Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 07) Aug_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 07) Aug_w

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VOL. VII, NUMBER 7

International Magaztne o fTHE CHURCH OF GOD

AUGUST, 1958

God's Church Leaps Ahead!More God-called ministers have been ordained! And this year hasseen the growth of God's true Church to include brethren in MANYparts of the world. Let us REJOICE in what God is doing!

by Roderick C. Meredith

T HIS is the "Philadelphia" age ofGod's Church! He describes us ashaving "l it tl e power" and yet Hehas set before us a most powerful "door"through which we are to proclaim God'slast warning message to this world(Rev, 3:8),Brethren, it seems that we often takefor granted the amazing knowledge andpower Christ has given to His "littleflock" in thi s age. This is a living andDYNAMIC age of His Church!Compared to us, the churches of th isworld-and the "dead" remnant of theSardis age of God's Church (Rev. 3 :1 )-a re truly DEAD, lifeless, insipid. Theyare lacking in spiritual understanding,in faith, in POWER.

They do not grow in grace and knowledge. The wonderful new truths Godcontinues to reveal through His Churchare apparencly bidder: from their eyes.They do NOTunderstand prophecy, Theydo not understand the great PURPOSEbeing worked ou t here below!Therefore, their sermons, their articles and their church services are DEAD-totally lacking in the real POWER ofGod's Spirit.We constantly receive let ters to thiseffect from people all over the world.And, occasionally, even MINISTERS inthese lifeless churches write to us thesesame things.Now, within the past few months,we have received the joyous news thatentire wngregations-headed by their

ministers-have accepted the preciousTRUTH and are beginning to walk in

new light as God reveals it! In theseclosing days, God's Spirit is movingMIGHTILY throughout the world!

Exciting News from the Phil ippinesFor several months now, Mr. TedArmstrong has been corresponding regularly with a mini ster in the PhilippineIslands, This man had heard of our

work through our broadcast there, andrealized that we are preaching muchtruth that his denomination would notaccept.He was a member of a group tha t isone of the many fragments of the nowsplit-up "Sardis" era of God's Churchdescribed in Revelation 3. After cominginto contact wirh us, he realized thatthat church was not growing spiritually,and tha t its leaders REFUSED to grow,So he became more and more interested in The World Tomorrow program,and in the act ivi ties of the Radio Churchof God.After months of studying many ofour booklets and the PLAIN TRUTHmagazine, and continuing to hear thebroadcast , he was fully persuaded thatthis was the LIVING branch of God'strue Church today.At this point, he wrote Mr. Ted Armstrong the following letter, whi ch wequme below. This let ter shows how oneminister was honest enough to CHANGEwhen he saw he was wrong, and toGROW into new Truth from God!"Dear brother Ted:

'Thank you very much for the fineHallicrafters Radio. I am thankful I

have not paid much in obtaining it fromthe Post Office."W e heard 'The World Tomorrow'broadcast last Sunday (Dec. 29 ) at the

r ight t ime scheduled in the daily newsand in the Plain Truth magazine.Though I have a little difficulty locatingthe right number of the broadcast weare able to hear most of it. I under standthe theme was the kind of fai th requiredfor salvation. Exposition of the ten commandment was heard. We enjoyed thebroadcast very much. We appreciatedhow Mr. Armstrong delivered his message. He is a wonder fu l speaker. Themessage is very clear and very direct.Mr. Armstrong spoke very convincing.Beside this the truth is wonderfullyexposed."I wish also to thank you for themany envelopes of literatures. Everycopy is very valuable to me. I am spending much time reading and studyingthem. I am satisfied my quest ions wereanswered mostly in these booklets. Mymind has changed and though I havenot known all of your teachings I feelI am likely being drawn by a strongcurrent co believe and accept the truthnewly found in God's word. It is notonly this time I have read your teachings. I have been pondering on themsince 1953, when I was listed in your rollto receive the Plain Truth magazine. Ihave been corresponding with brotherMeeker Jr. in your London office forsometimes in the past years who alsohelp me much. There is no other things(Please continue on page 4)


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Page 2 The GOOD NEWS August, 1958

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

Heart to Heart Talkwith the Editor

from accomplishing it, or else to hecome discouraged and be tempted toquit trying.The true answer is the KEY to salvation!We can't save ourselves. GOD wi llsave us! But how?Not by saving us in our sins-notby deceiving Himself into count ing us

righteous by imputing Jesus' righteousness to us while we remain unrighteous-BUT BY SAVING US FROM OUR SINSby giving us His very own S p i r i t - H i ~POWER to overcome these cantankerousselves, His LOVE to actually fulfill HisJaw, Hi s PEACE to avoid strife with enemies and resentment and bitterness attheir injustices, His PATIENCE to endure!We can't save ourselves-GOD mustsave us! But He does it by changing us,thru His indwelling divine supernatural power , f rom what we have beeninto the holy, r ighteous characters Hewills to make of us! He does it by forgiving past sins not only, bu t cleansingus f rom sinning now and in the furure'

God does not look upon our hopelessplight-our evil natures, our weaknessesand inabilities-and say, "Poor, helplesshumans! Since they are unable to masterand overcome their evil natures, to keepmy Law, to endure trial and te st andtemptation, and to grow into holy characters; I"U be merciful and have mySon do it for them, and save them justas they are in alI their sins."Instead, God who knows our everyweakness, and who Himself is responsi-ble for thi s human nature in everyoneof us, sent His Son into the wor ld toproclaim HIS MESSAGE to us that wemust yield to GOD'Sgovernment over ourl ives-that we must REPENT and turnfrom our filth of the flesh and prideof mind and heart. He sent His Soninto the world to be tempted in allpoints as we are-human as we a re to prove that a human can, with thehelp of the Spiri t of God, live withoutsin-TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR USTHAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPSand live also without sinning! He sentHi s Son into the world to die for us- n o t living a good life in our stead:bu t paying the penalty of our past sinsin our stead-that we might be reconciled to God, so that we might receiveHis Spirit, begetting us as His SONS,so that God thru the power of HisSpirit may CHANGE us from mortal sinners into immortal holy sons of God!Some hotels and restaurants, catering

to ronrisrs who may be in old clothesand d ir ty f rom traveling, post a sign,"COME AS YOUARE!"The favorite "invitation" or "altarcall" hymn sung by the popular denomi

nations in revival or evangelistic services(Please continue on page 4)

whatsoever worketh abomination , ormakerh a lie" (Rev. 21:27), it surelyseemed impossible that I should be ableto "overcome," and "endure unto theend."But the same instant the answerflashed to mind-GOD will save me! I

can't save myself. When I look at thist roublesome, natural ly evil self, so human and full of fault s and weaknesses,so beset by temptations of p ri de andthe flesh, with all its limitations andshortcomings; knowing that to be finallysaved I must GROW in grace and God 'sknowledge-must develop in r ighteousholy character-must overcome thisrelfand t emp tat ion s and weaknesses-andmust endure rhru trial and test and oppos it ion and discouragement unto theend-well , when I look at it that way,it seems utterly HOPELESS to expectever to be saved.

And I wondered, as this thoughtflashed thru my mind, how many of mymembers and co-workers are tempted tolook at it the same way-to feel a senseof futil ity and helplessness-perhaps tobecome discouraged and lose faith?Ah, that's the key word-FAITH!Our p li gh t i sn' t hopeless at alI!Of course, of ourselves it is impossible to be saved. But with GOD it is cer-tain-if we yield to Him and TRUST

Him. We shall be saved, not by ourown power to overcome and developperfect characters, bu t thru FAITH INGOD'S POWER!

But right here is where 999 out of1,000 become deceived by the fables ofthis time. And when the blind lead theblind, they both fall in to the ditch!Because we can't save ourselves-wecan't master the evil inner self-wecan't always resis t every temptationwe can't keep God 's holy Law perfectly- and , of ourselves we would fail toovercome, to grow in spiritual character,and to endure to the end; the falseteaching is going out that JESUS DIDTHESE THINGS FOR us- tha t we don'tneed to do them. Mi ll ion s today bel ievethat God imputes Jesus' righteousnessto us, counting us as righteous when weare not!There couldn't be a more soul-damn

ing delusion of the devil!No, Jesus didn't live a good l ife foryou, in your stead! You are no t excusedfrom keeping God 's commandments,living a righteous holy life, overcoming,growing in spiritual character, and enduring in spite of all opposition, persecution, trial and test unto the end.Yotr and I must actually do these thingsin order to be saved!Here is the great mystery! Since we

must do these things to be saved, yetare utterly unable to do them, it is natural to conclude e ithe r tha t God sentJesus to do it for us and excuse us

NUMBER 7OL . VI I

Address communications to the Editor ,Box 111, Pasadena, California.Copyright, August, 1958By the Radio Church of God

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. HoehExecntiue Editor

Roderick C. MeredithGarner Ted ArmstrongAssociate Editors

I FEEL I must immediately have a realheart to heart talk with my growingfamily of members and co-workers,sharing with you thoughts that came tomy mind-whi le they are sti ll f resh andvivid.It concerns the most important thingin life and eternity for you. But at themoment, I was thinking about myself.Every person-yes, even you-is hisown worst enemy. All my life I havebeen irnpelleJ La fight my wors t enemy- t h a t troublesome inner self, which bynature is desperately wicked. I was notborn with a mild, submissive, weakwilled inner self. Had I been, I probablynever could have been used as God's instrument in bearing His message to you.My mother, now ninety-two, wi ll tellyou I was a very strong-willed boy; andwhile I was still young enough to be under parental discipline, I caused her andmy father no end of trouble. Since growing into the age of sel f-disc ip line , thissame evil, determined inner self hascaused me no end of t roub le. And Ishould add that since I gave that selfover to God, it surely must have triedHis patience!That brings us to the point. Thethought that came to my mind concernedthis very troublesome inner self. How,

came the question, can I mysel f ever become finally saued, and inherit eternall if e in the Kingdom of God, with sucha powerful, seemingly irresistible innerforce of evil constantly pul ling the otherway? When God says "there shall inno wise enter into it (the Kingdom ofGod) anyth ing tha t defileth, neither


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What Must Christians Give Upto be Saved?

by Garner Ted Armstrong

D o YOU know why the majority ofAmerican people turn up theirnoses at "religion" and refuseto have anything to do with it?You have probably been taught mostof your life that it is necessary to GIVEUP everything that is GOOD, everythingthat is FUN, in order to become "saved."This is the common conception of salvation-and mos t peop le take it forgranted without ever questioning it.The churches paint Chr is tian ity as amorbid religion with a God who demands penance and suffering from poorhelpless mortals. Life, to many professing Christ ians , is unhappy, uncomfortable, drab, poverty-stricken. Salvation islooked upon as the reward for enduringall this misery that the Father imposeson us.What kind of God is it that this common reaching jJorlrays? Is it any wondertha t most people don 't want to turn to

God?I f people could only understand thatconversion IS not a matter of "just how

much do I have to give up"! Jesus camethat we might have life, of course, butHe also came that we might have itmore abundantly (John 10: 10).What Conversion Really Is

Jesus carne to call us oea of thisworld's troubled conditions-to bring usa life just FILLED with interest, withZEAL, and w ith USEFULNESS. He didnor tell us to bend our backs under amountain of human woe and suffering!Or to do penance and live in poverty andmisery!Conversion does not mean to cast allmaterial things aside. Instead, conversionmakes possible for the first time ourintelligent use of the material creation.Jesus Christ did not say: Throw materialwealth and all physica l p leasures awayand seek only the Kingdom of God.Notice what He did say: "Seek ye firstthe kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these t bi ng s shall be ADDEDunto )OU" (Matthew 6: 33).So it is liar rhe giving up of theset hings tha t is so important-i t is theattitude toward them! Seek FIRST thekingdom of God, and THEN (secondarilyin importance) shall these things beadded to you! We are here to learn howto UJe the mater ia l wor ld , not to abuseit. We are here to learn how to be happyand how to make others happy, too.The only true way to happiness is set

forth in God' s revelat ion to man-theBible. And the very first step to findingreal happiness is described by Paul in hisletter to the Romans, when he said: "Benot conformed to this world; bu t be yetransformed by the renewing of yourmind, that ye may prove whar is thatgood , and acceptable, and per fect , willof God" (Romans 12: 2) .Notice. Here is the very STARTINGPOINTon the way to salvation! To comeout of this wor ld! Nor to be conformedto its way, but to become like God bylearning and practicing His will.

How to Do the Will of GodEverywhere in the Bible the newlyconverted person is compared to a l it tlebaby who is completely dependent on its

parents for life and protect ion. For theprotection, then, of each newly begottenmember In God's tamily, the HeavenlyFather intended that each of us should be"set apart" and separated from the waysof this present wor ld, It keeps fromthe dangerous influences that are hiddeneverywhere. God knows it is the onlyway that we can "put on the new man"-develop spiritually-cHANGE fromone person to another in CHARACTER(Eph.4:24).But does this mean that we are to absolve all contact wirh the "outsideworld"? How are we to come out ofthis world 's society and customs and sti lllive in the world?The process of convers ion is not aneasy task! Jesus said that he came to

bring a SWORD on earth-not peace!(Matt. 10: 34.) The sword is the sharptwo-edged cutting WORD OF GOD-Histruth! This word, this sword, HURTS thecarnal mind. It causes discomfort to thosewho are following their natural desires,and who want to do what seems right tothem.And who are those usually MOST CON-CERNED when they discover that youhave turned away from this presentworld? Why, it is your own family andrelatives, of course! Jesus prophesied it!He said the truth would set a managainst his father, a daughter against hermother, and that a man's foes would bethose of his own household! (Matt, 10:35-36. )

That is the real meaning behind thecommand to come out of this world.The very purpose which God has in thiscommand to be separate from the worldis to TEST OUR STRENGTH AND OUR

FAITH. If other people in the outsideworld begin to persecute you, and berateyou for your religion, would you betroubled too much? Somewhat, perhaps,bu t no t very much. Bur-when your ownFAMILY begins to accuse, to malign andto persecute you for your "crazy" religion-don' t you sometimes begin to weakenjust a little?Yes, it is more difficult than ir sounds.We may refuse to work at our jobs onthe sabbath, we may discontinue our associations with former friends insofar asthose associations disobey God's law, wemay quit keeping the worldly holidays;bur when it comes to the very membersof our families-we sometimes begin toweaken to temptations. How much dowe have to g ive up? Jesus said, "He thatloverh son or daughter more than me isnot worthy of me; and he that loverhfather or mothe r more than me is notworthy of me" (Matt. 10: 37).Yes, sometimes we must give up theformer fellowship, euen with our ownfamilies. I f we are of the world, theworld will love its own. But because Godhas called us our of this world, it willHATE US ( John 15:19).The problem that confronts each of us,then, is how can we be SEPARATE from

this world, and still have CHARITY andLOVE for it? Can we LOVE other peopleas ourselves? We know that the carnalmind is the attitude of ENMITY againstGod's law, God's rule (Rom. 8:7). Theconverted mind is the changed mindof LOVE direered away from self andtoward others. "This is my commandment, that yc love one another, as I haveloved you. Greater love hath no manthan this, that a man lay down his lifefor his fr iends" (John 15: 13).

Love ONLY Church Members?The true Christian attitude is one of

LOVE and CHARITABLENESS toward others. We can love others and still notfellowship them. Love and fellowship arenot the same! Many, of course, will ask:did not Chri st say we are to fellowshipthe unconverted when he said, "And ifye salute your brethren only, what do yemore than others"? Doesn't this meanthat we are to associate wirh rhe world,mingle with the unconverted, go Out andfellowship worldly people?It most certainly does not!

I t means exactly what it says! Weareto "salute," to greet in a FRIENDLY ANDLOVING MANNER, all those with whom


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Page 4 The GOOD NEWS August, 1958

A part of the Philippine Congregation who have accepted God's TRUTH. Theylive in the barrio of San Felipe, San Nicolas. "Because thou hast kept the wordof my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation" is God's promiseto the Philadelphia Era of His Church, no matter where they may be found (Rev.3: 10).

Future PlansIn order to fulfill spi ri tual needs inmany parts of the world, it is presently

planned that Mr. Dick Armstrong andMr. Gerald Waterhouse will take aworld-wide baptizing tour next springor summer . They will visit scores ofpeople in many nat ions of the worldwhom God has brought to real repentance and surrender to His will throughThe World T omorrow broadcast-now

Your brother in Jesus' Service,P. S.Ortiguero"Let us REJOICE, brethren, that thisminister was willing to swallow hispride, overcome human feelings, andSURRENDER to follow the course Almighty God revealed to him was right.His entire local church has acceptedthe TRUTH!

And now we have word that two orthree other ministers in the Philippinesin similar s ituations are beginning toaccept new truth from God's Word andtheir entire congregations with them.God's work is leaping ahead in the Philippine Islands!It is HIS doing-and we can bethankful!

celled them yet due to my unfinishedwork here at home.

"Thank you very much of your prayers in behalf of us and the work. MayGod bless each and everyone is myprayer.

to share this glorious assurance with allof YOU! Read Jude 24, and II Peter 1:10.

God's Church Leaps Ahead!( Continued from page 1 )

to do brother Ted but to accept andsurrender to the will of God and to Histruth. The Bible says, 'And ye shallknow the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shallmake YOU free.' (John 8:32).

"Herewith I am surrendering my ministerial credent ia l g iven by the Churchof God at Salem and if you feel I amqualified to represent the Radio Churchof God in Philippines, I am very muchthankful. I am always ready all the time.May God help me in this new stand.In order tha t we may not waste muchtime brother Ted any action you canmake to advance the progress of thework in the part of this earth is greatlyappreciated. We need someone there tocome and incorporate the Radio Churchof God here in the Philippine that itwill be protected by the government."I do feel how sad might be thebrethren in my former aff iliation whenthey may learn of my new stand. I hopethey will not. I hope we can be alltogether in this God's newly revealedtruth. I pray God will bless them andwill come to unity in all God's truth.

"The Lord's work have been go ingon. Three (3) new converts were foundas a result of my weekly evangelisticcampaign last month and rhey are readyto be baptize on Saturday (Jan. 4) . Ihave to go to them tonight and preparethem for baptism."I received calls f rom different partof the island of Luzon, but I have can-

good clear thm-and so I had to comeout here immediately to the typewriter

Heart to Heart Talk(Continued from page 2)

is "JUST AS I AM."But be not deceived-GOD WON'TRECEIVE YOU JUST AS YOU ARE! Y 011can't sit down at His immaculate holytable with your wrinkled, soiled clothesand dirty hands, which symbolically represent the human sinning condition. No,you must be first WASHED in the bloodof the Lamb Jesus Christ-and beforeJesus as your Saviour and Mediator withGod can wash you of the filth of yoursins, YOU MUST FIRST REPENT OFTRANSGRESSING GOD'S HOLY LAW,WHICH MEANS TO BE SO SORRY THATYOU FORSAKE YOUR WAY AND THEWORLD'S WAY, AND TURN TO A LIFEOF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S LAWS ANDWAYS!

Of course, you'll have to come as youare to Christ for CLEANSING from thefilth of your past l i fe-but confessingyour filthy, sinful condition, asking Himto cleanse you and wash you in Hisblood, because you can't cleanse yourself-so that He may present you chasteand pure and spi ri tual ly clean to HisFather, that you may then receive theindwelling POWER of God which willenable you to overcome, and keep God'slaw, and live as His sons ought to live!Jesus showed by his l ife that we can,if we rely upon God in faith for thepower to do, live the way of God's willas expressed in His Spiritual Law! OfHimself , even Jesus said He could notdo i t -"the Father that dwellerh in me,"He said, "HE doet h the works." Andagain: "The works that I do shall yedo also."And so it was that, almost the sameinst ant the temptation to doubt thefinal result came to my mind as Ithought of my own weaknesses, faults,and limitations; the answer flashedstrong and firm: "GOD WON'T LET MEFALL!"He may punish me more yet tochasten and teach me and to make merighteous, bur He won't let me fa i l -He will impute His very own righteousness by implanting it into my life until,thru Hi s power energizing me, I'm reallyliving it-ETERNALLY!"

And that comforting and definiteASSURANCE of the final result, based onGod's own unbreakable PROMISES, justwarmed my heart and made me feel

we come in contact. We are to be anEXAMPLE of God's character before others, but we are not to fellowship theworld. The very purpose of the Christiancalling hinges on our understanding ofthis principle. We are called to becomeco-rulers with Jesus Christ-to JUDGE(Please continue on page 6)


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August, 1958heard around the world.

One of the ir important s tops will beon the island of Formosa where, youremember, a converted Lutheran minisrer led his flock of Chinese Chr is tiansin observing the true Passover thisspring! They will also spend some t imein the Philippine Is lands, in Formosa,and in Australia. In all of these places,people are hearing and HEEDING TheW orld Tomorrow broadcast . Manyshould be ready for bapt ism.

Heading west t oward our Londonoffice and church, they will probablystop over in such places as Bangkok,Ceylon, Karachi, and t hen proceed toSouth Africa-where The World Tomorrow is rated as having an even bigger listening audience when it is on thanthe national network of stations there!God is cal ling many people in SouthAfrica through this great "door" ofradio He has opened.From South Africa, Mr. Armstrongand Mr. Waterhouse will proceed toLondon, and spend some t ime with t hechurch there, and possibly visit othercit ies in Britain as well.

\X1 e should give God THANKS in therealization that He is beginning to callpeople all over the earth to a knowledgeof His precious truth! Let us PRAY forthis coming tour and for these peopleand let us REJOICE in the knowledgetha t God has used UJ , working togetheras a "t eam," to reach these people withHis message!Growth in London Chu rch and Office

In our London office, the influx ofmail is rap id ly increas ing f rom all partsof the world. The local chur ch in London is also increasing in s trength andnumbers.

This summer, Mr. Gerald Waterhouseis scheduled to return from his dutiesin the London church and office. Mr.Frank Longuskie, the assistant managerin the London office, is also returningfor a visit in the states and a tour ofduty here.

These men are being replaced by Mr.Raymond McNair, as pastor of the London church , and Mr. George Meekerand Mr. Ernest Martin, as manager andassistant manager of our London office.This arrangement will free Mr. McNairto devote himself fully to the pastoraldut ies in the London church and, withina year probably, to raise up a churchfor our members and co-workers in theBirmingham area.

The additional manpower in the office is badly needed too. Since we arenow on Radio Luxembourg twice aweek, the receipt of mail has been increasing a great deal. Our London officehas been completely redecorated, and isnow a fitting place to represent God'sgreat work in Britain and Europe.

The GOOD NEWSMore Ministers Ordained

Perhaps many of you brethren havenot fully realized it, but one of the mosttremendous needs in God's Church today is for more consecrated, fully qualified ministers. This need is URGENT andwor thy of your constant prayers!The re fore , it was a most happy occasion on Sabbath, June 7, when we wereable to ordain six more men i nto theministry of Jesus Christ. This ceremonytook place at the headquarter 's churchhere in Pasadena. The men involved hadbeen tried and tested. After counsel,prayer and fasting, Mr. Armstrong andthe other ministers here at headquartersknew this was GOD'S decision-and thattheir "fruits" proved that these men hadbeen called by God to His ministry.

With prayer and the laying on ofhands (Acts 13: 3 ), Mr. Bryce Clark,Mr. Benjamin Rca, Mr. Allen Manteufel and Mr. Charles Dorothy wereall o rda ined as preaching elders-withall the authori ty of the full ministryof Jesus Christ. All except Mr. Rea weregraduating seniors of Ambassador College and had all been on nation-widebaptizing tours and preached in ourchurches here in California.Mr. Rea, as many of you know, isnow broadcasting over much of SouthAmerica in the Spanish language. He isthe professor of Spanish, Geography andInterna tional Relat ions in AmbassadorCollege, and has been a zealous memberof God's Church for many years. Hehas been preaching in our Californiachurches for some time now, and hismany abi li ties , his exper ience and wisdom, have all now been dedicated to theservice and min is tr y of Jesus Chris t.Mr. Rea is devoting his full t ime r'iissummer to the mini st ry in the Pasadenaand San Diego areas, and is scheduledto take a bap tizing tour later in the summer. In addition, he is continuing hiswork in recording the Spanish 'programsand in t ransla ting our booklets and articles into Spanish. In the fall, he willresume his te ach ing dut ie s in add it ionto the ministry.Mr. Bryce Clark is now directing anationwide baptizing tour, and at theend of the summer he is engaged to bemarried to one of our charming Ambassador coeds, Miss Helen Murray. Thenhe will take over as minister of thethree churches in the Kansas-Coloradoarea.Mr. All en Manteufel has al ready assumed his responsibility as pastor ofGod's churches in Corpus Christi andSan Anton io , Texas. Mr. Char les Dorothy has also assumed his post as pastorof our churches in Eugene and Salem,Oregon.

You can expect to see much "fruit"p roduced as a result of the training and

Page ';ordination of these God-ca lled men.

After ordaining these four men asfull ministers and preaching elders, Mr.Armstrong and the other ministers thenlayed hands on and ordained Mr. DonBillingsley and Mr. Leroy Neff as localelders in God's Church. They will beused a great deal in counselling, anointing and visiting people in the largeLos Angeles area.

Rejoice, But Press On!We should all REJOICE over theseordinations! These men were sorely

needed in God's ministry.But as hundreds more are convertedin this nation and around the world toGod's TRUTH, we certainly find thatJesus was prophet ic when He said:

"The harvest truly is plenteous, but thelabourers are few" (Mat. 9:37).Just as this goes to press, Mr. JonHill reports that the latest attendanceat the twice-monthly Bible study now

being held in Oklahoma City was 55adults and 33 children! We sorely needa local church here and in MANY suchplaces.Also, the nationwide baptizing toursheaded by Mr. Carl ton Smith and Mr.Bryce Clark have already met and baptized well over one hundred persons asthis goes to press. Between now and theFeast of Tabernacles we expect overfour hundred will be bapt ized by thesetours alone-plus other hundreds in thelocal chur ch areas and at the Feastitself!And, as you all should know by now,another new local church has been raisedup by Mr. Wayne Cole in Pit tsburgh,Pennsylvania. The at tendance the re isnow reported to be nearly forty adults,plus many children. As all of ourchurches, it will grow.Last, bur far from least, we shouldremind you of the full-scale euangelisticcampaign now being held in Springfield, Missouri, by Mr. Ted Armstrong.The campaign is just beginning as thisgoes to press-so we will give you amore complete report on it next mont h.But remember to keep PRAYING for thesuccess of this campaign.Pray that hundreds will be helped,and tha t at least many scores of peoplewill be brought to real repentance andconversion. And pray that a strong localchurch may be raised up in Springfieldas a result of this campa ign.As you rejoice over the tremendousgrowth God is granting His Church,don't forget the equally tremendousNEED of more trained, qualified andGod-called ministers and helpers. PleasePRAY for this need! And remember thatmore co-workers, tithe payers and prayerwarriors are also needed. We ALL havean important part in this Divine missionto which God has called us!


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WHO Should Perform theMarriage Ceremony?

WhatMustWcGivcUp?(Continued from page 4)THIS WORLD WITH HIM! Yes-even tojudge angels! ( I Cor. 6: 3.) Do thejudges and jurors fellowship with theones who are awaiting trial? No.But can we find the right balance?Can we fully understand that we must

remain unspotted from the world andyet love those who are ensnared in it?Whoever will be a fr iend of the world isthe enemy of God! (James 4:4.)So let's realize that whi le we mustremain in this world, we cannor be of it!

Young People Need CounselBeforc marriage, morc than any othert ime, young people need advice. Mostof you who are paren ts have come to

realize this by hard experience. Youprobably didn't have the kind of counsel you really needed. God did not intend that young people shou ld go tothis world's ministers, who do nor evenknow the law of God, for advice onproblems which involve some of themost important spiritual and physicallaws which God ordained.Our young people can have this advice by counsel ling with our ministersin the local churches or with Mr. Armstrong during the Feast of Tabernacles.

and LAYiNG ON OF HANDS (Num.27:18-23; Acts 6:6; 8:18).How plain it is, then, that the marriage ceremony ought to be performedby one who stands as God's representa-tive, since it is God who binds.The ceremony ought to be performedby one whom God hears-one of God'sministers whose prayers God will answer. How foolish to go to someone

whom God doesn 't hear to have theceremony performed, and then go toGod's minister to ask him for God'sLlessiug.The true ceremony should be performed by laying on of the minister'shands on the clasped hands of the couple and, through prayer to God, asking

God to bind the couple according toHis Word (Matt. 19:6). Of course, alllegal requirements of the State shouldbe attended to also.Is a CeremonyWrong?

Some people who carelessly read theBible have a rr ived at the mistaken not ion that all ceremony is wrong.Jesus attended a wedding at whichhe performed his first miracle-turningwater into wine. The church is to bemarried to Christ at a "marriage supper"-a ceremony. I t is a matter of the kindof ceremony that is important. God ap-proves and sanctions ceremony, but notthe ritualistic practices that attendworldly social ceremonies which haveno other purpose than exc it ing prideand vanity.

The TRUE Marriage CeremonyNot every detail in the marriageceremony is revealed, bur we can understand the principles. God was presentat the first marriage-He brought Eve

to Adam and gave her to be his wife.There was a time of fes tive rejoicingat the marriage of Jacob (Gen. 29:22).A simple ceremony is absolutely necessary to avoid the evils of fornica tion,adultery, bigamy and kindred practicesthat would resul t without a ceremony.Marriage is a union . involving vows,which is BOUND BY GOD through prayer(Matt. 19:6). It is a setting apart oftwo young people to become husbandand wife. In Bible ceremonies there isthe cons tan t example of set ting apartfor special purpose by PRAYER TO GOD

Does it make any difference who performs the marriage ceremony? Is itr ight that our young people should go to a justice of the peace or a minis-ter of any denomination? Here is what young people NEED to know!by Herman L. Hoeh

resentatives of this world-justices ofthe peace and worldly ministers-tohave the marriage ceremony performed.Most everyone believes that some official of this world "binds" husband andwife.I sn' t t ha t exactly how most of youwere married? Of course, God, recognizing your hearts, did bind you. You weremarried, but it was God and not man,by the authori ty of a sovereign State,who bound you till death.But is this the way God intendedmarriagc to bc solemnizcd? Now thatyou know the TRUTH, would you have

the marriage ceremony performed inthat manner-contrary to God's will?God has overlooked our past mistakes,bu t let us teach our children the rightway so they won't make the same mistakes.

WorId in ConfusionAs our church is growing constantlyeach year, we are confronted withyoung people who inevitably do as God

intended-they want to marry. It thusis bccoming one of our great responsibil it ies to teach and train and prepareour young people who are anticipatingmarriage. How many of you wish nowthat you had understood what marriageand life were all about when you wereyoung!The very first princ ip le which allchi ldren, and especial ly young couples

planning to marry, should rea lize is thatGOD ORDAINED MARRIAGE. He is theAuthor of this physical union . It is toHim that we should ult imately look foradvice and counsel. He is the One whohas explained WHY marriage has beenordained, WHAT its dut ies are. I t is toGod that we must go if we are to understand the truth about marriage ceremonies and WHO should perform them.Let's understand wha t the Bible re-veals about this most important union.The world is in confusion. Each Sta tehas its own marriage laws. Every de

nomination has its opinion about whatconstitutes marriage. But almost no oneseems to understand the significance ofthe Biblical revelation that God is theAuthor of marriage. Human beings goto human court s of law, they go to rep-

K EDDING is undoubted ly the mostdelightful event young peopleexperience. It is the moment forwhich they have waited, perhaps months,or maybe years. You parents experiencedthe same joys when you were married,didn't you?Mothers, especially, can't keep fromthe natural desire to live over againthe ir marriages in the ir daughte rs . Justask any husband!Yet with all the joys, ant ic ipat ionsand hopes-as God intended marriageto be-there is also the SERIOUS sideof marriage. Responsibility comes withit-financial, emotional, pa rent al andspiritual problems present themselves.Marri age is indeed the most seriousphysical union in which human beingscan be united . Bur how few understand

what IS involved before they are married!


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JUDGING and DISCIPLINEin God's Church

W hat is Christ's way of protecting His church from troublemakers?Is there a way we can //judge" evildoers who creep into localcongregations?by Roderick C.Meredith

M ILLIONS of sincere bu t misguid-ed people are mixed-up aboutth e meaning of Jesus' wordsr eco rded in Matt . 7:1-5.How often have you heard someonereprimanded for stating his bel ief thatsomeone else had done wrong by theexclamation, "Judge not, brother. Jesussaid we shouldn't judge other people,you know."What about this? Is it wrong, for ex-ample, to warn your friends about acertain youth in the neighborhood whois a th ief and who you know is a thiefbecause you have caught him ill th every act of stealing?The Bible commands us not to bearfalse witness against another (Exodus20: 16). A talebearer is condemned in

God's word (Lev. 19:16; Provo 18:8).You should always try to help o ther sovercome their sins, and not exposethem annccessarilv. But is warning yourneighbors about a persistent thief "tale-bearing"?Of course not! What, then, did Jesusmean when He said, "Judge not, thatyou be no t judged"?

Read Entire PassageThe way this passage of scripture hasbeen misapplied is a good example of

how most professing Bible students of-ten pervert t he int ended meaning ofGod's word. Their principal trouble isthat they s top too soon. They r ead justpart of a passage of scripture, and thenthey interpret it.This leads to confusion and differing

human ideas. You should let the Bibleinterpret the Bible. Read ALL the pas-sage in which a verse is contained, andthen read the other places in the Biblewhich further explain the subject. Thisway you wil l get God's interpretationnot sornebody's human opinion.Using this "key" to unlock the mean

ing of scr ip ture , we find that Jesus wasreferring primarily to people like thehypocritical Pharisees who were accus-ing others of the very things theythemselves were doing (verses 3,5).Jesus said that such people should not"judge" or "condemn" others.The Fenton translation renders thisphrase"condemn. not" instead of "judgenot."In the Old Testament, God gave civil

statutes to Israel, and the judges had theauthority to condemn evildoers to adeath sentence. Later, God sent Chr is tto bring "grace and truth" (John 1: 17)."Grace" is the free, unmerited pardonextended by God to sinners.Jesus showed that instead of pro-nouncing sentence upon sinners, as Is-rael' s judges had in the pas t, it was nowthe duty of God's representatives toteach t hem the right way and commandthem to repent of the wrong way.In the case of th e woman taken inadultery (John 8: 3-10), Jesus showedthe Pharisees that they were not fit tocondemn anyone (verse 7). He wasushering in the dispensation when God'speople would no longer be fleshly Is-rael, bu t Spirit-begotten sons who wouldbe held accountable by God for obeyingeven the spirit of the law (Matt. 5:28 ) .JesllS clicl no r "judge" or pranolmcesentence upon the woman at that mo-ment. But He commanded, "Go, andsin no more."Human beings are not capab le ofreading another's mind and heart . Butby first overcoming your own majorfaults, and acquiring spiritual wisdomand experience, you can become quali-fied to help others recognize and over-come their sins.Speaking of one still l aden withfaults, Jesus said, "Thou hypocrite, firstcast out the beam ou t of thine own eye;and then shalt thou see clearly to castout t he mot e ocr of thy brother's eye"

(Matt. 7 : 5 ) .First, overcome your own major faultsand grow spiritually. Then you will beable to r ight ly discern other people'ssins and help cast them out. Christthe living Head of the true church(Col. 1: 18) -expected His children tohelp each other overcome sin. When youread all of this passage where Jesusspoke about "judging," you get a far dif-ferent meaning t han those who justread and then humanly interpret thefirst verse.

The real meaning of this passage,then, is that Christians must first growin the character of God before they arequalified to discern the sins of othersand help them to be overcomers as well.But mature Christians should help theirweaker brethren overcome their sins.This will naturally involve pointing out

sins in others and grvmg advice andhelp in overcoming them. Jesus meantwhat He said. But this must all be doneGod's way.

Old Testament ExamplesI f you study the subject of "judging"

throughout the entire Bible, you willsee clearly why Jesus said what He didon this subject.Glancing back into the Old Testa-ment, you wi ll find th at one of Moses'principal duties was to "judge" the chil-dren of Israel (Exodus 18:13-27). Hebecame so over-burdened with this re-sponsibility that he was forced to ap-point other God-fearing men to judgethe minor cases (verses 17-22).After Moses died, Joshua acted as ajudge in Israel. But later (Judges 2: 10-17), a generation arose which rebelled

insr th e jllclges God se t over them.The result was the bloodshed and na-tional suffering described all through thebook of Judges. Twice God gives usthe major cause of all this suffering; "Inthose days there was no king in Israel,but every man did tha t which was rightin his own sight" (Judges 17: 6; 22; 21 ) .Since they refused to hearken toGod's judges, Israel suffered becauseevery man acted on human reason-doing what he thought was right. Relyingon human reason instead of on God'schosen representat ives always leads todisaster. 'There is a way that seemethright unto a man, bu t the end thereofare the ways of dea th" (Prov. 16: 25 ) .The congregation of Is rael is a fleshlytype of the spirit-begotten church of

God today. The leaders in Israel judgedthe people, bu t trouble came when thepeople refused to hearken unto thosewhom God had set in authori ty . Speak-ing of the children of Israel, the apostlePaul was inspired to write, "Now allthese things happened unto them forexamples: and they are written for ou radmonition, upon whom the ends ofthe world are come" ( I Cor. 10: 11 ) .

A Look AheadLooking toward the future, you wi llfind that the reward of the Christian isa position of ruling and judging the na-t ions. In Rev. 2:26-27, Christ says thatthose who overcome will be given rule

over the nations. The scene depicted in


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Page 8Rev. 20: 4-6 shuws .hat the resurrectedsaints will be given posit ions of judg-ment and rule under Christ during themillennium. This thousand year rule ofChrist and the saints will take placeon the earth (Rev. 5: 10).A brief glance at I Cor. 6:1-7 revealsthat the sa inrs will not only judge theworld, but we wil l even judge angels!If this be so, "how much more thingspertaining to this life?" wrote Paul.Both the example of ancient Israeland the promises of our future rewardclearly reveal that God's servants in alltimes are called on to "judge" and todirect those unde r t heir charge. Ourwhole Chris tian l ife is to prepare us tomake wise decisions when we are calledon to help judf;e and rule the world under Chr ist . Our will ingness to acceptGod's judgments and directions in ourpersonal lives-and, when called on, torender them wisely and justly-will beone of the deciding factors which willdetermine our posi tion in the kingdomof God.How docs God's judgmenc work atthis present time? How does it functionin His church-

Church DisciplineJesus said, "I will build MY church"(Matt. 16: 18). Christ is the living, active head of God's church (Col. 1: 18).He rules the church through His calledservants to whom He has committedthe keys of the kingdom of heaven. Hehas given them authority to "bind" orforbid certain things, and to "loose" or

permit certain things. This "binding"or " loosing" may also be applied to permitting or forbidd ing the admission ofpersons into the fellowship of thechurch.Christ gave himself for the churchand is cleansing it "that it should beholy and without blemish" (Eph. 5: 2527). Jesus is going to purge sin out ofhis church that it may be spotless before God.How?

The answer reveals the process ofjudgment or discipline which God hasinstituted in His church.Jesus taught the disciples how tokeep sin Out of the church in Matt. 18:15-20. Read these verses carefully.Verse 15 contains an error in translation. Instead of "if thy brother shalltrespass against thee," the verse shouldread "if your brother sins, go and tellhim his fault ..." Thorough investigat ion into the Greek tex t proves that thewords "against thee" should be left out.Jesus was simply teaching his disciples how to bring back a brother whowas Jinning-whether against them, orsomeone else, or God only. Notice thethree steps Jesus said to take in such aelse.

The GOOD NEWSJesus' Instructions

First, tell the other person his faulthetween you and him alone, Don't gossip or tell others. Don't become upset orbitter Over your brother's sin. Just goand tell him about it privately. Don'tpick at your brother or pes ter him abouttrivial matters. But if he sins, go andtell him about it with the attitude ofhelping him. I f he hears you, you havegained your brother.Secondly, if he will not hear you, thentake with you one or two other brethrenand rehearse the matter again in theirpresence. Be sure they are mature Christ ians-men of understanding who willbe able to make your sinning brotherrealize the seriousness of his mistake.Thirdly, if he will not heed theirwarning to repent, then tell the matterto the church. Since there is order andgovernment in God's true church, youshould take the matter up with the pastor. He will carefully review the case,probably have a long talk with the partyin error, and will then bring the matterbefo re the entire congregation if hedeems this wise.If, after all this, the sinning party stillrefuses to repent , Chri st said that youare to treat him as an unbel iever. Doesthis mean you are to hate him or toholtl him in contempt? It cortainly doesnot. It simply means that you are totreat him as an unconverted outsider andhave no fellowship with him.Naturally, you should continue to loveyour erring brother and pray that Godwill bring him to repentance . But youare not to talk to him about it or fellowship with him any more unt il he acknowledges his error and gives evidencethat he has repented. If your brotherfinally does repent and turn from hiserror, we will find later that he maythen be readmit ted into church fellowship. So his expulsion from the congregation is simply to wake him up beforeit is too late.

Bound in HeavenNotice that in this same passage aboutchurch discipl ine, Jesus said, "Veri ly Isay unto you, Whatsoever ye shall b indon ear th shall be bound in heaven: and

whatsoever ye shall loose on ear th shallbe loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18: 18).Jesus gave His called servants the au-thority to make binding decisions insuch cases. But he went on to say, "Forwhere two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in themirlsr of them" (verse 20).Speaking of exercising church discipline, Jesus promised that He wouldbe with His servants in carrying outthis function. Christ himself will inspireand direct His chosen mini sters in allsuch decisions. It is really Chris t who is

August, 1958governing and judging God's church.Even the judges in the Old Testament were promised divine guidance inrendering their decisions. In II Chronicles 19: 1-7 is an account of how righteous King Jehosaphat appointed judgesover the land. He was inspired to instruct them, "Take heed what ye do:for ye judge not for man, but for theLord, who is with you in the judgment."Seeing this example of how Goddirected his fleshly people, how muchmore will He direct and inspire Hisservants today in directing and judging matters within His Spirit-begottenchurch? Christ will certainly guide Hisministers in judging His people today.He intends to present the church holyand blameless before God. The Bibleform of church discipline is one of themeans Christ is using to keep Hischurch free from corruption. All suchjudgments by God's servants will bebound in heaven. Christ directs Hisministers in governing His church. ThenHe backs them up with His divine authori ty and power.Are there fur ther ins tructions on exactly how this should be carried out?

Paul's InstructionsThe apostle Paul was inspired towrite further instructions about churchdiscipl ine tu til(: churches under hiscare. He instructed the Galatians. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,ye which are spiritual, restore such anone in the spirit of meekness; consider

ing thyself, lest thou also be tempted"(Gal. 6:1) .Notice that Paul admonished them tobe meek or humble when helping a

brother to see and overcome a sin. Wemust never be overbearing or self-righteous in such a case, but shouldhumbly try to help our brother correcthis error-realizing tha t we ourselvesmay be tempted in the same manner.Paul gave inspired instructions to theThessalonian Christians in his epistles.Knowing that some obstinate persons inthe congregation might refuse to recognize his authori ty and instructions, hewrote, "i f any man obey not our wordby this epistle, note that man, and haveno company with bim, that he may beashamed. Yet count him not as anenemy, but admonish him as a brother"(I I Thess. 3: 14-15 ).

I f a person gets in a wrong spirit andrefuses to heed the instructions of God'scalled servants, Paul showed that theyare to be disfellowshipped that theymay be ashamed.Learning to obey the government ofGod is the very basis of t rue Chris tianity. People must be taught to respectand fear the authority God wieldsthrough His ministers. I f a person refuses to obey God's government now,


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August, 1958how ran he be expected to obey it inthe kingdom?In Romans 16: 17-18, Paul warnedthe saints: "Now I beseech you, brethren, ma-rk them which cause division;and offences contrary to the doctrinewhich ye have learned; and avoid them."Troublemakers and false teachers areto be marked, and, if they persist, to beput out of God's church and avoided.How much trouble and anguish can beavoided if God's people will heed thiswarning!

An ExampleIn the third and fourth chapters of ICorinthians, Paul was warning the saintsagainst following any individual insteadof Chr is t and pointing Out some of thefruits of a true apostle. He warnedthem not to take his authori ty as God'sservant lightly.Paul had undoubtedly heard that someof them had become followers of menand were denying his apostolic authority. They were refusing to recognizeGod's government through him. SoPaul wrote, "Now some are puffed up,as though I would not come to you.But I will come to you shortly, if theLord will, and will know, not the speechof them which are puffed up, but thepower. For the kingdom of God is notin word, but in power. What will ye?Shall I come unto you with a rod, or inlove, and in the spirit of meekness?"( I Cor. 4: 18-21).Do you see that Paul was calling attention to the fact that God grantsauthority and power to His true serv

ants? Paul knew he had the authorityto come "with a rod"-to chasten orput out stubborn sinners from theirmidst. The POWER of Almighty Godwould back him up in this! Any whoresisted would be struck dead as Ananias and Sapphi ra if necessary. God 'sgovernment is with divine power andit is well for all of us to realize this!Paul continued in his le tte r (I Cor.S:1-7) to note tha t a kind of abominable fornication was being practicedamong the Corinthians. He commandedthem to put out of their midst the onewho was committing this sin. He saidthey should "Deliver such an one untoSatan for the destruction of the flesh,that the spirit may be saved in the dayof the Lord Jesus" (verse 5) .The clear implication of this passageis that once an obstinate sinner is putout of the church, God will permitSatan to afflict him unti l he repentsif he will repent. How fearfttl is thejudgment of God on those who knowthe truth and then let themselves be ledinto sin and rebellion against God's government!But strict discipline is necessary topreserve the church. Tolerating a small

The GOOD NEWSamount of sin will only lead to more."Know ye not tha t a little leaven leavene th the whole lump?" (Verse 6).Paul commanded, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be anew lump" (verse 7) . Out and out SINmust not be tolerated within God'schurch! Our human reason might tellus otherwise, but God knows best.

ReinstatementSome churches of this world haveforms of "excommunication" wherebythe object seems to be to hurt and defame the one who has been pu t out ofchurch fellowship. This is not God'sway.As we have seen before, a sinningbrother is to be disfellowshipped in order " that he may be ashamed" and cometo repentance. The object is to helpthese people-to wake them up-notto hurt them.In II Corinthians 2: 1-11, we findthat Paul asked the brethren at Cor inthto accept the repentance of the fornicator he had commanded them to putout. "Sufficient to such a man is thispunishment, which was inflicted ofmany. So that contrariwise ye oughtrather to forgive him, and comfort him,lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow"(verses 6-7).These verses indicate that the manhad now repented and was sorrowinggreatly over his error. He had learnedhis lesson. So now he was to be broughtback into the fellowship of the churchand completely forgiven-just as God

forgave him.Paul said they must forgive him "lestSatan should ge t an advantage of us:for we are not ignoran t of his devices"(verse 11). I f God's people continuedto shun this man, he might have commit ted suicide or perhaps yielded himself to a demon. In e ither case it wouldonly work harm to the man and bringreproach on the work of God.

Here we have found in God's word acomplete example of how church discipline should be carried out. It must bestrict with persistent sinners or troublemakers, but mercy and complete forgiveness must be extended to thosewho learn their lesson and repent .Purpose of Discipline

The purpose of this form of churchdiscipl ine is to prevent God's childrenfrom becoming careless and lukewarmabout SIN-which God hates-and toprotect God's church from becoming infiltrated with sinners or false teacherswho will lead others into sin. The objectof church discipl ine should be LOVE -the desire to pro tect any of God's children from being led astray.Jesus-the living Head of God's

Page 9Church-gave the over-all principlesof church discipline to protect thechurch He was beginning to build. IfGod's ministers and people today loveone another and the truth, they willwant to carry out God's form of judgment in His church to mutually protecteach other from falling into the snareoi Satan.

No t rue Christian has anything tofear f rom this command of God. It is aprocedure designed to protect God'schildren and keep them bound togetherin truth and love.Scope of Discipline

In I Corinthians 6: 1-7, the apostlePaul commanded the saints not to goto law before unbelievers, but to bringany disputes before the saints for judgment. This would include disputes overmaterial mat ters as well as the spiri tualproblems which we have already discussed. Paul wrote, "Know ye not thatwe shall judge angels? how muchmore things that pertain to this life"(verse 3),Paul is not wri ting about cases involving outsiders who are unconverted.This chapter deals with converts only.So when two converted brethren havea disagreement over some material matters--even converted people are stillhuman you know-they should bringthe matter before the leaders in God'schurch. Verse 4 of this passage is incorrectly translated, and most moderntranslations show that it should be inthe form of a quest ion. Paul was askingthem why they were bringing their disputes before those who were little esteemed by the church. He continues,"I speak to your shame" (because theywere doing this). "Is it so, that there isnot a wise man among you? no, notone that shall be able to judge betweenhis brethren?" (verse 5).It is the wise men, then, the ministersand elders in the church, to whom theseproblems should be brought. Instead ofgoing before worldly courts, Christiansshould want to have their disputes settled God's way, according to the principles of God's righteous laws. They arecommanded to bring all such disputesbefore the church for judgment .God's judgment will ensure full justice for everyone concerned, and willsave the church from bearing any reproach over such matters in the outsideworld.The apostle Paul specifically statesthat Christian leaders should be besty'ualified to judge these matters becausethey are training to judge the woddto judge angels. Don't you see thegreat wisdom of God's government andjudgment in His church? He is preparing us to rule the world by giviru; us(Please continue on page /2 )


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) 'am questions ansu/ered In these colecmns! Yom opportunity to havediscussed those problems pertaining directly to members of God's Church.

9!festtonPage ro

Should You Spend Your SecondTithe at Home?I f for some unforeseen circumstanceyou are unable to attend the Feast ofTabernacles, what should you do withyour second t it he? Many that we have

met on the baptizing tours, and othersby letters, have asked about this problem.First, let us understand the purposeof the second tithe. God, in His Word,commands us to assemble at His setfeasts. In order to make our attendancepossible, God ordained t hat we setaside a second tithe to cover expense toand from the festival (Deut. 14:23-26;16:13-15).In ancient times, when tr avel expenses were of l it tl e consequence, thetithe was used to cover food expensesprimarily. Rut m(hy, since the purposeof the second tithe is to enable us toa ttend the fes tivals , much more of it hasto be spent for transportation than forfood.Now le t us not ice where the second

tithe was to be spent:"Thou shalt truly tithe all the increaseof thy seed, that the field bringeth forthyear by year. And thou sha lt eat before

the Lord thy God, in the place which herhaLt choose to place his name there ...tha t thou mayest learn to fear the Lordthy God always. And if the way be toolong for thee, so that thou art not ableto carry it; or if the place be too farfrom thee, which the Lord thy God shallchoose to set his name there, when theLord thy God hath blessed thee: thenshalt thou turn it into money ... andshalt GO unto the place which th e Lordt hy God shall choose . . . and thou shalteat there before the Lord thy God, andthou shal t re joice" (Deut. 14: 22-27).

The second t i the-the t enth tha t Godwants 1IS to use, which is another andseparate tenth fr om the first tithe thatHe reserves for Himself for the carrying our of the gospel-the second tithewe are to use to attend the festivals.But let us read fur th er :"Thou mayest NOT eat within thygates the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine.. . but thou MUST eat them before theLord thy God in the place whi ch th eLord thy God shall choose, thou, andthy son, and thy daugh te r" (Deut. 12:17-Ul).Here is a positive command no t touse the second tithe at home if you are

The GOOD NEWS

'Box

unable to attend. You must use it toenable you to attend the festivals at theplace which God chooses. I f the moneyis spent for any other purpose, then youare breaking a command of God-youare not learning to fear His authorityand you are cheating yourself of thewonderful blessing of fellowship withothers of l ike fai tho

If for unforeseen circumstances youare unable to attend the festivals, andif you are prosperous, it would be theright and brotherly duty to enable othersto use your tithe. It can be sent to Pasadena, with an explanation that it is toenable others to attend the festival.

But if you are like mos t of the brethren, not having many worldly goods, anda small i ncome or none at all, and if youare unable to come to the festival, youshould save it until the next year or fortwo years, if necessary, when you wil lthen have enough to assemble whe reGod has chosen to place His name.Meantime, you will be observing thefestivals at home just as you would atthe feast.In many cases we try to aid the poorerhrethren through the extra second titheof those few who have more thanenough. But only those who have faithfully saved their insufficient second tithedeserve the extra help. I f you have no ttried to save your little, God can notdeem you worthy of His extra assistance.The Feast begins this year at sunsetSept. 28 and ends sunset Oct. 6. The

annual sabbaths are Sept. 29 and Oct.6, beginning previous evening.Should a Christian Woman ObeyHer Unconverted Husband?This question has troubled manywomen who have been called to a knowledge of the truth before their husbandshave been called. They are faced with a

tremendous problem which may causemuch needless worry and anxiety untilthe plain teaching of the Bible concerning this subject is understood.In Ephesians 5:22-23, we read:"Wives, submit yourselves unto yourown husbands, as unto the Lord. Forthe husband is the head of the wife,even as Christ is the head of thechurch: ..."

Does this app ly to you if your husband is unconverted?Here is the Biblical answer. "Likewise,ye wives, be in subjection to your ownhusbands; that, IF ANY OBEY NOT THE

August, 1958WOlW, they also may wzthout the wordbe won by the conversation of thewives" (I Pet. 3: 1 ) .

If your husband doesn 't understandthe trut h, you shouldn't try to converthim by constantly repeating your beliefand by insisting that he listen to thebroadcast or read the li terature. Thatwill only dr ive him fur ther away fromthe t ru th .Rather, you should wait until he ques-tions you concerning a certain truth.Then you should be prepared to give aconvincing Biblical explanation.Pete r fu rth er in st ru cts Christianwomen:"Whose adorning let it not be that

outward adorning of plaiting the hair,and of wearing of golrl, or of puttingon of apparel; bu t let it be the hiddenman of the heart , in that which is notcor rupt ibl e, even the ornament of ameek and quiet spirit, which is in thesight of God of great price. For a ft erthis manner in the old time the holywomen also, who trusted God, adornedthemselves, being in subjection untotheir own husbands" (I Pet. 3:3-5) .Certainly, controversies will come upin families if they d isagree on rel igion.In such a case, the wife should obeyGod rather than her husband. Forexample , if the husband wishes his wifeto break the Sabbath day by doing thefamily shopping on Saturday, or byattending a football game or movie withhim, she should refuse to do so.However, she should expla in in a verykind way that the Sabbath is the dayGod commanded her to keep holy. Sheshould, in such a case, obey God rathert han man . Yet, she should always obeyher husband when his authority does notconflict with the higher authority or lawof God.The wife should be in subjec tion toher husband even though he may not beconverted. Though he may never be conve rt ed in this li fe ( I Cor. 7: 12-16 ), yetif she is in subjection to him and respects him as the Bible commands, hewill love and respect her. As a result,he may very possibly be won by her goodexample. He may be inspi red to want toobey the truth when he sees what a godlyand ri gh teou s l if e she is l iving ( l Pet.3: 1).In any event, her constant love andrespect , and her cheer fu l recogni tion ofher husband's rightful place as head ofthe house will resul t in them both livinga happier and ful le r life together at thispresent time.All of you wives need to respect andsubmit to your husbands as the Biblecommands. This is God's way-theChristian way. Most women have notunderstood this sub ject , and much unhappiness has resulted. Ask God to helpyou honor your husband as you should.


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You Are NOTan "Armstrongite"

Some of our members need to learn to what Church they belong!by Richard D. ArmstrongDo YOU know what Church youbelong to? When your friendsask you, "What is your church?

What denomination do you belong to?"-what is your answer? Do you tellthem you are an "Armstrongite?"-ora member of the "Armstrong Movement'I-s-the man tha t preaches over theradio on the World Tomorrow program!JUST WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM?First, let's look at the meaning ofthe word "church."As it was originally used, the word"church" mean t a group of people, nomore, no less. It did not mean a holygroup or a Christian group mere ly agroup of people. That is the meaning ofthe original Greek word, ekklesia.

If you call yourself solely "a followerof Herbert W. Armstrong" or any otherman, then you are not a follower ofChrist-hence not a Christian! The wordChristian implies one who is a followerof Jesus Christ, who patterns his lifeafter the life Christ led, who believesHis teachings and follows His precepts.As popularly applied, the word"church" is taken to mean a group ofpeople bound together by a commoncreed or religious belief. There aremany d iffe ren t churches of this world,each with its own name, each with thename of the part icular per son, creed orcustom it follows.What, then, is our creed and whom dowe follow? Whose group are we and towhom do we belong?

Is Christ Divided?Notice I Corinthians 1:12-13 wherePaul says, "Now this I say, that everyone of you sairh, I am of Paul; and Iof Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I ofChrist."Is Chr is t divided? Was Herbert W.

Armstrong crucified for you? Or wereyou baptized in the name of Armstrong?Weare not to follow men} bu t wemust follow Chris t even as He followedthe Father.The true and correct name for thechurch (group of people) tha t is God's,that belongs to him-keeps his commands-is "The CHURCH OF Goo." Itsmembers pattern t he ir lives after HisSon who lived perfectly. It is GOD'Sgroup, or Goo's Church! This name implies that we have given ourselves toGod-recognize Him as the supreme

allthority on this earth at the presenttime and have come to be able to bechastized by him, to accept correc tionand reproof where we are wrong andfollow God's true WAY!Every other Church does what it feelsis r ight . Or follows what some humanbeing (o r board of men) has set downas his precept of what is right by hisown private interpretation of the Bible.Let us look now at Isaiah 55. Beginning wirh the sixth verse, we read:"Seek ye the Lord while he may befound, call ye upon him while he isnear: Let the wicked forsake his way,and the unr ighteous man his thoughts;and let him return unto the Lord andhe will have mercy upon h im; and to ourGod, for he will abundantly pardon."Not ice tha t we must forsake OURways and turn to the ways of Goo. Thuswe KNOW HIM IF WE KEEP HISCOMMANDMENTS (T John 74, 6) _ SoGod's t rue church is a church or groupof scat tered individuals who recognizeGod as RULER-as the SUPREME AUTHORITY REIGNING ON EARTH AT THEPRESENT TIME-recognizing that it isGod who is working out His PURPOSEhere below!True Church Receives CorrectionNotice Hebrews 12:5-13. We findhere that everyone who is a true childof God is being chastened-rebuked byGod. That means that he is having to beshown where he is wrong and is wil lingto admit it and do what is right-go the

other way, as God commands!Not ice wha t it says in the eighthverse: "But if ye be without chastisemenr, whereof all are partakers, then areye BASTARDS, and NOT sons." Read it!

Now we know that we are the chi ldrenof God if He chastens us and is ourconstant guide in life, not just an emptybelief that we think about a few hours aday or a week!In Il Peter 3: 18 we find ano ther signof God's true church. True Christiansare those who grow in grace and in theknowledge of our Lord and Saviour JesusChrist. Ht:f t : is another way of knowingwhich is GOD'S true church. It is NOT astagnant group, but a group tha t growsspiritually in GRACE and KNOWLEDGE.A third means by which we knowthat we are God's True Church is theway we recognize the authority of the

Bible. Look at II Timothy 3: 16. "Al lscr ip ture is given by inspiration of God[God's own way of speaking to us directly}, and is profitable for doct rine,for reproof , for correct ion, for instruction in righteousness."Brethren, there is the sign of thosewho are God's true people' Those whoare overcoming, being chastened, recognize God as Supreme Authority, andknow that the Bible is his inspired Wordwhereby He corrects us.There is only one church or group ofpeople on this ea rth t hat is doing this!

I f these things are t rue of you, then youare a member of Goo's CHURCH-aChristian-and should call yourself such,NOT an "Arrnsrrongi te," or a followerof any other human being.Now, if you are being led by God,chastened and rebuked by Him, dailyacknowledging where you are wrongand turning from YOUR ways, andlearning and l iv ing HIS ways, YOU AREAMEMBER OF Goo's TRUE CHURCH andnot an "Arrnst rongi re" or a member of"the Armstrong Movement." You shouldboldly tell people to whom you belong.Notice Paul's t each ing in Acts 20:28:"Take heed there fo re unto yourselves.and to all the flock, over the whi ch theHoly Spirit hath made you overseers, tofeed the CHURCH OF Goo, which hehath PURCHASED with his own blood!"We belong to God! You are a memberof the Church of God!

The NAME o f the ChurchThe Bible gives us the true NAME ofthe Church in tu.clue different places.Twelve is God 's COMPLETE number.In five passages where the true NAMEof the Church appears, the entire Body ofChrist-the Church as a whole-is indicated. Thus, when speaking of the entire Church, including all its individualmembers on earth, the name is "TheCHURCH OF GOD."1) Acts 20:28, the admonition toelders to "feed The CHURCH OFGoo."2) I Cor. 10:32: "Give none offense,nei ther to the Jews, nor to the Gentil es,nor to The CHURCH OFGoo."3) I Cor. 11: 22: "... or despi se yeTHE CHURCH OF Goo, and shame themthat have not?"4) Gal. 1: 13: Paul writes, "I persecuted THE CHURCH OF Goo."5) I Cor. 15:9, "I persecuted the


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Page 12CHURCH OF GOD."Where one specific local congregationis mentioned, it is called "The CHURCHOF GOD," often in connection with thePLACE of location.

6) I Cor. 1:2: "The CHURCH OFGOD,which is at Corinth."7) II Cor. 1:1: "The CHURCH OFGOD, which is at Corin th ."8) Speaking of a local e lder of a localchurch: "For if a man know not how torule his own house, how shall he takecare of THE CHURCH OF GOD?"9) Here the name applies to thebuilding, or house of meeting. I Tim.3: 15 : "... that thou mayest know how

thou ough t to behave thyself in thehouse of God, which is THE CHURCH OFTHE LIVING GOD." Here it is the Churchof th e Living God.And, finally, in speaking of the localchurch congregations collectively, not asone general body so much as all thesingle organized local churches collectively, the Bible name is THE CHURCHESOF Goo.10 ) T Cor. 11'1()' ". we have nosuch custom, neither THE CHURCHES OFGoo."11) I Thes. 2: 14: "For ye, brerhren,became followers of THE CHURCHES OFGoo which IN JUOAEA are in ChristJesus."

12) II Thes. 1:4: "So that we ourselves glory in you in THE CHURCHESOF Goo."Our members should realize that thereare several ~ e l i g i o u s denominations whocla im the name "Church of God." Weshould bear in mind that all sects of

this world have some t ru th , thoughmixed with error. Several have foundthe truth about the t rue NAME, and useit. As long as God allows this, we canhave nothing to do with it.It is because of this fact, and BECAUSEit is Scriptural to include with the namethe designation of PLACE, such as "TheChurch of God at Corinth," that we incorporated under the name "RADIOCHURCH OFGoo." The broadcast startedin 1934 as "The Radio Church ofGod." By the time we were forced toincorporate in order to be subject to thepowers of human government as theBible instructs us to be, this name hadbecome nationally known. Because othersalready were incorpor ated in the stateas "The Church of God," we were notallowed to incorporate under that namealone. Since the radio work was themain funct ion of the church-and at thet ime it was, primari ly , a church over theradio, rather than in anyone or severalchurch buildings-and since it was entirely Scriptural, we incorporated underthe name "RADIO CHURCH OF Goo."We may, someday, be able to al te r th isto "The Churches of God."But, regardless of technica l names of

The GOOD NEWSthe incorporated work, the name of theCHURCH to which you belong-that general body of all the individuals in thewor ld who collectively form the trueBody of Christ-IS THE CHURCH OFGOD.Tel l your friends and acquaintancesthe TRUTH-do no t be ashamed of God:Tel l them you are a member of God'sChurch! You may say that Herbert W.Armstrong is your pastor, but NEVERsay you are his follower. You must follow CHRIST, even as HE followed theFather!Finally, when anyone asks you whatChurch you belong to , tell t hem "THECHURCH OF GOO." The world-wideevangelistic work of the Church is incorporated under the legal name "RADIOCHURCH OF Gon-c-bur the TRUECHURCH is no t merely a legally incorporated society, but a SPIRITUAL ORGAN-ISM entirely separate from human political jur isdict ion or cont rol. I t is GOD'SChurch , ruled by Goo's GOVERNMENT,as God Himself governs through thoseof His choosing. Although our worldwide activity in carrying out Christ'sGreat Commissionmust conform to legalrequirements of organized human government of THIS WORLD, and, therefore,is legally named for purposes of dealingwith men's political power the "RADIOCHURCH OF Goo," that gr eat over-allSPIRITUAL ORGANISM which is God'str ue Church on earth, SEPARATE fromthis world though in it, is named THECHURCH OFGOD.That is the Church towhich we belong!

Judging and Discipline(C onti nued f rom page 9)practical experience in adminis teringand obeying God's government now.The scope of God's judgment includesphysical as well as spi ri tua l matters. Itis designed to promote and preserveharmony and righteousness among God'speople, and to prepare us by experienceto become kings and priests in the kingdom of God.

Th e RewardUp until recently most of us didn't

fully understand the necessity of purging the evil out of God' s church. Wethought that perhaps God would takecare of it without us doing anything.And itreemed like it would be showingmore love if we just tried to tolerateevildoers in our midst and hoped forthe best.But can we show more love thanGod? Are our ideas wiser than God'splan? The answer is obviously "no."In his early ministry among God'speople, Mr. Armstrong found by hardexperience that if sinners are not pu tou t of God's church as Christ command-

August, 1958ed, a l it tle leaven does leaven the wholelump. Sin spreads like wildfire if it istolerated. We must obey Jesus' command to disfellowship those who persistin an outright violation of God's lawafte r they have been warned.False teachers must be "marked" andrefused further admit tance ani association in God's church. This is the command of Almighty God. People whorely on human reason may think this isa lack of love. But this is God's way-and God is love.Each of you bre th ren wil l have a partin carrying out God's j udgment anddiscipline in the church as He directs.You must be very careful to do it God'Jway. Be sure to follow all the stepsJesus gave when you warn a brother ofa sin he is committing.Church discipline must be exercised inLOVE. In any such matte r, always try tohelp the othe r party-not injure him.Ask God to give you u/isdom and tohelp you do everything His way.

Study carefully all the scriptures inthis article Realize that you have noeXCUJe for continually criticizing or"picking at" anyone in God's church.You are only to go to them in love andpoint Out their mistake i f they are l it-erally and definitely breaking God's law.In material disputes, you are to godirectly to God's mini st er s instead of aworldly court. I f you love God, this wil lalways be to your best interests. This isGod's w a y - G a d ' s command.In all cases, rememher that the finalresponsibility for all decisions restswith God's ministers whom He hascalled. Christ has promised to "be with"and guide them in every judgment. Thejudgment is of God. It will be "bound"in heaven.

You may be tempted to cr it icize ordisagree with some decision that God'sministers will bind. Be very carefttl lestyou let this turn you against God. Youmay not understand all the facts. RutGod 's called minis ters probably do andthey are responsible to Him-not somehuman-for t he ir actions in directingHis church.It is human nature to disagree withGod. When the children of Israel rejected Samuel as their judge and leader(I Sam. H: 1-

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Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 07) Aug_w