Richard Ames: Living Church of God members are the "pioneers of the New Covenant"

Richard Ames writes:

GROWTH IN THE NEW COVENANT: Have you allowed God to write His spiritual law on your heart and mind? Have you energetically sought to internalize the Ten Commandments as away of life? Many mainstream churches wrongly say that the Ten Commandments are "done away," but the truth is that we in God’s Church are pioneers of the New Covenant, allowing God to write His law on our hearts. So, examine yourself to determine how thoroughly you have internalized God’s law of love.

  

The law still till trumps everything in the Living Church of God.   That inconvenient dude called Jesus still gets relegated to the back burner 95% of the time.

Here is a short chart of the things Richard Ames apparently refuses to acknowledge:

LAW COVENANT--MADE OLD	NEW COVENANT--DIFFERENT, FRESH
1. Old covenant--2 Cor. 3:14	New Covenant--2 Cor. 3:6
2. First covenant--Heb. 8:7; 9:1	Second covenant--Heb. 8:7; 10:1-9
3. Came by Moses--John 1:17	Came by Christ--Heb. 8:6; 9:15
4. Law of Moses--Acts 13:38,39	Law of Christ--Gal. 6:2
5. Law of sin--Rom. 7:23; 8:2	Law of righteousness--Rom. 9:30,31
6. Law of the flesh--Rom. 7:5,6	Law of the spirit--Rom. 8:2
7. Not of faith--Gal. 3:12	Law of faith--Rom. 3:27
8. Yoke of bondage--Gal. 5:1	Law of liberty--James 1:25
9. Ended by Christ--Rom. 10:4	Estab. by Christ--Heb. 8:6; 10:9
10. Law of death--2 Co.3:7; Ro.8:2	Law of life--Gal. 3:11;6:8
11. Entangles--Gal. 5:1	Makes free--John 8:32,36
12. A shadow--Col. 2:14-17	The reality--Heb. 10:1-18
13. Fulfilled--Mat. 5:17,18	Now in force--Heb. 8:6; 10:9
14. People left imperfect--Hb.7:19	Makes perfect--Heb. 7:19
15. Glorious--2 Cor. 3:7	More glorious--2 Cor. 3:8-10
16. Powerless to save--Hb.9:9;10:4	Saves to uttermost--Heb. 7:25
17. Many sacrifices--Heb. 9:12,13	One sacrifice for sins--Heb. 10:12
18. Temporary priest--Heb. 7:23	Eternal priest--Heb. 7:17
19. Remembers sins--Heb. 10:3	Forgets sins--Heb. 8:12; 10:17
20. Yearly atonement--Heb. 10:3	Eternal atonement--Heb. 10:14
21. Priests have sin--Heb. 5:1-4	Sinless priest--Heb. 7:26
22. Aaronic priesthood--Heb. 7:11	Melchisedec--Heb. 5:5-10; 7:21
23. Out of Levi--Heb. 7:11	Out of Judah--Heb. 7:14
24. Animal sacrifices--Heb. 9:12	Human sacrifice--Heb. 9:14-28
25. Earthly tabernacle--Heb. 9:2	Heavenly tabernacle--Heb. 8:2
26. Imperfect mediator--Gal. 3:19	Sinless mediator--1 Tim. 2:5
27. No inheritance--Rom. 4:13	Eternal inheritance--Heb. 9:15
28. Instituted upon animal blood -- Heb. 9:16-22	Instituted upon blood of Christ -- Mat. 26:28
29. Law of works--Rom. 3:27	Law of grace and faith--John 1:17
30. Works wrath--Rom. 4:15	Saves from wrath--Rom. 5:9
31. Non-redeeming--Heb. 10:4	Redeems--Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12-15
32. Non-pleasing--Psa. 40:6	Pleasing to God--Heb. 10:5-18
33. Abolishment predicted--Is.51:6	Establishment predicted--Heb. 8:7
34. Circumcision--Exod. 12:48	No circumcision--Rom. 4:9-12
35. Changeable--Heb.7:12; Gal.3:25	Made eternal--Heb. 13:20
36. Faulty--Heb. 8:7	Perfect--James 1:25
37. Weak--Heb. 7:18	Strong--Heb. 7:25
38. Unprofitable--Heb. 7:18	Profitable--Heb. 7:19,25
39. Natural program--Heb. 9:10-14	Spiritual program--2 Cor. 3:6,18
40. Daily program--Heb. 7:27	Finished program--Heb.10:10-18
41. Infirm priests--Heb. 5:2, 7:28	Perfect high priest--Heb.7:26
42. Priests by law--Heb. 7:12,28	Made priests by oath--Heb.7:21,28
43. No salvation--Heb. 10:2-4	Eternal salvation--Heb.5:9; 10:10
44. Perfected nothing--Heb. 7:19	Perfects faithful--Hb.7:19; 10:14
45. Earthly priests--Heb. 5:1-4	Heavenly priest--Heb. 9:24; 10:12
46. Repeated inability--Heb. 10:11	Glorious success--Heb. 10:10-18
47. Many offerings--Heb. 9:7	One offering--Heb. 10:10-14
48. Good promises--Deut. 28:1-14	Better promises--Heb. 8:6
49. A good covenant--Rom. 7:12	A better covenant--Heb. 7:22; 8:6
50. Many high priests--Heb. 7:23	One high priest--Heb. 7:24-28
51. Typical tabernacle--Heb. 9	True tabernacle--Heb. 8:2; 9:11
52. No mercy--Heb. 10:28	Complete mercy--Heb. 8:12
53. Handmade things--Heb. 9:1-5,24	Not handmade--Heb. 9:23,24
54. An old way--Heb. 8:13	New and living way--Heb. 10:19,20
55. Unavailing ministers--Heb.7:18	Able ministers--2 Cor. 3:6
56. Carnal ministry--Heb. 9:9,10	Spiritual ministry--2 Cor. 3:6
57. Ministration of condemnation-- 2 Cor. 3:9	Ministration of righteousness-- 2 Cor. 3:9
58. Glory covered--2 Cor. 3:13	Glory uncovered--2 Cor. 3:18
59. Brings bondage--Gal. 4:24,25	Brings liberty--2 Cor. 3:17
60. Cannot justify--Gal. 2:16	Does justify--Acts 13:38,39
61. Brings a curse--Gal. 3:10	Redeems from the curse--Gal. 3:13
62. Live by works--Gal. 3:10	Live by faith--Gal. 3:11
63. Cannot give life--Gal. 3:21	Does give life--John 6:63-68
64. Exposes sin--Gal. 3:19	Covers sin--Rom. 4:1-8
65. Under law--Rom. 6:14,15	Under grace--Gal. 3:22-25
66. Done away--2 Cor. 3:7-14	Not done away--2 Cor. 3:11
67. Abolished--2 Cor. 3:13	Continues glorious--2 Cor. 3:11
68. Ministry of death--2 Cor. 3:7	Reconciliation ministry--2 Co.5:18
69. Only for Israel--Dt.4:7,8; 5:3	For all men--Lk. 22:20; Mk. 14:2

Chart link here:  Auburn.edu

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David C Pack: "Oh well, all the old ones are gone, that just leaves the young ones and that's the way I like it".

Reposting this so it doesn't get buried

What About The Truth said...

A little background for everyone on the mechanism of the RCG: All sermons come from their headquarters and close to 90% of the sermons are from Mr. Pack himself. These sermons are in the form of CD or video. The field ministers rarely if ever speak except for and during the Feast of Tabernacles. Most congregations are led by what is termed a host - a leading man of some sort. The few field ministers that there are, try to visit the congregations at least once every two months excepting for some of the big cities where the minister lives near. All hosts and ministers must fill out a host form every Sabbath. The host must record who spoke, what were the messages about, who was song leader, who gave opening and closing prayer, any visitors, who attended and who didn't show up. This whole set-up is for the purpose of "So that we can all speak the same thing" according to Mr. Pack. So essentially everyones minister is Dave Pack. The field minsters only ensure that everyone is dressed properly and that what they do and speak and act as if they were attending headquarters. All counsel and answers to questions from the field ministers will be according to what Dave Pack has taught, period!

That list of names of ministers and wives may be just a list of names to most of you, but some of those are astounding individuals, others are unique and some are just well ......

Mr. and Mrs. Behrer - class acts - always talking with the lowly common folk. MR. & Mrs Capozzollo - both really good people and hard working. Kevin Denee - too much like royalty. The Goebels are fine minsters. And who wouldn't love Mrs. Goebel who came to her first sabbath service in the 1960's wearing a mini-skirt with go go boots. Davina Lischak (Mr. Pack's adopted daughter) is the ultimate girl next door. Tom Marchione was well loved in the New York area. The Mews and Quimby's all young and talented. Justin and Stacey Palm - Justin was Mr. Pack's personal assistant - both of them very nice people. James Turck, unfortunately, was around Mr. Pack for far too many years. Steve Wazny is a guy everyone would want as their best friend - he had to leave the ministry because he couldn't afford to feed his 4 teenage children. Mike Webster was very well liked by many. When he left many followed. Last I heard he had close to 200 with him. The Farrell's, Harrington's and Toews all had good reputations.

Shortly after Mr. and Mrs Behrer left and some of the others on this list as well, Mr. Pack commented; "Oh well, all the old ones are gone, that just leaves the young ones and that's the way I like it".

Real people, real lives and an unobstructed tyrannical church leader who claimed he was God. What of any good can come from that? 

March 18, 2018 at 7:39 PM

"Every cult has its currency – ours was fear."

Medium Magazine has an excellent article up dated March 16, 2018 on what life was like growing up in the Worldwide Church of God.

I grew up in a cult.

And this is what it taught me about real life.

 Fleur BrownEntrepreneur, writer, cause marketer. Passionate about the future of #media #entrepreneurship, freedom of identity & the rise of #personalbrand

Mar 16 

When my Mum lost her Dad in her early twenties, she was looking for answers and a soft place to land. A confusing time to be human, the 1970s was the era of the Vietnam War, equal rights and the disruption of all kinds of traditional values.

She found sanctuary in the Worldwide Church of God, an American fundamentalist religion that offered concrete answers for seekers; a road-map for the meaning of life, infused with a little self-help theory and some healthy eating tips. 

Aside from a conservative dress code and a ban on makeup, the church was full of fairly normal looking people. There were millions of followers at its peak — families big and small, rich and poor joined from almost every country in the world. 

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Like most cults, there was a gnostic layer to the sharing of “truth.” Our church masters cautioned us against sharing church secrets with school friends, neighbours or other outsiders — they were priviliged truths to be revealed when they decided someone had been properly ‘converted.’ As a consequence, I kept my mouth closed at school and the church theories were rarely challenged. Later, I was often labelled mysterious and secretive. It took me years to realise this was not an intrinsic part of my nature, but something I had developed in an attempt to not draw attention to myself. 

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Niceness is next to godliness

Another characteristic of cult life is the absence of authentic self expression. Cults have a powerful unifying mono ‘cult-ure.’ In ours, everyone was magnetically nice.

“Everyone is so …(can’t quite put my finger on it … ah there it is) … so nice!” was the comment I frequently heard growing up from neighbours, school friends partners — anyone who had a brush with someone from our Church group. It felt like heaven on earth for new recruits; who were often battered and bruised by life’s tribulations.

The indoctrination process was the best part of being in the group. New people were invited to dinner, quizzed intensely about their past, offered home cooked meals and support around the home, had their dance card filled with happy social events. Love bombed.

Niceness let the barriers down. It also stopped the appropriate boundaries from being in place whenever members felt uncomfortabke. But that seemed a small price to pay to fit in. In a dog-eat-dog world, who doesn’t want to be part of an intoxicatingly nice community — even, any community?

That community feeling was the thing I missed acutely when I left … and studies show this is a big reason many people exit one cult to join another. Sometimes the ‘cult’ is a corporation with a similar restrictive culture. 

This niceness nirvana cannot be comfortably sustained. There was a ‘Stepford’ feeling to our community — and our emotional kaleidoscope had a limited spectrum. Some feelings were more spiritual than others – self-reflection, sadness and anxiety were encouraged and rewarded with praise – anger, joy and celebration were considered self indulgent, less spiritual, Ungodly. Birthday celebrations were an example – the pinnacle of self focus – and were banned, along with the ‘pagan’ celebrations of Christmas and Easter. That caused me no end of embarrassment at school and kept me away from forging deep connections with my non church peers.

Read the entire article here:   I grew up in a cult.  And this is what it taught me about real life.