Gerald Weston: Living Church of God Members Enslaved By Lust, Alcohol, Vaping, Cigarettes, Pot and Porn

 

The one message you never hear in the Living Church of God. 

Instead, just constant condemnation.

Some things never change in the Church of God.

The Apostle John tells us that loving this world is incompatible with loving God: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15–16). John was likely thinking of the Garden of Eden when he expressed these thoughts, for we are told that “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [the lust of the flesh], that it was pleasant to the eyes [the lust of the eyes], and a tree desirable to make one wise [the pride of life], she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6). When preaching on these chapters of Genesis, Mr. Herbert Armstrong thundered to the Church that the majority of members didn’t get it. Time proved him correct! Do we get it?

These three motivations of human nature are closely related and often feed each other. Consider how even some in the Church are enslaved by the lust of the flesh. Teens and adults alike may take up vaping, cigarettes, or marijuana and other drugs to feed fleshly appetites and to appear more sophisticated to their peers. Some overindulge in alcohol. How many “just have to have” something that they cannot afford? It is not wrong to buy a new dress or a new boat, or to move into a larger home if one can afford it, but many only fool themselves into thinking that they can afford it. We live in a consumer society, and it is naïve to think we are unaffected. Everything is an infomercial! Society relentlessly tempts us to believe that happiness is found in acquisitions. The expensive sneakers of our teen years become the shiny new car of our working years. Neither are sins in themselves, but it is an illusion to think happiness is found in such things. The acquisition of goods and amusements, as an end in itself, has never produced lasting happiness—no lust of the flesh ever has.

The Internet certainly fuels the lust of the eyes. Pornography is a huge problem, affecting both men and women of every age. David wrote a psalm in which he declared, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). As my Bible says in its marginal notes, the word wicked in this verse may also mean worthless.

Worthlessness is not the only problem. There are sad consequences in our lives when we follow such lusts. Jesus famously instructed, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). No wonder David prayed to God to “turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things” (Psalm 119:37)—but as we know, in a weak moment in his life, David failed to do his part to resist temptation, and it became the biggest mistake of his life (1 Kings 15:5). His son Solomon wisely advised, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you” (Proverbs 4:25).

It is interesting that Weston focuses upon "worthless."  Isn't this the message that the church has beat into us for 8 decades? Have church  members ever been able to do anything right? It is always the members fault that leaders have issues, that the church has issues, that income is down.  Of course, that is the ultimate goal of the unworthiness gospel.  The more we hear it, the more we were expected to feel guilty and thus contribute more to redeem ourselves in the eyes of the leadership.  Loyal tithe payers and givers were true believers.  Those who were slackards always started off by skipping tithing and giving. Then it was a direct pathway into porn and vaping.

We were always lower than worms. Always unable to understand anything Herbert Armstrong or Meredith said and certainly made to feel unworthy at Passover as we sat there listening to the unworthiness message being amplified through the speaker systems when the bread was broken.  It is no wonder they despise grace so much.

Colossians 1:12 New International Version (NIV)

¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[a] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

God, Miracles, World Events and January 16

There is only one Church of God today who truly worships Herbert Armstrong and everything about him. From building an imitation mini-me auditorium to digging up a dirty old rock and enshrining it a glass case while it rests on royal purple velvet, all because of some silly myth that HWA prayer at the rock.  If PCG had been able to get their hands of HWA's underwear we would most likely see it proudly displayed in the HWA Auditorium lobby.

Here are a few significant things that the PCG claims have happened on the 16th.

January 16, 2010President Obama announces one of America’s largest-ever rebuilding projects in Haiti after a massive earthquake there killed more than 100,000 people and caused about $8 billion in damage.
January 16, 2012European bailout fund’s AAA credit rating stripped after France, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia are downgraded.
January 16, 2013President Obama issues executive orders on gun control after the Sandy Hook massacre. Militants in Algeria seize a facility on the Libyan border. Germany withdraws gold from Paris and New York.
January 16, 2015U.S. Supreme Court announces it will hear arguments on the question of same-sex “marriage,” later ruling it to be constitutional.
January 16, 2016“Implementation Day” for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran nuclear deal, granting Iran $100 billion in sanctions relief. China inaugurates a major global economic entity, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
January 16, 2020Impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins in U.S. Senate.

Unlimited news stories happened every single time on the date of January 16.  People have been married, children born, people die, you name it and it has happened.  Yet, Armstrongism searches low and wide to cherry-pick news and items they think fit their convoluted misunderstandings and self-created myths. 

Oh, for goodness sake!

Philadelphia Church of God:

Is there anyone who is good except for God? Luke 18:19.

A commonly used euphemism is the expression “for goodness’ sake.” Good is God’s character, His name. So when a person uses the expression “for goodness’ sake,” this, in reality, is saying, “for God’s sake.” That is using God’s name in vain if it isn’t spoken in a manner of reverence toward God. 

Other euphemistic statements are: “Oh my gosh,” “Golly,” “Gee whiz” and “Jeepers.” A few other euphemistic statements probably come to mind too. These statements are bad enough, but there have been some who have actually used the terms, “Oh my God,” “For God’s sake” and “For Lord’s sake.” If these statements aren’t made in reverence toward God, or if they are used as mild oaths, then those who utter these statements are taking God’s name in vain and disobeying the Third Commandment. 

Most actors and actresses use God’s name in vain when they perform on tv or in the movies. In fact, it appears to be cute to use God’s name this way on television or in public. It is often the punchline of jokes: a crazy situation occurs, and the character takes God’s name in vain, and the studio audience breaks out in uproarious laughter. This problem can very easily spread into the Church because we see and hear it so often that we grow accustomed to it, and after a while, it doesn’t seem as offensive to us as it once did. We have to be on guard against it.