I don't know how common it is in the Church of God for members to have emotional doubts come into their minds about God's love towards them because of trials or unanswered prayers. I'm not going to take a poll. I am sure thoughts of doubt about God's love pop into the minds of some members because we are human and still have human nature, and Satan wants us to doubt God's love, and he pumps doubts into our minds. Some of us have to fight those doubts.
Maybe we go through many prolonged trials we don't understand, we beg God over and over for deliverance, but the trials only get worse, not better. Maybe we pray, and after we pray things get worse rather than better.
Perhaps God is testing our faith that way. "Do you really believe me?", He asks. "Do you really trust Me, even contrary to physical evidence?" Perhaps He is toughening us to prepare us for persecution to come.
We can remind ourselves of the trials of men in the Bible who went through long and severe trials, men like David and Joseph. Especially consider Joseph. After he interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners, he may have thought, "now I will be saved," but for two more years nothing happened (Genesis 40:1-23, 41:1). How discouraged he could have become, but he remained faithful to God.
But there is another way, other than answered prayers and deliverance from trials, that God uses to express His love towards us.
As we observe Trumpets, Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day, we hear sermons on the meaning of those days and thus learn, or are reminded of, God's great plan of salvation for mankind. We thus know the future. We know what God has done, is doing, and will do, and we know WHY! But for us to understand these things requires that God opens the mind of each and every one of us to accept the truth.
These things are hidden from almost everyone on earth. They can study the Holy Days all their lives and never figure it out or even believe it when we explain it to them. God has allowed Satan to blind them. Not one of the uncalled people of this world is stronger than Satan and able to resist his deceptions.
Yet God has revealed these secrets to us, not just as a group, but to each one of us individually (1 Corinthians 2:7-16). If you understand God's plan as illustrated by the Holy Days and Feast, it is only because God has opened your mind to understand.
What a gift!
It is an act and an expression of love towards us when God shares His secret knowledge with us.
It is like when we tell things and share our thoughts with our closest friends that we would never reveal to others. We tell our deepest thoughts sometimes to those we love because we want to share ourselves with them and because we long for them to know us and understand us. That is a part of love.
When God opens your mind to share His secrets with you, to share His innermost thoughts, plans, and purposes, He is letting you know these things because He loves you and wants to share Himself with you. He wants to tell you His secrets (Deuteronomy 29:29).
When you sit in services at the Feast of Tabernacles, or any of the holy days, and you understand the messages from the Bible, that understanding is a precious gift from God that shows He loves you. It is as if God goes to you personally and says, "Do you want to know a secret? I don't reveal this to most people, but I am revealing it to you because you are my friend" (James 2:23).
Jesus said, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you" (John 15:14-15).
Daniel prayed, and God revealed secrets to Daniel (Daniel 9:1-3, 20-23, 10:1-3, 12-14), and also God called Daniel a man greatly beloved (Daniel 10:11). The revealing of secret knowledge to Daniel was an expression of God's love towards him. He showed him secrets because He loved him. It was God's intent to reveal these things to the Church through the prophets, but He chose Daniel as a tool for revealing the things in the book of Daniel.
Look at the secrets God has revealed to us. We know about the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord that will bring this world's civilization to ruin in a few years. We know that Christ will return to rule the earth and the saints, the few, the "little flock," will be resurrected to rule with Christ. We know that Satan is the spiritual ruler of this world, but he will be put away after the return of Christ. We know Christ and the saints will rule the earth and bring happiness for a thousand years. We know God will resurrect the billions after the thousand years so every person who has ever lived can be saved if he or she believes God and repents - no one left out because of circumstances of birth. We know that the soul of man is mortal, and those who refuse to believe God and repent will be destroyed, put out of their misery forever, but that the righteous will live forever as children of God, because God's purpose is to reproduce Himself in man!
Anyone can occupy a seat at the Feast of Tabernacles and hear these things or read our booklets yet not understand, unless God has called him. But if you understand, it is because God has opened your mind to share His secret knowledge with you, because He wants to share His life with you, because He loves you.
Something to think about in times of trial.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Two Limitations on Authority of God's Ministry
Ministers in the Church of God have authority over Church members. God has given the ministry that authority. By ministry, I include top human leaders of fellowships, apostles, evangelists, pastors, down to local elders.
God commands that we obey them and submit to them (Hebrews 13:7, 17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13), and so we should, unless there is a biblical reason not to. We obey ministers because God commands us, but also to learn the lessons of government and teamwork we will live by in the Kingdom of God forever.
We are to obey those who have the rule over us. That means we obey the top leader of the Church of God organization we are a member of or regularly attend, whether that leader calls himself a pastor general, a president, an apostle, a prophet, a presiding evangelist, or some other title - it doesn't matter, the authority is there just the same. We are also to obey the pastor of the local congregation we are a member of.
There are two limitations on the authority of the ministry. One is well known and almost universally acknowledged in the Church of God, but one is not.
Ministers do not have the authority to make us sin. In other words, God's commandments come first. If a minister or a leader of the fellowship we attend commands us to do something that is a violation of God's word, the Bible, we are to obey God rather than man. A clear example is if a minister tells us to lie. God commands us not to lie (Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20, Colossians 3:9, Revelation 21:8). We are to learn to be like God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).
Sometimes a situation may come up where a minister's command may seem to come into possible conflict with a principle in God's word, but we aren't sure. Suppose a minister told me to not accept a certain job. Perhaps I feel he doesn't have a good reason for telling me that. God commands that we support our families (1 Timothy 5:8). I might feel that I need this job to fulfill the spirit of this biblical law. Yet, I think, perhaps there is another way to provide for my family, though it doesn't seem so. In this case, I need to pray about the matter and seek God's will.
In cases like this, it is helpful to understand, from the Bible, the purpose of a minister's authority. It is not so the minister can be like our parents and we like children so he can micro-manage our lives, but so the minister can help us in our relationship with God and with the brethren. "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:11-16). "Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction" (2 Corinthians 13:10). "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 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 18:15-18). See also Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13.
In other words, God gave ministers authority over the organized work of the Church. This includes teaching doctrine, judging disputes between members, providing for the poor in the Church, disciplining members for serious and open sin, counseling, preaching the gospel to the world, and the like.
There is another limit on ministerial authority that is not so well acknowledged, but it is also important. Ministers and Church of God leaders do not have authority over what we believe. They have no authority over our faith. "Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24).
Faith must be towards God, not God's ministers (Hebrews 6:1). How does that work? We should read and study our Bibles and believe what God says, directly. When we read the Bible, God is speaking to us, and we are to believe Him. We should only believe the minister as he teaches according to the Bible, not contrary to the Bible.
Does God ever speak through a minister? Of course. Often God will inspire a minister to give us the teachings we need. We pray for God to do this before services, with the man giving the opening prayer asking God to inspire the speaking. But there is a difference. Ministers can make mistakes - God allows that. One minute a minister can tell us something very helpful and true, which God inspired him to say. The very next minute he may make a mistake and tell us something wrong because he is human and because God allows it. That's just the way it is.
How can we know which? By being familiar with the Bible. God wants us to know the Bible and live by it. And as we believe and obey God, God helps us understand by His Spirit.
The difference between God speaking through the Bible and speaking through the ministry is that the Bible is infallible, a minister is not.
Christ is indeed head of the Church, but He allows the Church to make mistakes. Look at the messages to the seven Churches in Revelation to see some of the mistakes they made, though Christ is their head (Revelation, chapters one, two, and three).
We must believe the Bible more than the Church and the ministry or we are making an idol out of the Church and the ministry. God and His word come first, the Church and the ministry second.
Yet the ministry has authority over the organized work of the Church, and that includes teaching doctrine, so if we disagree with the Church on a point of doctrine because we believe God more than man, we must refrain from criticizing and contradicting the Church and ministry in conversation with other brethren. Believe God and wait for Him to correct the error.
We can offer correction to a minister in private in a respectful way, if we think it will be helpful and if the minister is willing to listen. That kind of "correction" of someone above us in authority is approved by God in the Bible because it comes in the form of respectful and loving suggestion, counsel, and advice, as the servants of Naaman corrected their master (2 Kings 5:11-14). But we should not try to correct the situation in the Church by contradicting the ministry in front of other brethren, unless it is something so major that it is absolutely foundational to our faith, something worth leaving an organization over.
So we need to recognize that ministers and the Church have authority, but we need to know the limits of that authority. We need to believe and obey God first, yet respect and love the ministry even when they make human mistakes, and respect and support the lawful authority God has given them, obeying the Church as long as that obedience does not bring us into conflict with God's law and instruction in the Bible.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Should Each Member Promote His Own Opinion?, Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
God commands that we obey them and submit to them (Hebrews 13:7, 17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13), and so we should, unless there is a biblical reason not to. We obey ministers because God commands us, but also to learn the lessons of government and teamwork we will live by in the Kingdom of God forever.
We are to obey those who have the rule over us. That means we obey the top leader of the Church of God organization we are a member of or regularly attend, whether that leader calls himself a pastor general, a president, an apostle, a prophet, a presiding evangelist, or some other title - it doesn't matter, the authority is there just the same. We are also to obey the pastor of the local congregation we are a member of.
There are two limitations on the authority of the ministry. One is well known and almost universally acknowledged in the Church of God, but one is not.
Ministers do not have the authority to make us sin. In other words, God's commandments come first. If a minister or a leader of the fellowship we attend commands us to do something that is a violation of God's word, the Bible, we are to obey God rather than man. A clear example is if a minister tells us to lie. God commands us not to lie (Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20, Colossians 3:9, Revelation 21:8). We are to learn to be like God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).
Sometimes a situation may come up where a minister's command may seem to come into possible conflict with a principle in God's word, but we aren't sure. Suppose a minister told me to not accept a certain job. Perhaps I feel he doesn't have a good reason for telling me that. God commands that we support our families (1 Timothy 5:8). I might feel that I need this job to fulfill the spirit of this biblical law. Yet, I think, perhaps there is another way to provide for my family, though it doesn't seem so. In this case, I need to pray about the matter and seek God's will.
In cases like this, it is helpful to understand, from the Bible, the purpose of a minister's authority. It is not so the minister can be like our parents and we like children so he can micro-manage our lives, but so the minister can help us in our relationship with God and with the brethren. "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:11-16). "Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction" (2 Corinthians 13:10). "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 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 18:15-18). See also Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13.
In other words, God gave ministers authority over the organized work of the Church. This includes teaching doctrine, judging disputes between members, providing for the poor in the Church, disciplining members for serious and open sin, counseling, preaching the gospel to the world, and the like.
There is another limit on ministerial authority that is not so well acknowledged, but it is also important. Ministers and Church of God leaders do not have authority over what we believe. They have no authority over our faith. "Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24).
Faith must be towards God, not God's ministers (Hebrews 6:1). How does that work? We should read and study our Bibles and believe what God says, directly. When we read the Bible, God is speaking to us, and we are to believe Him. We should only believe the minister as he teaches according to the Bible, not contrary to the Bible.
Does God ever speak through a minister? Of course. Often God will inspire a minister to give us the teachings we need. We pray for God to do this before services, with the man giving the opening prayer asking God to inspire the speaking. But there is a difference. Ministers can make mistakes - God allows that. One minute a minister can tell us something very helpful and true, which God inspired him to say. The very next minute he may make a mistake and tell us something wrong because he is human and because God allows it. That's just the way it is.
How can we know which? By being familiar with the Bible. God wants us to know the Bible and live by it. And as we believe and obey God, God helps us understand by His Spirit.
The difference between God speaking through the Bible and speaking through the ministry is that the Bible is infallible, a minister is not.
Christ is indeed head of the Church, but He allows the Church to make mistakes. Look at the messages to the seven Churches in Revelation to see some of the mistakes they made, though Christ is their head (Revelation, chapters one, two, and three).
We must believe the Bible more than the Church and the ministry or we are making an idol out of the Church and the ministry. God and His word come first, the Church and the ministry second.
Yet the ministry has authority over the organized work of the Church, and that includes teaching doctrine, so if we disagree with the Church on a point of doctrine because we believe God more than man, we must refrain from criticizing and contradicting the Church and ministry in conversation with other brethren. Believe God and wait for Him to correct the error.
We can offer correction to a minister in private in a respectful way, if we think it will be helpful and if the minister is willing to listen. That kind of "correction" of someone above us in authority is approved by God in the Bible because it comes in the form of respectful and loving suggestion, counsel, and advice, as the servants of Naaman corrected their master (2 Kings 5:11-14). But we should not try to correct the situation in the Church by contradicting the ministry in front of other brethren, unless it is something so major that it is absolutely foundational to our faith, something worth leaving an organization over.
So we need to recognize that ministers and the Church have authority, but we need to know the limits of that authority. We need to believe and obey God first, yet respect and love the ministry even when they make human mistakes, and respect and support the lawful authority God has given them, obeying the Church as long as that obedience does not bring us into conflict with God's law and instruction in the Bible.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Should Each Member Promote His Own Opinion?, Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Falling Away in 2 Thessalonians 2:3
How important is our understanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as far as what the "falling away" refers to?
"Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
Does this refer to:
a) the falling away that began in the Church in the first century when people turned to a false gospel?
b) the falling away that occurred in the Church after the death of Mr. Armstrong?
c) a future religious deception to occur worldwide when the beast and false prophet described in Revelation rise up?
I am not going to try to answer this question, but I raise it to set the stage for answering my first question, how important is it?
If we know what 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to, would it add much to what we already know about past history or prophecy about the future?
At the time Paul wrote this to the Church, none of the events I have labeled a, b, and c had happened. Also, the book of Revelation had not yet been written, and the brethren would not necessarily know all the events that must take place before Christ returns, including the rising of the beast and false prophet, yet to occur in our time. Paul wrote this because some brethren were troubled because some apparently were saying that Christ had already come. The intent was that the brethren not be troubled.
If there is a doctrinal change about what this passage refers to, no one in the Church should be upset over it. We already know about the three events this could refer to, which the brethren in the Church when Paul wrote did not know about.
We know about the falling away that occurred in the first and second centuries because we understand, at least in broad outline, the history of the true Church and the false church. When Paul wrote his letter, the Church did not know about that because it hadn't fully happened yet. We know about the falling away in the Church that occurred in the decade following the death of Mr. Armstrong because we lived through it. And we know about the great religious deception that will occur in the days of the beast and false prophet because we have the book of Revelation which explains those events.
We know what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future from sources other than 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
If Bible research, perhaps based on a better understanding of the original Greek, shows that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to the future religious deception, that is interesting and good to know, and a doctrinal change is appropriate, but does it change what we already know has happened and will happen?
There is one thing we may get from 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that may be important, not because it teaches us something new that we don't already know from the rest of the Bible, but because there is a warning for us, and we need the repetition of the warning for emphasis so that we heed the warning.
Some may say that you can't "fall away" from the truth if you didn't already have it, so this must refer to the Church of God. Others may look at the original Greek and say that what is translated "falling away" could be translated in a more general sense of rebellion against God and thus could apply to the deceiving of all the world by the beast and false prophet. Those who teach that this applies to a worldwide event point out the association of this falling away with the "man of sin" being revealed and his exalting himself above all that is called God or is worshipped. This seems reasonable to me. I do not know Greek, but I can understand why worldly translators would translate Greek wording that refers to rebellion against God as "falling away", because from their point of view, it is the same thing. They think there has been no large falling away. They believe that mainstream traditional Christianity is the truth, and any large-scale rebellious religious deception would be the same as a falling away from mainstream Christianity.
But here is a warning we in the Church can be reminded of. It may not be just the world that will be deceived by the beast and false prophet. Large numbers of those who are attending the Church of God may be deceived at that time as well. So the "falling away" may refer to the future deception of the world (if the Greek really means just deception and rebellion against God even by those who never knew the truth), but also it can refer to a future deception of those who are "in the Church" by the same beast and false prophet and at the same time as the world is deceived. In that case, for those of us in the Church who are caught up in that deception, it would be a literal "falling away".
That the deception will be very strong and great should be no surprise. Christ warned that, if possible, even the elect would be deceived (Matthew 24:24).
Could we in the Church be deceived by the beast and false prophet?
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
"You will say then, 'Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.' Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off" (Romans 11:19-22).
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Mr. Tkach and other leaders in Worldwide changed just about all of doctrines that made Worldwide different from mainstream churches. In just one decade, thousands in the Church went along with those changes. Yet Mr. Tkach performed no signs and wonders. If so many in the Worldwide Church of God fell away from what they believed at that time, even without signs and wonders, how much greater will be the danger to the brethren when the beast or false prophet and other false prophets begin working great signs that cannot be explained as natural occurrences?
Let's not underestimate the spiritual danger ahead or our need to draw close to God while we can. We need to take 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as a strong warning to us in the Church. We need to do whatever is necessary to draw close to God and stay close to Him, zealously believing, trusting, and obeying Him, to the end. What happened in Worldwide from 1987 through 1996 may be just a tiny foretaste of the danger ahead for anyone in the Church of God who neglects to be close to God.
"Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
Does this refer to:
a) the falling away that began in the Church in the first century when people turned to a false gospel?
b) the falling away that occurred in the Church after the death of Mr. Armstrong?
c) a future religious deception to occur worldwide when the beast and false prophet described in Revelation rise up?
I am not going to try to answer this question, but I raise it to set the stage for answering my first question, how important is it?
If we know what 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to, would it add much to what we already know about past history or prophecy about the future?
At the time Paul wrote this to the Church, none of the events I have labeled a, b, and c had happened. Also, the book of Revelation had not yet been written, and the brethren would not necessarily know all the events that must take place before Christ returns, including the rising of the beast and false prophet, yet to occur in our time. Paul wrote this because some brethren were troubled because some apparently were saying that Christ had already come. The intent was that the brethren not be troubled.
If there is a doctrinal change about what this passage refers to, no one in the Church should be upset over it. We already know about the three events this could refer to, which the brethren in the Church when Paul wrote did not know about.
We know about the falling away that occurred in the first and second centuries because we understand, at least in broad outline, the history of the true Church and the false church. When Paul wrote his letter, the Church did not know about that because it hadn't fully happened yet. We know about the falling away in the Church that occurred in the decade following the death of Mr. Armstrong because we lived through it. And we know about the great religious deception that will occur in the days of the beast and false prophet because we have the book of Revelation which explains those events.
We know what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future from sources other than 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
If Bible research, perhaps based on a better understanding of the original Greek, shows that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to the future religious deception, that is interesting and good to know, and a doctrinal change is appropriate, but does it change what we already know has happened and will happen?
There is one thing we may get from 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that may be important, not because it teaches us something new that we don't already know from the rest of the Bible, but because there is a warning for us, and we need the repetition of the warning for emphasis so that we heed the warning.
Some may say that you can't "fall away" from the truth if you didn't already have it, so this must refer to the Church of God. Others may look at the original Greek and say that what is translated "falling away" could be translated in a more general sense of rebellion against God and thus could apply to the deceiving of all the world by the beast and false prophet. Those who teach that this applies to a worldwide event point out the association of this falling away with the "man of sin" being revealed and his exalting himself above all that is called God or is worshipped. This seems reasonable to me. I do not know Greek, but I can understand why worldly translators would translate Greek wording that refers to rebellion against God as "falling away", because from their point of view, it is the same thing. They think there has been no large falling away. They believe that mainstream traditional Christianity is the truth, and any large-scale rebellious religious deception would be the same as a falling away from mainstream Christianity.
But here is a warning we in the Church can be reminded of. It may not be just the world that will be deceived by the beast and false prophet. Large numbers of those who are attending the Church of God may be deceived at that time as well. So the "falling away" may refer to the future deception of the world (if the Greek really means just deception and rebellion against God even by those who never knew the truth), but also it can refer to a future deception of those who are "in the Church" by the same beast and false prophet and at the same time as the world is deceived. In that case, for those of us in the Church who are caught up in that deception, it would be a literal "falling away".
That the deception will be very strong and great should be no surprise. Christ warned that, if possible, even the elect would be deceived (Matthew 24:24).
Could we in the Church be deceived by the beast and false prophet?
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
"You will say then, 'Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.' Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off" (Romans 11:19-22).
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Mr. Tkach and other leaders in Worldwide changed just about all of doctrines that made Worldwide different from mainstream churches. In just one decade, thousands in the Church went along with those changes. Yet Mr. Tkach performed no signs and wonders. If so many in the Worldwide Church of God fell away from what they believed at that time, even without signs and wonders, how much greater will be the danger to the brethren when the beast or false prophet and other false prophets begin working great signs that cannot be explained as natural occurrences?
Let's not underestimate the spiritual danger ahead or our need to draw close to God while we can. We need to take 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as a strong warning to us in the Church. We need to do whatever is necessary to draw close to God and stay close to Him, zealously believing, trusting, and obeying Him, to the end. What happened in Worldwide from 1987 through 1996 may be just a tiny foretaste of the danger ahead for anyone in the Church of God who neglects to be close to God.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Speaking the Same Thing in the Church of God
This is a continuation of some of my recent posts about handling doctrinal disagreements in the Church of God.
I will start with some Bible admonitions, and then ask, how can we put all these together to correctly apply them in the Church of God.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).
"Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17).
"Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct" (Hebrews 13:7).
"And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
"Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!' But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah" (Jude 8-11).
"They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord" (2 Peter 2:10-11).
"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
"...and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16).
"Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24).
"Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help" (Psalm 146:3).
"Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD' " (Jeremiah 17:5). "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7).
"So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God' " (Mark 11:22).
"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God..." (Hebrews 6:1).
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
"If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)..." (John 10:35).
"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds" (Colossians 3:9).
How can we reconcile and obey all these verses?
We must believe and trust God more than man. The scriptures of the Bible are inspired by God and cannot be broken. We must have faith in God, not man, and the ministry does not have dominion over our faith. We must, therefore, believe the Bible.
But the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces to put together correctly, and some of it is hard to understand, and it can take time to understand it. Right now, we only know in part. We understand and learn different things from the Bible at different rates of speed. I might be slow to understand a portion of scripture and doctrine that is difficult for me but easy for you, yet there may be other portions of scripture and doctrine that are easy for me, but difficult for you. We need to be patient with each other. Some learn faster than others on certain subjects, but none of us knows everything perfectly and completely, and we won't till the resurrection.
God is concerned with our attitude and heart more than intelligence. He is able to discern why someone "doesn't get it" regarding a particular verse, passage, or doctrine. If our heart is right, if we have a willingness to understand and believe the Bible, He is patient with our mistakes. But if we do not understand because our heart is not right, perhaps because of pride and conceit (which we have all had because we are human, and still have to a degree, but must continuously strive to overcome and humble ourselves), perhaps because our pride, vanity, and conceit blocks us from admitting to ourselves that we have been wrong, God knows that too. He also knows if we fail to understand the Bible because we do not trust God enough to believe him but rather make an idol out of human leaders, believing them more than God, letting men interpret the Bible for us rather than letting the Bible interpret the Bible.
So if we believe God, if we believe the Bible, but our understanding of it is not perfect, we can disagree about doctrine.
Yet we are to all speak the same thing. Also, we cannot speak the same thing by lying about what we believe, pretending to agree, saying we agree but we don't, because we are not to lie to one another. We cannot bear false witness and tell someone, "such and such doctrine preached by the minister is true" while in our minds and hearts we think "no, it isn't true".
The only way I know to reconcile these verses is to avoid talking about doctrinal subjects with other members where we disagree with those in authority in the Church we fellowship with. We should not contradict our pastor or the top human leadership of the fellowship we attend when we talk with brethren. We have to avoid certain subjects for the sake of unity. How else can we "all speak the same thing" (1 Corinthians 1:10)? How else can there be "no divisions" among us (same verse)?
We can't lie and say what we don't believe. We cannot trust and believe the human leadership more than our own Bibles and more than we trust and believe the God who inspired our Bibles. We aren't always going to agree about what God is really saying in the Bible because that is a learning process that takes time. It took time for Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to understand many doctrines from the Bible and it takes us time to understand too, even till Christ returns.
I am not talking about taking our disagreements to the leadership or ministry in private. That is permitted. That is a part of the learning process. A pastor, for example, can sit down with us and explain the Church's position in more detail. Or the pastor can research the issue and if our position has merit, take it higher, and if the top leadership is humble enough to accept correction and believe the Bible and admit error, he can make the correction for the whole Church of God fellowship He supervises. He can make the change for the whole portion of Christ's flock God has entrusted him with, to feed them, and all will profit. Correction can sometimes come from the bottom up, if the correction is in the form of respectful counsel and advice, according to the Bible (2 Kings 5:9-14).
I am also not talking about disagreements between fellowships. That is a disgrace to the whole Church of God, but it is a matter for the top human leadership of each fellowship to work out, if possible, with the men in leadership of the other groups. No member can be expected to refrain from contradicting what leaders of other fellowships teach, for those leaders contradict each other.
And I am not talking about doctrines so fundamental and foundational to the true gospel that we have to take a stand with them, and it would be better to leave (or be kicked out of) a fellowship that was in error on those things. An example would be if our pastor said that the law is done away, that we don't have to keep the Sabbath or any of the ten commandments, or if he said the Bible was not always true. I would not keep silent about that issue, nor would I remain in a fellowship that taught that.
I am talking about the custom of some, who may be unconverted (Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43, Jude 19), or if converted ought to know better, of openly contradicting those who have authority over them, the ministry of the fellowship they attend, in conversation with fellow members of that same fellowship.
A pastor gives a sermon. During fellowship after the service, one member says to another, "What our pastor said in the sermon about such-and-such doctrine isn't right. Let me tell you what is the real truth from the Bible." Or at a restaurant eating with other members he criticizes the top leadership of the fellowship over one thing or another.
That should not happen. We should not contradict and undermine the authority for teaching God has given to those who have authority over us.
Suppose the ministry of a fellowship I attend teaches it is ok to eat in restaurants on the Sabbath, but I believe it is not ok. I should not contradict the minister in conversation with other members. I will talk to the minister in private, or write a letter to headquarters, but I won't contradict him in front of others. But I will obey the Bible to the best of my understanding, and I will politely and tactfully decline invitations to eat out in restaurants on the Sabbath. Or put it the other way. I think it is ok to eat out on the Sabbath, but the Church of God fellowship I attend says no, don't eat in restaurants on the Sabbath. I will not contradict that teaching with other members by telling members it is ok to visit restaurants on the Sabbath.
The same thing goes for new moons, who the king of the south might be, and many other details of doctrines. If I agree, I will express agreement. If I disagree, I will keep my mouth shut.
The rule I follow is, if I am under a man's authority in the Church, I will not contradict him or appose him in front of others also under his authority, because that would undermine and weaken his authority in the eyes of others, and I have no right to do that according to God's law. It would also create division.
What constitutes a Church of God fellowship's teachings? It would include what is written and published by the ministry of that Church and by employees of that Church and what is spoken by the ministry. That would include sermons, Bible studies, books, booklets, articles, and blogs published by employees and ministers of that Church. That does not include things stated to be opinions. If a minister in a sermon says, "No one knows when Christ will return, but my personal opinion and estimate is that we have about ten years", that is not official teaching of the Church but only the minister's opinion, which he is free to express, and I am free to express a different opinion. But if it is not an opinion but a teaching, then I should not contradict it in my conversation or in my blog, if I am a member of that fellowship and organization and therefore under the authority of the ministry of that Church.
There are many things to talk about where the Church we attend simply does not take a position. These are open to speculation and discussion. Most fellowships do not say how much time we have left before the tribulation, and rightly so because we don't know, and if ministers or leaders say, they are careful to label it as their opinion. So we are free to talk about it around a meal or in Church fellowship. There are many other such things, especially concerning how end-time prophecies will be fulfilled in detail.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you..." (1 Corinthians 1:10).
I don't often recommend fiction movies, but there are some good lessons in the Caine Mutiny about respect towards authority. Humphrey Bogart played the part of a captain of a ship in the Navy who had mental or emotional problems. The officers belittled him, criticized him behind his back, made jokes about him, and refused to give him the loyalty and even emotional support in times of crisis that he needed. They undermined his authority by so doing, and he sensed it, and that made his problem worse, to the point that in a crisis he cracked up and had to be relieved of command by one of his officers. Later, that officer faced trial on a charge of mutiny. He was acquitted, but at the end of the movie the defending attorney (Jose Ferrer) gave the officers a tongue-lashing for not supporting their captain more, and he pointed out that they really were guilty in a sense of mutiny because they withheld their support of the captain when he needed it.
If I am a member of a fellowship, and the ministers in that fellowship teach it is ok to watch boxing, but I feel boxing is wrong because it is violent, it is not my right to publicly contradict the ministry of my fellowship in my blog. Or if they teach that watching boxing is wrong, but I think it is ok, the same thing - I will not post about boxing. I should not publicly contradict the ministers of a fellowship I attend.
Why is pride dangerous? It makes it harder for us to admit to ourselves we have been wrong, and that makes it harder to receive correction, and that can be dangerous. "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).
The sooner we accept correction, the easier it is for us. It is like holding on to a rope of a hot air balloon. The balloon, on the ground, has broken loose and started to rise with no one in it. Quickly, I grab a rope to hold it down. But slowly I begin to be lifted off my feet. I haven't the strength to climb the rope but only hold on. I am three feet off the ground. Someone yells, "let go of the rope". But I hang on. I don't want to look foolish. I don't want to admit I made a mistake grabbing the rope. I am ten feet off the ground and rising. Now, if I let go, I might injure myself, and I will look even more foolish. So I hang on. The balloon is now thirty feet in the air, and my grip is weakening. Need I continue?
But if I had let go early, it might have been painful, but still better for me in the long run.
God is merciful. He corrects us gently at first, but if we don't respond to gentle correction, the correction becomes more severe later.
Let's all strive, as much as it is possible, to speak the same thing within the fellowship we attend so there is no confusion or division, but peace. And let us recognize that God has given the ordained ministry special authority for teaching that non-ordained members do not have, the authority to determine the teachings of the Church we attend.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Should Each Member Promote His Own Opinion?, Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
I will start with some Bible admonitions, and then ask, how can we put all these together to correctly apply them in the Church of God.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).
"Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17).
"Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct" (Hebrews 13:7).
"And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
"Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!' But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah" (Jude 8-11).
"They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord" (2 Peter 2:10-11).
"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
"...and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16).
"Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24).
"Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help" (Psalm 146:3).
"Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD' " (Jeremiah 17:5). "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7).
"So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God' " (Mark 11:22).
"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God..." (Hebrews 6:1).
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
"If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)..." (John 10:35).
"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds" (Colossians 3:9).
How can we reconcile and obey all these verses?
We must believe and trust God more than man. The scriptures of the Bible are inspired by God and cannot be broken. We must have faith in God, not man, and the ministry does not have dominion over our faith. We must, therefore, believe the Bible.
But the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces to put together correctly, and some of it is hard to understand, and it can take time to understand it. Right now, we only know in part. We understand and learn different things from the Bible at different rates of speed. I might be slow to understand a portion of scripture and doctrine that is difficult for me but easy for you, yet there may be other portions of scripture and doctrine that are easy for me, but difficult for you. We need to be patient with each other. Some learn faster than others on certain subjects, but none of us knows everything perfectly and completely, and we won't till the resurrection.
God is concerned with our attitude and heart more than intelligence. He is able to discern why someone "doesn't get it" regarding a particular verse, passage, or doctrine. If our heart is right, if we have a willingness to understand and believe the Bible, He is patient with our mistakes. But if we do not understand because our heart is not right, perhaps because of pride and conceit (which we have all had because we are human, and still have to a degree, but must continuously strive to overcome and humble ourselves), perhaps because our pride, vanity, and conceit blocks us from admitting to ourselves that we have been wrong, God knows that too. He also knows if we fail to understand the Bible because we do not trust God enough to believe him but rather make an idol out of human leaders, believing them more than God, letting men interpret the Bible for us rather than letting the Bible interpret the Bible.
So if we believe God, if we believe the Bible, but our understanding of it is not perfect, we can disagree about doctrine.
Yet we are to all speak the same thing. Also, we cannot speak the same thing by lying about what we believe, pretending to agree, saying we agree but we don't, because we are not to lie to one another. We cannot bear false witness and tell someone, "such and such doctrine preached by the minister is true" while in our minds and hearts we think "no, it isn't true".
The only way I know to reconcile these verses is to avoid talking about doctrinal subjects with other members where we disagree with those in authority in the Church we fellowship with. We should not contradict our pastor or the top human leadership of the fellowship we attend when we talk with brethren. We have to avoid certain subjects for the sake of unity. How else can we "all speak the same thing" (1 Corinthians 1:10)? How else can there be "no divisions" among us (same verse)?
We can't lie and say what we don't believe. We cannot trust and believe the human leadership more than our own Bibles and more than we trust and believe the God who inspired our Bibles. We aren't always going to agree about what God is really saying in the Bible because that is a learning process that takes time. It took time for Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to understand many doctrines from the Bible and it takes us time to understand too, even till Christ returns.
I am not talking about taking our disagreements to the leadership or ministry in private. That is permitted. That is a part of the learning process. A pastor, for example, can sit down with us and explain the Church's position in more detail. Or the pastor can research the issue and if our position has merit, take it higher, and if the top leadership is humble enough to accept correction and believe the Bible and admit error, he can make the correction for the whole Church of God fellowship He supervises. He can make the change for the whole portion of Christ's flock God has entrusted him with, to feed them, and all will profit. Correction can sometimes come from the bottom up, if the correction is in the form of respectful counsel and advice, according to the Bible (2 Kings 5:9-14).
I am also not talking about disagreements between fellowships. That is a disgrace to the whole Church of God, but it is a matter for the top human leadership of each fellowship to work out, if possible, with the men in leadership of the other groups. No member can be expected to refrain from contradicting what leaders of other fellowships teach, for those leaders contradict each other.
And I am not talking about doctrines so fundamental and foundational to the true gospel that we have to take a stand with them, and it would be better to leave (or be kicked out of) a fellowship that was in error on those things. An example would be if our pastor said that the law is done away, that we don't have to keep the Sabbath or any of the ten commandments, or if he said the Bible was not always true. I would not keep silent about that issue, nor would I remain in a fellowship that taught that.
I am talking about the custom of some, who may be unconverted (Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43, Jude 19), or if converted ought to know better, of openly contradicting those who have authority over them, the ministry of the fellowship they attend, in conversation with fellow members of that same fellowship.
A pastor gives a sermon. During fellowship after the service, one member says to another, "What our pastor said in the sermon about such-and-such doctrine isn't right. Let me tell you what is the real truth from the Bible." Or at a restaurant eating with other members he criticizes the top leadership of the fellowship over one thing or another.
That should not happen. We should not contradict and undermine the authority for teaching God has given to those who have authority over us.
Suppose the ministry of a fellowship I attend teaches it is ok to eat in restaurants on the Sabbath, but I believe it is not ok. I should not contradict the minister in conversation with other members. I will talk to the minister in private, or write a letter to headquarters, but I won't contradict him in front of others. But I will obey the Bible to the best of my understanding, and I will politely and tactfully decline invitations to eat out in restaurants on the Sabbath. Or put it the other way. I think it is ok to eat out on the Sabbath, but the Church of God fellowship I attend says no, don't eat in restaurants on the Sabbath. I will not contradict that teaching with other members by telling members it is ok to visit restaurants on the Sabbath.
The same thing goes for new moons, who the king of the south might be, and many other details of doctrines. If I agree, I will express agreement. If I disagree, I will keep my mouth shut.
The rule I follow is, if I am under a man's authority in the Church, I will not contradict him or appose him in front of others also under his authority, because that would undermine and weaken his authority in the eyes of others, and I have no right to do that according to God's law. It would also create division.
What constitutes a Church of God fellowship's teachings? It would include what is written and published by the ministry of that Church and by employees of that Church and what is spoken by the ministry. That would include sermons, Bible studies, books, booklets, articles, and blogs published by employees and ministers of that Church. That does not include things stated to be opinions. If a minister in a sermon says, "No one knows when Christ will return, but my personal opinion and estimate is that we have about ten years", that is not official teaching of the Church but only the minister's opinion, which he is free to express, and I am free to express a different opinion. But if it is not an opinion but a teaching, then I should not contradict it in my conversation or in my blog, if I am a member of that fellowship and organization and therefore under the authority of the ministry of that Church.
There are many things to talk about where the Church we attend simply does not take a position. These are open to speculation and discussion. Most fellowships do not say how much time we have left before the tribulation, and rightly so because we don't know, and if ministers or leaders say, they are careful to label it as their opinion. So we are free to talk about it around a meal or in Church fellowship. There are many other such things, especially concerning how end-time prophecies will be fulfilled in detail.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you..." (1 Corinthians 1:10).
I don't often recommend fiction movies, but there are some good lessons in the Caine Mutiny about respect towards authority. Humphrey Bogart played the part of a captain of a ship in the Navy who had mental or emotional problems. The officers belittled him, criticized him behind his back, made jokes about him, and refused to give him the loyalty and even emotional support in times of crisis that he needed. They undermined his authority by so doing, and he sensed it, and that made his problem worse, to the point that in a crisis he cracked up and had to be relieved of command by one of his officers. Later, that officer faced trial on a charge of mutiny. He was acquitted, but at the end of the movie the defending attorney (Jose Ferrer) gave the officers a tongue-lashing for not supporting their captain more, and he pointed out that they really were guilty in a sense of mutiny because they withheld their support of the captain when he needed it.
If I am a member of a fellowship, and the ministers in that fellowship teach it is ok to watch boxing, but I feel boxing is wrong because it is violent, it is not my right to publicly contradict the ministry of my fellowship in my blog. Or if they teach that watching boxing is wrong, but I think it is ok, the same thing - I will not post about boxing. I should not publicly contradict the ministers of a fellowship I attend.
Why is pride dangerous? It makes it harder for us to admit to ourselves we have been wrong, and that makes it harder to receive correction, and that can be dangerous. "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).
The sooner we accept correction, the easier it is for us. It is like holding on to a rope of a hot air balloon. The balloon, on the ground, has broken loose and started to rise with no one in it. Quickly, I grab a rope to hold it down. But slowly I begin to be lifted off my feet. I haven't the strength to climb the rope but only hold on. I am three feet off the ground. Someone yells, "let go of the rope". But I hang on. I don't want to look foolish. I don't want to admit I made a mistake grabbing the rope. I am ten feet off the ground and rising. Now, if I let go, I might injure myself, and I will look even more foolish. So I hang on. The balloon is now thirty feet in the air, and my grip is weakening. Need I continue?
But if I had let go early, it might have been painful, but still better for me in the long run.
God is merciful. He corrects us gently at first, but if we don't respond to gentle correction, the correction becomes more severe later.
Let's all strive, as much as it is possible, to speak the same thing within the fellowship we attend so there is no confusion or division, but peace. And let us recognize that God has given the ordained ministry special authority for teaching that non-ordained members do not have, the authority to determine the teachings of the Church we attend.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Should Each Member Promote His Own Opinion?, Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Poll Results and New Poll
In a poll I asked two questions.
The first question was, "What do you spend more time with per week, on average: entertainment and recreation (TV, movies, games, hobbies, etc.) or prayer and Bible study?"
Of 28 people who responded, 14 (50%) said, "Entertainment and recreation", 8 (28%) said, "Prayer and Bible study", 4 (14%) said, "About the same", and 2 (7%) said, "I don't know".
The second question was, "What do you spend more money on per year: unnecessary spending (recreation, entertainment, restaurants, junk food, nicer clothes, furniture, and cars than we need, vacations, etc.) or offerings to God's work?"
Of 23 people who responded, 15 (65%) said, "Unnecessary spending", 3 (13%) said, "Offerings to God's work", 4 (17%) said, "About the same", and 1 (4%) said, "I don't know".
These questions were put up around the Days of Unleavened Bread and answers were closed 8/30/12.
I want to thank everyone who responded.
Today I am putting up a new poll, with two questions:
In your opinion or estimate, what percent of adults in English-speaking nations will hear a strong warning from the Church of God about the tribulation BEFORE the tribulation begins?
In your opinion or estimate, what percent of adults in English-speaking nations HAVE ALREADY HEARD a strong warning from the Church of God about the tribulation?
This poll will run through the Feast of Tabernacles.
Comments on these polls are welcome.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Renewing an Atmosphere of Faith in the Church of God
The Church of God has become scattered since the death of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong 26 years ago. We are also greatly reduced in power - power to preach the gospel to the world.
We do not have the growth and power we had in the early days of the Worldwide Church of God, in the 1950s and 1960s when Mr. Armstrong was alive. We also do not have the healings we had at that time.
Many are sick in the Church today and are in need of healing. We pray for God's intervention, and though some are healed, many are not.
We need to build an atmosphere of faith within the Church.
Faith comes from Bible study and from our choice to believe what God says in the Bible. The apostle Paul wrote, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). When this was written, the Bible was not complete or widely available. People received the word of God by hearing Old Testament scriptures read on the Sabbath and by hearing the preaching of the first century apostles, whose message was backed up by public miracles from God. Today we receive the word of God by reading the Bible. Increased Bible reading and study is one way of building faith.
Also, faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4, 9). Faith comes from God.
We have a need for more power and for more faith, faith for healing and power to preach the gospel and a warning message to the world. Yet, we don't have it. Why?
If we want to build an atmosphere of faith so we may have more healings (we do), and if we want to have more power for preaching the gospel (we do), why hasn't God supplied the faith and power we want and pray for?
Could it be that God sees something wrong in the Church, even something wrong in the best of the major Church of God fellowships, that we as a Church have not acknowledged? Could it be that we have a sin we don't see and have not confessed before God? Could it be that God is withholding miraculous healings to get our attention until we really examine ourselves to the point of seeing clearly what we have not seen before?
This kind of thing has happened before.
Read the account in Mr. Armstrong's autobiography of the first time he began to fast. What prodded him to fast? God was not answering his prayers for healing his wife and for other problems.
How did Mr. Armstrong fast?
He did not call a Church-wide fast, nor did he ask other Church members to fast for his wife's healing. He also did NOT, during most of this fast, pray for his wife's healing! In fact, he didn't ask for anything from God during his fast (till the end of the fast), except that God would show him what was wrong with him!
Read the account in the autobiography.
He had faith. He knew God answered prayer. He had received answers to his prayers before, including miraculous healings. But something was wrong. God was no longer answering his prayers as before.
Mr. Armstrong had the faith to know that the fault was not with God, it was with himself. So he fasted, prayed, and studied the Bible only to find out what was wrong with himself.
And through that period of fasting, God have him the answer. Once Mr. Armstrong understood his sin and repented, he prayed one more time for his wife's healing, and God answered him immediately.
That is the kind of fasting that is needed today in the Church.
We can't assume we know our own sins clearly. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). We still have human nature, and our human nature makes us tend to "look away" from our own sins without even realizing it, and Satan also tries to blind us to our own faults. But fasting can help us overcome Satan and his deceptions (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 17:14-21, Leviticus 16:5-31, Revelation 20:1-3).
What might the Church's fault be that prevents God from inspiring us with the faith that will enable our prayers for healing and power to preach the gospel to be heard and answered? And what might our fault be that prevents God from answering our prayers?
I will make a suggestion, for what it is worth, for consideration.
What I will say is not anything different from what I have said before.
Faith must be towards God and God alone (Hebrews 6:1).
"But of course," you might say. "That is obvious."
Not so fast. Let's think about this in more depth and not just assume that the faith we are trying to build is directed towards God.
"Faith", in the context of the way the Bible uses the term, is always faith towards God. But true godly faith is not always the kind of "faith" people have, in the world or in the Church of God.
Catholics have "faith". They have faith in their concept of God as a trinity. They have faith in their Catholic traditions and doctrines. They have faith in their church and its authority to interpret the Bible. Some of them have faith that their trinitarian "God" will protect them and provide for them. And that faith can be very strong in some cases.
Protestants have "faith" that God loves them, that their sins are forgiven because they have accepted Christ. Atheists and agnostics have "faith" in the scientific method as the best and only trustworthy method for discovering truth.
Millions of people in every religion have faith in their traditional beliefs, in their religious teachers and authorities, and sometimes in their own opinions and "insights".
How is it with Church of God members?
Can a Church of God member or minister have faith in his Church of God doctrinal traditions he has held for years? Can a Church of God member have faith in his pastor, his Church leader, or the ministry of his Church of God fellowship in general? Can a Church member have faith in Mr. Armstrong and in Mystery of the Ages? Can a member have faith in his own opinions?
To that last question, most experienced ministers will say, "yes", because they have had discussion sessions with people whose "faith" in the truth of their opinions was rock-solid.
But what about a member having faith in Church of God traditional doctrines, or faith in the Church ministry? Is that possible? And if a member had that kind of "faith", what would it look like? From the outside, would it look different from true faith in God and God's word, the Bible? Probably not much. In behavior and conversation about doctrine it would look about the same, as long as the ministry is teaching true doctrine from the Bible and as long as our traditional doctrines are generally correct.
But God looks at the heart. He sees not only what we say and do, but He sees our inner motives, why we say and do. And to God, faith in traditions and ministers will look very different in the heart from faith in God and the Bible.
But members whose faith is in their COG traditions or in the Church ministry more than God and the Bible can change, especially if the ministry points them in the right direction, teaching them to believe the Bible more than the ministry.
But what Church of God organization does that today?
Instead, too many ministers compete with God for the faith of the members. They teach the members to believe and trust the Church's doctrines more than what the members can see for themselves in the word of God. They do this by teaching the members to have faith that Christ is controlling the teaching of the ministry to make sure it is accurate. But God, in the Bible, nowhere promises to make sure that the ministry's doctrines are accurate, rather, the examples in the Bible and in Church of God history show that even the true Church and true ministers can make mistakes in doctrine.
Why do some ministers teach members to believe and trust that God will make sure the ministry only teaches the truth on everything and that they should "trust Christ" to lead the ministry to teach accurately without error? Why do they teach members to believe and trust the Church's interpretation of the Bible rather than let the Bible interpret the Bible and believe what they see in the Bible for themselves?
Part of the answer may be that ministers are afraid of each member interpreting the Bible for himself, then spreading his own doctrinal ideas among the congregation, causing confusion, division, and error.
This is a legitimate concern, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with this.
Teaching the members to trust the Church's interpretation of the Bible because Christ is head of the Church and to assume that the Church's interpretation of scripture is correct is the wrong way to deal with the problem.
For many of us who did not grow up in the Church, we had to give up our former beliefs. Whether we were Catholic, Protestant, or non-religious, when we heard Mr. Armstrong say, "Don't believe me, believe God, believe your own Bible", we had to make a choice, and when we chose to believe the Bible, we knew we were choosing to believe God more than our Catholic or Protestant ministers or more than our personal, non-religious opinions. Yet, millions of listeners never came into the Church because they made the opposite choice - they chose to continue in their religious traditions. They believed their ministers and priests more than the Bible, more than God. In this, they followed Satan, who deceives the whole world. They no doubt were sincere and well-meaning - they were deceived by Satan and by the traditions of this world and didn't realize they were making a mistake. In their minds, they were doing the right thing. The real guilt and blame is on Satan's head. But the result was, they didn't believe the Bible. They didn't believe God's word.
Perhaps Lucifer himself made the choice long ago to disbelieve God's warning and teaching about the way to live, and his choice to doubt God's word was the beginning of his downfall. Now he leads most of mankind to make that same choice. But we in the Church of God, who have been called by God to overcome Satan in this age, must be different.
Believing God more than man is a way of life, and we must continue in that way of life.
Now, we all make mistakes. In this physical life, we only know in part (1 Corinthians 8:2, 13:9-10, 12). This means that two Spirit-filled true Christians can read the same verses in the Bible and come to different conclusions. The Bible is a large book, and sometimes many verses must be put together correctly to fully understand what God is saying on a particular topic or doctrine. We all come from different backgrounds and with different experiences, talents, and perspectives. Also, we need God's help to understand, and He helps each person with the help that person needs, to teach each of us, to test us sometimes, one point at a time. And God does not give all of us instant understanding at once.
But God is able to see past our sincere mistakes, our misunderstanding of this scripture or that scripture, and He looks at the heart. Are we willing to believe Him, in other words? Are we really trying to understand what God is saying in the Bible so we can believe and do it, even though we make mistakes because we are human?
We have to believe what God says as a way of life. Whenever we are faced with a choice, believe the Bible or doubt what the Bible says, we must choose to believe the Bible because the Bible is God speaking.
So because we only understand in part, because we are human and can make mistakes, a Church member may have a different understanding of what a portion of scripture means, and as a result, a different view of a doctrinal question, than the ministry.
Who is right? Is it always the ministry? No, there is no promise in the Bible of that. Ministers are human too.
Could God open a member's mind to understand a point of truth in the Bible that the ministry does not understand? Might God do this to test both the member and the ministry?
God did this with Mr. Armstrong and the Church of God Seventh Day. Mr. Armstrong was only a lay member of the Church, not yet ordained, when God revealed several truths to him through the Bible and used Mr. Armstrong to take these truths to the Church of God Seventh Day leadership, which rejected them.
So a member could be right and the Church wrong on a particular point.
But even if the member is wrong, until he is able to see his mistake, he must continue to believe what it appears to him that God is saying in the Bible because he must choose to believe God's word even when he misunderstands it.
Instead of teaching members to believe the ministry, the Church should teach them to believe what they see in the Bible, and if there is a difference of belief between the ministry and a member, in the process of time God will show the ministry and the member who is in error. But in the meantime, the member should not discuss the issue with other members.
So members should be taught a simple formula for developing faith in God and His word while respecting the ministry and keeping peace in the Church:
1. If a member sees something in the Bible different from what the ministry teaches, take the question to the ministry with an open mind, willing to learn, but a mind that believes the Bible first.
2. The ministry may be able to show the member, from the Bible, that the member is in error, so the member can see his error and be corrected.
3. If after counseling, the member still cannot see, from the Bible, that he is wrong, then the member should continue to believe what he sees in the Bible, even though it differs from what the ministry teaches, until God opens the mind of whoever is wrong to see his error, whether that be the member or the minister, even if this doesn't happen till the return of Christ.
4. In the meantime, to preserve peace and unity in the Church and to uphold the office of the ministry to whom God has given the authority to teach, the member should respect the ministry, avoid contradicting the ministry in conversation with other members, and refrain from discussing this particular doctrine with other members.
Will some minister please tell me, what is wrong with this formula? It encourages members to put their faith in God's word. It puts God and the Bible first. It preserves peace and unity in the Church. No member lies about his beliefs, but instead he tactfully declines to discuss with other members any doctrines he isn't in agreement with the Church about, so there is no hypocrisy. It preserves honesty, it preserves peace, it preserve respect for the ministry and the office that ministers hold, and it teaches the member to direct his faith towards God, not man.
And if this formula is the right way to handle doctrinal disagreements, why isn't it taught more in the Church? Is there any Church of God fellowship that teaches this? Is there any minister who teaches this?
Some ministers quote 2 Peter 1:20: "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation", but the context shows that it is talking about the inspiration of the writing of scripture, not the reading of it, for the next verse says, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). No scripture in the Bible was written based on private understanding or interpretation of events and doctrine, but men wrote as God inspired them by His Holy Spirit.
God has not given the ministry authority or "dominion" over the faith of the members (2 Corinthians 1:24). Only God has authority over what we believe.
This post is about building an atmosphere of faith, and I am suggesting that the ministry should actively teach members to believe the Bible more than the Church. That is the right kind of faith, the kind of faith I think God will help to build in the Church and the kind of faith He will honor with answers to prayer for healings and power to preach the gospel to the world and the Ezekiel warning to Israel.
God is a jealous God, and if the leadership of the Church is inadvertently pointing members in the direction of believing the Church more than the Bible, I don't think God will give the gift of greater faith or the gift of more healings. God will give us faith and accept our faith only if that faith is pointed in the right direction, towards God and His word, not towards the Church and its leadership and ministry.
God has promised healings, and if He has withheld those healings, it may be because He is showing us that there is a problem in the Church and its teachings that needs to be corrected.
"He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning" (Proverbs 9:7-9).
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
We do not have the growth and power we had in the early days of the Worldwide Church of God, in the 1950s and 1960s when Mr. Armstrong was alive. We also do not have the healings we had at that time.
Many are sick in the Church today and are in need of healing. We pray for God's intervention, and though some are healed, many are not.
We need to build an atmosphere of faith within the Church.
Faith comes from Bible study and from our choice to believe what God says in the Bible. The apostle Paul wrote, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). When this was written, the Bible was not complete or widely available. People received the word of God by hearing Old Testament scriptures read on the Sabbath and by hearing the preaching of the first century apostles, whose message was backed up by public miracles from God. Today we receive the word of God by reading the Bible. Increased Bible reading and study is one way of building faith.
Also, faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4, 9). Faith comes from God.
We have a need for more power and for more faith, faith for healing and power to preach the gospel and a warning message to the world. Yet, we don't have it. Why?
If we want to build an atmosphere of faith so we may have more healings (we do), and if we want to have more power for preaching the gospel (we do), why hasn't God supplied the faith and power we want and pray for?
Could it be that God sees something wrong in the Church, even something wrong in the best of the major Church of God fellowships, that we as a Church have not acknowledged? Could it be that we have a sin we don't see and have not confessed before God? Could it be that God is withholding miraculous healings to get our attention until we really examine ourselves to the point of seeing clearly what we have not seen before?
This kind of thing has happened before.
Read the account in Mr. Armstrong's autobiography of the first time he began to fast. What prodded him to fast? God was not answering his prayers for healing his wife and for other problems.
How did Mr. Armstrong fast?
He did not call a Church-wide fast, nor did he ask other Church members to fast for his wife's healing. He also did NOT, during most of this fast, pray for his wife's healing! In fact, he didn't ask for anything from God during his fast (till the end of the fast), except that God would show him what was wrong with him!
Read the account in the autobiography.
He had faith. He knew God answered prayer. He had received answers to his prayers before, including miraculous healings. But something was wrong. God was no longer answering his prayers as before.
Mr. Armstrong had the faith to know that the fault was not with God, it was with himself. So he fasted, prayed, and studied the Bible only to find out what was wrong with himself.
And through that period of fasting, God have him the answer. Once Mr. Armstrong understood his sin and repented, he prayed one more time for his wife's healing, and God answered him immediately.
That is the kind of fasting that is needed today in the Church.
We can't assume we know our own sins clearly. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). We still have human nature, and our human nature makes us tend to "look away" from our own sins without even realizing it, and Satan also tries to blind us to our own faults. But fasting can help us overcome Satan and his deceptions (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 17:14-21, Leviticus 16:5-31, Revelation 20:1-3).
What might the Church's fault be that prevents God from inspiring us with the faith that will enable our prayers for healing and power to preach the gospel to be heard and answered? And what might our fault be that prevents God from answering our prayers?
I will make a suggestion, for what it is worth, for consideration.
What I will say is not anything different from what I have said before.
Faith must be towards God and God alone (Hebrews 6:1).
"But of course," you might say. "That is obvious."
Not so fast. Let's think about this in more depth and not just assume that the faith we are trying to build is directed towards God.
"Faith", in the context of the way the Bible uses the term, is always faith towards God. But true godly faith is not always the kind of "faith" people have, in the world or in the Church of God.
Catholics have "faith". They have faith in their concept of God as a trinity. They have faith in their Catholic traditions and doctrines. They have faith in their church and its authority to interpret the Bible. Some of them have faith that their trinitarian "God" will protect them and provide for them. And that faith can be very strong in some cases.
Protestants have "faith" that God loves them, that their sins are forgiven because they have accepted Christ. Atheists and agnostics have "faith" in the scientific method as the best and only trustworthy method for discovering truth.
Millions of people in every religion have faith in their traditional beliefs, in their religious teachers and authorities, and sometimes in their own opinions and "insights".
How is it with Church of God members?
Can a Church of God member or minister have faith in his Church of God doctrinal traditions he has held for years? Can a Church of God member have faith in his pastor, his Church leader, or the ministry of his Church of God fellowship in general? Can a Church member have faith in Mr. Armstrong and in Mystery of the Ages? Can a member have faith in his own opinions?
To that last question, most experienced ministers will say, "yes", because they have had discussion sessions with people whose "faith" in the truth of their opinions was rock-solid.
But what about a member having faith in Church of God traditional doctrines, or faith in the Church ministry? Is that possible? And if a member had that kind of "faith", what would it look like? From the outside, would it look different from true faith in God and God's word, the Bible? Probably not much. In behavior and conversation about doctrine it would look about the same, as long as the ministry is teaching true doctrine from the Bible and as long as our traditional doctrines are generally correct.
But God looks at the heart. He sees not only what we say and do, but He sees our inner motives, why we say and do. And to God, faith in traditions and ministers will look very different in the heart from faith in God and the Bible.
But members whose faith is in their COG traditions or in the Church ministry more than God and the Bible can change, especially if the ministry points them in the right direction, teaching them to believe the Bible more than the ministry.
But what Church of God organization does that today?
Instead, too many ministers compete with God for the faith of the members. They teach the members to believe and trust the Church's doctrines more than what the members can see for themselves in the word of God. They do this by teaching the members to have faith that Christ is controlling the teaching of the ministry to make sure it is accurate. But God, in the Bible, nowhere promises to make sure that the ministry's doctrines are accurate, rather, the examples in the Bible and in Church of God history show that even the true Church and true ministers can make mistakes in doctrine.
Why do some ministers teach members to believe and trust that God will make sure the ministry only teaches the truth on everything and that they should "trust Christ" to lead the ministry to teach accurately without error? Why do they teach members to believe and trust the Church's interpretation of the Bible rather than let the Bible interpret the Bible and believe what they see in the Bible for themselves?
Part of the answer may be that ministers are afraid of each member interpreting the Bible for himself, then spreading his own doctrinal ideas among the congregation, causing confusion, division, and error.
This is a legitimate concern, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with this.
Teaching the members to trust the Church's interpretation of the Bible because Christ is head of the Church and to assume that the Church's interpretation of scripture is correct is the wrong way to deal with the problem.
For many of us who did not grow up in the Church, we had to give up our former beliefs. Whether we were Catholic, Protestant, or non-religious, when we heard Mr. Armstrong say, "Don't believe me, believe God, believe your own Bible", we had to make a choice, and when we chose to believe the Bible, we knew we were choosing to believe God more than our Catholic or Protestant ministers or more than our personal, non-religious opinions. Yet, millions of listeners never came into the Church because they made the opposite choice - they chose to continue in their religious traditions. They believed their ministers and priests more than the Bible, more than God. In this, they followed Satan, who deceives the whole world. They no doubt were sincere and well-meaning - they were deceived by Satan and by the traditions of this world and didn't realize they were making a mistake. In their minds, they were doing the right thing. The real guilt and blame is on Satan's head. But the result was, they didn't believe the Bible. They didn't believe God's word.
Perhaps Lucifer himself made the choice long ago to disbelieve God's warning and teaching about the way to live, and his choice to doubt God's word was the beginning of his downfall. Now he leads most of mankind to make that same choice. But we in the Church of God, who have been called by God to overcome Satan in this age, must be different.
Believing God more than man is a way of life, and we must continue in that way of life.
Now, we all make mistakes. In this physical life, we only know in part (1 Corinthians 8:2, 13:9-10, 12). This means that two Spirit-filled true Christians can read the same verses in the Bible and come to different conclusions. The Bible is a large book, and sometimes many verses must be put together correctly to fully understand what God is saying on a particular topic or doctrine. We all come from different backgrounds and with different experiences, talents, and perspectives. Also, we need God's help to understand, and He helps each person with the help that person needs, to teach each of us, to test us sometimes, one point at a time. And God does not give all of us instant understanding at once.
But God is able to see past our sincere mistakes, our misunderstanding of this scripture or that scripture, and He looks at the heart. Are we willing to believe Him, in other words? Are we really trying to understand what God is saying in the Bible so we can believe and do it, even though we make mistakes because we are human?
We have to believe what God says as a way of life. Whenever we are faced with a choice, believe the Bible or doubt what the Bible says, we must choose to believe the Bible because the Bible is God speaking.
So because we only understand in part, because we are human and can make mistakes, a Church member may have a different understanding of what a portion of scripture means, and as a result, a different view of a doctrinal question, than the ministry.
Who is right? Is it always the ministry? No, there is no promise in the Bible of that. Ministers are human too.
Could God open a member's mind to understand a point of truth in the Bible that the ministry does not understand? Might God do this to test both the member and the ministry?
God did this with Mr. Armstrong and the Church of God Seventh Day. Mr. Armstrong was only a lay member of the Church, not yet ordained, when God revealed several truths to him through the Bible and used Mr. Armstrong to take these truths to the Church of God Seventh Day leadership, which rejected them.
So a member could be right and the Church wrong on a particular point.
But even if the member is wrong, until he is able to see his mistake, he must continue to believe what it appears to him that God is saying in the Bible because he must choose to believe God's word even when he misunderstands it.
Instead of teaching members to believe the ministry, the Church should teach them to believe what they see in the Bible, and if there is a difference of belief between the ministry and a member, in the process of time God will show the ministry and the member who is in error. But in the meantime, the member should not discuss the issue with other members.
So members should be taught a simple formula for developing faith in God and His word while respecting the ministry and keeping peace in the Church:
1. If a member sees something in the Bible different from what the ministry teaches, take the question to the ministry with an open mind, willing to learn, but a mind that believes the Bible first.
2. The ministry may be able to show the member, from the Bible, that the member is in error, so the member can see his error and be corrected.
3. If after counseling, the member still cannot see, from the Bible, that he is wrong, then the member should continue to believe what he sees in the Bible, even though it differs from what the ministry teaches, until God opens the mind of whoever is wrong to see his error, whether that be the member or the minister, even if this doesn't happen till the return of Christ.
4. In the meantime, to preserve peace and unity in the Church and to uphold the office of the ministry to whom God has given the authority to teach, the member should respect the ministry, avoid contradicting the ministry in conversation with other members, and refrain from discussing this particular doctrine with other members.
Will some minister please tell me, what is wrong with this formula? It encourages members to put their faith in God's word. It puts God and the Bible first. It preserves peace and unity in the Church. No member lies about his beliefs, but instead he tactfully declines to discuss with other members any doctrines he isn't in agreement with the Church about, so there is no hypocrisy. It preserves honesty, it preserves peace, it preserve respect for the ministry and the office that ministers hold, and it teaches the member to direct his faith towards God, not man.
And if this formula is the right way to handle doctrinal disagreements, why isn't it taught more in the Church? Is there any Church of God fellowship that teaches this? Is there any minister who teaches this?
Some ministers quote 2 Peter 1:20: "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation", but the context shows that it is talking about the inspiration of the writing of scripture, not the reading of it, for the next verse says, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). No scripture in the Bible was written based on private understanding or interpretation of events and doctrine, but men wrote as God inspired them by His Holy Spirit.
God has not given the ministry authority or "dominion" over the faith of the members (2 Corinthians 1:24). Only God has authority over what we believe.
This post is about building an atmosphere of faith, and I am suggesting that the ministry should actively teach members to believe the Bible more than the Church. That is the right kind of faith, the kind of faith I think God will help to build in the Church and the kind of faith He will honor with answers to prayer for healings and power to preach the gospel to the world and the Ezekiel warning to Israel.
God is a jealous God, and if the leadership of the Church is inadvertently pointing members in the direction of believing the Church more than the Bible, I don't think God will give the gift of greater faith or the gift of more healings. God will give us faith and accept our faith only if that faith is pointed in the right direction, towards God and His word, not towards the Church and its leadership and ministry.
God has promised healings, and if He has withheld those healings, it may be because He is showing us that there is a problem in the Church and its teachings that needs to be corrected.
"He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning" (Proverbs 9:7-9).
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Chapter 6 - Obtaining God's Help -- Practicing What We Preach
Chapter 9 - Repentance
Saturday, August 25, 2012
The Purpose of Advice, and How to Receive It
God teaches us to receive and use advice from others, when possible, before making an important decision (Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 24:6).
But if we have an important decision to make and want to receive advice and counsel, who should we go to for advice, and how should we use the advice once we receive it? How can advice help us?
Suppose you were thinking of leaving your job to start your own business. You want advice before making a decision. One person you know left his job to start a business, and his business became a success. Another person you know left a job to start a business, and his business failed and he went bankrupt. Which one should you go to for advice?
God does not just say, in couselors there is safety. God puts an adjective before "counselors". He could have used any one of several adjectives. He could have said, in experienced counselors there is safety. Or he could have said, in wise couselors there is safety. Or how about, in righteous counselors there is safety, or "God-fearing" counselors?
But God didn't use those adjectives. He said, "in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14), and "Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established" (Proverbs 15:22), and again, "And in a multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 24:6).
So the best answer is, go to both persons for advice about your decision, and others also. Each person, the one who succeeded in business and the one who failed, can contribute information you do not know or perspectives you have not thought of. The one who succeeded can tell you how he succeeded, but that by itself may not be enough. He might have had more favorable circumstances than you, and also consider, how much did he learn from his success? But the one who failed can tell you why he failed, the mistakes he made, and the lessons he learned from his mistakes, and that can be valuable advice too.
We should certainly look to those who are experienced, wise, and righteous for advice. The problem is, we are not always the best judge of who is really wise or righteous. And age and experience alone is not always the best qualification. When Job was going through his trial, it was a younger man who spoke more wisely than Job's three older and more experienced friends (Job 32:1-9, 42:7-9). "Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice" (Job 32:9).
The fact that God encourages us to seek a multitude of counsel teaches us something about how we are to use that counsel and advice in making a decision.
When we receive advice, that advice does not relieve us from the responsibility for making the decision ourselves. There may be times when we should follow advice and times when we should not follow the advice and counsel others give us. But we should consider the advice in our thinking and planning. We should examine the decision in light of the advice given to us and see how that advice "holds up" compared to other advice and compared to the things we already know.
Different people have different opinions. The fact that God encourages us to listen to a multitude of counselors implies that we will be given different, and sometimes contradictory, advice, but we still have to make the decision.
Advice can be useful to us for several reasons. The person advising us may know facts and information we do not know ourselves, and that information may help us make a better decision. Advice from professionals such as doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc. can be useful that way. Perhaps that is why lawyers are sometimes called "counselors". But also, an advisor, even if he is not a specialist who has facts and information we do not have, sometimes can give us a perspective, a point of view, based on facts we already have, which we have not thought of, but can be important. An advisor, even if he gives us no new information, can examine our logic and sometimes point out mistakes or inconsistancies in our thinking that we have been blind to, because we are too close to the problem perhaps, or too emotionally involved with the problem to think clearly.
But in any case, the authority for making the decision is ours, not our advisors and counselors. And God wants that responsibility to be ours. Listening to advice does not take that decision-making authority and responsibility from us. There are times when we should follow advice and there are times when we should not follow the advice given to us. The purpose of advice is to improve and add to our thinking, not to make the decision for us.
Obviously, if we come to a fork in the road (figuratively speaking), and five people advise us, "go to the left", and five people advise us, "go to the right", we have to make the choice ourselves. But even if everyone we ask advises the same thing, that is not necessarily the best course. We have to examine WHY they advise a course of action and see if their thinking is sound. Sometimes it is not.
Look at the example of David when he was fleeing from Saul and learned that the Philistines were attacking Keilah, a city in Israel. His men advised him not to fight the Philistines, but that was not good advice. David ignored that advice and made the right decision (1 Samuel 23:1-5). Likewise, David did not follow the advice of those who told him to kill King Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-7, 26:7-12). So sometimes advice and opinion can be bad, and we have to make the right decision even in the face of bad advice. God holds us responsible for our decisions.
Rehoboam, son of Solomon, sought advice on how to answer the people who asked him to lighten their burdens. His older advisors told him to go one way and the younger ones told him to go another way. He followed the advice of his young men, and it was a bad decision (1 Kings 12:1-20). Yet, wisdom is not always with the older people, as the account in Job makes clear (Job 32:1-9, 42:7-9). The answer? The older and younger advisors to Rehoboam must have given detailed reasons for their advice, and Rohoboam had the responsibility to take those reasons into consideration in making a decision. And if the correct answer as to what the reaction of the people would be was a matter of "gut feel", based on experience, of how the people would react, Rehoboam should have considered that his older advisors probably had a better feel for how the people would react than his younger men, just based on experience.
But also, wisdom comes from God (1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 111:10, 1 Corinthians 12:7-8, James 1:5, 3:17), and it was God's decision to withhold the wisdom for making the right decision from Rehoboam because God had already decided to tear ten tribes from the house of David because of Solomon's sin, and God used Rehoboam's mistake in judgment to accomplish this (1 Kings 11:9-13, 29-39, 12:15, 18-24).
Before making an important decision, if possible, we should try to get advice from a multitude of people, even with a variety of perspectives, and consider, not just what they advise, but WHY they advise a course of action, and examine the logic and soundness of their thinking and reasoning. We should also look to God for wisdom and guidence in making the decision (James 1:5-7).
And of course, though I have not mentioned it to this point, the decision should be made in accordance with God's will according to God's word in the Bible.
Then we have the responsibility before God to make the best decision we can. And that is our responsibility, not our advisors'. Like David, there are times when we must make the decision contrary to the advice we receive if it is bad advice. And only we can make that decision.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Faith, Chapter 8
But if we have an important decision to make and want to receive advice and counsel, who should we go to for advice, and how should we use the advice once we receive it? How can advice help us?
Suppose you were thinking of leaving your job to start your own business. You want advice before making a decision. One person you know left his job to start a business, and his business became a success. Another person you know left a job to start a business, and his business failed and he went bankrupt. Which one should you go to for advice?
God does not just say, in couselors there is safety. God puts an adjective before "counselors". He could have used any one of several adjectives. He could have said, in experienced counselors there is safety. Or he could have said, in wise couselors there is safety. Or how about, in righteous counselors there is safety, or "God-fearing" counselors?
But God didn't use those adjectives. He said, "in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14), and "Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established" (Proverbs 15:22), and again, "And in a multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 24:6).
So the best answer is, go to both persons for advice about your decision, and others also. Each person, the one who succeeded in business and the one who failed, can contribute information you do not know or perspectives you have not thought of. The one who succeeded can tell you how he succeeded, but that by itself may not be enough. He might have had more favorable circumstances than you, and also consider, how much did he learn from his success? But the one who failed can tell you why he failed, the mistakes he made, and the lessons he learned from his mistakes, and that can be valuable advice too.
We should certainly look to those who are experienced, wise, and righteous for advice. The problem is, we are not always the best judge of who is really wise or righteous. And age and experience alone is not always the best qualification. When Job was going through his trial, it was a younger man who spoke more wisely than Job's three older and more experienced friends (Job 32:1-9, 42:7-9). "Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice" (Job 32:9).
The fact that God encourages us to seek a multitude of counsel teaches us something about how we are to use that counsel and advice in making a decision.
When we receive advice, that advice does not relieve us from the responsibility for making the decision ourselves. There may be times when we should follow advice and times when we should not follow the advice and counsel others give us. But we should consider the advice in our thinking and planning. We should examine the decision in light of the advice given to us and see how that advice "holds up" compared to other advice and compared to the things we already know.
Different people have different opinions. The fact that God encourages us to listen to a multitude of counselors implies that we will be given different, and sometimes contradictory, advice, but we still have to make the decision.
Advice can be useful to us for several reasons. The person advising us may know facts and information we do not know ourselves, and that information may help us make a better decision. Advice from professionals such as doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc. can be useful that way. Perhaps that is why lawyers are sometimes called "counselors". But also, an advisor, even if he is not a specialist who has facts and information we do not have, sometimes can give us a perspective, a point of view, based on facts we already have, which we have not thought of, but can be important. An advisor, even if he gives us no new information, can examine our logic and sometimes point out mistakes or inconsistancies in our thinking that we have been blind to, because we are too close to the problem perhaps, or too emotionally involved with the problem to think clearly.
But in any case, the authority for making the decision is ours, not our advisors and counselors. And God wants that responsibility to be ours. Listening to advice does not take that decision-making authority and responsibility from us. There are times when we should follow advice and there are times when we should not follow the advice given to us. The purpose of advice is to improve and add to our thinking, not to make the decision for us.
Obviously, if we come to a fork in the road (figuratively speaking), and five people advise us, "go to the left", and five people advise us, "go to the right", we have to make the choice ourselves. But even if everyone we ask advises the same thing, that is not necessarily the best course. We have to examine WHY they advise a course of action and see if their thinking is sound. Sometimes it is not.
Look at the example of David when he was fleeing from Saul and learned that the Philistines were attacking Keilah, a city in Israel. His men advised him not to fight the Philistines, but that was not good advice. David ignored that advice and made the right decision (1 Samuel 23:1-5). Likewise, David did not follow the advice of those who told him to kill King Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-7, 26:7-12). So sometimes advice and opinion can be bad, and we have to make the right decision even in the face of bad advice. God holds us responsible for our decisions.
Rehoboam, son of Solomon, sought advice on how to answer the people who asked him to lighten their burdens. His older advisors told him to go one way and the younger ones told him to go another way. He followed the advice of his young men, and it was a bad decision (1 Kings 12:1-20). Yet, wisdom is not always with the older people, as the account in Job makes clear (Job 32:1-9, 42:7-9). The answer? The older and younger advisors to Rehoboam must have given detailed reasons for their advice, and Rohoboam had the responsibility to take those reasons into consideration in making a decision. And if the correct answer as to what the reaction of the people would be was a matter of "gut feel", based on experience, of how the people would react, Rehoboam should have considered that his older advisors probably had a better feel for how the people would react than his younger men, just based on experience.
But also, wisdom comes from God (1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 111:10, 1 Corinthians 12:7-8, James 1:5, 3:17), and it was God's decision to withhold the wisdom for making the right decision from Rehoboam because God had already decided to tear ten tribes from the house of David because of Solomon's sin, and God used Rehoboam's mistake in judgment to accomplish this (1 Kings 11:9-13, 29-39, 12:15, 18-24).
Before making an important decision, if possible, we should try to get advice from a multitude of people, even with a variety of perspectives, and consider, not just what they advise, but WHY they advise a course of action, and examine the logic and soundness of their thinking and reasoning. We should also look to God for wisdom and guidence in making the decision (James 1:5-7).
And of course, though I have not mentioned it to this point, the decision should be made in accordance with God's will according to God's word in the Bible.
Then we have the responsibility before God to make the best decision we can. And that is our responsibility, not our advisors'. Like David, there are times when we must make the decision contrary to the advice we receive if it is bad advice. And only we can make that decision.
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Faith, Chapter 8
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