Why We May Have to Give Up Some Good Things to Avoid Temptation

During these seven days of unleavened bread, from last Friday night when we kept the night to be much observed to sunset next Thursday, we in the Church of God will be abstaining from eating any leavening such as yeast, baking soda, and baking powder, and any leavened products. We will also make sure we do not have these things in our houses. We are also to eat unleavened bread for seven days. God commands this in the Old Testament.

"Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters" (Exodus 13:6-7). "You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty)" (Exodus 23:15).

"And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it" (Leviticus 23:6-8).

The reason for these days of unleavened bread and meaning for the Church are given in the New Testament.

"Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Paul said, let us keep the feast, so we know we are to observe this feast, and by extension all the feasts of God. But we are to do these things while understanding their spiritual meaning under the New Covenant.

During these days, leavening represents sin for us, and by putting leavening out of our lives for seven days we are reminded that we need to put sin out of our lives. Just as we need to be diligent to keep leavening out, so we must be diligent to keep sin out.

Also, unleavened bread represents Jesus Christ, the bread of life, and His righteousness (John 6:35, 1 Corinthians 5:8). Eating unleavened bread reminds us of our need to feed on Christ and put on His righteousness. It can remind us of our need for prayer, Bible study, and meditation on God's law and way of life.

It is best if we eat some portion of unleavened bread on every one of the seven days to help us learn the lesson of daily prayer, Bible study, and meditation.

Passover represents the sacrifice of Christ and what God has done for us to make forgiveness of our sins possible. The days of unleavened bread represent our part, what we need to do in response to God's grace and Christ's sacrifice. These days represent repentance and our responsibility to put sin out and the righteousness of God into our lives.


Jesus taught that we need to go all out to quit sinning.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30).

What was Jesus talking about here?

It is obvious He is not advocating physical mutilation of our bodies. We know that because it is a principle of God's word that we try to take care of our bodies. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our bodies are the temple of God.

"For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones" (Ephesians 5:29-30).

As Christ loves His body, the Church, and nourishes it, so we should take care of our bodies and our health.

So if Christ is not talking about literally cutting off our hand or taking out our eye, He is speaking figuratively. But what is He saying?

If we are fighting an addiction to sin, a sinful habit we are trying to break, and there is something that seems to be a "trigger", something that tempts us to sin and triggers a process that leads to sin, we may have to give up that thing that tempts us, that triggers a mental process that leads to sin, in order to avoid the sin.

Why do I say Christ is talking about sinful habits or addictions? Because the sin is recurrent. He is talking about a sin that has repeatedly occurred in the past and has a tendency to occur, else we would not know that a certain thing, spoken of figuratively as a hand or an eye, causes us to sin. The verb tense of "causes" indicates something ongoing. That means an addiction or sinful habit that has to be overcome.

Yet, ironically, the thing that we must give up in this case, figuratively cutting it off from ourselves, is not in itself wrong. In fact, it might be very good, like a healthy hand or eye. And it may be very hard to give it up, like cutting off our right hand.

Yet if it is a trigger that leads to temptation that causes us to sin, we must give it up no matter how hard it is, even if it is as hard as cutting off our hand. Why must we give up something as important to us as our hand or eye, something that we love and is precious to us and is not in itself wrong?

Because we do not want to perish forever in the lake of fire. "...for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:30).

That's how important it is that we overcome our sins!

"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:13-15).

What might it be that triggers temptation and sin, yet in itself is not wrong or even may be good?

One example might be TV. There may be many things on TV that are good, if you can find them, such as nature programs, educational programs, documentaries, some sports programs, and even a few fictional TV series or movies (though most fictional TV shows and movies are not good, especially the ones made in recent decades).

Yet in finding or watching these on TV, we are exposed to commercials for other shows and movies, and for some Church members, those brief exposures to commercials for other shows, violent movies, sexually oriented TV shows, etc. can be a trigger to sin. Such a member may have to give up TV altogether, cancel his cable service, and get rid of his TV. The same can be true for the Internet.

So to avoid sin and the lake of fire, a member for whom TV can be a trigger or a cause to sin may have to give up some good and wholesome TV shows by giving up TV altogether. Is that as hard as cutting off your hand? Is eternal life in the kingdom of God worth it?

A person fighting an addiction to alcohol may not only have to give up over-drinking but even moderate drinking, if it is a trigger, and even social gatherings where liquor is served, even Church of God dances if necessary if liquor is served. Why?

A person can reason, "Well, I'll just go to the dance and not drink liquor. That is good, isn't it?" Then at the dance, "I can have just one drink - there is no sin in drinking in moderation, right?" But that one drink can lead to a second. Then when the person goes home, he may stop for another on the way, then go to a store to get more for home.

What starts out seeming innocent can end up being spiritually deadly.

And it is the very fact of the innocence of the trigger, the thing that of itself may be good but for a particular individual can cause him to sin, that makes it so hard to avoid, because he always has the excuse, "This isn't wrong."

And that may be true. The thing that causes us to sin may not be wrong by itself. It may not be wrong for other people for whom it is not a trigger to temptation and sin. Of and by itself, it can be a very good thing. But if it affects one of us by being a trigger to temptation and sin, and if it has several times in the past caused that particular member to sin, that member may have to give it up.

Such a member may have to draw a line for himself or herself and say, "I will not watch any TV", or, "I will not look at anything on the Internet except known sites such as certain Church of God sites", or, "I will not go to any social gatherings where alcohol is served" - and then not cross that line.

It is very hard, but it sometimes is necessary. We may have to give up some good things to avoid sin.

It is especially hard to do this because, when Satan wants to attack us, he doesn't have to tempt us to do something wrong, at first. He can tempt us to do something that seems right, that is right by itself, that is right for others, but not for us because it is a trigger.

Satan can pump thoughts into the mind of a Church member struggling against alcoholism, one who has made a decision to draw a line and avoid social gatherings where alcohol is available because that has caused him to sin in the past. Satan can say, "You've just been invited by brethren to a Sunday barbecue where there will be beer and wine. You should go, after all, it is with Church members.

"You don't have to drink alcohol. You can resist that temptation now - you're stronger now, you can handle it. Don't you feel stronger?

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to a party with friends in the Church. You want to do it, and it is not sin, so go. Enjoy yourself - you won't drink. Besides, you may offend the host who invited you if you don't go."

Satan can try to twist scriptures in our minds, as Satan misapplied scripture in the temptation of Christ telling Him to cast Himself down from the temple (Matthew 4:5-7). So Satan can pump his thoughts into into the Church member, "If you don't go, you may offend, and didn't Christ say that if you offend a Church member it would be better to be drowned in the sea - Luke 17:1-2? And you are setting a rule or law for yourself to not attend gatherings where there is alcohol, yet didn't God say that whatever He tells you, don't add to it - Deuteronomy 12:32?"

So Satan persuades that member to cross a line he has drawn for himself to not attend parties where there is alcohol, and he goes.

But at the gathering, at some point Satan changes his tune. He puts it into the mind of the Church member, "You can have one beer, that won't hurt. You won't over-drink, there are brethren all around. Besides, you are strong enough to resist a second drink - look, you have been here for two hours without a single alcoholic drink, so you are strong today. Anyway, maybe you should learn to drink in moderation. That may actually be easier than not drinking at all."

So he has one beer. A second line has been crossed. Twice now he has compromised with what he had previously resolved.

But that one beer doesn't make him stronger, it makes him weaker. Why? He has been reminded how much he enjoys the beer. And he has crossed the line he has set for himself, and his conscience is already compromised.

He has two more beers before the end of the party. Then he goes home, but on the way he picks up a six-pack.

A few days or a week of over-drinking later, he asks himself, "How did this happen? I was doing ok for a while, until I went to that party."

A person may think of making a vow to enforce his self-imposed limitation. I don't recommend that. Making unnecessary vows is often a bad idea. We never know all future circumstances and may be buying more trouble than we know. A vow to God is a serious thing (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, Judges 11:30-40).

But we can make a serious resolution, a commitment to ourselves, a strong decision to avoid certain things, and we can stick to our decision.

If something that is right and good by itself causes us to sin, we may have to once and for all get rid of it. We do this by making a determination in our minds and sticking to it. It may feel like cutting off our hand. But it is better than the lake of fire, as Christ said (Matthew 5:29-30).

Eternal life is worth it.


Here are links to other posts in this blog on this topic:

"Stay Far from the Edge", dated April 6, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/04/stay-far-from-edge.html

"Overcoming Sin", dated April 17, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/04/overcoming-sin.html


Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:

The Days of Unleavened Bread - Repentance, Chapter 2

How to Obtain More of God's Help in Breaking Bad Habits, Chapter 7

God's Highest Standard for True Christians

How different the Church of God is to be from the world!

Many years ago, I heard a minister say that there is a bigger difference between a truly converted Church of God member and a member of a traditional, mainstream Catholic or Protestant church than there is between a traditional Catholic or Protestant and an atheist.

After being many years in the Church of God, I believe that.

We have less in common with a Catholic or Protestant than a Catholic or Protestant has with an atheist or an agnostic. A Catholic or Protestant is more like an atheist than like a Church of God member.

It can be tempting to think we have a lot in common with members of traditional, mainstream churches. And we have some things in common, beliefs and values that we do not share with atheists.

But those things are small in comparison to the enormous difference between one who has God's Holy Spirit and one who does not.

One who may be a member of a traditional, mainstream church but who is not really converted is very different in fundamental outlook from one who has been truly converted and has God's Holy Spirit.

This is why the Bible warns us against being unequally yoked with unbelievers.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.' Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.' 'I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty' " (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

"If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds" (2 John 10-11).

Yes, traditional religion has some beliefs in common with us. They know that there is a Creator God who made the universe. They believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and suffered and died to pay the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven and saved. They are against sexual perversion (most of them). They are against abortion (most of them).

And these things can be helpful to our efforts to preach the true gospel and the Ezekiel warning. We are a very small minority in the United States and in other nations. Without the influence of traditional religion, it might be impossible for us to teach many of the principles and instructions in the Bible, such as God's laws concerning marriage and sex and how God views abortion. If this country were nearly 100% atheist, without the influence of traditional religion, the Bible itself might have been outlawed long ago.

But there is a depth of understanding of God's spiritual law and way of life that an unconverted person, not having God's Holy Spirit dwelling in him, cannot have.

"But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

"These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).

God's perfect spiritual law and way of life sets a high standard for His children, a standard the world does not comprehend, and even in the Church we comprehend it as we grow spiritually over time after baptism, not completely all at once.

For example, God commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves. This is one of the two great commandments. "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

We know that sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4).

Thus, not loving our neighbors as ourselves, but rather loving ourselves more than our neighbors, is sin.

And the penalty of sin is death. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Thus, loving ourselves more than our neighbor is a sin worthy of death. And if we practice loving ourselves more than our neighbor and are content with that, not being willing to strive to change and love our neighbors as much as ourselves, not being willing to repent of that sin, we can be cast into the lake of fire.

How many in the world, even among church-goers, understand and agree with that? Very few, if any. Rather, they would think, "Well of course I love myself more than my neighbor. I love my neighbor, yes, but not as much as I love myself. And I do not deserve death just because I love myself more than my neighbor. After all, doesn't everybody?"

But God sets a high standard for His children. We are to strive for perfection as God is perfect. "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

Those in traditional churches know some of God's truth, but not all of it. There is a lot missing. Yet, to the degree they know parts of God's law and obey it, they will receive some blessing in this life, and each act of obedience will be one less thing they have to repent of in the tribulation, the millennium, or the white throne judgment.

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them" (Romans 2:14-15).

So there is a benefit to one who is not called and does not have the opportunity to know the full truth of God, yet knows parts of it, when he obeys those parts that he understands. A man who is not called, yet avoids a spirit of murder, tries to be forgiving, gives to the poor, honors his parents, avoids adultery and is faithful in marriage, and does not steal or lie or cheat his neighbor, has an advantage over one who sins in all these things, for it will be easier for him in the white throne judgment.

"And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:47-48). This may have more direct application to Church members, those who are "servants" of God. But it illustrates a general principle. God judges people based on what they know and how able they are to understand and obey.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you" (Matthew 11:21-24).

So people who are religious may have an advantage, if they are diligent to obey the commandments they understand, over an atheist or one who makes no effort to live righteously. At the very least, they can enjoy more blessings in this life by avoiding the mistakes and the violations of laws of God that bring penalties. A Catholic or Protestant who is diligent to be faithful in marriage is likely to enjoy a happier marriage than one who makes no effort to be faithful.

Yet, at a fundamental level, they have not really surrendered to obey God. They are deceived by Satan, and Satan deceives them sometimes by making them unwilling to believe what God says in the Bible. That is why you cannot persuade them of the truth. They will twist the scriptures to fit what they want to believe and not even consciously realize they are doing it. In them is fulfilled the scripture, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

Carnal human nature wants desperately to have its own way and not submit to God. Different people, sometimes in the same family, handle this different ways. You might have a devout Catholic or Protestant in the same family as an atheist. The devout member of a traditional church satisfies his carnal nature by creating a god of his own imagination, perhaps based in whole or part on the traditions he is familiar with, and he makes his imaginary god agree with what he wants to do anyway. He wants to go along with the world and keep Christmas and Easter, so he imagines that his god approves of that. So he does what he wants without feeling guilty or afraid. And he can satisfy his desire to think of himself as righteous at the same time.

The atheist takes a different strategy. He convinces himself that there is no God. Then he can do what he wants without guilt or fear.

Those are two different strategies, but they lead to the same place - disobedience to the real God of the Bible.

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

God has called us and opened our minds to the truth, and He sets the highest standard for us: perfection. We are to be perfect as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). We are to strive for perfection, and though we will not completely attain it in this life, God will complete the process in the resurrection.

Let us renew our commitment to God to strive for His perfection, with His help, and to put sin, every sin, out of our lives.

Tonight Is the Night to Be Much Observed

Tonight, members of the Church of God will be observing the night to be much observed. This night is different from Passover.

This is the night that Israel came out of Egypt.

"Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night" (Deuteronomy 16:1). Notice, this says that God brought Israel out of Egypt by night during the month of Abib, the first month of the year in God's calendar. Though Passover is mentioned in this verse, it is a different night.

Passover is the night that God killed the firstborn of Egypt. God "passed over" the houses of the Israelites which had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, hence the name "Passover". But Israel did not leave Egypt that same night. They were instructed to remain in their houses until morning (Exodus 12:22). But the next night, after organizing in orderly ranks (Exodus 13:18), they left Egypt. "Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations" (Exodus 12:40-42).

God did not give detailed instructions on how this evening is to be observed, only that we are to observe it. Mr. Armstrong made the judgment for the Church that we would observe it with a special meal.

There is a lesson here for us today about government. God could have been specific and told us in scripture exactly how to observe this day, but He didn't. By instructing us to observe it, but not telling us how, God has in effect required the Church of God to make a judgment on how to observe it, and that requires government. God gave the ministry and leadership of the Church of God authority to make binding decisions and judgments. "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). See also Matthew 16:17-19.

Most members observe this day in small groups of a few families or individuals in our homes. We eat a special meal and enjoy fellowship. This observance takes place after sunset, and it is the start of an annual sabbath day, the first day of unleavened bread.

Before sunset tonight, we should get all leavening out of our houses (yeast, baking soda, baking powder, etc., and products that contain these ingredients), and starting tonight at sunset, for seven days, we will keep leavening out of our houses and avoid eating any leavened products. We will also eat unleavened bread (such as Matzos or homemade unleavened bread) during those seven days.

The first and seventh days of the seven day feast are holy days, annual sabbaths, in which we are to assemble, those who are able, and we are not to do ordinary work. We may prepare meals on these days, however.

"So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread" (Exodus 12:14-20).

Leavening in the Bible is symbolic of sin during these days, and unleavened bread is symbolic of the righteousness of Christ.

"Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

As Paul wrote, we are to "keep the feast". The annual holy days and festivals of God are to be observed in the Church of God.

These feasts are described in Leviticus 23:1-44. Here are the instructions for the days of unleavened bread: "On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it" (Leviticus 23:5-8).

Although the basic instructions for keeping these days are given in the Old Testament, the understanding of their meaning comes from the New Testament.

Leavening represents sin, and unleavened bread represents righteousness. By keeping these days we are reminded that we are to put sin out of our lives and the righteousness of Christ into our lives. We are to feed on Christ, so in a sense the unleavened bread we eat for seven days represents Christ. "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst' " (John 6:35). "I am the bread of life" (John 6:48). "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:57).

As Egypt can represent sin and this world, the night to be much observed we keep this evening, which for Old Testament Israel represented coming out of Egypt, for us represents coming out of this world and its sinful ways. It represents coming out of sin.

God gave us seven annual festivals to teach us His plan for the salvation of mankind. Passover represents the first major step in that plan - the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven and saved. But the next step is something each of us must do - we must repent of our sins and strive to put sin out of our lives - and this lesson is taught by the seven days of unleavened bread.

God uses physical rituals to teach us spiritual lessons.

The night to be observed in particular represents our coming out of the bondage of sin. As Israel was freed from bondage and came out of Egypt on this night, so we observe this night to celebrate and remember our being freed from Satan's deception and the bondage of sin and the ways of this world.

Tonight is the start of an annual sabbath and also the weekly Sabbath, so the conversation during the evening should be Sabbath conversation and can reflect the meaning of the day. Many Church members use this time to talk about how they first were called and learned about the truth. This night represents our calling and our response to that calling when we repented.

Though we are freed from the bondage of the ways of this world and Satan's deceptions, we still have to struggle against sin. For some of us, that struggle may seem hard and discouraging.

But we are not alone. Paul also struggled, and God gave us the encouragement of his description of that struggle.

"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

"So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:14-25).

Sometimes, in our struggle against sin, when we slip and fall and have to get up and repent and strive again to quit sinning, we may feel that we are still in bondage to sin.

But while we have to struggle against sin, and we sometimes lose that struggle, that does not necessarily mean we are slaves to sin. Rather, we are like soldiers waging war against sin. Sometimes we win a battle and sometimes we lose a battle, and over time we should be winning more battles. But a slave is not a soldier waging war against his master. There is a difference.

If sin were our master, we would not be waging war against it, for slaves do not wage war against their masters. Rather, sin is the enemy, and we fight our enemy.

Contrast our fight against sin with the world. The world is in bondage to sin. They do not know enough to consistently fight against sin for they do not fully understand the law of God, though they may understand part of it. They are deceived, held captive by Satan, and they do not even know they are deceived (Revelation 12:9).

But when God called us, He opened our minds to understand His truth, and as we accepted God's call and repented of our sins, we were set free from Satan's deceptions and the traditions of this world.

Paul describes us as slaves of righteousness, not slaves of sin.

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

"For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:15-23).

Yet, our captivity to sin has not been totally ended in this life, for Paul also says, as I quoted before, "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Romans 7:21-23). Notice, Paul said that the law of sin was bringing him into captivity to the law of sin.

But in a larger sense, we have been set free. The process has been started, and God will give us the help we need to win the battles, overcome, and endure to the end, so that we will be saved in the end and receive God's gift of eternal life fully at the resurrection.

Tonight starts seven days of eating unleavened bread and avoiding all leavening.

Today, before sunset, is a time to get all leavening out of our houses, if we have not already done so. We should search our houses for places where there may be leavened products such as bread, crackers, cookies, etc. in places we may have forgotten. Those of us who live in houses of the unconverted should deleaven our own space, even if it is just a corner of a room.

Then, starting tonight, for seven days we are to avoid eating any leavened products. This takes alertness. We might, for example, be at work, and there may be donuts on the snack table. It is easy to forget and eat if we are not careful.

There is a lesson in this, that we need to be constantly alert, constantly vigilant, to put sin out of our lives, because temptations are everywhere.

We are also to eat unleavened bread for seven days. This teaches us that we are to put on the righteousness of Christ and feed on Christ every day. We do this in a symbolic, physical sense by eating unleavened bread for seven days, but in the true spiritual sense we can do this all our lives through daily Bible study, prayer, meditating about God's law and way of life and how to apply it, and by active obedience to God's law and serving others out of a motive of love, as Christ did.

As Paul said, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" ( 1 Corinthians 5:8).


Here are links to some other posts in this blog about Passover, the night to be much observed, the days of unleavened bread, and putting sin out of our lives. Newer posts are at the bottom of the list:

"Do We Overcome Sin by Our Power or by God's Power?", dated April 20, 2011, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2011/04/do-we-overcome-sin-by-our-power-or-by.html

"Lying to God", dated February 10, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/02/lying-to-god.html

"What the Sacrifice of Christ Teaches Us", dated April 1, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-sacrifice-of-christ-teaches-us.html

"Physical and Spiritual Healing", dated April 2, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/04/physical-and-spiritual-healing.html

"Stay Far from the Edge", dated April 6, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/04/stay-far-from-edge.html

"Repentance", dated April 11, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/04/repentance.html

"Honoring Our Parents When They're Gone", dated June 15, 2012, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2012/06/honoring-our-parents-when-theyre-gone.html

"Count the Cost", dated March 14, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/count-cost.html

"Why Did Christ Have to Suffer and Die?", dated March 21, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-did-christ-have-to-suffer-and-die.html

"Passover Symbols: What Part of the Sacrifice of Christ Makes Possible the Healing of Our Character? / Should You Partake of the Passover?", dated March 23, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/passover-symbols-what-part-of-sacrifice.html

"Right and Wrong Examples of Correcting Someone Over You", dated March 24, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/right-and-wrong-examples-of-correcting.html

"We Must Overcome by God's Power AND Our Power", dated March 25, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/we-must-overcome-by-gods-power-and-our.html

"How Faith Works with Repentance", dated March 26, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-faith-works-with-repentance.html

"Will There Be Anger In God's Kingdom?", dated March 27, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/will-there-be-anger-in-gods-kingdom.html

"Beware of Those Who Preach Against Organization", dated March 28, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/beware-of-those-who-preach-against.html

"Building the Wall", dated March 29, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/building-wall.html

"Democracy Is Failing in the United States - What that Means for the Church of God", dated March 30, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/democracy-is-failing-in-united-states.html

"Do Not Cause Others to Sin", dated April 28, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/04/do-not-cause-others-to-sin.html

"How Should We Prepare to Resist Satan's Deceptions?", dated May 5, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-should-we-prepare-to-resist-satans.html

"Is It Always Wrong to Use to Pagan Writings in Teaching?", dated February 1, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/02/is-it-always-wrong-to-use-to-pagan.html

"What Is the Church of God's Greatest Sin?", dated February 27, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-is-church-of-gods-greatest-sin.html

"Passover", dated April 11, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/04/passover.html

"Night to Be Much Observed", dated April 14, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/04/night-to-be-much-observed.html

"Overcoming Sin", dated April 17, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/04/overcoming-sin.html

"We Need to Respect the Office of the Minister", dated March 30, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/03/we-need-to-respect-office-of-minister.html

"Observance and Meaning of Passover", dated April 1, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/observance-and-meaning-of-passover.html

"Practice and Meaning of the Night to Be Much Observed", dated April 2, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/practice-and-meaning-of-night-to-be.html

"The Days of Unleavened Bread", dated April 4, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-days-of-unleavened-bread.html

"Teachability and the Willingness to Be Corrected", dated April 5, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/teachability-and-willingness-to-be.html

"Does God Test Us in Regards to Idols in the Church of God?", dated April 6, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/does-god-test-us-in-regards-to-idols-in.html

"God Must Punish Us for Our Sins", dated April 7, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/god-must-punish-us-for-our-sins.html

"Unbelief Is Sin, and We Must Put It Out of Our Lives", dated April 8, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/unbelief-is-sin-and-we-must-put-it-out.html

"Showing Mercy", dated April 9, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/showing-mercy.html

"Our Calling Opens Our Minds to the Truth / Persecution", dated April 24, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/04/our-calling-opens-our-minds-to-truth.html

"Motivations to Obey God", dated May 15, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/05/motivations-to-obey-god.html

"Easter and Passover - Differences in Motivation", dated April 1, 2016, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2016/04/easter-and-passover-differences-in.html

"Self-Examination, and the Three Weightier Matters of the Law", dated April 18, 2016, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2016/04/self-examination-and-three-weightier.html

"Passover and the Example of Christ", dated April 20, 2016, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2016/04/passover-and-example-of-christ.html


Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:

Passover -- the Sacrifice of Christ, Chapter 2

The Days of Unleavened Bread - Repentance, Chapter 2

How to Obtain More of God's Help in Breaking Bad Habits, Chapter 7

CHAPTER 4 - WHY PREACH THE GOSPEL? - A LESSON FROM THE HOLOCAUST

CHAPTER 3 - THE EZEKIEL WARNING

CHAPTER 8 - GOVERNMENT IN THE CHURCH OF GOD

Passover and the Example of Christ

Tomorrow evening the Church of God will be observing Passover. We will be taking the symbols of unleavened bread and wine to symbolize the sacrifice of Christ to pay the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven.

Passover and the sacrifice of Christ are vital parts of God's plan for reproducing Himself in mankind.

God is teaching us lessons for eternity, lessons that are to be built into our character for eternity. God is producing children who will be like Him, perfect in righteousness and unable to sin. After we are born into God's kingdom, never again will there be a rebellion against God as Satan and his demons rebelled. Never will there be sin among God's children to spoil the happiness of that kingdom.

One of the lessons God is teaching us is the lesson of love. We are to love God with all our being and our neighbors as ourselves.

One of the ways God teaches this is through the sacrifice of Christ. God is teaching us by example as well as instruction.

God made suffering and death the penalties for human sin. Then he allowed Satan to deceive and tempt all mankind into sinning. All humans who have ever lived have thus sinned. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

That means that apart from the sacrifice of Christ, none of us can escape eternal death.

But God then provided Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son and the Word who was also God and was with God from the beginning of time, as a sacrifice to suffer and die in our place. Since Christ is the creator of all mankind (John 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17), His life is of greater value than the lives of all humans, and His one sacrifice is great enough to pay the penalty for all mankind's sins.

God's purpose is to teach us His perfect way of life and to build His perfect, holy, righteous character in us to prepare us to live eternal lives of happiness and joy in His kingdom.

A defining characteristic of God's character is love. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).

Before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34). "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

God has used Jesus Christ, not only to save us, but to set an example of love for us to follow. When we take the symbols of unleavened bread and wine at Passover, we are affirming our acceptance of sacrificial love as a way of life. We are telling God not only that we need and accept the sacrifice of Christ, but that we are willing to live the way of life of love that Christ's sacrifice teaches.

God's plan to use Jesus Christ to save us and to teach us by example the way of life we will live for eternity is an awesome and perfect plan!

Self-Examination, and the Three Weightier Matters of the Law

A tradition of members of the Church of God, based on the Bible, is to examine ourselves in preparation for Passover to be able to take 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" (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Self-examination is not the only thing we should do to observe Passover in a worthy manner - we should also observe Passover according to the instructions in the Bible and we should be mindful of the profound meaning of Passover and the sacrifice of Christ, and we can study scriptures on that subject as part of our preparation for Passover - but self-examination is one of the things we should do. We should examine ourselves in the light of God's word and law to see where we fall short. This helps us to appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for we see our need for forgiveness made possible by Christ's sacrifice. It also helps us to see where we need to repent.

One of the ways we can examine ourselves is to review major points and principles of God's law and way of life in the Bible and compare our lives with God's standard. We can also compare ourselves with Jesus Christ, our example (John 13:15, Philippians 2:5-8).

God's law is very broad and deep. The whole Bible teaches the various details and applications of God's law, but it also summarizes God's law into major points.

All of God's law can be summarized by the one word, "love". "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10). "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8, see also 1 John 4:16).

God's law can be further summarized by the two great commandments, love towards God and love towards neighbor. "Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, ' "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' " (Matthew 22:35-40).

The ten commandments also summarize God's law, but break it into finer detail, four points, the first four commandments, to describe how we are to love God, and six points, the last six commandments, to describe how we are to love our neighbors (Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:4-21, James 2:10-12).

One of the best summaries of God's law and the application of it is in the sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7). I find it helpful in self-examination to review the two great commandments, the ten commandments, and the sermon on the mount, and compare my life with those passages to see where I fall short. The sermon on the mount helps us understand the full spiritual application of the ten commandments.

In this post I want to focus a bit on another summary of God's law. Jesus spoke of the "weightier matters" of the law, and He mentioned three: justice, mercy, and faith. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone" (Matthew 23:23).

We can also review the three weightier principles of God's law - justice, mercy, and faith - in examining ourselves.

In previous posts, I examined the weightier matter of faith, and I also explore this in chapter 6 of my book, Preaching the Gospel.

Faith means believing in God and believing what God says. It means believing God's word, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, John 10:35, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). Moreover, it is to be a living faith that produces fruit (James 2:14-26). Our faith should produce good works and obedience. Faith is an aspect of trust towards God. We trust in God's knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, and we trust Him to tell us the truth. The Old Testament emphasizes trust in God and the New Testament emphasizes faith to believe God, but that New Testament faith is a part of the trust that the Old Testament speaks of. And both trust and faith towards God are part of how we love God with all our being.

One of the ways we exercise faith is to believe God's word, the Bible, and strive to obey it. We are to believe the Bible more than we believe our own opinions, our traditions, and our ministers. Only God is infallible and perfectly righteous at all times, and only God is worthy of our unconditional faith and trust.


In this post I want to focus on the other two weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy, and show how these two principles relate to each other.

Mercy is love towards our neighbor. We show outgoing concern for our neighbors by showing mercy to them.

If I were to ask you, what is greater, justice or mercy, you might say mercy.

There is a scripture that backs this up. "...Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).

Yet, in the weightier matters of the law, justice is listed before mercy. And just before the statement that says that mercy triumphs over judgment, the Bible also says, "For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).

So mercy does not override judgment for one who has shown no mercy. That too is an aspect of justice, the justice that he who has not been merciful will himself not receive mercy.

There is an aspect of judgment or justice that mercy overrides. But there is an aspect of judgment or justice that mercy does not override, the judgment against one who himself has shown no mercy.

This is illustrated by the parable of the unforgiving servant. Forgiveness is an aspect of mercy. God can be merciful to us to forgive us our sins. But notice that God does not give us that mercy in every case. If we ourselves are unmerciful to others, God will take away His mercy and His forgiveness, and we will be condemned.

Jesus gave the general principle in the sermon on the mount. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).

Here is the parable. "Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?'

"Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

" 'But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe!" So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all." And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

" 'So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses' " (Matthew 18:21-35).

Jesus further hammered the point home in His description of the judgment. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

"Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:31-46).

So God can be merciful to us, and justice will be overridden by God's mercy. Actually, God's justice is still fulfilled, for Christ had to pay our penalty for us, and this is the meaning of Passover. The sacrifice of Christ meets the demands of both justice (our sins are paid for) and mercy (Christ paid the penalty in our place).

Christ paid the death penalty for our sins by His shed blood so we do not have to die eternal death. This reconciles us to the Father and enables God to give us eternal life in His kingdom. Christ also suffered for our sins and his body was broken so we do not have to pay the penalty of continual suffering brought upon ourselves by our sins. This enables God to heal us both physically and spiritually. The suffering of Christ enables us to be forgiven of our physical sins, the sins of breaking the laws of health, so we can be healed of our physical sicknesses, injuries, and disabilities. But it also enables us to be healed spiritually of our damaged character, character damaged by sin, which has caused us to continue to sin and suffer the painful fruits of sin in our minds and in our lives. God heals our character by His Holy Spirit.

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6).

The spiritual and physical healing God begins to give us in this life will be completed in the resurrection.

So in the sacrifice of Christ we see both justice and mercy in action.

But for us to actually receive that mercy, we must also be merciful to others. For if we refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive us. And if we refuse to be merciful to others, God will not be merciful to us. And thus, if we refuse to be merciful, we will lose out on salvation and die in the lake of fire. That is God's justice, and that is why justice is listed before mercy in the three weightier matters of the law.

How do we apply mercy in the Church of God today? How do we love our neighbors as ourselves?

The specific application of that law and the specific actions we take vary from individual to individual, depending on our circumstances and opportunities. When we see someone in need, if we are able to help, if helping that person does not cause greater harm to others, we should help. That does not mean we let our children go hungry so we can give to charity. But it means we have an outgoing concern to help others as Christ would have us help others. And if someone offends us, we should be willing to forgive. Perhaps that person needs to repent first. But we should desire their repentance for their long term good, and we should rejoice if they do repent. And if the offense against us is habitual, we can take measures to protect ourselves from harm, but we should not hate the person who is against us.

But there is one application of showing mercy to our neighbors that really applies to everyone in the Church of God. I have written about this before in previous posts.

One of the greatest and most universal needs of almost all our neighbors in the United States, Great Britain, and other Israelite nations, is a need for a warning message, the warning message God gave to the prophet Ezekiel, a message God has commanded us to deliver (Ezekiel 3:16-21, Proverbs 24:11). They need to be warned of God's punishments to come if they do not repent. And many of our people, those who are religious and follow the doctrines and practices of traditional churches, do not know that some of the things they do, such as the keeping of Christmas and Easter, are wrong and they need to repent. They, most of all, need to be informed and warned.

And if they are warned, they will benefit. What if they do not believe? Most will not believe. But they will still benefit from the warning. Why?

If they are warned but do not believe or heed the warning, then later in the tribulation when they find out that our warning was real they can know that God was fair and kind to give them a warning, through us the Church of God, before punishing them. That will help them to understand God's love and fairness and it will make it easier for them to trust God and repent of their sins. But if they cannot remember ever being warned, their repentance will be harder.

What we do now in regard to the preaching of the gospel and the Ezekiel warning can directly impact the welfare of tens or hundreds of millions of people in the years ahead.

And there may not be a lot of time left. At some point, the doors that are open for preaching the gospel and the Ezekiel warning will be closed and there will be a famine of the word (Amos 8:11-12).

And the doors can close for any one of us individually if we prove to God that we are not willing to love our neighbors and show mercy to them. How? If we selfishly hold the truth to ourselves and not share it with others as God commands, God can take the truth from us. That is God's justice. Any one of us can fall away, and it is only by God's continual mercy and His work through the Holy Spirit that we are able to continue to know the truth. If we show ourselves unmerciful to others, God can allow us to be deceived and to fall away from the truth. Then the door is closed for us personally to do anything more to preach the gospel even though the door may remain open for others in the Church.

And in any case, none of us knows the day of his death.

Remember, we need God's continuous mercy to remain in the truth and grow in the truth. Without God's mercy, we have no protection against Satan's deceptions. But God teaches in the Bible that if we want His mercy we must be merciful to others. And if we are unmerciful to our neighbors who need the gospel and the warning, if we are not merciful to share with them the truth God has given us, God may take His mercy away from us and we will lose the truth He has given us. That is God's justice.

How do we preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to our neighbors? How do we show mercy towards them so God will be merciful to us?

Every one of us should get 100% behind some Church of God fellowship that is preaching the gospel and the Ezekiel warning, to support that effort. How? If we have money or a steady income, we can support the message with our tithes and offerings. Whether we are able to do that or not, all of us can pray for a group that is preaching the gospel, beseeching God to help that group be effective and open the doors wider for them. In some cases, some of us can contribute volunteer effort. But one way or another, all of us can help get the gospel and the warning message out to a world that needs it.

Justice, mercy, and faith.

If we show mercy to others, God will be merciful to us. But if we do not show mercy to others, God's justice comes into play and God will not show mercy to us.

Studying these principles and the application of them and meditating on them can be part of the self-examination we do before Passover.

We need God's mercy. We need to be merciful to others. If we have not been merciful to others in the past, we need to repent, and if we do, God will forgive us. But if we do not repent and change, God will not forgive us.

"With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd" (Psalm 18:25-26).

"In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).

United States Election Campaign 2016

The two main political parties in the United States are in the process of choosing their candidates for the 2016 presidential election. Delegates are being chosen for the two conventions, and the delegates are chosen state-by-state with different states having primary elections at different times. The actual nominations will take place at the conventions.

The delegate selection process is a more than half over. So far, no candidate of either party has enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot.

But I think Hillary Clinton has a big enough lead for the Democratic nomination that, barring some unexpected event, it is fairly certain she will be the nominee for the Democratic party.

Donald Trump leads in delegates for the Republican nomination, but there is a good chance that neither he nor any other candidate will have enough delegates to get the nomination on the first ballot. After that first vote, it is anybody's ball game. But since Trump leads in delegates, he has the best chance to win the nomination.

And if the election is between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, most people expect Hillary Clinton to win the election.

But God is able to intervene to determine the next president, and things can go differently than most people expect. God can allow the people to elect a bad president, if that is the people's choice, but God can guide events to work out His long-term plan.

There may be something going on in this campaign I find interesting. I get the impression that liberal Democrats in this country and many people in the world who would prefer a liberal Democrat in the White House would like to see Donald Trump be the Republican candidate, and they may be trying to influence events towards that end. There may be some who are trying to get Trump nominated by the Republican party, not because they think he would make a good president, but because they think Hillary Clinton can more easily beat him and beat him by a wider margin than most other Republican candidates.

Democrats and liberals who want Clinton to be president can cross over to vote for Trump in Republican primaries. Others outside this country may also try in various ways to influence events. Some time ago, Vladimir Putin, head of Russia, seemed to praise Donald Trump saying he could work with him. That seemed strange to me when I heard it, because I don't think a Donald Trump presidency would be good for Putin or Russia, but it makes sense if Putin would like to see Trump get the Republican nomination because he thinks Clinton can beat him and he wants Clinton to be the president rather than Cruz or some other Republican.

Now, I do not know who will win the general election in November. And I do not know what kind of president Donald Trump would be if he wins.

But consider the possibility that Democrats may be voting in Republican primaries to get a candidate they think would be a bad president nominated so their own candidate, Hillary Clinton, can beat him and become president. And the opposite can occur - Republicans can cross over to vote in Democratic primaries to try to get a candidate nominated they think they can beat.

Now, consider what this says about the democratic process for selecting leaders.

Imagine the following scenario. How close this applies to the real situation, I do not know, but it could make a good plot for a movie or novel, maybe.

The voters of one party try to get someone they think would make a bad president, someone with apparent or obvious problems, nominated by the other party. They do this by voting in that party's primary election, deliberately voting for a candidate they think would be bad for the country because they think they can beat him in the general election. And they succeed in getting him nominated by the other party. Now they expect to easily win the election because they think everyone can see what a bad president the other candidate would be.

But something happens. Their own candidate is accused of a crime, maybe indicted, or some outstanding scandal breaks out. So the other party's candidate gets elected after all. They have helped bring into office a candidate they were sure would be a bad president.

Then, in this movie or novel, the candidate can be either a good president or a nightmare - depending on how you want the story to turn out. (No doubt the writer would include the disclaimer, "Any similarity to real persons in purely coincidental.")

Yet, in a democracy, this very thing is possible. It is a possible scenario for making someone the leader who would be the worst possible leader for a country.

But what a process for selecting leaders democracy is! Those under the authority of a leader choose their own leader, as if they know what kind of leader is best. But they don't. Then to make matters worse, they fight and struggle against each other, using every dirty political trick they can think of, to gain the victory for their side, even when it risks making a badly qualified candidate the leader.

That is not God's way. God does not use voting or "balloting" to select leaders. He chooses leaders from the top down. That is the way it will be in the Kingdom of God, and that is the way it should be in the Church of God.

God's way makes sense. In God's government, those higher up are more qualified than those lower in the structure. The most qualified person has greater decision making authority than less qualified people. And those higher up, the most qualified for making decisions, appoint those in office under them, because they are best qualified to choose who those office holders will be.

Paul told Titus to appoint elders (Titus 1:5-9). Why not have the elders elected? Paul knew that Titus's judgment would be better than that of the collective membership.

The greatest of all is God the Father. There is no one in the universe wiser or more righteous or more qualified than Him. And he has the greatest authority.

Under God the Father is Jesus Christ, and Christ has more wisdom and righteousness than any created being, any man or angel. He is most qualified to rule the universe directly under God the Father.

In the Church of God, God appoints the top human leaders. Why? Why not have the ministers elect their leaders? God has the wisdom to know which men are most qualified to lead in the Church. He is better qualified to make the appointments than all the ministers together. Ministers who want to vote cannot read the minds of the men they want to vote for, and even if they could they do not have the wisdom to make the best decision. Only God has all wisdom and knowledge to make that kind of decision.

Every few years we in the democracies of this world get an object lesson in the fruits of voting to choose leaders. But in the Kingdom of God, as it should be in the Church of God today, those in office will be appointed from the top down.


As we in the Church of God watch what is happening, it can be tempting to become very emotionally involved in the outcome. We may perceive one side or the other as being "better" for the country. But whether our personal views could be classified as "conservative", "liberal", or something in-between, we must keep in mind that NO side is righteous according to the standards of God's word. Politicians, candidates, and elected office holders in both parties need to repent, along with the vast majority of our general population in the United States.

One party may be farther along in sin and unrighteousness in its views and policies than the other, but it is just a matter of degree. And if the more unrighteous party is in office, that may mean that our decline as a nation will be more rapid. But our decline is inevitable in any case, unless we repent as a nation, and that seems unlikely.

And God knows His own timetable. He knows how soon and in what manner He intends His punishments to fall on our nations if they do not repent. And thus He knows if the nation should decline and weaken more rapidly or less rapidly. As we weaken through unwise leadership, we are being set up for a fall, and God knows when He wants that fall to occur.

But we can pray that God will guide the outcome for the best long-term results according to His will.


Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:

CHAPTER 8 - GOVERNMENT IN THE CHURCH OF GOD

Easter and Passover - Differences in Motivation

A few days ago, most traditional churches and their members observed Easter. They colored and hid eggs for their children to find Easter morning. This is a custom they keep each year to celebrate and remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They observe Easter in the belief that they are serving and pleasing God by doing so.

In about three weeks, we in the Church of God will be observing Passover, followed by the seven days of unleavened bread. At Passover services, we will wash each other's feet and take the symbols of unleavened bread and wine. During the days of unleavened bread we will eat unleavened bread and avoid eating any leavened products. These are customs we keep year by year to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and to remember the lesson of putting sin out of our lives and the righteousness of Christ into our lives. We observe Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread in the belief that we are obeying and pleasing God by doing so.

Why do the people of the world keep Easter? They do it to follow the traditions of their churches, traditions they were raised in from their childhood, traditions passed on for centuries from generation to generation.

Why do we keep Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread? Tradition may be a part of the reason, especially for those who have grown up in the Church of God. But tradition should not be the only reason. We should keep these days because God commands us to keep them in His word, the Bible. That should be more important to us than tradition.

Some of us who came into the Church from other religions have had to give up the traditions we were raised in in order to obey God. Before we did that, many of us proved from the Bible that it is God's will that we observe Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and not Easter.

It's important that we do the right things for the right reasons. Motivation and attitude count with God.

Consider this example. "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:1-6).

We should pray to communicate with God, not to make a good impression on other people. Likewise, we should serve the brethren to really help them, not to impress others in the congregation so they think well of us. Our reason and motive for helping others should be love - outgoing concern for their happiness and well-being - not personal vanity.

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Philippians 2:3).

Yet, motivation is invisible. You cannot always tell by observation what a person's motivation is. We are more likely to know by the fruits over time, but God knows everyone's heart instantly, even better than the person knows his own heart.

The man or woman who serves others from a motive of vanity or selfish ambition, wanting to impress others, may be doing the right thing in serving others. It is always better to help others than to hurt others. But he or she is doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

One can do the right thing for the wrong reason or for the right reason. We need to do the right thing for the right reason.

What has this got to do with Easter and Passover?

My point is, we should observe Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and avoid Easter observance for the right reason, because we have proved God's will in this matter in the Bible and because we believe what God says.

Our practice of observing God's holy days and not pagan holidays should not be based only on our tradition. We should do it because we have proved it in the Bible. Then, our tradition can be a reinforcement of what we have proved to be God's truth.

But if we have never proved these things, if we are only doing what we do because of the traditions given to us by our parents, how are we different from those in the world who practice their family traditions in keeping Easter?

It is not that the keeping of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are bad if they are just based on tradition. We are certainly better off keeping the right traditions God has given us than the wrong traditions of this world.

But tradition should not be our only reason. We should prove from the Bible that God wants us to observe Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and not keep Easter. That way, our faith will be in God, not our parents, ourselves, or our ministers. Our motivation will be to believe, trust, and obey God's word, to live by every word of God as Jesus Christ did (Matthew 4:4).

If you have grown up in the Church and have never proved these things, I encourage you to do so. And if you have been in the Church of God for a long time and have not reviewed the proofs of these things for a long time, this might be a good time to do so.

Let's make sure we can prove what we believe and practice from the Bible, and let's make sure our motive is not just to feel comfortable in our familiar traditions or only to "fit in" with the congregation, but to believe, trust, and obey God's word.


Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:

Passover -- the Sacrifice of Christ, Chapter 2

The Days of Unleavened Bread - Repentance, Chapter 2

Traditional Christian Holidays, Chapter 2