Good News 1975 (Prelim No 05) May

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Vol. XXIV No. 5

ARTICLES

6

10

2

24

26

FEATURE

15

The Good NewsMay 1975

Seven Proofs of God's Church:Proof 6 (Part 2 - God's True Church Is Organized

In the Image of God?

Here's How You Can Change Your World

et To Know Your Bible

The Tithing Principle

Can Prophecy Fail?

Update

ABOUT OUR COVERiblical ignorance is a hallmark

of our age . This month we featurean article ( Get to Know YourBible ) discussing the canonizationand preservation of God 'swritten Word - His messagewhich is still very much formankind today.

Warren Watson - N

Ed itor in ChiefHerbert W. Armstrong

EditorGarner Ted Armstrong

Sen ior Ed itorsDavid Jon Hill Raymond F . McNair

Managing EditorBrian W . Knowles

Associate Ed itors

Gary L Alexander Lawson C. Briggs Robert LKuhn Richard H . Sedliacik . John R Schroeder

Contributing EditorsDavid L Antion Dibar Apartlan. Robert Boraker.Arch Bradley Peter Butler . Ronald L. Dart .Charles V . Dorothy Gunar Frelbergs D . PaulGraunke . Charles F. Hunt ing . Ronald Kelly. Den-nis G . Luker . Stephen Martin Gerhard O . Ma r x Leslie McCullough Rodenck C . Meredith . LLeroy Neff David R . Or d . George Ritter . Paul S .Royer . Eugene M . Walter Clint Z immerman

Copy EditorsRonald Beldeck Kathleen Prohs

Art EditorGreg Smith

Editorial StaffLucy Barnes Randall Cole Le ila McMichael Ronald B . Nelson . Carole Ritter Janet Schroe-der

Business ManagerFrank Brown

Circulation ManagerBenjamin Chapman

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SEVEN PROOFS OF GOD S CHURCH

P OWER CORRUPTS " goes th esaying . And, l ike many"sayings ," it is in error. Godpossesses all power - and Jesus said,in commissioning His disciples: "All

power is given unto me in heavenand in earth (Matt. 28: 18). Yet , ourGod is incorruptible, as is JesusChrist , the firstborn from the dead ,and the Head of His Church

The abuse of power is certainlycorru pt. The ageless lessons ofpower wrongly used by carnal menis the most noxious and repetitiouslesson of all of mankind's history.

But what s "power"? I t has manydefinitions in your dictionary, from

force , energy and the ability to dowork in the physical sense to thepolitical definition of the ability tohold sway over other men's minds.

PROO

PartTvvo

wine with His disciples , and hadspoken out about the one who wasto betray Him.

The disciples were not "saints" byany means - but carnal , albeit sin

cere and willing men , whose humannatures had not yet been changed bythe supernatural begettal of Go d 'sHoly Spirit. Their reasoning wasstill physical, carnal, and thereforeselfishly oriented . Though Christwas exceedingly heavy of heart ,they couldn ' t truly empathize withHim , reaching out with their heartsand emotions to let Him know theybore the same sorrow. Instead ," . . . There was also a str ife among

them, which of them should be accounted the greatest" (Luke 22:24).

They wanted to know specificsAt that time they wanted Christ

Power and authority are , believeit or not , given into the

to name names , and designate posi-GOD'STRUE CHURCH S

ORGANIZED

hands of Christ's ownministers And , thoughprayerfully it is a rarity,tha t power c n beabused One of the most

tions , ranks , titles , andofficial status But JesusChrist said nothing aboutwho should ultimatelylead , even though Peter ,John , James , all werepr e s ent. Very likely ,asic cravings of human

nature is the desire for power. Fromthe time we were children our ownhuman nature of vanity , jealousy ,lust, greed - the desire to enforceour will on others - manifested itself.

Hu man De sire fo r Power

The dangerous egocentricity ofthe craving for power is the hiddendrive that motivates millions ofhuman beings , in all our colors ,

races, religions and nationalities .Intangible , unrealized , unrecognized even by those so afflicted ,power can , given carnality and basehuman nature, corrupt.

On one occasion the discipleswere caught up in heated discussionabout rank and "status " in thefuture. Jesus was heavy with sickdread about His imminent crucifixion. I t was during the final Passover ,the famous "last supper." Jesus had

just finished sharing the bread andGOOD NEWS Ma y 197

b y Garn e r Te d Armst ro n g

" Organization " and " ev il " arenot synonymous As we sawproved in the last issue, God'strue Church is organ ized andfi t ly framed together as at ight ly k n i t body , consti t utedfo r a grea t purpose topreach the gospel o Christ 'ssoon -coming Kingdom to al lthe world as a witness God is

Ruler. Christ i s l iving Head oHis Church , and He governs it.When God ' s government i srightly exercised, i t producesthe posit ive fruits o God 'sWork : preaching the go s pe l ,serving , helping, comfortingthose who have need , feedingthe flock , constantly ~ nto root out and co rrect erro r- enabling the Church o Godto grow, flourish and prosper.

God 's government works

knowing the impetuousness of Peter , and noticing Christ's statementwhich immediately followed -"Simon , Simon , behold , Satan hathdesired to have you , that he may siftyou as wheat " (verse 31) - Peterhimself was involved in the argument.

But Jesus was not about to betrapped into creating some "ecclesiastical hierarchy of ranks "which would ultimately ferment

into a rigid, stifling , pompous , dictatorial "establishment" Instead , Hegave them a great principle of leadership .

hr is t De f ines TrueGreatness

And he said unto them , Thekings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are calledbenefactors But ye shall not be so :

but he that is greatest among you ,


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let him be as the y ounger ; and hethat is chief. as he that doth serve.For whether is greater , he that sitteth at meat. or he that serveth ? Isnot he that sitteth at meat? But I amamong you as he that serveth"(Luke 22:25-27) .

To any stranger , entering the

room at the mealtime, they wouldhave thought Peter , James , Johnand the other apostles were the"greate st." since they were obviou sly sitting " at meat." But whatabout Jesus ? Why , they would haveimmediately supposed He was a ser-vant of the house , waiting on tablesThey would have seen Him washH is own disci pIes' feet , a taskamong those of the lowliest. Theywould have seen Him break and

distribute bread , and pour out individual servings of wine , and handthem to each one .

Yet , obviously to you and I, looking a t the Scriptures and understanding the awesome greatness ofChrist , it was Jesus who was in au-thorit y, who had the power , who wasthe " greatest"

What a striking contrast to theusual ostentatious conduct of carnalmen who desire personal recogni

tion , acclaim and statusChri st knew the onl y true "st a tus"

worthy of the word wa s where Hestoo d with God His Father

So Christ provided the basis forGod's government in His Church bypointing to the word " service"

The very word " minister " meansse rvant

T he Impac t Up on Peter

Peter never forgot what Jesus said

to Him following His denial , and hisshamed , thrice-repeated , ever moreintense statement of love for Jesus.He was to later write: "The elderswhich are among you I exhort , whoam also an elder [thus showing noconsciousness of rank " betweenthose who , though not "evangelists"or even pastors of churches , wereolder men who were ordained] , anda witness of the sufferings of Christ ,and also a partaker of the glory that

shall be revealed : Feed the flock o f

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God which is among you , taking theovers ight t he reof [ the o v e rseership ," or "presbytery"] , not byconstraint , but willingly ; not for fil-thy lucre , but of a ready mind ; l1ei-ther as being lords over God'sheritage , but being ensamples to theflock . . . . Likewise , ye younger , sub

mit yourselves unto the elder. Yea ,all of you be subject one to another,and be clothed with humility: forGod resists the proud , and givesgrace to the humble " (I Peter 5 : 1-5) .

Peter never forgot Christ's threefold command: Feed my sheep "

The Right Use of Powerand u t hori ty

The apostle Paul coined a newphrase , one which has been a guid-

Without organization (andGod is not the author ofconfusion , I Cor. 14:33) therewould be no smoothly func -tioning , healthy body , edifyingand building up itself as itcontinually feeds upon theWord and the knowledge ofGod , or accomplishing a greatWork , w h ich , after all , i s the

ove rall purpose fo r the m a in-ta ining of a h ea lt hy bod y

ing light during recent months toChrist's ministry in this modern age:

Not for that we have domin/on overy our faith , but are helpers of yourjoy: for by faith ye stand " (II Cor.1:24).

"Helpers of your jo y, " a titlehardly suitable for anyone misusing

the power of the ministryCan we see clearly , and under

stand , that the power and authorityChrist gives His ministry is not

over the people in the sense ofstifling control over their lives? Hegave power - but power over theforces of evil which destroy men'slives, power over the diseases whichafflict people , power over demonswhich might influence or possess

Christ called His twelve disciplesand he gave them power against un-

clean spirits, to cast them ou t , and toheal all manner of sickness and allmanner 'of disease " (Matt. 10 : 1 . Incommanding them to go abroadand preach , He said: And as ye go ,preach , saying , The kingdom ofheaven is at hand . Heal the sick ,cleanse the lepers , raise the dead

cast out devils [demons] : freely yehave received , freely give" (verses7, 8) .

The power was to help the people ;to relieve terr ible suffering , physicaland mental ; and to preach the goodnews of Christ's soon-coming ruler-ship of this earth

Later , when Christ uilt HisChurch on that first Pentecost afterHis resurrection by granting God'sHoly Spirit to the original apostles

(including Matthias , replacementfor Judas Iscariot) , He was fulfillingHis promi se: I will build mychurch " (Matt . 16: 18 . He againpromised power

Notice that even after the resurrection , and many infallible proofsthat Christ was alive, the disciplesstill wondered about the estab-lishment of an earthly kingdom thenand there

" When the y therefore were come

together , they asked of him , saying ,Lord , wilt thou a t this time restoreagain the kingdom to Israel? And hesaid unto them , It is not for you to

, know the times or the seasons ,which the Father hath put in hisown power. But ye shall receivepower , after that the Holy Spirit iscome upon you . .. ." (Acts 1 6-8).

"Power?" But why? What kind ofpower? Was it "authority" in thesense of having power to "give or

ders" to people ; to hold sway overpeople 's private choices and opinions; to stiflingly control otherhuman beings? No - it was for thesame consistent reason He hadgiven the same men power as fledgling disciples on their first " evangelistic " trip " . . . And ye shall bewitnesses unto me both in Jerusalem ,and in all Judea , and in Samaria ,and unto the uttermost part of theearth (Acts 1 8 .

Those were the last words Jesus

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spoke before being bodily assumedinto heaven

ower for a Purpose

The apostles knew there was agreat job to do , that a great commission had been given Peter certainlydidn't mistake the purpose for God's

Holy Spirit - the unlimited powerthat Christ promised to send . t isnot revealed which one of theapostles spoke the words of Acts1:24, 25 - only that "they prayed,and said , Thou, Lord , which knowest the hearts of all men, showwhether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of thisministry and apostleship, from whichJudas by transgression fell "

They knew they had been given a

ministry (a service) to perform. Peter had referred to the broad principle in at least two of the Psalmsconcerning an overseership("bishoprick," K N to be transferred out of the hands of Juda s andinto the possession of a replacement.

Referring to Judas, he said: Forhe was numbered with us , and hadobtained part of this ministry"(verse 17). Peter went on to say:

" And his overseership [margin ]let another take" (verse 20).The apostles were keenly aware

that their whole lives would now beorganized into a unified body forthe purpose of accomplishing onegreat job

They had the fantastic truth toreport that Christ was alive , that Hehad risen from the dead , that theywere eyewitnesses to that fact, andthat He was going t come again

And they knew that job was thepurpose for receiving power t wasthe power to accomplish the jobthey expected, and that power theyused - not the raw abuse of"power " to interfere in people's private lives to the point of supersnooping , CIA- , FBI-type surveillance over every thought , deed andact.

"Helpers of their joy," yes , but"policemen of their souls ," never

Miraclesbegan to occur. The first

GOOD NEWS May 975

was Pentecost itself , and the powerful manifestation of God's HolySpirit on that day: tongues of leaping , flickering flame , almost likedivine crowns on their heads; powerful, intense , profound , movingwords of Christ's resurrection; happiness, joy ; a feeling of almost im

mediate expectancy of an imminentutopia that would come when Christwould rend the heavens and stepdown once again to this earth Thatspirit of wonderment and excitementfilled them all By the thousands ,people were converted and baptized They sold properties andstayed longer - wanting to be a partof all the miraculous things thatwere happening Fantastic healingstook place

And he said unto them, Thekings of the Gentiles exer-cise lordship over them; andthey that exercise authorityupon them are called bene-factors. But ye shall notbe so but he that is greatestamong you, let him be asthe younger; and he that ischief, as he that doth

serve. I am among youas he that serveth.

And then, suddenly, a shockingevent occurred

Ananias and Sapphira

A couple thought pretense - apretended posture of "giving " whilebeing covetous of money - could

put one over" on the Church andthe apostles. They desired recognition as generous , giving , wonderful"Christian" people .

Their sordid story is told in the5th chapter of Acts.

Ananias and Sapphira are namessynonymous with "lying to the HolySpirit." Their deaths were such ashock to the Church that "great fearcame upon aU the church, and uponas many as heard these things "(Acts 5 : 11 .

Unfortunately , the story of

Ananias and Sapphira has beenmisused all down through history inorder to wrest terribly private "confessions" out of thoroughly frightened ones who inexplicably findthemselves before a stern-faced"minister" who now demands toknow the "truth, the whole truth ,and nothing but the truth" aboutsome juicy little incident in their private lives . A careful study of Hefele's "Church Councils" provesenlightening , as does research intothe origin of the Catholic confessional booth . Sometimes , suchprivate conversations apparently gotout of hand.

But this was unique in all theBible - and no doubt , there havebeen tens of thousands of cases alldown through history where peoplehave tried to deceive Christ's ministry , or lied to a minister in privatecounsel, and lived through it.

God's purpose in taking the livesof Ananias and Sapphira was not toprovide His ministry with the ultimate fear weapon for inquiring intothe private lives of individuals.Ananias and Sapphira voluntarilycame to the apostles, posturing asgenerous contributors of theirearthly goods. Peter plainly said

that while it was in their own handsit was theirs , to do with as theychose . Only after they conspired ,and then lied, was the horrible penalty exacted - and that not by theapostles, but by a divine miraclefrom God , much like the case ofKorah's rebellion .

The point is, it is a sin to lie, andthe wages of sin is death - a factwhich must be continually taughtand emphasized by a loving minis

try (Rom. 3:23; 6 :23), in the hopesthat sin will be repented of , forgivenand forgotten (Heb. 8: 12 .

God was proving , by direct intervention from heaven itself , that thepower with which He was infusingHis ministry was supernatural.There would be power to cast outdemons, to heal the sick and topreach the gospel. The instant closeness of heaven was emphasized. Thefact of God 's immediate presencewas plain The fact that Christ Him-

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self was ruling , judging and makingthe final decisions was clear

Jesus Christ determined ewould remain at the helm, as Hehad promised - never allowingmortal man to usurp that ultimategovernmental function: final decision-making , ruling His Church

But He had clearly demonstratedthat awesome power could work inand through His chosen human servants

The Church Begins To Wane

However , just as in the case ofsensational healings , signs (earthquakes , being loosed from prisonsupernaturally, etc.) and other miracles gradually waned , even to thepoint the apostle Paul admitted at a

much laterdate

he had left "Trophimus at Miletus sick ," so were thedeaths of Ananias and Sapphira absolutely unique in those early moments of the New TestamentChurch of God

Later , Jude was to write that therewere those who had "crept in unawares " and who had deliberately in-filtrated into the ranks of Christ'sministry , using hypocrisy and pretense God allowed evil , plotting

men to deceive and posture as trueministers , even though He had directly intervened , in the case ofAnanias and Sapphira , to show Hisnever-changing attitude towardwould-be deceivers .

Almost from its very inception ,the New Testament Church had toconstantly struggle to keep itself intact against subversive acts fromwithin and attacks from without.

But God's government overcame

each of these obstacles. Though theChurch may have been scarred,bruised, wounded , an d , in fact , layalmost prostrate for long periods oftime , true to Jesus Christ's promisesit never died

But some points of truth did "dieout over a period of many centuries , until virtually all that remained of the original truths knownand understood by the apostle Pauland other early New Testament

apostles was the knowledge of4

God's weekly Sabbath , the truename of the Church , and basictruths such as the nature of manand the mortality of the soul, thetruth about a millennium on thisearth , and the most basic of alltruths concerning repentance , baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit

inorder

to achieve salvationMany major points of truth hadbeen lost , among them the knowledge of God's annual Holy Daysand Church government itself.

Organization DesperatelyNeeded

But as the need for a more organized preaching of the gospel grew ,so did the need for an organizationto preach that gospel

Can we see clearly that thepower and authority Christgives His ministry is not

over the people in the senseof stifling control over theirlives? He gave power - butpower over the forces of evilwhich destroy men's lives,power over the diseaseswhich afflict people, power

over demons which mightinfluence or possess

Very soon after the Church began , it became evident that if theapostles were to devote their time tothe primary mission of preaching thegospel, they would need help in administering various forms of physical service to others . The example ofwaiting on tables , resulting in the

very first ordinations of deacons, is acase in point (Acts 6 .

It remained for the apostle Paulto delineate the various functionsfor the purpose of preaching thegospel to the world and for feedingthe flock (all of which I'll explainshortly) .

But today , God's Church is highlyorganized As your body is highlyorganized , consisting of muscular ,skeletal , nervous , digestive and cir-

. culatory systems, and as your own

body must continually be nourished , fed , protected and receive exercise in order to continue tofunction in a healthy manner , somust the organized body which isthe Church of God with Jesus Christas living Head continually be nourished , and must grow as does thehighly organized and tremendouslycomplex systematic organization wecall the " human body. "

No , there is nothing "evil " in theword "organization. " It comes from"organism ," meaning a living thingor creation which has been intricately and beautifully designed ofGod

Government in Go d 's Church isfor the purpose of keeping unity inthe faith (Eph. 4: 1-13) , for preach

ing the gospel , for overcoming everyobstacle , as well as settling doctrinaldisputes , reaching decisions concerning disfellowshipping and reinstating in the Church , ordaining ofministers and establishing of Biblestudies and churches - especiallyfor the means of preaching thegospel of the Kingdom of God as awitness to all the world.

Without organization (and God isnot the author of confu sion , I Corin

thians 14 :33) there would be nosmoothly functioning , healthy body ,edi fying and building up itself as itcontinually feed s upon the Wordand the knowledge of Go d , or accomplishing a great Work , which ,after all , is the overall purpose forthe maintaining of a healthy body

Yes , it is true that Go d 's Churchis organized

It is true that it ha s government ,and that that gov ernment is from th e

top downAnd that is God 's form of government , and the only form which canever function in Go d 's true Church .

One of the major proofs of thetrue Church of God is the spiritualorganization of that Church, exactlyas defined in God's Word .

New Testament ChurchAdministration

Many New Testament scriptures

show a pattern of God-ordainedGOOD NEWS May 975


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Church administration and organization .

In the twelfth chapter of I Corinth i a ns , the a po s tle Paul wrote :" Now ye are the body of Chri s t, andmembers in particul a r. And God[not ma n ] hath set some in thechurch , first apostle s, secondaril y

prophets , thirdly teacher s, after thatmiracles , then gifts o f healing s,help s, governments , diver sities oftongues (I Cor. 12:27 -28).

Notice how the organizati o n emp h asizes the primary purpo se of thebody first , a nd the secondary later.First , Paul spoke of apost les (meaning one who is s ent commi ss ionedwith a me ssage , set apart " ) , andthen prophet s (whi ch c a n a lso meanan in spi r ed " pr e ac he r " as eas ily a s it

ca n impl y a " fo reteller of even t s").Th en he lists teaching (a s in feedingthe flock) , and the admini strati vfunctions of the Chur ch , as well asincluding va rio us s pe cia l gift s o fGod 's Spirit for healing and othermi r a cles.

Paul al so wrote : " So we, b e in gm an y , a re o ne b od y in C hri st , a ndevery o ne memb e rs o ne of a noth er.H av in g th en gi ft s diff er in g accor ding to th e g ra ce th a t is g iven t o

us "He then we nt on the describe th e

o rd er of th e gi ft s G o d had pl acedin Hi s C hur ch: " Wh e th er prophecy, le t u s pr o ph esy a ccor d ing to th eprop o rtion of fai th ; o r m in is tr y, le tus wai t on o u r mi n is te rin g; or h eth a t teac h es , o n te a ch ing " ( R o m .12:5 -7 ).

Notice ag a in i n thi s o rga ni zatio nal p assage h ow prop h ecy" (i ncl udin g insp i re d p reac h ing a n d

teac h ing of the Wo r d of God as itespecially concerns the fu ture) an dthen the ministry are placed first

This same pattern is repeate d inPaul's letter to the Ephesia n s, wherehe said: " And he gave some,apost les; and some , prophets ; andsome , evangelists ; and som e , pastorsand teachers . . . " (Eph. 4 : II).

Paul' s writings constitute a beautiful and vivid picture of the government of God in action

His very le tt ers, in themselves ,

GOOD N EWS May 975

show a concerned a nd fa t h er l ya po stl e who co ntinu a lly wr e s tledwith the m a nifold problem s of ea chin d ividual Church area ; writing tothem in deep ang uish of spirit overtheir personal problem s; exhortingthem , rebuking them , s etting anddeciding policie s, so metime s di s

fe llow shipping , a nd some times reins ta t ing.

Paul's writing s rev ea l how God 'sgovernment wa s es tabli shed for thepurpo se of preaching the go spe l , fororganizing churches and studies , fordisfellowshipping in case s wher ethis was required in order to keepG od 's Ch urch free from contaminating influence s, for reins tating wh e re that could happil y bedone , an d at a ll times preachin g

esus Christ determined Hewould remain at the helm,as He had promisednever allowing morta l manto usurp that ultimate governmental function: finaldecision-making , ruling HisChurch But He had clearlydemonstrated that awesomepower could work in and

through His chosen humanservants

so u n d d oc trine " a nd prot ec tin g th eC hur ch fr o m a tt a ck s both fr o mwith in a nd fro m with o ut.

Three Church dmi n ist rationLetters

P a ul ' s Pas to r a l Ep is tl es areno thin g s h or t of C hu rc h a dm ini s

tra ti o n l e tt ers " from thi s apost le toth e Genti les to t he yo u ng men under his c h arge. I n them , yo u canread of th e many deta ils concerningPaul's instruction s to you ng m ensuch as Aristarchus, Sec u ndus , Timothy , Ti tu s, Ga i us, and others whowere h is helpers in various parts ofthe Eastern Me d iterranean region.And again and again the purpose forsuch organization is revea led .

Timot hy was charged again and

again to remember how he would

meet every oppo s ition , including seducin g s pirits , d octrin es of de m o n sa nd lies I Tim. 4 : 1-2) . He wou ldface pride , ignor a nce , qu e stio ns andstrivings a bo u t w o rd s, en v y, s trif e,railing s, evi l surmi s in gs, perv e rsedisputings of men of corrupt mindsdesiring materi a l gain (I Ti m . 6:4-

5) . He wa s warned to b eware of " oppo s i t ion s o f s cience f a l s el y soca lled " (I Ti m . 6:20) , " prof a ne a ndva in b a bbling s (II Ti m . 2 : 16) , lie sthat the re surrection h ad alread y o ccurred which w o uld o ve rthrow th efaith of some (II Ti m . 2 : 18) , fooli shand unlearned que s ti o ns (II T im .2 :23 ). He was w a rned that evil mena nd sed u cer s wo u ld wax wor se a ndwor se (II Ti m . 3 : 13 ); peop l e, havin gitching ea r s, wo uld he a p t o th em

selve s teacher s a nd turn un t o fa bl es(II Ti m . 4 :3-4) . He was to ld so m ewould lo ve thi s pre se nt wo rld a ndsimpl y quit wh e n th e go in g go tto ugh (II Ti m . 4 : 10 . H e was reminded a bo ut Al exa nder the co pp ersmith , wh o ha d d o n e a g rea t d ea lof e v il to th e a pos tle P a ul (II Ti m .4: 14 ).

T itu s was w a rn ed th a t h e wo ulde nc o un t e r " unrul y a nd vain ta lk ersa nd deceiv ers " (Titu s I : 10), a nd

th a t h e s ho uld s pea k, a nd ex ho rt ,a nd r ebu k e with a ll aut horit y (T itu s2 : 15 ).

H e was c h a rge d to av o id foo lis hqu es tio ns, a nd ge n ea log ies , a nd co nte nti o ns, a nd s tri vin gs a bo ut th elaw; fo r th ey a re un p ro fit a bl e andva in. A m a n th at is an here tic [factio us, or of split s a n d sch isms] afterthe fi rst an d secon d adm o ni t io n reject ; knowing th a t h e th a t is such issub verted , an d sin n et h , being con

demned of h imse lf " (Ti tus 3:9 -11 .In these Pastoral Epist les" you

not only read of the organizat ion ofan apost le giving instruc t ions to ayoung evangelist on how to conductthe churche s in his area. ordaininge lders , di sfellowshipping or markin gthose who cause d ivisions. but alsoyou read of the day-t o -day co nduc tof the Work a t that time. even including such instructi o ns as he lpin gothers who were traveling through

(Continu ed 11 pa g e l ))

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T HE N GOD said , Let us makeman in our image, after ourlikeness; and let them havedominion over the fish of the sea ,and over the birds of the ai r , andover the cattle , and over all theearth . . . . So God created man inhis own image , in the image o f God

he created him . . " (Gen. 1:26-27 ,RSV) .

"In the image of Go d " - whatnoble and awe-inspiring words Butwhat do they mean? Can we lookinto the pain-wracked faces of thestarving masses in the Sub-Sahararegion , or into the eyes of a malnourished Biafran, Indian, or Pakistanichild and say , "This person now reflects the image of God"?

As you study the huddled form

and glazed eyes of an Arab beggarsquatting in the streets of Cairo - asI recently did - can you see therethe image of the Creator God?

Is Go d 's image reflected in the

grotesque figure of a typical camera-laden, Hawaiian-shirted, cigarchomping , loud-mouthed "uglyAmerican" tourist banging on thedesk of a Jamaican hotel lobby demanding attention and service?

And what about the screaming,foam fl e.cked radical who franticallyjumps apoplectically up and downon his left-wing soapbox demandingthe overthrow of the System? Doeshe convey the image of God?

Or is God's likeness to be observed in the pea-brained , red-eyed ,power-hungry , petty dictator whoadvocates stamping out all opposition by means of the fires of theconcentration camp?

Wars Conflicts Problems

Just exactly where do we see theimage of God reflected in the bickering , posturing , suffering , angry ,often helpless and hopeless popu

lation of planet earth?GOOD NEWS May 975

The vast majori ty o f planetearth's three-billion-plus inhabitants live in comparative squalor and poverty.Tens o f thousands die dailyo f starvation, while mill ionslive with the ever-presentspecter o f famine and shortage. The digni ty o f m a nis something less than optimum in world where thewords quali ty o f l i f e arebeginning to have an increasingly hol low ring. Istha t all there is for man?What is the ultimate destinyfor God's human creation?

y Brian Knowles

tions has failed miserably , as did itspredecessor , the League of Nations .The UN General Assembly is nothing more than a sounding board fornational propaganda.

Each nation thinks egocentrically.Each looks out for its own even if ithas to be at the expense of a neigh

bor nation . Selfish national interests ,ideological ax grindings, economicexpediencies and just plain naturalhuman hostility continue to mar thepotential of such world bodies . Wejust can't seem to "get it all together" can we?

Something is wrong .How can we reconcile this war

ring , suffering, sometimes gluttonou s , often starving, disease-riddenentity called the human race with

AGE OF GOD"Stop bad mouthing the human

race ," someone will say. I'm not badmouthing - just observing. I cansee. I can hear. I 'm not quite thatblind.

I know there have been over 55wars of various scales since the closeof the Second World War. I knowthe Kurds are currently at war inIran . The fighting has never reallystopped in Southeast Asia . Thereare still over 50 ,000 Americantroops in South Korea helping tomaintain an uneasy "peace" in thattroubled part of the world.

In the meantime the Arabs andthe Jews appear to be preparing for

yet another round in their seeminglyendless conflict. Most Jews andArabs seem to feel that such a war isonly a matter of time .

I t is obvious that the major problems of human society are rapidlygetting out of hand. They are simplytoo big for humanity to so lve. Nogrea t char i smat ic leaders arepresently on the scene who are capable of rallying the human race toeffect solutions for its seemingly ter

minal problems . The United N a-

the image of the Creator God?It just doesn't make sense.Unless we conclude that God is

that wayBut let's not be ridiculous. God is

not that way . God says: " M ythought s are not your thoughts , neither are your ways my ways , saysthe Lord " (Isa. 55:8 , RSV).

The God of This World

God created man. And I I I sodoing He s tarted a process. A process of rep roduction

That's right. The great CreatorGod in heaven above is actually reproducing His own kind More

about that later. But God has anenemy who is called Satan , theDevil , Apoll yo n , the Destroyer , Lucifer and a whole host of othernames (cf. Rev. 9: I I Rev. 12:9; Isa .14: 12) . The devil was originally oneof Go d 's chief angelic servant s. Buthe rebelled , taking with him someon e -th ird of the angels in his mutiny.

Jesus Himself saw Lucifer fallfrom heaven like lightning (Luke10

: 18). In Revelation 12:9 we are7


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told that it is Satan who has deludedthe entire world. He is, as Paulpointed ou t , the god of thispresent age or society (II Cor. 4:4) .As a re sult of the influence of thedevil , the whole world is now in an"evil" condition. Paul spoke of "thispresent evil world" in Galatians 1:4.

The apostle John wrote: "We knowthat we are of God , and the wholeworld is in the power o the evil one "(I John 5 :19 , RSV) .

And that's the reason the "image"of this world does not conform tothe image of God That's wh y theUnited Nations can't solve the serious problems that exist within thecommunity of nations. That's whywe have wars. That's why humanbeings can't get along with each

other. That's whywe

seeso

muchsqualor , poverty and starvation.That's the main reason we see religious conflict and moral perversity .That's wh y twisted and bizarre ideologies such as Nazism , communismand a whole host of other "isms" areable to make such incredible i l l-roads in human society .

This is not God's worldIt is the devil's world and he has

seen to it that mankind continues toexist in a general state of deceptionand misery.

Human happiness and fulfillmentcan only be measured comparatively. Those who live in SouthernCalifornia live in a materialisticheaven - comparatively speaking ,that is . But is it heaven to breathethe effluent-laden smog that passesfor oxygen in the Los Angeles area?Is it heavenly to fight the traffic houraf ter hour on the congestedfreeways?

Not really. As I said , it's all comparative.

elpless to Relieve Misery

The whole human race is living ina substantially less-than-ideal state.There are just degrees of misery. AsPaul wrote to the Christians atRome : " We know that the wholecreation has been groaning in travailtogether until now; and not only thecreation , but we ourselves , who

8

have the first fruits of the Spirit ,groan inwardly as we wait or adop-tion as sons , the redemption of ourbodies" (Rom. 8:22-23 , RSV) .

The whole world is waiting forsomething. Christians suffer rightalong with their brethren "in theworld" - those who are not yet a

part of the Body of Christ. The factthat we share in that suffering givesus a greater and more sincere yearning for the ultimate redemption ofour bodies into the Kingdom.

As Christians , we yearn for theonly true solution to the sufferingsof humanity - the glorious Kingdom of God . As a group , Christianscannot now solve the problems ofhumanity . We cannot end the starvation of the millions in under

developed countries . We cannotconvince the world of atheistic communism that there is indeed a Godwho is worthy of worship. Nor canwe correct the theological errors andabuses of false Christianity .

But we can preach the gospel. Wecan show the way to universal peace ,prosperity and fulfillment. We canlift up our collective voices and cryaloud, showing this world the realcauses of its suffering and misery inthe hope that some will heed andchange their ways. We can be a lightand an example. We can glorify ourGod in our bodies and in our way oflife. We can give this world hope bytelling it of the coming Kingdom ofGod which will effect the neededsolutions. In fact we must

Those who are privileged to knowand understand the truth of God'sgreat plan of salvation must be a"light that shineth in a dark place ."We are accountable for what weknow. Not only must we act uponour own present knowledge, wemust also share it with others.

Of what value to anyone is thearmchair religious hobbyist who sitsbenignly back in his overstuffedchair and mouths esoteric spiritualplatitudes to his closest personalfriends? What does his "Christianity" accomplish?

When the founder of Christianity ,Jesus Christ , looked around Him at

contemporary society He was"moved with compassion." Yet somany of today 's Christians are notmoved at all - or they are simplymoved by a feeling of superiority.

Practical hristianity

The very basis for all true Chris

tianity is love Without it a Christianis no Christian at all I Cor. 13: 1-3.And love is primarily outgoing -away from the empirical self. Paultold the churches in his charge thatthey must strive to do good to allmen as they had opportunity (Gal.6: 10 . True , our brethren in theChurch should come first - but theChristian must not be an exclusivistwho loves only his own

Jesus taught against such empiri

cal self-love: "But I say to you , Loveyour enemies and pray for thosewho persecute you , so that you maybe sons of your Father who is inheaven; for he makes his sun rise onthe evil and on the good , and sendsrain on the just and on the unjust.For if you love those who love you ,what reward have you? Do not eventhe tax collectors do the same? Andif you salute only your brethren ,what more are you doing thanothers? Do not even the Gentiles dothe same?" (Matt. 5:44-47 , RSV .)

This kind of Christianity is apractical thing. It is not a collectionof theological arguments - it is aliving demonstration of the love ofGod residing within a Christian .

If you know the solution to someone's problem , then it is your responsibility to try to communicatewith that person as a Christian.Does it make sense to continuallyhand a starving man food when youcould show him how to grow a garden full of it? Sure , you give himfood until he learns to grow his own.It is the same with the gospel.

The gospel is the only true panacea . It is the only real solution tothe sufferings of mankind . But noteveryone is really willing to receivethat gospel. Yet the message of thegospel represents preventative medicine for this world 's ills. The gospelis more than a mere message - it is

GOOD NEWS May 975


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12/32

HERE S HOW YOU C NCHANGE YOUR WORLDHave you t r ied to real lychange your life only to failmiserably? Maybe you haveoverlooked one v i t a l keythat can guarantee success.This article tells you howyou can effect genuine last-ing changeby Ch a rles F. H u nt in g

IT WAS just after the party -which one was it? New Year's ,Christmas , a birthday or the

weekend house party ? - that we finally decided we had had enough.No more alcohol. We were goingcold turkey. With iron-willed resolve we vowed never to ove r-indulge again .

Yep , that was it. The spirit of Carrie Nation and Billy Sunday wo uldprevail from now on - not the spirit

of Old Grandad. Same for the c igarettes .., outBut it didn ' t quite come off , did

it? Wasn ' t too long before the o ldgang got together again , and wewere off once more into the w ildblue yonder Just one cockta il andthat offered lung b uster was toomuch temptation to resi s t. Andthere was the " morning -after-t henight -before" hangover , j ust like allthe times before .

Has thi s been your experience?Maybe not drinking. But it makeslittle difference whet her it is alcoho l,illici t sex , cigarettes or overeating.Whether it is a fight with a mateafter a particularly annoying day atthe office . Or whet her it i s yelling atthe kids through j ust plain lack ofself-control.

We all face t hese problems . Wedo things we know are harmfu l toourselves and ot hers. We want to

change , to quit, to get the mo nk ey10

off o ur backs . Bu t in all too manycases we know we are fighting a losing ba ttl e. And we con tinue to paythe pe n alty in un ha pp iness an dfrustra t ion, and in making thosearound us miserable .

Does it have to be this way? We rewe in te nded to continue on in anever-e nd ing pattern of failure?

The answer is no .We want to change . We should

change. And we CANompensation for Weaknesses

Some of us never admit to theway we are . We blunder on in ourindomitable wa y, never taking astand-off look at ourselves. Whenonce in a whi le reality forces itselfupon us, we might have an uneasyfeeling that we aren't facing the waywe really are , but we quickly console o urselves with the I' m -all

right, YOU're-ail-right" philosop hy.If this is our approach , we will neverchange .

But anyone who has any awareness of himself wan ts to change badhabits , life-styles , even appearance.Few of us are satisfied with ourmental state , financia l condition , interpersonal relations h ips , or physical state . Witness the continuedstruggle by a large slice of the population to ch ange a ll of th ese things .

We consu lt psychiatrists and readbooks such as The P ower of PositiveThinking. We look for new investments, or try to cur b o ur appeti tefor spending in the hope of changing our financial con d ition . We readbooks by D ale Carnegie to improveour pe rsonal relations h ips . We try tores tore color to our faces with cosmet ics . O r exercise to change thesha pe of our bodies .

Most want to change. We start .

Yet so m uch of th is "change " is

temporary. I t ' s not permanentchange.

The question is , WHY? Why don ' twe make permanent change?

The Fly in theOintment

What ' s wrong with humanbeings? Why can 't we be the way wereally wa n t to be?

Einstein put hi s finger on the root

of the problem when he said : " Thereal problem is in the hearts ndminds of men. . . . It is easier toden a ture plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man . . . ."

Science know s no wa y to effectively change human nature. Weknow that the cause of all of ourproblems is the way we are Humannature is the reason for war , hunger ,crime. I t is the root cause of all ofour troubles. But while we can iden

tify cause and effect , we can ' t solvethe prob lem. Drugs , genet ic engineering , or wh a tever science maydevise to "change " human natureare all limited in their effectivenessbecause they destroy the uniquenessof a human being .

General Douglas MacArthur pinpointed the only real hope forhuman nature when he said : "Theproblem basica lly is theologi ca l andinvolves a spirit of recrudescence

and improvement of human charac -ter . . . . I t must be of the spirit if weare to save the flesh ."

The Bible talks abou t just such achange in human nature . It describes a time in the future whenthis change will occur on a giantscale. A n ew heart also will I giveyou ," Go d says , " and a new spiritwill I put within you: and I will takeaway t he stony heart out of you rfles h, an d I wi ll give yo u an heart o f

flesh (Ezek . 36 :26-27) .GOOD NEWS May 975


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What will be the result of thischange in human hearts?

In the day that I shall havecleansed you from all your iniquitiesI will also cause you to dwell in thecities , and the wastes shall bebuilded. And the desolate land shallbe tilled , whereas it lay desolate inthe sight of all that passed by. Andthey shall say , This land that wasdesolate is become like the garden

of Eden " (verses 33-35).This is the world's only real hope

for peace. And it is the way that wecan change now, on an individualbasis.

The Bible reveals a way by whichwe can really change. It offers us thechance to finally eliminate debilitating weaknesses and self-defeatinghabits.

What is the key to such a changein human nature?

The Bible terms it repentance. Thebasic meaning of this theologicalsounding term is simply "change " But there are two kinds of "repentance " described in the Bible , andonly real repentance actually bringsabout permanent change.

Most people who seek to changeare actually repenting " in thewrong way. And many who thinkthey have repented even in a religious sense misunderstand.

Let's examine the two kinds ofrepentance. Then we can understand why many of us simply don 'tmake any real , permaneni changes.

Worldly Repentance

Christ said , "Unless you repent ,you shall all likewise perish" (Luke13:3 , 5). Change cannot be arbitrary. Sooner or later , we are allgoing to have to change . But whatdoes it mean to "repent"?

The apostle James likens theGOO NEWS May 975

Bible to a spiritual mirror whichspotlights the failings of human nature (James I :22-25) . When an individual begins to look into the Bible ,he becomes capable of a deeper degree of self-analysis . As we peer intothis mirror, we begin to realize whatwe really are and what are the realproblems. We come to understandthat the heart - the basic core of thehuman being - "is deceitful above

all things , and desperately wicked"(Jer. 17:9).

Now you might accept the factthat the Bible says we are this way ,and you might also mentally agreewith it. You might admit your inability to overcome this wretchednature , perhaps even learning to repeat the words Job used when hecame to see himself: "I abhor myself." You may see the need forchange , and deeply want to change

It's not so difficult to come to abhor oneself - and to despise andhate weaknesses . After all, mostpeople detest feelings of inferiority .Few like the way they are. But is"detesting" oneself really repen-tance?

Is being "sorry" - even regrettingand loathing the way we are - whatthe Bible means when it talks aboutrepentance?

Let's face it. What we usually

mean when we say, I'm sorry," isthat we are sorry for the effect ourmistakes and inferiorities have onour sense of well-being and happiness

When we give in to weaknesses ,we feel guilty. And we like to feelcomfortable mentally and physically. We want to live at peace withourselves and others .

Humans like to avoid personalpredicaments. They go to almost

any lengths to avoid them. And if

they can't eradicate their personaldespair , some will even take theirown lives Suicide may represent adeep abhorrence of oneself , but suicide is an escape from hopelessnessIt is not repentance .

Can we begin to see the yawningdifference between sorrow - evenself-abhorrence - and real change?

wo Kinds of Repentance

Did you realize that Judas Iscariot actually "repented " of his terrible crime?

We read : Then Judas , which hadbetrayed him , when he saw that hewas condemned , repented himself,and brought again the thirty piecesof silver to the chief priests andelders , saying , I have sinned "(Matt. 27 :3-4).

Judas had been in the presence ofthe Master Teacher. He had seen

countless miracles performed. Hehad lived with Christ day and nightfoe the best part of 3Y2 years . He wasgiven responsibility and offered atremendous future in the comingGovernment of God. But he stole,spurned the greatest chance for success a man ever ha d , and committeda deed of infamy unparalleled inhistory when he became a traitor tohis Creator

When he saw his horrible mis

take, he showed deep remorse . Hehated himself , as he had every reason to. Yes , Judas repented

But what did Judas do ? He soughta way to escape the terrible guilt hefelt. His repentance only led himinto another sin Because hecouldn't live with himself , he committed suicide.

Repentance ets Results

What was wrong with the kind of

repentance Judas experienced?


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To answer thi s pivotal qu es ti on ,notice the result of the right kin ofrepen tance: Now no chas tenin g forthe present seemeth to be joyous ,but gr ievous : neverthele ss afterwardit y ieldeth the peaceable fru it ofrighteousness unto them which areexercised thereby. Wherefore lift upthe hands which hang down , andthe feeble knees ; and make stra ightpaths for your feet , lest that whic h islame be turned out of the way ; butlei it rather be healed " (Heb. 12: 11-13 .

Judas didn ' t changehis way of life. The lamewas " turned out of theway." Ju d as killed himse lf He didn ' t learnfrom his mistake , and hissor row produced no" peacea ble frui t of righleousness . "

When we really repent ,we change

But what made the d ifference?Wh y was there a totally opposi teresu lt when Judas repented?

This sa me pa ssage in II Corint hians 7 reveals the difference. It showsus plainly that th ere are two kinds ofrepentance . No w I rejoice ," wro tePaul , no t that ye were m ade sorry ,but that ye sorrowed to repentance:for ye were made sorry after a godlymanner . For godly sorrow worketh repentan ce to salvation [it produces the fruits of righteousness

gian t difference between thi s kind ofsorrow and go d ly repe nt ance .

When David came to see the terrible sins he had committed, he realized he would experience thepenalties for the rest of his life . Theprophet Nathan told him that whath e had done would bring up onIsrael perpetual war wit h all its horror and suffering. David knew thathe would become th e object of ridicule and wo uld be humili a ted before the whole nation. He had

brought tremendous suffe r ing upon a grea tmany people as well ashimself.

.......,. ,-: r ;even professing- know little or nowhat it means to be a

of Jesus Christ. Yetquite clear on this sub

ject. If you want to know more,write for these two free booklets,What is a Real Christian andWhat s Faith See the inside frontcover for the address of our officenearest you .

Paul wrote a strongletter of correct ion to thechurch in Corinth. Theywere going in a patternof life which was farfrom what God intended , and they came tosee how wrong theywere.

Wh at i< aREAL

CHRIST\ ;\ \?

Yet in his prayer ofrepentance , David criedou t to G o d : " H a v emercy upon me , 0 Go d ,according to thy lovingkindness : according tothe mult i tude of thytender mercies blot o utmy transgressionsFor I acknowledge mytransgressions : and mysin is ever before me .Against thee, the e only,have I sinned , and donethis evil in thy sight "(Ps.51 : 1-4) .

What was the effect ofthis correction? Here ishow they respo nd ed:" . . . What caref uln ess itwrough t in you, yea,what clearing of your-selves , yea, what indigna t ion , yea , whatfear , yea, what vehement

. .,..

desire , yea , what zeal , ye a , what revenge In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in thismatter (II Cor. 7: II).

These Corinthians understoodwhat it means to repent. It resultedin tremendous carefulness to avoidthe same mistake again , indignationthat they had been so foolish, andtremendous zea l - almost a feelingof revenge - not to fall into thesame pitfall twice

Because they really repented , theychanged

12

II

FAITHA view of the beautiful

Wh y , when he hadmurdered a man , committed adul te ry , andbrought awesome penalties upon the entire nation , did David say thathis sin was against Godonly?

and inspiring stony .

c .

mountain not far fromCapernaum from whichChrist probably preached the

Sermon on the Mount .

which will qualify a person for salvation) not to be repented of [wedon't need to keep on repenting ofthe same sin because this kind ofrepentance produces change): butthe sorrow o f the world workethdeath. For behold this selfsamething, that ye sorrowed after a godlysort . . . " (verses 9-11) .

David Knew the Difference

The world's kind of sorrow, whichtoo many of us often have, is franklyself-centered remor se There is a

Had Da v i d dimin-ished God ' s power in

some way , taken away any of Hisdivine authority , or thwarted Hisplan for mankind? Had he lessenedany of the beauty and splendor ofGod's throne? Had he actually donesome material hurt to God?

No , David couldn't do any ofthese things . Had He chosen, thegreat Creator could have obliteratedeven the annoying memory o fDavid from His mind

Yet David understood that his sinwas against God How was it againstGod?

GOOD NEWS May 1975


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Sin Is Against God

It is possible to even come to theplace that we acknowledge we havesinned against Go d , and still not berepentant.

When God brought I srael out ofEgypt , He set them up as a modelnation. For forty years He performed daily miracles to preservethem alive. He revealed His law tothem so that they might prosper. Hedesired to give them every goodthing.

Did Israel appreciate all of theseblessings? Did they worship God inobedience and overwhelming gratitude for what He had done? To thecontrary. Moses indicted them :

And ye murmured in your tents ,and said , Because the Lord hated us ,he hath brought us forth out of theland of Egypt . . . to destroy us "(Deut. 1 27). They accused God ofhatred and premeditated murder

When they began to pay a penalty for their sin , these Israelites sawtheir tremendous mistake and admitted their error. We have sinnedagainst the Lord ," they said (Deut.1:41 .

This admission of guilt againstGod might seem like the peoplelearned their lesson. But theyhadn't. Notice the rest of the story .God told the people through Moses:" Go not up , neither fight ; for I amnot among you ; lest you be smittenbefore your enemies. So I spakeunto you ; and ye would not hear ,but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord , and went presumptuou s ly up into the hill " (verses 42-43). When some of themwere slain , they again repented ."But what wa s the result of their repentance?

And ye returned and wept beforethe Lord ; but the Lord would nothearken to your voice , nor give earunto you " (ver se 45). Contrast thiswith Go d 's reaction to David's sin:"And Nathan said unto David , TheLord also hath put away thy sin ;thou shalt not die " (II S a m . 12: 13 .

Why did God hear David but notIsra el?

GOOD NEWS May 1975

The answer is that the Israeliteshad not really repented. They weresorry for the difficulties into whichthey had gotten themselves. But itwas mere selfish remorse , not repentance .

What was the crucial differencebetween the attitude of these Israelites and David?

Must Understand God

Israel imputed wrong motives toGo d : they saw Him as a harsh , cruelvindictive , restrictive Being who didthings out of avarice and selfish desire . They never understood thegreat and magnificent God who inspired Isaiah to write: 0 that thouhadst hearkened to my commandments then had thy peace been as ariver, and thy righteousness as thewaves of the sea" (Isa. 48 : 18 . Theconcept of God as a loving Fatherwho wanted every good thing forthem just wasn't in their thinking .. But David knew God for what He

really is. Because of this , he pleadedwith God: "Restore unto me the jo yof hy salvation; and uphold me withthy free spirit. Then will I teachtransgressors thy ways ; and sinnersshall be converted unto thee" (Ps .51 :12-13).

He deeply appreciated all Godhad given him. His great desire wasto reestablish o n ~ twith HisFather so that he could continue toserve his Creator. He knew that hissin had been an expression of disrespect and ingratitude toward God.

"Wherefore ha st thou despised thecommandment of the Lord , Nathanasked him, to do evil in his sight? "And God told him: Now thereforethe sword shall never depart fromthine house ; because thou hast des-pised me (II Sam. 12 :9-10) .

David was broken up over his sinbecause he realized he had disappointed the One who had given himever y thing . He had utterly failed aBeing who had shown nothing butlove and concern toward him

David experienced repentancetoward Go d . He was sorry with aheartfelt godly sorrow . His wasn ' t aselfish sorrow because of what he

. You dLike 10 Know

ore

Many hundreds have writtenasking if we have representativesin their areas to counsel withthem personally and to answertheir questions.

The answer is yes , we do .The Worldwide Church of God

stations personal representat ives (most are orda ined min isters) in the United States and

British Commonwealth and manyother areas of the world . Thesemen w ill visit you , if invited , directly in your own home .

So if you have sp iritual mattersto discuss or questions to askabout biblical topics such as re-pentance , baptism , 'etc pleasefeel free to write us and request aprivate appointment . Worldwidemailing addresses are as follows : United States : P .O, Box 11 1

Pasadena , California 91123

(Or simply dial this toll -freenumber in the continentalU . S : 1 - 8 0 0 - 42 3 - 4 4 4 4 ,Readers in California , Alaskaand Hawaii may call 21 3 -577-5225 , collect ,)

United Kingdom , Europe ,India, Af r ica and the West Indies : P ,O. Box ' 111 , St, Albans , Herts . England

Austra lia : G ,P .O. Box 20 2 ,Burleigh Heads , Queensland4220 (Or dial this number :075 -35-4233 - - reverse thecharges .)

Canada : P .O , Box 44 , StationA, Vancouve r B.C,

South Af r ica : P,O , Box 1060 ,Johannesburg 2000 (Or dial ,this number : 011-216406 ,)Other areas of the world

should check the ins id e fro n tcover (staff box) for the addressof our office nearest you .

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was now suffering. what he hadbeen deprived of. or what mighthappen to him.'

Job Understood God

When everything Job owned wassuddenly swept from him , and whenhe was sorely afflicted . he thought

God was being unfair to him. Hechallenged God to reveal Himself.so that he could plead his cause.

A while later, God did just that.And by the time He was through ,J o b's eyes had really been opened.He said: "I know that thou canst doevery thing. and that no thought canbe withholden from thee . Who is hethat hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that Iunder stoo d not: things too wonder

ful for me. which I knew not Iha ve h ea rd of thee b y the hearing ofthe ear: but now mine eye seeththee. Wherefore I abhor m yse lf. andrepent in dust and ashes" (Job 42 :2 -6).

Job had talked about a lot ofthings that he hadn t really comprehended. He knew the true God.He understood God s plan. He hadknowledge of the resurrection and acoming change from mortalit y toimmortality Job 14: 14-15) . Hewro te about the second coming ofJesus Christ and of his own resurrection Job 9 : 5-26) ,

But when he came to a real understanding of this great Being -when he grasped the awesomepower. magnificence. perfection andmercy of God - he finally got thingsinto proper perspective. He couldn thelp but abhor himself by comparison

Here was no surface. shallow.self-seeking. self-pitying type of repentance. Here was the kind of repentance God desires Like David.Job saw how worthless he was besi de God. and how much he hadfailed to come anywhere near whatGod wanted of him. He saw himselfas a total failure.'

What Repentance Is

Has our sin so overwhelmed usthat we have cried out to God be-

4

cause we have been so callous anddisrespectful toward Him?

Have we ever grasped that whenwe break God s law , we despise ourvery Maker?

Do we realize that to disregardGod s instruction - His laws , givenfor our good - shows utter con

tempt for this great Being who givesus everything good?

How many of us are quite contentto continue to bear the result of ourph ys ical sins , destroying bit by bitthe very body which He gave us toenjoy life . We don t even have thetype of worldly repentance thatbrings about ys ical change. letalone a deep spiritual change .

We overeat - knowingly. We rewilling to pay the penalty in colds

and other types of sicknesses. Wenever consider that our bodies arethe temple through which God isdoing Hi s Work . and that we r r -sent God to the world I Cor. 3: 1617) .

When we sin. we show the ultimate scorn for the transcendent purpo se of the life we ha ve been given .We show monumental disrespecttoward the Being who ga ve Hi s ownSon so that He could share eternity

with us. With our sloppy attitudetoward God s commandments . wedemonstrate unbelievable callousness toward Christ's stupendous sacrifice

God s great desire is to share. Heis a giving God. His greatest jo ywould be to sh a re with us Hispower. His magnificent glory , Hiseternity. He wants to give us equality with Him That is the greatestgood God can ever do

When we sin, we deny our Fatherthi s tremendous thrill of giving. Wethumb our nose at Him. We despisethat Creator-Ruler of the entire universe.

Do you begin to see what godlyrepentance is? Do you now comprehend the right motive for selfabhorrence? Godly repentance is repentance because we have deniedGod the privilege of giving us everygood gift.

A Fresh Start

Perhaps the point could be illustrated by a true story . A man commissioned by Ambassador Collegefor architectural work was invited toPasadena. He and his wife wereshown unusual courtesy and consideration. far be yo nd what is normalin the world. He didn t expect it.and he felt he didn ' t deserve it. Theattention given to him was unlikeanything he had ever experienced.

This man felt that he would justhate to disappoint those who hadgiven him such undeserved kindness . He wanted to do the ve ry bestfor them . If he did not want to disappoint humans who had shownhim such consideration. how much

more shouldwe

hateto

disappointGod in the life He has given us?Probably you have been disap

pointing God. You have Iried to repent - Iried to change. But youhaven t made much progress.

But yo u don ' t have to go throughthe same process of sinning and repenting time after time . You can askGod to reveal Himself to you and togive you godly repentance nol 10 berepented o f (II Cor. 7:9-10).

Just as soon as you go to God indeep sorrow for how yo u havescorned His lo ve and Christ 's sacrifice. you can be forgiven . And youcan begin on a pathway toward per-feclion.

At last yo u will make real progressin Go d 's way of life.

You won't change overnight. Butyou will change. God will add toyour ability to reall y repent. so thatyou stop sinning.

When Christ returns. there will beweeping and gnashing of teeth.Some will slill be "trying " to repent.but not actually changing. Don ' tyou be among them. .

Repent in a godly way. and yo uwill be able to say with the samefeeling as David: " He hath not dealtwith us after our sins ; nor rewardedus according to our iniquities. For asthe heaven is high above the earth ,so great is his merc y toward themthat fear him " (Ps. 103: 10-11). 0

GOOD NEWS May 975


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U P O I I

U _ a T I IUPOaTIE

u p n T ~UPD TE

IMPRESSIONS FROM

CENTURY ][

ST MONTH we reported on a tourof the Mideast taken by several GN staff members. Here

is a second article glvmg you thepersonal impressions and observations of one of our associate editors

as he toured Jerusalem and the cityof Bethlehem.

We saw the sights of the HolyLand , but where were the holy sites?

Under Roman Catholic churchbuildings. Greek Orthodox churchbuildings and buildings of othersects. Deep down in grottoes. cav esand other hollow places beneath thesurface. Centuries of building. ruinand rebuildinghave i ndeedraised the su rface of the landin the built -upand densely inhabited places.Each generationbuilt on a littlehigher foundat ion , on theruins of the edifices that hadgone before .Present streetlevel is severalfeet above thelevel of the firstcen tu ry , thet ime o f theapostles.

We stood on apa r t o f the

Pavement (see

GOO NEWS Ma y 1975

John 19: 13 where Pontius Pilate satin judgment to condemn Jesus todeath by crucifixion.

Th e Pavem e n t of Pontius

Pilate

In the first century. the centralheadquarters of the Roman authority - the Roman Empire had conquered and occupied Palestine as ithad the entire Mediterranean world- was a fortress called the Antonia.located just to the north of thenorthwes t corner of the Templearea . The Pavement was an enclosed courtyard in the confines ofthe fortress. Here at the Antoniawas stationed a body of Roman soldiers. conveniently near to all parts

of Jerusalem. but especially to thewide courts and porches of theTemple where. several times before.the volatile religious emotions ofcongregated Jews had broken forthand resulted in uprisings and blood

shed .Luke 13: 1-3 mentions one of the

disturbances . or alleged distur-bances. that Pilate - the normallydecisive . swift and determined acting Roman governor - had settledin typical fashion. He had sent hissoldiers into the Temple area andviolently mingled the blood of certain troublesome Galileans with theblood of the animals they camethere to sacrifice.

The Gospels show Pilate hesitatedfor a Ii ttle \\ h iler ega rd ing thecondemna t ionof Christ. It \\ 'asa thoroughly untypical and uncha rac t e r i s t i crole for him. Hiswife 's dreamand warning notto have anythingto do with Jesus(Ma t t 27: 19) .the obvious biasand ha t r ed

< against Jesus of. the avaricious

Jewish leaders: : (who also hated

Pi la te andwhom Pilate dis-t rusted in return) . Jesus 'obvious In-

5


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19/32

of the skull - and the associatedrival locations assigned as the placeJesus was actually entombed forthree days and three nights .

Everyone knows that Jesus wasborn at Bethlehem . The 3500-yearold town is located about five miles

south of Jerusalem in the territoryoriginally assigned to the tribe ofJudah by Joshua after the conquestof the land from the Canaanites .

Bethlehem was the hereditaryhome of the ancestors of KingDavid and therefore also of the ancestors of Christ). When _ Mary'stime was fulfilled and Jesus was tobe born, Joseph and Mary had re-turned there to be enrolled for thepurpose of taxation by the occupy

ing Romans because it was their ancestral hometown.We saw the exact spot where al

legedly Jesus was born. There wasno manger. Nor did the scene in anyway resemble a stable. t was arather small , tomblike undergroundchamber , festooned by multitudesof the ubiquitous little oil lamps

. kept burning at such shrines. Thewalls were hung (or padded?) withancient, now decrepit , wall cov

erings.GOO NEWS May 975

On one side is the exact placewhere we were told the mangerturned-cradle rested. About six oreight feet from it a small, low-roofedarea only reachable by one onhands and knees is marked by a sixinch hole in the stone floor around

whichis

a silvery metal plateroughly in the shape of a star. Thisround hole supposedly marked theexact spot where Jesus was born .Just what the hole signifies I neverlearned , but just as we left two nunshurried in from above and knelt andkissed that plate and the sides of thehole .

We left wondering how t hat demonstration could be the religionChrist lived to found and died to

save Or even the religion theapostle James described in James1:27.

any Other Sites

We also saw where Jesus is supposed to have fallen on His face topray in agony just before Judas , themob and the Roman soldiers cameto arrest Him. t is a large unevenrock in the forefront of the Churchof All Nations where the Garden of

Gethsemane was located. We saw

LEFT T RIGHT ne of the allegedand disputed sites o f Christ s deathand burial. The little-photographedrock itself with its four-foot-highwall. Where olive trees grow todayvery much as they did then. Romanmilitary s graffiti .

Left to r igh t : V Gutierrez GN ; Matson PhotoService ; James Lea GN ; P . Ternes .

ancient olive trees but not as ancient as the time of Christ) just outside the church , which gave an ideaof what m y then have been in thegarden, those nearly 2000 years ago.

We visited the rock which is beneath the Dome of the Rock , one ofthe most important Moslem holyplaces. t was probably where Abraham almost offered his son Isaac as

a burnt offering. t was where Solomon built the Temple of God onethousand years before Christ , andthe location where Levitical priestswere still sacrificing and maintaining the ancient rituals during thefirst generation or so of the NewTestament Church.

We saw many things. Many ofthem had a great deal of meaningfor all of us who are in that NewTestament Church today.

- Lawson C. Briggs7


20/32

The Church in ction

our HundredYears oExperienceGatherfor SeminarBig Sandy, Texas:

Thirty-five mllllsters of theChurch in the United States got theyear off to a good start with ninedays of meetings and workshops atAmbassador College , Big Sandy ,Texas. The session was one of a continued series of educational programs designed to help God sministers serve more effectively. C.

Wayne Cole , director of Church administration in the United States,presided with the assistance of ArtMokarow, director of the Ministerial Education and Training Program.

This particular seminar was forveterans with ten years or more of

experience in God's ministry. Collectively they have accumulatedover 400 years of experience inpreaching and serving people. This

8

wealth of knowledge and understanding was shared and augmentedduring 2V2 hour sessions held twicedaily over subjects ranging fromcoping with change to effective

preaching and organizing time .

Though separated by time , distance and the uniqueness of theirindividual experiences , Mr . Mokarow found it rather amazing thatwe've been coming to about thesame conclusions on matters. Wecame to find that we feel the sameway, we experience the same basicthings, and we are really more inagreement t han we even imagined.

Dutch Workights Inflation

Bricket Wood, England:Dr. Roy McCarthy , head of the

Dutch Work , has announced severalchanges to cope with inflation whilemaintaining the effectiveness of thewitness to the Netherlands and Belgium.

Until recently, De Echte Waar-

S N OR P S T OR S pose for apicture during the seminar left) .El b ert A tlas, pa s tor in DetroitM ichiga n ta l ks w ith C Wayne C ole,director o f chur c h administrationdu ring a bre ak a b o v .

heid the Dutch edition of the PlainTruth was both printed and mailedin Britain. Now, however , it will beprinted in England - but mailed inBelgium. This will take advantageof lower printing costs in England(compared to costs in the Beneluxcountries) and lower postal tariffs inBelgium. The weight of the new format of the magazine - 57 gramsversus 75 for the old - offsets arecent increase in Belgian postalrates, making possible a greater savings in mailing out the 28 ,000 copiesof the Dutch edition and 4 ,500 additional copies in English sent to theNetherlands and Belgium.

Another stratagem involves themoving of several personnel back tothe Netherlands . The productionstaff of De Echte Waarheid will stayin England . But Dr. McCarthy hasmoved to the Netherlands to pastorthe church there and respond to

GOOD N EWS May 975


21/32

questions and visit requests frommagazine readers. Miss Iepke Klarrenberg has also returned to readmail, maintain manual files on oursubscription lists, as well as to con

tinue translation work.The work of evangelizing theLowland countries in the Dutch language was formally organized in

:September 1968 Actually , a foun-

'

ation had already been laid with English broadcasts over such sta-

'

ions as Radio Luxembourg. Theprograms resulted in an Englishspeaking church being raised up inDecember 1967. At the time members met once every six or seven

weeks in Utrecht , the Netherlands.Since October 1970 , they havebeen meeting every Sabbath . Membership has grown from 19 to 45and is expected to grow significantlyin the future.

Dean Wilson

Canadian Ministry

Plansfor

nother Big YearPasadena, Californ ia:

In late January, Canadian districtsuperintendents flew south to balmySouthern California to confer inPasadena with Leslie L.McCullough , director of the Inter- national Division of the WorldwideChurch of God. In five days ofmeetings they discussed general ad-

GOOD NEWS May 975

ministrative matters as well as plansfor growth and personnel placementfor the upcoming year.

Dean Wilson, director of the Canadian Work , reported that the

Church has been growing steadily inCanada. Membership climbed over

12% in 1974 and 13 new churchesand several Bible studies wereadded. We had good growth all theway around , he noted. Thegrowth pattern this year looks like it

will be just as good or better than itwas in 1974

Benefit Basketballame for

Flood VictimsBig Sandy, Texas:

Garner Ted Armstrong, with 18points , was a leading scorer for the

Ambassador College , Big Sandy ,faculty team as it defeated theThunderchickens of Tyler , Texas ,

from radio station KTBB. The finalscore after several playing strategies- fair, foul and funny - was 95-48.The game played on February 8 wasto raise funds for victims of a recentflood in Nacogdoches, Texas . Over650 people attended and in excessof $770 was raised for the reliefeffort.

KTBB TE M tries unorthodox playbelow) Garner Ted Armstrong

thanks crowd for turning out

9


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GET TO KNOW

y ohn R Schroeder

2

YOUR

ANY SHALL run to and fro ,and knowledge shall beincreased (Dan. 12:4).

This ancient prophecy rings in ourears today with momentous mindboggling significance. The twin phenomena of almost instant communication and the knowledge explosionhave spawned the unwanted byproducts of future shock , cultureshock and even religious shock.

The first irony: in an age of

unprecedented scientific and technological knowledge , we are suffering from the perpetually growingheadache of uncertainty. Governments , groups and individuals gropefor an elusive security in an earthcharacterized by the growing specterof global chaos. We live in a worldof ominous forebodings , where eventhe future existence of biological lifeis an open question .

The second irony : in an age teem-

o

ing with technological knowledge ofevery stripe and de scription , mankind is neverthele ss suffering from asevere case of knowledge starvation.A certain kind of knowledge -knowledge of God's plan for mankind: "My people are destro yed forlack of [spiritual] knowledge ,th undered the prophet Hosea(Hosea 4 :6 . If anything , that prophecy is much more axiomatic todaythan in the waning d yn asty of thekings of Judah - the time whenHosea prophesied.

The third irony : at a time whenmore Bibles a re being printed inmore version s and language s thanever before , biblical ignorance is a

hallmark of our age. We have , as awhole , rejected the Word of God asa solution to our monumental modern problems . Yet the Bible i s thefoundation of all true knowledge .

Does that sound shocking ? Tocapitalize on an overworked cliche ,we all need an anchor for oursouls . Something we can gra sp

] onto as the world and all of its mane.

Documents

Good News 1975 (Prelim No 05) May