Watchtower Study, Week of April 14-20, 2025, Jehovah's forgiveness: why we are so grateful, Underlined Answers.

Watchtower Study, April 14-20, 2025, Jehovah's forgiveness: why we are so grateful, Underlined Answers.

Yellow: Direct Response

Light Yellow: Additional Response

Celeste: Additional Points

“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (JOHN 3:16).

1, 2. Why do we say that human beings find ourselves in a situation similar to that of the young man in paragraph 1?

IMAGINE a young man who has very rich parents. But one day he receives terrible news: his parents have died in an accident. And that's not all. He also learns that his parents had squandered all their money and were up to their necks in debt. So, instead of inheriting money, what you inherit are debts. And they are demanding that you pay them as soon as possible. But the debt is so great that he could never ever pay it.

2 Human beings find ourselves in a similar situation. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were perfect and lived in a beautiful paradise (Gen. 1:27; 2:7-9). They could have enjoyed a happy and prosperous life forever. But then everything changed. They lost their beautiful home and the chance to live forever. What inheritance did they leave to their future children? The Bible tells us: “Through one man [Adam], sin entered the world and through sin death entered, and thus death spread to all men, because all had sinned.” (Rom. 5:12). The inheritance that Adam left us is sin, which leads us to death. Inherited sin is like a huge debt that none of us can pay (Ps. 49:8).

3. In what sense are sins like debts?

3 Jesus compared sins to “debts” (Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4). So to speak, when we sin, we incur a debt to Jehovah that we must pay. If he had done nothing to remove that debt from us, the only way we would have to pay it would be with death. (Rom. 6:7, 23).

4. a) Without help, what would become of us? (Psalm 49:7-9). b) What meanings does the word sin have in the Bible? (See “Sin” box).

4 We alone cannot recover everything that Adam and Eve lost. (it’s Psalm 49:7-9). Without help, we would have no hope of living forever or of being resurrected. We would have the same end as animals (Ecl. 3:19; 2 Ped. 2:12).

5. What has Jehovah done to help us pay the debt of sin? (See image).

5 Let's think again about the young man we mentioned in paragraph 1. How would he feel if a rich man offered to pay all his debts? I'm sure you would be very grateful and accept that generous offer. Similarly, Jehovah, our loving Father, has given us a gift that pays the debt of sin we inherited from Adam. Jesus explained what that gift consists of: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that no one who shows faith in him would be destroyed but have eternal life.” (Juan 3:16). This gift also allows us to enjoy a good relationship with Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. Jesus speaking during the night. 2. Some Roman soldiers take Jesus' body down from the torture stake.

Jesus preached the good news about Jehovah’s forgiveness, which is made possible by the ransom (John 3:16). Afterwards, he gladly gave his own life as a ransom. (See paragraph 5).

6. What biblical concepts will we analyze in this article, and why?

6 How can we benefit from this wonderful gift and receive forgiveness of our sins? To discover the answer, in this article we are going to analyze the following biblical concepts: reconciliation, atonement, propitiation, ransom, redemption and being declared righteous. Meditating on these concepts will help us be even more grateful for everything Jehovah has done to forgive us.

THE GOAL: RECONCILIATION

7. a) What else did Adam and Eve lose? b) What do the descendants of Adam and Eve desperately need? (Romans 5:10, 11).

7 Adam and Eve not only lost the chance to live forever. They also lost the precious relationship they had with their Father, Jehovah. Before they sinned, they were part of God's family (Luke 3:38). But when they disobeyed Jehovah, they were expelled from their family. This happened before they had children (Gen. 3:23, 24; 4:1). For this reason, his descendants need to be reconciled to Jehovah (read Romans 5:10, 11). In other words, we need to regain a good relationship with him. According to one reference work, when this passage talks about being reconciled, it uses a Greek word that can mean “to make an enemy become a friend.” The impressive thing is that it was Jehovah who took the initiative to make reconciliation possible. How did he do it?

THE SYSTEM: THE ATONEMENT

8. a) What is atonement? b) What is propitiation?

8 The atonement is the system that Jehovah established so that sinful human beings could once again have a good relationship with him. It involves changing one thing for another that has the same value. In this way, something that has been lost or destroyed can be recovered or replaced. The Christian Greek Scriptures use the word propitiation, which has a meaning similar to atonement (Rom. 3:25, note). Propitiation is Jehovah's way of making it possible for a person to be at peace with him and be his friend.

9. What temporal system did Jehovah establish so that the Israelites could receive forgiveness for their sins?

9 In the time of the Israelites, Jehovah established a temporary system so that they could receive forgiveness of their sins and have a good relationship with him. On the Day of Atonement, which was celebrated once a year, the high priest offered animal sacrifices on behalf of the people. Of course, these sacrifices could not completely atone for the sins of the Israelites, since animals are inferior to human beings. But Jehovah was willing to forgive their sins, as long as the Israelites repented and offered the sacrifices he requested. (Heb. 10:1-4). Furthermore, the sacrifices they offered on the Day of Atonement and on other occasions reminded them that they were sinners and needed a better solution, one that was permanent.

10. What permanent solution for the forgiveness of sins did Jehovah have in mind?

10 What permanent solution for the forgiveness of sins did Jehovah have in mind? He made his beloved Son “offered once to bear the sins of many people.” (Heb. 9:28). Jesus gave “his life as a ransom in exchange for many people” (Matt. 20:28). And what is a rescue?

THE PRICE: THE RESCUE

11. a) In the Bible, what is a ransom? b) What conditions would have to be met to pay the ransom?

11 In the Bible, a ransom is the price paid for atonement and reconciliation. From Jehovah's point of view, that is the basis for recovering what was lost. Let us remember that Adam and Eve lost their perfect life and the possibility of living forever. So the ransom would have to be worth the same as what was lost (1 Tim. 2:6). Only a man who met these three requirements could pay it: being perfect, having the possibility of living forever on Earth and being willing to give or sacrifice that life for us. Only if all of these conditions were met could that person's life replace the life that had been lost and atonement be achieved.

12. For what reasons was Jesus able to pay the ransom?

12 Let's look at three reasons why Jesus was able to pay the ransom: 1) he was perfect, “he committed no sin”, 2) for that reason he could live forever on Earth and 3) he was willing to give up that life and die for us. (1 Ped. 2:22; Heb. 10:9, 10). Jesus was a perfect man, just as the first man, Adam, was before he sinned (1 Cor. 15:45). So with his death he was able to atone for Adam's sin, that is, replace what Adam had lost. (Rom. 5:19). In this way, Jesus became “the last Adam.” There is no need for any other perfect human being to come and pay for what Adam lost. Jesus died “once and for all” (Heb. 7:27; 10:12).

13. What is the difference between the atonement and ransom system?

13 So what is the difference between the system of atonement and ransom? The system of atonement is what God does to restore a good relationship between himself and human beings. The ransom is the price paid to atone for the sins of humanity. That price is represented by the valuable blood of Jesus, which was shed on our behalf. (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:14).

THE RESULTS: REDEMPTION AND BEING DECLARED RIGHTEOUS

14. What are we going to analyze now, and why?

14 What are the benefits of the atonement? The Bible uses several expressions to refer to them. Although these expressions have similar meanings, each highlights a different aspect of the system that Jehovah has established for us to receive his forgiveness. Let us now analyze those expressions. Doing so will help us better appreciate what Jehovah's forgiveness means to each of us.

15, 16. a) What does the biblical concept of redemption refer to? b) How do we feel when we think that we can be freed from sin and death?

15 The biblical concept of redemption refers to being absolved or freed thanks to the payment of the ransom. The apostle Peter put it this way: "You know that it was not with corruptible things, silver or gold, that you were freed [literally, "rescued," "redeemed"] from the useless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors. Rather, it was with precious blood, like that of a lamb without any blemish or spot, the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18, 19; note).

16 Thanks to the rescue, we can be freed from sin and death, which cause so much suffering (Rom. 5:21). Without a doubt, we are deeply grateful to Jehovah and Jesus for having redeemed us through the precious blood or life of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:22).

17, 18. a) What does it mean to be declared righteous? b) How does that benefit us?

17 Being declared righteous means that the charges against us are dropped and our “record” is given a clean slate. Does this mean that Jehovah is breaking his own standards of justice? No. He does not declare us righteous on our own merits nor is He permissive of our sins. However, our faith in the system of atonement and the price paid to rescue us serves as a basis for Jehovah’s forgiveness of our sins (Rom. 3:24; Gal. 2:16).

18 How does it benefit us when Jehovah declares us righteous? Some Christians have been chosen to rule with Jesus in heaven and have become children of God (Titus 3:7; 1 John 3:1). Your sins have been forgiven; It is as if they had never been committed. That is why they can be part of the Kingdom (Rom. 8:1, 2, 30). Other Christians hope to live forever on Earth and have become friends of God. Your sins have also been forgiven (James 2:21-23). The great multitude, who will survive Armageddon, have the hope of never dying (John 11:26). The “righteous” and the “unrighteous” who have died will be resurrected (Num. 24:15; John 5:28, 29). In time, all of Jehovah’s faithful servants living on Earth will have “the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:21). As we see, the system of the atonement allows us to be completely reconciled to our Father, Jehovah. What a wonderful blessing!

19. What situation are we in thanks to what Jehovah and Jesus have done for us? (See also the box “Jehovah's Forgiveness.”)

19 It is true that we were in a situation as desperate as that of the young man who lost everything and inherited an enormous debt that he could never pay. But Jehovah helped us, and thanks to the atonement system and the payment of the ransom, our situation has changed. Our faith in Jesus Christ allows us to be redeemed or freed from sin and death. Furthermore, our sins can be erased, as if we had never committed them. But most important of all, we can now have a good relationship with our loving heavenly Father, Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. People from different cultures. 2. Jesus carrying his torture stake.

20. What will we analyze in the next article?

20 When we reflect on all that Jehovah and Jesus have done for us, we feel immensely grateful. (2 Cor. 5:15) Without your help, we would have no hope. In the following article, we will analyze some biblical comparisons to delve deeper into what Jehovah's forgiveness really means for each of us.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

What is the goal of Jehovah's forgiveness?

Adam and Eve not only lost the chance to live forever. They also lost the precious relationship they had with their Father, Jehovah. For that reason, his descendants need to be reconciled to Jehovah. In other words, we need to regain a good relationship with Him.

What is the basis for Jehovah to forgive our sins?

The following biblical concepts: reconciliation, atonement, propitiation, ransom, redemption and being declared righteous. Meditating on these concepts will help us be even more grateful for everything Jehovah has done to forgive us.

How does Jehovah's forgiveness benefit us?

Thanks to the system of atonement and the payment of the ransom, our situation has changed. Our faith in Jesus Christ allows us to be redeemed or freed from sin and death. Furthermore, our sins can be erased, as if we had never committed them. But most important of all, we can now have a good relationship with our loving heavenly Father, Jehovah.