good news 1957 (vol vi no 01) jan.pdf

8/10/2019 Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 01) Jan.pdf

1/24

Christ Did Put Authority

and

RULE

in

His

Church

Lip-Stick is oii1y

a

tiritior question that spot-lights the

BIG POINT

-uzithority a d

KULE

it2 the Church.

I t

i s N O U ~ ilital that

uie

uizder-

sttirid w hich q ue sti om are

for

personal

decisio

z ,

ai2d which

use u o t ;

aud the relatiotz to presertbzg

lJNlTY.

gether

. .

I1011 / ' d l . l ' I t IS. ,tlld h f i l l

fo r bre th re n

tc i

dwell

to -

in

u n i t y " (

Ps,ilm

1 i l . Mof-

h t t

transl;irioii--m~

iiiother's

f;ivorite

cl1;tpter. )

I 1 7 / ~ j

shotild i t

be

1 0 J.(/I.c

o find

i i n i t y

. imong c hurc h me m be rs ?

WHY H u n d r e d s of Sect:,

Hii t \vli:it 's the connection Jus t \vhar

d o e s the

pre s e rva t ion o f unity have

to

d o wi th

the

m;ike-up question

A

gre.it

d e d

I.ook

L

[ II C L I I L I K L ~ I C ~ i

rliis

w o r ld .

Iiepe.itedIy

tcirn .isunder in

d i s pu te ,

cl i

vided in to

h u n d red s

of de nomina t ions

Ha ve n ' t

y o u

ever

\vondcrcd wbj

t h e y

'ire so divided-horc. all this sectarian

division

citiiie

;tboiit Few r e d i z e the

true renson.

Th e a ns wer

is

s i m p l e :

None

but

G od ' s

t rue

Chirrch follows

G ~ I ) ' sW A Y

of

prcscnzing

t h a t blessed h:irincmy.

Thc

wor Id's ch iirches hnve fol lowed the ways

t ha t have .reemcrl I . ; ~ / J / to

the

nattiral

mind .

And these

s;iiiie

w:iys wil l

seem

I-ight t o J o N . today, unless

you

heed

\vllat (;(Id reveals

b y H e r b e r t

W'.

A r m s t r o n g

Y e s , e ve n one of LIS today, failing to

t inderstand what God reveals, might

ex-

press

i t

a bou t

as

follows:

"Here 's th e way 1 see it: No

i i i i in

o r

board

of

ministers

has

any

right to

tell

me,

as an

i nd iv idual me mbe r , w ha t

I

miist or intist no t do. We e d i s tand

; h n e b efo re God. 1 think the w a y

to

prescrve unity is s imply t c follow

t h e

bns ic coinmand

to

love y o u r ne ighbor

,IS yoiirself. If we have

L O V E ,

each may

do

what is right in his o w n

eyes,

and

d1 rhc o t h e r

inembers

will have toler-

;ii~ce. chink the

only

firin fo u i i d a t i o n

for fe l lowship is LOVE

t o w a r d

those

w h o believe and act differently-even

cliffcrcncly

t ha n

the

i i i inisters believe.

" 1 don ' t want ," th is a t t i tude cont inues ,

" a n y minis ters te l l ing M E t h a t w h a t

I

believe

or

t h i n k

is

wrong.

I

have

just

;IS

iuuch r ight to my views

;is

they have

to the irs . They have no right to rob m e

o f free moral agency. W he n

m y

wife

c;in come

to

church w ith l ip-s t ick on, and

I can work on the holy-days as I please,

; i d

ke e p

Penremsr on Sunday

if that

s e m i s r i g h t to me, o r observe Passover

( i n

the 13th ins tead

of

t he 14 rh ,

and

en-

c o ~ i n t e r n o t critical disapproval, bur

LOVE-when the Ch ur ch recogn izes m]

right

to

my honest views-when the

ministers

sh o w

LOVE

toward

us

as free

ind iv idual s w i th minds of

o u r

o w n nnd

rights

o f

oi i r o w n , t h e n xve will really

IiNJOY

coining

to c hurc h ,

a n d

t he n we

shall have peace ;ind

UNITY, f o r real

/ o i , c J will d w a y s let c;ich

of

11s

do as

we

please,

and

always will

rise

above

differences.'

This

naturnl,

carnal

a t t i t ude migh t

,isk

fu r the r :

"lsn't this

d o c t r i n e

of Church gove rn -

i iiei it d angero us? Isn ' t m y re l ig ion a

prii, ' i te mat t e r ,

jus t

between me and

G d ?

SIiotilcI

I I O L

each

individiinl

de-

cide f o r r',i??zself such issues as

the

r igh t

o r w r o n g o f ma ke -up , o r how to

figure

thc corrcct day fo r Pentecos t . or whechci

divorce

and remarriage

is a

s in , accord-

ing

to t h e n.ay he, individually, sees i t ?

I f I

have t o

let the C hurc h , thru its

min i s t e r s , ru l e me , doe s n ' t t ha t rob me

of free mora l agency?"

What's WRONG W i t h

T h i s ?

The s e op in ions e xpre s s the m i t u r d


2/24

Januar , 1957

; i t t i t l l < l c . . imt re:lsoning of the human

m i n d . l h e s e o p i n i o n s ;inti 'questions

d e -

I ITL'

First of

;ill. r I i o y o i r might not h.ive

rliought of it in this light, this is the

identicnl concept

held

by those

w h o

;irgtie tliiit i t mikes no difference z ~ ~ h i c h

i l C / j

\ve

observe 21s

the

Sa bba th . Froiii

y o u r

o w n

rc i isoning, qxir t f ro in the

Biblical revelation,

y o t i wotild

never be

; ibk to see \vhether it makes any differ-

ence which D A Y

is

observed-or whet ier

i i n y is observed.

"Oh. but tiiiit's different," some will

s ~ y . T he Bible c o m m a n d s

11s

to ke e p

the

seventh day,

b:it I

can ' t see where it

condemns

l i p s t i c k ."

But thousands say:

"I

can ' t see

where

the B ible c omma n ds me t o ke e p

the Sab-

bath ." Mil l ions th ink the Bible

s.iys

the

J W

is done

;iw;iy.

W h a t ' s \VRON(; wirh this concept ol i t -

lined

above k t ' s s un in i ii r iz e the wh o l e

reasoning. I t s imme rs down

to

the idea

t h a t e d i

individual

m us t be f re e

to

de -

cide

for

himsrlf

\ v l i a r is

riglit , o r w h a t

is wrong,

f o r him. I t all revolves nroLlnd

;I

false ide;i of

w h a t c.onstitutes f r

that e'icli m e m b e r

o f God's

Church, in

oi-der no t

t o

be robbed o f free nioral

;igeii


3/24

:IS we shall sec

:I

little I:lter, placeci His

( ; O V E R N M E N T

;ind centr:il ;iuthority in

His

Chllrch, there w a s no such nuthority

in

these

sects

rh ry

/ ~ . i ~ d

h i s idea

of

ha v ing I.OVI: f o r those wi th whom

tiley

disngreed. But the

I ) I V I N F L o i , e 01

God-the s a me Sp i r i t r h n t

guides

a l l

bre th re n in

GODS W A Y ,

i n to

AI- I . l R L l l H

-was not the kind of

love

they

had.

The ir i i timan love only

i/ii,ji/cd

them

j , ,

LWOV

I t

proved no founda t ion fo r

unity. I t broiiglit repeated I)I\ISION.

The n C ons ra n t ine ,

Romnn

Empe ro r .

tIie prophe t i c Be a s t

of

tha t day, m d e

Christianity

(

falsely

so-called

)

:in of-

fici.11 religion

o f

h i s gove rn ine n t . H e

:\bolished

the

sectarinnistn-forced a

uni ted Cathol ic Church under his d ic ta-

torship, put iron

I < I ~ I . I ~

n to the C hurc h .

From this the papacy developed. Other

sects

Xvere

exterminated by soldiers and

governiiient police. Millions of ma r ty r -

d o m s fol lowed. The t rue Chi i rch of COII

was forced

t o

Hee

t o the

wilderness

t o

cs is t .

T h e Ch u rch evolved the primacy of

Peter

doctrine.

Ih e p

riri

c i p l c o f ;iii

t lior-

i r a t ive gove rnme n t in

the Chur ch

was

Lods-but / L J C I J . i 1 . i t e r i c of using

it

\\as

S;itans.

I t

w a s

n o t

GODSg m e r n n i e n r ,

but

th;it

of

iiien

sw iyed

by Saran.

Th i s p r ima c y of Pe te r doc t r ine on

which the

p;ip;icy

is

bui l t

represents

C hr i s t :is h;iving said

t o

Peter, in effect:

Peter,

I hnve t o leave the c;irth. 1 wont

be the

H e x I

of

t l ie Church

nny

longer.

Ini

ma king

YOGI, Peter,

the

Head o f the

Church,

in my stead. Im

iirning a l l

t he

a u tho r i ty ove r

t o y o i i ,

those wliom

men shal l

elect ;IS

yoiir siicccssors.

I m

bowing o u t . 1011 arc t a k i i i g over-tak-

ing my place , ru l ing in my s tead.

Th e R o ma n C : ithol ic

(birch does

not

call

C hr i s t the

present

l iving Head of

t he ir C hurc h . Tha t

title

they

give t o

their

pope. So theirs is NOT

the

g o v e r n m e n t

o f

GOD,

tlirii CHRIST

as

l i v ing

HEAD

f

the

Chiircli,

ru l ing

/hrN

minis ters of

HIS choosing.

On

the contrary , it is

;I

c o u n

rcrfeit

H I I MA N

soverniiient swziyed

by S;ltan.

Unti l the t ime

of

h t i i e r , t h i s c o u nt e r -

fc-ir

C:liurc.li

goveriinient,

however,

ilicl

p r e i ozt

r / i i

/ i / o r i The R o ma n

C hurc h

cont inued inany centuries

undivided.

B ut

the spstem of

ippIJ n : tlw pri+l(-;pl i n

Christ Jesus.

(

Phil.

2 :

5 )

. Is

Chris t s mind

divided?

T w o men in the Church

iit

Phi l ipp i

were in disagreement

over

sonic point .

In his letter

t o

the church there, Paul

gave t he m

a

c omma nd .

He

d i c j

NOT

sxy,

each o f

yor i go ahead

bel ieving what

is right in your own

eyes,

and have

tolerance toward the other . H c ra ther

c omma nde d tha t t he y he of thr

. r I l w z c j

~rtind

N THE LORD. (Phil. 4 : ) . N o t i c e

carefully, not merely of the

same

mind

No t the s a me mind in e r ro r . Bur I N THE

O n e p e r s o n

who

d id no t know pa s t

history correctly said that years ago,

w h e n

I

was

work ing a s

;I

minis ter wi th

the Sardis Church

(

R e v .

3 : 1-6)

which

God

says

i s now dead

(

spir i t t ia l ly) ,

a nd I did not agree with a fe w po in t s

of

doctr ine and prac t ice la id down

by

the minis te rs , tha t I d id

not

accept the ir

dictuins. But the Sardis Chtirch already

was spiritiially dead, and the

t ime

fo r

the Ph i l a de lph ia C hurc h ha d

come.

Wha t th i s pe r s on doe s no t know

is

t h a t o n o n e

occasion

the leader

of

t he

minis te rs of tha t Church admit ted to

me tha t t he C hurc h pos i r ion on a doc-

t r ine in ques t ion was wrong, and thz i t

I

was right-but,

he

said, the Cliiirch

wotild not dare correct its

error.

On another occas ion he admit ted to

me,

in wri t ing (

I

ha ve the l e t t e r ) , t ha t

God

had revealed to

ine a

gre a t T R ~ I T H

; ibotit our narional identity

as

the H O L I

of Israel. But neither lie nor his Cliiirch

w d d

LLLccpi

(Itis

TRU I H , eie~?

hoNgh

h e p v i i a t e l )

agreed

ir i i L [ . s

T R U T H O n

another occas ion th is minis te r

;Isked m e

t o deliberately RE~JECT ru th a n c l lighr

fro117 the Bible , and

to

preach

w h a t

he

(

Plerse c-oi i t i i i i /c

0 1 2

p ~ g e j

b R D


4/24

Page

i

T h e GOO1>

NEWS

Heart to Heart

Talk

with the

Editor

'1.

s t t o l l

1.1) be

explained th;it

pressurc

o f the du t i e s o f

thc

oCticc- in which

God

has placed me has delayed

more

t h a n

;I year

the

wri t ing

o f

t he two

kirticles a p p i r i n g i n this iiuiiiber.

1 hnve

sincerely fclt, after hnving read

these

art ic les se t in type , a f te r the wri t -

ing

o f r hcm hnd

gotten

"cold," tI1at the

trtitti will surely be made comple te ly

plain,

i i n d will be w h o l ly

accepted by

:111

members of


5/24

Page

decide, for hi inse l f , I I h'ct

is

sin. GOD

decides

that--and

reveals

i t by

His

L a w .

I h t , 21s stated

above,

God's

L A W

is

a

CIPI.ES

It

intist

be

defined. nnd ob

irrcorcling

t o it. SPIRIT.

I t s

I~ I I INCIPI .E S

must

he

applied rightly, guided

b y the

Holy

Spir i t , to m a n y

points

not l i terally

and specificnlly covered

by

its

letter

But , again ,

all

mei-nbcrs

o f

tlic (:litircIi

do

not have abil i ty right/? to apply

the

PRINCIPLESof the IALV, ;iidecl

by

Bibli-

cal examples , in

o r d e r

to

define \&,hat is

o r is not

SIN

in relat ion to s o m e of

t iesr

occasional

isolnted

qiiestions.

Tlie very fact of c l isqr

members del i ionst rates

th is

fact . And

i t

is

whew there

is such disagree1nent-

w h e n questions are

left undefine[l

by

CHRIST'S

au thor i ty and th reaten d iv is ion

in

the

B(dy-tliat t h e v e ry machinery

Ch r i s t set wi t h i n His Ch n rch fo r d r f i n -

i n g

such

quest ions

niiist be put

i n t o

action.

When there

is such

d i s a g r e e m r n r

m o n g

niembers--as we have alread y

seen

in the Church in the quest ion of

which day is the Passover-the 14th nr

the 15th Abib ; \vtiich

d a y

is I'entecost

-Monday,

o r

S u n d ay ;

is

t h e use of

m a k e - u p

a s i n ;

THEN

i f

ind iv iduals are

left

to

d ec i d e fo r themselves, each h:ls

decided, fo r

himself,

WHAT is

o r is

not

S I N

But

o d ~

O D

can

decide

an d

re-

veal

t o

11s WHAT

i s s in There fore

it

is

when such occasions ar i se th;it we must

resort

to THE W A Y Ch r i s t H i m se l f e s t ab -

lished by which HE defines what is

o r

is

no t

sin

in th i s m at t e r .

The

individtial

iiiernber is left a f ree moral

itgent

to de-

cide

WHETHER

t o accep t

it

and

O R E Y .

or

to

reject

GOD'SL A W , as Ch r i s t

by

HIS

WAY in the Ch u rch defines

it

;ind t o

disobey.

H u t

every ineinber

otlgllt to T RE M BI . ~ :

before such

a

decis ion . For " i f we S I N

WI I I VLLY, "

after

God

has

revealed

the

knowledge, '~tliere einaineth

n o more

sacrifice for s in , b u t

a

cer tain fearf~i l

look ing for of jud gm ent : ind fiery in-

d i g n a t i o n , w h ich shall

DIIVOIIR

the

a d -

versaries." Such a one : iutomatically puts

himself

out

of

God's

Ch u rch an d God's

grace.

gl e:lt > \ T a - - 3 1 1 I.A\S' OF SPIRI'IlrAl, F R I N -

. ind

ministers

i n his politic11 control de-

creed .

The

one

big Jisagreeiiieiit t l i ; i t

finally

red the tn t o t a l l y f r o m being any

loiiger Cod's

living

C:hurcIi,

;ind

started

tlie " I - ' l i i l ~ ~ ~ i e l p l i i ~ ~ "

l i t i rch .

w:ts t h e i i i a t -

t e r

o f (;ocl's h o l y


6/24

J a nua ry . 1957

Chris t

set

t i p in

His

Chiirc-11, hy

xtzliicli

HE defines for us-by His abso lu te

A U -

' l ~ H O l ~ l ' l ~ ~ - ~ v ~ i ~ i ts

or

is not

S I N

in the

c;ise

of qiiestions not specifically covered

h v the let ter of the I A w ?

To

t inderstand, we need to k n o w

\ YHY C;oJ

h;is

called ; ind chosen EIJEKS

w hi c h

He

has set in His Church . Al l

niinisters,

of

w h m v e r r a n k , a r e e l d e r s .

A n apostle is x i elder . A pastor is an

e lder . An cvnngel i s t is ;in e l d e r .

Some

eldcrs have h i g h er r m k t h an o t h e r s .

Rcm eniber . li tininn mind s, inater ia l

i i n d

carnal un t i l convers ion , are no t

made spiriri ial ly perfect

;it

o n ce . It is

;I

m;itter o f

GROWTH.

I n this process o f

sp i ri t un l g ro w t h , so me mi n d s d ev e l o p

in s p i r i t i d h i l i t i e s a n d k n o w l ed g e

mo re r ap i d l y t h an o t h e r s . S o me

~ipp ly

themselves mor e d i l igen t ly -s tudy hard-

er-spend inore t ime in prayer and s tudy

.tnJ med i t a t i o n . S o me h av e

;I

h i g h er

d eg ree

of

n;itiiral ab i l i ty . g reater dep th .

; ind God adds

sp i r i tual g i f t s accord ing

to o a r o w n

n;itural

:tbility ( M at . 2 5 : 1 5 ) .

Some have con t inued th is p rocess of

s~ ~ i r i t i i ; i l -~ i i i i i d edevelopiiieii t over a

longer span of peiirs t1i;in others.

Uo yot i re;ilize, bretlireri, i t I S /Dc.cc,

w h o ;ire I I L f ) . l t

d i t d t ? c c d ,

SPI1IIT~IAI.I.Y.

tli;it

;ire

spi r i tua l ly

OI.L)EK t h a n t h e

o t h e r s?

They i i u y

be younger i n physical

yenrs. Birr, spiri tually spcxking, they are

the

I:I.L)EIIS

in

the

C h u r c h ,

because they

; I I C

h p i r i r u d l y C)I.III:R.

A n d

i t

is rhese.

n o t

o n l y

older in spiri t t lal knowledge,

h i t

i n

;ibilities f o r the work of t h e

ministry,

w h o ~ i iC l i r i s t

Iias

CHOSEN as

His min is ters Th is is W H Y

God

calls

IIlcI11 the l ~ l . l ) l ~ l I s

A n d i r is

T H E S E ,

w l i o

f o r m t h e

c ~ ~ ~ t i l i l

L / / / h ) ~ i / ~ ,

r

the instruineii t witbiiz the

Cliiircli , thru whom

CHRIST

HIMSELF

may KliVliAI. the ti-lie definii ioii o f H I S

LA\\'. and S I T I I ~ I : iicli d i sp u t es

o r d i f -

fcreiites of opi n i on

A

H w d q i i ; i r r e r s

(:liLircli

C;o i \

h;is

;ilu.;iys

h x i ;I headqiixrters

~ ~ I i t i r ~ I i .

i i Lipostolic d:iys it

was

;it

Jertisalcni. A l l t h e o t h e r ch u rch es a n d

m e n i b e r s s c m e r e d

; ibrond

looked

t o

the

.?p:'"rlcs 'Wl l

eldct >

; I t JeI~llb;tlenl, who

v. ere led

; i n d JirccteJ

by ( h i s t ,

to settle

c . \ c I - ~ uch cioubtful point.

Y o u ;ii-e f a i i i i l i u , ( i f

c o i i i - h e , wi t h t h e

Jisptite th;it ;irose

in

the d i t i r c h ;it A n -

riocl i .

Tli;it

dis;igreenieiit t h r ea t en ed

to

d i v i d e

the

C h u r c h . T h e q u e s ti o n a t issue

was wliether it

was

r igh t o r w r o n g t o do

cer tain t h ngs-w ha kind of cond i c

was required-whether

i t

was sin-just

l ike th is cosmet ic quest ion . Th e head-

q u ar t e r s ch u rch a t J e ru sa l e i n R l K E D o n

t h e q u es t i o n . Th e i r r u l i n g was not their

own-they we re led in it by t h e Ho l y

Spir i t . I t

was

t h en

n o

lougev

a z ~ e ~ t i o ? ~

I t

was

t h e rea f t e r BOUND

I N H E A V E N

I t b e c a m e t h e

LAW OF GOD.

It was so

accepted

by

t h e Ch u rch a t An t i o ch. H ad

any ind iv idual member there d isagreed

-had any said , "I don ' t wa nt any min -

isters

at Jerusalem tel l ing me that what

I

bel ieve or th ink i s wrong .

I

have just

a s mu ch r i g h t to my views

as

they have

to thei rs that inernber would have been

resis t ing the DECISION OF GOD, bozrird

iiz

H e a z w z .

and would have been p i i t

o u t o f the Church.

Yes, i t may be t rue tha t the indivic1:ial

m e m b e r h;is jus t as much r igh t to H S

VIEWS as the n i in is ters have to theirs.

But when such a decision is renderect,

it is NOT the personal v iews

or

ideas

of

the ministers-i t is the revealed DE-

CISION

OF CHRIST,

HE

HEAD

F

THE

CHURCH

t

becomes, then,

:

specific,

T h e o n e BIG POINT in

j ' o i t r

/;je--that

wh i ch d e t e rmi n es

y o u r E T E R N I ~ ~ ~ Yis

the mat ter o f TOTAL

SliBMISSlON 70

THE

A U T H O R I T Y

OF

G o d

W h a t i s

it

t h a t cu t s i n an off f r o m God? I: is

R E

REI.I.ION against God's ALTHORITY

definite "THUS SAITH THE LORD."

Did G o d Put

GOVERNMEN'I

in

H i s C h u r c h ?

But, if t h e r e b e a n y le ft w h o s d l as .:

t h e q u es t i o n , D I D God

put

a c t u d goz'erri-

~ t i c n t ,

nd

RU I . E , in His Cliiircli?--ilid

H e actually invest Hi s min is ters wi th

Lintho~~tj'.' r d o es God

rule

His chil-

d ren

o d j ,

ind iv idual ly and personal ly .

thru the Bible ALONE, just as each in -

dividual sees

it

fo r liiinself - iere

is

the answer

Whar about

th is th ing o f

CHIII ILH

GOVERNMENT D i d G O D put i t there?

Does GOD orn inand 11s to be submissive

to

i t ?

F i v e o r s ix ar t ic les hnve bzen pub-

l ished in T h e GOOD E W S p ro v i n g t h a t

God d i d p u t g o v ern men t i n Hi s Chur c h

-that

God

ru lcs us collectively, in and

thru t ie ChLircIi, as well

as

individually.

Let 's make this P L A I N , o n c e a n d f o r

a l l

It

is indeed PLAIN in Y O U R

B I B L E

First , thcn.

i n I

Ciirint1ii;iits

1 2 , w e

have the p lain ins t ruct ion about the

sp i r i tual g i f t s God has put wi t h i n

His

Ch u rch . Verse 4 , there arc d ivcrs i t ics of

gif t s , f o r dif feren t purposes and func-

t ions in the C h u r c h . Verse 5 : t h e re a r c

differences o f iiClTiLi?2zstI.citioii.r.

What

i s an "ad mi n i s t r a t i o n ?"

I t

is

t h e office o f p e r fo rmi n g a fu n c t i o n ,

op-

erarinn, service. I t is the GOVERNING,

01

EXECITTING

fu n c t i o n . We have our

Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n b u i l d i n g o n t h e co l l eg e

campiis-containing the offices of the

executives who direct , manage, govern .

W h e n

we

speak

of

t h e Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n

a t Wash i n g t o n , D.C., we refer to the

fu n c t i o n

of

the Pre siden t . And wh; i t i s

t h a t ad mi n i s t r a t i v e fu n c t i o n ? Th e

EN-

FORCING of

t h e LAWS

of

t h e g o v ern -

ment-laws already made-uot t h e m a k -

So, t h en , t h e re a r e ADMINISTRATIONS

-or execu t ive, ndmin is t rat ive, g o z ' e r w

irig fu n c t i o n s

I N

GOD'S C H U R C H

Verse 6: T h e r e are diversit ies of ope r -

ations. That is, of activit ies being carried

o n . Now for th e exec utin g of thes:

rictivities. these varioLis oper:irions. n i l -

minis t rat ions , which become the

W O K K

an d

A C T I V I T Y

of

God's ChLIrch,

God

gives r o o n e t h e g i f t

of

wisdom, to

another knowledge, to o t he r s , fai th , to

others gifts of healing, etc. Does this

h av e an y t h i n g

t o

d o

wi t h ru l i n g , o r

g o v e r n m e n t ? D o e s o n e n e e d

m.riLom,

to

be

;I wise

and

just ruler Doe s one need

k n o wl ed g e o r faith to govern, to judge,

to

niake decis ions? Mosr nssuredly ie

does

N o t i c e verse 18:

I t

is GOD,not m a n

o r

the vote of incinbers , w h o sets m e m -

bers in var ious func t ions and offices, iii

it h6i.i pleir.iei/ HIM.

All

do not have the

s;inie

office,

o p era t i o n ,

or

ad mi n i s t r a t i o n .

l i t i t \ v h t ofiices

has

God

set in

His

Church

" A n d

GOD hat l i

set

some

in the

C:htirch,

first

APOSTI.ES,

secondarily

p r o p b e t i . thir,lly tc, '~hcr.r ( including

p as t o r s ) , a f t e r

t h a t n i i r d e s ,

then g i f t s

of healing,

h:Ips,

GO\JEl


7/24

Januar), 1 9 5 7

Page

-

m e n t ?

No. Goil h i s S ET . ~ o m e

? , Hi.(

ChiIrCfJ

fo

g 0 i 8 c ~ r . ~ 1 .

nd

when you res is t

t h a t g o v ern men t , Y O U

I ) i s O 1 j E Y

G O D ,a n d

that disobedience is S I N . thr penal ty of

which

is

I l I K N A I ~ ) l ~ A T ~ l - / f ~ i . r

of .id-

I .afio?r

We

find these ndiii inistrnti \ ,e ofices

d s o in Ephesians 4 . Let 's not ice

it

cure-

T h e r e

is

only O N E B O I )Y - ~i u e t r u e

Chtircli-verse it. An d ia tha t o n e

Chiircli , "H~-Gor&-g:tve some , u t ) o . ~ -

rles: a n d s o m e ,

/m~pbci t . i ;

a n d s o m e ,

e ' a v q

e1i.it.i; ;ind sonic'. p ~ r t o

. r ,

an d

I L " i C / l es.r;*.-w

H

Y

What i s the funct ion o f

these

offices:

". . . f o r the pcrfec-ring of t he

sc i i i a t . r ,

is ment ioned f i rs t . How can t l ie saints

be perfected, i f ench .

sctire points differently,

each

goes off

ii

different

w a y ,

cont roversy

and

divi s ion

sepnrates them and destroys unity :ind

coopern t ion ;ind I ,OVF


8/24

I'aye x

T h e GOOD NEWS

January, 1 9 5 7

ie/i.cI

:

for they witch fo r y o u r

sotils, as

they must g ive

a c c o u n t ' of

t h e i r R U L E

( H e b . l . 3 : 1 7 ) .

I n

wri t ing

t o

the

Clilirch

at (:orinth,

Pat11showed his :iuthority in I Cor.

4 :

18-

L

1

:

"Now sonic itre

ptiffed

up ,

as

thollgh

I w o t i l d n o t coiiie u n t o y o t ~ . ut I

will

come short ly , i f tlie I.ord will, and will

I;tio\\., no t

the speech

of t he m tha t a re

puf fe d

tip, but

the

power.

For

the K i n g -

h i 1

o f

God

is

n o t

in word,

btlt

in

p v e r . IVhirt ii'ill

1

ei

shlrll

I COVIC

I . I I Z ~ O

1O N

ii,ith

< I

roil,

or in love, and in ttle

spiri t of meekness?

: I - ?

1 3 : "It

is

c o i n i n o n l y

reported that there is forni-

c x io t i a mong you ,

and

sucti fo rn ic a t ion

:IS i s no t

so

much ;IS nained

among

t he

Gent i les , tha t one

s h o ~ i l d

ave his father's

wife. A n d ye are puffed tip, and have

l io t r d i e r

motirned.

that

he tha t ha th

d o n e

th is

deed

m i g h t

be

takell away

[ I o i i i ;iIl?ongyou .

F o r 1, verily,

as

a bs e n t

in body, but present in spirit , have

judged already,

as

tIiotlgI1

I

wer e present ,

coi iccrning

h im tha t

h a t t i so

done th i s

deed . . .

Tl ic re fo re

p t

away from

:111~)1ig

ourselves

r h t

wicked person."

1 i ~ c I e , hi-ettiren, is C;od's 11lII.E in

action, t h r u His chosen apos t le Is Jesus

( h i s t

' I 'HIi S A M E toi/ii],.i Does

C hr i s t

11111.f.. in 1 Ii:,

C h u r c h , tlirti

H i s

apostles

nnd ministers iu

tbi, . T ~ N L '

?1c"1t212er.

'1'0I)AY.' H e

does

He 's

tlie S A b f i :

today

Now

Luctliren, 1 1 .

we ; ire members

of

the t r t re

C h u r c h of God, that s;1111e

atitIiority-th:it same R I I I . E by CHRIST

t h r / /

H i s

Clio:,eii

ministers, is in His

C h u r c h

today.

I f

any do not wish to

s ubrn i t to GOI)'S t i i i - i i , ;IS God Hitilself

t i a s clioscn t o ncltlliiiister

It-THRL'


9/24

WHAT The Church Ruled

on

Make-up

and WHY

I

lhe seril

grLestioii

that

had

t o

be

deterniifzed

b y

Gods W o r d : 1s

i t s

i i s e

SIN?

H e r e i s t h e mzsuqer

.

. . iclith surpr i se Scr ;Pf i / res you

b), H e r b e r t W. A r m s t r o n g

tiis matter of the r i g h t ot w r o n g 16

using

innlie-up

wa s be c oming c on-

t rovers ia l . Some members had i n -

t ense

convic t ions one

\v:iy,

others

just ;is

decided beliefs

the

o the r

\vay.

M a ny we re

not

sure .

They

were wai t ing for the

(:htirch to define

the

answer

:IS

a plain

A n d so

th is m;ike-up ques t ion

b d to

hr ie t t lcd 70 pe rmi t it t o

rc>tiui?i

;I

qtiestioii-;i

s o u r c e

of

uncertainty, argir-

menr, genera t ing s t r i fe

;ind

division-

i n Gods C hurc h could not be a l lowed.

T

.

.

/ h i i s .si i /h tbc,

l o r d .

W H Y

the R u l i n g

Had t o Be

M a d e

What, t h en ,

\v:is

t he re a l qws t ion in -

vOlVed

The

question

w;is s imply th is : 1s

t he

iise

of

l i p s t i c k

m c l

other facial

ma ke -up

A S I N ?

Is

i t ;I S I N ? sonic

miSlit ejaculate in

surpr i se . Why,

I

never rhoiight of such

;I universnl

ciistoni ;is

be ing

n

S I N

Perhaps most

have never tlioiiglit

of

ir

in

this

light.

Y e t thnt

w a s the real

qt ies t ion, and the ministers

(it

Jesyis

Chris t a re required

to

k / z ow

what

is s in.

Gods min i s t e r s a re c omma nde d by

God

to

s h o w t he pe op le the i r

S I N S ,

to

tcnch them

:ilso in

the

right

i ~ q . r f

n t division in the

C

1

i

rc

11.

W e

in

i

n

is

ters

ha d

to

k

I

o

I

-we

had

t o

be

SRI; , : ~ n d o

b e of o n e

i i i i i i c l

speiking

the

s;iiiie

thing.

W h o

DECIIIIS

What Is S i n ?

The very

hrst

t h ing

we ;ill

n e e d

to

g e t settled oncc f o r ,111

i n

u i i i n i i i i c l s is

th i s :

GOD I X I E S N O T A1.I.OW

[IS

1.0 1)E-

CIDE WHAT I S

S I N

;od docs not ; d ~o w

y o t i lay me inbe rs to decide

what

is right

01-

\vrong f o r Ion .

n o r does He d k i w

His ministers to dccide what is right

fo r us,

o r

fo r y o u

GODHIMSE L I :

lays d o n n

the law

Sin

is the transgression o f

C;OI)S law. no t

our

ideas or convictions.

The

Apostle

Paul was not permit ted

t o

decide

119htit

v;as right

o r

wrong fo r

, ?i?i]. e p l : i in ly

says,

in holy Scripture ,

thar

had he

d o n e

merely

those th ings which

b e i houy j t

were r igh t , he would have yie lded to

lust.

H e p lain ly w ro te :

I

had not known s in ,

but

h j f the Lnw:

fo r

I

ha d no t known

lust,

except the Law had said, Th ou s ialt

i i o t

c(JVet.

And thas Law is the Spiritual

I.aw-the

Ten Coinmandi i ients

Brethren, is there a n y

TRUTH

m o r e

clear

to

us i n God s t rue C hurc h

t ha n

the t ru th tha t ~ i i z

.r t h e trnmgr-esrion of

GODS

L A W ?

Tha t s wha t s in

i.r

Not

the transgression of our ideas , our con-

victions, our beliefs , our consciences

God

p e r m i t s n o m a n

c o

decide for

himself

W H A T is

s in . God doe.s allow

each

individual t o decide W H E T H E R h e

will obey, or zchether he wi l l c ommi t s in .

Bu t , s ome migh t e xc la im, I never

though t

of

any connect ion be tween l ip-

s ti c k a nd the Te n C omm a ndme n t s Su re -

ly

t he

Ten

C o m m a n d m e n t s

do

not say

myth ing a bou t pa in t ing the l ip s o r the

face.

Perhaps yoti have

;I

s u rp r i s e c oming .

Ju s t read on, and yoti shall see

t h a t

Gods

I.aw i s d/- i i zc /z /s iz~e .t

covers the

W H O L E

I K J I Y

o f

man.

It

covers,

i n

principle,

So wha t

we

needed to find out, in

o rde r to know whe the r the us e of l i p -

s t ic k a nd ma ke -up i s wrong , wa s

just

as

s imple a s tha t Th e

only

que s t ion

was

wliril icr i r

transgresses

GODS AW Is

its tist

SIN If it is,

t he n

it is

plain

e nough

t o all tha t

e ve ry me mbe r

iim.rt

thirzg

tha t can be s in

c / i c t

1 i 7 ) 7 ) i 7 2 g

Whoever

continucs

i n

sin,

wilfully, Lifter receiving

t h e

knowledge

o f

t he

truth is d o f i i f k e i / o

etei.?2d

D E A T H

I t is not enough

to

say , as

one meinbcr

wro te

m e : I

am willing

t o

obey

God i n

all

th ings which

I

THINK.

a re H i s

will .

We

m i i s t obey what CODSAYS is His

\ \ i l l , and cease doing what Go11 S A Y S

is sin.

L ip -S t i c k

Not

M e n t i o n e d BJ N a m e

The Engl ish word l ip-s t ick is not

used anywhere in any

English

transla-

cion or version

of

the

Bibic.

Nx

do w e

f ind the mode rn words ma ke -up o r

cosmetics.

Most

me mbe rs ha ve

he-

l ieved tha t the r ight

or

w r o n g of

using

m a k e - u p

is

not directly or specifically

ment ioned in the Scriptures .

Ac t~ ia l ly , Gods Word

d o e r

reveal

diwctlj,

and specifically whether

rhis

nlteration of th e appearance of the face

i s s in This wil l come

as

qui te a surprise

t i

nearly

every

ineniber.

For

not even

the ministers realized this until ,

as

i n -

s t ruments in the hands

of

C H R I S T ,

we

began making special s tudy and researc:]

in to t h i s ques t ion. The reason is tha t

i t

is not clenrly translnted, in otir English

vcrsions, into

the

words

tha t we use

today.

B ut w h e n we c a me be fo re C HR IST,

t he

l i v ing He a d of the Churc h, beseech-

ing H i m in p ra ye r to reveal

HIS

A W

as

it appl ies

t~

th is point and t o settle t h e

ques t ion even

;is

H e sert led the Ant ioch

c i rc umc is ion que s t ion th ru H is He a d-

quarters Cl iurch a t Jerusa lem ( Acts

1 5 ) ,

t he n the

truth

was plainly revealed.

HOW is i t

poss ible tha t pa int ing

t h e

l ips, cheeks, or eyes could be either f o r -

bidden o r approved by Gods L A W ? Its

t ime we rea l ize tha t the Spir i t t~a lLaw


10/24

Zhe GO011 NEWS

c . o v r r

good news 1957 (vol vi no 01) jan.pdf

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