Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Can You Disrespect and Show Contempt towards Someone, Yet Worship and Make an Idol of the Same Person at the Same Time?

Can a person make an idol out of something or someone, actually worship that idol and teach others to do so, and at the same time show contempt for their object of worship?  Is that possible?

I think, yes.  I may have witnessed it.

I heard a sermon that rebuked those who sent in study papers on suggested new doctrines or corrections to existing doctrines, based on the Bible, to the headquarters of the fellowship the speaker was part of.  Apparently, it is official policy in this fellowship to never change, correct, question, or add to the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong and his writings.  Any suggestion that there is an error in Mystery of the Ages or any of the traditional doctrines of the Church that have come from Mr. Armstrong, or that new doctrine from the Bible should be added, is immediately and automatically rejected without further consideration.  This seems to be the policy of that fellowship and the one who was speaking.

I suppose some think that by holding fast to the doctrines of Mr. Armstrong, they are obeying Christ's command to Philadelphians to hold fast to what they have.  "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write....See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name....Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown" (Revelation 3:7-11).  They don't seem to notice that in the same message to Philadelphia, Christ says He has given Philadelphia an open door (to preach the gospel).  I say the open door is a door for preaching the gospel because that is how the metaphor of an open door is used in the Bible, as I have found with a Bible study, which I documented in this blog.  But this fellowship has no open door, not really, though they make a token effort to preach the gospel.  As far as I know, their efforts have borne no good fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).  

They have no open door.  So why do they think they are Philadelphians?  And why do they think the command to "hold fast" is addressed to them?  There is no evidence that they have anything they should hold fast to.

Mr. Armstrong himself never claimed to be infallible.  He admitted he made errors, and he corrected his errors in doctrine, by the Bible, when he found them, as he did with Pentecost being on a Monday.  He was also always willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible, knowledge that the Church of God Seventh Day did not have, even when he was just a lay member attending that fellowship.

In fact, late in life he sometimes, in sermons to the Church membership, apparently criticized Church of God Seventh Day for being unwilling to admit and correct error and learn new things from the Bible.

So how is a member to respond when he sees something in the Bible that seems to contradict Mr. Armstrong's teachings or adds new knowledge that Mr. Armstrong did not have?

Obviously, there is a process available to the member to ask questions of a minister, to have a teachable mind, to be willing to be corrected if he is making a mistake, etc.

But that does not always clear things up.  Sometimes, even after further discussion and study with an open mind, the problem remains.  The Bible seems to teach something Mr. Armstrong did not teach.  How can that happen?  If there is an error in Mr. Armstrong's teaching, then he simply made a mistake in doctrine, as he did with Pentecost, and he died before he could discover and correct the mistake.  If it is new knowledge from the Bible, Mr. Armstrong did not discover it before he died.

But going back to the question, how should the member respond?  Should he believe what he sees in the Bible, or should he believe the Church, its ministry, and the teachings of Mr. Armstrong?  He has to make a choice.

The Bible is God speaking.  Mystery of the Ages is Mr. Armstrong speaking.  The member should believe God.  He should believe the Bible, not a man.

Faith must be towards God.  Faith is an act of worship, and we must always have faith in God and His word more than in man.  To believe man more than God is unfaithfulness towards God.  It is idolatry.  If we have more faith in men and their teachings than in God and his word, we are putting men before the true God.  We are not putting God first.  We are making an idol of a man or a religious tradition or a church.  This is what the world does.  That is why there are so many false religions and false churches in the world.

Did Mr. Armstrong receive an open door?  Yes.  When?  1934.  Did he hold fast to a list of doctrines at that time?  No.  Many of the doctrines the Church believes today were doctrines Mr. Armstrong did not discover until long after 1934.  He was in the process of discovering, learning, and teaching new doctrines, correcting mistakes in doctrine, NOT holding fast to old doctrines.  But he must have held fast to something.  What did he hold fast to?

He held fast to a way of life.  It was a way of life that Philadelphians today should also hold fast to.  It was a way of life that directly resulted in the doctrines he later discovered and we have today.

It was a way of life that put God first.  It was a way of life that included believing and trusting in God and His word the Bible more than in man and man's teaching, even teaching in the true Church of God.

One who practices that way of life today will believe the Bible more than Mystery of the Ages.  And as a result, he may discover errors in the teachings of Mr. Armstrong or new knowledge from the Bible that Mr. Armstrong never had.

Some may say that, since Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come to restore all things, he must have restored everything before he died, so no corrections or new knowledge is possible today.  Everything is complete and correct.

But people who say that are not following the Bible.  They do not live by every word of God.  For they have not learned what God says about the first Elijah.

Why do people who attach such importance to Mr. Armstrong being the Elijah to come not take the time to study the life and work of the first Elijah, even to learn what it teaches us about the role of Mr. Armstrong as the Elijah to restore all things?  Laziness?  Hypocrisy?  An attitude of, "Well, I know what is true and I don't care what the Bible says."  Mr. Armstrong never had that attitude, which is why God could use him and give him an open door.

Please, STUDY the life and work of Elijah.  The Bible teaches that the work of Elijah can continue after he himself is gone.  It is continued by his successor or successors.  That is the lesson.  And that means that the Elijah work of restoring all things should continue today.  Mr. Armstrong's work of correcting and discovering new doctrine should continue today.  And, no doubt, it does continue in those who believe the Bible more than man, more than the Church, more than their traditions.  They are discovering new things.  But the leaders and the ministry of the whole Church of God, most of them, are not learning new things, because many of them believe their traditions more than God.  Like the Catholics.  Like the Protestants.  Like the Pharisees (Matthew 15:1-9).

Mr. Armstrong started the process of learning new knowledge from the Bible.  That is how he restores all things.  He learned that process from God and he lived it - it was his way of life.  He taught it to others when he said on radio, "Don't believe me, don't believe any man, believe God, believe your Bible."  He taught it when he said, let the Bible interpret the Bible.  He taught it by his example as well as by direct teaching.

The Bible itself teaches it.

We should live by every word of God (Matthew 4:3-4).  We should trust God more than man (Jeremiah 17:5-8).  We should not follow our traditions when they differ from God's word, as the Pharisees did (Matthew 15:1-9).  God cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).  Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).  Faith - believing God's word - is one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23).  Abraham believed God, and his faith in God's word was accounted as righteousness (Genesis 15:3-6, Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6), but Israel in the wilderness could not enter the promised land because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:16-19).

We must believe the Bible more than the teachings of any man.

When we discover new knowledge, and teach it, we are continuing the process Mr. Armstrong started.  That work, that Elijah work of restoring all things, is attributed to Mr. Armstrong as the one who restored all things, because he started that work, he completed most of it, and he taught it to the Church, and we are to continue it today.  That we continue Mr. Armstrong's work of restoring all things does not diminish his role - rather it honors and increases it.

Mr. Armstrong has restored knowledge and continues to do so today through those who have learned from him that we should believe what God says in the Bible, not our traditions.

What is it about the life of the first Elijah that teaches us that the work of the Elijah in our time continues after he himself is gone?  Simply this: that is exactly what happened with the first Elijah.

God gave Elijah a job - anoint Jehu king of Israel (1 Kings 19:13-17).  But Elijah did not do it directly himself.  He must have delegated the job to Elisha, because after Elijah was gone from the scene, Elisha did it, and even Elisha did not do it directly but sent an unnamed man to do it (2 Kings 9:1-13).

But do Church of God leaders and ministers even care what the Bible says?

This has a direct effect on the Church's ability to warn our nations.

Someone said, you can't teach something you haven't lived.  He said this in reference to our teaching role in the millennium, saying we have to live the right way of life now if we are to be able to teach it in the millennium.  But I say that principle also applies to our role today - we have to live the way of life we preach to the public.  I have often said in this blog, we have to practice what we preach.

Mr. Armstrong preached, don't believe me, don't believe any religious leader, believe God, believe your Bible.

Did he practice that?  His autobiography, and his life, shows that he did.  God could use him because he practiced what he preached.  God gave him an open door.

But God has not given that same open door to Church of God leaders today because they do not practice what they preach.  They do not practice the way of life the Bible teaches and Mr. Armstrong taught by his example.

It is a way of life that Philadelphians are to hold fast to, the way of life Mr. Armstrong practiced, a way of life that includes believing the Bible more than our traditions or Mystery of the Ages.

But those who refuse to learn new knowledge do not have that way of life, so they can't hold fast to it - they do not have it to hold on to.  They have nothing to hold fast to.  That command is not for them.  It is for Philadelphians.  It is only for Philadelphians, some of whom may want to share what they learn by sending in study papers, as Mr. Armstrong did (read his autobiography and see if he sent in study papers to Church of God Seventh Day when he first began to attend as a lay member, not a minister or apostle).

The Church of God has a job to warn Israel and the world (Proverbs 24:11, Ezekiel 3:17).  If we don't do it, God will require the blood of the people at our hand (Ezekiel 3:18-21).  That means we have to get a message out to about 500 million people.

Some say, the two witnesses will do it.  No, it will be too late.  They receive power at the beginning of the tribulation (Revelation 11:1-3).  That doesn't give those we warn the time to research these things (Acts 17:10-12) and repent and turn to God.  The tribulation will have already started.  What a cruel joke to only warn someone when it is too late for them to heed the warning and escape.

We especially need to warn those who follow false religious traditions, like Christmas and Sunday, that they need to change.  These are not atheists.  Some of them are very religious, zealous for God but without knowledge.  They think they are pleasing God.

And if no one warns them, when they are stuck in the tribulation, will they not think, why didn't God get a warning to me?  No one told me I was wrong.  God isn't fair.  I had no chance.

Will that not make their trust in God and their repentance more difficult?  Will they not tend to blame God for being unfair?  Our failure to get a warning message out does not glorify God's name.

In my book, Preaching the Gospel (see upper right link), I use research about the Holocaust to prove my point, especially what is shown in the book, The Faith and Doubt of Holocaust Survivors.  The suffering of Holocaust survivors and the deaths of their loved ones did not necessarily draw them closer to God, rather, many lost the faith in God that they had.  They never had a warning.  They thought God was unfair, or they convinced themselves that He doesn't exist.

We must get the warning message out.

But we can't do it while playing the hypocrite of preaching to the public, don't believe us, believe God, yet saying to our own members, don't send in study papers, don't try to change doctrine, believe us, believe Mr. Armstrong, believe Mystery of the Ages, we are not going to change doctrine, but the public needs to change their doctrines according to the Bible.

If we do that, we are telling the public to do what we are unwilling to do ourselves.  We want the public to learn new things from the Bible, but we are no longer willing to do that ourselves.  We have abandoned the way of life Mr. Armstrong practiced to the end.  God will not bless that.  He will not give us an open door for hypocrisy.

It is a bit ridiculous to expect to go to the place of safety when we have no open door to show that we are Philadelphians.  Only Philadelphians are promised protection.  And I don't think we will have an open door while we refuse to change doctrine, while we refuse to grow in the knowledge of God (Hosea 4:6).

How can one make an idol out of Mr. Armstrong while showing contempt towards him?  You can make an idol out of him by practicing and teaching the way of life of believing him more than the Bible.  But at the same time, you can show contempt towards him by criticizing the way of life he practiced, the way of believing God more than man, the way of correcting doctrinal errors, the way of learning new knowledge from the Bible.  Even the way of sending in study papers.

When you criticize those who send in study papers, you are criticizing Mr. Armstrong, for he sent in study papers.

You show contempt for the one you have made your idol.  I guess that is fitting, in an ironic sort of way.  Also, shameful and disgusting.

Some will say, believing the Bible more than Church tradition causes division.  No it does not.  What causes division is members openly criticizing or contradicting the Church in conversation with other members, as I have written about before in this blog.  If you discover new knowledge in the Bible, believe God, but do it quietly.  Keep it between you and God and don't talk about it with other members.  You can discuss it respectfully with the ministry or send in study papers if you wish, but don't promote it or talk about it with the members.  Let the Church and ministry decide when and how to teach the members.  That is their God-given role, not yours.  You do not have the authority.  Maybe the leadership abuses their authority, but let God correct them, not you.  That is the lesson of government.  Respect the ministry.  Even if they do wrong, respect the office.  Wait for God to judge and correct.  Pray about it.  Wait on God.

But believe what you see in the Bible.

There is little in this post I have not taught before in this blog, sometimes in much greater detail than I have done in this post.  If you have questions about this material, email me, or post a comment for this post, or read some of my past posts which may answer your question.  And if you submit a comment or send an email, please be patient with me because sometimes I am slow to respond - but I will respond if I can.


Thursday, November 23, 2023

Give God Thanks for His Protection

Thursday this week is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a day dedicated to giving thanks to God for His blessings.

The tradition started in a right spirit of gratitude towards God, but as the nation falls away from respect towards God and the Bible (even though our people never really understood much of the Bible or obeyed it, they had a nominal respect), Thanksgiving has degenerated with many people into nothing more than an opportunity for time off from work, feasting, family get-togethers, and football.

God does not command observance of this day, so for members of the Church of God, it is optional.  But if we choose to observe it, we should keep it in a right spirit, not as many in the world keep it, but in a spirit of gratitude towards God.

But even though God does not command the observance of Thanksgiving Day, He does command the giving of thanks and praise to Him, and for some of us Thanksgiving Day is a good opportunity to focus on this.  But we should thank and praise God throughout the year.

We have much to be thankful for.

Many of us (not all) have family, friends, jobs, income, health, and Church of God fellowship, and those who have those blessings can thank God for them.  We in the United States can be thankful for the freedom, safety, and prosperity we enjoy.  Though those things are declining, the United States is still one of the richest, most powerful, and freest nations in the world.  We can be thankful for an open door for preaching the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to Israel, though that door is not open very wide right now.

We can give thanks for the truth God has revealed to us through the Bible, the Holy Spirit, Mr. Armstrong, and the Church.  We can thank God for calling us as part of the first fruits, which is a rare blessing among the people of the earth.  We can thank God for the awesome salvation He offers us, to become like Christ and enjoy eternal life with the Father and Christ in happiness, joy, and glory.  God is reproducing Himself in man, which is something to be exceedingly grateful for.

We can thank God for the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the Bible.

Above all, we should give God thanks for Jesus Christ and the love the Father shows to us in the Church and to all mankind in Christ.  And we can thank Christ for His sacrifice, the suffering He endured, and for all His saving work, past, present, and future.

We can give God thanks for his wisdom, power, righteousness, and fairness in providing for an opportunity for salvation to every human that has ever lived regardless of circumstances of time and place.

Some people in the Church seem burdened with trials, and it can be a temptation for some to not feel thankful for their present circumstances.  Others, in spite of severe trials and lack of physical blessings in this life, have the spiritual maturity to even give thanks for their trials, knowing that God uses trials to teach us, test us, and develop character in us for our own good.

There is one blessing that everyone who knows God's truth can give thanks for, and that is God's protection from Satan.

Satan is the enemy of God, God's truth, and the Church.  He wants to destroy us and wipe out any trace of God's truth on the earth.  But God does not allow that.

The first part of the book of Job shows Satan's power and God's power to restrain him.  Satan has tremendous power, but God's power is greater, and Satan can only do what God allows him to do.

If God did not restrain him, I have no doubt Satan would destroy every last one of us very quickly.  The fact that we exist is evidence of God's loving protection.

No matter what our trials in this life, we have that evidence of God's love, and we can give thanks for it.

For those of you who observe Thanksgiving Day, have an inspiring and spiritual Thanksgiving.




Sunday, May 28, 2023

Mr. Armstrong Understood the Concept of Spiritual Healing

I have posted before about physical and spiritual healing.  I have shown that Christ suffered to pay the penalties of suffering that both our spiritual and physical sins have brought on us.  By His stripes we are healed - Isaiah 53:5 - but that healing includes our spiritual healing as well as our physical healing, and we should acknowledge and give thanks for both.

But there may be some in the Church of God today who do not want to acknowledge the principle of spiritual healing.  They only want to say that the healing Isaiah 53:5 refers to is only physical healing - the forgiveness of our breaking the laws of physical health - physical sins that bring on the penalties of physical sickness, disease, injury, and disability.

They cannot say, "physical and spiritual healing".  The words won't form in their mouths.  They cannot give God thanks for spiritual healing - the spiritual healing of our character that happens as the result of God's Holy Spirit giving us power, love, and a sound mind - in other words, a healthy, healed character.

So they either say "physical healing" with no reference to spiritual healing, or they avoid the controversy and duck the question, perhaps out of fear of some of the brethren, by just saying "healing" without reference to it being physical or spiritual, knowing most will understand it as physical.

Why be afraid of the reaction of some brethren on this issue?  They know it will offend some brethren, those who make an idol out of Mr. Armstrong, and are dead set against anything that goes beyond his major teachings in Mystery of the Ages and his other writings and his sermons.  The fact is, in all of Mr. Armstrong's docrtinal writings, so it would seem, he understood the concept of "healing", and that word, to refer only to physical healing, not spiritual healing.  I suppose they think that the idea that the word "healing" in the Bible can refer to spiritual healing is a Protestant concept.  So for a Church of God leader to say that Christ's broken body and the stripes He endured, symbolized by the broken unleavened bread we take at Passover, pays the penalty of suffering for both physical and spiritual sins and enables our physical and spiritual healing - both - would seem like heresy to some brethren, as if the leader is watering down the truth we learned from Mr. Armstrong - truth those brethren think we should hold fast to.

So to avoid offending those brethren and losing their support, their tithes, and their attendance, the leader will not say, "spiritual healing" - those words won't come out of his mouth.

Yet, Christ suffered to make our spiritual healing possible, and that spiritual healing begins or continues to take place with the receiving of God's Holy Spirit, represented by Pentecost.  We all desperately need God's Holy Spirit and the spiritual healing it provides, and we should give God thanks for it.  But many brethren probably do not because their leaders do not, perhaps out of fear of the rejection of HWA-idol worshipers, who make an idol out of Mr. Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages, and other major teachings of Mr. Armstrong - having faith in those teachings more than faith in God and His word, the Bible.  They think they are "holding fast", but they are not.  They are forsaking the Philadelphian example of Mr. Armstrong of being willing to learn new knowledge from God's word and believing the Bible more than man.

But I would like to remind those brethren of something they may have read in Mr. Armstrong's autobiography and never noticed or have forgotten.  

Mr. Armstrong was familiar with the concept of spiritual healing and the association of the word "healing" with the spiritual health of our character.  He may not have taught it in the context of Isaiah 53:5, but he knew the word "healing" can refer to our spiritual condition.

In the passage where Mr. Armstrong talks about his spiritual conversion, he says he was conquered by God.  He said that when he researched the Sabbath issue he was forced to admit his wife was right and he was wrong.  He said it was the bitterest pill he had to swallow but it was the only medicine that brought real healing.

He used that word "healing" in the context of his spiritual condition, not in reference to any physical disease he had.  Look up that passage in the autobiography and see for yourself.

Then look up the words "heal" and "healing" in the Bible, using a concordance or computer program or website that finds words in the Bible.  You will find one or more instances where healing is used in a spiritual context, including a passage where God says He will "heal" our "backsliding".  "Backsliding" is not a physical disease, it is a spiritual problem.  God says He will "heal" it.

The Bible also uses the term "cleansing" to refer to being spiritually changed to be like God.  Both "cleansing" and "healing" are used in this context, probably "cleansing" a bit more.

It is not unusual for God to use more than one symbol to represent the same thing.  For example, God's Holy Spirit can be represented by water, by oil, and perhaps by wind or air.

There may be distinctions between cleansing and healing in the spiritual context.  For example, Christ at His last Passover with His disciples said they were clean because of the word He taught them.  They had not yet received the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, so perhaps "cleansing" refers to repentance and faith, and "healing" is more in reference to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  I don't know.  I have not tried to research this in detail.  The reader may do so.

We should acknowledge that Christ paid a price in physical suffering so we can be healed spiritually as well as physically.  We should give God thanks for that.  We should appreciate it, especially this time of Pentecost when we think about the gift of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual healing it accomplishes in us.

We should be thankful for God's Holy Spirit, but we should be doubly thankful knowing that we can only receive it because Christ suffered for us.  He paid the price for our sins so we can be spiritually healed by the Holy Spirit.

Monday, May 22, 2023

Waiting!... for Pentecost

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father..." (Acts 1:4).

The Day of Pentecost teaches a number of lessons.  It represents the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).  It represents the start of the New Testament Church of God.  It teaches us the lesson of the first fruits, that the Church in this age is only the early, small spiritual harvest of members of the kingdom of God, in contrast to the great future harvest after Christ returns as represented by the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.  It may represent the work of the Church of preaching gospel to the world, because it was on Pentecost that the Church of God began to preach the gospel with power and to rapidly increase in numbers (Acts 2:14-42).  

I think Pentecost also teaches us the lesson of waiting for God's blessing.  We are taught to count fifty days to Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-16).  

This number 50 reminds us of the Jubilee that came every 50 years in ancient Israel, a time when everyone could return to the land of their fathers and would once again own their own land, a great blessing (Leviticus 25:8-13).  

But the Israelites had to wait for it, and 50 years can be a long time.

Likewise, the disciples had to wait for the Day of Pentecost before receiving the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.

Think of it.  Christ promised the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18, 26).  Then He suffered and died to pay the penalties for our sins so we can be forgiven.  He was also resurrected and went to heaven, making it possible for Him to send the Holy Spirit.  The disciples had already repented.  Yet they had to wait.  They had to wait for the power and love and sound mind that are the fruits of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7).  They also had to wait to preach the gospel.

We also have to sometimes wait for God's promised blessings, yet God is faithful to fulfill His word.  We have to learn to wait and trust in God's faithfulness and promises.  

Pentecost can remind us of that lesson.

Trust in God and wait for Him.

"Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14).

Friday, March 17, 2023

Self-Examination for Passover

The Bible teaches, and the Church of God has long taught, that we should examine ourselves before Passover in order to take the Passover in a worthy manner.

"Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

Also, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified" (2 Corinthians 13:5-6).  

To examine ourselves, we need to meditate (think about, reflect) on where we fall short of obedience to God and His way of life.  This helps us to see why Christ had to pay the penalty for our sins, and it helps us to see where we need to work to improve.  We need to measure ourselves by God's law and God's word.

A good way to examine ourselves is by God's word, the Bible.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

Here are some scriptural passages I use and may be useful to others as a starting point.  You can use these and add to them passages that help you in particular.


LOVE

God is love (1 John 4:8).

Love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10).

Love chapter (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).


TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS

Love towards God (Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 11:1, Matthew 22:36-38, Mark 12:29-30, Luke 10:25-28).

Love towards neighbor (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:16-19, Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8-13).

Parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).


THREE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW

Weighier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23).


TEN COMMANDMENTS

Exodus (Exodus 20:1-17).

Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 5:5-22).


SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Matthew (Matthew 5:1-48, 6:1-34, 7:1-29).

Luke (Luke 6:20-49, 11:1-13, 12:1-12, 22-53, 13:23-30).


MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES

Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7).
Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11).
Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17).
Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29).
Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6).
Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13).
Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).


WARNING ISRAEL AND THE WORLD

Ezekial warning (Ezekiel 3:17-21, 33:1-20).

Hold back those stumbling to the slaughter (Proverbs 24:11-12).


MISCELLANEOUS

Here are a few more that help me.

Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

Whatever is good, think on that (Philippians 4:8).

Be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).

Trust in God (Proverbs 3:5-6. Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Trust not in man (Psalm 146:3-4, Jeremiah 17:5-6).

Overcome Satan with prayer and fasting (Leviticus 23:27-32, Leviticus 16:20-26, 29-34, Revelation 20:1-3, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:17-29).

Avoid violence in entertainment (Isaiah 33:14-16).

Humility (Luke 18:9-14, James 4:5-10).

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

When Is a Test More than a Test?

Any trial can be a test from God.  But sometimes a test is more than a test.  Sometimes it is also correction for a fault - a signal that we need to change something in our lives, in our thinking, in our behavior.  Sometimes God sends us a trial to get our attention and to let us know that something is wrong.  Sometimes God uses a trial to punish us for our good, to correct us, so we make needed changes in our lives - to turn us from a wrong path.

Any trial can be a test of faith.  Actually, blessings can be a test - will we still seek God or will we become spiritually lazy and complacent if He blesses us?

Some of us might want God to test us that way.  If I had a million dollars, would I still diligently seek God or would I rely on my wealth?  I might want God to test me that way, but so far he hasn't.

But a trial can be a test of faith only, or a test and a correction also.

And when a trial comes, or a series of trials, we should certainly examine ourselves to see if God may be correcting us for a fault.  We should not just assume we are OK spiritually and not in need of correction.

Consider how we want the public we preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to to react to our message and the tribulation itself.

Putting ourselves in the place of modern Israel can be a useful exercise, and I have explored this before in this blog, though in a different context to make a different point.

One leader of a group in a sermon has said that it is important that we practice what we preach.  He is absolutely right.

I have used this principle before to show that we must be willing to do what we ask the public to do in our message - to believe God, that is the Bible, more than any man, church, or tradition and to be willing to learn new knowledge, even knowledge that changes and corrects the teachings of our religious leaders, to believe the Bible.  We say to the public, don't believe us, don't believe any man, believe God, believe the Bible.  We must do the same.  We must believe the Bible more than Herbert W. Armstrong and be willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible that he did not have as well as correct his errors.  That is what he did and that is what he would do today if he were alive, and we should hold fast to that way of life that he taught us by his example.  I have also shown that any reluctance to do this because we believe that Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come to restore all things and that, since all things have been restored, nothing needs to be changed, is false and contrary to scripture.  I believe that the Bible teaches that the work of Elijah of restoring all things continues past Mr. Armstrong's death, and I have given the evidence from the Bible in past posts.

But in this matter of examining ourselves to see if a trial is a correction for our faults. the principle of considering how modern Israelites will react to our message and prophetic events also applies.

There are many religious Israelites, Catholic and Protestant for instance, who follow their false traditions and think they are OK with God.  They trust in their traditions they have learned since childhood.  They keep Christmas and Easter, Sunday, etc. but not the Sabbath and holy days.  They think they are right in what they are doing.

What happens when they hear our message?  The vast majority will reject our message as a false message.  They won't believe it.  They will believe their traditions and their church leaders more than the Bible (just as some Church of God members believe Mr. Armstrong's writings and the traditions we get from him more than the Bible).  We warn them that the great tribulation is coming as punishment for their wrong practices and thinking if they do not repent, but they do not believe our warning (most of them).

So the tribulation comes upon them.

But how do they react?  Instead of repenting in the tribulation, they think it is just a test.  "We need to have faith in our traditions of Sunday, Christmas, Easter, the trinity, the immortality of the soul, etc.  God is just testing our faith.  We need to continue to be righteous by keeping our traditions, in spite of our trials."

Then, in the millennium, those who receive no rain because they do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles will say, "God does not want us to go to Jerusalem to keep this feast.  He is just testing our faith by withholding the rain."

God chastens every son that He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11).  But how can He chasten us to teach us lessons if we keep saying, "I am not doing anything wrong - God is just testing my faith"?

If you study trials in the Bible, you will find some that are only a test and not a correction (Abraham told to sacrifice Isaac, Daniel and the den of lions, etc.) and some that are both a test and a correction (Job's suffering).  You will also find the principle of God punishing to turn us from sin expounded in various places.

When we go through a trial, we need to examine ourselves with an open mind to see if God may be correcting us for our faults, and if so, repent.  "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).

When God chastens us with trials, He wants us to repent and go a different way, not stubbornly say, "I am right, I am not sinning, God is just testing my faith".  God chastens us to wake us up and teach us lessons.  It is a dangerous thing to resist those lessons.  It is better to cry out to God and say, "God show me where I am wrong" and then examine ourselves with prayer, fasting, Bible study, and meditation to find our faults.

Isn't that what Mr. Armstrong did as related in his autobiography?  At one point, God was not answering his prayers, so he fasted and prayed till he found out what was wrong with him.  Here is one more lesson we can learn from Mr. Armstrong's example.  He didn't say, "This is just a test of my faith."  He knew it was correction from God for his fault.  

And if we are wise, we will consider the counsel of others.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent" (Revelation 3:19).

Punishment from God should lead us to repentance.  If we just say, "I am not sinning, this is just a test of my faith" when God is trying to get our attention so we wake up and repent, then we are refusing to repent and we are resisting God.

And when we seek to find out our faults, if we are wise, we will consider the counsel of others.  Not all counsel is right, but we should at least think about it.  If we don't, then we are not wise.

We must practice what we preach.  We must do as we want the public to do and we must practice the message we preach if we want that message to bear fruit.  If we tell the people, don't believe me, don't believe your religious leaders, believe God, believe the Bible, then we must practice the same thing.  We must not make an idol out of Mr. Armstrong, making faith in him equal to faith in the Bible.  We must not have faith in Mystery of the Ages or any other writings of Mr. Armstrong.  Faith is a form of worship, and we should only have faith in God.

We must be willing to change Mr. Armstrong's teaching and correct his mistakes, and we must be willing to add new knowledge to what he gave us, based on God's word, the Bible.  We must hold fast to Mr. Armstrong's example in this.  If we don't, we have no right to expect success in preaching the gospel, and we have no right to expect good fruits from our efforts.  We fall into danger of becoming a self-centered social club more than a dynamic and fruitful Church of God.

And if God sends us trials, maybe He is correcting us for our hypocrisy.

One necessary note and reminder.  If a change in doctrine, either a correction to an existing doctrine that is wrong or an additional new doctrine that gives us new knowledge, truth from the Bible we did not have before, is necessary, things must be done lawfu1lly and in order.  God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).  If a member becomes aware of a need for a change, he can submit the change and the scriptural basis for it in confidence, privately, to the leadership.  The leadership can then evaluate the change, according to the Bible, not according to Mystery of the Ages or any other teaching of Mr. Armstrong, and then, perhaps with counsel, make the decision for the whole Church.  That way we preserve unity and all speak the same thing (1 Corinthians 1:10, Romans 16:17-18).  It is not the role of the lay members to create division and spread their ideas to the other members on their own.

It is the role of the leadership to base doctrine solidly on the Bible and on godly principles of sincerity and truth as Christ leads.

And if the leader refuses to do that, Christ may deal with him as He sees fit.

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Give Thanks for Herbert W. Armstrong

Today in the United States is Thanksgiving, a national holiday for giving thanks to God.  At this time of year, many in God's Church keep Thanksgiving and spend extra time thinking about God's blessing and giving God thanks in prayer.

Among many things we give God thanks for, I think it is appropriate that we give thanks for Herbert W. Armstrong and the great body of truth God has revealed to us through him.

We are very blessed in that regard.  Not only do we have the truth and traditions God gave us through Mr. Armstrong, but we have a great body of literature from him and from the Church under his leadership available on the Internet, which we can continuously review for encouragement and for a reminder of the things we believe in common because of him.

Some of the key pieces of literature of Mr. Armstrong that are my favorites are, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy, The Incredible Human Potential, Mystery of the Ages, and The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong.  Right now, I am part way through reading The Incredible Human Potential, which I have read many times.

I am thankful that God gave us Mr. Armstrong as a powerful man of God to lead the Philadelphia era of the Church and to teach us many truths.  Mr. Armstrong was not perfect.  He made mistakes, and he corrected many of his own mistakes, and he would still correct his mistakes if he were alive today.  But the vast majority of his teachings were right on target, and very important.  The way God prepared Mr. Armstrong for this service was amazing.  Mrs. Armstrong was an important partner and helpmate to Mr. Armstrong in this work.

Mr. Armstrong set a wonderful example for us in practicing what he preached and putting God first, and so did Loma Armstrong.  When you read his autobiography, you will see that he always put God first in believing and obeying God more than man.  

Loma did this first.  She learned about the Sabbath from a Church of God member, and she was convinced, not by what people said, but by what God said in His Word, the Bible.  Though she was a religious person, she was immediately willing to give up her traditions and what she had been taught by various ministers all her life in order to believe God directly - to believe what she saw in the Bible.

Mr. Armstrong at first resisted, but after a lot of research he too made the choice to believe God more than man.  No doubt, God inspired both him and Mrs. Armstrong to make these right choices.  I believe God inspired them by His Holy Spirit which was with them but not yet in them, and this was part of the way God called them.  We should give thanks to God that He did so.

I think that individual members reading Mr. Armstrong's literature on a regular basis can help bring and maintain unity in the Church, since we are reviewing the things we hold in common.

When you read the autobiography, you will notice that Mr. Armstrong went to God's Word, the Bible, rather than man, for truth.  He did not let any man interpret the Bible for him.  He let the Bible interpret the Bible, as he taught us.  Did he make mistakes in understanding the Bible?  Yes, but as I said, he was willing always to correct his mistakes when he found them.  Did he refer to and use the writings of men in his research?  Yes, but as a source of ideas and reference, not as final authority.  He had an open mind.  He learned from others.  But for final proof, he went to the Bible.

That is why he was able to say to the public, don't believe me, don't believe any man, believe God, believe the Bible.  He could say this without hypocrisy because that is exactly how he personally lived.  That is a beautiful thing.  And God was able to use him to do a great work.

People, coming into the Church of God as it was growing, had to believe the Bible more than their churches, their traditions, their ministers, and even their own opinions.  And God required that the person who challenged them to do this do the same.  Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong qualified.

It is noteworthy that this is not something Mr. Armstrong did only when he was an ordained minister or when he became an apostle or became aware that he was an apostle.  He did this always.  He always put the Bible first over the teaching of ministers or over tradition.  He was that way when he was being called, before baptism, a "prospective member" as we say.  He was that way as a newly baptized lay member.  He continued this way after he was ordained.

For that we can be grateful, for it is because of this that God was able to do a great work through him, and it was because of this great work that many of us, or our parents or grandparents, were called into God's truth.

Let us give God thanks for Mr. Armstrong (and Loma too) and let us appreciate the body of literature God has provided for us from Mr. Armstrong's time.