Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 10) Oct_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 10) Oct_w

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I n t e r n a t i on a l Magaztne o fT H E C H U R C H O F G O D

VOL. VI , NUMBER 10

AN OPEN

OCTOBER, 1957

LETTERto our newly begotten brethren

recently baptizedby Herbert W. Armstrong

G REETINGS! newly baptized Brethren in Christ Jesus:This year aga in the re is joy andrejoicing amo ng th e angels in heavenover your r epent ance and having beenbego tten to a lively hope as children ofGod thru Jesus Chris t our Lord!

And there is new joy in th e heartsof ALL our true brethren and co-workersin Christ over your recent conversionf rom the desires an d will of th e fleshand the ways and customs of the world,to the government of God in your lifenow, that you may have reward in Hi sKingdom at the coming of Christ, inthe World Tomorrow!

Yo u will Mee t Tri a ls

You have entered upon a new l i f e -alife of great happiness and j oy - a lifeto continue FOREVER-yet, in thispresent evil wor ld it will no t be an easylife.

As a matter of fact you have left behind the "easy way"'-the popular,broad road that leads to dest ruc tion.You have passed the cross-roads andturned off onto the narrow, rutty, bumpy,rocky and HARD and DIFFICULT roadwhich very few people in this worldever are wi ll ing to cnrcr-e--bur whichleads to SUCCESS, co USEFULNESS, toHAPPINESS, JOY, en d ETERNAL LIFE.

It leads to rewards-not of idlenessand ease, bu t to usefulness and serviceand accompli shment and success-sogreat that I know your mind can't possibly g ra sp it, now. BUT YOu'LL HAVETO PAY THE PRICE!

It won't come easy! All your temptations, trials, per secutions and hardships will come f rom other people-orfrom the devi l -or from the consequences of sin, which means violations ofGod 's laws and ways. You mus t rcmcmber you still have to live IN a worldorganized and living in disregard ofGod's l aws-a world governed by thesway of Satan, and according to the impulses of pride and vanity, the lusts ofthe flesh, and the greed and tempers of

human nature. I f you were still OF thisworld, the world would love its own.But because you have renounced thisworld and its ways, and are no longerOF it, the wor ld will hate you, persecute you, turn against you, even as ithated and persecuted your Saviour before you.

Why You Must Suffer

"My PEACE I give unto youthat my J O Y might remain in you, Cl1ul!!J,I! YOllr joy migbt be fllll," said Jesus."These things have I spoken unto youthat in me ye might have PEACE. In

the wor ld ye shall have t ribu la tion : butbe of good cheer; I have overcome theworld."

You will meet many affiictions-trials,tests, troubles-even more than before.But, if you trust in Him, the Eternal willdel iver you out of them ALL (Psalm34: 19). ALL who will live Godly inJesus Chris t shall suffer persecution (I ITim. 3:12).

Bu t WHY? Because God has calledyou to sur render your life to HIM- toGIVE you r life into HIS HANDS-thatHe may tr an sform you into a perfect ,holy, r ighteous CHARACTER. God isCREATOR! And now, with your consenr,according to your own free will, youhave placed yourself in His Hands to

CHANGE you - t o CREATE ou t of youthe Supreme Masterpiece of all HisCreation!

What Is Character?

And CHARACTER means SELF-DIRECTION, WITH GOD'S HELP, INTO GOD'SWAY OF LIFE. You'll find it is a newand differenr way of lif e from the wayyou have lived up to now. I t meansSELF-DENIAL! I t means SELF-DISCIPLINE! I t means resisting all that is evilor wrong in your nature. It meJI1S break-ing up wrong babits-rooting them ourof your l i fe-and instilling into your life


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The GOOD NEWS October, 1957

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

Address communications to the Editor,Box 111, Pasadena, California.

Copyright, October, 1957By t he Rad io Church of God

~ o x

of the second tithe is to enable us toattend the festivals, much more of it hasto be spent for transportation than forfood.

Now let us notice where th e secondtithe was to be spent . "Thou shalt t rulytithe all the increase of thy seed, thar

th e field b ri nger h f or th year by year.An d thou shalt eat before the Lord thyGod, in th e place tubicb he shall chooseto place his name there . , . that thoumayest learn to fear the Lord thy Godalways. An d if the way be too long forthee, so that th ou art no r able to carryit; or if the place be too far from thee,whic h t he Lord thy God shall chooseto set his name there, when the Lordthy God hath blessed rhee: then shaltthou turn it into monel . . . and sbn ltGO tinto tbe place which tbc Lord tbyGod sb.dl choose .. . and thou shalt ear

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ing of Christ we shall be CHANGED,finally BORN of God, to have eternallife inherent in ourselves, and to beactual INHERITORS and POSSESSORSof the wonderful Kingdom of God!

In order to GROW in grace and in theknowledge of our Lord (I I Peter 3: 18 ) ;in order to develop spiritually and overcome, and have perfecred in you the

CHARACTER of God ready to be fullyBORN of God, you must do two thingsdaily without fail!

You must no t only read, bu t eagerly,earnestly STUDY the Word of God tolearn how to l ive-you must live accordin g to God's teachings in Hi s Bib leyou must make ir your guide for everything you do. In this way, God talks toyou!

Bu t you must also talk to Him! Youmust go to a private place, alone withGod, and have long talks with H i myes, EVERY DAY' Unburden y ou r he ar tto H im . Tak e all you r pr obl ems , yourinterests, your plans, your troubles toH im . Talk over everything w ith H im ,continually. Then, even when goingabout your work-when walking downth e s t ree t -when driving your car, orwherever you are or whatever you do,talk w ith Go d as you work, or as youdrive or walk along. Go to a privateplace, and kneel in prayer (o n bothknees) as often as you can, and at leastonce every day. But talk with God oftenin between. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!

Keep close to Him. You can't affordto be without the SECURITY of Hi s constant guidance and protect ion.

2yestion

Should You Spend Your SecondTithe at Home?

I f for some unforeseen circumstanceyou are unable to attend the Feast ofTabernacles, what should you do withyour second t irhe? Many t ha t we have

me t on t he bap ti zi ng t ours , and o ther sby letters, h ave asked about this problem.

First, let us understand the purposeof the second t it he. God, in H is Wor d,commands us to assemble at Hi s setfeasts, In order to mak e o ur attendancepossible, God ordained that we setaside a second tithe t o cover expense toand from the festival (Deut. 14:23-26;16:13-15).

In ancient times, when travel expenses were of l it tl e cons equence, thet it he was used to cover food expensesprimarily. But today, s ince the pttrpose

Your questions ansu/ered irt these columns! Your oppor tu il it y to havediscussed those problems pertaining directly to members of God's Church .

and advice, for wisdom, for direction,for HELP in any time of need. Would agood human f athe r deny his own childany good thing th e child might reallyneed? Neither will your heavenly Fatherdeny you anything that is really foryour good. I f a human father heard thescreams of his chi ld, ran and found hischild imprisoned in a burning building,

would he break 'inside and rescue hischild from danger? Your heavenlyFather has given you His wr it ten PROM-ISE to del iver you from every danger,t rouble , or t r i a l - i f you call on Him,obey Him and RELY on Him!

Since you are now a real begottenchi ld of God-now one of the FAMILYof God , which is Hi s true Church-youare one of Hi s heirs. Ange ls are notsons, bu t servants. And a servant is no tan hei r like a son. Yo u are now a co-heirwith Christ, to inherit, w ith H im , ALLTHINGS-eternal life, this earth as aneverlasting possession, eternal happinessand joy!

Think of what that means!But we are now only heirs-only bo-

gotten sons. And j us t as it was necessa ryfor us to grow physically f rom t he timewe were begotten in ou r mothers ' wombsuntil we developed ready to be born,finally separated f rom the dependence onthe mother for nourishment and sustenance, and coming int o individual andseparate existence, so the bego t ten spiritual infant must grow and developspiritually, being fed th e spiritual food,th e Word of God, by the Mother of usall, th e t rue Church, until, at the com-

NUMBER 10OL . VI

NEW habits-and making these neuierright ways fixed HABIT.

This is not easy. It takes WILL POWER.It r equi re s DETERMINATION.

Besides all this, God will permit trialsand tests to come upon you-severeproblems. He will permit CIRCUM-STANCES to drive you to HIM for HELP- f o r deliverance! You may s oo n thinkno one in the world is t roub led l ike youare. YO l ! will begin to wonde r why youhave greater trouble to face than anyone else on ea r th -no t realizing thatall other real Chris tians are g oi ng t hr uthe same tests! Perhaps closest relat iveswill turn against you, probably becauseof th e Word of God- the TRUTH youhave embraced and started to live.

B ut, if you learn the lesson of FAITH- a n d if you have PATIENCE-you mayKNOW that you will be delivered ou tof every trouble that comes up. Godhas PROMISED to deliver you from everytr ia l - i f you obey and trus t H im. Yousee, you a re n ow Hi s very own c h i l dactually begotten of Him just as muchas you were begot te n of your humanfather. When God gave you the precious

gift of Hi s Holy Spiri t-placed HisSpirit within yOlt to r enew your mind,give you a sounder, more understandingmind, fill you w ith H is love, f ai th , patience, power, goodness-His own character. In short , you became an actua l begotten SON-or daugh t er-o f GOD. Notmerely a creature or being He createdbu t Hi s very own child, actually begotte n of Him by His seed, so to s p e akHi s SPIRIT, en te r ing with in you. He isnow your FA H E R ~Not figuratively, bu tacruall y -REALLY!

Now you can go to Him JUSt as anychild can go to his father, for counsel

Herbe rt W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. HoehExecutive Editor

Roderick C. MeredithGarner Te d Armstrong

Associate Editors


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Whose Opinion Counts?We have all been reared with the modern concept that in religiousmatters a man should be governed primarily by what HE thinks.

Is this God's way?

by Roderick C. lt1eredith

" X T E R years of study and prayer,Mr. Armstrong has come tosee that this is binding on us

today," I said to Mr. Brown. 'The Biblereveals it, and as Christians we mustobey."

"Well, here's the way I look at it,"he began, and then continued to givehis personal opinion based on humanreason with very l it tle knowledge of theBible to guide him.

As a minister of Jesus Christ, I wast ry ing to show h im-no t my will--butGOD'S will. I was proving my pointsright Out of God's word. I had mentioned the opinion and belief of Mr.Armstrong to show that a more experienced servant of the t rue God was persuaded of this same truth.

Was Mr. Brown impressed?N at at all. On the contrary, he pro

ceeded to pu t his human reason and"feeling" on the same plane as ourstudied belief on God's word. In hisown mind, Mr. Bi owu reasoned thathis opinion was just as good as ouropinion.

But was it a matter of two differing"opin ions" of equal value? Or do God 'strue ministers carry authority to speak

in His name? I f so, how much is thatauthori ty to be respected?These are questions that every true

Christian should understand. Mr. Brownwas supposed to be converted. Is suchan attitude as his the mark of a trulyconverted person?

Authority of Ministers

In Matthew 16:15-20, we read theaccount of Christ bestowing on Peterthe "keys of the kingdom of heaven."Nearly all commentaries agree that thep rinc ipa l meaning of these "keys" includes the way of salvation which theapostles were to proclaim to the world.Based on the princ ip les of this way, theapostles, through whom Christ governsHis Church, were given au thori ty tomake decisions which would be boundin heaven. They could "b ind," or forbidcertain things; and they had authorityto "loose," or permit certain things. Inocher wor.Is, they were given the a t tthority to make binding decisionsbased on God's word and the "keys" ofsalvation they had received. These decisions involved vermittin or forbiddin/{ certain things-defining what isright and wrong!

Matthew 18: 15-20 clearly shows thatthis authori ty was conferred on all theapostles-not just Peter. They were allwith Jesus for over three years, learningfrom Him the way of salvat ion so theycould preach it to the world.

Jesus had shown them in dozens ofplaces that all decisions must be conformed to God's will and His law (Matt.5: 17 -19). In their judgments, theywere t o follow Christ's example when Hesaid, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is JUSt; because I seek not mineown will, bu t the will of the Fatherwhich hath sent me" (John 5: 30 ) .

God 's t rue min isters will be yieldedand submissive to God's will. They willseek His will in d il igen t study and earnest prayer. They will confer with othertrue ministers and Bible scholars for,"i n multitude of counsellors there issafety (Pro. 11 : 14). In every way,they will seek God's will and His guidance through the Holy Spirit.

But when God's true servants do makea decision based on His word, it is tobe respected, for it is bound in heaven.You are not showing respect to theman and his "opinion," but to the

office in which God has placed Hisministers, and by which Christ rulesHis Church.

When the Israelites refused to hearken to God's servant Samuel, God said,". . . they have not rejected thee, butthey have re jected ME, that I shouldnot re ign over them" ( I Sam. 8: 7 ). Ifyou take the decisions of God's ministers lightly, you are disrespecting GodHimself!

Be Sure of Ministers

All of your respect to any minrsrershould be based upon the fact that youhave first proved to yourself that hereally is a true servant of God.

Jesus continually warned: "Beware offalse prophets, which come to you insheep's clothing, bu t inwardly they art"ravening wolves. Ye sbull know themby the ir fruits" (Ma tt . 7: 15-16 ). Youneed to look at the "fruit," the resultsin proclaiming the trice gospel, in leading the flock into the truth and waysof God, in healing the sick-the accomplishments in the work of the ministry,carrying ou t the commission of Christ .

Notice that Jesus went on to say(Matt. 7:21-23) that m:my would pro-

fess to do good works in His name,but He told them, "depart from me, yethat work iniquity," or "lawlessness." Theword iniqu ity is more correctly translated LAWLESSNESS. Jesus was showingthat professing ministers who breakGod's law are not His mini ster s at all!"1 never knew you," Jesus will tellthem. And God's word shows that theselaw-breaking rmmsters never reallyknew Chri st e ither (I John 2:4).

Satan and his ministers appear as"angels of l ight" (I I Cor. 11: 14). Butthey teach that you are free to disobeyGod's law.

Another way to examine their "frui t"is ro see if they are willing to "GROWin grace, and in the knowledge of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (I IPet. 3: 18). Some "Christians"-evensome whu profess to be i1t the Churchof God-REFUSE to grou/ into moretruth!

Jesus told the disciples tha t the HolySpi rit , "will guide you into all t ruth"(John 16: 13). Spiritual change, growth,and development is one of the importam signs tha t a person is really guidedby God's Spirit. No man gains all ofGod's truth at once. We must all grow

in knowledge. Some churches and someministers have known a portion ofGod's truth. But when they becameunwilling to grow into more truththrough the guidance of the Holy Spiri t,they soon began to twist and pervertwhat little truth they had, and tospiritually rot away and die!

To prove whether or not a man istruly God's servant, look to the "frui ts"of submission to all of God's commands,of a real understanding of God's word,of a willingness to grow in grace andknowledge, and of the underlying motive of love behind every thought anddeed.

God will reveal to you who His trueministers are if you study, pray, andlook at their fruits. Once you know,should you respect th em and the officein which God has set them?

Yes, you should!

God's Responsibility

Once God has revealed to you bythe "fruits" who His true servants are,you should recognize the responsibilities and duties which God has giventhem. When a matter of church zovernment or policy comes up, r e a l i z ~that


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they have the authority to decide theissue.

They do not have the right to exercise that authority according to theirown human reason. Jesus Chri st is theliving HEAD of the true Church of God- t h e body of Chri st (Col . 1: 18 ) .WhenHe was instructing the disciples on howto exercise their authori ty to enforcechurch discipline (Matt. 18:15-20), Hesaid that if two or more of them wouldagree on anything, God would bind itin heaven. "For," Jesus said, "where twoor three are gathered together in myname, there am I in the midst of them."

Christ himself will in Spi rit be wi thand guide Hi s servanrs in making rightdecisions. These words of His havemeaning! Jesus said that He WOULDguide Hi s servants in directing theChurch. He said that they SHOULDmake decisions-based on God's revealed wil l and gu ided by Hi s Spirit.These decisions were to include churchdiscipline and what is to be "bound"or "loosed"-defining what is permittedor forbidden to God 's people by "RIGHTLY dividing the word of truth."

Christ Himself-the Head of theChurch-has promised t o guide Hi sministers in directing the Church. Theirdecisions, then, will also be God's decisions. They are BINDING on God'sChurch. His trite Church will be OBEDIleNT! I t is government by God, throughHis servants.

It is God' s RESPONSIBILITY to chastenHis Servants if they abuse their authority. You can't read the ir hearts. ButGod C A N ~Their authori ty came from

Him, not from some "board" of men.God "sets" or appoints the true ministers and teachers to guide and rule HisChurch ( I Cor. 12:28). He alone h-isthe power to remove them from office.He can do it by c ircumstances, by afRict ion-by DEATH if need be!

Remember that even though Samuel'ssons were abusing their office ( I Sam.8: 7 ) , the peop le had no r ight whatsoeuer to put them Out! It was up to Godto decide if, when, and how this wasto be done. In taking this authorityin t he ir own hands, the peop le rejectedthe RULE OF GOD--the Kingdo-n ofGod' If you plan-to enter that Kingdom,learn now to OBEY those whom Godsets in authori ty.

Your P ar t

Christians must be alert to the nronhecy that even from among their leaders some would arise soeakinu perversethings-twisting God's word (Acts20:29-31 ).

In o rde r to recognize perverse teachings, and in order to "grow in graceand knowledge," you need to pray andto study God's word continually. I f you'do this intelligently you will never be

The GOOD NEWS

deceived. Remember the important testChrist gave was to examine the "fruits"in a minister's life and work. A falseminister simply cannot produce thefmits-people converted in obedienceto God's law and His way.

So respect and obey God's trueministers, but constantly study to acqui re the mind of Christ (Phil. 2: 5 )

an.d to perceive a deceiver whomight

anse.A good example is the Bereans whom

Paul commended because "they received the word with all readiness ofmind, and searched the scriptures daily,whether those things were so" (Acts17: 11). They respectfully listened withopen and ready minds. Then theysearched the scriptures to prove whetherthose things were so.

The Apostle James tells Christianbelievers to "receive with meekness theengrafted word, wh ich is able to saveyour souls" (James 1: 21). Once Godreveals to you who His true ministersare, listen respect fully and with openminds t o their instruction.

Then you need to "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman thatneedeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the W O l d of truth" (I I Tim. 2: 15 ) .The more you study, the more you willunderstand and agree with the instructions of God's true servants.

"Prove all things; hold fast that whichis good" ( I Thes. 5:21). But prove it bythe Bible-NOT by what you think, orulra: .rome denomination teaches! Remember Jesus said, "Thy WORD isTRUTH" (John 17: 17).

In all your study, however, you shouldkeep an attitttde ul respect for whatGod's ministers have said. You shouldn'tgo to the Bible with the idea of refutingwhat they have taught, or of justifyinf!.your own ideas. But search the scriptures(Acts 17: 11) whether those things beso--the things God's seruants havetaught.

The respect to God's ministers is respect to God himse lf who "calls" anytrue minister to that office, and it isrespect to the Holy Spiri t through whichGod will inspire and direct His servants.

Unity in th e Church

Many of you brethren have had to"come out " of this Babylonish systemand its churches. You have been regarded-ancl perhaps hare regarded yomse l f -as an " independent" or radical inmatters of belief.

Many of you, having been disillusioned by false ministe rs, have cometo feel that you could place no relianceon anyone or anything except yourself.You have been in the habit of studyingthe Bible and accepting yom conclusionas final. I t was between you and Godalone. "Me and God," said the Ge rman

October, 1957

Kaiser. That is the way some of yOllhave felt and acted-perhaps withoutrealizing it.

But should you be an "independent"?Didn't Jesus build a Church which

will endure forever? Haven't we justshown you tha t God's true minis terswhom He sets in His Church-speak inHi s name with authority?I f

you have really been converted,you have bee n "baptized" or pu t intoGod 's Church by receiving His Spirit.You are t hen no longer an "independent," bu t a member of the true Churchof God- the body of Christ.

"God is not the au thor of confusion,but of peace, as in all churches of thesaints" ( I Cor. 14:33). Even thoughyou may be separa ted from local churchfellowship, you belong to God's Churchwhich has order and government in it- n o t confusion.

The apost le Paul commands us to behumble, "Endeavoring to keep the unityof the Spirit in the bond of peace"(Eph. 4:3). Some ministers quote thistext to persuade their congregation toblindly follow them in a false unity,NOT of the Spirit. The uni ty of God'sSpirit is that mutua l harmony and lovewhich ir produces because we will allbe seeking God's will. I t is not a "unity"based on man': reasoning swayed by thedevil!

God gave some individuals positionsof preaching and teaching, 'Til l we allcome into the unity of the faith" (Eph.4: 12-13). His ministers are responsiblefor teaching and guiding the flock in theright way as God' s Spir it reveals until

they come in to the "unity of the faith."We are all still human and have alot of growing to do. We won't all seeeye to eye on every point of doc tr ine atfirst. God's chi ldren are "knit together"- n o t in doctrine-but "in LOVE" (Col.2:2) .

But God has set Hi s ministers in theChurch t o preserve order, and to teachand inst ruct the bre thren with authorityso that each one may finally come tohave "the mind of Christ" (Phil . 2: 5) .

Th e Final Authority

In Heb rews 13: 17, Paul gives an inspired command to , "Obey them thathave the rule over you, and submityoltrselves: for they watch for yoursouls, as t hey that meat give account,that they may do it with joy, and notwith grief : for that is unprofitable foryou." Here, and in verse seven, God iscommanding obedience to His Ministers.I[ is they who "must give account." Theyare responsible for teaching you thetruth, When there is a doubt as to themeaning of a scripture , or when there isa Church policy t o be decided upon,God's ministers are given the AUTHOR-

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P r o v e God 's CALENDARCo r r e c t !

Proue all things! God commands us to! Against wha t wil l we checkthe NEW MOON dates of God's Sacred Calendar to be certain they

are correct?

by Kenneth C. Herrmann

XMANAC DATES for the new moonsometimes disagree with those onthe Sacred Calendar. Here is a

poin t tha t has in years pas t caused somechurch members to become upset, to begin to stumble.

One member will look for the firstfaint crescent of the new moon in ourwes ter n sky and actually see this "newmoon" a day or two ahead of th e datedivinely appointed as i ndi cated on ourSacred Calendar. Another will look onthe Roman Calendar or in an almanac.

Are these ind iv idua ls justified in being skeptical of ou r wo rk in publishingthis calendar? Or have they fai led to readthe instructions that go with it?

God-Given Oracles

How did the men of Berea p rove t hewords of Pau l and Silas? Firs t -and thisis important-"they listened with allreadiness of mind." They pai d close att en tion to the ins truc tions given. Then,they "searched the scr ipt ures dailywhether those things were so."

Again and aga in they compared with

God's Word to see if the testimony ofthose men were true. The Scriptures werethe standard against which the testimonyof Paul and Silas wou ld st and or fall.

Without such a s tanda rd to comparewith, any attempt to pro ve a thing becomes fut il e, sub ject to all the weaknessand van ity of human nature and subjectto human misinterpretation. Think for amoment! How would you p rove that arug you bought was 9 by 12 feet? Youwou ld need a rul er , a st anda rd to measure by. How would you know the rulerto be correct? Th e final word on th ematter would come f rom the Bureau of

Standards in Washington which keepsmaster s on hand for every weight ormeasurement,

Now how will you check the newmoons? Are you certai n the first day ofthe month is in the correct place orshoul d it be a day or two earlier? Whereis the master, the standard to go by?

Here is the answer! What advantagedid Paul have being a J ew ) "Un to t hem[the Jews} were commi tt ed the oraclesof God" (Romans 3 :1 ,2 ) . Oracles arecommunications from God. These mustbe our final authority in the problemwith regard to new moon dates. The

quest ion now arises, where is the oraclewhich will solve the problem of newmoon dares? Is rhe Jewish calendar suchan oracle?

Who gave the J ewi sh peopl e t hei rcalendar? Suppose you found it to be thesame Person who preached for 3Y:! years,chose 12 disciples to be apostles andthen gave Hi s life on the cross, to beresurrecred three days later. Would yoube w il li ng to hea r Him?

Notice Stephen's testimony to theHigh Priest concerning Moses andChrist, "This is he [Muses}, t hat was inthe church in the wilderness with theangel [o r messenger-s-Christ] whichspake to him in the m ou nt Sina, andwith ou r fathers: who received the livelyoracles to g ive unto us" (Acts 7 :38 ) .

How to Prove It

Now consider this:The One who became Jesus Chr is t

spoke to Moses and Aaron (not to theent ir e congr egat ion) saying, "Thismonth shall be unto you the beg inningof months: it shall be the first month

of the year to you." These two men wereto inst ruct the people to use this SacredCalendar.

Go d gave the Calendar. Man is to useit. Is man to st and in j udgmen t of Godas to whether this d iv ine communication, this oracle, is proper or not? Hardly.

The knowledge of the inner workingof the C al endar was retained by God'sappointed physical priesthood until theyear 360 A.D. In that year the Jewishleaders publ ished the information for allro know, so the broken and scatteredJewish nation (and Chris tians as well)would be able to continue the observance

of God's Feast Days ill accordancewith

th e n ew moons as calculated from [eruset/em,

Jerusalem was always the point fromwhich the new moons were ob servedand sanctified. It was the Sanhedrin,the Sup reme Cou rt in Jerusalem, thatdetermined when the new moon wasapparent. And it was their res-ponsibilityto not ify the Jewish communi ti es of thebeginning of the mon ths.

However, by 360 AD. when oppression and persecut ion threatened the continued exi stence of the Sanhedr in , theJewish leaders took an extraordinary

step to allow the scattered Jews to keepthe new moons, festivals and Holy Daysalways at the same rime. They then madepubli c the system of calendar computations that hither to had been an apparent ly guarded secret of the pries thood.

Thus, all Jews ( and Christians)throughout the wor ld could know whenthe new moon would occur accordingto Jerusalem time and consequently theycould celebrate the same day all overthe earth in unity.

I t should be obvious now how toprove all things. Check them against theOracles of God. What are these Oraclespreserved by God t hr ou gh the Jewishpeople? Three: The Scriptures, The Sabbath, and The Calendar.

Ir was God's prerogative to give thesecommunica tions and commands . It wasGod's responsibility to see that theywere preserved down to our time. It wasGod's judgment that a sti ffnecked, rebellious, unchanging Jewish peopleshould be g iven rhe ass ignment to preserve His Calendar, His Sabbath, HisScripture. With God behind them you

may be sure that they carried out thistask.

It is our responsibility as God's peopleto search out these Oracles, to study andobey them.

Do the Jew s Obey?

Th e matter of whether the Jews haveobeyed these Scriptures, res ted all thisSabbath, kept the correct days in thecorrect manner on this Calendar, is anentirely different question.

There is no need to follow the Jews inrheir rebellion. Stephen continues, "Ourf ather s would not obey, bu t thrust him

from them, and intheir

hearts turnedback again into Egypt." In rejectingMoses, they rejected Chr is t whom herepresented.

I f you reject Moses today, if you rejectthe Oracles gi ven rhrough Moses, youalso rejec t the One who sent him. Theoverwhe lming major ity of those of youwho read this had ances to rs who did reject Moses and Chris t as their leaders andwere condemned to die in the wilderness.

The real reason now becomes apparentwhy it is so hard for us to turn ourhear ts and mind s to the true way that


6/12

Page 6

God has given to us. We have inheritedthis same sti ffnecked rebel lious nature.Why not get back to the truth and thenr emain firm in it.

We Answer th e Questions

Doesn 't the fa int cr escent of the newmoon become visible at an ear li er timet o the observer in Cali fornia than to an

observer in Jerusalem?Yes, it does and for a number ofreasons.

Mainly that the day t rave ls from eastto west across the globe. A day s ta rt s onthe eastern coast of China or Austral ia(o r even earlier with the islands justto the west of the Interna tional DateLine). I t requi res 24 hou rs to make acomplete circuit arriving once more atthe International Date Line. Th e mo-ment of sunset thus travels westwardacross the earth. It would occur inJerusalem 10 hours earl ier than in Cali-fornia, which is 10,000 miles fartherwest.

Thi s 10 hou r difference wou ld allowthe moon to move 5 degr ee s e astwardt hrough the background of stars awayfrom the sun's posit ion. Th e crescent ofthe new moon could thus be seen oneday earlier by California observers about40 per cent of the rime. What are God'sinstructions? I f the people of Jerusalem,where God's permanent headquarters areto be, cannot see this crescent of themoon following sunset, then the entireworld east and west of that city mustdelay beginning the month till the fol-lowing sunset.

This is the ordi nance as it was given

by God. We are nor free to begin earlierbecause of the way we see it.Another 6 hour difference as to the

dat e for the new moon is int roduced bythe pra cti ce of del ayi ng t he end ing ofa day till midni gh t. Your almanac andRoman calendar "new moon" dates fol-low this pagan practice. This factoralone would shift the date of the newmoon one day ear li er 25 pe r cent of thetime. Ye t this pagan source is the onethat many of you have used to checkGod's Sacred Calendar. Isn't it time weshift ou r allegiance to God's Oracles andaway f rom the customs and terminologyof the hea then?

Still another factor makes this crescentof the new moon visible earl ier in Cali -fornia. Just as the path of an eclipse ofthe sun moves fr om west to east acrossthe earth so the moment at which t hec rescen t would become vis ib le (i f theobserver's time were j ust after sunset)also moves f rom west to east across theglobe and for the same reason. Up to6Y;1 hours are r equi red for t hi s momentto cross the ear th .

Thus while the day comes to us fr omthe east, the month (o r the moment themon th might beg in ) sweeps across the

The GOOD NEWS

earth f rom the west. It is na tu ra l for thewestern observer to want to begin hismonth to O early. But i t is God's Calendarand Hi s month based on that calendarthat we ought to follow.

A Difference in Latitude

Another question: Does one's latitudealso make a difference in his ability to

see this c rescent of the new moon in thewest just a ft er the sun goes down?Yes, this also affects the problem on

all except two days of the year, the dayof the spring equinox (March 21 ) andof the autumnal equinox (September23 ) .

On these two days the sunset line runsstraight nor th and south on the surfaceof the earth f rom sou th pole to the nor th .Latitude thus makes no difference in sun-set time on these two days, Sunset wouldbe six o 'c lock ( sun t ime) for everyone.(The fact that standard time is com-monly used for an ent ir e t ime bel t andis based on mean solar time would meant ha t the rime shown by our clocks mightvary up to 50 minutes and in certainloca li ti es over an hour f rom sun t ime. )

During the summer months the sun-set l ine curves toward the northeast witha portion of the north pol ar regi on incontinual sunlight. During the wintermonths the sunset line curves towardthe nor thwest with a portion of thenorth polar reg ion in darkness 24 hoursa day. (These statements are for thenorthern hemisphere only. The condi-t ions are reversed south of the equator.)

The momen t at whi ch an observer atany point on the earth might see the

crescent of a new moon and want tobegin his month varies widely. Even thefactor of whether the moon is north orsouth of the ecl iptic, s lightly affects theabi li ry of the observer to see the crescent,especially in the extreme latitudes.

Conjunction or Crescent

A third question: Is the new moonnoted on the Roman calendar or in analmanac or astronomy book the sameterm as the new moon on God's SacredCalendar? Not at all. The term "newmoon" from these secular sources refersto the con junc ti on (o r malad) of thesun and moon r at he r t ha n the vis iblec rescen t which could first be seen aboutsix hours later.

The astronomer's "new moon" is' themoment an eclipse of the sun mightoccur. (The moon is usually above orbelow the sun rather than in front of it.Thus eclipses do not occur at each ofthese "new moons".) But remember thatthis can j un ct ion occurs at least 6 hoursbefore any ob se rve r anywhere can seethe new moon crescent with his eyes.

God's new moon on the Other handis the beginning day of a month, a daythat begins at sunset at least 6 hours

October, 1957

after this conjunction. Both the conjunc-tion and sunse t must be calcu la ted forthe Jerusalem area no t for our local area.Then the first day of the new month1110ves wesr across rhe earth.

Delay fo r Preparation

A fourth quest ion: Isn 't the first dayof God's Sacred Calendar sometimes de-

layed for special reasons?Yes. One reason for delaying the be-ginning of a month is to prevent theday of Atonement (Annua l Sabba th)from falling on a Friday which is apreparation day. Another is to preventany of the autumn annual festivals fromfalling on a Sunday. All feasts whichfollow Penrecosr represent the secondpart of God' s Plan. They must no t fallon Sunday which would represent thefirst part of God's Plan which began1900 years ago.

Timed for th e Future

A final question: Don't the . Jews

themselves admit that the computationof the length of the mon th and lengthof the year upon which this Sacred Cal-endar is based are no t quite in perfectaccord with the present day figures pro-vided by the very exacting measuremenrsof our modern astronomers?

Yes, this is true. It would be moresu rpr isi ng if it we re not true. There areslow accumulat ive changes in the lengthof the month and year over cen tu ri es oftime.

This minute var ia tion which makes19 Sacred Years slightly longer than 19ast ronomical years is a very important

clue to chronology. But that subj ect islO O long for this article! Thi s var ia tion ,however, does not affect the mathemati-cal calculation of new moons.

Is it unusual that the One who plannedthe Sacred Calendar should be onestep ahead of both the ast ronomers ofthe t ime of Moses and the present twen-tieth century; With a perfect under-s tand ing of the movements of the heav-ens as well as the needs of man, Godlooked forward over a six thousand yearperiod and prepared a Calendar thatwould keep in harmony with the heavensthroughout the entire time.

It was this system that was restoredto the children of Israel as they werebei ng freed from bondage and it is thi ssystem that is pr ese rved for us today byGod through the Jewish people.

No need exists for any change ora lt erat ion in the Sacred Calendar priorto Chris t' s return and we look for nosuch change from the Jewish people.The publi shed dates of the Jews and ofour Sacred Calendar which cover theent ir e twent ie th cen tu ry are abso lu te lycorrect, God's p eop le will c ont inue tofollow them.

(Please continue on page 10)


7/12

Local AssembliesAre NOT Social Clubs!

Believe it or not, assembling together in local groups or churches maylead to loss of salvation to many-unless these pitfalls are avoided!

by Herbert W. Armstrong

H ERE is wha t ou r newly convertedbrethren need to know.TRUE, we are commanded no tto forsake assembling ourselves together- a n d so much the more in these lastdays, as we approach the Day of theEternal and t he second coming of Christ.

Bu t there are pit fa lls. Those inexperienced and unlea rned in all th e instruction of God to His ministers would never see them. They would trap theunwary and the innocent. Bu t pitfallsare there . An d they are a very real andpotential danger!

You have heard me say of te n t hatmost of the wor ld ly chu rche s h ave degenerated into SOCIAL CLUBS.

Most of us probab ly would never believe that could happen to any of us!We just don 't t hi nk of our se lves in thatlanguage. Ye t some of those oldest inour fel lowship have actually fal len intothat snare u.ithon: realizing it.'

When the PURPOSE of assembling ina local group depar t s f rom God' s purpose- w h e n the method of conduct ing thelocal assembly depar ts f rom the Bibleinstructions and example, members often

are driven away from G od and into lossof eternal life!For the safety and welfare of all, I

must speak plainly and candidly. Godcommands His true ministers: "Themthat sin rebuke before all, that othersalso may fear. I charge thee before God,and t he lord Jesus Christ, an d t he electangels, t ha t th ou observe these thingswithout preferr ing one before another,doing nothing by partiality" (I Tim.5:20-21).

An Unscriptural Atti tude

Some, who have attended a local congregation of God 's C hu rc h for years,have gradual ly succumbed to the influence of Satan a nd t he p ul l of th e flesh,until t hey have come to look on thepurpose and function of the local churchsomething li ke thi s (and I summarizetheir unscriptural view as a warning toALL!) :

"W e JUSt want to have peace ," theyprotest, justifying thei r depar tu re fromthe BIBLE ways. "W e just want to attend church every Sabbath, an d enjoythe fellowship, without having anypreacher lambast us, or tell us what'swrong w it h us, or use the Scriptures to

hi t at us. We want a pastor who willshow LOVE toward us, by letting us doas we please, and as each of us sees itfor himself . We d on 't w an t a pastor touse th e Bible to strike ou t at us, andtell us we' re w rong , and make us feeluncomfortable.

" And a not he r t hin g," t his attitudecontinues, "we wan t to h av e the 'say-so'in what we do, and how ou r servicesare conducted. We don't want any partin what ou r pastor calls 'God's work'- t h a t ' s just his ow n personal work, andwe're no t interes ted, and we don't wantto hen about i t - w e want no part in it.We don't care anything about go ing in toall t he wor ld a nd p ro cl aimi ng t he Gospel. We don't care a ny th in g a bo utwhether people in Flor ida or Maine orBritain are being brought into thetruth and converted-they Eve to o faraway for us to enjoy fellowship withthem, and so we have no interest int hem, a nd d on 't want to be bothered ormade , ~ n c o m f o r t a b l eeven hearing aboutthem.

Rather astonishing, isn't it, that people who have heard God's TRUTH

preached for many years-people wh oa t first accepted it in the love of God,professed it, started ou t practising i t -should, through th e years, fall away fromt he t ru th , reject new truth as it is uncovered, begin to embrace f alse doctrines and errors, and finally come tosuch an attitude as above quoted?

It Ha s Happened He re !

Bu t I assure you, my b re th ren, t ha tsuch has happened! I do not h er e accuseany individual. I say t o those concerned,look d own d ee p into your own hearts!If th e shoe fits, either pu t it on andwear i t - INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE, TOBE BURNED!-or else REPENT before itis everlastingly TOO LATE! Bu t to t hos ewho do no t share this degenerated carnalattitude, I S


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What is God's sentence upon them)Listen!

"I t is IMPOSSIBLE for those who wereonce enl ight ened , and have tasted th eheaven ly gi ft , and were made par take rsof th e Holy Spiri t, and have tasted ofth e good Word of God , . , if theyshal l fal l away, to renew them again untorepentance; seeing they crucify to them

selves th e Son of God afresh" (Heb.6:4-6) .Let it be a warning to ALL, and let all

FEAR, and TREMBLE before the all -powerful WORD OF GOD!

Why, we would no t be the trueChurch of God, unless a few had t urn edaway f rom the trut h!

It happened in the churches Godraised up thru the apostle Paul. Leadersrose up and turned brethren againstPaul. To the elders fr om Ephesus, Paulsaid:

"For I know this, that after my departing shal l grievous wolves enter inamong you, no t sparing the flock. Alsoof your own selves shal l men arise,speaking perverse things, to draw awaydisciples after th em" (Acts 20: 29-30).

It happened to Paul. It has happenedin ou r experience, Bu t never fear! Allsuch shall be dealt with, by th e p ow erof God. God is showing Hi s servantswhat they must do. And we shal l knowby th e f rui ts - the RESULTS-whetherthe power and th e authority of GOD inHis chosen ministers is the stronger, andmaster of th e situation, or whether perverted and disgruntled human self-willcan t riumph! God will DEMONSTRATEHis power t hru H is servants! The gatesof hell shall no t prevail against GOD'SChurch!

Purpose of Churches

Brethren, if we are to continue togrow-and to grow SPIRITUALLY aswell as in numbers-we must rememberthat th e PURPOSE of the Church is, first,to GO INTO AI.I . THE WORLD and preachChrist's GOSPEL. The FIRST commissionto t he Chu rch is JUSt that. Anyone wholooks on that Great Commis si on ofChr is t as "Armstrong's private work" isjust no t a member of GOD'S one, trueChurch.

Anyone who does no t have his wholeheart in that work ISNOT A MEMBER OFGOD'S TRUE CHURCH, and has no rightwhatsoever to attend or fellowship inany of irs local congregat ions . The veryFIRST purpo se , t hen, of each local congregation is th e FIRST purpose of God'sChurch as a whole - to encourage, prayfor, hear l q JO l l S about, and help i l l -in wha tever manner may be poss ib lethe grea t work of God of preaching andpublishing the true GOSPEL to all theworld.

After that comes the SECOND commission Christ gave His Church -"FEED

The GOOD NEWS

THE FLOCK." For this purpose, GODhas set some in Hi s Church, first, apostles, then preachers, and then teachers,to be HIS instruments in feeding thelocal flocks each Sabbath.

No Elections or Politics

Yes, it is GOD who has set apost les,evangelists, pastors and teachers in His

Church. The call must come fromGOD,

These me n are merely HIS INSTRU-MENTS. He trains them and preparesthem.

And WHY? To FEED the Churchof God, as Paul told the elders at Ephesus (Acts 20). "For the PERFECTINGof the sa int s," wri te s Paul in Eph. 4: 1213; "f or th e WORK of the ministry, forth e edifying of th e Body of Chr is t, TILLwe all come in th e u ni ty of th e faith,and of th e KNOWLEDGE of th e Son ofGod, unto a perfect man, unto themeasure of the s ta tu re of the fullness ofChrist."

And HOW does God i ns tr uc t HISministers to preach? Does He say,"Don't tell t hem the ir s ins"? Does Godsay to th e ministers, "You are s innersyourselves, so you can't tell o ther s the irsins-instead, show love by ENCOURAG-ING them in their sins"?

He doe s not!

God' s Command

God commands, "CRY ALOUD, andSPARE NOT, and SHOW MY PEOPLETHEIR SINS."

God's instruction to ministers of localchurches is this:

"I cha rg e thee therefore before God

. . . PREACH THE WORD; keep at it inseason, Out of season; REPROV b, KbBUKE, EXHORT with all pa tie nce anddoctrine" (I I Tim. 4: 1- 2 ). He said thet ime wou ld come when some in congregations ministered by GOD'S TRUEMINISTERS will no t endure sound doctrine; bu t after t he ir own lusts h eap totbemselt.es teachers-turning away theirears from th e TRUTH."

Brethren, do you realize what thatmeans?

In Go d's tr ue Churc h, GOD has setHIS mini st er s in cha rge . He has g iventhem AUTHORITY. He has authorized

them to bind and to loose. He has toldthem to RULE-to preach th e WORDwhich, like a sharp two-edged swordcuts both ways- is p ro fit ab le for correc tion , reproof , ins truc tion . Bu t thisshows th e peo ple wo uld try to SELECTTHEIR OWN pastor-"heap to them-selves teachers." Not th e teachers Godset over them-those of THEIR choosing,who will show their kind of pervert ed"love" by t ur ni ng them away from theTRUTH, pleasing them with what theywant to hear!

God's t ru e m in is te rs will never dothat.'

October, 1957

Goel 's minisrers will never allow localassemblies to become mere social clubs!

Should the brethren HATE God ' s minister when he properly uses God's Word,and declares it boldly? I f he does this,God will CHASTEN many in the congregation thru him.

True, God says, "Now no chasteningfor t he p re se nt seernerh to be joyous,

bu t grievous."What Is Love?

Bu t what is GOD'S kind of LOVE inthis regard? "For whom the Lord LOV-ETH He chasteneth" (Heb. 12:6). "Myson, despi se NOT thou the chasten ing ofthe Lord, nor faint when thou ar t rebuked of Him," says God (verse 5). "I fye are without chastisement . . . thenare ye bastards, and no t sons" (Verse H) .

What about those few disgrun tl ed ,unhappy and rebellious ones who twistth e t ru th into believing a preacher shows"LOVE" by condoning them in theirsins? Notice the i nsp ir ed de fin it ion oflove:

"For this is the LOVlC of GOD, that wekeep His commandments" (I John 5:3) .

And we break one of God's commandments when we live in adultery.And when we STEAL from God by embezzling HIS TITHE, we break ano ther !There are TEN Commandments-notjust o ne a bo ut the Sabbath!

God has given instruction in HISWORD as to how His ministers whom Hehas set in authori ty shall deal with thosewho have t hus depar ted f rom HIS LOVE,and who s ti r up d is sens ion among brethren.

Authority to Act!

We l ea rn by exper ience. In past yearsyour Pas to r t ri ed to show "love" by no tact ing drast ical ly or harsh ly with suchpeople. God has punished him, andbrought him to see how such peopleMUST be dealt with, for a little leavenwill leaven the whole lump. And hereafter God 's min is te rs will demonst ra teIN POWER, if necessary, the authorityGod has g iven , and carry out His instructions, that the love and the spi ri tualgrowth of THE MANY shall no t be per

verted and destroyed by FEW!If, in any local church, one membe r,or a few, offend and endanger the spi ritual health of th e whole body, Jesus 't ea ch ing is t o "CUT IT OUT," for it'sbetter to enter into th e Kingdom withon e arm, or one foot, than to perish ingehenna fire'

In this way, it shall be possible in thefuture for ALL the membership to beFILLED with the true LOVE and theJO Y of God the Father-and, rejoicingt oge the r, we may PRESS FORWARD toward the mark for the prize of th eHIGH CALLING of God in Christ Jesus!


9/12

Should Y ou ASSEMBLEWithout a Minister?

We know you brethren long for local church fellowship. TVe knowyou need it. BUT, should you assemble by yourselves without a

minister whom God has sent to feed the local fiock?

by Herman L. Hoeh

H UN DREDS OF new members havebeen added to God's Church thispast summer. Many will a ttend

the Feast of Tabernacles this year. Theywill return home from the holydays filledwith the joys of pe rsonal fellowship.

Soon they beg in to visit with nearbybrethren. With social fellowship comesthe inevitab le desire to assemble on thesabbaths for round-table discussions.

Many feel the necessity of social con

tact with brethren. They equally desire tolearn more about the Bible. What couldbe bet te r than meeting each sabbath forBible study, it is reasoned! And thinkof the social fellowship!

Immediately some will think of Hebrews 10:25. "We should assemble ourselves together," they will say.

But what happens?Wherever groups gather together a

dominant individual inevitably arises.By force of personality others beg in tolook to him-even t hough he may no tunderstand the Bible as well as they. Hebecomes a leader. Ye t he may no t be

capable of keeping order. He is usuallythe center of arguments, doubts anddivisions. Dissension and er rors gradually arise. Some bre thren leave in disgust-soured on the t ru th.

Is this Cod's way of feeding the flock?

New Testament Example

The re are two methods by which wecan LEARN the solut ion to this problem:1) by New Testament exam-ple, 2) byJesus' instruction.

First, let us understand the example ofthe Bible itself. Wea r e experiencingtoday the same problem which confronted the early, inspired, Spiri t-fi lledChurch of God. The apostolic Churchwas a scattered Church (Acts 11: 19 ) .So are you brethren today! But what didthat early scattered Church do?

Open your Bibles t o Acts 11. Noticethat some "which were scattered abroad"(verse 19 ) "came to Antioch . . . anda great number believed, an d turnedunto the Lord. Then tidings of thesethings came unto the ears of the churchwhich was in Jerusalem." What didthey do? Notice it! "They sent forthBarnabas, that he should go as far asAntioch" (verses 20-22).

Barnabas was a trained teacher (Acts13: 1 ). Barnabas also sought out Paul(verses 25-26), who had already beentrained personally by Jesus Christ (Gal.3:17 -18). They were eminently qualifiedto feed the flock.

Jesus Chr ist d irec ted His apostles atJe rusa lem to send pastors lest the Ant ioch b re th ren would assemble w it houtleadership. The SAME example occursin Acts 14.

The apostles, Barnabas and Paul, fledthe city of Iconium because of persecution (verses 1-5). They came to Lystrawhe re the Jews soon attacked them asthey were conducting their evangelisticwork. Ther eupon they fled to Derbe(verse 20). In each of these cities theapostles were prevented momentari lyfrom con ti nu ing the ir ministry. Theysoon returned, however, to confirm thedisciples in the fai th (verse 21). Nowobserve verse 23: "And when they hadordained them elders in EVERY church,and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the lord."

Paul did no t establish churches withou t pastors! EVERY local church had itspastor. Jesus called His people sheep.They need a shepherd. Paul thereforegave them pastors , or shepherds, whowould feed the flock. We are NO different today. God's people still need pastors to lead them into truth.

And notice, too, that they were ordained, with prayer and fasting, by theapostles. God did not leave it to theb re th ren to gathe r together and to follow anyone who had a desire to becomean elder. In these cities, where hundredswere being converted. Paul establishedlocal churches and orda ined elders forEVERY church! But beforc ordainingelders, Paul's practice was to teach thempersonally, both in public and in t he irhomes. He said so in Acts 20: 17, 20.

This is God's pattern-Gad's WAY.I f we are to enter the Kingdom of

God, we mus t come under the government of God. We must learn to conductourselves God's WAY. Chris ti an ity is aWAY of life.

Joined to Christ

To many people, a local congregat ionbecomes a place of social rather than

spiritual fellowship. People join themselves together, instead of being joinedto Christ, In John 15:5, Jesus said: "Iam the vine, ye are the branches." Whatwou ld you think if the branches wouldsay to themselves, let us bundle ourselves together? Yet that is exactly whatyou are doing when you meet of yourown accord without ministers!

To be a Chri st ian you need to "abide"in Christ-you need to ln: by His in

struction. Do the branche s of a grapevine receive the ir sap f rom each other?Or do they receive it from the centralstump? You need t o ' receive your spiri tual power from Christ-the vine. No tfrom a branch-an individual whothinks he would like to hold a studygroup on the sabbath.

Your spiritual fellowship is not merely with one another, but "with theFa ther, and with His Son Jesus Christ"t hrough the Holy Spi ri t ( I John 1: 3) .Notice what John wri tes in verse 6: "I fwe say that we have fellowship withHim, and walk in darkness, we lie, and

do no t the truth."I f

you claim to havereal fellowship with God, and "walkin darkness"-disobey the instructionof the Bible-you are nor doing thetruth. You are actually cut off from realfellowship with the Heavenly Father.

"But if we walk in the l ight"- i f weobey the Biblical instrucrion-"we havefel lowship with one another" (verse7).How plain! In order to have real fellowship with one another, you need toabide in the teachings of Jesus and Hisapostles-you need to follow the example and the instruction of the Bible,which is ABSOLUTE and FINAL AUTHORITY!

New Testament Instruction

Now let us turn once again to Hebrews 10:24-25. What is the purposeof assembling in local churches? "Toprovoke unto love and to good works . . .exhorting one another."

Notice carefully that Paul explains tbepurpose of our assembling, but he doesno t explain HOW the local assemblyshould be conducted. To understand this,we mus t turn to o ther verses which explain this phase fully.

In Eph. 4: 11-17 Paul explains that


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Page 10

Chri st gave evangelists, past ors andteachers and o the r ministerial offices "forthe perfecting of the saints . . . for theedifying of the body of Christ: till weall come in the unity of the faith. andof the knowledge of the Son of God,unto a perfect man . . . t ha t we hencef orth be no more children, tossed to andfro, and car ri ed about with every wind

of doctrine, by the slight of men, andcunning craftiness . . . bu t speakingthe truth in love, may grow up into himin all things."

What is the purpose of the mini st ry?To ins truct the brethren to grow in

love and in good deeds-exactly as Heb.10:24 mentions. Then God intends thepastors to set the right example and toinstruct the flock which should assemblewith a minister. IF BRETHREN COULDACCOMPLISH THIS BY ASSEMBLINGWITHOUT A MINISTER, THEN JESUSWASTED HIS TIME TO TRAIN INDIVID-UALS TO DECOME PASTORS OR ELDERS.Then He was mi st ak en in training thedi sciples to preach and to feed the flock,if the flock could feed itself!

The very fact tha t the min is try is FORthe edifying of the church is PROOFPOSITIVE t ha t a ssembl ing without ashepher d will NOT l e ~ r l to 1Inity andperfection in knowledge . Without apas tor, disunity, c ont ent ion and e rr orwill inevitably arise in a local group.Experience proves it f

Wher e Two o r Thr ee Gat he r Tog et he r

But d idn' t Jesus promise that wherever two or three brethren gather together, He will be in t hei r midst ?

Th e common misappl icat ion of thistext comes from careless reading. Christwas discussing with His apost les thematter of making b ind ing decisions inthe church (Mat. 18: 17). He promisesto back every decision---even where onlytwo or three are gathered together INHIS NAME!

What does " in H is name" mean?I t means "by His authority"! We bap

tize "i n the name of Jesus Chris t" -"byHi s authority." Bu t Jesus never gaveauthority for Hi s converts to hold meeti ngs by themselves without a pastor!Any who do so are no t acting accordingto Jesus' commands. They are going con

trary to Chris t' s authori ty. II e does no tpromise to be in their midst. Besides,according to the pattern laid down inLev. 23:2-4, God orders His mini st er sto convoke assemblies-to order meetings. God tells us upon whi ch days wemust meet, and He orders Hi s ministersto tell the peopl e when and whr-re Hewants the assembl ies held. It is God' sdoing, not man's. Mini ste rs are God 'sbond-servants and the s hephe rds of theflock.

Now we can also under st and clearlyother New Testament passages. In writ-

The GOOD NEWS

mg to Philemon, Paul spoke of "thechurch in thy house" (Philemon 2).This is no t speaking of brethren gathering for discussion groups or Bib le s tudies. It is s p f ' ~ k i n gof a church-an organized body of saints-over whomPhilemon presided. Notice that Pauladdressed him as "fellow-laborer" (verse1). In verse 24 Pau l lists "Mark , Aris

tarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow-laborers." These men were elders andevangelists laboring with Paul in theministry. Philemon was also a "fellowlaborer"-a minister. Paul even calls him"a partner" (verse 17). Th e churchin his house was NOT without a pastor.

Be THANKFUL

Another important considerationmany brethren s ti ll ove rlook is tha t th elocal church is for the instruction ofthose who are convert ed. It is no t theplace to convert outsiders! Ye t it seemsthat some, not understanding this important principle, want to ho ld s abbat h

study groups to convert ou ts ide rs . Andsometimes the unconverted are the veryones who dominate the meeting!

Mr. Armstrong has learned by experience that every group needs competent spirirualleadership. I t cannot be lef tto zealous, but unwise, desire to haveChristian fellowship. True fellowshipcomes by obedience to God's WAY. Event hough many of you are scattered andhave no r egul ar s abba th service, yet bethankful that you are being instructedthrough two magazines, The PLAINTRUTH and The GOOD NEWS, andThe Ambassador College Correspondence Course.

You can hear the daily broadcastsyou actually hear Mr. Armstrong on theradio in your own homes! When the"World Tomorrow" Broadcast is on theair, you are attending, in a sense, achurch service with a minister. This ishow God is feeding His flock!

Let's realize our blessings and bethankful, no mat te r whe re we are. Bu tlet's be obedient and doers of God'sWAY. He knows best!

Instead of murmuring about the lackof t ra ined minis terial he lp -we are trying our best to train those whom Godgives-why no t do as Jesus said: "The

harvest indeed is plenteous, bu t the laborers few: PRAY t he re fo re the Lord ofthe Harvest"-Jesus-"that he sendforth laborers into his harvest"? (Luke10:2). That is your duty, brethren!

Question Box( C ontinued from page 2)

there before the Lord thy God , a nd t ho ushalt rejoice" (Deut. 14:22-27).

The second t i the- the t en th t ha t God

October, 1957

wants us to nsf', which is another andseparate tenth from the first tithe thatHe reserves for Himse lf f or the carryi ng o ut of the gospel-the second t ithewe arc to use LO arrend the festivals.Bu t let us read further: "Thou mayesrNOT eat within thy gates the tithe ofthy corn, of thy wine . . . bu t thouMUST eat them before the Lord thy God

in the place which the Lord thy Godshall choose, thou, and thy son, and thydaughter" (Deur. 1 2:17 -18) .

Here is a posi tive command no t touse the second tithe at home if you areunabl e to attend. You must use it toenable you to a tt end the festivals at theplace which God chooses. If the moneyis spent for any other putpose, then youare breaking a command of God-youare not learning to fear His authorityand you are cheating yourself of thewonderful bless ing of fel lowship withoth ers of like faith.If for unforeseen circumstances you

are unable to attend the festivals, andif you are prosperous, it would be theright and brotherly duty to enable othersto use your tithe. It can be sent to Pasadena, with an explanation that it is toenable o ther s to a tt end the festival. Butif you are like most of the brethren,no t havi ng many worldly goods, and asmall income or none at all, and if youare unable to come to r he ff'srivul, youshoul d save it un ti l the n ext year or fortwo years, if necessary, when you willthen have enough to assemble whereGod has chosen to place Hi s name.Meantime, you will be observing thefestivals at home just as you would atth e feast.

In many cases we try to aid the poorerbreth ren th rough the extra second titheof those few who have more thanenough. But only those who have fa ithfully saved their insufficient second tithedeserve the ext ra help. If you haven 'ttried to save your little, God cannotdeem you worthy of Hi s extra assistance.

CALENDAR(Continued from page 6)

Now We Ask Yo u Questions

Now it is our turn to ask you to proveall thingf. Have y01 l already proved thatthe Sacred Cal enda r whi ch we publi shis identical wit h t ha t preserved by Godthrough the Jewish people?

Are the ministers in the Church ofGod able, in due time, to clear up puzzling quest ions and seeming contradict ions about the calendar? Do they "readin the book of the law of God distinctly,and g ive the sense and cause the peopl eto understand the reading?"


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D o e s t h e

AuthorityOld

OverTes t amen t H a v eChristians Today?

The Old Covenant is abolished. Then why turn to the Old Testamentto learn which LAWS we are to observe?

by Herman L. Hoeh

T HE OLD covenant was the marriage agreement that united theLORD and the nation I sr ae l in

to a husband and wife relationship.When Israel sinned, th e covenan t wasbroken. When Christ, th e husband, died,the covenant ceased to be in force. Deathended the marriage agreement-the oldcovenant.

Tod ay t he t erms and conditions of anew covenant-a n ew mar rI ag e agreemen t - a r e opened to us as .Christ ians .In the new covenant th e laws of Go dwil l be written in ou r hearts and mindsno t on tables of stone or in a book(I I Cor. 3:3) .

Therefore, since the old covenant isabolished, why refer to Exodus 2 0 - apart of th e old covenant - to prove thatt he t en commandments are still in forcetoday?

And, why refer to Deuteronomy 16to prove how we ought to obs er ve t heannual festivals? To Leviticus 27: 30 toprove that tithing is one of God's lawsfor us today? And why use Deuteronomy 14 to enumerate which are th e clean,

healthful meats?Yes, wHY?-since th e old covenantIS abolished!

The Usual Argument

It is a common assumption-acceptedby the great majority of the Christianprofessing world- tha t the Ol d Testament HAS NO AUTHORITY FOR US TODAY! Th e usual argument is as fol lows :

"The laws of the Old Tes t amen t area part of the old covenant. They beganwith Moses. God never made th e oldcovenan t w it h Abraham; He made itonly with t he ' Jew s' at Sinai. Besidesthat, Christ abolished the law a nd b ui lta New Testament church."

You have hea rd t hi s argument before.\ '{Ihat is wrong w ith it)

First, di d God's law begin at Sinaiw it h t he old covenan t? No! Let's noticewhen it really commenced.

Th e Sabbath-which is part of th ebw-began at th e close of th e six daysof physical re-creation-nor in th e daysof Moses. God b.dlo ueil th e seventh day.He made it holy t ime 2500 years beforeMoses! Read it in Genesis 2: 3. It is sinto profane whatever Go d hallows ormakes holy. Th e heathen-f rom their

ow n historical records-knew of th eSabbath long before the days of Abraham. Therefore God's law existed beforeAbraham. That's why Abraham had toOBEY God's law (Gen. 26: 5).

Ano ther poi nt of th e law is "Thoushalt n ot c ommi t adultery." How couldit have been a "sin against God" forJoseph to commit adultery, if the tencommandments were nor in existenceprior to Moses? (Gen, 39: 9) .

Second, how could Abraham keepGod' s commandments , if they di d no texist? (Gen 26 : 5). Th e undeniablefact remains that it was SIN to breakeveryone of th e ten commandments be-fore Moses.

Here is what mos t p eopl e don't realize. God's i nexorable laws have beenin act ive force from the beginning. Th efact that God wrote them down ontables of stone merely means that Godcataloged them for us. Men w ri te downlaws of physi cs , chemist ry, a nd mat hematics in a hook They catalog theselaws for ready reference , bu t their writin g t he n at ur al laws does no t originatethem anymo re t han Newton's "law

ofgravity" brought gravi ty inca being!WE TURN TO EXODUS 20, not because

th e old covenant is binding, BUT BECAUSE IN THE OLD COVENANT ISFOUND THE ONLY PORTION OF SCRIP-TURE WHERE ALL THE COMMANDMENTSARE LISTED SYSTEMATICALLY. Let 's re-member that.'

Th e ten commandments are not binding because they were written in s tone ,bu t because they are God's law from creation. Only in EXOlILLs 20 do we haveall th e points of the law. James , th ebishop of Jerusalem, quo ted f rom Exodus 20 when he wanted to enumeratet he p oi nt s of "the law of l iber ty 'v-i -rheten commandments ( James 2: 10-11 ) .TVe are to [ol lo tc [ames' example todaywhen quo ti ng the commandments.

Th e Book of t he Covenan t

Th e same pi ti ful a rgument utilizedagainst the ten couuuaudrnenrs is repeated concerning God's statute s andjudgments. Scri pturc pro\'CS the statutesa nd l iw s of God were binding principlesBEFORE Sinai (Exodus 18:1G).

If thcy were no t in force, how couldGod have told Noab BEFORE THE FLOOD

that c er tai n an im al s w er e "clean" andothers "unclean"? (Gen. 7: 2) . I f thestatutes and the laws began only whenthey were recorded in the book ofthe covenant by Moses, what right couldGod have in taking tithes of Abrahamand J ac ob 4 00 years ear lier? (Genesis14:20; 28:22).

Now consider this: Even though th edistinction he tw ee n cl ean and uncleanmeats was known to Noah, yet he di dno t tell us which the c lean are! WECOULD NOT KNOW unless they werelater recorded [o r us. An d we find thatre cor d in t he s ta tu tes and judgments(Lev. 11 and Deut. 14 ) which Godcommanded Moses to write. No lawwritten by Moses could make an animalunclean (unhealthful fo r food). Moses,under inspiration, merely codif ied thelaws for us Moses and the prophets"receiied the live ly or ac le s TO GIVE TOus" (Acts 7:58).

Th e prophets received th e laws fromGod. God, no t man, iusrirured them. Wereceived the laws of God t hr ou gh thewritten r ecord of the prophets who re

corded rhern for us when the O ld Testament was-still in force.

I n co rpo r at ed i n to t he Bible

You will remember that the ten commandments, as o rig in ally g iv en w erewritten in tables of stone by th e fingerof God. Th e lesser laws were writtenas a civil code in th e l et te rs of the Hebrew alphabet by Mose s in a book. How,t hen , d id the te n commandments cometo be written in a book today- the Bible?

Jesus said ma n shall live by "everyword of God ." God has commi t ted Hisrevela tion of essential knowledge to us

in th e form of a book- the Bible. Hetherefore caused the old covenant withits commandments , s tatutes and judgments to be incorporated into the Bibleso we would have a systematic formof Hi s laws. We refer to th e OldTestament for God's laws-not BECAUSEtbey are a part of th e old co ren.nu,which is lZO l onge r in force-BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE A PART OF THE BIBLE, th e very Word of God

In the New Testament, Paul quotedtwice from the book of the law ofMoses (Deu t. 25: 4) to prove his doc-


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trines ( I Cor. 9: 9 and I Tim. 5:18).Jesus used the old covenant as t h ~bas}sfor Hi s New Testament t each ing rnMatthew 5:17-48. Jesus recognizedthat th e old covenant was the only port ion of scr ip tu re where God 's laws weresystematically arranged. Instead of destroying God's law, he came " to magnifyit and make it honor able" ( Is aiah 42:21). He said: "I f you believed Moses,you would believe me . . ." (John 5:46). In place of the letter of the law,Jesus restored its spiri tual pr inciplesas it was in the BEGINNING! Jesusand the New Tes tament Church constantly r ef er red to the Old Testamentas FINAL AUTHORITY. Let us do th esame TODAY!

Whose OpinionCounts?

(Continued from page 4)ITY to make those decis ions to be basedon His revealed will. And He holdsthem RESPONSIBLE for seeking His will!

This of course appl ies only to thosewhom you know by the "fruits" areGod's true ministers.

And even then, if there is ever a

The GOOD NEWS

case when you have a real convictiont ha t o ne of God 's min is te rs is t each ingsomething contrary to His will, youought to, "obey God rather than men"(Acts 5: 29). Bu t knowing that anytrue minister of God will be honest inseeking the truth, be sure to discussth e matter privately with him. Remember that you are not to r ebuke an elderor m inister, "but intreat him as afather" (I Tim. 5: I ) . Then, any trueminister of God will study and pray overthe matter, and in du e time will eithershow you your error--or he will confesshis mistake and be thankful to find an dteach the truth.

God himself has chosen ministers whoare still quite human. But H is ministerswill remain yielded to Him and be willing to grow. It is HIS responsibility toremove them if they don't.

In all matters, then, it's God's opinionthat really counts!

God has specially "called" His ministers to act as His spokesmen- teaching the people His will. Christ set theexample (Matt. 7:29) when He astonished th e people by teaching withAUTHORITY. That authority is to be respected! It is no t respect to th e man, bu tt o th e office, and t o God who placed himin the office.

God's ministers need your prayers,and your love and co-operation in carry-

October, 1957

ing on this great work He has committed to all of us. Mr. Armstrong hasset a wonderful example by his love,humility, wisdom, zeal, and his constantwillingness to grow into more truth asGod reveals it. God's true ministers willconti nue to seek and to teach His will- n o t their own.

We realize the great responsibility

we have as God's ministers. We praythat you true brethren will respect theauthoritJI God has g iven us with whichto carryon His work. This work of Godis rapidly growing! To accomplish ourmission successfully, we need to practicethe way of order an d church governmentwhich God has commanded. This wayof God wil l be a g re at blessing to u sand to the millions who wil l h ear thetrue gospel because we have been willing to set aside our selfish interests an dto work together in harmony-underGod's guidance-in carrying out Hisgreat work.

Let us all submit ourselves to God'sgovernment in Hi s Church-and in Hi skingdom to come. As the true Church ofGod, le t us go forward together withlove and unity, guided by Div ine wisdom, and inspi red by a contagious zealto carry out with God's power andauthority the great work of proclaimingthe gospel of the k ingdom as a "witness"to all nations before Christ's soon return as King of kings.

WE THOUGHT that you would like a preview of Dr. Meredith's forthcoming diary to appea r nex t year in ThePLAIN TRUTH. Here is a candid picture of Dr. Meredith with the Pygmies in the Ituri Forest in the Belgian Congo.

Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 10) Oct_w

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Transcript of Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 10) Oct_w