Legally Defending the Good News

18. (a) Why do we not need the permission of human governments to preach? (b) What course do we follow when denied permission to preach?

¹⁸ Our authorization to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom comes from heaven. Jesus, who commissioned us to do this work, has been given ‘all authority in heaven and on earth.’ (Matthew 28:18-20; Philippians 2:9-11) Hence, we do not need the permission of human governments to preach. Even so, we recognize that having religious freedom is conducive to spreading the Kingdom message. In lands where we have the freedom to carry on with our worship, we will use the legal system to protect it. Where we have been denied such freedom, we will, within the framework of the law, endeavor to obtain it. Our objective is, not social reform, but “the defending and legally establishing of the good news.”c—Philippians 1:7.

19. (a) What may be the result of our ‘paying back God’s things to God’? (b) What is it our determination to do?

¹⁹ As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we acknowledge Jehovah as the Universal Sovereign. His law is supreme. We conscientiously obey human governments, thus ‘paying back Caesar’s things to Caesar.’ But we will allow nothing to interfere with our fulfilling a far more important responsibility—‘paying back God’s things to God.’ (Matthew 22:21) We fully understand that doing so will make us “objects of hatred” by the nations, but we accept this as part of the cost of discipleship. The legal record of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 20th century is a testimony to our determination to defend our faith. With Jehovah’s help and backing, we will continue “without letup teaching and declaring the good news.”—Acts 5:42.

Legally Protecting the Good News

AS LONG AS man has been constructing cities, he has been building walls. Especially in bygone days, these fortifications were a protection. From atop this barrier, defenders could fight to protect the walls from being breached or undermined by attackers. Not only did the inhabitants of the city find protection but often those dwelling in the surrounding towns also found refuge within the walls.—2 Samuel 11:20-24; Isaiah 25:12.

Similarly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have built a wall—a legal wall—of protection. This wall has not been erected to isolate the Witnesses from the rest of society, for Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for being gregarious, outgoing people. Rather, it fortifies legal guarantees of basic freedoms for all people. At the same time, it protects the Witnesses’ legal rights so that they can freely carry out their worship. (Compare Matthew 5:14-16.) This wall safeguards their way of worship and their right to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom. What is this wall, and how has it been built?

Building a Legal Wall of Protection

Although Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoy religious freedom in most lands, in some countries they have been the object of unjustified attack. When their freedom to worship by assembling together or by preaching from house to house has been challenged, they have pursued matters legally. Legal cases involving the Witnesses have numbered in the thousands earth wide.a Not all have been won. But when lower courts have ruled against them, they have often appealed to higher courts. With what result?

Over the decades of the 20th century, legal victories in many lands have established reliable precedents that Jehovah’s Witnesses have appealed to in subsequent cases. Like the bricks or stones making up a wall, these favorable decisions constitute a legal wall of protection. From atop this wall of precedent, the Witnesses have continued to fight for the religious freedom to carry out their worship.