“Note carefully: our human minds are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked,” Gerald Flurry wrote. “We cannot trust our thinking. That is eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan’s nature permeates human intellect and human reasoning. We cannot trust our own minds” (From the Beginning).
The heart is incurably sick—and only God really recognizes that! Only God’s Spirit can expose human nature. You have to pray to see yourself as God sees you—not as your human heart wants to see itself.
We should never trust our own minds, but so often we do. And what happens? We become cursed (verse 5). Trusting sick human minds is what has made our whole world such a sick place!
Contrast that to what those who follow Jesus are referred to:Don’t trust yourself! Don’t try to run your life your own way. Don’t trust your incredibly deceitful mind that is terminally ill—or you will be cursed!
Colossians 3:12-17
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.Since the Philadelphia Church of God follows Moses, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, David, and all the other "heroes' of the Old Testament, they are at a total loss when it comes to Jesus. Here are some other qualities that believers have that PCG members do not have:
1. Loving
You love your enemies, your neighbors, your family, and your friends. You aren’t afraid to love when others are withholding it. ()
2. Forgiving
Grace is an inevitable quality of any Christ follower. While the rest of the world may show resentment and hold grudges, a legit Christian will always show grace and forgiveness. ()
3. Selfless
You don’t think of yourself before others. In fact, you do the complete opposite. Your spirit is wired to put others before your own needs, wants and desires. Why? Because Jesus himself did the same thing. ()
4. Servanthood
You give and serve out of the abundance of your heart. Not only is your heart passionate about serving others, but its sole purpose is to serve others as Christ came to serve us. ()
5. Humility
Pride comes before the fall. If you don’t remember, pride itself is what sent satan to his lonely exile. Humility showcases a posture that is open to being molded, directed, and empowered by the Spirit of God. There is no such thing as a prideful example of Jesus. Why? Because pride isn’t an attribute that Jesus practices. ()
6. Driven
You don’t sit at home and bask in your own mess. Instead, your are a driven and goal-minded individual who seeks after the will of God. Your driven heart keeps you focused on God’s promises, his will, and his grace. ()
7. Passion
You are passionate about Jesus, sharing the promises of God, and showcasing the living and breathing image of love. Settling for mediocrity is not something you’re willing to do. Your passion and zeal for the Lord takes you deeper into the character of God himself. ()
8. Compassion
Compassion is like a second language to any legit Christian. You bear the burdens of others, feel their pain, and do whatever you can to comfort those going through a tough time. ()
9. Patience
Patience is a true virtue of any true Christ follower. It’s easy to make quick decisions, but those who are truly grounded in the Word of God are prone to slowing down, seeking Godly wisdom, and pursuing the guidance of Christ. ()
10. Control
Self-control brings security and maturity to anyone’s life. And while some may see control as a flaw, Jesus views control and organization as a beautiful thing to practice when in a relationship with him. ()
11. Kindness.
If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all. Kindness is a beautiful attribute of any legit Christian. Not only does kindness showcase a vibrant reflection of Christ, but it also allows you to personally reflect an image of his being. ()
12. Joy
Life is too short to be spent in sorrow. As Christians, we are called to rejoice in all things. No matter what you are going through in life, choosing joy will always be the way of a legit Christian. ()
13. Peace
Don’t look to stir up controversy, dissension, or even strife. Seek to be a peacemaker in all things. While the rest of the world looks to make their point, seek to bring peace through the love and grace of Christ. ()
-Jarrid Wilson 13 Qualities of a Legit ChristianThe church has always held members to the standard of being worthless worms, devoid of any redeeming qualities whatsoever. Church members have never been considered good enough for a loving God to love unconditionally. The more members are beat down, the more submissive they will be. Just take a look at almost every single letter HWA wrote to the membership. Church members were constantly at fault for something. Don't ever dare use your mind to actually think, to do so lets Satan gain control.
Because PCG chooses not to follow Jesus and instead places their allegiance upon OT hero's, it stands to reason that they need to tell their members that they have incurably sick human minds. Just look at their leaders!
Sounds like Bob Thiel from the other day. Commands to not think for yourself.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point and posting. Flurry says, “We cannot trust our thinking. That is eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan’s nature permeates human intellect and human reasoning. We cannot trust our own minds"
ReplyDeleteEver wonder just exactly why, in the myth of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were not to take of tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil? Why on this good earth would humans not benefit from the knowledge of good and evil? It's exactly the knowledge they need. And if, as the myth indicates, Adam and Eve did not have that knowledge before they took of the fruit of the tree, why was it wrong? Sure, they had been told not to but they did not know why. They had no knowledge of good or evil to understand the command. So why do they get blamed for not knowing good from evil?
The truth is that the knowledge of good and evil was knowledge only for the Gods and there were gods at this time. There was El and there were his Elohim or "Council of the Gods" of which the Satan was a member in good standing.
The Satan in the Garden idea came much later. The Serpent was not Satan. The Serpent was the Wise Counselor to the Woman in the cultures around Israel in goddess worship. Since there would be none of that in Israel, but rather priests, meat and temples, matriarchy, the woman and her counselor had to be blamed for everything. And they were.
Even El and the members of the council of the gods warned and complained .
Genesis 3:22
And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
Evidently knowing good from evil and living forever were off limits. Those trees were God-Fruit Trees only. Of course putting in the middle of the garden also seems like me putting a box of chocolates on the coffee table and warning the kids not to dare eat any. Seems a set up for lost chocolate.
Pack, Flurry, Thiel, Malm , LCG, UCG all wallow in the Old Testament and can't see it for the beams.
I remember being called "the Cream of the Crud" by Richard Plache in College. That never set right with me either.
Dennis, do you not believe that it was an apple? Well, there goes everything I ever learned in WCG. ;)
DeleteThat every person has a evil deceitful heart is not true. Many times in the New Testament, a person is called blameless or 'good' as in 'well done good and faithful servant.' If you don't trust your own judgment, then who do you trust? Why your tyrannical minister of course.
ReplyDeleteOn this point, tyranny is a social system. For instance, in a free society, people pursue their own personal plans. In a tyranny, a government plan is in the place of private plans. North Korea is a accurate manifestation of such a undiluted system. Yet this is the XCOGs culture, with the ministers wondering why God doesn't add to their number.
First you need to believe that God exists and Jesus is the fulfilling the word of God that has been recorded for generations. Otherwise your mind is useless in discovering the whole purpose of Life. AB
ReplyDeleteWhat Churches of God have not taught people is that our behavior is programmed, that our programming can be changed (conversion), and that we are not our programming. Though our programming changes, we still remain. The heart has to do with programming, not the essence of who we are. We are awareness. More than that, we are aware that we are aware. That is pretty much our essence. Nothing so inherently evil about that.
ReplyDeleteCUNNUNDRUM TIME...
ReplyDeleteFlurry writes "We cannot trust our thinking"
But it is Flurry here doing that thinking and thought!
THEREFORE (if logic were to prevail), YOU CANNNOT TRUST GERALD FLURRY"S THINKING!
The church always taught that our Lord accomplished nothing. His presence in you makes no difference, he is unable to save, unable to change you, unable to lift you up.
ReplyDeleteThe church makes you worthless but at the same time seems to foster an 'I know something you don't know" kind of childish attitude as well.
They talk a lot about being the weak and the base and expect you to remain that way. But God doesn't want that for us, I am sure.
11.39 AM
ReplyDeleteThe 'we know something you don't' (special knowledge and understanding) is used by many cults and organizations. For instance, if a government policy doesn't appear rational (which it is not) then the reason given or implied is that the government has special information that everyone else lacks.
This ploy is mentioned a JW dissident site, which I can't find just now.
In my experience when ministers are over the top, thundering on about how incredibly wicked the members hearts are usually means something is adrift with themselves. You don't find out until years or decades later what was really going on.
ReplyDeleteEven liberal Garner Ted went down the same road berating the youth years ago for not being well mannered enough. He dedicated a whole sermon to how the church youth of the day had lousy manners and had to say Yes instead of yep, yeah,yes or yer.
Meanwhile during the week he was going whoring with impeccable manners but no morals.
I remember when GTA said during Bible Study that he might be asking the guys that went to Imperial how many times they masturbated each day.
DeleteOh, and FYI, GTA was widely considered to be very, very right wing. Being liberal in an ACOG is way to the right of center.
BB
I know GTA was very right wing. I only described him as liberal because many nowadays refer to him as liberal because he aLlowed makeup, birthdays and tithing on only three holydays and new years eve. But I always thought he was about as liberal as John Waynes right foot!
Delete
ReplyDelete“PCG Wants Members to Know They Have 'Sick trusting Minds'”
So true. Anyone still in the PCG must have a sick mind.
NO2HWA, I inadvertently put the following post on the wrong thread, and now put it on the thread that I intended it for ....... if you allow it. Sorry for my error, and thanks, in advance.
ReplyDeleteJarrid Wilson’s “13 Qualities of a Legit Christian” could actually add a 14th quality:
14. “…The SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN US lusteth to envy…” James 4:5
But Gerald Flurry wrote to his members, in part: “…Satan’s nature PERMEATES HUMAN INTELLECT AND HUMAN REASONING.…”
Perhaps Gerald is making a valid point as James 4:5 is also applicable to all PCg members as well!
So, also, does I John 3:8 apply to all PCg members!
“…He that committeth sin is of the devil…” I John 3:8
Of course, as Gerald Flurry points his finger, and words, at his own members, he does have other remaining fingers on his hand pointing back at himself!
Comment was made saying: “…Only God’s Spirit can expose human nature.…”
There is no reason to expose human nature, b/c human nature was created “very good:”
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31
I think: if Gerald Flurry would think more about this he might use the phrase “carnal mind” instead of “human nature.” The carnal mind is enmity to God…something the created Adam and Eve did not have until AFTER Satan was allowed to infest/infect their minds.
I am caught up in this creation with all of this (very good human nature PLUS those negative traits of having that carnal mind) too; I am no exception. What hope is there?
“For the creature was MADE SUBJECT TO vanity, NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of HIM who hath subjected the same in hope,” Romans 8:20
What hope is there? Amongst other things, there is this:
“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING their TRESPASSES unto them…” 2 Corinthians 5:19
The likes of a Gerald Flurry (or a Pack, a Malm, a Thiel, a Franks, a Kubik, a Weston…pick a name/group) will never reconcile us, but I am hopeful reconciliation becomes a reality for each of us.
And time will tell…
John
PCOG has posted an article on the Trumpet about the evils of Facebook and all the dangers of distraction cause by Facebook and other social media sites. But they give a list of solutions to reverse the addiction to Facebook and other social media sites.
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