Choose the Way of Life

All of us have a choice to make: whose side are we on? In the end, there is our Creator, who offers life eternal with joyful purpose, and there is his Enemy, who offers a very short life of thrills and suffering ending in eternal death. This decision should be easy, but so many blindly make the wrong choice by just living for the here and now instead of looking ahead. Some try to evade making a choice, but that in fact is a choice in itself, and not the way that leads to life. If you have read this online book through to this point, you should be able to do better than that.

At Matthew 7:13, 14, Jesus puts the decision before us: “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, whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.”

You cannot be on the narrow road and the wide road at the same time; they go different directions. Note also that Jesus did not say, 'there are many paths to the mountain-top,' or 'all rivers lead to the sea,' as some religious philosophers teach. As the Son of God, Jesus knew the Way to his Father. In fact, he boldly asserted: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Either he was incredibly bigoted or he was correct. You will recognise Him as the true Way to God if you discern his personality and perceive the depth of his teaching. Far from being bigoted, he was warm and merciful, yet firm for truth and righteousness.

On the wide road there is plenty of room to wander, but those on the narrow path have to watch their step and pick their way carefully. You will stay with it only if you are quite sure that it leads where you want to go. It would be easy to convince yourself that the wide road is the right one: so many people are travelling it, and they seem to be enjoying themselves. They may be confident they will end up in a good place, if they are thinking at all where they are going. The only way we know the narrow, almost hidden path is right is that God has revealed its secret to us. We choose it because we trust Him, not because its destination is obvious at first glance.

The narrow road is in fact somewhat dangerous. Satan targets those who choose it, especially at its entrance. If you are just learning about God and trying to decide whether to step off the highway to oblivion your current friends are on, you need to check your readiness to make the leap. Like a halfway jump across a chasm, a weak and tentative choice may not work well. Prepare. Decide. Do. Jesus tells us the stakes: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his execution timber and follow me continually. For whoever wants to save his soul [puts himself first] will lose it; but whoever loses his soul [dies loyal to God] for the sake of me and the good news, will save it. . . For whoever becomes ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he arrives in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” —Mark 8:34, 35, 38; see also 1 Kings 18.21.

Preparation

God has given us a mind to think with and a heart to sense what is right. Prepare your heart first: you must love what is good, true, and just. You must not be comfortable with deceit or evil. Root out pride, especially any tendency to insist that what makes you feel good has to be correct. Viewpoints that flatter us are usually wrong; get used to it. Truth does not come from within, as Satan would have you believe. With your heart humble before God and ready to listen, sincerely appeal to him for help. He can work with a properly prepared heart, but He will not help those who are simply trying to prove themselves right. (Psalm 138:6) He will help you use the mind he gave you to consider what is true about Him.

Some may tell you that you must not try to use "reason" or "logic" to learn about spiritual things. They urge you to trust your feelings, and to assume those feelings come from God. If that were true, however, the Bible would be useless, or worse, a hindrance, and certainly not from God, because it urges us to seek knowledge, understanding, discernment and wisdom. There are things in it that are not immediately easy to understand, that challenge us to think. No, God gave us a brain to use, and we must not beg off from doing so. On the other hand, the truth of God, while deep in its own way, does not require that we be a genius. It is not quantum physics. Quite humble people with very little worldly education can be wise in the ways of God.

But if you try to listen to every side of religious issues, you will find much loud argument about truth and bitter debates about words. Such ill mannered advocacy in itself tags many viewpoints as not from God, which can save you considerable time evaluating them. As the disciple James puts it, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his fine conduct his works with a mildness that belongs to wisdom. Do not be bragging and lying against the truth, [which you will do] if you have bitter jealousy and contentiousness in your hearts. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, animal, demonic. For where jealousy and contentiousness are, there disorder and every vile thing are. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, reasonable, yielding, full of mercy and good works, not partial, not hypocritical.” (or as The Living Bible puts it, “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.”) This helps us to discern who to listen to. —James 3:13-17; see also 2 Tim 2.14, 15, 23, 24 and 1 Pet 3.15.

That does not mean truth is weak and yields to falsehood. "Wholehearted and straightforward" means being clear and definite, but even so it is as tempered with kindness as the audience permits. Jesus did occasionally speak right bluntly to those who misled and exploited others in the name of God (see Matthew 23), but that is not the way he taught those who came to him for help. Nor did he get caught up in debates and arguments. —see Matt 12.18, 19.

Of course, falsehood can be promoted sweetly, in fact it usually is. Jesus likened "false prophets" —those who advocate error in the name of God— to "wolves in sheep's covering." So look carefully. The teeth are different. Or, as Jesus said, switching metaphors, you can recognise them "by their fruits." Line up the sweet words by the not-so-sweet behavior at other times and note the contrast. Look at the final product of following their philosophy. Look at the lives of their followers. Is that what you expect true Christians to be? And look at the leaders' lives. Are they living opulently and accepting the adoration of crowds? Is that what Christ did?

As shown in chapter 12 of this book, Jehovah has established a united and loyal people in the end times. Although not perfect themselves, they are the agents he has chosen, they are his provision to guide and teach you. They will patiently assist your growth to Christian maturity. Of course, if you are isolated from them by circumstance beyond your control, that does not condemn you to failure; God's power is not limited by his people. —see Ephesians 4.11-16.

Because Satan is the "world ruler of this darkness," he provokes intense attack against any viewpoint that could diminish his influence, especially the peaceful teaching work of God's people. So, in looking for truth, do not look for views that are popular or uncontroversial; the truth will be carried by a kindly, respectful and calm people who are widely despised, ridiculed and persecuted. If this causes you to avoid getting involved, Satan has won in your case. Have the courage to investigate what true Christianity teaches. Then have the courage to let it change your course in life. You will encounter resistance at every step. That is part of your training. It weeds out the indecisive. To succeed, you must be able to see beyond the "me" and "now." Satan contends that you are just an animal and will react to fear by flight or submission. You prove you are a human by rising above the instinctual reactions Satan tries to provoke. —Ephesians 6:11, 12; 2 Timothy 3:12; 2 Corinthians 6:3-10; 1 Peter 5:8-10; Hebrews 11:27.

Decisions

As your knowledge and understanding grows, some new things you learn will excite you to talk about them to friends and relatives. Do not be dismayed if they receive it suspiciously or even reject it violently. That comes with the territory, as Jesus said. Those we love may not love us back anymore, and that is sad, but remember that is not our choice, it is theirs. We did not make them our enemy with the truth. (Gal 4:16) As Jesus said: “Do not think I came to put peace upon the earth; I came to put, not peace, but a sword. For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household. He that has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and he that has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:34-37) In other words, this is worth it, but you have to be willing to accept serious loss to gain it. Not that your family will always be estranged; once they see you take this so very seriously, they may get curious and look into it, and accept the truth as well. Your kindly manner through it all will also help. —see Romans 12:17, 18, 21 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

At one point in your progress, you will be moved by the Lord's call: ‘Go, make disciples of people of all the nations, teaching them all the things I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:19, 20) You may not know enough yet to feel confident, but you are sure of some essential things and want to share them with everyone who will listen. God's people are organised to accomplish this very work before the end comes (Matt 24:14), so they will happily provide the support and training you will need. This takes you beyond your family and friends, out to the world, which can be even more intimidating. Actually many are hungry to hear what you have and you may very well do a lot of good. God has chosen not to use overt miracles to back up his ministers now, although we may wish he would. But he knows what he is doing, and you may see his hand at work doing subtle miracles as you find and help those who, like you, have been praying to know him. —1 Corinthians 3:5, 6, 9.

As your appreciation and devotion grows, you will pass many points of decision that call on you to improve something about yourself. Each successful adjustment in viewpoint and behavior will move you closer to the realization that God is real and is helping you. You will finally say: ‘this is the path I want to stay on forever.’ You do not need to study until kingdom come before making up your mind. At this level you are in fact already stepping onto the path of life, so that if the end should arrive today, God would have mercy on you. But there is one more step he expects you to take. Jesus mentioned a "gate" that is at the beginning of the path of life. What is that?

Choosing the Way of Life

As explained in chapter 5, Jesus gave his life to "cover" mankind's estrangement from God. You have already studied and accepted that. Now God expects you to show how much you understand it: he wants you to give up your life for him. No, not that, no kool-aid involved. 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 says: “[Christ] died for all . . . that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised up.” We give up our selfish, independent life-course and decisively take the path of life that God puts before us, without looking back or feeling any regrets. This decision is so complete that it is likened to dying and being raised up to a new life. It is a dedication, like a personal covenant with God, a promise he will accept— and hold you to. —See also Galatians 2:20.

As with any covenant, there is a ‘signing ceremony,’ a formal way to establish it. God has chosen baptism as a way for us to ‘sign’ this covenant of new life before all witnesses. The word is Greek, and it means ‘to dip under’, so you allow your whole body to be submerged (briefly, no drowning!) under water, then raised up. This actually symbolises your death and resurrection. Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae: “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” —Colossians 2:12, NLT.

Christ himself was baptised, which in his case meant the formal end of his ordinary life and the beginning of his sacrificial course, his missionary ministry that ended with his death faithful to God. He was baptised by John (the Baptizer, of course), who along with others witnessed God's acceptance of this presenting of himself for service. (John 1:32-34)baptism Following that example, all Christians thereafter were baptised by those who preceded them. So you cannot baptise yourself; if you are isolated, God temporarily accepts your prayer of dedication until such time as a properly witnessed baptism is possible for you. Note also that unbelievers, or those who do not properly represent God, cannot rightly baptise you. Preachers of churches that insist on teaching things offensive to God could hardly officiate acceptably at such an occasion.

Following Christ, we too embark on a course that could end in our death at the hands of enemies. Not that it has to do so in order to be fulfilled; our willingness to so die is all God expects. (Philippians 2:5-8) This is not something we can choose for anyone else.*

This is a serious step. We must not return to a lifestyle that violates our oath of dedication. Paul explains this clearly at Romans 6:2-11: “Seeing that we died with reference to sin, how shall we keep on living any longer in it? Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through our baptism into his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised up from the dead through the glory of the Father, we also should likewise walk in a newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall certainly also be [united with him in the likeness] of his resurrection; because we know that our old self was impaled with him, that our sinful body might be made inactive, that we should no longer go on being slaves to sin. For he who has died has been acquitted [or freed] from his sin. Moreover, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ, now that he has been raised up from the dead, dies no more; death is master over him no more. For the death that he died, he died with reference to sin once for all time; but the life that he lives, he lives with reference to God. Likewise also you: reckon yourselves to be dead indeed with reference to sin but living with reference to God by Christ Jesus.” —For more detail, see the supplementary chapter Who are Sons of God?

After your baptism, God views you as having died with reference to sin; you now walk in a newness of life. Your old personality, the person you were, was impaled with him, so you should no longer go on being slaves to sin. You are now living with reference to God by Christ Jesus and in the future, you shall also live with him. So, Paul says, in 6:12-14, “Do not allow sin to reign in your mortal body so that you should submit to its desires. Do not be presenting your [body] members to sin as weapons of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, also your members to God as weapons of righteousness. For sin must not be master over you.” —see also Colossians 2:12, 13, 3:1 10.

This new way of life means we are vigilant and determined to walk with God in a way that honors and pleases him, and we have his spirit to help us in that. Even so, despite our conscientious efforts we still have some weakness and imperfection, so we may stumble and even get off course at times. Paul admits this next in his letter to the Romans: “I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, but I behold in my body members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members. Miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death? Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, then, with my mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, but with my flesh to sin’s law.” Paul contrasts the "self," or mind, with the "body," or fleshly impulses. These are now at war, but this is a war we will win, as long as we let God guide us. —Romans 7:22-24, 1 Cor 10:13.

Paul amplifies on this in Romans chapter 8. He says (vss 8-11): “Those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God. However, you are in harmony, not with the flesh, but with the spirit, if God’s spirit truly dwells in you. But if anyone does not have Christ’s spirit, this one does not belong to him. But if Christ is in union with you, the body indeed is dead on account of sin, but the spirit is life on account of righteousness. If, now, the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his spirit that resides in you.” Of course the body is not literally dead, it is still putting up a bit of a fight to return to sin, as Paul earlier lamented; but there is now the sure prospect of fully escaping that situation in due time. Our "mortal" (dying) bodies will be made "alive" (no longer dying, no longer chained to fallen impulses). Christ was raised up in the spirit; we are already raised up to be spiritual persons ('minding the spirit', verses 5 and 6), and will in the end be perfected in that regard.

Some teach "once saved, always saved." They think that once God declares you saved (at the moment you say "I believe" and have an emotional "born-again" experience*) then no amount of misbehavior can reverse it. That conviction is based on emotion, not scripture. True, when for your faith God transfers your parentage from Adam to Christ and raises you to that newness of life, your name is "written in a book of life." But the ink on that page is not yet indelible, as Jesus plainly warned spirit-begotten Christians in the ancient Sardis congregation: “Nevertheless, you do have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their outer garments [by indulging in sin], and they shall walk with me in white ones [meaning holiness, purity], because they are worthy. He that conquers will thus be arrayed in white outer garments; and I will by no means blot out his name from the book of life, but I will make acknowledgment of his name before my Father and before his angels.” (Revelation 3:5) "Blot out" means the name is there, but can be removed. This point is abundantly clear in many other passages: see 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Philippians 3:12, Colossians 1:22, 23, 2 Timothy 2:12, 2 Peter 1:5-11, Matthew 24:13, Hebrews 3:14.

Washed Clean

The baptism performed by John and later by Christians would not have seemed a strange new ritual to the Jews of the time. Their traditions involved many baptisms, ritually cleansing utensils and washing the arms and feet, plus immersing themselves in mikva'ot, small pools dedicated to that one purpose. Archaeologists have found hundreds of mikva'ot in Jerusalem alone dating to that time. This ritual bathing was to restore purity after a religiously contaminating event. For example, in the Law, a woman's monthly menstruation made her impure, so after it was over, she would immerse herself in a mikveh to be clean before God until the next cycle. These "baptisms" are not mentioned in the ancient Law but were a well-established tradition in the first century. No soap was involved; it was enough for the person to be covered by the water, quite similar to the Christian baptism. Having a witness to the ritual was not required, but was usual.

Christian baptism has significant differences, the most obvious being that it is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Just as Christ gave himself as a sacrifice "once for all time," such that we do not have to keep offering sacrifices for our sins as the Law required, so a person is baptized once* and does not have to repeat the symbol of dying to sin and being raised to a new life. These two are of one piece, as the baptism also means "baptism into Christ" or "baptism into his death."

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Even so, comparing baptism to a bath, a washing, does appear in inspired scripture. Some have misunderstood the comparison; the literal water does not itself wash away our sins. Scripture also says that Christ's blood "cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7) And it says we "wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev 7:14) Blood is red, not white, so this is obviously figurative. It is our acceptance of Christ as our redeemer, as evident in our following him faithfully, that moves God to view us as washed clean from wrongdoing. Likewise, the "bath of water by means of the word" (Ephesians 5:26) and "the bath that brought us to life" (Titus 3:5) both allude to baptism, but do not mean that we are cleansed or saved by the act of baptism alone. As Ananias told Saul: “Rise, get baptized and wash your sins away and call upon his name.” (Acts 22:16, ftn Rbi8) Paul, especially as a Pharisee to whom ritual washing was extremely important, would have not dismissed the obvious link between the words "baptize" and "wash". But if not at the moment, then he soon would have understood that it was not the water that cleansed him of sin. Rather, it was accepting Christ as Lord and "calling upon his name," that is, taking the Way He led, that would cover his sin. Baptism was merely a symbol of that faith. (See James 2:14-26, John 14:12.)

It is not a symbol or ritual in itself that saves us. Paul, despite his background as a Pharisee, understood this. He wrote to Titus: “When the kindness and the love for man on the part of God our Savior was manifested, owing to no works in righteousness that we had performed but according to his mercy, he saved us through the bath that brought us to life and through the making of us new by holy spirit. This [spirit] he poured out richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that, after being declared righteous by the undeserved kindness of that one, we might become heirs with a hope of everlasting life.” —Titus 3:4-7.

The Christian Sabbath

God saved the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He brought them through the Red Sea, then through a wilderness to a mountain. There he gave them a code of Law, with Ten Commandments at its heart. One of these was the Sabbath: every seventh day they were to abstain from all gainful work. Why this law? It was not for playing games or sleeping in; they were to use the time for spiritual education, and appreciative worship of the living God, Jehovah, who had given them rest from their slavery. It was to teach them that the most important rest is not relaxing physically; it is being "at rest" with God. —Isaiah 58:13.

The pattern for the Sabbath was God himself, who "rested" on a seventh "day" from his creating work. (Genesis 1:31, 2:2, 3) God has unlimited energy and cannot get tired, so this means he was satisfied with the completion of his earthly creation. So the Sabbath was to be a symbol and reminder of their satisfying, peaceful relationship with Him, and their dependence on Him for prosperity and life. They could skip a day of work without going hungry. Life is about more than doing for oneself. A lesson we all need reminding of from time to time.

After receiving the Law, the Israelites had to trek though the harsh desert wilderness for forty years, finally reaching the Jordan River. God again opened the floodwater barrier before them, allowing them to enter their place of rest, the Promised Land.

In his letter to the Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, Paul parallels the Christian congregation with the Israelites’ experience. We too are set free from slavery to this world. In passing through the Red Sea, Israel was "baptized into Moses," who led them; Christians are "baptized into Christ," who leads us. We too accept God's will (the "law of the Christ") and follow the path in this world (the wilderness) that he directs. In due time we will reach passage into our Promised Land: for those who will reign, their 'Jordan' is literal death and resurrection to heaven, while for those who will live in the earthly paradise, the 'Jordan' could be either entry into the Millennial reign, or the Millennium itself, which ends with attaining perfected, tested life. (See chapters 5-10 of this book for details.) —1 Cor 10:1, 2; see also Exodus 19:5, 6 and Jeremiah 31:31, 32.

In his letter Paul focuses on that wilderness trek. Their journey was prolonged due to lack of faith; ours is simply our life in this world, however long that may be. Paul quotes Psalms 95:7-11, where God warns us “Do not harden your hearts as on the occasion of causing bitter anger, as in the day of making the test in the wilderness, in which your forefathers made a test of me with a trial, and yet they had seen my works for forty years. For this reason I became disgusted with this generation and said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they themselves have not come to know my ways.’ So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest [resting-place, Ps 95:11].’” Paul then adds: “Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by drawing away from the living God.” —Heb 3:8-12.

For their faithlessness that first generation died in the wilderness and did not enter into "God's rest," the Land of Promise. They had ritually observed Sabbath days, but had failed to understand their purpose. Paul exhorts us: “Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, for fear any of us should fall into that same pattern of disobedience.” We do that not by observing the literal Sabbath, which was "a shadow of things to come," but by observing its meaning and intent. As Paul explains: “For the man that has entered into [God's] rest has also himself rested from his own works.” It is by desisting from self-centered works, from trying to save ourselves apart from God by our own wit, wealth, or weapons, that we prove that we have the sense of the Sabbath and are observing it in reality. In Christ we are truly "at rest", at peace, satisfied, with God, and He with us. —Hebrews 4:11, 10; Proverbs 3:5-7, Colossians 2:13, 14, 16, 17.

So when Paul said “there remains a sabbath resting for the people of God,” he meant not the traditional Sabbath observance, but a true spiritual resting, seven days out of seven. (Heb 4:9) So yes, our salvation does depend on our observing a sabbath— the real one. Those who focus entirely on the shadow are missing the reality. —see Galatians 4:9-11.

Of course you may set apart any day or hour for yourself, on any schedule you choose, to personal spiritual education and worship. (Romans 14:5) Having such a regular schedule is a good idea. And if you are a family head, you may establish such a schedule for your family. But you cannot teach that one schedule must be followed by all in the congregation on pain of death. Nor should you believe that God will destroy you if you vary from your devotional routine. Your local congregation has a schedule of meetings and activities for education and worship, which you should respect and support to the extent that you can. But again, God does not exact the death penalty for a single infraction on this schedule, like he did for the literal Sabbath. Are you not glad?

The Real Life

What really is the purpose of life? The One who is the Source of all life is the "happy God", the God who "is love." Life should be sweet, and at times it is. As we have shown by many scripture references, Jehovah, the "One who causes to become," will not allow the rebellion led by Satan his enemy to continue much longer. When Satan and his kind are gone, and the Earth has been restored to the beautiful, peaceful Paradise it was meant to be, ah, that will be the real life! This is no mere idealistic dreaming, it has a Rock-solid guarantee. Our purpose for existing is really just to enjoy existing, in such a way that all others with us can enjoy it just as well, for all time. When that is true, our Creator will be finally completely satisfied with the work of his hands.

Satan wants to deny you this wonderful future. He says, "the price is too high! They will take away your freedom! They will make you a zombie! You have to do everything you are told! You won't be allowed to think for yourself! Don't go that way! Stay with me! You'll be fine, I promise! Have fun! Do whatever you want! Indulge in every selfish pleasure! That is the Real life!" God answers, ‘False. False. False. True. False. Bad idea. No, no you won't. You call that fun? What do you really want? That's a dead end. No, the Real life comes from Me.’

No, the price is not too high. All you have to relinquish is independence, not freedom. Within God's will there is wide latitude for choice. You can really enjoy life without being bad. God gave you a brain didn't he? So why would he then forbid you to think? Just do it with care. Those who stay with Satan most assuredly will not be fine. Don't believe him, he is the original Liar. He is the one that makes people into 'zombies', stumbling sadly through life with leaden feet, slaves to their 'bokor', Satan himself.* Christ has broken the spell, he has set us free. We now know the truth, and the Truth has set us free. He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." At the beginning of his ministry he announced, using Isaiah's prophecy, ‘The spirit of Jehovah is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor, he sent me forth to proclaim a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away with a release, to proclaim the year of goodwill of Jehovah.’ He now urges us: "get a firm hold on the real life," "get a firm hold on the everlasting life for which you were called." —1 Tim 6:12, 19.