LCG: Have you hardened your heart? Are you still teachable?

Now, Boys and Girls, it is important to remain teachable so you too can avoid problems and gain your reward in the kingdom. 

Why has it been that the leadership in LCG and most COG's have been some of the most unteachable men in our history?

Are You Teachable? The Bible reveals that God is looking for an important quality in Christians and future leaders in His Kingdom—teachability. Abraham listened to God’s instructions (Genesis 18:19). Moses was an extremely capable leader, but he was also humble and teachable (Numbers 12:3). David exhibited this same attitude when he wrote “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes” (Psalm 119:33). Solomon asked God for wisdom and an “understanding heart” so he could learn to rule wisely (1 Kings 3:9). When Jesus said the “meek” and “poor in spirit” will be blessed, He emphasized the need to be teachable and willing to learn (Matthew 5:3–5). However, the Scriptures also reveal that when we harden our hearts to God’s instructions, we will reap serious consequences (Proverbs 28:14). Let’s strive to be teachable so we can avoid problems and gain an everlasting reward in the coming Kingdom of God.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

Uppity Ambassador College Men Who Were Learning Greek And Hebrew and Raymond McNair Questioning Validity of Dr Stavrinides Baptism

Charles Hunting

A reader here sent me this appalling letter from Dr. Stavrinides to Herbert Armstrong detailing the long-held belief among church leadership that well-educated ministers and members were a threat to the organization. 

When Charles Hunting presided over the Bricket Wood campus he did not take too kindly to Ambassador College men/ministers who were learning Hebrew and Greek and who looked up certain words and phrases HWA had "translated" and found that the words/phrases did not mean any such thing. Hunting had a two-fold disgust, one for men who decided to educate themselves in Hebrew and Greek and for them to turn around and call the church out for improper translations. Apparently, in Hunting's sight, all information that flowered from HWA'smouth and fingertips was God sent. We now know what a joke this idea was.

Then, to add more fuel to the fire, Stavrinides discusses how Raymond McNair was taking his baptism into question. McNair was always known to be an uppity jerk who took things to the extreme. Ratting out people to HWA was one of his favorite activities. Plus, the very idea that he took upon himself to stick his snotty nose into the baptismal status of Stavrinides is disgusting.

Double-click to enlarge 

Armstrongism in Contention with Christianity: Concerning Salvation by Faith

 

Jesus

A Credible Image from the Fayum Mummy Portraits. See Note below. (Fair Use)

 

Armstrongism in Contention with Christianity:

Concerning Salvation by Faith

 

The Armstrongist model for salvation departs from Christianity.  Anyone who looks forward to a life in Paradise should consider this issue carefully.  

The Armstrongism Says About Salvation

The following two published statements expose the essential model for Armstrongist soteriology.  After you sift through the many sound bites in archival material, you find these principles at the center of Armstrongism.

Jesus tells us that our OBEDIENCE to the Ten Commandments is an absolute PREREQUISITE to receiving God's gift of eternal life (Mat. 19:16-17). (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 17, 1966.)

Rod Meredith writing of the “Civil Law” in the Law of Moses:

These statutes and judgments, based on the ten commandments, are “righteous” (Palm 119:7, 8).  It is SIN to break them!  (Roderick C. Meredith, “Is OBEDIENCE to god Required for Salvation?”, Ambassador College, 1956.)

In summary, one must have a record of effective law-keeping in order to one day receive salvation.  This means that Armstrongists do not have salvation now.  Their salvation is in suspense as they await judgment in their personal Eschaton.  For them, the keeping of the Decalogue, the statutes and judgments are a pre-condition to salvation – an input into the salvific process.  While this is “salvation by works”, even though Armstrongism denies that salvation by works is a part of its soteriology, Armstrongists do not neglect faith in Christ.  So, they have a hybrid model that includes both law-keeping (the Law of Moses) and faith both as sources of salvation.

What Jesus Said about Salvation

Jesus made the following clear statement about salvation:

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” (NRSV, John 5:24)

Here Jesus makes faith or belief the source of salvation.  And the result is that the person who believes has (notice past tense) eternal life and has passed (note past perfect tense) from death to life.  Salvation has already happened for those who have received the gift of faith.  The earlier statement that I quoted from the Ambassador College Correspondence Course begins with the phrase “Jesus tells us…”  This contradicts what Jesus really tells us in John 5:24. 

Jesus echoes this in his response to the wealthy young man in Matthew 19:16-26.  The young man comes to him and says, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life.”  The answer, of course, there is nothing you can do to earn eternal life.  Jesus takes him down a logical path where he quickly finds the level of “doing” that will cause the young man to reject salvation.  Perfection and the resultant salvation are unattainable by doing.  But with God all things are possible and he provides the imputed righteousness of Christ for the perfection of the Believer. 

Summary Argument

Paul says we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.  Armstrongism asserts that we are saved by grace through faith plus works.  HWA maintains that only those who are keeping the commandments are recipients of grace, making grace contingent on law-keeping:

And those who, through repentance, obedience and FAITH have turned from disobedience and are, through faith, KEEPING the Law, are the only ones who are UNDER GRACE! (HWA, “What is Faith”, WCG, 1979)

In this odd, non-Biblical interpretation, grace comes after law-keeping in contravention to Paul (Ephesians 2:8-9) who states that salvation is not of works at all.  It is worthwhile to educate yourself about the model of salvation in Armstrongism and how it compares to Christianity, if you seek salvation.

 

Note:  An image of Jesus in the Catacombs of Priscilla shows him with short hair and clean shaven.  I have used this very early image as a guide in choosing a likely portrait.  The date for the Catacombs image is circa 225 CE.

by Scout