Lesson 16
Your Decision to Serve God
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What must you do to become a friend of God? (1, 2) |
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How do you make your dedication to God? (1) |
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When should you be baptized? (2) |
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How can you gain the strength to stay faithful to God? (3) |
1. To become a friend of God, you must obtain a good knowledge
of Bible truth (1 Timothy 2:3, 4), put faith in the things you
have learned (Hebrews 11:6), repent of your sins (Acts 17:30,
31), and turn around in your course of life. (Acts 3:19) Then
your love for God should move you to dedicate yourself to him.
This means that in a personal, private prayer you tell him that
you are giving yourself to him to do his will.—Matthew 16:24;
22:37.
2. After you have made your dedication to God, you should be baptized.
(Matthew 28:19, 20) Baptism lets everyone know that you have dedicated
yourself to Jehovah. So baptism is only for those who are old
enough to make a decision to serve God. When a person is baptized,
his whole body should be put under the water momentarily.*—Mark
1:9, 10; Acts 8:36.
3. After you have made a dedication, Jehovah will expect you to
live up to your promise. (Psalm 50:14; Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5) The
Devil will try to stop you from serving Jehovah. (1 Peter 5:8)
But draw close to God in prayer. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Study his
Word each day. (Psalm 1:1-3) Stick close to the congregation.
(Hebrews 13:17) By doing all of this, you will gain the strength
to stay faithful to God. For all eternity you thus can do the
things that God requires of you!
* A study of Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, or similar book published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, is recommended in preparation for baptism.
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