The March 15, 1998 Watchtower contains an article entitled, "Dedication And Freedom Of Choice." On page 17, the reader is told that a person must meet certain Scriptural qualifications before he or she can become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The article states, "Elders exercise care in determining if a potential Witness truly understands the implications of Christian dedication. Does he really want to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses? Is he willing to live up to what this entails? If not, he is ineligible for baptism."
This statements begs the questions: Where in the Bible does it even hint that a person must answer questions to the satisfaction of elders before being baptized? In Acts 2:40-41, about 3,000 people were baptized on the same day they accepted Peter’s good news about Jesus. In Acts 8:26-38, Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch on the road and told him the good news about Jesus. The eunuch believed and was baptized, right there on the side of the road. In fact, throughout the New Testament, people are baptized as soon they place their faith in Jesus. We are never told about anyone having to first answer 80 questions from the elders.
When this article is combined with the article that follows, entitled "Living Up To Christian Dedication In Freedom," it is clear that the "dedication" mentioned in these articles is not dedication to God, but to the Society’s mandates. But Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me." Eternal life depends on dedication to Jesus—not dedication to an organization.