The Watchtower, September 1, 1968

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The Watchtower — September 1, 1968

Source: jw.org

Contents

“Godly Devotion Is Beneficial for All Things”

Is Your Soul Immortal?

From a Tiny Seed

“Whatever a Man Is Sowing, This He Will Also Reap”

“Let Us Not Give Up in Doing What Is Fine”

Wallet Recovered

Faith’s Reward

What It Means to Be Honest

Show Imperiled Mankind the Way to Security

Do You Remember?

Questions From Readers

Announcements

“Godly Devotion Is Beneficial for All Things”

THE Bible shows that godly devotion or godliness is rewarding. It not only holds out the hope of eternal salvation, but brings benefits even now. As the Christian apostle Paul says: “Godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.” Yes, godly devotion brings with it rewards even at the present time, and not only those of a spiritual nature but also those of a physical kind.—1 Tim. 4:8.

What is meant by “godly devotion”? The Greek word that the apostle Paul here used is variously rendered “godliness,” “spirituality,” “piety,” “religion,” “spiritual fitness,” “holiness,” “spiritual exercise” as well as “godly devotion.” Its literal meaning is ‘being considerate of sacred things.’

Why is godly devotion beneficial now? For one thing, because it inculcates morality, the control of one’s passions, and so protects one from all the ills, emotional, mental and physical, that so often result from loose conduct. (Prov. 7:22, 23; 23:29-32) It is beneficial now in that it helps one to be content, self-sufficient. It guards one against the snare of the love of money that can cause so much harm, just as we are warned: “The love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.”—1 Tim. 6:10.

Then, again, godly devotion is beneficial now in that it brings with it the spirit of God, which, the Bible explains, produces “soundness of mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7) For example, a few years ago a Christian witness of Jehovah preaching the good news of God’s kingdom from house to house happened to meet a man who had been a patient in a mental institution. This man had been suffering for ten years from paranoid schizophrenia and his doctors told him that there was no hope of a cure for him. He was very unclean and unkempt in his personal appearance and was living outside the institution only because he was willing to take the required medication, which consisted of thirty-three pills each day.

Although this man at first proved to be very trying, he evidently was sincere, and so the Christian minister kept making return visits. He conducted a regular Bible study with the man, by means of which he learned about God’s righteous requirements and the wonderful hope of the blessings to come to mankind under God’s kingdom. Gradually this patient took an interest in his personal appearance. Then he quit smoking, and after eight months he was so improved in his condition that he was able to get along without any drugs. At the end of a year he was taken off the doctor’s list, discharged as cured.

Four years have passed since the Christian minister going from house to house first called on this man, and today he is still enjoying good health and has a good job. More than that, he is very active in the Christian ministry, bringing to others the comforting good news about Jehovah God’s kingdom that did so much for him. What accounted for this change in a man who after ten years of medical treatment had been pronounced incurable by his physicians? Godly devotion or ‘consideration of sacred things.’ He is proving true the promise of Jehovah God: “Abundant peace belongs to those loving your law, and for them there is no stumbling block.”—Ps. 119:165.

Godly devotion is also beneficial now in that it brings hope into the life of one who has suddenly lost a loved one. It helps to heal the wounds of grief and gives one something to live for, even though one suffers a sudden and tragic loss. Thus recently at a Christian missionary school a youthful husband died suddenly of a heart attack in the middle of the night. Shocking as this tragic blow was to his young wife, who was a missionary student along with him, she met that blow calmly. She resolved to continue her missionary training even though now facing the prospect of going to her missionary assignment, not as a married woman with a husband on whom to depend, but as a single woman.

What a contrast from some of the experiences one reads about in the newspapers! For example, a “skydiver,” a parachutist, whose wife had been killed when her parachute failed to open, committed suicide by jumping out of a plane at 3,200 feet after first making certain that his parachute would not open up. Also, there was a schoolteacher whose husband had drowned when a boat in which they were riding overturned due to a storm. She slipped out of her life jacket to join him in death. “If Tom is gone, I want to go too,” were her last words. Such grief often takes its toll even though there be no violent attempts at self-destruction. According to a recent issue of the British Medical Journal, the death rate of those who have lost a loved one suddenly in death is five times that of the average.

Here we have it: Godly devotion gives one something to live for, even when a close relative may die suddenly. This is because one’s interests are not centered around just one’s own family. More than that, godly devotion gives one faith in the resurrection, in the hope of everlasting life on a paradise earth, in the hope of seeing one’s loved ones again right here upon the earth in God’s due time. Godly devotion, or giving consideration to sacred things, moves one to find time for bringing honor to one’s Creator, Jehovah God, and to show love for one’s neighbor as for oneself. At the same time it prepares the Christian for any eventuality in that it recognizes how death entered into the world and why God has permitted it, together with wickedness, for so long. But more than that, it provides the certain hope that Jehovah God will bring an end to all sorrow, crying, pain and death.—Rev. 21:4.

Truly, godly devotion, or consideration for sacred things, means not only eternal salvation, life in the system of things to come, but many benefits now, physically, mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah.”—2 Pet. 3:11, 12.

Is Your Soul Immortal?

What did the early Christians teach about the soul and immortality?

Where did Christendom get its ideas about immortality of the soul?

IN THIS materialistic epoch many persons doubt the idea of immortality of the soul, which they consider to be a basic teaching of the “Christian religion.” Few have any idea that early Christians taught something entirely different about the soul.

You might be surprised to know that modern religious scholars recognize that what the Bible teaches about the soul is far different from what today’s religions teach. In fact, a knowledge of what early Christians really taught about the soul and immortality could have a profound effect on your outlook toward modern religious teaching.

Christendom cites Justin (who died about the year 165 of our Common Era) as one of its martyrs. Rather than saying that all souls are immortal, as do today’s religious leaders, Justin Martyr wrote: “Some souls perish.”1 In a later day this idea might have gotten him classed as a “heretic” rather than as a “martyr.”

Tatian, a Christian writer who lived during the last part of the second century, wrote: “O Greeks! The soul is not by itself immortal . . . it dies and dissolves with the body, when it does not know the truth . . . if therefore it rests isolated from the light, it sinks into the matter and dies with the flesh.”2 Tatian, too, would have been in direct contradiction with modern religious teaching.

A recent scholarly Catholic book on Christendom’s early writers shows that other “Church fathers” also taught that many souls die. It says of the soul: “Like Justin and Theophilus of Antioch [of the second century], Arnobus [near the beginning of the fourth century] assumes that it is not immortal by nature, but that it can be made immortal by the grace of the Christian God.”3

Indeed, there is a great difference between this idea that the soul is “not immortal by nature” and the modern idea that it is inherently immortal.

AN ANCIENT GREEK IDEA

Since the idea that the soul is inherently immortal was not taught by early Christians, from where did it come? Where did Christendom get it?

The evidence indicates that it was from the idol-worshiping ancient Greeks. The Bible teaches that the soul dies, and that the hope of future life depends on the resurrection. The Greek idea was different from this. The Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de la Bible (1956), a leading French-language Bible encyclopedia, says that the ancient Greeks believed that “the soul, created before the body, remains when it is destroyed, continuing to live its own life; because the soul is immortal and the death of the body represents in its existence a real liberating deliverance.”4

A similar view is held by many professed Christians today. They say the soul is immortal, that it continues to live after the body dies, and that death is a great deliverance and liberation, which enables the soul to return to God. This idea existed in Jesus’ day, but he did not teach it—the idol-worshiping Greeks did.

As time passed, the mixture of this Greek idea into professed Christianity increased. The above-mentioned Bible dictionary edited by Westphal says:

“It was particularly when Christianity separated from Judaism that one began to mix closely the ideas of resurrection and immortality. . . . Contemporary Christian thought still suffers the effects of this confusion. Spiritual heirs of both the Greeks and the Jews, we still explain survival sometimes by the Jewish idea of a resurrection, sometimes by the Greek idea of immortality, without even noticing the internal contradictions of our thinking.”5

What, then, is the truth on the matter? Is the Greek idea of immortality true? Is it found in the Bible? What does the Bible teach about the soul and immortality?

WHAT IS THE “SOUL”?

The Bible’s teaching about the soul is very clear. It says that when man is animated by the breath of life from God, man becomes “a living soul.” At Genesis 2:7 it is written: “And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground [elements found in the earth] and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” You will note that this passage does not say the soul was created before the body. Neither does it say the soul was “given to” or “put into” man. Nor does it say that the “breath of life” was the soul. Instead, it says that when man came alive, beginning to breathe, “man came to be a living soul.”

The Biblical dictionary edited by Westphal referred to above had to admit this, despite the fact that it is so different from what Christendom teaches. It notes that, according to the Bible, man’s being resides “in the body animated by the breath of the Lord, thus becoming a living soul (compare Gen. 2:7).” It also said that “this soul is inseparable from the body, a fact that explains why sometimes the Old Testament uses the word ‘soul’ for man . . . and sometimes the word ‘flesh’ . . . without the meaning being essentially different.”6

Thus, as used in the Bible, the word “soul” means a living, breathing, sense-possessing creature. This is why the Bible also calls animals “souls,” though it does not use this word for plants.

CAN IT DIE?

If, as the above-mentioned Protestant authority recognizes, “the soul is inseparable from the body,” does this mean that when you die your soul dies? Yes. The Bible speaks of souls as dying, and as being struck fatally, killed, destroyed or devoured. And it uses the specific term “dead soul.”a

It may further surprise many persons to know that, exactly opposite to what is taught in modern catechism classes and Sunday schools, Jesus’ own disciples said that the soul dies. In their gospels, epistles and other writings that are now included in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the Bible, the words “soul” and “souls” appear more than fifty times. Yet not one single time is the word “immortal” associated with them. Not even once does the Bible use the common expression “immortal soul.”

Instead, Jesus’ disciple James showed that a sinning soul dies. He wrote: “Know that he who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save his soul from death.” (Jas. 5:20) In the apostle John’s vision of God’s anger “every living soul died, yes, the things in the sea.”—Rev. 16:3.

Further, Jesus and his apostles accepted, believed, and frequently quoted from the earlier books of the Bible. In those inspired books you can read: “The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.” (Ezek. 18:4) Indeed, that differs from the ideas of the ancient Greeks—and from the ideas that modern Christendom inherited from them and now teaches in her churches.

Certain religious leaders recognize that the Bible uses the word “soul” in a manner far different from the way today’s churches use it. The Bible dictionary edited by Westphal says that the Hebrews did not imagine the soul “without a body to support it.”7 This Protestant authority adds: “Man is therefore an indivisible whole; without the body the soul remains inconceivable, and without the soul the body is only an inert mass.”7

Sincere Catholics and Protestants alike, who have assumed that the idea that the soul is immortal is supported in the writings of Jesus’ apostles, may be shocked to read what a major new Catholic reference work says about this. The New Catholic Encyclopedia (bearing the imprimatur of the archbishop of Washington; published in 1967 by the Catholic University of America) admits (Vol. 13, page 467): “The notion of the soul surviving after death is not readily discernible in the Bible.”

Showing how the Hebrew word that the Bible uses for “soul” differs from Christendom’s modern concept, that encyclopedia says:

“Nepes [or néphesh] is a term of far greater extension than our ‘soul,’ signifying life (Ex 21.23; Dt 19.21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn 35.18; Jb 41.21), blood [Gn 9.4; Dt 12.23; Ps 140:8 (141). 8], desire (2 Sam 3.21; Prv 23.2). The Soul in the OT [Old Testament] means not a part of man, but the whole man—man as a living being. Similarly, in the NT [New Testament] it signifies human life; the life of an individual, conscious subject (Mt 2.20; 6.25; Lk 12.22-23; 14.26; Jn 10.11, 15, 17; 13.37).”

The Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, by A. van den Born, points out that at Job 13:14 (a Hebrew poetical passage in which the same statement is made in different words on two lines parallel with each other) “my nefes” is found parallel with “my flesh.”

It says that when the part of the Bible written before our Common Era “speaks of rescuing or delivering a man’s nefes from the nether world (Ps 30,4 [Ps 30:3]; Ps 86:13 86,13; 89,49 [Ps 89:48]; Ps 116:4 116,4; Isa 38:17 Is 38,17; Pr 23:14 Prv 23,14), it means no more than that this man is saved from dying (cfr. Ps 33:19 33,19; 56,14 [Ps 56:13]; Ps 78:50 78,50; Job 33:18, 22, 28 Jb 33,18. 22. 28) or that he is snatched from mortal danger; in all these cases the man’s nefes is merely a synonym for the man himself.”—Columns 2287, 2288.

It also says that psykhé, the word used for “soul” in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the Bible, “frequently designates physical life.”—Column 2288.

IMMORTALITY

The word “immortality” does appear in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, which was originally written not in Hebrew but in Greek, and is sometimes inserted into the pre-Christian Hebrew Scriptures. But even this apocryphal book does not say that the soul is immortal. This Catholic dictionary says specifically that “it is probable that in Wisdom immortality means the imperishable life that will be given to the elect in their resurrected bodies.” It adds: “In the New Testament also immortality is gained only in the resurrection. . . . This is the reward which awaits the just on Judgment Day.”—Column 854.

Actually, the words “immortal” and “immortality” are rarely used in the Bible. In the King James Version they appear a total of only six times. At 1 Timothy 1:17 and; 1 Ti 6:16 God and Christ are spoken of as being immortal, or incorruptible. At Romans 2:7 immortality (or incorruptibility) is spoken of, not as something inherent in man, but as something to be ‘sought.’ Second Timothy 1:10 says Christ ‘shed light’ on this subject. Finally, at 1 Corinthians 15:53, 54, the word “immortality” is used twice, not to describe something people have, but something they must “put on.”

Thus, the Bible teaches that the soul is the life you enjoy. Your soul is YOU. When you live, you are a living soul. When you die, the soul is dead.

Then, is there no hope for man?

Yes, there is hope. But it does not depend upon your having an “immortal soul.” Instead, it depends upon one’s being covered by the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, so that he will be resurrected, or restored to life, on a perfected paradise earth after God destroys the present wicked system and establishes righteous conditions of lasting peace and justice earth wide.—Rev. 20:11-13; 21:1-4.

This resurrection hope, rarely discussed in today’s churches, is taught in both the Hebrew and the Christian Greek Scriptures of the Bible, and was stressed by first-century Christians. In fact, one modern religious authority said: “The most startling characteristic of the first Christian preaching is its emphasis on the resurrection.”8

Knowing the Bible truth about the soul enables you to make a vital decision. What is that? To determine which religion is true and which religion is false. For any religion that teaches the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul must be false. This being so, will you continue to associate with such or will you associate with those who teach God’s truth?

REFERENCES

1 Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin Martyr, Dialogue V.

2 Oration to the Greeks, Tatian, Section 13. Quoted from French translation, Discours contre les Grecs, in Les Pères de l’Eglise, by de Genoude (Paris; 1838), p. 233.

3 Patrology, Berthold Altaner (originally published in German as Patrologie) (Friedberg, West Germany; 1960), p. 207.

4 Dictionnaire Encyclopèdique de la Bible, edited by Alexandre Westphal (Valence-sur-Rhone, France; 1956), Vol. 2, p. 557, column 1.

5 Ibid., column 2.

6 Ibid., column 1.

7 Ibid., column 2.

8 The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas (London; 1962), p. 1086.

[Footnotes]

For examples see Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6. More than eighty instances in which the Bible refers to the soul as being capable of dying are cited on pages 3558, 3559 of the 1963 one-volume edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

When you look these verses up in your modern translation of the Bible, you may find that the word “soul” has been replaced by “body,” “man,” “me,” “person,” or another word. This is because translators who believed that the Bible teaches the soul is immortal obviously encountered a problem of conscience when they came across passages that say it dies. However, in each of the above-mentioned instances the word used in the Bible’s original Hebrew language is néphesh, which these same translators rendered elsewhere as “soul.”

The Hebrew word for “soul” is used 750 times in the Bible to refer to (1) a person, an individual, or a lower animal, or (2) the life that a person or animal enjoys as such. This is entirely different from the ideas modern Christendom has inherited from the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans.

From a Tiny Seed

● A seed of a giant sequoia tree of California weighs only 1/3,000th of an ounce. But from such tiny seeds grow trees well over 200 feet high. One such tree is 272 feet tall and it has a base circumference of over a hundred feet, meaning that it would take about seventeen men with outstretched arms to encircle it. It is just one example of the handiwork of God.

“Whatever a Man Is Sowing, This He Will Also Reap”

“Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.”—Gal. 6:7, 8.

1, 2. (a) How does the principle stated at Galatians 6:7 prove true as to literal sowing? (b) How does Paul apply the principle to the Christian?

HOW well the farmer knows the truthfulness of this principle, “whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap,” as far as it may be applied to his literal sowing and reaping! After having sown his fields with oats, when the time comes for the new blades to begin sprouting it is too late for him to wish he had planted wheat instead. No amount of wishful thinking on his part will change his crop into something else. No! The farmer is bound to reap what he has sown. An unchangeable law of nature is at work, a law that originated with the Creator of all living things. As the inspired account of creation tells us: “And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of which is in it, upon the earth.’” (Gen. 1:11) In the outworking of this natural law, “God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”—Gal. 6:7.

2 The inevitability of this natural law underscores the force of Paul’s words in verse eight of this chapter 6 of his letter to the Galatians 6:8: “Because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.” Yes, what we sow in the soil of our lives is bound to have fruitage also ‘according to its kind,’ according to whether the seed we sow is good or bad, with a view to the spirit or with a view to the flesh. Since “God is not one to be mocked” in this regard either, it behooves us to look well to the way we sow now.

3. As to our personal lives, what can be said as to the seed we can sow and as to our motive in sowing?

3 As regards our personal lives, the purpose for which we sow is as important as the seed itself. We can have good “seed” to sow, but wrong motive, “sowing with a view to [the] flesh.” This can corrupt the seed and yield corrupt fruitage. Health, strength, time, the power of speech, hearing, the ability to read, other natural abilities, opportunities of being with others, responsibility toward others—each and all of suchlike things can be used for good or for ill, for the selfish satisfaction of the flesh or for the upbuilding of the spiritual lives of ourselves and others.

4. What is one way of ‘sowing with a view to the flesh’?

4 In view of the fact that sowing with a view to the flesh means reaping corruption, you will surely want to avoid sowing in that way. How is it that one ‘sows with a view to the flesh’? A number of things readily come to mind that are rightly included in this kind of sowing. Not the least of these is the pursuit of material possessions as an end in itself. Do you find yourself discontented with what you have? jealous or envious of what others possess? Are you getting caught up in the frantic struggle to keep up with the Joneses? If so, it is time to take an honest look at the way you are sowing. It could well be that it is with a view to the flesh.

5. How can we sow with a view to the spirit even in connection with material things?

5 Not that it is wrong to have some concern for material things. A man who has a family must give some thought to providing the needed material things of life: food, clothing and adequate shelter for his wife and children. A Christian failing to make such provision is spoken of as having “disowned the faith” and being “worse than a person without faith.” (1 Tim. 5:8) But the Christian does not want to be “eagerly pursuing” as his goal in life the satisfaction of his material needs, as is the case with the peoples of the nations as a whole. (Matt. 6:32) Jesus commanded: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) So it is a matter of keeping things in their right place, not “sowing with a view to [the] flesh” by making material things one’s goal in life, but using our material possessions as a means to increase our praise and service of the true God, Jehovah. In this way we will be sowing so as to benefit our spiritual lives, and we will be taking into account the will of Jehovah, the Great Spirit, as this is made plain for us by the operation of his holy spirit or active force and by means of his Word of truth.

6. How did many of the Jews who followed Jesus manifest a wrong viewpoint toward his ministry?

6 Many of the Jews who followed Jesus for a while evidenced that they did so “with a view to [the] flesh” and not with a view to spiritual things. On one occasion a crowd of Jews followed Jesus from the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee over to Capernaum. When they finally caught up with Jesus, he said to them: “Most truly I say to you, You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate from the loaves and were satisfied. Work, not for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for life everlasting.” (John 6:26, 27) Having just shared in the overabundant supply of food miraculously provided for the 5,000, they figured that following Jesus was an easy way to satisfy their selfish appetites. They gave no thought to the significance of the miracles they beheld, which were, in reality, signs proving Jesus to be the long-promised Messiah, the very “bread of life.”—John 6:41-48.

7. What opportunities and dangers come with material riches, with what possible consequences?

7 It may be true that possession of material wealth brings a certain amount of pleasure. A Christian possessed of riches is, in fact, in a position to do a great amount of good in behalf of others, and particularly in advancing the interests of God’s kingdom. Doing so results in genuine pleasure and satisfaction. But all too often the possession of wealth leads to the pursuit of selfish pleasure, to a ‘sowing with a view to the flesh.’ Money opens the door to opportunities for worldly pleasures hitherto denied, and the temptation is strong to enjoy them while the door is open. If “the deceptive power of riches” takes hold, it chokes out the love of the truth and, within a little time, causes one to be “unfruitful” as to spiritual things. (Matt. 13:22, and footnote in 1950 edition) Yes, “those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things.” (1 Tim. 6:9, 10) In this respect, then, you will not want to be misled. If you sow with a view to the flesh because of love of money you are bound to reap corruption, yes, destruction and ruin. For “God is not one to be mocked” as to the outworking of this law of life either.

IMPROPER SEXUAL DESIRE

8-10. (a) In what way may the seeds of improper sexual desire be sown in the mind? (b) If unchecked, to what does such desire inevitably lead?

8 The harboring of improper sexual desires is likewise a “sowing with a view to [the] flesh,” which, if unchecked, is certain to produce eventually the fruitage of corruption. At Galatians 5:19 the apostle Paul lists first among “the works of the flesh” fruits of improper sexual desires, namely, “fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct.”

9 In this connection we might think back for a moment on the illustration of the farmer sowing seed in his fields. Actually the grains of seed he sows are very small, and when they fall on the ground they become practically invisible. Likewise, in connection with improper sexual desires. The seed may be small and sown almost indiscernibly to others, possibly even to ourselves. Today, from every direction the enticements to improper sexual desires crowd in upon us, and especially upon the teen-agers. “Romantic” novels, and particularly the cheap picture-story-type magazines, glamorize fornication and adultery under the guise of “true love,” the hero rescuing the heroine from an “unfortunate marriage,” and suchlike. Few films today can hope for success without somewhere in the script pandering to the perverted moral taste of the majority of cinemagoers. Schoolchildren, especially those at high schools, are exposed to the talk of their schoolmates, which often gravitates to sex and “adventures” with those of the opposite sex, real or imagined.

10 A young Christian may be tempted to say that he can listen to such conversations without harm. “They just go in one ear and out the other,” he might say. But, beware! As information goes in one ear and out the other it passes through the mind, and, on its way, small seeds of unclean thoughts can take root and later germinate into improper sexual desire. Certainly if one spends time with sexy books and allows the mind to toy with what one reads or sees in the way of sexy pictures, unclean thoughts are bound to be the result along with improper sexual desire. And such “sowing with a view to [the] flesh,” even though in the privacy of one’s mind, will in due time lead to those works of the flesh, “fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct.” “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked,” for one sowing in this manner will indeed reap in like manner, along with “corruption from his flesh.”

11. (a) Loose sexual conduct leads to what still greater corruption? (b) What admonition is therefore appropriate?

11 While it is true that loose sexual conduct leads as often as not to the literal corruption of the flesh in the way of syphilis, gonorrhea and other social diseases, “sowing with a view to [the] flesh” leads to the greater corruption that means the loss of all life from God, loss of the hope of living everlastingly. Wrote Paul to the Romans: “The minding of the flesh means death, but the minding of the spirit means life and peace; because the minding of the flesh means enmity with God, . . . those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:6-8) Yes, the time for such “sowing with a view to [the] flesh” must be in the past for those who have come to the light of truth. They no longer want to be reaping the fruitage of darkness but want to reap the fruit of light. “For you were once darkness,” wrote the apostle, “but you are now light in connection with the Lord. Go on walking as children of light, for the fruitage of the light consists of every sort of goodness and righteousness and truth. . . . So keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked.”—Eph. 5:8-16.

THE RIGHT MOTIVE

12. What effect does wrong motive have on the spiritual life of the Christian?

12 But there are other ways of “sowing with a view to [the] flesh” that may not be quite so obvious and yet can also greatly affect our spiritual growth as Christians and even be disastrous for us. We can even be doing things that are right and good in themselves, but, if the motive is wrong, if our actions are for self-justification, self-praise or from a spirit of jealousy or rivalry, our good works would be worthless and we would see the corrupting of our spiritual lives.—Rom. 10:3; Prov. 14:30.

13. Why did the Law not lead the majority of Jews to accept Christ?

13 This very attitude corrupted the nation of Israel. Jehovah God, through the mediator Moses, gave that nation a set of laws, “the Law.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul explains that the Law “was added to make transgressions manifest,” to remind the Jews that they were sinners in need of the kind of sacrifice that could really take away sins and deliver them from the condemnation of death. They were really “being guarded under law, being delivered up together into custody,” which should have resulted in their “looking to the faith that was destined to be revealed.” Thus the Law would have been for them a “tutor leading to Christ.” (Gal. 3:19, 23, 24) But the Jews as a nation would not have it that way. They did keep many of the things of the Law, but they did not attain to the goal to which the Law was leading. “Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. For what reason? Because he pursued it, not by faith, but as by works.” The Jews wanted to make “a pleasing appearance in the flesh” and wanted others to be circumcised and keep the Law so that they might have “cause for boasting in [the] flesh” of others.—Rom. 9:31, 32; Gal. 6:12, 13.

14, 15. (a) How did Jesus illustrate the self-righteous attitude of the Pharisees? (b) How can Christians today fall into this same snare of self-righteousness?

14 Seeing this spirit in the Jewish leaders of his day, Jesus “spoke this illustration also to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and who considered the rest as nothing: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and began to pray these things to himself, “O God, I thank you I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give the tenth of all things I acquire.” But the tax collector standing at a distance was not willing even to raise his eyes heavenward, but kept beating his breast, saying, “O God, be gracious to me a sinner.” I tell you, This man went down to his home proved more righteous than that man; because everyone that exalts himself will be humiliated, but he that humbles himself will be exalted.’”—Luke 18:9-14.

15 While Christians today are not under the Law that was given through Moses to Israel, yet, being imperfect and subject to sin, they can fall into the same snare of self-righteousness, making “partial distinctions” on the basis of the works of the flesh, pursuing righteousness “not by faith, but as by works.” (Jas. 3:17; Rom. 9:32) Therefore, let us ever remember that any standing as to righteousness we have with God is only as a result of the undeserved kindness of God on the basis of the ransom sacrifice of his beloved Son, Jesus.

16. Why do Jehovah’s witnesses keep a record of the work accomplished in the ministry, and what is the purpose of setting goals in the ministry?

16 Jehovah’s witnesses are busy people. They have “plenty to do in the work of the Lord,” and they have confidence that, as they keep their motive for their service pure and on the basis of love, their “labor is not in vain in connection with the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) They invite others of all nations to share with them in their fine work of declaring the good news of God’s kingdom, recognizing that “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35) Being interested in the progress of this Kingdom work, they keep a record of their activity, of the hours spent in preaching and of the results obtained. Besides providing encouragement as the progress is noted, it also helps congregations to see readily where improvement can be made and as to how the ministry can be carried on more effectively. Such records also provide the basis for rendering loving personal assistance to new ministers and to those who are finding difficulty in making advancement in the ministry. To provide some basis for considering the congregation’s progress as a whole, suggested average goals have been offered as a means of encouraging a balanced ministry, so that attention is given to covering territory regularly by house-to-house visits as well as to making return visits and conducting home Bible studies with interested persons.

17. What should not be made the basis for judging the integrity of fellow Christians, and why?

17 But such suggested goals can never be used as a basis for measuring the integrity of a Christian. Nor should one’s works in the ministry become the basis for making comparisons with other Christians so as to lead to self-righteousness and boasting. Many years of full-time preaching or of serving in some prominent position in Jehovah’s organization provide no basis for making partial distinctions or for becoming like those for whom Jesus gave the illustration noted above, those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and who considered the rest as nothing.” (Luke 18:9) Not everyone is in the same stage of growth toward Christian maturity. Also, circumstances and natural abilities determine to some extent what someone can do or cannot do in the way of Christian activity, just as they may determine what one can do in the way of giving financial support to God’s work, as Jesus illustrated in his comments about the contribution for the temple made by the needy widow.—Luke 21:1-4.

18. What right attitude toward his ministry will a Christian want to take?

18 The Christian minister will never want to become a slave to figures; to be putting in time preaching just for the sake of reaching some hour-quota, or to build up some record of service with his congregation or with the Watch Tower Society. While it is commendable for a minister to seek to reach or surpass suggested goals for a balanced ministry, it would be unwise indeed to make these an end in themselves. Always, the Christian minister will want to keep alive in his heart and mind the right motives for his service activity, indeed, in all he does in connection with the congregation. “Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men, for you know that it is from Jehovah you will receive the due reward of the inheritance.”—Col. 3:23, 24.

19, 20. Why is prayer before setting out in preaching activity appropriate and beneficial?

19 That is why it is most appropriate that each one of Jehovah’s dedicated witnesses spend some time in prayer before each occasion of sharing in the ministry. Whenever Jehovah’s witnesses meet together before sharing in group preaching activity a prayer for Jehovah’s blessing on their activity is always offered. For one thing, this helps them to be mindful of the purpose of their preaching. First and foremost, this is to declare Jehovah’s great name and purpose. Then, too, it provides the opportunity to aid righteously disposed persons to find the way of salvation and life, while, at the same time, to sound the warning of Jehovah’s judgments due to come on this present evil system of things. Also, the ministry provides each one of us with the opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty and integrity to Almighty God.

20 Preaching with such thoughts in mind always results in joyful satisfaction, no matter how people respond to the message. Truly, this is sowing with a view to the spirit.

21. Why may the Christian ministry become burdensome to some, and what danger then appears?

21 It may be that you are one who has shared in the Christian ministry for a number of years but now finds missing this feeling of joyful satisfaction. The preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom may have become such a burdensome thing to you that you are at the point of quitting this blessed work altogether, or you may have already done so. Why should this be? At one time you did have joy in the service of God, did you not? Yes, you were once filled with enthusiasm and zeal. You were able to say that you had the “spirit” of Christian service. You had started out sowing with a view to the spirit. But somewhere along the way perhaps you changed your sowing habits. Could it be that you allowed yourself to fall into the habit of looking at things in a fleshly way, seeing just quotas, figures, working just for the work’s sake without the real goal in mind and failing to keep alive your faith by feeding on the Word of God? After starting out well in sowing with a view to the spirit, you may now be in danger of failing altogether to attain to completeness of spiritual maturity, something that never can be attained by sowing to the flesh.—Gal. 3:2, 3.

22. (a) What incentive is there for us to sow “with a view to the spirit”? (b) What fruitage is to be reaped now by those who sow in harmony with God’s spirit?

22 Sincerely consider the question: How are you sowing? With a view to the flesh or with a view to the spirit? Without doubt it is your desire to sow with a view to the spirit. Why, otherwise, would you be reading this magazine? Be assured of this: just as the one “sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh,” just as surely the one “sowing with a view to the spirit” will reap something. What? Everlasting life! (Gal. 6:8) What an incentive to look well to the way we are sowing, to learn how to sow in harmony with God’s spirit to the eternal interests of our spiritual lives! Even now there is a bountiful fruitage for us to reap as we sow with a view to the spirit. By all means, then, “keep walking by spirit . . . the fruitage of the spirit [even now] is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. . . . If we are living by spirit, let us go on walking orderly also by spirit.”—Gal. 5:16, 22-25.

“Let Us Not Give Up in Doing What Is Fine”

1. What kind of overseer of God’s flock did Paul show himself to be, and how did his Christian brothers respond?

THE apostle Paul as a faithful overseer and shepherd of the flock of God was always anxiously concerned about helping others to make progress in their spiritual lives. To the Christians at Rome he wrote: “I am longing to see you, that I may impart some spiritual gift to you in order for you to be made firm.” (Rom. 1:11) It was this warm, loving interest in others that made the ministry of this apostle so successful and such a blessing to those with whom he served. His Christian brothers appreciated his love. The thought of losing this brother of theirs was enough to cause “the older men of the congregation” of Ephesus to be “especially pained,” yes, even to weep. In a spontaneous gesture of their love for him “they fell upon Paul’s neck and tenderly kissed him.”—Acts 20:17, 37, 38.

2. What admonition did Paul give to the older men of the congregation of Ephesus?

2 Just a few moments before this moving occasion, Paul had been encouraging the older men from the Ephesus congregation to have this same loving concern for those under their spiritual care. He wanted them also to do all they could to aid the members of the congregation to be “sowing with a view to the spirit.” Earnestly he told them: “Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son.”—Acts 20:28.

3. What kind of overseers are needed in the congregation of God’s people today?

3 Most certainly there is the need for overseers of this kind in the Christian congregation today. No, not just men of zeal for the ministry, men who can set a fine lead in the public preaching from house to house, men who can give stirring public discourses from the platform and who demonstrate a fine knowledge of Bible teaching. True, such qualities are to be commended and are most beneficial both for the congregation and for others who may listen to the preaching of the “good news.” But Paul’s concern as an overseer, as indicated in the Bible passages noted above, is for the flock already gathered. He is concerned about their growing spiritually, their becoming “full-grown” as spiritual men “to the measure of growth that belongs to the fullness of the Christ.” The apostle expressed himself in those very words when he wrote back to the congregation at Ephesus after his arrival in Rome as a prisoner. (Eph. 4:11-13) This, then, becomes a primary concern of Christian overseers and their ministerial assistants today: to help each one in the congregation to grow spiritually, to help each one to sow “with a view to the spirit” so that each one may “reap everlasting life from the spirit,” not giving up “in doing what is fine.”—Gal. 6:8, 9.

4. In helping others to make spiritual progress, what words of Paul to the Galatians is it well to have in mind?

4 It is true that our helping one to put more time in the preaching of the good news may be one way of helping a member of the congregation to do more sowing with a view to the spirit. But it need not necessarily be so. It could even make one think he is making spiritual progress when he is in fact lacking in some more essential aspect of spiritual growth. So, in connection with spiritual growth it is well for the individual Christian and for the overseer to have in mind these further words from Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he is deceiving his own mind. But let him prove what his own work is, and then he will have cause for exultation in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with the other person. For each one will carry his own load.”—Gal. 6:3-5.

5. How were some Jewish Christians in Galatia ‘deceiving their own minds’ in the way they reasoned?

5 Those Jewish Christians in the congregations in the province of Galatia who put great stock by their being circumcised were indeed ‘deceiving their own minds.’ Having once professed faith in Christ Jesus and his sacrifice as the means of salvation from sin and death, they were now ‘shoving aside the undeserved kindness of God.’ As Paul pointedly wrote to them: “If righteousness is through law, Christ actually died for nothing.” Their accepting such ideas was “senseless,” they were being brought “under evil influence.” So the apostle reasons with them: “After starting in spirit are you now being completed in flesh?” Impossible! Looking at things in a fleshly way could not complete them as spiritual men with everlasting life in view. They were considering themselves something when they were nothing. Their making comparisons on the basis of the flesh, preferring circumcision over uncircumcision, did not advance them ahead of their uncircumcised Christian brothers in growth toward spiritual maturity. To the contrary, because of such attitude their undergoing suffering for the name of Christ would be, in fact, to no purpose. They would fail to reap everlasting life, because of sowing with a view to the flesh instead of to the spirit.—Gal. 2:21; 3:1-4.

6, 7. (a) How have some Christians today fallen into the trap of trying to be completed “in flesh,” after having started “in spirit”? (b) So, in helping others, what will we want to do?

6 So, too, our enduring suffering and persecution today, our fine works of preaching and teaching in the public ministry can be to no purpose if we begin to trust in those works of ours as the basis for righteousness rather than in the undeserved kindness of God. We also will be thinking we are something when we are nothing, deceiving our minds. Some have fallen into this trap and become overconfident as to their position, favorably comparing their activity and record with others. They are really trying to be “completed” as Christians “in the flesh” rather than in a spiritual way.

7 Thus, if we are in a position to assist others in the way of Christian maturity we will want to help them to that goal in the right way. We will want to help each one to sow with a view to the spirit, that he might reap spiritual fruitage and make real spiritual advancement with everlasting life in view. How can this be done? One fine suggestion Paul offers is noted at Galatians 6:4: “Let him prove what his own work is, and then he will have cause for exultation in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with the other person.”

8. Why is empathy so important in giving the right kind of assistance to others?

8 A Christian overseer will want to have this principle in mind when offering assistance to fellow members of the congregation. This requires real empathy or fellow feeling, the ability to put oneself in the other person’s shoes. Individual members of the congregation, depending on a variety of factors such as years and experience in the truth, ability to grasp and retain information and apply it, early training in youth, present problems of daily living, and so forth, are in different stages of spiritual growth. What the next step may be for them to take depends largely on just where they stand on the road to Christian maturity. The overseer needs to discern this in order to give the counsel and encouragement each individual personally needs.

9. What kind of progress do we want others to make, and why?

9 For example, it is readily seen that one who has not yet begun to attend meetings with any regularity is not in position to take the step forward into the public ministry, to preach the good news to others from house to house. The spiritual effort to make such a large step forward might result in a faith-hurting fall rather than in a spiritual advance toward maturity, not to speak of the fact that such a person is not in position to represent the congregation properly, not yet being a regular associate of it. True, we do want all of those interested in God’s Word to make advancement to the point where they are sharing in the Christian ministry. This is Jehovah’s will for them. But they need to make advancement step by step, making orderly progress according to a good spiritual routine.

10. (a) Why is it important for a parent to take note of progress on the part of his children and to give appropriate commendation? (b) On what basis will the wise parent encourage his children to make progress?

10 It is indeed encouraging when we can see we are making progress. That is true of anything we do, is it not? It is true of the very young child when he first learns to do something new: to crawl, to take his first few steps, to speak his first words. He will gurgle with delight at having accomplished something. Sometimes progress, because it takes time, is barely noticeable. This is likewise true of growth. You may sit and watch a plant in your garden for hours and fail to discern any evidence of growth. But it is growing! After you have been away for a few days and return—why, it is easy to see the changes in the garden, changes due to growth. A parent, seeing his child every day, may not be so conscious of the child’s growth, but some friend, returning after some months’ absence, will immediately remark to the youngster, “How you’ve grown!” It is encouraging for a youngster as he gets older when his growth in other directions is also noted. If he is helped to see how he is making advancement in his school lessons, he is encouraged and is likely to work harder. He has a sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction. A discerning parent also looks for spiritual growth in his children, and gives warm, loving commendation where appropriate. He wisely guides his children to take the steps forward in spiritual growth according to their individual needs and abilities. He refrains from making discouraging comparisons with other children, but aids each child to “prove what his own work is,” how he is making advancement, and the child finds “cause for exultation in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with” some other child, which may discourage, or, in some cases, give a false basis for encouragement.

11. (a) To encourage his Bible student, what will the discerning minister want to do? (b) What kind of help will be of most profit to spiritually sick persons, but how should it be given? (c) What will give the newly associated or spiritually sick ones genuine cause for exultation?

11 Failure to see any progress in oneself can be most discouraging. Oftentimes persons newly associated with the Christian congregation and who have been having a Bible study for some time may feel they are not making the desired progress. A discerning teacher will therefore help such ones to see the progress they are, in fact, making, being ready to give warm and sincere commendation where suitable. Likewise, the overseer will want to do the same for those regularly associated with the congregation. No, not flattery. If a person who has been an active associate of the congregation becomes spiritually sick he needs genuine help, loving assistance. It will help him to see just what his work is, what it is that is lacking, and then to have some practical suggestions to overcome his problem. Maybe his problem is that he is just not sure what he needs to do, what step to take. Help and guidance as to what to do to strengthen his spiritual life will be appreciated. True, such help should always be given in a loving and tactful way, but it also needs to be honest and realistic. When such help is given with love and empathy, the ones assisted are grateful for being helped to take the right step on the road to spiritual growth and maturity. As these ones make steps forward, commend sincerely. Help them to discern their own progress. Then they will have cause for exultation, and this in regard to themselves, not in comparison with some other person.

ALERT TO LOSS OF SPIRITUALITY

12. If we want to reap the fruitage of everlasting life from our sowing, to what must we be alert?

12 Sowing with a view to the spirit results in spiritual growth. If we stop sowing with a view to the spirit, we stop growing spiritually. Even worse, if we return to sowing with a view to the flesh, we cease doing what is fine and our appreciation for spiritual things withers, leading to spiritual inactivity and death. At one time we may have “walked according to the system of things of this world.” “Yes, among them we all at one time conducted ourselves in harmony with the desires of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and the thoughts, and we were naturally children of wrath even as the rest.” (Eph. 2:2, 3) But when we began to feed upon the truth of God’s Word, when we began to discern and do what Jehovah’s holy spirit made clear to be His will for us, then we began to come alive in a real sense. (1 Cor. 2:11, 12; 2 Cor. 3:6) If we go on sowing with a view to the spirit we “will reap everlasting life from the spirit.” We do not want to lose this blessed harvest of eternal life, do we? Then, we need to be alert to discern in ourselves any tendency to going back to sowing with a view to the flesh.

13, 14. (a) How does one show one is acting in harmony with God’s spirit in dealing with personal problems with others? (b) Failing to act in harmony with God’s spirit in such matters can lead to what consequences? (c) How does being spiritually minded make for good relations between Christian brothers?

13 It may be, dear reader, that you are already a member of a congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. Well, how do you view your fellow Christians? Do you know that the way you look at others provides you with a clear indication of the way you are sowing? It will quickly tell you whether you are looking at things in just a fleshly way or in a spiritual way. If, for example, you see you are beginning to find fault, mentally downgrading others efforts in Jehovah’s service, here is a warning sign that you are in danger of going back to sowing with a view to the flesh. If you do have some cause for disagreement with your Christian brother or sister, if you feel that you have been sinned against by that one, be quick to put matters right, either by not ‘keeping account of the injury’—and that means really putting it out of mind, not bearing any grudge—or by following through on Jesus’ counsel at Matthew 18:15-17 in order to gain your brother. This is acting in harmony with God’s spirit. (1 Cor. 13:5) What is the result if you do not follow this course? A grudge is retained in the heart against that brother or sister. This, in turn, colors your whole relationship with that one. The appearance of the “offender” on the platform to present a Bible talk or take part in a discussion or demonstration produces a feeling of resentment and you find yourself listening in a critical attitude rather than with love and appreciation. This is the attitude of “fleshly men,” not “spiritual men,” is it not?—1 Cor. 3:1-3.

14 This does not mean we were unaware of the weaknesses of others. But, the spiritually minded man, producing the fruitage of God’s spirit, is merciful, long-suffering, full of kindness. He makes allowances for others. He bears in mind that each one in the congregation is Jehovah’s servant, seeking to please Him.

15. Of what are feelings of jealousy and resentment indicative, and what attitude does James encourage?

15 Loss of spiritual-mindedness may show up in feelings of jealousy. It may be one has anticipated some assignment or privilege of service being given to him but he is passed over in favor of someone else. The ‘fleshly man,’ the one ‘sowing with a view to the flesh,’ will find resentment welling up in his heart. This resentment dispels joy, making it difficult or even impossible to cooperate with the brother now appointed. Not without good reason the disciple James writes: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his fine conduct his works with a meekness that belongs to wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and contentiousness in your hearts, do not be bragging and lying against the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is the earthly, animal, demonic. For where jealousy and contentiousness are, there disorder and every vile thing are.”—Jas. 3:13-16.

16. Why should we fight off any tendency to reject encouragement from others or belittle counsel?

16 A sure sign of loss of spiritual vision is when we begin to resent encouragement or counsel from mature Christians, even when it is appropriate, given in love and with the backing of the Scriptures. Be alert to this danger signal. Avoid any tendency to belittle counsel by telling yourself: “Oh, it’s just old So-and-so speaking,” thus viewing the counsel as from only a human source rather than from Jehovah through one of his servants. Actually, because we are associated with the true organization of God, we can expect to have personal assistance offered to us, to receive counsel and encouragement as we need it. Those “who have spiritual qualifications” are under orders to care for the flock, to restore in a spirit of mildness those who take “some false step.” (Gal. 6:1) Welcome such help. Doing so, you manifest the kind of humility that leads to a blessing from Jehovah, to receiving of his undeserved kindness and being exalted to life in his righteous new order.—Jas. 4:6, 10.

17, 18. (a) What other symptom of loss of spirituality is perhaps most likely to affect the Christian, and what may contribute to this? (b) Why is this no time to be giving up in doing what is fine?

17 A common symptom of loss of spirituality is a loss of zeal for the Christian ministry. The first zeal of ‘Christian youth,’ fired by the expectation of soon realizing the hope of life in happiness under God’s kingdom, may wear off. Time passes and Armageddon does not come as soon as anticipated. The daily problems of life crowd in again and remind us of our imperfections and weaknesses. Or perhaps we find ourselves looking longingly at the present material benefits being enjoyed by others, and the temptation not to miss out on life’s present pleasures saps our devotion to Jehovah’s cause.

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The Watchtower, September 1, 1968