United Church of God: Chief Pharisee Has Melt Down Over Perceived Doctrinal Teachings

A sure indication that a Church of God may be potentially heading in the right direction regarding "grace" is when you see the Official Pharisee of the Church of God get his Levitical bloomers all in a legalistic twist.

Pharisee and Zealot James Malm is all in an uproar over a paper Mark Mickelson presented to the UCG on who the God of the Old Testament was and its relationship to Jesus.  The Chief Pharisee has been screeching for many months now that UCG was changing its doctrine on grace.

Zealot Malm writes:

This article deals specifically with the UCG Doctrinal Statement claiming that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament together with the Being who became flesh as the son.  

United Church of God has specifically denied that they considered Mickelson's paper. 

Council of Elders Statement

The Doctrine Committee and its subcommittees completed review of the paper titled “The God of the Old Testament” submitted by Mark Mickelson. The conclusion reached by the Doctrine Committee was that God the Father and the Word were and are both very active in all of Scripture. The [Mickelson] paper did not receive support to move forward. The Council recommends that everyone read the UCG study paper “The Nature of God and Christ,” to gain additional background on this subject.

The Zealot writes:

All of you KNOW that I get my doctrine directly from the Holy Scriptures and that I do not blindly follow HWA, yet he did teach the same as I do on this matter; often clearly stating that Jesus revealed the Father. 

It is true that the Father’s existence is implied in the scriptures, but he was NEVER actively involved and was not active or known before the physical life of Jesus Christ who revealed the existence of the Father and the Being who became the Son as two separate God Beings.

For years Mark Mickelson has been falsely cloaking himself in the name of Christ and of Herbert Armstrong to teach the Protestant error that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament who was the Lord of Hosts.  

This is not the teaching of Herbert Armstrong, it is not my teaching and it is not scriptural;  it is gross error. 

Nothing infuriates the Chief Pharisee more than grace, particularly the accepted understanding of it.  As with all things when zealotry is involved, Pharisee Malm's grace comes with lots of conditions.  So when people say that grace trumps the law, the spittle starts flying.   Your computer screen almost gets wet from it flying!  

The Pharisee attempts to end any discussion on grace by spitting out that it is "evangelical" anytime it does not require keeping all 613 laws and HIS interpretations along side it.

Mark’s position is very evangelical, presenting the Father as the uncompromising God of the Old Testament, with Christ adding Grace later. In reality Mark has been allowed to openly teach this heresy and his paper was a “Trial Balloon” on the subject.

Many brethren would not agree with the idea and so these same folks who brought this error into the Tkach WCG  came up with a more subtle statement that accepts the evangelical position that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament, but added that Christ was also active then to pacify the brethren. 

What this statement does is to promote the evangelical heresy that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament and that he was the God of Moses and the Mosaic Covenant and the laws of Moses.

In due time the other shoe will drop that Jesus brought grace through his sacrifice thereby freeing us from any obligation to keep the laws of Moses. Then the heresy long taught in UCG at ABC and elsewhere that “We keep them because WE want to, not because we have to” will kick in and very many will decide that if they don’t have to, they will simply decide not to. 

UCG is now rapidly becoming a Protestant Sabbatarian organization.    Make no mistake, this seemingly innocuous Doctrinal Statement is earth shattering in its implications for UCG!

Pharisees, Zealot's and legalists are all about condemnation through the law. In the Church of God, condemnation has always been the driving force in all matters of the church understanding's. Divine punishment and retribution is the expectation or so many in the church today that they actively seek to see people they deem "lost" to be destroyed.

The Subtle Power Of Spiritual Abuse, 1991; David Johnson/Jeff VanVonderen 

"The legalist will always want to see another punished, or made to perform as a compensation for weakness or sin."

A perfect description of Pharisee Malm:

The New Manners And Customs Of Bible Times 1987 Ralph Gower 

"Pharisees . . . Their name means 'those who separate themselves.' . . . They wanted to be legally pure, separate from any form of defilement. They believed that the difference between being 'clean' and 'unclean' depended upon that law. What was 'clean' was obedience to the law; what was 'unclean' was disobedience to the law. This position regarding the law created problems, however, for although there are 613 commandments in the Torah (the books of Moses), they are not always specific. If the Sabbath day is to be kept 'holy,' then exactly what may be done and what may not? There were lengthy discussions on such subjects as whether or not it was lawful (or unclean) to eat an egg laid on the Sabbath. The Pharisees developed a set of regulations designed to save people from breaking the law itself . . . the Pharisees had failed to understand what the law was all about . . . The Pharisees seem to have taken the law and changed it . . . into a great burden -- 'This is what you have got to do; if you fail, God will punish you' . . . It was so out of tune with what God intended that Jesus attacked it."

Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke (the law) upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled in the yoke of bondage. [the law]

Rightly Dividing The Word 1920 Clarence Larkin 

"THE LAW demands holiness" 

"GRACE gives holiness" 

"THE LAW says--Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" 

"GRACE says--Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sin is covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity." 

"THE LAW declares--That as many as have sinned in the Law, shall be judged by the law." 

"GRACE declares--That there is no condemnation (Judgment for Sin) for those who are in Christ Jesus for they have passed from death unto life."

Living Victoriously 1987 Victor Paul Wierwille

"A believer's peace is lost when he allows sincere, religious people to put him under the covenant of works of the Old Testament [legalism]. And when a believer loses sight of the truth of his standing in Christ then he loses sight of grace, mercy, love and the power of God. Then he gets into confusion as to the truth, and his peace evaporates, and it is gone."

Legalism destroys your peace, and it leads to confusion as to your state and standing with God. The sincere religious legalists love to tell people that they are unworthy and that God is displeased with them, or that God doesn't love them, or that God wants to punish them.

See more here:  

Legalism vs Grace

Legalism vs Grace: They Lying Truth

Lesson 57: Why Jesus Hates Legalism (Luke 11:37-54)

A LOGICAL LOOK AT LEGALISM/Bad Christian

LEGALISM VERSUS GRACE: A Study of Two Contrasting Lifestyles Within The Christian Church

Are "Scumbag's" Welcome in Your COG or Church?

A church in Florida has taken the radical love that Jesus brought into the world and is attempting to put it into practice.  Of course the self-righteous indignant Christians are having a hissy-fit.

"Calling people scumbags, that's just not right. I was raised in a Christian home and I was raised not to insult people," said passerby Bradley Lord.

Residents of the telephone area code do not like it either and have complained mightily.  It resulted in the city checking the sign  for code violations.  None were found and the sign stays, much to the dismay of angry residents.

The City of Tavares had code enforcement take a look at the large message after the city received complaints from residents. A spokeswoman said the church is well within its right of free speech and had no other comment.

Armstrongism has never liked scumbags wither.  In Pasadena we used to have guards on all the doors of the Auditorium, College gym and the Imperial gym to keep out scumbags.  The only people allowed in were the righteous, the chosen ones, the special ones.  At one point in time we even had a super deacon who carried a gun.

Walk-in's were never permitted.  You had to have special dispensation from the minister or had spent several months reading all of HWA's materials before you were allowed in.

That all came to a crashing end when Tkach Sr. said to stop it. Some of the super-deacons were not happy and still tried to do it, till JT forced them to stop.  These guys soon jumped ship to Flurry and Meredith's cults where they continue to do this to this day.

We have seen in the last several weeks the abject rage James Malm has towards the grace of Jesus.  Like all legalists he claims grace is a license to sin over and over and  over and over and over.

Brennan Manning has some great comments about grace:

Jesus spent a disproportionate amount of time with people described in the gospels as: the poor, the blind, the lame, the lepers, the hungry, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, the persecuted, the downtrodden, the captives, those possessed by unclean spirits all who labor and are heavy burdened, the rabble who know nothing of the law, the cowards, the little ones, the least, the last, and the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

In short, Jesus hung out with ragamuffins (Scumbags).

The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise.  He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven.  It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness.  Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace.

The sinners to whom Jesus directed his messianic ministry were not to those who skipped morning devotions or Sunday church.  His ministry was to those whom society considered real sinners.  They had done nothing to merit salvation.  Yet they opened themselves tot he gift that was offered them.  On the other hand, the self-righteous placed their trust in thew works of the Law and closed their hearts to the message of grace.

Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son .  I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually-abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who falls asleep each night after his last 'trick', whispers the name of the unknown God  he learned about in Sunday school; the death-bed convert who for decades had his cake and ate it, broke every law of God and man, wallowed in lust an draped the earth.

"But how?" we ask.  Then the voice says, "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of hte lamb."

There they are.  There we are-the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life,and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations. but through it all clung to the faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace.

From The Ragamuffin Gospel

I am glad to know a God who loves scumbags, the ragamuffins, the despised and the rejected!

How Finding 'Grace' Sent Malm Into Fits of Rage Today

Interesting things have been going on over on James Malm's 'Glowering Darkness' blog today.  He seems to be going into meltdown mode.  . He is posting things that are getting crazier and crazier every day.  Conspiracy theories, demons, Russian witches, Judaizing, UCG accusations, and theological ignorant ramblings.The entire world is a conspiracy and a tool of Satan to keep us from keeping the law and doing 'works.'


Malm is going ballistic over Bible translations that he claims are 'new age' and are products of demonism inspired by Russian witch Madam Blavatski.  Malm says Thomas Edison was one of Madam Blavatski's acolytes and got many of his inventions from demons.   Since Satan is an angel of light, he inspired Edison to create the light bulb........ He also claims Hitler was one of her acolytes as well as Henry Ford.


Malm says President Roosevelt never made a decision without first consulting spirits in seances and that Chruchilll was a druid who worked with demons. And that the Anglo Saxon world is rotting away because of demons, Theosophy and Madam Blavatski.


So what stirred up this conspiracy theory lunacy?  It was something that you would never have guessed.


An ex-UCG member who spent time studing his bible without any HWA, UCG, related booklets and articles and discovered GRACE!  That simple little word that turns rabid Armstrongite's into frothing at the mouth rage!


If you believe in God's grace you are a damnable heretic committing all kinds of  wantonness because being grace filled means you are an unrepentant, sodomizing, adulterous sinner.  Oy!  The lies Armstrongites love to tell in order to keep people enslaved to the law!

This is the false religion of license to sin, through the grace of God; which was prophesied to come in the last days.  This denies Christ even though it purports to emphasize Christ.

This false permissive “love” removes the AUTHORITY of Jesus Christ and the need to recognize that authority and to obey him and his Father.  This deceitful insidious evil, preempts obedience by producing the attitude that it really does not matter because we shall all be forgiven anyway.  The law is then  pictured as something Pharisaical and an unnecessary heavy burden; when in fact the law delivers us from the burden of sin.

Here is what set Malm off the deep end today: Grace may be entering the UCG (FINALLY!!!!)

This is what happened in the WCG with the Tkach era and it is what is now happening in the UCG.  In May there will be another Conference and election: WATCH the direction that is taken after that.  The fruits should become clear by the fall Feast.

I received a message from a man in the UCG, who is now taking a sabbatical to write a book on Law and Grace in preparation for the coming changes. His Blog is an excellent placce to see the subtlty of the new take on the Covenants, and Law and Grace; that are slowly being inserted into the UCG.

Michael Mynard’s Blog  will put right before  your eyes in a  nutshell; what will be done subtly over many months in the UCG. His web site is now under construction.  By all means look through this Blog and its pages to see the subtle errors. See how he says that the sons of the King are “above the law” subtly twisting a scripture on the temple tax to somehow include all the law.  Be sure to notice how many “New Age” quotes and translations he uses.

Read through this Blog and then take a listen to the New Covenant series of audios by Robin Webber.  Look for the subtlities, the inferences, the allusions and the little twists, as he uses a six or seven part series to put over the new UCG agenda and bury it in a multitude of words.  “Church family is to love one another; we obey God because we love him and for no other reason because we no longer have to obey,

Double speak to confuse and distract as the subliminal message of “love trumps law” is entrenched in this phsycologiocal warfare of the spirit. Teaching us that we should just wink at and tolerate sin; and compromise with God’s law anytime the going gets difficult.

Teaching that “love” is the “easy way” and that when the going gets tough we should just push the “easy butten” and compromise with God’s law because he is love and will understand and forgive.

One reader who mistakenly thinks Malm is endorsing Michael Maynard's blog sends Malm into meltdown with his response.  Careful Bro!  You are going to pop a blood vessel!

I AM NOT ENDORSING HIS BLOG! I AM PRESENTING IT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE EVIL THAT WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF THIS “LOVE TRUMPS LAW” GARBAGE; SLOWLY BEING SEEPED INTO UCG.
Michael’s blog is the anithesis of sound doctrione and true reliogion; his positions are an abomination and utterly disgusting to me!!! James

Malm also has this to say about "'love is the fulfillment of the law' hype"

It destroys faith and without faith we cannot please God. It also destroys “works” and there can be no faith without works for only the “doers of the law will be justified”. A terrible and most subtle evil is seeping into the organization. The whole concept that UCG is now following is to focus people inward at serving each other and loving each other and the organization. The problem is that the focus is being changed from God to US; the focus is being changed from serving God and achieving unity through our unity with God to unity by and through ourselves

Michael's blog is here The True Doctrine of Christ
and here  Unraveling Armstrong's Doctrinal Errors
Here are some interesting quotes from Maynard's blog that I am SURE that set Malm off today:

I told  Dave Treybig, the Tampa United Church of God's former pastor, by email this past July, I was taking a sabbatical to write a book on a biblical topic. My topic had to do with investigating the UCG’s doctrines that teach a blend of Old Testament Laws including Holy Days, Tithing, and Circumcision, with New Testament theology that can never be fully reconciled from scripture.  This area of UCG theology has always caused me, and many others I know, internal conflict because it obviously contradicted the new testament aspect of Salvation through Grace.  This caused me to attempt to ignore this conflict between Bible truth and  UCG (Armstrong) doctrine. But sooner or later I knew I would be forced to face this seeming “paradox.” On what level I did not know until now.

The general membership of the UCG and other churches that adhere to Armstrongism  know that  observing all of the Old Testament "annual sabbaths" or holy days is a doctrinal requirement for church members. Further it is reasoned that is  the only way the church could fully understand God’s plan of salvation. However based upon the writings of the Apostle Paul, this doctrine is clearly anything but Christian and not supported by any New Testament scripture. The first era Church of God never observed these days. Not one instance of observing the Feast pf Tabernacles, or other Feast Day Observance is recorded after the first Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was given thus beginning the New Covenant Church of Christ.

Salvation  is offered by God by Faith through Grace alone,  the Gentiles knew nothing about the Laws of Moses. They were never bound to observe the law of Moses by the apostles of Christ. 

 

 There was no salvation, no eternal life obtainable under the Old Covenant.

According to All  New Testament Teachings          ..especially those of Paul...Herbert W. Armstrong taught a theology that CUT HIS DISCIPLES OFF FROM CHRIST and LEFT THEM FALLEN FROM GRACE! CUT OFF FROM SALVATION! 

RIGHT NOW, ALL WHO FOLLOW

ARMSTRONGISM ARE LOST!

(as Paul writes in Galatians 5)

FOR INSTANCE, BY KEEPING THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES THIS YEAR YOU HAVE CAUSED THE LOSS OF YOUR SALVATION!

Michael Maynard has discovered many of the things a lot  of us discovered years ago.   Being free from Armstrongism is such a great thing!

UCG's New Pharisees Indignant at Iron Man!

Clyde Kilough has a new name.  He  can now be called "Iron Man".

The modern day Pharisees at The Shining Light Blog are indignant that Clyde went out and bought a shirt and ironed it on the sabbath!  Oh the humanity!  The abomination of desolation has occurred! Ironing shirts on the sabbath has destroyed the UCG.

When comments like this are uttered by the ultra conservatives it just shows how theologically bankrupt and graceless Armstrongism really is.  This is a prime example on why Armstrongism is splintering into 700+ personality cults that have no relevance to humanity.  You never hear these legalistic fools talk about Jesus, grace, love or serving mankind. Instead it  just one humongous list of hundred's of old covenant  "do not's" that they love to spit out in their hypocritical Pharisaical glory..

Yesterday Clyde Kilough had no qualms about announcing that he had purchased a shirt and ironed it on Saturday.  He made no attempt to say that he did so after sun set or any such thing.  He therefore left the clear impression that such Sabbath shopping was acceptable.  He was surely setting an example of righteousness for the flock: wasn’t he?  Would Elijah have set such a terrible example, or would he have made the record absolutely clear by simply adding the words; after sun set?

Poor Clyde, he just can't seem to do anything right any more!  :-)

UCG Crisis: Is This Really A Fight Between the Tkach Men and the HWA Men?

Interesting comments on the Shining Light blog today about the UCG crisis:

BACKGROUND TO THE FRANKS LETTER:  At the Dec 15th meeting between the two sides, Dennis Luker gave permission for the dissident meeting to go ahead for the purpose of  implimenting an amicable split.   Jim Franks was not present at this meeting between the two sides and had personally denied any association with the dissident group. 
This flow of events in no way absolves the dissident faction from working to split United, it only helps to explain the Franks letter; and the subsequent events.  In fact, BOTH sides have been working to split UCG for a very long time.

On Dec 7-8th Jim Franks resigned from the Council.   On Dec 15th a meeting was held between representatives of both sides and it was agreed to split amicably with Dennis Luker giving prmission for a meeting of the dissidents. Jim Franks was NOT present at that meeting and had denied any connection with the dissident camp. On Dec 17  Jim sent the email published earlier, showing his involvement in spite of his earlier denials. On Dec 19 the meeting of dissident leaders was held to make important decisions.  On Dec 21 Jim Franks resigned.  On Dec 23 the United Real Time letter was posted and the mass resignations began.

Certain people on this Council  were Joe Tkach men all along and were firing those who objected to the Joe T teachings right up until they jumped ship at the last hour to infiltrate the new organization being formed in 95-96.  This resulted in intense infighting within UCG from the very beginning. Fighting between the Joe T style men and the HWA style men.

Some of those who have resigned from UCG and are joining the new COGaWA are also in this group of Tkach types and are moving to infiltrate the new group.

This split was preordained from the very beginning; and now it has arrived.  Those who want an HWA style church [as evidenced by the choice of name] are leaving; the Joe T style men remain.

Those who want an HWA style of autocratic leadership are using the emotions involving LA and calls for “Servant Guide Leadership” to attract supporters.  In fact, the HWA style had absolutely nothing to do with “Servant Guide Leadership” and everything to do with maintaining a ministerial caste system over the people.  Those well meaning folks, taken in by the pleasant words will quickly find this out.

I am speaking of those in leadership roles and not of the overall elders or brethren here.  I do know that several elders who were actively disfellowshipping those who disageed with Joe T have resigned from UCG and joined the new COGaWA.  I am writing in broad generalities and I do understand that there are exceptions on  both sides. 

Both sides are wrong!  One side is using many people’s respect for a man to establish themselves  in dictatorial power and authority; with the only doctrine truly vital to themselves: HWA’s take on GOVERNMENT. The other side is diluting the practical application of its doctrines, even more rapidly than the first side; until the people will agree to finally changing them in writing.

The Joe T folks who now control the Council continually say that they are not, and have no intention of changing doctrine.  Yet in practice both sides have already sidelined much doctrine.  The Happy New Years on facebook, the willingness to associate with paganism and participate in Christmas and other pagan festivals with the excuse of attending extended family reunions, the emphasis on grace and love to the exclusion of the Father and the practical definition of love as the keeping of God’s commandments; are clear trends toward the kind of Charismatic Evangelical nonsense that Joe led the WCG into.