WT ST Sep 5 song 65
WILL YOU HEED JEHOVAH’S
CLEAR WARNINGS?
“This is the way. Walk in it, you people.”—ISA. 30:21.
 A ROAD sign that is pointing in the wrong direction is not just misleading; it is potentially dangerous. Imagine that a friend warned you that an evil man had deliberately changed a sign in order to cause harm to unwary travelers. Would you not heed the warning?
    2 To be sure, Satan is an evil foe who is bent on misdirecting us. (Rev. 12:9) All the bad influences discussed in the preceding article originate with him and are aimed at causing us to veer off the road that leads to eternal life. (Matt. 7:13, 14) Thankfully, our benevolent God warns us not to follow Satan’s misleading ‘road signs.’ Let us now discuss three more of Satan’s negative influences. As we consider how God’s Word helps us to avoid being misled, we might imagine that Jehovah is walking behind us and is pointing us in the right direction, saying: “This is the way. Walk in it, you people.” (Isa. 30:21) Reflecting on Jehovah’s clear warnings will strengthen our resolve to heed them.
1, 2. What is Satan bent on doing, and how does God’s Word help us?

(Revelation 12:9) So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.
(Matthew 7:13-14) “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.

(Isaiah 30:21) And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying: “This is the way. Walk in it, YOU people,” in case YOU people should go to the right or in case YOU should go to the left.

Do Not Follow “False Teachers”
    3 Picture yourself on a journey in an arid land. You spot a well in the distance and head for it, hoping to get some water to quench your thirst. Upon arriving, however, you see that the well is dry. How disappointed YOU ARE! False teachers are like dried-up wells. Anyone coming to them for waters of truth will be bitterly disappointed. Jehovah through the apostles Paul and Peter warns us about false teachers. (Read Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Peter 2:1-3.) Who are such teachers? The inspired words of those two apostles help us to identify where false teachers come from and how they operate.
    4 To elders of the Ephesus congregation, Paul said: “From among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things.” Addressing fellow Christians, Peter wrote: “There will also be false teachers among you.” So from where do false teachers come? They may arise from within the congregation. Such ones are apostates.♦ What do they want? They are not content just to leave the organization that they perhaps once loved. Their aim, Paul explained, is “to draw away the disciples after themselves. ”Note the definite article in the expression “the disciples.” Rather than going out and making their own disciples, apostates seek to take Christ’s disciples with them. Like “ravenous wolves,” false teachers are out to devour trusting members of the congregation, destroying their faith and leading them away from the truth.—Matt. 7:15; 2 Tim. 2:18.
3, 4. (a) How are false teachers like dried-up wells? (b) From where do false teachers often come, and what do they want?
♦ “Apostasy” is a standing away from true worship, a falling away, defection, rebellion, abandonment.

(Acts 20:29-30) I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among YOU and will not treat the flock with tenderness, 30 and from among YOU yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.
(2 Peter 2:1-3) However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among YOU. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. 2 Furthermore, many will follow their acts of loose conduct, and on account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. 3 Also, with covetousness they will exploit YOU with counterfeit words. But as for them, the judgment from of old is not moving slowly, and the destruction of them is not slumbering.
(Matthew 7:15) “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to YOU in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves.
(2 Timothy 2:18) These very [men] have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some.

    5 How do false teachers operate? Their methods reveal a cunning spirit. Apostates “quietly bring in” corruptive ideas. Like smugglers, they operate in a clandestine manner, subtly introducing apostate views. And just as a clever forger tries to pass phony documents, so apostates use “counterfeit words,” or false arguments, trying to pass their fabricated views as if they were true. They spread “deceptive teachings,” “twisting . . . the Scriptures” to fit their own ideas. (2 Pet. 2:1, 3, 13; 3:16) Clearly, apostates do not have our best interests at heart. Following them would only divert us from the road that leads to eternal life.
5. What methods do false teachers use?

(2 Peter 2:1) However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among YOU. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves.
(2 Peter 2:3) Also, with covetousness they will exploit YOU with counterfeit words. But as for them, the judgment from of old is not moving slowly, and the destruction of them is not slumbering.
(2 Peter 2:13) wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing. They consider luxurious living in the daytime a pleasure. They are spots and blemishes, indulging with unrestrained delight in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with YOU.
(2 Peter 3:16) speaking about these things as he does also in all [his] letters. In them, however, are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unsteady are twisting, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

    6 How can we protect ourselves against false teachers? The Bible’s counsel regarding how to deal with them is clear. (Read Romans 16:17; 2 John 9-11.) “Avoid them,” says God’s Word. Other translations render that phrase “turn away from them,” “keep away from them,” and “stay away from them!” There is nothing ambiguous about that inspired counsel. Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease. You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are “mentally diseased,” and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings. (1 Tim. 6:3, 4) Jehovah, the Great Physician, tells us to avoid contact with them. We know what he means, but are we determined to heed his warning in all respects?
6. The Bible gives us what clear counsel regarding false teachers?

(Romans 16:17) Now I exhort YOU, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause divisions and occasions for stumbling contrary to the teaching that YOU have learned, and avoid them.
(2 John 9-11) 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. 10 If anyone comes to YOU and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into YOUR homes or say a greeting to him. 11 For he that says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked works.
(1 Timothy 6:3-4) If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, 4 he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words. From these things spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions,

    7 What is involved in avoiding false teachers? We do not receive them into our homes or greet them. We also refuse to read their literature, watch TV programs that feature them, examine their Web sites, or add our comments to their blogs. Why do we take such a firm stand? Because of love. We love “the God of truth,” so we are not interested in twisted teachings that contradict his Word of truth. (Ps. 31:5; John 17:17) We also love Jehovah’s organization, through which we have been taught thrilling truths—including Jehovah’s name and its meaning, God’s purpose for the earth, the condition of the dead, and the hope of the resurrection. Can you recall how you felt when you first learned these and other precious truths? Why, then, allow yourself to be soured by anyone who would denigrate the organization through which you learned these truths?—John 6:66-69.
    8 No matter what false teachers may say, we will not follow them! Why go to such dried-up wells only to be deceived and disappointed? Instead, let us be determined to remain loyal to Jehovah and to the organization that has a long record of quenching our thirst with the pure and refreshing waters of truth from God’s inspired Word.—Isa. 55: 1-3; Matt. 24:45-47.
7, 8. (a) What is involved in avoiding false teachers? (b)Why are you determined to take a firm stand against false teachers? 

(Psalm 31:5) Into your hand I entrust my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Jehovah the God of truth.
(John 17:17) Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth.
(John 6:66-69) Owing to this many of his disciples went off to the things behind and would no longer walk with him. 67 Therefore Jesus said to the twelve: “YOU do not want to go also, do YOU?” 68 Simon Peter answered him: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life; 69 and we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
(Isaiah 55:1-3) Hey there, all YOU thirsty ones! Come to the water. And the ones that have no money! Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk even without money and without price. 2 Why do YOU people keep paying out money for what is not bread, and why is YOUR toil for what results in no satisfaction? Listen intently to me, and eat what is good, and let YOUR soul find its exquisite delight in fatness itself. 3 Incline YOUR ear and come to me. Listen, and YOUR soul will keep alive, and I shall readily conclude with YOU people an indefinitely lasting covenant respecting the loving-kindnesses to David that are faithful.
(Matthew 24:45-47) “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. 47 Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings.

Do Not Follow “False Stories”
    9 At times, it may be easy to discern that a road sign has been tampered with and is pointing the wrong way. At other times, it may be difficult to detect the deception. It is similar with Satan’s negative influences; some are more obvious than others. The apostle Paul warns us about one of Satan’s insidious strategies—“false stories.” (Read 1 Timothy 1:3, 4.) Lest we become sidetracked from the road leading to life, we need to know, What are false stories, and how can we avoid paying attention to them?
    10 Paul’s warning about false stories is part of his first letter to Timothy, a Christian overseer who was charged with preserving the purity of the congregation and helping fellow believers to remain faithful. (1 Tim. 1: 18, 19) Paul uses a Greek word that can refer to fiction, myth, or falsehood. According to The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia,
this word refers to “a (religious) story that has no connection with reality.” Perhaps Paul had in mind religious lies promoted by sensational tales or fanciful legends.♦ Such stories only “furnish questions for research”— that is, raise frivolous questions that lead to pointless research. False stories are a ploy of the archdeceiver, Satan, who uses religious lies and godless myths to sidetrack unsuspecting ones. Paul’s counsel is clear: Do not pay attention to false stories!
9, 10. What warning did Paul give Timothy regarding “false stories,” and what may Paul have had in mind? (See also footnote.)
♦ For example, the apocryphal book of Tobit (Tobias), written about the third century B.C.E. and thus extant in Paul’s day, is full of superstition and absurd tales of magic and sorcery presented as truth.—See Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 122.

(1 Timothy 1:3-4) Just as I encouraged you to stay in Eph′e·sus when I was about to go my way into Mac·e·do′ni·a, so I do now, that you might command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, 4 nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing, but which furnish questions for research rather than a dispensing of anything by God in connection with faith.
(1 Timothy 1:18-19) This mandate I commit to you, child, Timothy, in accord with the predictions that led directly on to you, that by these you may go on waging the fine warfare; 19 holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside and have experienced shipwreck concerning [their] faith.

    11 What are some false stories that could lead astray the unwary? In principle, the expression “false stories” can apply to any religious lie or myth that could turn us “away from the truth.” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Satan, who pretends to be “an angel of light,” has made clever use of false religion in misleading people. (2 Cor. 11:14) Under the guise of Christianity, Christendom teaches doctrines—including the Trinity, hellfire, and immortality of the soul—that are awash in myths and falsehoods. Christendom also promotes holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, whose seemingly innocent customs are actually rooted in mythology and paganism. By heeding God’s warning to separate ourselves and “quit touching the unclean thing,” we will not be misled by false stories.—2 Cor. 6:14-17.
11. How has Satan made clever use of false religion in misleading people, and heeding what warning will help us to avoid being misled?

(2 Timothy 4:3-4) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories.
(2 Corinthians 11:14) And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.
(2 Corinthians 6:14-17) Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? 15 Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Be′li·al? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a 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.” 17 “‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’”; “‘and I will take YOU in.’”

    12 Satan has promoted other lies that could mislead us if we are not careful. Consider some examples. Anything goes—right or wrong. It is determined by how you feel. This idea is promoted in the media and in entertainment. Such a distorted view of God’s standards exerts pressure on us to cast aside all moral restraint. The truth is that we have a desperate need for moral guidance that only God can fill. (Jer.10:23) God will not intervene in earth’s affairs. Being influenced by such a live-for-today spirit could cause us to become “inactive or unfruitful.” (2 Pet. 1:8) The truth is that Jehovah’s day is fast approaching, and we must keep in expectation of it. (Matt. 24:44) God does not care about you as an individual. Believing this satanic lie could cause us to give up, feeling that we could never be worthy of God’s love. The truth is that Jehovah loves and values his worshippers as individuals.—Matt. 10:29-31.
   13 We must keep up our guard, for the thinking and attitudes of Satan’s world may seem plausible on the surface. Remember, though, that Satan is a master of deception. Only by heeding the counsel and reminders of God’s Word can we avoid being misled by Satan’s “artfully contrived false stories [“cleverly concocted myths,” The New American
Bible].”—2 Pet.1:16.
12, 13. (a) What lies has Satan promoted, and what is the truth regarding each of those lies? (b) How can we avoid being misled by Satan’s false stories?

(Jeremiah 10:23) I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.
(2 Peter 1:8) For if these things exist in YOU and overflow, they will prevent YOU from being either inactive or unfruitful regarding the accurate knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 24:44) On this account YOU too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that YOU do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.
(Matthew 10:29-31) Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without YOUR Father’s [knowledge]. 30 But the very hairs of YOUR head are all numbered. 31 Therefore have no fear: YOU are worth more than many sparrows.
(2 Peter 1:16) No, it was not by following artfully contrived false stories that we acquainted YOU with the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it was by having become eyewitnesses of his magnificence.

Do Not “Follow Satan”
    14 Imagine a road sign that says “This Way to Follow Satan.” Who of us would heed such a sign? Yet, Paul warns us about several ways in which dedicated Christians might be “turned aside to follow Satan.” (Read 1 Timothy 5:11-15.) Paul’s words are directed to certain “younger widows,” but the principles he mentions apply to all of us. Those first-century Christian women may not have thought that they were following Satan, but their actions amounted to just that. How can we guard against even unwittingly following Satan? Let us examine Paul’s warning regarding harmful gossip.
14. What warning did Paul give to certain younger widows, and why do all of us need to take to heart his words?

(1 Timothy 5:11-15) On the other hand, turn down younger widows, for when their sexual impulses have come between them and the Christ, they want to marry, 12 having a judgment because they have disregarded their first [expression of] faith. 13 At the same time they also learn to be unoccupied, gadding about to the houses; yes, not only unoccupied, but also gossipers and meddlers in other people’s affairs, talking of things they ought not. 14 Therefore I desire the younger widows to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give no inducement to the opposer to revile. 15 Already, in fact, some have been turned aside to follow Satan.

    15 Satan’s aim is to silence the voice of our faith—to get us to stop preaching the good news. (Rev.12:17) To that end, he tries to get us to pursue activities that waste time or that cause division among us. Notice how Paul identifies Satan’s tactics. “Unoccupied, gadding about.” In this age of technology, it is easy to waste our time and that of others by, for example, forwarding nonessential or even fallacious e-mails. “Gossipers.” Harmful gossip may lead to slander, which often causes contention. (Prov. 26:20) Whether they realize it or not, malicious slanderers imitate Satan the Devil.♦ “Meddlers in other people’s affairs.” It is not our right to tell others how to run their personal affairs. All such idle and troublesome behavior can distract us from the God-assigned work of Kingdom preaching. If we stop actively supporting
Jehovah’s work, then we start following Satan. There is no middle ground.—Matt.12:30.
15. What is Satan’s aim, and how does Paul identify Satan’s tactics?
♦ The Greek word for “devil” is di·a_bo·los, which means “slanderer.” This word is used as another title of Satan, the foremost slanderer.—John 8:44; Rev. 12:9, 10.
(John 8:44) YOU are from YOUR father the Devil, and YOU wish to do the desires of YOUR father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of [the lie].
(Revelation 12:9-10) So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God!

(Revelation 12:17) And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
(Proverbs 26:20) Where there is no wood the fire goes out, and where there is no slanderer contention grows still.
(Matthew 12:30) He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.

    16 Heeding the Bible’s advice can help us to avoid being “turned aside to follow Satan.” Consider some of Paul’s wise counsel. Have “plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) Keeping busy in Kingdom activities will protect us from the dangers of idleness and time-wasting pursuits. (Matt. 6:33) Speak what is “good for building up.” (Eph. 4:29) Be determined not to listen to harmful gossip and not to spread it.♦ Cultivate trust in and respect for fellow believers. We will thus be inclined to speak words that build up rather than tear down. “Make it your aim . . . to mind your own business.”
(1 Thess. 4:11) Show personal interest in others, but do so in ways that respect their privacy and that do not take away their dignity. Remember, too, that we should not impose our own views on others regarding matters that they need to decide for themselves.—Gal. 6:5.
16. Heeding what advice can help us to avoid being “turned aside to follow Satan”?
♦ See the box “Scattering Feathers in the Wind.”

Scattering Feathers in the Wind

An old Jewish tale well illustrates the consequences of spreading hurtful gossip. Told in various forms, the gist of the story is as follows.
A man went about town slandering the town’s wise man. Later, the malicious gossiper realized his wrong and went to the wise man to ask for forgiveness, offering to do whatever was necessary to make amends. The wise man had one request: The gossiper was told to go and take a feather pillow and cut it open, scattering the feathers to the wind. Though puzzled by the request, the gossiper did as he was instructed and then returned to the wise man.
 “Am I now forgiven?” he asked.
“First, go and gather all the feathers,” the wise man responded.
“But how can I? The wind has already scattered them.”
“It is as difficult to repair the damage done by your words as it is to recover the feathers.”
The lesson is clear. Once spoken, words cannot be retrieved, and it may be impossible to undo the hurt they cause. Before spreading a bit of gossip, we are wise to remember that we are, in effect, about to scatter feathers in the wind.

(1 Corinthians 15:58) Consequently, my beloved brothers, become steadfast, unmovable, always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord, knowing that YOUR labor is not in vain in connection with [the] Lord.
(Matthew 6:33) “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to YOU.
(Ephesians 4:29) Let a rotten saying not proceed out of YOUR mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.
(1 Thessalonians 4:11) and to make it YOUR aim to live quietly and to mind YOUR own business and work with YOUR hands, just as we ordered YOU;
(Galatians 6:5) For each one will carry his own load.

    17 How grateful we are that Jehovah clearly tells us what not to follow! Never forget, though, that Jehovah’s warnings discussed in this and the preceding article are motivated by his great love for us. He wants to spare us the misery and pain that result from following Satan’s misleading ‘road signs.’ The path that Jehovah wants us to take may be cramped, but it leads to the best possible destination—everlasting life. (Matt. 7:14) May we never waver in our determination to heed Jehovah’s admonition: “This is the way. Walk in it.”—Isa. 30:21.
17. (a) Why does Jehovah warn us about what not to follow? (b)What is your determination regarding the path that Jehovah wants us to take?

(Matthew 7:14) whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.
(Isaiah 30:21) And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying: “This is the way. Walk in it, YOU people,” in case YOU people should go to the right or in case YOU should go to the left.

What Is Your Answer?

How can you make personal application of the warnings contained in the following scriptures?

•	(2 Peter 2:1-3) However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among YOU. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. 2 Furthermore, many will follow their acts of loose conduct, and on account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. 3 Also, with covetousness they will exploit YOU with counterfeit words. But as for them, the judgment from of old is not moving slowly, and the destruction of them is not slumbering.
•	(1 Timothy 1:3-4) Just as I encouraged you to stay in Eph′e·sus when I was about to go my way into Mac·e·do′ni·a, so I do now, that you might command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, 4 nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing, but which furnish questions for research rather than a dispensing of anything by God in connection with faith.
•	(1 Timothy 5:11-15) On the other hand, turn down younger widows, for when their sexual impulses have come between them and the Christ, they want to marry, 12 having a judgment because they have disregarded their first [expression of] faith. 13 At the same time they also learn to be unoccupied, gadding about to the houses; yes, not only unoccupied, but also gossipers and meddlers in other people’s affairs, talking of things they ought not. 14 Therefore I desire the younger widows to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give no inducement to the opposer to revile. 15 Already, in fact, some have been turned aside to follow Satan.

Conclude with song 52