distribute books, they have Bible studies, still they are disfellowshiped from the congregation. Even after they are disfellowshiped, sometimes they put in many more hours than they did when they were with the congregation. What is the congregation going to do now with such an individual? We must keep in mind that this person has been disfellowshiped and is not a member of our company. We want to avoid him, we want nothing to do with him.

14, 15. (a) What is the extent of the disfellowshiped one’s privileges as regards meetings? (b) What of his field activity privileges?

¹⁴ Now meetings that are open to the public he can attend as long as he behaves himself and acts orderly. If that individual comes into a public meeting, say, a public lecture in a public auditorium, or Kingdom Hall, or city park, or a Watchtower study or a service meeting, it is public, the doors are open, and he may be admitted. If he comes into that meeting and sits down, as long as he is orderly, minds his business, we have nothing to say to him. Those who are acquainted with the situation in the congregation should never say “Hello” or “Good-by” to him. He is not welcome in our midst, we avoid him. If this one should be sitting in the Watchtower study and raise his hand, the chairman should never recognize him or allow him to make a comment. He is not one of us. He is not a recognized member in God’s congregation. Those who are informed and know the individual certainly should avoid him, have nothing to say to him. He has no privileges of service in the congregation whatsoever. He could go over to the book counter and get literature at the regular public rates, but the company should never give him books or magazines at company rates, because he is not one of us. What we would do for the public, for those in the Devil’s organization, we may do for that one.

¹⁵ If this one goes out in the field service, maybe getting the books at the counter at the regular rates instead of company rates or pioneer rates, and goes out from door to door, we cannot stop him. He has just as much right to go from house to house as anyone else if he wants to, but this congregation will not give him any territory. They will not accept his reports. When they come in he will not be one of those listed as a publisher in this company. He might put his report in the report box, but we tear it up and we throw it away. He is not one of us. He is a representative of the Devil’s organization trying to corrupt, disturb. He is not clean, and until that individual repents and changes his course of action he can never come back and be one of the Lord’s people.

16. How does the company treat him as not a recognized publisher?

¹⁶ So then the company is careful about him. It removes his card from the file of recognized Kingdom publishers. He is never given any of the monthly printed Informant. He may retain his Counsel booklet if he wishes, because this, if he reads it, might show him the course of action he should take. If he reads The Watchtower, if he reads the books of the Society, they show him the course that he should take; but as long as he does not take that course he is not welcome in the congregation.

17. On what condition may he be present at public meetings, and why?

¹⁷ If this individual becomes noisy or obstreperous he should be kept out of the Kingdom Hall and public meetings. That is the company’s perfect right. Otherwise, it may be that, if he comes into the public meetings and quietly hears the admonition and the counsel given in the studies, he will wake up, become ashamed, and repent.

18. What about permitting his attendance at private home meetings, and why?

¹⁸ Now how about private home meetings? Under no circumstances should he be welcomed or allowed to enter a private home, because the Scriptures are very definite on that point. So then in our home Bible studies, or what we call “area studies”, the person of the house, being one of God’s congregation, should keep him out. For 2 John 9, 10 (NW) states: “Everyone that pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God. He that does remain in this teaching is the one that has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into your homes or say farewell to him.” So then in your private homes you would never open the door and allow that one to come in. You would never extend your hand in fellowship to such an individual. Remember, that individual at one time left the Devil’s organization. He was washed clean by the blood of Christ, he dedicated himself to God and God consecrated him for service. He was a minister. Now he has gone corrupt because he chooses to do so. He is sinning against the holy spirit. He is fighting against God. We cannot have anything to do with him. God is the one that is judging him, and he is using his servants in the earth to point that one out for the protection of the rest of the congregation.

REINSTATEMENT

19. By what personal course may a disfellowshiped person be reinstated?

¹⁹ Can a disfellowshiped person be reinstated, get back into the organization? Yes, he can if he repents. But he has to go farther than that. He must be converted. He must change his whole course of action. It is not just a matter of saying: “I’m sorry I did it; I was wrong.” He has to prove that he is willing to take an altogether different course of life than that which he had taken. He should make an open confession of his sins and ask forgiveness of the committee that drew up the resolution to disfellowship him. He should go to the persons concerned, admit his wrong, and point out to them what he is doing and what he is going to do in order to be reinstated.

20. At 2 Corinthians 2:6-11 what did Paul say about reinstatement, and what did he show must precede it?

²⁰ In 2 Corinthians 2:6-11 (NW) we have an account of how Paul brought a sinner back into the congregation again. He said: “This rebuke given by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary now, you should kindly forgive and comfort him, that somehow such a man may not be swallowed up by his being overly sad. Therefore I exhort you to confirm your love for him. For to this end also I write to ascertain the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things. Anything you kindly forgive anyone, I do too. In fact, as for me, whatever I have kindly forgiven, if I have kindly forgiven anything, it has been for your sakes in Christ’s sight, that we may not be overreached by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.” This account may refer to the man that took his father’s wife and committed fornication and now repented. If so, then Paul says, ‘Well, bring him back; there is no reason that he should be overly sad thinking that he could never get into God’s organization again and gain life in the new world.’ Where else would a person go if he sinned against God and he really repented? We do not mean he may brazenly come back and say: “Well, I’m sorry about it. Fix me up, boys, I want to get back in the congregation.” No, there has to be a cutting of the heart. There has to be a hurting of the mind. He has to show repentance. He has to be sad about it and change his course.

21. On what must he be placed for a time before reinstatement, and why?

²¹ His getting reinstated in the congregation of God is a very serious matter, for him and for the congregation. The appointed servants may put him on probation if they want to. He will have to prove to the servants that he is going to behave himself in the future and act properly as a servant of Jehovah. They can test his sincerity. They should not reinstate him too quickly, even after he does repent and tells them what he is going to do, and makes an open confession. Why not? Because of public opinion. (2 Pet. 2:2, NW) His course of action may have been one of adultery and may have had wide publicity in the papers. Maybe he was put in jail for stealing. Maybe he was very rebellious. Maybe he went out and started a new organization and now is trying to come back. Well, all the people around the place know that that person was an obstinate, disorderly person, and not good company. So we should be careful as to how quickly we take such a person back into the congregation, because of what the “people on the outside” will say. (1 Tim. 3:7, NW) If a person commits adultery and is running around with men and women that are of loose conduct, and everybody knows it, and we say, “Oh, come on back, you’re welcome,” people on the outside will say: “Well, your whole congregation is of the same type.” So he has to be put on probation. His sincerity must be proved before we openly and fully accept his repentance.

22, 23. What does violation of probation result in, as shown by Shimei?

²² Remember the case of Shimei, who was put on probation. At one time he cursed David, and when Solomon became king as David’s successor certain restrictions were put around him. Solomon told him: ‘You ought to have been killed long ago. So now you must remain in the city of Jerusalem. But as soon as you go out of this city and cross the brook Kidron you are going to be put to death.’ Now, Shimei could have enjoyed his life and the favor that was shown toward him by staying right there in the city of Jerusalem. He had his slaves, the servants, and home. Three years after this order was given two of his slaves ran away. Shimei said: ‘Oh, I’m just going to get those fellows and bring them back.’ So he started out after them, crossed the Kidron, got his slaves and brought them back. Then it was reported to Solomon that he had left the city, and Solomon had him killed. Just to get two slaves back this man was ready to lose his life.

²³ If, now, a disfellowshiped person wants to live in the new world and if the responsible brothers in the company put certain bounds or restrictions around him, is it not a great deal better to stay within those limits and live than to get outside of those limits and show that you are rebellious and acting contrary to God’s law? Shimei lost his life because he was not obedient to a very gracious arrangement on the part of King Solomon.

24. Who decide to make the reinstatement, who cooperate, and why?

²⁴ So then the servants must make the decision on welcoming that brother back eventually. The servants that disfellowshiped him must make the announcement to the congregation, saying that, since this one has repented and they are now thoroughly satisfied as to his reformed course of action, “we receive him back.” Then the congregation should abide by the decision of the servants that are appointed in the company. Again the company does not vote on whether they will accept him back, because they have confidence in their servants that these have made the right investigation and the right decision.

25. What must the one to be reinstated do according to Colossians 3:5-10, and why?

²⁵ In Colossians 3:5-10 (NW) it says: “Deaden, therefore, your body members which are upon the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite, hurtful desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of those things the wrath of God is coming. In those very things you, too, once walked when you used to live in them. But now really put them all away from you, wrath, anger, injuriousness, abusive speech, and obscene talk out of your mouth. Do not be lying to one another. Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality which through accurate knowledge is being renewed.” Of course, that instruction applies to those who originally came out of the Devil’s organization and have become Jehovah’s people, so it must also apply to a disfellowshiped person that is repenting and coming back. Now he has to put on that new personality, he must make his mind over, he must think the thoughts of God and put them into practice if he is ever to gain life in the new world.

26. What if a brother repents and makes it known before any disfellowshiping action takes place?

²⁶ Well, what if a brother repents before he is disfellowshiped? He may realize that he has done wrong and he knows that the news of his course of action is getting in to the servants. Or he may feel his own shame while no one as yet knows what happened to him, and he goes to one of the mature brothers in the company, maybe the company servant, and he confesses his whole sin. Should that one then be exposed to the congregation and disfellowshiped because the company servant knows his course of action? Not if that person has truly repented. If he has asked forgiveness, and confessed his wrong, and he is changing his course of action, there is no reason why the brother that is spoken to need reveal that brother’s secret to another. His heart condition is right, and therefore mercy, love and kindness should be shown to that individual.

27. While not bringing about a disfellowshiping, what may the Society do or have done about such a repentant sinner?

²⁷ Those who are stubborn, hardhearted, those who are going to have all the things they want their way, and that in addition to being in the congregation of God, these are the ones that have to be disfellowshiped and put away, because they are going to make the congregation unclean. But the one that comes with a contrite heart and confesses to a brother about his wrongdoing, there is no reason to whip him anymore. He has opened his heart, he has let you look at it and he wants help. If the Society removes a pioneer because of wrongdoing and the Society is the one agency that knows about the wrongdoing of the individual, there is no reason for the Society then to notify the company and have that company disfellowship that person, not if that person has confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness from the Society. Then that one can go on his way. The Society would probably put restrictions or bounds around that individual because of the course of action he has taken. By way of punishment it may take him off the pioneer list for six months or maybe a year, according to what that individual had done that would bring reproach to God’s name. But as long as that one has confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness, then the Society can help that one to get back in the right road and continue to be a servant of the Lord. If the action does not affect a company or other individual in it, there is no reason to make any notification or public announcement of it.

28. How far can we go in letting the sinner come back, and why?

²⁸ What we must have in mind is this: we can show mercy to those who are of a contrite heart, and we can help them if we want to. But how far can we go in letting these individuals come back into the Lord’s organization? How far can we let the bars down? We cannot let the bars down at all to those who do not reform. We must keep in mind that the organization must remain clean for undefiled worship of the Most High. We must keep in mind the vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty and name and the vindication of his Word. We must keep in mind the life of Christ and our walking in his footsteps, and the standard that he set. We must keep in mind our position as Jehovah’s witnesses. The disfellowshiped person did not keep these things in mind, and that is why he was removed from the congregation. That is why he was disfellowshiped. But now if he realizes that pure, undefiled, clean worship is the important thing, that the vindication of God’s name is more important than doing things his own way, when he sees that all this is necessary and he must live accordingly, then we can accept him back in the congregation.

Sin Making Reinstatement Impossible

1. What shows there are forgivable sins, but what sins may not be dismissed with unconcern?

THERE are sins that can be forgiven. We ask forgiveness for them every day if we pray in the way Jesus taught us, for we say in the Lord’s prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matt. 6:12, NW) We can forgive certain sins. That is, we can forgive the other person’s trespasses against us. We cannot wipe them out and make him clean again. No, but when a person asks for forgiveness we can give it to him. In Galatians 6:1 (NW) it says: “Brothers, even though a man takes some false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to restore such a man in a spirit of mildness, as you each keep an eye on yourself, for fear you also may be tempted.” So we have a responsibility upon us to go to these individual sinners, or, when they come to us, to help them stay in the right way even before disfellowshiping ever takes place. We can forgive them. We can help them, if their heart is right and they show it. But if they do not show it and if the sin vitally affects the congregation, there is no reason why we should overlook it and say: “Well, we’ll forget it this time.” We cannot, for the sake of that individual and for the sake of the congregation.

2. What did Jesus say was an unforgivable sin, and who can commit it?

² The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sinning against the holy spirit. Christ Jesus spoke about that. At Matthew 12:31, 32 (NW) he said: “On this account I say to you, Every kind of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in the present system of things nor in that to come.” You may wonder, Well, what kind of sin would that be? Anything contrary to the manifest operation of God’s active force is against God’s spirit, for his spirit is his active force, and not a spirit person, not a third God in a supposed “holy trinity”. Persons not Christians, like those Pharisees whom Jesus addressed here, can sin against the holy spirit, for they can come up against its manifestation.

3. How may we grieve the holy spirit, and what danger is there in continuing to do this?

³ After we have dedicated ourselves to Jehovah God and we have decided to do his will, we have come under the active force of Jehovah God, his holy spirit. Then it means we are responsible to him, to act according to that spirit. If we are going to act against that holy spirit we will grieve it. Our course of action or our speech will offend against what the holy spirit is and will diminish or reduce God’s spirit in us. In Ephesians 4:30 (NW) it says: “Also do not be grieving God’s holy spirit, with which you have been sealed for a day of releasing by ransom.” We might not have blasphemed the holy spirit but we might have grieved it terribly. But we might go so far that we are no longer just grieving it but actually sinning against the holy spirit. If we keep on taking the wrong course and grieving the holy spirit we finally come to the point of being disfellowshiped by the congregation. We have sinned against the holy spirit and it is no more in us. It no more seals us for a release by ransom in God’s due time.

4. According to Hebrews 10:25-38, whom will God not restore?

⁴ The matter of disfellowshiping for such unforgivable sin is a very serious thing. God is not going to restore any again if they have denied the ransom sacrifice of Christ and deliberately worked against the congregation of God. Hebrews 10:25-38 (NW) warns: “Not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near. For if we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and there is a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition. Any man that has disregarded the law of Moses dies without compassion, upon the testimony of two or three. Of how much more severe a punishment, do you think, will the man be counted worthy who has trampled upon the Son of God and who has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt?”

5. How do those sinning against the holy spirit sin, and what will be their end?

⁵ Unforgivable sinners who were once in the congregation are sinning against the holy spirit. They are fighting against God, they are turning against Christ Jesus, they are no longer being imitators of God, they are no longer walking in love, they are sinning against the manifest operation of God’s holy spirit and are worthy of destruction. Maybe sometimes we in the congregation grieve the holy spirit. As long as we are only grieving it there is an opportunity, if we repent and change our course of action, to get back into God’s organization. But if we reach a limit and get to the point where we willfully and greedily sin against the holy spirit, the active force of God, and work against its manifestation, then God is finished with us. Then we are turned over to Satan and his organization for the destruction of our flesh. It is a terrible thing to be thrown out of the congregation of God, to be destroyed like Korah and his allies, to be stoned to death like Achan, or to be judged as one unworthy of living in the congregation of God now. To the Pharisees who saw the manifest operation of God’s holy spirit through Jesus and yet spoke abusively against it and called it the spirit of Beelzebub, Jesus later said: “Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna?”—Matt. 23:33, NW; Mt 12:22-28, 31, 33.

6. One’s being ejected is whose fault, and why?

⁶ But if we get put out of the congregation of God it will be because of our own fault, because of our own wrongdoing, because of our not making our minds over, because we are not living according to the pattern that God has set. As it is stated in Ephesians 5:1, 2 (NW), after Paul speaks about grieving God’s holy spirit: “Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love, just as the Christ also loved you and delivered himself up for you as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling odor.”

7. What has Matthew 18:15-17 to do with this matter, especially as to going to the congregation?

⁷ There is one more scripture quite pertinent here, at Matthew 18:15-17. It reads, “Moreover, if your brother commits a sin, go lay bare his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, in order that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector.” (NW) This scripture here has nothing to do with disfellowshiping on a congregational basis. When it says go to the congregation, it means go to the elders or the mature ones in the congregation and discuss your own private difficulties. This scripture has to do with merely a personal disfellowshiping.

8. How may such a difficulty arise, and to what extent does the disfellowshiping go?

⁸ An individual might not get along with another person in the company. Maybe he built a house for him and the other brother thinks perhaps he has been cheated out of something in this house-building. He may have made a contract in the business affair, and a quarrel comes between the two brothers and they squabble over the matter. Well, here Jesus says, If you have anything at fault between another brother and yourself, try to straighten it up between yourselves. If you cannot, call one or two others in and have them listen to it and help you and give you advice. If you cannot straighten it out then with the offending brother, then it just means a personal avoidance between you two persons, your treating him like a tax collector or a non-Jew outside the congregation. You do what you have to do with him only on a business basis. It has nothing to do with the congregation, because the offensive act or the sin or misunderstanding is not any grounds for disfellowshiping him from all the company. Things of that kind should not be brought into the general congregation for decision. We should not try to split a congregation open and say, “Well now, I want all of you to agree with me,” while the other person says, “I want all of you to agree with me”; that is, on some personal problem which has nothing to do with preaching the gospel or keeping the congregation clean. This scripture in Matthew 18:15-17 has often been used in connection with disfellowshiping or putting such persons out of the organization, but it has merely to do with personal avoidance.

9. In view of all the foregoing, what must be our endeavor, and why?

⁹ So let all of us keep in mind that the organization of the Lord God must be maintained intact, it must be kept clean, by all of those who are in the congregation. Bear in mind that it is up to those who are the servants of the company to see that it remains that way and if anyone in the company is not clean, not working in the interest of God’s kingdom and his brothers, then he should be removed. They are doing the one removed a benefit, because he might be ashamed as a result and get back into line. They are doing the right thing in God’s sight by putting him out of the congregation because he is unclean. By this procedure God’s visible organization will remain clean through the coming battle of Armageddon, on into the new world. Anyone who wants to live in that new world will have to live according to the principles of Jehovah God, as set down in His Word, for we must become imitators of God.

Pharisees Past and Present

AT ONE occasion Christ Jesus said to his disciples: “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be revealed, and secret that will not become known.” And, giving concrete examples of the hypocrisy of those religious leaders, Jesus on another occasion stated: “All the works they do they do to be viewed by men.”—Luke 12:1, 2; Matt. 23:2-5, NW.

That the religious of the twentieth century, particularly as represented by the Roman Catholic prelates, are no different from those of the first century is apparent from the following two news stories, both emanating from the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.

On November 17, 1951, thirteen prelates of the Roman Catholic Church, including three cardinals, and among whom was Spellman, and five archbishops, issued a statement of some three to four thousand words dealing with such subjects as “Morality: The Need Today”; “Morality and Education”; “Morality and Politics,” etc., and especially condemned was immorality in government.—New York Times, November 18, 1951.

But as to how sincere these prelates were was indicated by certain news dispatches coming from the nation’s capital about two months later. The American public had been aroused at the revelation of widespread corruption in the tax department of the government. Attorney General J. Howard McGrath came in for particular blame both because of what he had done as well as for what he had failed to do. Consensus of opinion was that he should be asked to resign, and all the indications pointed to the president’s requiring his resignation, when suddenly an about-face was done, and the president announced not only that he intended to keep McGrath as attorney general but that McGrath had been given the assignment of cleaning up the whole corrupt situation, the one most responsible for it! Who was instrumental in causing the president to render such disservice to his country?

According to The Nation of January 19, 1952, Robert S. Allen, a veteran Washington correspondent, revealed that McGrath “was saved by the intervention of three friends—Senator Theodore Green, his political godfather; Cardinal Spellman, who telephoned a plea from Tokyo; and Matt Connelly, presidential secretary, who concerns himself particularly with affairs of the Roman Catholic church”. [Spellman has denied this.]

That phone call, all the way from Tokyo, gave irrefutable proof that regardless of what the foremost Roman Catholic prelate in the United States may say in lip service to morality in government, he was far more interested in keeping a Roman Catholic in a key position in the government; which fact, incidentally, should clearly demonstrate that the interests of morality, integrity and good government are not necessarily identical with those of organized religion. Truly hypocrisy is the leaven of the Pharisaical first century and twentieth century.

No Division in the Mosaic Law

SOME religious organizations hold that the Mosaic Law was in two parts: the Decalogue, or “moral law”, and the “ceremonial law”. They claim that the Decalogue is still binding whereas the “ceremonial law” passed away with Messiah’s coming.

Much is made of this division, particularly by such sects as hold that the Christian’s sabbath is the seventh day of the week and that a literal observance of it is imperative to salvation. When scriptures are quoted showing that Christ made an end to the law these reply that such texts apply only to the “ceremonial law”. Let us examine the Scriptural record and ascertain whether such division is sound.

Jesus in the sermon on the mount did not indicate any such division. He interspersed references to the Decalogue between references to other parts of the Mosaic law, such as the matter of bringing gifts to the altar, of granting a divorce, of an “eye for an eye”, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Compare Matthew 5:21, 23, 24, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43 with Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 16:16, 17; Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 24:1; Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 19:21; and Leviticus 19:18.

It was therefore regarding the entire law arrangement that Jesus said: “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill; for truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for the smallest letter or one particle of a letter to pass away from the Law by any means and not all things take place.” (Matt. 5:17, 18, NW) Jesus thereby showed that the law consisted of prophetic pictures which were certain of fulfillment, and when the fulfillment came the pictures were done away with.

For instance, the Israelites were obligated to observe the passover annually. But when Christ, the real passover Lamb, was sacrificed the requirement to observe the typical passover passed away. (Ex. 12:14; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8) Annually also the high priest entered into the holy of holies in the temple on the tenth day of the seventh month with the blood of atonement. But after Christ Jesus entered the holy of the holies of the heavens with the merit of his own blood, animal sacrifices had no further value.—Lev. 16:14; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1.

PAUL MAKES NO DIVISION

The apostle Paul had much to say about the laws that God gave to the Israelites by the hand of Moses, but we look in vain for any division between the Decalogue and the other features of the law arrangement. When he stated that “[God] kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us, and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake”, he was not referring to merely the so-called “ceremonial law”. How do we know? Because of his argument in the context: “Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a feast day or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath, for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” (Col. 2:13, 14, 16, 17, NW) To argue this refers only to yearly sabbaths is to admit one’s case so weak that it is cornered without the slightest proof.

Again, at Romans 7:6 (NW), we read: “But now we have been discharged from the Law, because we have died to that by which we were being held fast, that we might be slaves in a new sense by the spirit, and not in the old sense by the written code.” Only the “ceremonial law”? No. Paul included the Decalogue or “moral law” in this “written code”, quoting the tenth commandment in the following verse. He continued: “What, then, shall we say? Is the Law sin? Never may that become so! Really I would not have come to know . . . covetousness if the Law had not said, ‘You must not covet.’” (Rom. 7:7, NW) Yes, the law from which Christians were discharged included the Decalogue.

Note also Paul’s words at Galatians 3:24, 25 (NW): “Consequently, the Law has become our tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith. But now that this faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor.” Clearly, by showing their need of a Redeemer the Decalogue pointed as directly to the Messiah as did the other parts of the law arrangement such as their annual atonement sacrifices. And having directed the Jews to Christ the law arrangement had served its purpose.

Nor can we find any basis for a division in the Mosaic law in Paul’s words as recorded at Galatians 4:21-31, NW, where Paul speaks to those Jewish Christians who still wanted to be under the law of Moses. He contrasts Sinai in Arabia with the Jerusalem which is from above and shows how the one was pictured by Hagar and the other by the free woman Sarah. The entire law arrangement was given at Mount Sinai, not just the so-called “ceremonial law”, and if Christians are free from the Hagar-Sinai arrangement then they are also free from the Decalogue. Paul then urges Christians to stand fast for freedom, since it was for freedom that Christ set them free. (Gal. 5:1) But how could Christians be said to be free if they were still bound by the Decalogue? Neither the law of Moses nor trying to keep it can bring righteousness, but only the blood of Christ. (Rom. 3:19, 20; 1 John 1:7) Christians are “not under law but under undeserved kindness”.—Rom. 6:14, NW.

Discussing the end of the Mosaic law, Paul at another place states: “But now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. For he is our peace, he who made the two parties one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh he abolished the hatred, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples in union with himself into one new man and make peace, and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the hatred by means of himself.” (Eph. 2:13-16, NW) It was the entire law arrangement and not only the so-called “ceremonial law” that distinguished the Jews from the people of the nations, and it was this entire arrangement, “the Law of commandments consisting in decrees,” which served as a wall or barrier, that was removed by Christ.

Neither can we find a basis for dividing the Mosaic law in Paul’s words as found at 2 Corinthians 3, where he shows that the law arrangement was replaced by something better, a new covenant. The entire law arrangement is included in the “stone tablets” and the “written law” which condemned to death and which were replaced by the laws written by the spirit and upon the hearts and which make alive. “Moreover, if the code which administers death and which was engraved in letters in stones came about in a glory, . . . why should not the administering of the spirit be much more with glory? . . . For if that which was to be done away with was brought in with glory, much more would that which remains be with glory.” (2 Cor. 3:7-11, NW) Clearly the entire law arrangement was brought in with glory and it was the Decalogue or so-called “moral law” that was engraved “in letters in stones”. All of it administered death to the Jews and all of it was done away with for something better.

SABBATH ALSO DONE AWAY WITH

But some will argue that God commanded the sabbath to be observed as a “perpetual covenant . . . for ever”. (Ex. 31:16, 17, AS) True, the word “perpetual” is there used, but note that the Hebrew original which is ohláhm does not mean throughout eternity, but to an indefinite, uncertain, concealed length of time. The same word is used in connection with other features of the law arrangement, such as the Aaronic priesthood, which the apostle Paul shows passed away. In that connection also note that Paul declares that a change of priesthood meant also a change of laws.—Ex. 40:15; Lev. 6:18, 22; Hebrews, chapter 7.

Until the law arrangement was nailed to the torture stake Jesus and his apostles kept all of its provisions, as they were born under the law. But thereafter they were no longer so obligated and gradually this matter was made clear to the Christians. (Acts 10) The mere fact that thereafter Paul preached on the sabbath does not indicate that he considered sabbath observance binding, no more than his preaching on Mar’s hill indicated that he approved of the worship of Mars. Paul preached at every opportune occasion, place and time. Since the sabbath was a day of rest for the Jews and on which they would congregate in the market places and the synagogues, Paul made use of it to preach the good news to them. In the same way convenience indicates that public talks in Christendom be given on Sundays. Paul himself gave no command regarding the keeping of the sabbath and he states that he had not failed to declare the whole counsel of God. On the contrary, he showed that the sabbath was pictorial.—Acts 20:27; Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4.

ASSEMBLY AT JERUSALEM

In this connection note the action taken by the assembly of apostles and older brothers convened at Jerusalem to determine what features of the law arrangement were still to be complied with by the converts to Christianity from among the Gentiles. Arguing against fastening the yoke of the law on the shoulders of the new converts, Peter said: “Now, therefore, why are you making a test of God by imposing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we were capable of bearing? On the contrary, we trust to get saved through the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus in the same way as those people also.” (Acts 15:10, 11, NW) The unbearable yoke could not have been limited merely to the so-called “ceremonial law”, for the Decalogue was a far greater burden. Note also that salvation comes, not by trying to keep the Decalogue, but through the “undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus”.

And what did the governing body of the early Christian church there assembled instruct the new Christian converts to do? Keep the Ten Commandments? Observe the sabbath day? No, but rather: “Since we have heard that some from among us have disturbed you with speeches trying to subvert your souls, although we did not give them any instructions, we have come to a unanimous accord . . . For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep yourselves free from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things killed without draining their blood and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.” (Acts 15:24-29, NW) Since the very question raised was regarding what features of the law were still valid, what an opportunity the brothers there missed to make unequivocally clear that sabbath observance was still compulsory if such were the case!

CHRISTIANS UNDER A POSITIVE LAW

Those who hold that the Ten Commandments still apply and that the other features of the law arrangement which can no longer be carried out were part of the “ceremonial law” which passed away evidently hold so tenaciously to the Decalogue because of fear of what would happen if Christians were without that guide or rule. They fail to consider that God’s laws for his servants differ from time to time. The nation of Israel, for instance, was commanded to use carnal weapons and act as God’s executioner, but Christians are specifically told that their weapons are not carnal.—1 Sam. 15:2, 3; 2 Cor. 10:4, 5.

But the removal of the Decalogue need arouse no fears or apprehensions. At best it was but a negative approach to righteousness. The law of the Christians is a positive one: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Matt. 7:12; 22:37-40) The goats, in the illustration of the sheep and the goats, were sentenced to destruction not because of breaking any of the negative commandments but because of failure to do good to Christ’s brothers. (Matt. 25:45) The rich young ruler who wanted to gain everlasting life had kept the Ten Commandments, but that was not enough. (Matt. 19:16-24) For other similar examples illustrating the same point see Luke 10:29-37; 18:9-14.

In Jesus’ farewell to his disciples, did he emphasize: ‘make no idols, keep the sabbath, do not steal or kill or commit adultery or bear false witness’? What strange admonition that would have been. Rather he said positively: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you.”—John 13:33-35, NW.

The apostle Paul likewise shows the superiority of the positive law of love over the negative law of Moses: “Do not be owing anybody a single thing, except to love one another; for he that loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. . . . and whatever other commandment there is, is summed up in this word, namely, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does not work evil to one’s neighbor; therefore love is the law’s fulfillment.”—Rom. 13:8-10, NW.

Likewise with the apostle John. In his first and chief epistle, what does he emphasize? The keeping of the Ten Commandments? No, but the supreme importance of love. “He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8, NW) So there is no need to fear about the removal of the Decalogue when it is replaced by love.

The division of the law given to Moses into a “moral law”, the Decalogue, and a “ceremonial law”, relating to other matters of conduct and worship, is thus seen to be without support of Scripture, logic or necessity. Instead of showing a division, both Jesus and his disciples treat the entire law arrangement as a unit, as a shadow, as a tutor, which Jehovah God nailed to Jesus’ torture stake after its purpose was accomplished. God’s servants since that time have been “not under law but under undeserved kindness”.—Rom. 6:14, NW.

Alpine Countries Join in Theocratic Expansion

AFTER completing a very encouraging tour of Northern Europe, N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and his secretary, M. G. Henschel, emplaned at Oslo, Norway, at 8 a.m. Monday, September 24. Their destination was Zurich, Switzerland, but there was no direct flight. A change of planes was necessary at Copenhagen, but that fitted into the scheme of things nicely on account of the fact that there were a few important matters of business that had not been handled during the visit to Denmark a few weeks previously. When the plane landed, at 9:30, there were a few of the Danish brothers at Kastrup airport waiting behind the fence. No one took time to sit down and the minutes flew by very quickly.

Out of Denmark, the flight was nonstop to Zurich. At 1:30 p.m. a group of about thirty Swiss brothers, including Brother Zuercher, the branch servant, waved to the traveling brothers as they disembarked from the plane at the Zurich airport. It was a gracious welcome to Switzerland, very much appreciated. Before long the brothers were in a car and headed toward Berne. The scenery was beautiful, as is almost always true in Switzerland, but all along the way were signs of the preparations being made for national defense. Men in uniform were doing their annual service. Antitank barriers stretched across fields, and highways were prepared here and there for erection of road blocks which could be erected at a moment’s notice. What appeared to be gaily painted farmhouses at a distance were seen to be fortifications when close up. So even peaceful Switzerland lives in the shadow of fear.

When the visiting brothers arrived at the fine Bethel home in Berne they were greeted by Brothers Hoffmann and Schwafert from the Wiesbaden Bethel (German branch) who were on hand to investigate the transfer of a rotary press to Germany for the printing of the Society’s magazines, now so much in demand.

On Tuesday morning a trip was made to Geneva, to the south. It was not a clear day and so much of the scenery was obscured. But the lake of Geneva was a beautiful sight, with its boats and resort towns, and especially the miles and miles of vineyards on the terraced hills along the shore. The destination was the missionary home in Geneva. The trip took several hours, allowing only about two hours for discussions and lunch with the graduates of Gilead stationed in Geneva. There was one thing they wanted to show the travelers before their departure, and that was the Reformation wall. The wall is in a park and it commemorates the days when men of learning broke away from many of the traditional pagan teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Inscriptions show the accomplishments of the reformers, and there are statues of such men as Calvin, Beza, Huss, and Knox, who were prominent in the Reformation movements.

It was necessary to speed back to Berne because a meeting was scheduled for the evening at Der Grosse Kasinosaal (Casino Hall) for the units of the Berne company. It had been many years since that foremost hall in Berne had been used by Jehovah’s witnesses. Judge Rutherford had spoken there more than fifteen years before, but then prejudice from religious sources bore the fruit of having a resolution passed to bar Jehovah’s witnesses from meeting there. The resolution was still on the records of the governing board, but when a brother spoke to the management in a kind way, trying to reason on freedom of worship and the clean record of Jehovah’s witnesses, and at the same time was persistent in his quest for use of the hall, a favorable impression was made and the hall was rented to Jehovah’s witnesses. So it was in the shadow of a theocratic victory that the 890 publishers from Berne and vicinity assembled at the Casino Hall to hear from Brothers Knorr and Henschel. Looking back to the previous visit of the Society’s president to that land, the publishers could see how much growth there had been, for in 1947 there were 1,645 publishers and now 2,756 preach in the valleys and hills of Switzerland.

In Switzerland, as elsewhere, it has been difficult to get sufficient supplies of paper for printing, but the alertness of the brothers in locating some supplies has kept the production of the printed message going. When the authorities base allocations on previous usage, then an expanding organization must face problems. A number of countries receive literature from Switzerland and it is an important center of theocratic activity.

TO AUSTRIA

There was some delay at the Zurich airport. The British European Airways attendants kept putting departure back a few minutes more each time someone inquired. Finally the cause was made known: Weather had closed in the airport at Vienna and it had been necessary to receive clearance from the American authorities at the Tulln airport located in the Russian zone of Austria. When everything was in order the plane took off and flew via Munich and Linz and finally over Vienna. The ceiling was low and the two-engine plane circled and circled, slowly losing altitude, until it broke through the overcast a few hundred feet above the earth. It was a pleasure to see the spray as the plane splashed to a landing, because that meant that at long last the Austrian brothers would have a visit from the president of the Society. The brothers had been through the times of oppression under Hitler’s regime, when the Nazis and the local cardinal had collaborated, and now, though they were under the occupation rule of the four big military powers, they could have a visit from the president.

For many years Jehovah’s witnesses and the persons of good will in Austria had read with great joy and delight about the travels of Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel. When reading those articles many would ask: “When shall we here have the privilege of having these brothers in our midst and be united in a big assembly?” Then at last the day had come, when in the 150 companies throughout the country the good news of Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel’s visit and a big convention in Vienna had been announced.

Beaming with happiness everybody got busy preparing for the feast. Of course, there were the big, important preparations concerning the hall, and the brothers in Vienna also knew that the many visitors from the country would need food and lodging; so they did all they could to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Those in the country began to save money for the trip, while others had to arrange their vacations and private affairs so that they would not need to miss one single hour of companionship with their brothers.

The choice of a hall was not easy, as Vienna, although being a city of almost 2,000,000 inhabitants, has no really nice hall large enough to hold a crowd as large as was expected, and the season would not allow for a gathering in the open. So the final choice fell on the Konzerthaus. It is a beautiful hall in which only good classical music is played, and people looked up in surprise when they saw the bright yellow placards inviting them to that place to hear Mr. Knorr from New York speak about the subject “Will Religion Meet the World Crisis?” There was also a large sign right across the front of the Konzerthaus advertising this lecture many days before, and all the people passing by could not fail to see it.

Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel had been expected on Thursday, September 27, at 3 p.m. at a certain airport south of Vienna. In spite of wind and rain a large crowd of brothers walked joyfully an hour from the tram terminus to the airfield to give Brother Knorr, Brother Henschel and Brother Rütimann (from the Swiss Bethel), who would interpret for the English-speaking brothers, a hearty welcome. There were children with bunches of flowers in their little hands, their cheeks glowing with excitement, for they had already heard so much about Brother Knorr’s visit. And then came the disappointment. Just at the last minute, they were told the plane had to land on another airfield west of Vienna. The few who had come in cars were able to be back in the city in time to meet the bus that brought the travelers from that airfield and were glad to be the first to greet the brothers in Vienna.

The same day, there was also much excitement at the different railway stations. Special trains brought hundreds from Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Two hundred had also come from Switzerland, and some brothers from England, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Germany and the United States made this assembly quite an international one. The language barrier was soon overcome, and the strange people made remarks on how favorably impressed they were when watching the harmony and love between Jehovah’s witnesses, even if they had never before seen each other.

Friday, September 28, at 9 a.m. the assembly began, when more than 2,000 joined in singing to the praise of Jehovah. In this hall one is used to seeing the singers only on the stage, but this time it was different; everybody in the hall sang with his voice and heart. The attendance grew from 2,426 on Friday to 2,773 on Saturday and many had to stand.

Saturday brought, besides the blessings of the meeting, another nice surprise. Brother Knorr was interviewed by a reporter from the sender Radio II, and the same evening, at 10:15, this was broadcast. It had been announced at the hall and all hurried home and tuned in to that station. For the first time in Vienna the radio waves carried words to the honor of the Most High, who had created them. Beautifully and clearly, the voices of Brother Knorr, Brother Rütimann, and the gentleman who interviewed them, could be heard. What a testimony for many, including those who think they can get rid of Jehovah’s witnesses just by ignoring them!

There was another thing that helped a great deal in advertising the public talk and that provided many opportunities to witness to the people in the streets, tramcars, shops, and restaurants. At the beginning of the assembly everyone received a small sign inviting people to the public lecture, and it was pinned on the coat or dress. It certainly made the people of Vienna curious, and many were thankful to get an explanation. Everybody had to take notice, and Jehovah’s witnesses became the talk of the town. It was these little signs that had caused the radio station to request the interview.

The assembly program was filled with instructive and encouraging talks by Brother Knorr, Brother Henschel, and other brothers. Two talks that Brother Franz, the Society’s vice-president, had given at the other big assemblies were read to the brothers so that they would have a program very similar to that of their brothers in London, Frankfurt and other places. When the people of good will found out that all the speakers were full-time workers, many who had only recently become acquainted with the truth remarked how much they appreciated that it was not as in other religious organizations, where they talk well but would not in their daily life be willing to suffer the hardships a true follower of our Lord has to overcome.

Happy hours seem to fly, and Sunday, the last day, came only too soon. All three halls of the Konzerthaus as well as the sitting foyer and lounge rooms were connected by loud-speakers. Long before three o’clock, when the public talk was to begin, every seat was taken, and 4,467 persons listened with the greatest interest to Brother Knorr’s explanations. They were so logical, true to facts and based on the Scriptures, that people who had never before known anything about the subject expressed their appreciation for all they had heard, and a tremendous applause proved how much the audience was in harmony with the speaker.

There were 3,373 who stayed on to hear the closing words by Brother Knorr. When the moment came for Brother Knorr to say “good-by” the brothers applauded so long that it seemed as if by this they were trying to keep him there a little longer.

At the end of World War II, in 1945, the first reports received from Austria indicated there were 421 publishing the good news of the Theocracy. As the years have gone by there have been hundreds more joining annually in the Kingdom proclamation. In June 1951 a peak of 2,702 publishers was reached. This is more than unusual in a land where the people are more than 90 per cent Roman Catholic and where about 25 per cent of the territory is affected by the occupation of Russian forces and Communist propagandists. The spirit of the brothers is very high and they are glad to have the assistance of nine graduates of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, including the branch servant, Brother Voigt.

Throughout Austria and all of the countries of Western Europe the theocratic organization is firmly rooted. Jehovah has greatly blessed all the work of the brothers and sisters and the increases have been unprecedented. Their joy and that of the Kingdom publishers everywhere in the world has been built up through the blessings received and also by the reports that have by one means or another come through the so-called “iron curtain” from the faithful publishers in Eastern Europe. Although the work has been banned by the communistic governments, individual publishers of the good news of God’s kingdom have stuck to their ministry and preached to people whenever and wherever possible. So in the 1951 service year new peaks of workers were established in Czechoslovakia (3,705), Hungary (2,583) and Yugoslavia (617) in the face of violent opposition and the jailing of hundreds. More than 15,000 reported in Poland, too. Publishers are at work in the other “red” countries and occasionally they are heard from. All this stands as proof that the message of final warning is being sounded, even as Jehovah foretold in the Bible prophecies, and the fearlessness and faithfulness of Jehovah’s witnesses as they stand for clean, undefiled worship before God’s enemies and theirs “is a proof of destruction for [the enemies], but of salvation for [Jehovah’s faithful ones]; and this indication is from God”.—Phil. 1:27-29, NW.

Publish Uplift and Comfort for the Poor

TODAY poverty is the lot of the great majority of mankind, nearly all of whom look upon material prosperity as the chief good in life. But why set your heart on something unlikely of realization? And even if realized, what have you? Burdens, anxieties and temptations that plunge men into destruction.—1 Tim. 6:9, NW.

Spiritual poverty is even more widespread than lack of material riches, but those who appreciate their spiritual poverty are truly wise. How so? Because God has made it possible for these to become spiritually rich.

Jesus illustrated this change from spiritual poverty to spiritual felicity and prosperity in the parable or illustration of the rich man and Lazarus.a A parable? Yes, for “without an illustration [Jesus] would not speak to them”, and to take it literally involves us in many inconsistencies and absurdities. For one thing, note that nothing is said about the rich man as being wicked or the poor man as being good. Certainly it is inconceivable that such all-important facts would have been overlooked if the account were to serve as a warning to evildoers.—Matt. 13:34; Luke 16:19-31, NW.

Briefly, the illustration shows the following: When Jesus began his ministry he found a class of men who were like the rich man in that they were rich in honor, position and spiritual advantages, the scribes, Pharisees, lawyers and priests. They were proud, haughty, self-righteous, and considered themselves the custodians of the sacred pronouncements.—Matt. 23:2; John 8:39; Luke 16:15; Rom. 3:2, NW.

On the other hand, Lazarus, whose name means “God is helper”, fittingly pictures the poor and humble lovers of righteousness who appreciated their spiritual need. These, in the eyes of the religious leaders, were morally diseased and fit company for dogs, uncircumcised Gentiles.—Matt. 15:26, 27; Luke 18:9-14; John 7:49, NW.

The ministry of Christ Jesus brought about a great change in the condition of each, well pictured by their death. The spiritually poor were comforted by the truth, and by reason of their faith and consistent course of action were brought into God’s favor, well pictured by Abraham’s bosom. (Matt. 5:3-12; 11:28-30; Luke 22:28-30; John 13:23, NW) On the other hand, the plain teaching of Jesus brought so much torment to the religious leaders that they caused Jesus to be murdered. With Pentecost the tormenting message was again heralded forth. They were no more given relief from this torment than was the rich man in the illustration.—Matt. 21:45, 46; 23:1-36; Acts 5:27-33, NW.

Today we see the same thing but on a much larger scale. Again there is the proud and rich, selfish and spiritually favored clergy class; and again we see a lowly class of persons who appreciate their spiritual poverty. Again the preaching of the truth brings torment to the spiritually rich and comfort to the poor, helping them to come into the position of favor with Jehovah God. As the prophet foretold: “Jehovah . . . raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the needy from the dunghill; that he may set him with princes.”—Ps. 113:1, 7, 8, AS.

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● Do the courts of the land have the right to inflict capital punishment on those guilty of murder?—M. W., Washington.

No individual on his own has the right to execute another person because that one has committed a murder. However, we would not say that the community could not do so, acting through its legally constituted courts of law. If a person has been given a fair trial, and irrefutable evidence has been presented that that person is a murderer, then it seems that the community must take some action to protect its citizens. We have always said that jails are not Jehovah’s means of punishment, so we would hardly be consistent in arguing that it would be more in harmony with Jehovah’s law for a murderer to be imprisoned for life than for the murderer to be put to death. Jehovah’s law on the matter was that a murderer should be punished by death, not by imprisonment. If a person is a self-confessed murderer, or has been proved to be such without any shadow of doubt, then the community must take some action against the individual, rather than let him go free to commit further crimes.

At 1 Peter 4:15 the apostle said: “Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a busybody in other people’s matters.” (NW) Then the apostle goes on to show that if we suffer as a Christian we should not feel shame. Peter’s words seem to imply that it was proper for a murderer to suffer for his crime, and we know what the penalty was from God’s standpoint, namely, death, and not imprisonment. Peter does not argue that a murderer should not suffer merely because no man was present to act as an appointed executioner from Jehovah. In Peter’s day the duly constituted authorities of the community were the ones who brought the suffering or punishment upon a murderer, and Peter makes no objection to this practice.

The apostle Paul also seems to take the same position, only he puts it even more clearly. Acts 25:10, 11 (NW) states: “Paul said: ‘I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also are finding out quite well. If, on the one hand, I am really a wrongdoer and have committed anything deserving of death, I do not beg off from dying; if, on the other hand, none of those things exists of which these men accuse me, no man can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to Caesar!’” Please note that here while standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, the duly constituted authority of the community, and not an executioner appointed by Jehovah God, Paul went on record as saying that if he had done anything deserving of death, he would not beg off from dying. This certainly seems to mean that Paul considered the properly constituted civil authorities as having power to inflict the death sentence. Rather than argue that such a human court did not have this power, he seemed to indicate that it did have the power and he would not object to the exercise of that power against him if he had committed anything deserving of death; and certainly a murder is something that makes the one committing it worthy of death, according to Jehovah’s law as well as man’s law.

Hence, there does not seem to be any violation of Scriptural principle in the community’s putting a murderer to death. It even seems a more Scriptural course than committing the murderer for life, to be thereafter fed and clothed and cared for at the expense of the community, and always with the possibility that the murderer may add to his crimes by killing another inmate, or by killing guards in an attempted escape, or by escaping and murdering other persons on the outside. In the nations’ practice of capital punishment there does not seem to be anything that is contradictory to God’s law, and where the law of the land does not conflict with God’s law we do not raise particular objection against it.

● Why was Aaron not punished for making a golden calf for the Israelites to worship?—A. F., California.

Exodus 32:1-6 shows that Aaron did this at the request of the people, and participation in the wrong seemed to be rather general, since it caused Jehovah to say to Moses: “Let me alone, that my anger may blaze against them, and that I may consume them.” Ex 32 Vs. 10, AT) While it is true that Aaron co-operated with the rebellious ones in this idolatry, Ex 32 verse 25 suggests the possibility that the deflection might have been allowed for a purpose: “When Moses saw that the people had become unruly (for Aaron had let them get unruly, to be a derision among their assailants), Moses stood at the gate of the camp, and said, ‘To me, whoever is for the LORD!’ Whereupon all the Levites gathered to him.” (Ex 32 Vss. 25-27, AT) Aaron was a Levite, and we may assume that on this occasion he took his stand with them for Jehovah and against those who withstood Moses on this occasion. About three thousand persons were slain for this idolatry. More were guilty in the matter, since after the three thousand were gone Moses reminded the people that they had sinned greatly. So more persons than just Aaron received of Jehovah’s mercy in this matter. Apparently the nearly three thousand that perished were ringleaders in launching the idolatrous venture and resistant to correction, not humbly repentant or acknowledging wrong and switching their position to Jehovah’s side. They merited no mercy. But Aaron behaved differently, showed he was not in heart sympathy with the idolatry and acted only at the mob’s behest, and stood for Jehovah when Moses brought matters to a showdown.—Ex 32 Vss. 28-35.

● If one has already been baptized, does he need to repeat the baptism after he gets a knowledge of the truth?—R. G., Canada.

Whether a person is to be baptized again or not is determined by his understanding of baptism when he first underwent it. Did he understand the meaning of the symbol of water immersion? Did he fully appreciate that it meant a complete dedication of his life to the Lord, to serve the Lord, to do His will? Had he made such a dedication in his mind and heart and before the Lord prior to the immersion in water, which is a public symbolizing of the previously made dedication? If so, and if the baptism was a complete submersion in water, then there is no necessity for the person to perform the symbol again. The one who does the immersing, the place of immersion, and who are present as spectators, are not the determining factors. It is the proper understanding and appreciation of baptism on the part of the one being immersed that counts. If the person did not have this understanding and appreciation, if he merely viewed baptism as a religious ceremony affiliating him with a certain church, not realizing the meaning or importance of the step and what would be thereafter required of him from a Scriptural standpoint, then when such a person comes to a knowledge of the truth and wishes to dedicate his life to the God of truth as one of His witnesses the person should symbolize this dedication that he has now made with understanding.

● The book What Has Religion Done for Mankind? states on page 211: “Neither let anyone think that the doctrine of purgatory was discovered first by Pope Gregory the Great (595-604 A.D.).” Then on page 274 it states: “Gregory I (A.D. 595-604) was the first to discover ‘purgatory’.” How are these seemingly contradictory statements harmonized?—D. F., New York.

On page 211 it is showing how the Buddhist system taught a doctrine of purgatory many centuries before the organizing of the Roman Catholic system in the fourth century A.D. But on page 274, and the preceding pages, it is showing how various pagan doctrines were incorporated into the Roman Catholic religion. As far as Catholic doctrine is concerned, Pope Gregory the Great did (to use his own language) discover purgatory. He claimed to do so by means of apparitions and visions. He was the first one to introduce it as a “Christian” doctrine, incorporating it into Roman Catholic Church teaching, which was and is apostate Christianity. So the setting supplies a limitation to the scope of the statement on page 274, which is discussing popes and their innovations, whereas on page 211 the statement is more general, unlimited by its setting, and denying Pope Gregory’s claim. Hence when viewed in their proper settings, the statements are not contradictory.

Announcements

“JUBILEE TRUMPET” WITNESSING PERIOD—Leviticus 25:9, 10

The time is here for sounding liberty among all of earth’s inhabitants, to all races and nations. Freedom for all! That is welcome news to everyone who loves justice and truth and who unselfishly yearns for true liberty for all humanity. As conditions worsen and grow more unbearable, why should not people want to be free from such? The great Liberator has decreed that evil will not always prevail. No, his Word of promise offers freedom even now. This good news of liberation must be sounded out as though by trumpet blasts. This is being done by God’s faithful servants world-wide through the distribution of the Watchtower magazine. The “Jubilee Trumpet” Witnessing Period during April affords opportunity for many to take part in this fourth and last month of the Watchtower campaign. The Watchtower magazine is offered at $1 for a year’s subscription. New subscribers receive three Scriptural booklets free. To those already subscribers for The Watchtower, the Awake! magazine may be offered on the same basis. Get a supply of magazines and use them to acquaint others with their valuable contents. Single copies may be left with those who do not subscribe. Regular house-to-house distribution of the magazine will aid many to learn of freedom. So make April a magazine month.

DO YOU HAVE THIS BIBLE?

Regular readers of The Watchtower appreciate its use of the many and varied Bible translations. Frequently used is the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures (shown by NW). This splendid rendition of the Sacred Scriptures records in modern speech the words and acts of faithful servants of God: the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, the Revelation—all shine with fresh beauty in this version. This fine piece of workmanship is based on the most ancient manuscripts extant, and embodies the results of the latest research in the field of archaeology bearing on Bible lands, languages and customs. Bound in attractive green cover, with gold-embossed title, and 800 pages of large clear type, it measures 7 ⁵/₁₆ʺ X 5ʺ x 1ʺ. Sent postpaid for $1.50.

1952 MEMORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Thursday, April 10, 1952, at sunset, or at 6 p.m., Standard Time, is the beginning of Nisan 14. That evening is the time for observing the memorial of the Lord’s evening meal. All companies, units and other groups of persons dedicated to Jehovah’s service should assemble together, along with those persons of good will, and observe the occasion. Keeping the memorial of the Lord’s evening meal is the privilege of all true followers of the Lord Jesus. (1 Cor. 11:20-26, NW) In joyful and thankful commemoration, these true worshipers will assemble at the appropriate time, opening their meeting with song and prayer. A dedicated and baptized servant of Jehovah God, preferably one of Jehovah’s anointed, will deliver a talk on the meaning of the Memorial. The emblems provided, unleavened bread and red wine, will be served after the discourse has been given and the anointed ones will partake of them. Following the Memorial appropriate service announcements may be made, a song sung and the meeting closed with prayer. A cordial welcome is extended to every person of good will to attend this important and happy occasion in union with Jehovah’s witnesses in his vicinity. So be among the hundreds of thousands who will respond to this invitation. A report of the number in attendance at each gathering, and of the number partaking of the emblems, should then be sent to the Society.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of March 30: Keeping the Organization Clean.

Week of April 6: Propriety of Disfellowshiping, ¶1-18.

Week of April 13: Propriety of Disfellowshiping, ¶19-28; also, Sin Making Reinstatement Impossible.