ARTICLES OF FAITH 2012 in Blue
United
Pentecostal Church International's Ministerial Manual.
PREAMBLE
We believe
the Bible to be inspired of God, the infallible Word of God. "All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).
The Bible is
the only God-given authority which man possesses; therefore, all
doctrine, faith, hope, and all instruction for the church must be
based upon, and harmonize with, the Bible. It is to be read and
studied by all men everywhere, and can only be clearly understood by
those who are anointed by the Holy Spirit (I John 2:27). "No
prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:20-21).
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
2Pe 3:16 Indeed, he [Paul] speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
Act 17:11 Now the people here were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they eagerly welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh every day to see if the things Sha'ul was saying were true. CJB
Shaul preached for three Sabbaths in the synagogue in Thessalonica. He preached from Scriptures (Old Testament, including Torah). It’s important to understand synagogue worship a bit. The synagogue read from the Torah, and the Writings, and the Prophets on every Shabbat. Shaul was preaching from JEWISH scrolls kept only at the synagogue, as they were too expensive for most to have personal copies of them.
The synagogue was the place where the scriptures were kept and studied DAILY (Acts 17:11) , and especially on Shabbat. The message of Jacob in chapter 15, therefore, is that MOSES would continue to be declared on the Sabbath, and the new Gentile converts would have plenty of time to learn to live their new life in Messiah.
Verse 11 shows Paul in another synagogue. Verse 17 shows him in yet another in Athens. Acts 18:1
Next, he’s in Corinth, reasoning with Jews and gentiles in the synagogue on EVERY SHABBAT. Reasoning over what? What scriptures did he expound? What was he teaching them? He was teaching Messiah from the OLD TESTAMENT. At this point, the gospels we know had not even been written! The gospel was preached from the Torah! [the Tanakh ]
2Pe 3:15 And think of our Lord's patience as deliverance, just as our dear brother Sha'ul (Paul) also wrote you, following the wisdom God gave him. 16 Indeed, he speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
The basic and
fundamental doctrine of this organization shall be the Bible standard
of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with
other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
We shall
endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the
unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that
they shall not contend for their different views to the disunity of
the body.
What is Teshuvah [Repentance]?
Teshuvah
literally means "return" and is the word used to describe
the concept of repentance in Judaism. Only by atoning for our sins
can we restore balance to our relationship with God and with our
fellow human beings.
Teshuvah is
most frequently associated with the High Holy Days but people can
seek forgiveness for wrongs they have committed at any time. There
are several stages of teshuvah, including the sinner recognizing his
or her wrongs, feeling sincere remorse and doing everything in their
power to undo any damage that has been done. If a specific person has
been wronged the offender must ask that person for forgiveness. The
final stage of teshuvah is resolving to never commit such a sin
again. According to Jewish tradition, by the third request the person
who was wronged is required to grant forgiveness if the offender is
sincerely remorseful and is taking steps to prevent similar wrongs
from happening again.
Because
teshuvah requires the sinner to ask forgiveness of the person they
have offended it has been argued that a murderer cannot be forgiven
for his or her crime. In order to do so they would have to ask the
person they killed for forgiveness. There are two other offenses that
come close to being unpardonable: defrauding the public and ruining a
person's good name. In both cases it is nearly impossible to track
down every person who was affected by the offense, for instance,
every person affected by a monetary crime or every person who heard a
rumor.
Understanding the context of sacrifices and the wider understanding of what sacrifice achieves and what it does not helps us to understand the dangers of other non-Israelite and/ or Christian ideas, with respect to sacrifices. A danger being that of idolatry by worship of created things instead of the creator by making the sacrifice and ‘the blood’ the sole object of worship. The Jewish scriptures clearly teach against the idea of a substitutionary atonement and instead, stress the importance of an individual’s and a nation’s responsibility for sin and taking appropriate action.
20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. 21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked (?), declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? Ezek 18:20-22
In contradistinction, Christianity makes belief in Jesus doing all the work for the sinner on the cross the sole basis for its religion. The reality and truth is that nobody ‘takes it’ for anyone with respect to sin, rather each and everyone is responsible for their sins and teshuvah (as evidenced by subsequent righteous things they have done) is what brings life NOT some inherent magical power in the (death, blood, flower, incense etc)[1][2].
"It
is a rule in the UPCI that no licensed Minister may publicly contend
for any view that may bring disunity to the organization"
THE ONE
TRUE GOD
We believe in
the one ever-living, eternal God: infinite in power, holy in nature,
attributes and purpose; and possessing absolute, indivisible deity.
This one true God has revealed Himself as Father; through His Son, in
redemption; and as the Holy Spirit, by emanation (I Corinthians 8:6;
Ephesians 4:6; II Corinthians 5:19; Joel 2:28).
The Scripture
does more than attempt to prove the existence of God; it asserts,
assumes and declares that the knowledge of God is universal (Romans
1:19, 21, 28, 32; 2:15). God is invisible, incorporeal, without
parts, without body, and therefore free from all limitations. He is
Spirit (John 4:24), and "a spirit hath not flesh and bones"
(Luke 24:39).
"The
first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is
one Lord" (Mark 12:29). (See also Deuteronomy 6:4.) "One
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all" (Ephesians 4:6).
Before the
incarnation[1], this
one true God manifested Himself in divers ways. In the
incarnation[1], He
manifests Himself in the Son, who walked among men. As He works in
the lives of believers, He manifests Himself as the Holy Spirit.
The Incarnation see Catholic Encyclopedia The Mother Church's doctrine [1]
The Incarnation see Catholic Encyclopedia The Mother Church's doctrine [1]
Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
"Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity."
"Guide
for the Perplexed" the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal,
meaning that He assumes no physical form. God is Eternal, above time.
He is Infinite, beyond space. He cannot be born, and cannot die.
Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both
His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God is not a
mortal" (Numbers 23:19)
Num
23:19
"God is not a human who lies or a mortal who changes his mind.
When he says something, he will do it; when he makes a promise, he
will fulfill it.
Although
the belief in the unity of God is taught and declared on virtually
every page of the Jewish Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is
never mentioned anywhere throughout the entire corpus of the Hebrew
Bible. Moreover, this doctrine is not to be found anywhere in the New
Testament either because primitive Christianity, in its earliest
stages, was still monotheistic. The authors of the New Testament were
completely unaware that the Church they had fashioned would
eventually embrace a pagan deification of a triune deity.
Although the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2
Although the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2
When
Christendom adopted a triune godhead from neighboring triune
religious systems, it spawned a serious conundrum for post-Nicene
Christian apologists. How would they harmonize this new veneration of
Jesus as a being who is of the same substance as the Father with a
New Testament that portrays Jesus as a separate entity, subordinate
to the Father, and created by God? How would they now integrate the
teaching of the Trinity with a New Testament that recognized the
Father alone as God? In essence, how would Christian apologists merge
a first century Christian Bible, which was monotheistic, with a
fourth century Church which was not?
THE SON OF
GOD
Note: Fourth century church theology. Idol worship, "or the God-man." Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. Christopagan
The one true
God, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, took upon Himself the form of
man, and as the Son of man, was born of the virgin Mary. As Paul
says, "And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory" (I Timothy 3:16).
"He came
unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). This
one true God was manifest in the flesh, that is, in His Son Jesus
Christ. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them" (II Corinthians 5:19).
We believe
that, "in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily" (Colossians 2:9). "For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fulness dwell" (Colossians 1:19). Therefore,
Jesus in His humanity was man; in His deity was and is God. His flesh
was the lamb**, or the sacrifice
of God.[2] He is the
only mediator between God and man. "For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I
Timothy 2:5).
Jesus on His
Father's side was divine, on His mother's side, human; thus, He was
known as the Son of God and also the Son of man, or the God-man. "For
he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things
are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put
all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him,
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all
things under him, that God may be all in all" (I Corinthians
15:27-28).
"I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which
is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty"
(Revelation 1:8).
What, Exactly does God say about human sacrifice in the TaNaCH (The Bible)?
[2] What, EXACTLY does God say about human sacrifice in the TaNaCH? In Deuteronomy 12:30-31, God calls Human sacrifice something that He hates, and an abomination to Him, "for every abomination to the Eternal, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. In Jeremiah 19:4-6, God tells us that Human sacrifice is so horrible a concept to Him, that it did not even come into His mind to demand it from His creation, "They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind." We see the same thing in Psalm 106:37-38, and in Ezekiel 16:20. This means that God would not accept Jesus's death on the cross as a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. The very idea of that God would accept a human sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins is UnBiblical.
In Deuteronomy, God calls Human sacrifice something that He hates, and an abomination to Him!
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the Eternal thy God: for every abomination to the Eternal, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. [Deuteronomy 12:30-31]
In Jeremiah, God tells us that Human sacrifice is so horrible a concept to Him, that it did not even come into His mind!
Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Eternal, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but The Valley of Slaughter. [Jeremiah 19:4-6]
We see the same thing in Psalm 106 and in Ezekiel 16:
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. [Psalm 106:37-38]
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? [Ezekiel 16:20]
And yet we are to then turn around and believe that God changed His mind, and required human sacrifice, and then it was the sacrifice of His own human son that God wanted? After telling the Jews to stay away from pagan practices, and pagan beliefs, God then changes His mind and says, "Okay, now go ahead and believe in a human sacrifice, just as these very pagans believe?"
**The So-called Hebrew Christian Seder
I was recently invited by a "Hebrew Christian" acquaintance to a program called "Christ in the Passover". She told me that Jesus was the ultimate manifestation of the Paschal lamb that was sacrificed each Passover, and that he was killed as a sacrifice to redeem the world from sin. How do Jews respond to these claims?
The exodus of the Jewish people from their long bondage in Egypt 3,300 years ago was preceded by ten plagues that G-d visited upon our oppressors. The last of these plagues was the slaying of the Egyptian first-born.
The Passover lamb was a yearly sacrifice that was eaten in commemoration of G-d's passing over the houses of the Israelites when He slew the Egyptian first-born (Exodus 12). The Paschal lamb had nothing to do with atonement from sin.
If, indeed, Jesus' death was supposed to be an atoning sacrifice, it would have been more appropriate to liken him to the special goat that was offered on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This goat served expressly as an atonement for the sins of the Jewish people (Leviticus 16).
Missionaries frequently point out that although the two people who according to Christian scripture were crucified beside Jesus had their legs broken with a mallet to ensure that they would die before the Sabbath, Jesus had already expired by the time the Roman soldiers came to check whether he was still alive. They believe that this enhances their claim that Jesus was the Paschal lamb since, according to the Bible, there was a prohibition against breaking any of the bones of the Paschal lamb (Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12).
Of course, if missionaries are determined to play this game, it is important that their arguments be consistent. If they capitalize on the alleged similarity between Jesus and the Passover lamb regarding the law forbidding the breaking of its bones, Jesus would also have to fulfill the other legal requirements of the Passover sacrifice. There is no justification in seizing only upon the single aspect that was fulfilled, while ignoring the numerous times that Biblical rules were observed only in the breach.
For instance, the Bible teaches that any sacrifice that was blemished or maimed in any way was disqualified (Leviticus 22:19-22). However, before Jesus was crucified, the Christian Bible claims that he was beaten and whipped by Roman soldiers. These wounds would have disqualified Jesus from being a legitimate sacrifice.
In addition, the Christian scriptures claim that Jesus was circumcised as a child. According to the Apostle Paul (Phillipians 3:2), circumcision is considered "mutilation", which would also disqualify Jesus from being a proper sacrifice. Finally, the Christian Bible alleges that Jesus' side was pierced by the spear of a Roman soldier, which also would invalidate him as a ritual sacrifice.
However, the missionaries' more fundamental error is their insistence that it is only through faith in Jesus that one's sins can be absolved. The Tanach (Jewish Bible) is very clear in its teaching that we always have the ability to atone for our sins by prayer and repentance (I Kings 8:47-50; Hosea 14:1-3; II Chronicles 7:14; Ezekiel 18; Ezekiel 33:14-16; Jeremiah 36:3; Isaiah 55:6-7; Jonah 3:10; Daniel 4:27; Proverbs 16:6; etc.).
THE NAME
God used
different titles, such as "God Elohim," "God
Almighty," "El Shaddai," "Jehovah," and
especially "Jehovah Lord," the redemptive name in the Old
Testament.
"Unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: . . . and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).[3]
This prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled when the Son of God was named.
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew
1:21).
"Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
[3]
Who is the child in Isaiah 9:5-6
Isaiah 9:5-6 says: "For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called A wonderful counselor is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the ruler of peace; that the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts does perform this." Who is the child the prophet speaks about?
Answer: Isaiah is known for the method by which he presents many of his messages through the use of prophetic names (Isaiah 7:3, 14; 8:3). In the verse under study, the prophet expounds his message by formulating a prophetic name for Hezekiah. The words of this name form a sentence expressive of God's greatness, which will become manifest in the benefits to be bestowed upon the future king in his lifetime. Thus, the name, though borne by the king, serves, in reality, as a testimonial to God. Hezekiah is called "a wonderful counselor" because this name is a sign, which foretells God's design for him.
Isaiah 9:5-6 says: "For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called A wonderful counselor is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the ruler of peace; that the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts does perform this." Who is the child the prophet speaks about?
Answer: Isaiah is known for the method by which he presents many of his messages through the use of prophetic names (Isaiah 7:3, 14; 8:3). In the verse under study, the prophet expounds his message by formulating a prophetic name for Hezekiah. The words of this name form a sentence expressive of God's greatness, which will become manifest in the benefits to be bestowed upon the future king in his lifetime. Thus, the name, though borne by the king, serves, in reality, as a testimonial to God. Hezekiah is called "a wonderful counselor" because this name is a sign, which foretells God's design for him.
CREATION OF MAN AND HIS FALL
In the beginning, God created man innocent, pure, and holy; but through the sin of disobedience, Adam and Eve, the first of the human race, fell from their holy state, and God banished them from Eden. Hence by one man's disobedience, sin entered into the world (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23, 5:12).
In the beginning, God created man innocent, pure, and holy; but through the sin of disobedience, Adam and Eve, the first of the human race, fell from their holy state, and God banished them from Eden. Hence by one man's disobedience, sin entered into the world (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23, 5:12).
Judaism says man is a sinner because he sins.
Christianity says man sins because he is a sinner.
Saint Augustine (354-430) was the first theologian to teach that man is born into this world in a state of sin. The basis of his belief is from the Bible (Genesis 3:17-19) where Adam is described as having disobeyed G-d by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. This, the first sin of man, became known as original sin.
Many Christians today, particularly members of the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, subscribe to this belief. They maintain that the sin of Adam was transferred to all future generations, tainting even the unborn. Substantiation for this view is found in the New Testament (Romans 5:12) where Paul says, "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. By one man's disobediance many were made sinners."
Christianity believes that only through the acceptance of Jesus that the "grace" of G-d can return to man. A Christian need only believe in Jesus to be saved; nothing else is required of her.
The doctrine of original sin is totally unacceptable to Jews (as it is to Christian sects such as Baptists and Assemblies of G-d). Jews believe that man enters the world free of sin, with a soul that is pure and innocent and untainted. While there were some Jewish teachers in Talmudic times who believed that death was a punishment brought upon mankind on account of Adam's sin, the dominant view by far was that man sins because he is not a perfect being, and not, as Christianity teaches, because he is inherently sinful.
The Doctrine of Original Sin: Augustine developed his famous doctrine of original sin in contradiction to the biblical teaching of Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Ra: i.e. the innate human impulses of good (tov) and bad (ra) that make free will possible (based on the word vayyitzer at Genesis 2:7 due to its double Yods).
REPENTANCE
(NOTE: A
new section on atonement now appears above this section. See note
below.)
Pardon and
forgiveness of sins is obtained by genuine repentance, a confessing
and forsaking of sins. We are justified by faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ (Romans 5:1). John the Baptist preached repentance, Jesus
proclaimed it, and the apostles emphasized it to both Jews and
Gentiles (Acts 2:38, 11:18, 17:30).
The word
repentance means a change of views and purpose, change of heart,
change of mind, change of life, transformation, etc. *See
Teshuvah
Jesus said,
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke
13:3). Luke 24:47 says, "And that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem."
WATER
BAPTISM
The
scriptural mode of baptism is immersion and is only for those who
have fully repented, having turned from their sins and a love of the
world. It should be administered by a duly authorized minister of the
gospel, in obedience to the Word of God, and in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, according to the Acts of the Apostles 2:38, 8:16,
10:48, 19:5; thus obeying and fulfilling Matthew 28:19.
THE
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
John the
Baptist, in Matthew 3:11, said, "He shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire."
Jesus, in
Acts 1:5, said, "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not
many days hence."
Luke tells us
in Acts 2:4, "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave
them utterance." The terms "baptize with the Holy Ghost and
fire," "filled with the Holy Spirit," and the "gift
of the Holy Ghost" are synonymous terms used interchangeably in
the Bible.
It is
scriptural to expect all who receive the gift, filling, or baptism of
the Holy Spirit to receive the same physical, initial sign of
speaking with other tongues. The speaking with other tongues, as
recorded in Acts 2:4, 10:46, and 19:6, and the gift of tongues, as
explained in I Corinthians, chapters 12 and 14, are the same in
essence, but different in use and purpose.
The Lord,
through the Prophet Joel, said, "I will pour out my spirit upon
all flesh" (Joel 2:28).
Peter, in
explaining this phenomenal experience, said, "Having received of
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he [Jesus] hath shed forth
this, which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:33).
Further, "the
promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).
“Do you believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues?”
First, the term “ghost” is a derogatory reference to the Most Holy, Blessed be He. God is not a ghost, but a Sacred Spirit Being. ‘Ghost’ applies more specifically and commonly to a ‘spook’ or phantom. God’s Sacred Spirit fills the heavens of heavens and indwells the souls of mankind. The result of this indwelling varies from person to person as to the ‘amount’ of this Presence (strong or weak) and the nature or evidence of its Presence.
The book of Corinthians ch 13 clearly defines this blessed feature of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” and clearly contradicts the claims of so many Pentecostal believers that it is an ‘exclusive’ feature given to selected believers with the ‘evidence’ of speaking in tongues’. Let us look at some of these statements, after which one should read the entire chapter in context to define that the real exclusive feature of the Presence of the Holy Spirit in a person is LOVE – and then NOT the type of Love that is generally displayed in this world which gives license to illicit sex, and even murder, as the killer of Sharon Tate declared after knifing her 36 times! 1 Cor. 13:4 defines some traits of this HS Love which is often notably absent in those who insist on “tongues” as the exclusive sign. “Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth….”
This Love is eternal, as God is Eternal…. (v8) “…but … prophecies will cease; …tongues will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
1 Cor. 1:1 “ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
These “strange tongue for all…”insistent ignore the clear directive given in 1 Cor. 12: 29 “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.” (Love).
Just prior to this, the author takes great care to confirm that:
Verse 4 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one (NOT ALL!) there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another (NOT ALL!) a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another (NOT ALL!) faith by the same Spirit, to another (NOT ALL!) gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another (NOT ALL!) miraculous powers, to another (NOT ALL!)prophecy, to another (NOT ALL!) distinguishing between spirits, to another (NOT ALL!) speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another (NOT ALL!) the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
Yet, many believers insist that we all should be speaking in tongues.
Now, a teaching which normally goes hand in hand with this, is that “we are no longer under the Law”, that “Being under Law is being under the Curse” … yet many of these believers will testify of the Blessing for paying Tithes (according to the Law of Moses)!
Clearly, something drastic is wrong, apart from the fact of common sense, that God surely cannot rule the World without Law! But, this is a topic too vast to even attempt to answer here.
DIVINE
HEALING
The first
covenant that the Lord (Jehovah) made with the children of Israel
after they were brought out of Egypt was a covenant of healing. The
Lord said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the
LORD [Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that healeth] thy God, and wilt do that
which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments,
and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon
thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that
healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26).
Our Lord
Jesus Christ went about Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people
(Matthew 4:23-24). "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,
and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). The vicarious suffering of the
Lord Jesus Christ paid not only for the salvation of our souls but
also for the healing of our bodies. "With his stripes we are
healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Matthew 8:17 reads, "Himself took
our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (See also I Peter
2:24.) We see from this that divine healing for the body is in the
atonement.
Jesus said of
believers, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover." Later, James wrote in his epistle to all the churches:
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and
the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:14-16).
SACRAMENT
OR COMMUNION
On the night
of our Lord's betrayal, He ate the Passover supper with His apostles,
after which He instituted the sacrament. "And he took bread, and
gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my
body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise
also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in
my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19-20). Paul
instructed the church how to observe it (I Corinthians 11:23-34).
Thus was
instituted the use of literal bread and the fruit of the vine, which
are partaken of literally, as emblems of His broken body and shed
blood. There is also a spiritual significance and blessing in
partaking of the sacrament.
The
sacrament. CATHOLIC
ENCYCLOPEDIA Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace,
instituted by Christ for our sanctification (Catechismus concil.
Trident., n. 4, ex St. Augustine, "De Catechizandis rudibus").
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13295a.htm
FOOTWASHING
When the
Passover supper was ended, we read in John 13:4-5, "He riseth
from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and
girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began
to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith he was girded."
Jesus said,
"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example,
that ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:14-15).
This first
example was given by our Lord, and it is a divine institution. It is
well to follow His example and wash one another's feet; thus
manifesting the spirit of humility.
HOLINESS
Godly living
should characterize the life of every child of the Lord, and we
should live according to the pattern and example given in the Word of
God. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world" (Titus 2:11-12). "For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in
his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he
suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that
judgeth righteously" (I Peter 2:21-23).
"Follow
peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
"But as
he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And
if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth
according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here
in fear: forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I
Peter 1:15-19).
We
wholeheartedly disapprove of our people indulging in any activities
which are not conducive to good Christianity and godly living, such
as theaters, dances, mixed bathing or swimming, women cutting their
hair, make-up, any apparel that immodestly exposes the body, all
worldly sports and amusements, and unwholesome radio programs and
music. Furthermore, because of the display of all these evils on
television, we disapprove of any of our people having television sets
in their homes. We admonish all of our people to refrain from any of
these practices in the interest of spiritual progress and the soon
coming of the Lord for His church.
Notice holiness is about our words, our language, how we speak, not about how we dress or having Holy Magic Hair.** "so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" eg:
When external issues are emphasized, it may well be because the true internal holiness is lacking. The Pharisees were classic examples of this problem, and Jesus was in clear opposition to the practice of "external holiness" (Matthew 23:25-28).
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
1)
The essence of the holiness which every person must strive for is to
observe the Covenant in purity. The way to achieve this is by
sanctifying the way you speak. You must speak only words of holiness
and keep yourself from any lapse into language which is not holy.
Then whatever you say will be in `the Holy Tongue,' and through this
you will achieve the holiness of the Covenant (19).
2) You must sanctify your mouth, your nose, your eyes and your ears. You must guard your mouth against words of falsehood and anything else which falls short of holiness. You must develop your fear of Heaven in order to sanctify your nostrils. Your ears will be holy when you believe in the Sages and listen to their words. And you must close your eyes and shut out anything which is not good for you to see. The sanctity you attain will bring you perfect understanding, and you will have wisdom, which is God's blessing, and ruach hakodesh, the holy spirit. Another way of sanctifying your nostrils, is if you are humble and patient and do not burst out in anger if someone insults you (The Hebrew expression for anger is a `burning in the nostrils'). The way to sanctify your ears is to be one who is `faithful in spirit and concealeth a matter' (Proverbs 11:13) he is careful not to reveal a secret which there is no need to reveal (21).
3) One who is prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of sanctifying God's Name will attain peace, and through this the ability to speak holy words of Torah and prayer and to bind the thoughts in the mind to the words which the mouth is speaking. In order to pray with devotion, have in mind that you are willing to sacrifice yourself entirely in order to sanctify God's Name. To achieve perfect prayer, you must pray with a spirit of total self sacrifice (80).
4) It has been proved many times that even the most worthless of Jews, even the sinners of Israel are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sanctification of God's Name if someone tries to force them to violate the Torah. Each day you should remind yourself that you would be ready to give your life to sanctify God's Name. This is the essence of Israel's holiness. You will then attain peace and be able to pray with true devotion (Ibid.).
5) When you recite the Shema you should say the words in a spirit of total self-sacrifice for the sake of God's Name. Picture in your mind the four death penalties imposed by the Beth Din stoning, strangulation, burning and the sword. You should imagine every detail so vividly that you can literally feel the pain of dying. Thought has a very great power. By imagining yourself dying you can literally come to feel the pangs of death. But be careful not to dwell on these thoughts for too long, because otherwise your soul could literally leave you, God forbid, causing premature death (195).
6) Self-sacrifice for the sake of God brings unity to the worlds above (260).
7) There are certain Tzaddikim who have a very great name and who are known very widely. Yet people hold them in contempt and talk against them. They suffer mercilessly because of this, but it is something they take on themselves in order to sanctify God's Name, and because of it they can save thousands of Jewish souls from slaughter and death, God forbid (Ibid.).
8) Each person has something in his life which is more of a barrier for him than anything else. This is precisely the barrier he has to break in order to serve God. This is his task in life. It is his own way of sacrificing himself. Someone who is very afraid of dying must be more ready than anyone to give up his life to sanctify God's Name (Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom 57).
SOURCE: ADVICE from RABBI NACHMAN
** Holy Magic Hair Doctrine
2) You must sanctify your mouth, your nose, your eyes and your ears. You must guard your mouth against words of falsehood and anything else which falls short of holiness. You must develop your fear of Heaven in order to sanctify your nostrils. Your ears will be holy when you believe in the Sages and listen to their words. And you must close your eyes and shut out anything which is not good for you to see. The sanctity you attain will bring you perfect understanding, and you will have wisdom, which is God's blessing, and ruach hakodesh, the holy spirit. Another way of sanctifying your nostrils, is if you are humble and patient and do not burst out in anger if someone insults you (The Hebrew expression for anger is a `burning in the nostrils'). The way to sanctify your ears is to be one who is `faithful in spirit and concealeth a matter' (Proverbs 11:13) he is careful not to reveal a secret which there is no need to reveal (21).
3) One who is prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of sanctifying God's Name will attain peace, and through this the ability to speak holy words of Torah and prayer and to bind the thoughts in the mind to the words which the mouth is speaking. In order to pray with devotion, have in mind that you are willing to sacrifice yourself entirely in order to sanctify God's Name. To achieve perfect prayer, you must pray with a spirit of total self sacrifice (80).
4) It has been proved many times that even the most worthless of Jews, even the sinners of Israel are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sanctification of God's Name if someone tries to force them to violate the Torah. Each day you should remind yourself that you would be ready to give your life to sanctify God's Name. This is the essence of Israel's holiness. You will then attain peace and be able to pray with true devotion (Ibid.).
5) When you recite the Shema you should say the words in a spirit of total self-sacrifice for the sake of God's Name. Picture in your mind the four death penalties imposed by the Beth Din stoning, strangulation, burning and the sword. You should imagine every detail so vividly that you can literally feel the pain of dying. Thought has a very great power. By imagining yourself dying you can literally come to feel the pangs of death. But be careful not to dwell on these thoughts for too long, because otherwise your soul could literally leave you, God forbid, causing premature death (195).
6) Self-sacrifice for the sake of God brings unity to the worlds above (260).
7) There are certain Tzaddikim who have a very great name and who are known very widely. Yet people hold them in contempt and talk against them. They suffer mercilessly because of this, but it is something they take on themselves in order to sanctify God's Name, and because of it they can save thousands of Jewish souls from slaughter and death, God forbid (Ibid.).
8) Each person has something in his life which is more of a barrier for him than anything else. This is precisely the barrier he has to break in order to serve God. This is his task in life. It is his own way of sacrificing himself. Someone who is very afraid of dying must be more ready than anyone to give up his life to sanctify God's Name (Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom 57).
SOURCE: ADVICE from RABBI NACHMAN
** Holy Magic Hair Doctrine
THE GRACE
OF GOD
"For the
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world"
(Titus 2:11-12).
"For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ"
(John 1:17).
"For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8-9).
A Christian
must walk with God and keep himself in the love of God (Jude 21) and
in the grace of God. When a person transgresses and sins against God
and does not repent, he will eventually be lost and cast into the
lake of fire. (See John 15:2, 6; II Peter 2:20-21.) Jude speaks of
the backsliders of his day, and their reward. (See also Hebrews
6:4-6.)
Grace has always been with us, my friend.
Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;
Gen
6:8
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Exo
33:17
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou
hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee
by name.
RESTITUTION
OF ALL THINGS
We understand
the Scripture to teach the "restitution of all things, which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world
began" (Acts 3:21). But we cannot find where the devil, his
angels, and all sinners are included. (See Revelation 20:10).
Who is Lucifer?
To many, religious and otherwise, the question of who exactly “Lucifer” is an easy one to answer. Lucifer is the enemy right (hasatan)? The theory that the character Lucifer is Hasatan has been a popular one in Christianity dating as far back as the 4th century. And not only within Christianity has this idea attained popularity, but within various occultist groups, particularly Satanism and Luciferianism, Satan and Lucifer are commonly used interchangeably.
Many of us came to accept the idea that Lucifer was hasatan long before ever reading the one verse in Isa 14:12, the only place in the Bible which mentions “Lucifer”. What if we showed you, however, that there is no Biblical Character by the name of Lucifer; and “the enemy”, that is hasatan, is never, at any point in the Bible, referred to by name? Wouldn’t it be mind blowing to find out that the character “Lucifer” wasn’t hasatan or the devil? It would certainly destroy the doctrinal principles of religions which have sprung off the theoretical foundation that Lucifer is “the devil” – especially those which deem their leaders infallible.
Well, brace yourself, because we are going expose this myth for what it is! LINK
CONSCIENTIOUS
SCRUPLES
(NOTE:
This was changed August 29, 2012. See below.
We recognize
the institution of human government as being of divine ordination,
and, in so doing, affirm unswerving loyalty to our Government;
however, we take a definite position regarding the bearing of arms or
the taking of human life. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Prince of Peace, we believe in implicit obedience to His commandments
and precepts which instruct as follows: "That ye resist not
evil" (Matthew 5:39); "Follow peace with all men"
(Hebrews 12:14). (See also Matthew 26:52; Romans 12:19; James 5:6;
Revelation 13:10.) These we believe and interpret to mean Christians
shall not shed blood nor take human life. Therefore, we propose to
fulfill all the obligations of loyal citizens, but are constrained to
declare against participating in combatant service in war, armed
insurrection, property destruction, aiding or abetting in, or the
actual destruction of human life.
Furthermore,
we cannot conscientiously affiliate with any union, boycott, or
organization which will force or bind any of its members to belong to
any organization, perform any duties contrary to our conscience, or
receive any mark, without our right to affirm or reject same.
However, we
regret the false impression created by some groups of so-called
conscientious objectors that to obey the Bible is to have a contempt
for law or magistrates, to be disloyal to our Government and in
sympathy with our enemies, or to be unwilling to sacrifice for the
preservation of our commonwealth. This attitude would be as
contemptible to us as to any patriot. The Word of God commands us to
do violence to no man. It also commands us that first of all we are
to pray for rulers of our country. We, therefore, exhort our members
to freely and willingly respond to the call of our Government except
in the matter of bearing arms. When we say service, we mean
service-no matter how hard or dangerous. The true church has no more
place for cowards than has the nation. First of all, however, let us
earnestly pray that we will with honor be kept out of war.
We believe
that we can be consistent in serving our Government in certain
noncombatant capacities, but not in the bearing of arms.
We further
believe that our military personnel must live in a manner consistent
with the Articles of Faith.
SECRET
SOCIETIES, ETC.
According to
the Word of God, we firmly believe and hold that the people of God
should have no connection whatever with secret societies or any other
organization or body wherein there is a fellowship with unbelievers,
bound by an oath (James 5:12; II Corinthians 6:14-18).
TRANSLATION
OF SAINTS
We believe
that the time is drawing near when our Lord shall appear; then the
dead in Christ shall arise, and we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up with them to meet our Lord in the air (I Thessalonians
4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:51-54; Philippians 3:20-21).
The Rapture doctrine means one thing and one thing only. It does not refer to people going to Heaven after they die, to people having visions or traveling in visionary states etc. The Rapture theory refers to the belief in the nearly instantaneous translocation of every single "Born Again Christian" on earth to Heaven as shown in this video. It refers to the nearly instantaneous disappearance of millions (if not billions) of human beings around the globe without a trace. It speaks of the "taking away" of every child on earth, of jets falling from the skies as Christian pilots are "taken" (arguably a good reason not to hire Christians hehe); it foretells the worst multi-car pile-ups in history as every vehicle being driven by a Christian is suddenly abandoned and careens out of control, of husbands and wives, parents and their children being separated as the Christians are "taken" in a twinkling of an eye from all over the globe.
This is what we mean by the term Rapture.
The Doctrine of the Rapture of the Church is the popular Nicean Christian belief that at some point in the future HaShem will extract all true "Christians" from the earth, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" leaving everyone else here to suffer under the reign of the coming Antichrist (Rex Mundi).
This idea gained popular support through the teachings of Dr. Clarence Larkin (Dispensational Truths), Rev. Charles Scofield (The Scofield Bible), a plethora of Second and Third Great Awakening Evangelists (see my study The Great Awakenings for more on these religious developments), and more recently from the unbiblical works of fiction by Tim Lahey known as The Left Behind Series in which the Antichrist is depicted as a Transylvanian Dracula-type Liberal do-gooder gone bad! Likewise, Family Radio of Harold Camping has used this teaching to mislead millions. We need to understand the truth of this! Is this a biblical doctrine? Consider the following LINK.*
Would it be a glorious relief to believe we are going to be spirited away in a Rapture from the things to come? Absolutely! Is it going to happen? Absolutely not.*
MARRIAGE
AND DIVORCE
"Whosoever
shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall
marry another, committeth adultery" (Matthew 19:9). (See also
Matthew 5:32.) When this sin has been committed, the innocent party
may be free to remarry only in the Lord. Our desire being to raise a
higher standard for the ministry, we recommend that ministers do not
marry again. Judgment begins at the house of God.
TITHING
We believe
tithing is God's financial plan to provide for His work, and has been
since the days of Abraham. Tithing came with faith under Abraham;
Moses' law enjoined it, and Israel practiced it when she was right
with God; Jesus indorsed it (Matthew 23:23); and Paul said to lay by
in store as God has prospered you. Do not rob God of His portion,
viz., tithes and offerings. (Read Malachi 3.)
Believers
are responsible to measure 'the church' teachings in the light of the
truth of the Bible. It is our duty to recognize error.
2 Corinthians 7 Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion...not grudgingly or under compulsion?
The Levitical tithe was to meet a need, that of the Levitical priesthood and to help the poor. The Levitical priesthood and all laws and ceremonies pertaining to it ceased when the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. The B'rit Hadashah: (The New Covenant). the Books of the New Testament does not teach tithing. The B'rit Hadashah (the New Testament) offices or callings of pastor, etc., are not the same as the Levitical priesthood, which was based on lineage and the Mosaic ceremonial laws, and that the "church" building is not the same as the Temple.
Detriments of the Tithe Teaching
1. The "churchs" tithe teaching can cause tithers to have an erroneous feeling of self-satisfaction, a feeling that they have "paid the bill" and placated God. This can become akin to a superstitious practice of "pleasing of the gods" we see in pagan cultures. Are tithers in some cases even attempting to buy their way into heaven? Wouldn’t this be the same as buying spiritual favor by purchasing indulgences? This practice was soundly condemned in Martin Luther's "Ninety-Five Theses."
2. Mal. 3:8 says, "’Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.’ But you ask, "How do we rob you?" ‘In tithes and offerings….’" This verse is used prior to the passing of the offering plate in many "church" services to coax the congregation to get out their wallets. But, contrary to the meaning of the verse under the old covenant to which it refers, today people ARE robbing God, not of tithes, but of proper New Testament giving to the work of God and to the poor. Didn’t Yeshua say that a cup of water given in His name is given unto Him? When people "pay their bill" to the "church", they aren’t as apt to give that cup of water, or $20 to a needy person around them in Yeshua’ name. Therefore, they have robbed God by neglecting opportunities to minister to Him in the form of the poor. People write out tithe checks in a dogged, joyless manner as if in bondage. They, too, are robbed. They are robbed of the joy of giving to real needs they can see with their own eyes.
3. Tithing can cause an undue financial burden on givers. Young families with children often are living hand to mouth anyway. So are many single parents, college students, and the elderly. They themselves are actually the poor who need help occasionally, yet by sitting in the "church", they are told that they must give up ten percent to a "church" that often is wealthy.
4. This brings us to the next point. It is not uncommon today for the incomes of "church"es (some of whom teach tithing and some of whom don’t), especially large ones in America, to have such enormous incomes that they have investment portfolios. They hire experts to help them manage their funds to make it grow. Why? So they can give to missions or the poor? So they can build more buildings, gyms, bowling alleys, climbing walls? So they can have huge paid staffs? Daycare centers? "What WOULD Yeshua (Jesus) do?" Would He build any buildings at all? The kingdom of God has nothing to do with buildings. See Tithe
2 Corinthians 7 Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion...not grudgingly or under compulsion?
The Levitical tithe was to meet a need, that of the Levitical priesthood and to help the poor. The Levitical priesthood and all laws and ceremonies pertaining to it ceased when the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. The B'rit Hadashah: (The New Covenant). the Books of the New Testament does not teach tithing. The B'rit Hadashah (the New Testament) offices or callings of pastor, etc., are not the same as the Levitical priesthood, which was based on lineage and the Mosaic ceremonial laws, and that the "church" building is not the same as the Temple.
Detriments of the Tithe Teaching
1. The "churchs" tithe teaching can cause tithers to have an erroneous feeling of self-satisfaction, a feeling that they have "paid the bill" and placated God. This can become akin to a superstitious practice of "pleasing of the gods" we see in pagan cultures. Are tithers in some cases even attempting to buy their way into heaven? Wouldn’t this be the same as buying spiritual favor by purchasing indulgences? This practice was soundly condemned in Martin Luther's "Ninety-Five Theses."
2. Mal. 3:8 says, "’Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.’ But you ask, "How do we rob you?" ‘In tithes and offerings….’" This verse is used prior to the passing of the offering plate in many "church" services to coax the congregation to get out their wallets. But, contrary to the meaning of the verse under the old covenant to which it refers, today people ARE robbing God, not of tithes, but of proper New Testament giving to the work of God and to the poor. Didn’t Yeshua say that a cup of water given in His name is given unto Him? When people "pay their bill" to the "church", they aren’t as apt to give that cup of water, or $20 to a needy person around them in Yeshua’ name. Therefore, they have robbed God by neglecting opportunities to minister to Him in the form of the poor. People write out tithe checks in a dogged, joyless manner as if in bondage. They, too, are robbed. They are robbed of the joy of giving to real needs they can see with their own eyes.
3. Tithing can cause an undue financial burden on givers. Young families with children often are living hand to mouth anyway. So are many single parents, college students, and the elderly. They themselves are actually the poor who need help occasionally, yet by sitting in the "church", they are told that they must give up ten percent to a "church" that often is wealthy.
4. This brings us to the next point. It is not uncommon today for the incomes of "church"es (some of whom teach tithing and some of whom don’t), especially large ones in America, to have such enormous incomes that they have investment portfolios. They hire experts to help them manage their funds to make it grow. Why? So they can give to missions or the poor? So they can build more buildings, gyms, bowling alleys, climbing walls? So they can have huge paid staffs? Daycare centers? "What WOULD Yeshua (Jesus) do?" Would He build any buildings at all? The kingdom of God has nothing to do with buildings. See Tithe
SECOND
COMING OF JESUS
That Jesus is
coming again the second time in person, just as He went away, is
clearly set forth by the Lord Jesus Himself, and was preached and
taught in the early Christian church by the apostles; hence, the
children of God today are earnestly, hopefully, looking forward to
the glorious event (Matthew 24; Acts 1:11, 3:19-21; I Corinthians
11:26; Philippians 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:14-17; Titus 2:13-14).
THE
MILLENNIUM
We believe
that the distress upon the earth is the "beginning of sorrows"
and will become more intense until there "shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
time" (Daniel 12:1). (See also Matthew 24:3-8.) and that period
of "tribulation" will be followed by the dawn of a better
day on earth and that for a thousand years there shall be "peace
on earth and good will toward men." (See Revelation 20:1-5;
Isaiah 65:17-25; Matthew 5:5; Daniel 7:27; Micah 4:1-2; Hebrews 2:14;
Romans 11:25-27.)
FINAL
JUDGMENT
When the
thousand years are finished, there shall be a resurrection of all the
dead, who will be summoned before the great white throne for their
final judgment, and all whose names are not found written in the Book
of Life shall be cast into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone,
which God hath prepared for the devil and his angels, Satan himself
being cast in first (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:7, 15; 21:8).
"God
gave us His Torah, so we have a measuring stick to gauge right from
wrong, clean from unclean, what He wants from us, and what He
considers an abomination.
The
Christian New Testament says: "And behold, I am coming quickly,
and my reward is with me, to give to every one according to his
work." Revelation 22:12
What
are these "works"? Oh, yeah, works of the "Law"!!!
(The Torah)
God
is going to judge our works??? But, if the law (The Torah) was nailed
to the cross, He can't have a way to judge our works. Guess He was
lying to us. No chance of that, is there?"
PUBLIC
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
We disapprove
of school students attending shows, dances, dancing classes,
theaters, engaging in school activities against their religious
scruples, and wearing gymnasium clothes which immodestly expose the
body.
We disapprove
of school students being forced to take coeducational classes which
involve boys and girls being mixed together in swimming,
calisthenics, baseball, and other mixed athletics while clothed in
ungodly attire which immodestly exposes the body.
We disapprove
of school students being forced to take any classes in which, under
the guise of health classes, sex education is taught co-educationally
or films or lectures are given that promote amoral or unnatural
behavior.
We disapprove
of school students being forced to be taught by or listen to those
who promote or advocate sexual activity of any kind other than that
within the bonds of the marriage relationship of husband and wife.
RELIGIOUS
HOLIDAYS
The annual
conference is declared to be an international religious holiday for
all members, and all members are urged to attend. Furthermore, since
the founding of the church occurred on the Day of Pentecost,
Pentecost Sunday is also a recognize religiousholiday.
Act
2:1 The festival of Shavu'ot arrived,
and the believers all gathered together in one place.
Shavuot,
the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals
with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two
are Passover and Sukkot).
Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were
harvested and brought to the Temple,
and is known as Hag
ha-Bikkurim (the
Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving
of the Torah at
Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag
Matan Torateinu (the
Festival of the Giving of Our Torah).
The
period from Passover to
Shavuot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days
from the second day of Passover to
the day before Shavuot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of
the festival. See The
Counting of the Omer. Shavuot is also sometimes known as
Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day. The counting reminds us
of the important connection between Passover and Shavuot: Passover
freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on
Shavuot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage
to idolatry and
immorality.
2012
CHANGES TO THE ARTICLES
NOTE: On
August 29, 2012, David Bernard announced that the changes to the
section on "Conscientious Scruples" had been approved by
all of the Districts and was now officially a part of the Articles of
Faith. The above version is no longer valid. It was changed, in part,
as it "causes concern" among the ministers and had "mixed
support." It now reads as follow:
CONSCIENTIOUS
SCRUPLES
Mankind is
God's earthly image bearer as stated in Genesis 1:27. "So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him."
As reflectors of this divine image, human life has been invested with
the highest level of intrinsic value. The whole idea of taking human
life is complicated with a wide variety of complexities (Exodus
20:13; Genesis 4:8-10; Numbers 35:6, 12). We recognize the deep and
difficult deliberation required in these decisions. We therefore
support our members in prayerfully and scripturally exploring their
individual responsibility to God in these matters. We therefore honor
the right of our members to serve as conscientious objectors and not
bear arms. We encourage those who serve according to their
conscience, in any and all capacities, to express courageous loyalty
to country while serving in appropriate roles working "heartily,
as to the Lord" (Colossians 3:23).
In addition,
a new section on atonement was approved and will appear above the
section on repentance. It was added, in part, because they feel the
UPC is "rapidly expanding around the globe." It reads as
follows:
ATONEMENT
The Lord
Jesus came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke
19:10). The divine act of atonement is dependent on the blood of the
Lamb of God and is the foundation that makes salvation possible. For
"without the shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews
9:22). "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace"
(Ephesians 1:7). "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood" Revelation 1:5. Salvation is by grace
through faith based on the atonement provided in Jesus Christ by His
death, burial and resurrection (Acts 2:38; 20:28).
See The Paschal (Passover) lamb had nothing to do with atonement from sin. [Above] - Epic Fail
This is recorded in the 2012 edition of the United Pentecostal Church
International's Ministerial Manual.
Posted
September 1, 2012
**@
"Oneness Pentecostals see themselves as the only ones who teach the "full truth of God." Other Christians, who may have been truly transformed by the Spirit of God, and love and serve the God of the Bible, are seen as "on the way" to the full truth, but not quite there.
One who believes the gospel according to Oneness Pentecostalism has no choice but to see themselves as more right, more holy, and more spiritual than everyone else. That is pure elitism; after all, they are the "only church" who preaches the "Apostolic doctrine" of "the first church."
One who believes the gospel according to Oneness Pentecostalism has no choice but to see themselves as more right, more holy, and more spiritual than everyone else. That is pure elitism; after all, they are the "only church" who preaches the "Apostolic doctrine" of "the first church."
The reason I know this is that I used to believe this myself; I fellowshipped exclusively with other "Apostolics" for long enough to know that they really do believe that they are the only ones who really "live by the Bible."
It was only when I admitted that I could be wrong that my elitist mentality began to break. When I stopped studying the Bible in order to support what I believed, and started studying it in order to learn what to believe, I realized how wrong I was.
Even now, my flesh wants to think that I am smarter, more knowledgeable, and more spiritual than others. The truth is that I am innately no better than anyone else, whether they would be a Oneness Pentecostal, a Baptist, an atheist, a Catholic, or a Muslim; on the other hand, they are also no better than I am.
It is only when we realize we are the lowest that God brings us to a higher place. James 4:10"
[1] http://menashedovid1.wordpress.com/human-sacrifice/
http://natzrim.blogspot.com/2012/06/tithe-teaching-detriments.html
http://jewtoo.multiply.com/journal/item/101 What's Wrong With The Rapture Doctrine?
Who is Lucifer? http://www.obcitydesigns.com/wayofthenazarene/uploads/pdf/Who%20is%20Lucifer.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment