What Does the Bible Really Teach?

Chapter 16: Take Your Stand For True Worship

What does the Bible teach about the use of images?

What view do Christians take of religious holidays?

How can you explain your beliefs to others without offending them?

1, 2. What question must you ask yourself after leaving false religion, and why do you think this is important?

SUPPOSE you found out that your whole neighborhood has been contaminated. Someone has secretly been dumping poisonous waste in the area, and now the situation is life threatening. What would you do? No doubt, you would move away if you could. But after doing that, you would still face this serious question, ‘Have I been poisoned?’

2 A similar situation arises with regard to false religion. The Bible teaches that such worship is contaminated with unclean teachings and practices. (2 Corinthians 6:17) That is why it is important for you to get out of “Babylon the Great,” the world empire of false religion. (Revelation 18:2, 4) Have you done this? If so, you are to be commended. But more is involved than just separating yourself or resigning from a false religion. Afterward, you must ask yourself, ‘Do any traces of false worship remain in me?’ Consider some examples.

 IMAGES AND ANCESTOR WORSHIP

3. (a) What does the Bible say about the use of images, and why might God’s view be difficult for some to accept? (b) What should you do with any items you own that are connected with false worship?

3 Some have had images or shrines in their home for years. Is that true of you? If so, you might feel that it is strange or wrong to pray to God without such a visible aid. You may even feel attached to some of these items. But God is the one who says how he should be worshiped, and the Bible teaches that he does not want us to use images. (Exodus 20:4, 5; Psalm 115:4-8; Isaiah 42:8; 1 John 5:21) So you can take a stand for true worship by destroying any items you own that are connected with false worship. By all means, come to view them as Jehovah does—as something “detestable.”—Deuteronomy 27:15.

4. (a) How do we know that ancestor worship is futile? (b) Why did Jehovah forbid his people to engage in any form of spiritism?

4 Ancestor worship also is common in many false  religions. Before learning Bible truth, some believed that the dead are conscious in an invisible realm and that they can help or harm the living. Perhaps you used to go to great lengths to appease your dead ancestors. But as you learned in Chapter 6 of this book, the dead have no conscious existence anywhere. Thus, attempts to communicate with them are of no use. Any messages that seem to come from a dead loved one really originate with the demons. Therefore, Jehovah forbade the Israelites to try to talk with the dead or to participate in any other form of spiritism.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12. 

5. What can you do if the use of images or the practice of ancestor worship was in your religious past?

5 If the use of images or the practice of ancestor worship was part of your former way of worship, what can you do? Read and ponder over Bible passages that show you how God views these things. Pray to Jehovah daily about your desire to take a stand for true worship, and ask him to help you to think as he does.—Isaiah 55:9.

CHRISTMAS—NOT CELEBRATED BY EARLY CHRISTIANS

6, 7. (a) Christmas supposedly commemorates what, and did Jesus’ first-century followers observe it? (b) What were birthday celebrations associated with during the time of Jesus’ early disciples?

6 A person’s worship could be contaminated by false religion as it relates to popular holidays. Consider Christmas, for example. Christmas supposedly commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, and nearly every religion that claims to be Christian celebrates it. Yet, there is no evidence that the first-century disciples of Jesus observed such a holiday. The book Sacred Origins of Profound Things states: “For two centuries after Christ’s birth, no one knew, and few people cared, exactly when he was born.”