Carry On as Kingdom Citizens!

“Carry on as citizens.”​—PHILIPPIANS 1:27, footnote.

WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?

Who can be citizens of the Kingdom?

What does it mean to learn the Kingdom’s language, history, and laws?

How do Kingdom citizens show that they love God’s laws?

1, 2. Why did the words “carry on as citizens” have special meaning to the congregation in Philippi?

THE apostle Paul encouraged the congregation in Philippi to “behave in a manner worthy of the good news.” (Read Philippians 1:27.) The word “behave” in this verse means “carry on as citizens,” or behave as citizens. These words had special meaning for the congregation in Philippi. Why? Because it seems that the Roman Empire had allowed the Philippians to have a form of Roman citizenship and to be protected by Roman law. Philippians were proud of being Roman citizens because this gave them benefits that few people had at that time.

² Those in the congregation in Philippi had a better reason to be proud. Paul reminded those anointed Christians: “As for us, our citizenship exists in the heavens.” (Philippians 3:20) They were citizens of God’s Kingdom, which is much greater than any human government. God’s Kingdom gave them protection and benefits that no other government could give.​—Ephesians 2:19-22.

3. (a) Who can be citizens of the Kingdom? (b) What will we consider in this article?

³ Paul’s counsel to “carry on as citizens” was mainly for those who will rule with Christ in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) But it can be applied to those who will live on earth and be ruled by God’s Kingdom. Why? Because we all serve the  same King, Jehovah, and his requirements are the same for all his servants. (Ephesians 4:4-6) Today, many people work hard to become citizens of a rich country. But the opportunity to be citizens of the Kingdom has much more value. To help us better understand what a great opportunity this is, let us compare some of the requirements for becoming a citizen of a human government with those for becoming a citizen of God’s Kingdom. We will then consider three things we must do if we want to continue to be citizens of the Kingdom.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENS

4. What is the pure language? What does it mean to speak the pure language?

⁴ Learn the language. Some governments require that those who want to be citizens learn to speak the main language of the country. Some people have to work hard for years to speak the new language well, even after they become citizens. They may quickly learn the rules of grammar but may need much more time to become good at speaking the language. God’s Kingdom also requires that those who want to be its citizens learn a new language. The Bible calls it the “pure language.” (Read Zephaniah 3:9.) What is that language? It is the truth that the Bible teaches about God and his purposes. To speak the pure language means to obey God’s laws and principles. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we may learn the basic teachings of the Bible quickly and get baptized. But after our baptism, we must work hard to speak the pure language better and better. How can we do that? Each of us needs to continue to make the effort to use in our life what we learn from the Bible.

5. Why should we learn all we can about the history of Jehovah’s people in our time?

⁵ Study the history. A person who wants to become a citizen of a country may have to learn the history of its government. Since we want to be  citizens of God’s Kingdom, we should learn all we can about it. We should imitate the example of the sons of Korah in ancient Israel. They loved Jerusalem and its place of worship and liked to talk about the history of that city, not because the city was beautiful, but because it was “the town of the grand King,” Jehovah. The place of worship in Jerusalem was where the people learned about Jehovah’s Law and worshipped him. Those ruled by Jehovah, the King of Jerusalem, were the people he approved and loved. (Read Psalm 48:1, 2, 9, 12, 13.) In our time, God also has an organized people on earth. Like the sons of Korah, we should want to study and tell others about the history of God’s people. The more we learn about Jehovah’s people and how he helps them, the more real God’s Kingdom will be to us. This will strengthen our desire to preach the good news of the Kingdom.​—Jeremiah 9:24; Luke 4:43.

6. Why can we expect Jehovah to require that we learn and obey his laws and principles?

⁶ Know the laws. Human governments require that their citizens learn and obey the laws of the country. So we can expect Jehovah to require that all citizens of his Kingdom learn and obey his laws and principles. (Isaiah 2:3; John 15:10; 1 John 5:3) Human laws are imperfect and can be unfair. But “the law of Jehovah is perfect.” (Psalm 19:7) Do you enjoy reading the Bible each day and learning God’s laws and principles? (Psalm 1:1, 2) Each of us has to make the effort to study God’s laws. Nobody else can do this for us.

KINGDOM CITIZENS LOVE GOD’S LAWS

7. Why do Kingdom citizens obey God’s laws?

⁷ To continue to be Kingdom citizens, we need to know God’s laws and love them. Many citizens of human governments say that they agree  with the laws of the country. But when they do not like a certain law and they think nobody is watching, they disobey it. Often, they obey laws only to please men. (Colossians 3:22) Kingdom citizens obey God’s laws for a different reason. We love Jehovah. That is why we are happy to obey his laws, even when no other human is watching.​—Isaiah 33:22; read Luke 10:27.

8, 9. How can you know whether you truly love God’s laws?

⁸ How can you know whether you truly love God’s laws? By thinking about your attitude. For example, think about the way you react when you receive counsel. It may be about something that you feel is a personal choice, such as the way you dress. Before you learned the truth, you may not have cared a lot about the way you looked, or perhaps you dressed in a way that could make others have immoral thoughts. As your love for God grew, you learned to dress in a way that honors him. (1 Timothy 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4) You may think that there is nothing wrong with the way you dress now. But if an elder told you that many in the congregation feel that the way you dress is not proper, how would you react? Would you make excuses, get angry, or refuse to make changes? One of the most important laws that citizens of the Kingdom must obey is to imitate Christ. (1 Peter 2:21) Paul said that “even the Christ did not please himself” and in the same way, each of us should “please his neighbor in what is good for his upbuilding.” (Romans 15:2, 3) To keep the peace in the congregation, a mature Christian should always want to avoid doing things that offend the consciences of others.​—Romans 14:19-21.

⁹ Now think about your attitude toward sex and marriage. Those who are not citizens of God’s Kingdom might think that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, pornography, adultery, or divorce. But Kingdom citizens have learned to think of the results of their actions and how their actions will affect others. Before they learned the truth, many lived an immoral life. They now know that sex and marriage are gifts from God. They love Jehovah’s laws and know that those who disobey God’s laws about sex and marriage cannot be Kingdom citizens. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) But they also realize that their heart can make them do wrong things. (Jeremiah 17:9) So they are grateful that they receive specific warnings that help them to continue obeying God’s laws.

KINGDOM CITIZENS ARE GRATEFUL FOR WARNINGS

10, 11. What important warnings does God’s Kingdom give us? How do you feel about such warnings?

¹⁰ Human governments may warn their citizens about certain foods and medicines. Of course, not all foods and medicines are bad. But if something could be harmful, the government will protect its citizens by warning them about the danger. It is the government’s duty to give these warnings. God’s Kingdom also gives  warnings to its citizens. It warns us about things that could make us disobey God’s laws and damage our relationship with him. For example, many people use the Internet for communication, education, and entertainment. God’s organization uses the Internet to do many good things. But many of the sites on the Internet are dangerous for those who want to keep doing what is right. Web sites that show pornography are clearly dangerous. For many years, the faithful slave has warned us about these sites, and we are so grateful for these warnings!

¹¹ Lately, many have been using another type of site. These sites are known as social networking Web sites. They can have benefits but can also cause much damage. So we must be very careful if we choose to use them. We could be communicating with people who are bad associations. (1 Corinthians 15:33) That is why the faithful slave has given us warnings to help us to have the right thinking about these sites. Have you read all the articles from the faithful slave about the use of social networking sites? It would be dangerous to use these sites without first reading these articles. * (See footnote.) It would be like taking a powerful medicine without first reading the warning on the bottle.

12. Why is it foolish to ignore warnings?

¹² Those who ignore the warnings from the faithful slave will harm themselves and those they love. Some have become addicted to pornography or have committed sexual immorality and think that Jehovah cannot see what they are doing. It is very foolish to think that we can hide what we do from Jehovah! (Proverbs 15:3; read Hebrews 4:13.) Jehovah will not allow those who keep ignoring his requirements to be citizens of his Kingdom, just as a human government may not allow people who commit certain crimes to be its citizens anymore. * (See footnote.) (1 Corinthians 5:11-13) But Jehovah is merciful and uses the elders to try to help those who have sinned. (Galatians 6:1) Those who repent and stop doing what is wrong can be friends of Jehovah again and continue to be Kingdom citizens. (2 Corinthians 2:5-8) It is a great honor to serve such a loving King!

KINGDOM CITIZENS VALUE EDUCATION

13. How do Kingdom citizens show that they value education?

¹³ Many governments work hard to educate their citizens. They build schools where people can get a basic education. Citizens of God’s Kingdom  are grateful for these schools where they can learn to read and write and learn the skills they will need for work. They do all they can to benefit from this kind of education. But they are even more grateful for the education that Jehovah gives them through his organization. For example, his organization encourages us to read. It encourages parents to read to their children. Each month, the faithful slave publishes The Watchtower and Awake! The three issues of these magazines have many pages full of information about the Bible. If you read just a few pages a day, you can finish reading them in a month. In this way, you can continue to benefit from the education that Jehovah gives us.

14. (a) What training do we receive? (b) What suggestions for Family Worship evening have you used?

¹⁴ Each week, Kingdom citizens receive training at their congregation meetings. For example, for more than 60 years, the Theocratic Ministry School has helped students to be good teachers of God’s Word. Are you in this school? Also, the faithful slave has emphasized to us the importance of having a Family Worship evening every week. This study helps the family to become more united. Have you used the suggestions given in our publications for Family Worship evening? *​—See footnote.

15. What great honor do we have?

¹⁵ Many citizens of human governments try to get others to support a political party. Some even go from door to door to do that. Kingdom citizens all over the world show they support God’s Kingdom by preaching to people on the street and from door to door. For example, the purpose of The Watchtower is to announce Jehovah’s Kingdom. And as mentioned in the first article, The Watchtower is now the most widely distributed magazine on earth! It is a great honor to tell others about God’s Kingdom. Are you zealously preaching the good news of the Kingdom?​—Matthew 28:19, 20.

16. How can you prove that you are a good citizen of God’s Kingdom?

¹⁶ Soon God’s Kingdom will be the only government ruling the earth. The laws of the Kingdom will be the only laws that guide humans. Will you be a good citizen of God’s Kingdom at that time? Now is the time to prove that you will be. In all the decisions you make each day, do all things for Jehovah’s glory and prove that you are behaving as a good citizen of God’s Kingdom.​—1 Corinthians 10:31.

[Footnotes]

SOME EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED

Citizens: People who are accepted by the government as members of the country

To carry on, or behave, as Kingdom citizens: To do what Jehovah requires of those who serve him as their King

Social networking Web sites: Internet sites, such as Facebook, that allow people to share personal information with individuals and groups of people

[Study Questions]

[Blurb on page 10]

We speak the pure language when we obey God’s laws and principles

[Blurb on page 11]

We learn God’s laws and principles by reading the Bible each day

[Blurb on page 13]

Do you pay attention to warnings from the faithful slave about the Internet?

[Picture on page 11]

Like the sons of Korah, do you love pure worship and its history?

[Picture on page 14]

Your Family Worship evening can help you and your family become good Kingdom citizens