April 1981

VOL. XXVIII, NO.4

LettersContents:

The Good News is published monthly (except combined June-July and October·Novemberissues) by the Worldwide Church of God, 300 W. Green St. , Pasadena, Calif., 91123. Copyrighte 1981 Worldwide Church of God. All rights reserved. Second-class postage paid at Pasadena,Calif. Reentered as second-class matter at the Manila CentralPost Office on Jan. 18, 1974.

Personal from Herbert W. Armstrong

- Just What Is " the Work"?

- The Hebrew Ca lendar - Authoritat ive for God 's Church Today!

Meditation - What Is Its Role in Your Life?

Stories from the New Testament

How Pure Is Your Religion?

_.Experience the Joy of God ly Confidence!

Who Was the " J uda s" of the Old Testament?

_. Closing the Generation Gap

Don 't Assume Your Children Understand

Ministudy

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Herbert W. ArmstrongMANAGING EDITOR Dexter H. Faulkner

ASSOCIATE EDITORS: She ila Graham, Norman ShoafGRAPHICS: Minette Collins, Michael Hale

Published by the Worldwide Church of GodPUBLISHER: Herbert W. Armstrong

TREASURER: Leroy NeffPRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION: Roger Lippross

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"Proof of the Bible" Special

I am going through the Decemberissue of The Good News for th e secondtime. Not only am I readin g it for theseco nd time, but I am now in the processof read ing all th e sc riptures in th e articlesand mark ing th em in my Bible.

I believe th at there is more meat inth ese arti cles th an I have eve r readbefore , and in the past almost two yea rs,th e articles in .. . The Good News havebeen really improving very fast. We needall of these articles we can get as tim edr aws near th e close of this age.

Roy M. ManleyBonanz a, O re.

Wise men not biblical?

Regard ing Sh irle y John son's story ­third paragr aph , page 27 (Ja nuary), Iwould submit thi s note :

" Ma ny people know about th e shep­herds who found the baby Jesus lying in amanger " - this is per th e Bible - "andthe wise men of th e east who came bear­ing gifts' .' - which is not biblical!

Would someone care to comme nt?Joe V. Brooks

Palmdale, Ca lif.The wise men f rom the East are

indeed biblical (Matt . 2:1). They learnedthat the infant Christ was living with Hisparents in a house in Bethlehem, andtraveled there to worship Him . They pre­sented Jesus with gifts of "gold, andf rankincense, and mYj:rh " (verse II ).Mrs. Johnson described this visit of thewise men in the February installm ent.

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO THE GOOD NEWS OFFICE NEAREST YOU.PRINTED IN U.SAUmteo States 300 W. Green SI, Pasadena, Calif.. 9 1123Canada . PO. Box 44, Station A, Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2M2Mexico. lnstitucion Ambassador , Apar tado Postal 5-595, Mexico 5, D.F.Colombia ' Apartado Aereo 11430, Bogota 1, DE·Uruted Kingdom . rest at Europe and the Middle Eest p.d. Box 111, SI. Albans, Herts., Al2 2EG EnglandZimbabwe.' P.O. Box UA 30 Union Ave., SalisburySouth Africa: P.O. Box 1060, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa 2000Ghana ' P O. Box 96 17, Kotoka Inl. Airport, AccraKenya and the rest of East and Central Afr ica ' P.O. Box 47135, Nairobi, KenyaMaufltius and other Indian Ocean Isles: P.O. Box 888, Port louis, MauritiusNigeria ' PM.B: 21006, Ikeja. Lagos State. NigeriaAustrelie. tndie, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia ' GP.O. Box 345. Sydney, NSW 200 1. AustraliaNew Zealand and Pecdic Isles: P.O. Box 2709 . Auckland 1. New ZealandThe PhJiJpplnes ' P.O. Box 1111. M.C.C . Makati, Metro Manila. Philippines 3117Ceribbeen: PO. Box 6063. San Juan. Puerto Rico 00936SWItzerland ' Case Postale 10.91 rue de la Servette. CH·1211 . Geneva 7Scandinavia ' Box 2513 Soni, Oslo 2. Norway

Be sure to notify us.immediately of any change in your address. Please include your old mailing label and yournew address

COVER: The Neostyle , the radio microphone and the typewr iter - God 's end·time Workof reach ing the world with the Gospel began with these tools in 19 3 4 . Read " Just What Is'the Work '?", beginning on page 2. Phot o by Scott Smith. .

Only member in Japan writes

I want to th ank you very sincer ely forall you do for us ever y day and for keep­ing thi s Work going and hurrying ittoward th e end goa l. I am behind you andpra ying for you daily. Th ank you foralways keep ing me informed about theWork by sending me your newslettersand WN , also th e PT and GN. I am sti llth e only res ide nt member in this countryas far as I know, so I very much appre­ciate all th e lite ra ture and informa tion. Ith elps me moreover to pray better.

Ca th er ine Ok anoAbiko, Japan

Information included with a map inthe February issue (pp. 14-15) was inerror. Total Plain Truth circulation isapproximately 2.5 million, of which 1.5million copies are sent to subscribers.One million are distributed on news­stands.

.TheWay of LifeThat CAUSES Success

IWAS REMI NISCING with twoof our executives on thehigh estimate I placed on .

myself in earlier life - in mytwenties. "I was a very impor­tant individual in my own eyesthen," I mused. "You have noidea how far I' ve skidded back­ward since then."

They .laughed . "Well, " ex­claim ed one, "I wish you' d give usth e formula of how to go back­ward like th at !"

Reflecting on this bit of banter lat-'er, I decided seriously it would beprofitable to write that formula for allour readers. For it is the formula forthe only kind of success that is realand satisfying and lasting.

For as long as I was important inmy own eyes, I was actually of nomore importance than a paper bagfilled with air. True , I was ambitious.I worked hard , studied hard, drovemyself on relentlessly to achieve whatI then viewed as SUCCESS. But actual­ly, as I know now, it was a strivingafter wind - pure vanity - aswelled-up self-exaltation that waslike a toy balloon that will burst whenpricked with a pin.

The skidding backward began withthe flash depression of 1920, whichse nt numerous big corporat ions,among which were my main custom­ers, to the wall. It was a national flashcatastrophe over which I had no con­trol. It left me, by 1922, a deflated,near-frustrated young man of 30. Butnot for long. I said: " I' ll bound back.You can't keep a good man down."Self-confidence returned. I began

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

dev el oping anot he r bu siness .But by 1926, just when my new

advertising business was beginning toaccelerate, another nationwide occur­rence, not of my making - or evenmy knowledge , at the time ­wiped out that business.

Once again the SELF was deflated.The ego was punctured. I took a newlook at myself. And what I now sawwas pretty humili ating. I calledmyself a burned-out "hunk of junk. "I felt unworth y to be cast onto a junkpile. At this point a soul-jarr ing expe­ri ence and a new 'self-appraisalresulted in a total about-face. A joltchanged the direction of my life.

Events and experiences of earlieryears now played their part in shap­ing a new life from this point on. Theinflated ego and self-assured ambi­tion had been aroused at age 16. Butas far back as memory extends I had apassion for UNDE RSTANDING.

I have written elsewhere of theexperience, when 22, as the "idea.man" for the editorial department ofthe country's largest trade journal. Incont inua l tr avel throughout th eUnited States, I was assigned notonly to search out successful salesideas and business management tech­niques, but also seek out the reasonsfor the success of the few, and thefailure of the many. .

On this assignment I pioneered inmaking surveys, based on the law­of-average principle , sampling publicopinion, attitudes, consumer buyinghabits, facts about life - about fail­ure and success - about mentalstates of happiness or depre ssion,about life itself as people lived it.

Now as I reflected back, I realizedthat the most "successful" people I

had interviewed were the least happy.Bank accounts were full but liveswere empty .

Now, having taken the count twiceas a result of nationwide occurrencesnot of my making - now reduced toactual economic poverty - it becameclear at last that, trul y, it is moreblessed to give than to receive.

This whole world, it became pain­fully clear , was operating on the"GET" philosophy. The philosophy of" I love ME, and I care nothing aboutyo u." The way of competition, strife,taking, acquiring, amassing - ofbeing served rather than serving.Actually, in economic povert y Ifound rest from the nerve-shatt eringdri ving, striving after that whichNEVER SATISFIED when acquired! Ibegan to see that LOVE is not spelled" I-u-s-t" but rather is pointed in theopposite direction - LOVE is an out­going concern for the one loved.

It became crystal clear that thereare two overall philosophies or WA YSof life. One is the SELF-centered way.It is simply VANITY. It loves self only(which, as I had learned from a texton advertising psychology, includesthat which you call YOURS - yourwife and family, your club, -yourpolitical party , your football team,your country in time of war). Itincludes not only love and greedtoward SELF, but envy, jealousy andeven hatred toward others.

I could see why so many marriagesbreak up - or, at least, are unhappy .One confuses "falling in love" withthe sex attraction that stimulatesDESIRE - toward SELF. And whenone does not GET what is wantedfrom the mate, resentment sets in.

(Continued on page 27)

Just What Is'TheWORK'?

And what was it, and how organized, in 1933,and from A.D. 31-70?

By Herbert W. Armstrong

11he Work of God, andthe organization andgo vernment of the

Church of God, underwentradical changes from A. D. 31­70 to 1933, and also from 1933to the present.

We nee d now to sto p and getour perspective . W as it as itshould have been in 1933 ? Is itTODAY?

Radical and significant changeshave occurred in the world duringthese intervals. Yet the same Churchof God has continued - not, in theyears 1927-33, as it should have been.Yet it was the only body of believerson earth that had the true name ­the "commandments of God, and thefaith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12).

WHY the Church? - itsPURPOSE

The PURPOSE . for which Chr istbuilt the Church exemplifies itsWORK - its activities. And Chr ist,through the New Testament , gives usthe patt ern by which it, .as a SPIRI­TUAL ORGANISM (not a human orworldl y org anization ), should 'beorganized to carr yon its WORK.

The PURPOSE, like most things .inGod ' s PLAN , is du al : I ) T oANNOUNCE for a witness to the worldthe coming Kingdom of God (thetrue Gospel), to prepare the way forChrist' s coming.

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2) To prepare the people whomGod adds to the Church to becomethe Bride of Christ. To "feed the

. flock" on spiritual food. The Churchmust overcome Satan, grow in graceand spiritual character and spiritualknowledge to become imm ortal ,divine GOD PERSONS- ruling underChrist as kings and priests spiritual­ly.

The CHURCH shall be built to bethe spiritual TEMPLE to which Christshall come (Mal. 3:1 ). Yet this Mala­chi prophecy is speaking primarily ofpreparing for Chri st' s S econd Com­ing, as verses 2-5 clearly show.

John the Baptist' s preparing theway before Jesus' fi rst, human com­ing was therefore a TYPEforeshadow­ing one in the same power and spiritpreparing the way for His coming asKING of kings and LORD of lords toRULE ALL NATIONS. John the Baptistput emphasis on the LA W (or way) ofGod, and calling to REPENTANCE. SOthe apostle leading today's Churchmust explain world evils caused bytransgressing God's law of "GIVE"(outflowing LOVE) by living the wayof "GET" - calling to repentance andannouncing the world tomorrowunder the GOVE RNMENT OF GOD, bythe KINGDOMOF GOD.

Wha t was " the WORK ," and howorganized, A.D. 31-70?

In tho se" earl y apostolic days,beginning A.D. 31, the Gospel wasproclaimed to the world solely by the

apostles and evangelists - no radio,TV, print or such modern facilities aswe have today. Those proclaiming itwent forth by foot, donkey or horse,rowboat or sailboat. No means ofcommunication existed except hand­written lette rs carried afoot or byslow boat.

How organized? How "feed theflock" ? The form of organization is 'outlined in I Corinthians 12 andEphesians 4 primaril y. GOD, not manor the world, set the pattern ofChurch organization, governmentand operation of its WORK - firstapostles, then evangelists, pastors,elders. Some of these were preaching,others nonpre aching, elders, andthere were deacons and deaconesseshelping with the more physical mat­ters .

Only five prophets are mentionedin the New Testament and none ofthese contributed to Church doc­trine , beliefs or teaching - or admin­istrative or executive functions. ButOld Testament prophets' writing swere a source of Church doctrinesand teachings.

Beginning A.D. 31 Christ wasHEAD of the Church, Peter was chiefapostle. After some years Peter andmost of the original 12 seem to disap­pear from view. Jesus apparently hadsent them to " the lost sheep of thehouse of Israel," then in WesternEurope and Britain (M att. 10:6,15:24). They were "lost " in identit yand spiritually. They had lost their

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

Hebrew language. After some yearsof Church existence, the apostle Paulseems to be the chief apostle in theMiddle East and Rome. He was inauthority (II Cor. II :28, I Cor. 5:3­5,4:20-21) .

The WORK was not complex thenas today. The Gospel traveled slowly .There were ' no modern or mechanicalfacilities. Paul and others often spoketo small groups (Acts 16:12-13).

But about A.D. 53 the Gospel ofthe Kingdom of God was being sUP­

, PRESSED, supplanted by another thatwas not the true Gospel (Gal. 1:6­7).

By A.D . 70, when Jerusalem wasoverrun by the Roman armies, theproclaiming of the true Gospel to theworld had virtually or completelyceased. The name of Christ waspreached, and even grace - butgrace turned to license to disobey(Jude 4). They took the NAME ofChrist, calling themselves "Chris­tians" - proclaimed Jesus wasCHRIST, yet DECEIVED the world(Matt. 24:5), as Jesus prophesied .But the KINGDOM OF GOD was notproclaimed . The "law was doneaway ." For 100 time cycles the Gos­pel Christ proclaimed was s up­PRESSED! The true Church continued,persecuted, often or mostly meetingsecretly.

The "Work" - and how Churchorganized - 1927-33

I came to know of the true Churchof God , fall of 1926 , and as it contin­ued to about 1940. Headquarters in1926 were at Stanberry, Mo . Aftermy original six months in-depthstudy and research into evolu­tion as a basic approach toall knowledge, and of theBible that to me proved tobe that approach andGod 's revealed knowl-

Beginning with thetools pictured al right.God's Work in this erahas used modern masscommunication to givethe Gospel to the world.

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

edge, I wondered , "Where is the trueChurch?" They were so impotentspiritually (Rev. 3: I), and even inbibli cal knowledge, yet what they didhave was more biblical TRUTH thanany ot her church my researchesrevealed. They had "the command­ments of God, and the testimony ofJesus," and the right name - and noother church had. But they were sosmall - so pitifully weak. They werenot proclaiming the Gospel of theKingdom of God, but "the thirdangel's message."

But of what did their "Work" con­sist , and how organized? They wereorganized on congregational (demo­cratic) government as a " biannualgeneral conference." To the best ofmy knowledge they had less than athousand members and an unedu­cated ministry - that is, not collegeeducated. The editor of their churchorgan, The Bible Advocate, seemedtheir leader. Five members couldform a local church, and each churchhad one vote . Their ministers, whoknew the Bible well so far as theirlimited doctrines extended, went outholding meetings in members'homes, in tiny tents and such means.I inquired of older members, butnone knew of a single conversionresulting from the preachingof any minister.

In 1931 the Oregon mem­bers split. The half my wifeand I had fellowshippedwith (never joining)formed a new church cor­poration as "The Oregon

Conference of the Church of God." Iwas ordained by this "Oregon Con­ference." I preached for them fromordination, June, 1931 , throughNovember, 1931 , then again fromFebruary, 1933, to August, 1933.

The "Philadelphia Era" born

In July, 1933, I started a six­nights-a-week series of meetings forsix weeks in a 36-seat country school­house - the Jeans school - eightmiles west of Eugene, Ore. Result: IInew baptized members plus eight ofus already baptized - total : 19. Itwas just over 100 19-year time cyclesafter the very first Church wasfounded by Jesus Christ. I had beenordained precisely, to the month, 100time cycles after the first apostleswere ordained, June, 1931.

On forming of the new little parentchurch, I ceased working under juris­diction of the Oregon Conference,although I continued voluntarily astheir pastor. The Worldwide Churchof God was a newborn fledgling thatChrist, the HEAD of the Church, wasconducting solely by me, knownbeginning 1934 as the Radio Churchof God. It became the WorldwideChurch of Godin 1968.

What IS the Work, and howorganized TODAY?

As stated above, the WORK ofproclaiming the Gospel Jesusbrought from GOD was suppressedbeginning about A.D. 53, and not

proclaimed to the world after A.D.70, for 100 time cycles.

In our day, 20th century, thechurches of "Christianity" proclaimmerely their message about Jesus.They proclaim that Jesus was the

Christ . But they say"the law of GOD

is done away,"and therefore

preach noreal re­

pentance. The"Kingdom"

has becomeeither "theChurch " or

some etherealnothingness "set up

in men's hearts." TheGospel of the KINGDOM

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OF GOD was not preached. It was notproclaimed by Seventh-day Adven­tists, one of whose cardinal doctrineswas the "investigative judgment,"which had the resurrected saints athousand years with Christ IN HEAV~

EN. The Church of God, SeventhDay, of Stanberry, Mo., proclaimed a"third angel's message." The trueGOSPEL had not been proclaimed tothe world for I,900 years! - 100time cycles!

Please do not misunderstand."Time cycles" are definitely NOT aChurch doctrine. But the sun, earthand moon do come into almost exactconjunction once every 19 years. Goduses the relation of.the sun and moonto the earth as HIs means of markingoff points in TIME. We do not make a"doctrine" out of a "day" measuredby the sunsets, the month measuredby the new moons as seen from earthor by the lunar year, or the solaryear.

But a century of time cycles is adefinite measure of TIME. And a cen­tury of time cycles after the firstbirth of the Church was a TIME thatGod DID USE as a time to start aREBIRTH of His Church, when onceagain just before the close of the6,000-year duration of the "day ofman ," and the ushering in of the dayof the LORD, His Gospel of the King­dom would be proclaimed worldwide(Matt. 24:14).

At this point we need to under­stand a PRINCIPLE by which Godalways has worked through humans.He has always worked through ONEMAN at a time. Be worked throughAbraham . He worked throughMoses, through Joshua, through one"judge" at a time, through Samuel,through David.jhrough Solomon. Heworked through Peter and whenPeter had left the Middle East,through Paul. These men had, ingreater or lesser number, staff assis­tants under them, but God's WORKwas through the ONE MAN AT ATIME!

THIS IS THE "WORK OF GOD" ­and not a humanly organized institu­tion, operation or organization on theworldly corporate type of organiza­tion, function and procedure.

Too many have viewed the World­wide Church of God, and what we

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call the WORK, as a secular, man­devised ORGANIZATION, with itsboard of directors, its vice presidents,department heads and positions ofAUTHORITY, some of whom have triedto pull political or corporate businesstactics of rug-jerking to elevate them­selves. and grab for POWER. Theyhave forgotten that the divine, super­natural JESUS CHRIST - the LIVINGChrist - is the HEAD, running thisWork HIS way, not the way of thisworld's corporate enterprises or insti­tutions. To them GOD is NOT IN THEPICTURE.

Too many have viewed

the Worldwide Church of

God, and what we call

the WORK, as a

secular, man-devised

ORGANIZAnON ... They

have forgotten that the

divine, supernatural

JESUS CHRIST - the

LIVING Christ - is the

HEAD, running this

Work ,H IS way ...

We must RESTRUCTURE this entireWORK in our own minds and realizeit is THE WORK OF GOD, throughJesus Christ who is ALIVE and active,and, on earth, through HIS APOSTLE,whom HE specially trained, preparedand chose, and now DIRECTS, EMPOW-ERS AND USES! .

How Christ started today's Work

It was the living CHRIST whoopened the door to radio in the fall of1933 before His chosen apostle whomHe already had specially trained andprepared. After a preliminary super­intense study and in-depth researchinto evolution (this world's conceptand approach to all knowledge) andGod's Word, His chosen servant wasconverted - CHANGED - from car­nal mindedness to Spirit minded­ness.

In that introductory, initial in­depth biblical study, the ' livingChrist had revealed the BASICS tome that the professing "Christian"churches did not possess . I had gonethrough seven years of deep spiri­tual experience. Through me Christhad healed the sick, cast outdemons, working supernatural spiri­tual miracles besides opening mymind to His spiritual TRUTHS, evensuch as no church on earth was pro­claiming. It was a spiritual andknowledgeable experience such asnone has today.

The living Christ started me in thesmallest manner. He always startsthings the very smallest throughhumans, like the illustration of thegrain of mustard seed. A free 15­minute morning "devotional period"for one week was opened to me onradio KORE, Eugene.

The first Sunday in 1934 the fullhalf-hour World Tomorrow programwent on the air , then under the nameRadio Church of God.

Feb. 1, The Plain Fruth. Vol. I,No. I, . made its humble bow. Amimeographed Bulletin was thefledgling pioneer of The GoodNews.

I continued personal campaignsspeaking in schoolhouses, a tent seat­ing some 400 and whatever halls orauditoriums I could rent.

My first office was a room in theold Masonic Temple in Eugene. I hadengaged the hall for meetings for thepublic three nights a week at $10 permonth. The room that made an officecame with it. Later I rented an insideoffice, a skylight, no outside windowsor ventilation of any kind, at $5 permonth.

I could not afford a stenographeror secretary. My wife was my solestaff. However, this was the 20th cen­tury. I was beginning to use the mod­ern facilities of our materiallyadvanced civilization. The PlainTruth had started on a borrowedmimeograph. The local A.B. DickCo . mimeograph dealer allowed meto use his mimeograph for that first250-copy edition of The Plain Truth.However, he didn't want that to con­tinue every month. He found an oldancestor to toe mimeograph - a

(Continued on page 24)

The GOOD NEWS . April 1981

The Hebrew Calendar­Authoritative for

God's Church 1Oday!By Herman L. Hoeh

Why is it that millionscall the Bible theWord of God butare not willing to 'do

what it commands?Why is it that many of these

same millions call God the Authorof time but are not willing to keepholy the days God made holytime? .

And why is itthat even amongthe now numer­o us sec ts ­usually minisculeby thi s world'sstandards - that do acknowl­edge God 's Sabbath and His annualHoly Days, so few are willing to sub­mit to the authority of the calen­dar' God aut hor izes to measuretime?

A changed world since 1930

A half century ago, almost no one,apart from Jewish communities, everthought of keeping holy the annualfestivals God gave His people. Ohyes, there were Sabbath keepers. Buthardly any human being, apart fromthe Jews, was willing to acknowledgeGod's command to His Church todayto keep holy seven annual festivals Hemade holy time. Hardly any, that is,except Herbert W. and Loma D.Armstrong. For seven years - "1927to 1933 - they had to observe God'sfestivals alone - by themselves as afamily - even while fellowshippingwith the little remnant of God'speople in the Willamette Valley inOregon.

Not until 1934 were others,

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

brought to conversion by their minis­try, willing to keep God's festivalswith them. This little group inEugene, Ore., became the motherchurch of what today is the World­wide Church of God.

Gradually the word spread. A fewothers already associated with thescattered remnants of God's Churchlistened . :

Among them was a man of some

prominence. Unfortunately hejumped the track spiritually.He invented the false teaching thatone must speak only Hebrew whenusing the names and titles of God andof Jesus Christ. The divinely inspiredGreek New Testament teaches nosuch thing!

But this man did set in motion amovement among the scattered rem­nants of God's people . That move­ment, itself now terribly divided,claims to observe God's annual HolyDays. But almost none of them hasbeen willing to acknowledge theauthority of the calendar God autho­rized to measure time - the Hebrewcalendar.

Isn't it strange - or is it? - thatat the very time some people's eyesare opened to what God commandson one point, the devil comes along'and sows seeds of error in their mindson another point? They becomeunwilling to use the Hebrew calendarGod makes authoritative, while theyaccept the error that one must useonly Hebrew names in referring to

God the Father and His Son JesusChrist!

The result is they are not annuallykeeping holy the time God autho­rized to be kept holy. They aredeceived. And they have takenauthority to themselves that Godreserves for Himself!

Herbert W. Armstrong addressedthis problem head-on in the GoodNews Letter of 1940. The man

referred to abovehad publishedearlier ' that yearthe date March22 as Passover.The Stanberry,

Mo., and Salem, W.Va., organiza­tions (of the Church of God, SeventhDay) published the date as April 21(each meaning the night at the end ofthe day, of course) . Mr. Armstrongwrote that "many of the brethren arein doubt and want the facts. " And hegave them facts - in detail. Then headded:

"In conclusion, unless God haspreserved His sacred calendarthrough the Jews, then we do notknow how to figure Passover or anyof the Holy Days this year. Forthere is no authority for any otherway. There is no Bible authoritywhatsoever for figuring the first dayof the first month from the newmoon nearest the spring equinox.

"As soon as I learned," Mr . Arm­strong continued, "of [the man's]published dates for the festivals thisyear, I sent him a telegram asking hisauthority for his dates. His reply isthat he bases his method of figuringon certain statements of profane his­tory found in encyclopedias. Hereplies, 'In some Bible dictionary, or

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An uncommon year

What prompts this article is thefact that the Passover this year, 1981,is the eve of April' 18. It falls on theeve of a Sabbath. It is not commonfor the Passover to occur Fridaynight. Or to have the Festival ofUnleavened Bread correspond to anatural week. Or to have the autumnfestival season begin on a Tuesday. Infact, it has occurred only nine timesthis century. It will occur this year

encyclopedia, or Jewish encyclope- and once more - in 1994. It is much make of none effect the faithfulnessdia, I read something like this: "The more usual for the Passover to be the of God? God forbid: yea, let God beancient reckoning of Passover was eve of Monday, or Wednesday, or found true, but every man afrom the actual sight of the new Friday. liar.. .. But if the truth of Godmoon nearest the vernal equi- Why do God's festivals fall when through my lie abounded unto hisnox." , " they do? Have we ever asked why glory, why am I also still judged as a

After quoting various views from Passover does not fall on the eve of sinner?" (verses 1-4, 7, Revised Ver-sources then extant, Mr. Armstrong Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday? Or sion).concluded: "Surely we can see that why the fast of the Day of Atonement Paul is here reasoning with Greek.profane history only contradicts does not occur on Friday or Sunday? converts. The Jews, he tells them,itself, is inaccurate, cannot be Or why the seventh day of the Festi- have the advantage of being intrusteddepended upon and has no authority val of Tabernacles does not fall on the with the oracles, or divine revelation,whatsoever. There is no Bible author- weekly Sabbath - but the eighth day of God. The ancient Greeks wereity for any of it. commonly does? always impressed with their oracles

"God did not commit His oracles, These are all curious features of that came from demons!or the preservation of His times, to the calendar God caused the Jewish But what if the people to whom the

~:~~~E~:::c~:::h:: ,~C~T,r:M~,r:~ ~~~~h~;:~~~~P~:f~study of the BIble, of the would not preserve HisHebrew calendar, of his- revelation throughtory and every angle - after going . people to preserve for us. These fea- them? Not at all. He simply prunedinto the matter with all the Eugene tures are lost among those who invent off those who refused to preserve Hisbrethren and other brethren who their own rules for their own calen- revelation for men . That is one reasonhave made a special study of this dars . They are lost because ,people the 10 tribes of Israel were' cut offquestion, we have unanimously have lost sight of God's authority and sent into exile.agreed that the Hebrew calendar has over time. The Jews of the house of Judah alonebeen preserved correct by the retained the oracles. And even thoughJews." Parallel with the Bible some of them have become atheists and

The Worldwide Church of God To understand this authority, it is liars about that revelation and refuse tohas followed this authoritative deci- necessary to see how God has worked 'obey it, does that mean the oracles aresion ever since. Others can go their through history. In preserving the not true, that God has failed to have Hisown way - till the judgment! written Word, the Bible (in Hebrew revelation to man providentially pre-

Forty years have passed since this and Greek) , God has done something served through the Jews in a publiccontroversy came and went. Most of very similar to what has occurred way? Not at all!those in God's. Church at that time with the development and preserva- Later, of course, the New Testa-are fallen asleep in Christ. Tens of tion of the Hebrew calendar. ment in Greek, which the Jews offi-thousands of new brethren have been The Bible is the public literature of cially rejected at Jabneh, in Judea, inadded to God's Church around the a people. That people was ancient public session around A.D. 90, wouldworld . Two generations have grown ' Israel. It was organized as God's be providentially preserved by theto maturity. It is now the 1980s and nation and church. To that people Greeks in a public way. And they too,most people have had little instruc- were committed the oracles of God like the Jews, do not as a whole followtion from God's Word on the author- - God's revelation to man of essen- what is written in the oracles commit-ity of the Hebrew calendar, its his- tial knowledge. The martyr Stephen, ted to them!tory and preservation. It is every whit in speaking of Moses, said: "This is But what were the oracles commit-as intriguing as the story of the copy- he, that was in the church in the wil- ted in a public way to the Jews? Theing and preservation of the written derness with the angel which spake to Hebrew Bible only? By no means!Word of God, the Bible. him in the mount Sina, and with our The Hebrew calendar also! For with-

fathers: who received the lively ora- out the calendar, it would be impossi -cles to give unto us: To whom our ble to fulfill correctly what is writtenfathers would not obey" (Acts 7:38- in the Hebrew Bible about hallowed39) . annual times. And not only the Bible

Paul continues the thought in and calendar, but the week also.Romans 3: "What advantage then These three - Bible, calendar andhath the Jew? or what is the profit of week - are all part of the oraclescircumcision? Much every way: first committed to the Jews for all man-of all, that they were intrusted with kind .the oracles of God . For what if some They have been committed in awere without faith? [Remember public way, not secretly. They haveStephen's words: "our fathers would not therefore been subject to privatenot obey"] shall their want of faith tampering away from public scrutiny.

6 The GOOD NEWS April 1981

in determining the calendar? Yes.Did God correct the matter?

Indeed - as we shall now see!

You will remember thatI asked above how manyreaders were aware that theDay of Atonement on theHebrew calendar does notfall on a Friday - the

preparation day for the weekly Sab­bath.

Do you know why this occurs?And what rule of the calendar deter­mines this?

Think for a moment what it wouldbe like for housewives to prepare foodfor the Sabbath on a Friday that is afast day! Of course the Day of Atone­ment is so important a fast that nofood is to be prepared that day at all.So housewives would have to preparefood on a Thursday for the weeklySabbath. That would be burden-some.

The scripture plainly says: "How­beit on the tenth day of this seventhmon th is the day of atone­ment ... And ye shall do no mannerof work in that same day: for it is aday of atonement. . . . For whatsoeversoul it be that shall not be afflicted inthat same day, he shall be cut offfrom his people. And whatsoever soulit be that doeth any manner of workin that same day, that soul will Idestroy from among his people . Yeshall do no manner of work: it is astatute forever throughout your gen­erations in all your dwellings. It shallbe unto you a sabbath of solemn rest,and ye shall afflict your souls: in theninth day of the month at even, fromeven unto even, shall ye keep yoursabbath" (Lev. 23:26-32, RevisedVersion).

If Atonement were to fall on Fri­day, .housewives would have to pre­pare food for the weekly Sabbath on a

(Continued on page 28)

7

of the Hebrew Bible was one oftheir duties - were in authority.Jesus said so. They sat on Moses 'seat. They, not their jealous criticsamong modern and ancient scholars,determined for us the manner inwhich the Bible's text should bepreserved.

And the Pharisees, too, sat onMoses' seat. It was their court thatdetermined the Hebrew calendar. Itwas their court's decision that deter­mined which day was the beginningof each month. Once that was deter­mined it was the people 's responsibil­ity to keep holy the days God madeholy - according to the dates on theHebrew calendar, not on some othercalendar.

Were the scribes perfect men,without sin? Were the Pharisees per-

, feet men, without sin? By no means!Jesus made that plain. Yet He alsomade it plain that they had a respon­sibility under God to preserve thewritten Word of God, the week andthe calendar. It was not somebodyelse's responsibility!

Could they make mistakes in exe­cuting their responsibility underGod? Of course! Did the leadershipin the Worldwide Church of God foryears mistakenly appoint Monday,rather than Sunday, as the day of theweek on which Pentecost should fall?Yes . Did God correct the matter?Indeed!

Did the Jews who were in authori­ty under God over the oracles - thescribes and Pharisees - at times err

Men indeed have lied, saying the bility to determine what is the writ-week has been lost - that time has ten Word of God. They are paid tobeen lost. That the public keeping of find fault with the way the scribesthe knowledge of the Sabbath by copied the Hebrew Bible.Jews has no meaning. Or that Jesus' Though Jesus said very plainly: ' God corrects those in authorityagreement with and keeping of it "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on under Himhave no meaning. As Paulwrote, "let Moses' seat: all things therefore Remember what Jesus said of theGod be found true, but every man a . whatsoever they bid you, these do and Pharisees? "They bind heavy bur-liar"! observe: but do not ye after their dens and grievous to be borne, and

The kind of evidence men demand works; for they say, and do not. Yea, lay them on men's shoulders" (Matt.to prove that the Hebrew Bible - they bind heavy burdens and grievous 23:4) .and for that matter the Greek New to be borne, and lay them on men 's . The later Pharisees and their rab-Testament, too - has been preserved shoulders; but they themselves will binic successors did exactly that foraccurately does not exist. There are not move them with their finger ' ''- centuries when it came to determin-no original autographs extant for men (Matt. 23:2-4, Revised Version). ing when the Day of Atonement wasto peer at and criticize. God lets them The scribes - copying of the text to fall.

~'~M ~M T'Q~. - ~ -

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

criticize copies, while theylose sight of what is writtenin them, through disobe­dience.

And the kind of evidencemen demand so as to provethe authoritativeness of the Hebrewcalendar does not exist. God has seento that also - so critics would havetheir chance to invent their own cal­endars. And think themselves wiserthan God for having invented a calen­dar more accurate than what Godcommitted to Israel as His own!

Men live by human reason. Theywant the original sources to criticize.They do not want secondary evidence- that is, copies of an original thathave passed through the hands ofmen. Yet that is exactly what Godhas chosen to provide them.

By faith we know we have copies,providentially preserved, of the origi­nal Word of God. By faith we knowthat the leadership in the Jewishcourts did preserve the rules of thecalendar God committed to them ­even though they themselves have notwanted to follow those rules at alltimes.

It is all a question of government- whether God is capable of ruling.Whether God can intervene in theaffairs of His people to correct theirerrors - no men are perfect. Andthat is a matter of faith.

Throughout history people havewanted to correct, by using their ownhuman reason, what God may allow.

. They have not waited to have Godlead and guide and direct those whomHe has set in authority among Hispeople. They too often want to exer­cise that authority for themselves.

Thus we have critics of the text ofthe Bible who see it as their responsi-

e itation, .'

What"Is Its RoleIn Your Life?

Here is what the Bible teaches about a subjectvital to Christian development.

By Clayton Steep

-

"M~d~tation " - whatIS It?

Perhaps themere mention of the wordbrings to your mind terms suchas guru, yoga, cosmic aware­ness, transcenden tal, Z en,mantra and maharishi.

To many, meditation meanssome form of mental gymnastics,often referring to sessions of deepconcentration in an eyes-closed,legs-crossed, hands-folded posi­tion.

To others it represents a dull per i­od of relig ious contemplation duringwhich there is more than an evenchance of falling asleep.

Such sporadic occasions of mean­ingless reflect ion are not what theBible speaks of as meditation at all!

David wrote that he meditated"day and night" (Ps . I :2) . He did notconfine meditation to a 20-minuteperiod or to a once-a-week walk outin the hills somewhere. It was a con­stant process.

He obeyed God 's instruction asgiven in Joshua 1:8: "This book of thelaw shall not depart out of thy mouth;but thou shalt meditate therein dayand night. " David exclaimed, "0 howlove I thy law! it is my meditation allthe day" (Ps . 119:97) .

In the Bible meditate means "tothink abou t." What fills your mind iswhat you are meditat ing about.

8

Whe ther or not you are going to med­itate is not the question . As long asyour brain is funct ioning you aregoing to meditate! The question is ­on what?

Because it is so easy to meditate on- to think about - the wrongthings, David prayed for help: "Letthe words of my mouth, and the med­itation of my heart , be acceptable inthy sight, 0 Lord, my strength, andmy redeemer" (Ps. 19:14). "Searchme, 0 God ," he asked, "and know myheart: try me, and know my thoughts:And see if there be any wicked way inme, and lead me in the way everlast­ing" (Ps . 139:23-24) .

A penny for your thoughts

There are times when any of uswould be embarrassed to tea rs ifpeople next to us could read our exactthoughts . For tunatel y, they areunable to do so. But we can't hide our

.thoughts from God, for whether weask Him to or not, "the Lord search­eth all hearts, and understandeth allthe imaginations of the thoughts"(I Chron. 28:9).

What we think about reflects whatwe really are . As a person " thinkethin his heart, so is he" is the waySolomon expressed it (Pro v. 23:7) .That's why Jes us, commenting on thesame principle, said it is out of theheart that evil thoughts proceed(Matt. 15:19) .

We all were once totally carnal.And we thought carnally 100 percent

of the time, "For they that are afte rthe flesh [that is, everyone who is notconverted] do mind the things of thefle sh " ( Rom . 8:5) - , " ear th lyth ings" (Phil. 3:19). But conversionis a process - a process during whichthere is a change of heart and mind.And consequently, a change of whatthoughts fill the mind .

Speaking of the unconverted state,God says: "Let the wicked forsake hisway, and the unrighteo us man histhoughts . . . For as the heavens arehigher than the earth , so are my wayshigher than your ways, and my

, thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa.55:7-9).

As a Christian becomes more andmore converted, he thinks about ­meditates on - more of what pleasesGod and less of what is carnal. Heforsakes his own tho ughts and fills hismind instead with God's thoughts.

A different mind

Do you know what the differenceis between the Old Covenant madewith physical Israel and the NewCovenant made with the Ch urch? Itis important to understand the differ­ence because it has everything to dowith making your meditation accept­able to God!

The people of physical Israel, with­out the Holy Spirit, did not haveGod's laws written in their hearts andminds. God told them, "And these '

_ words , which I command thee thisday, shall be in thine heart" (Deut.

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

6:6). But the people quickly turnedtheir attention away from God andHis ways and filled their minds withcovetousness (Ezek. 33:31 ) .

Without the Holy Spirit they werenot able to keep God 's laws upper­most in their hearts and minds. Theywere unable to think about - tomeditate upon - God's laws ,because the carn al mind is enmityagainst God (Rom. 8:7).

With us it is different. We arecommanded to "Let thi s mind be inyou, which was also in Christ Jesus"(P\1il. 2:5).

How so? How can we have thesame mind , the same thoughts ­meditation - Jesus had ?

The answer is given in I Corin­thians 2:11, 16, where we read that" the things of God knoweth no man ,but the Spi rit of God .. . . we have themind of Christ." By having the HolySpirit we have the mind of Christconstantly abiding in us. This meansour thoughts should be pure regard­ing all things. We ought to mentallyanalyze every thing - our goals, wayof worship, occupation, styles, music ,humor, food, entertainment, familyand social relations - from God 'spoin t of view as expressed in HisWord . It requires constant effort. Itis a process of "bringing into captivi­ty every thought to the obedience ofChrist" (II Cor . 10:5).

" The thoughts [all of them!] of therighteous are right" (Prov. 12:5) .Th at is the kind of med itation Godwant s us to develop .

Getting "away from it all"

Though our thinking - our medi­tation - ought to be centered on Godand His ways all day long, as Davidshowed, it is also essential at times toget away from our normal routineand find a quiet place where we candevote ourselves to some especiallydeep thought about where we aregoing in life. .

Satan has designed our modernsociety to keep people distracted. Hedoes not want us to find an occasionwhen we can be mentally free fromthe confused din and clamor of " civi­lization." And yet such occasion smust be found - must be made - inord er to keep on the right track.

Even in Isaac's day, it was notalways easy to " get away from it all."In order to find a littl e solitude, Isaac

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

" went out to meditate in the field atthe eventide" (Gen. 24:63) . Andwhat happened? He was interruptedby a group of people riding camel s!(In this case, however, he was proba­bly . glad for the inter ru ption, sincethe arriving party included his bride­to-be.)

If it was slightly difficult in Isaac'stime, toda y it is nearly impossible inman y areas to find a secluded placewithin a reasonable distance whereone can go to just think. At homethere are other people in the house.Or there is the jangle of the phone orthe gong of the doorbell. Or theneighbor's TV or stereo or dog . Theparks are crowded - no privacythere. Maybe by driving many milesoutside the cit y one can find a solitaryplace. But even there a good part ofone 's mental effort must be divertedinto staying alert for the robbers andmurderers who oftentimes victimizepeople in such places.

We often must be really resource­ful in order to have a few minutesalone to gather our thoughts. Anautomobile, windows rolled up, doorslocked, parked in the shade on a quietstreet, provides perhaps one of themore easily attainable places for a lit­tle private contemplation. If you canlocate a quiet street. If you can find aparking place . And if someonedoesn 't report to the police a "suspi­cious person sitting in a car."

David must have had someproblems getting away from hisofficers, royal staff and officialduties and activities of the day tofind some peace and quiet.Maybe it was only at night thathe could find a suitable occasionand , being determined, gladl ysacrificed sleep. "I rememberthee upon my bed , and meditateon thee in the night watches," heprayed (Ps. 63:6). "Communewith your own heart upon yourbed , and be still," was his recom­mendation (Ps . 4:4 , see also119:55, 148).

David constantly examinedhow he was living . He sought toquickly set himself " back on thetrack" whenever he went astray. "Ithought on my ways, and [as a result]turned my feet unto thy testimonies"(Ps. 119:59) . The fact that Davidmade time to meditate deeply on Godand His laws is one of the reasons

---God 'could testi fy that David was " aman after mine own heart, whichshall fulfil all my will " (Acts13:22) .

What to think about

"I can 't keep the wrong thoughtsout of my mind," some complain.They may not be attacking the prob ­lem from the right direction. The lawof ph ysical science that "natureabhors a vacuum" applies on themental level too. It is not sufficient tojust put the wrong thoughts out. Th atleaves a vacuum (compare Matt.12:43-45 ). The mind must be filledwith the right thoughts.

As Paul explained, "whatever istrue, whatever is honorable, whateveris just, whatever is pure, whatever islovely; whatever is gracious, if thereis any excellence, if there is anythingworthy of praise, think about thesethings" (Phil. 4:8, Rev ised StandardVersion). Then there will be no roomfor wrong thoughts.

Meditation is, on the mental level,what digestion of food is on the phys­ical level. If we eat "junk" food,that's what we digest - that's whatwe become. If we eat good food, wehave good food to digest and to .e

become part of us. ~In order to be able to meditate on 8

God and His ways, we must " eat" ~

His Word - a lot of it - and often . ~How is it possible throughout the day ~

to "be mindful of the words whichwere spoken before by the holyprophets, and of the commandmentof us the apostles of the Lord andSaviour" (II Pet. 3:2) if we don 'tassimilate and drink them in in

(Continued on page 27)

9

•TORIES/

. FROMTheNEW TESTAMENT

Chapter 4

The Messiah Is Identified

Wh e n Jesuswas suffi­

ciently recov­ered from His long fast , .He returned to the Jor­dan River where Johnwas baptizing. Jesussta yed a t the outerfringes of the crowd ,that had gathered, butHis cousin caught sightof Him and immediate­ly pointed Him out tothe people.

"There He is!" Johnexclaimed. "The Lambof God who will takeaway the. sins of the - ._-~

world is standing overthere! " (John 1:36) . Amurmur went up fromthe people and curiouseyes turned to see.

Taking advantage ofthe- large gathering ,John asked Jesus to explain to them about the

~ coming Kingdom of God.~ Joining John on the high bank that over-"~ looked the area, Jesus addressed the people.~ He preached the good news that God's gov-

, -~ ernment would be brought to the earth to~ enforce God's way of life and cause worldwide

10

happiness and well­being . He explained

- that ·men had been puton earth to learn todiscern good from eviland to choose to livethe right way in spiteof selfish desires andtemptations.

When He finished ,He turned away andbegan to leave the area.Several dozen inte~

ested spectators fol­lowed Him, and fromthem Jesus began tochoose young men totrain as His disciples.Fisherman Andrewjoined Him first. An­drew then brought hisbrother Simon to Je­sus.

Guided by God 'sHoly Spirit, Jesus gave

Simon another name. "You are Peter,"He sai d. Peter means "rock" (verses41-4,2).

Philip and Nathanael also were called at thistime. When Jesus started back for His home in

Using a whip made of sho rt rope, Jesu s drove the livestock andmoney changers out of the Temple.

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

Galilee, these four disciples accompaniedHim.

The first miracle

Jesus was a great favorite at Holy Day gather­ings in' Jerusalem and at other festive occasions.Perfectly balanced in character and personality,He was warm, outgoing, calm, dignified andthoughtful toward everyone around Him.

Joseph must have died before Jesus beganHis public ministry, because he is not men­tioned as being present with Mary and Jesusand His disciples at a wedding they attended inCana (John 2). We find no reference to Josephagain in Scripture.

During the wedding festivities in _Cana, thehost expressed embarrassment when he discov­ered that the servants had poured the last of thewine. Seeing the host 's consternation; Marywalked over to Jesus as He stood with His disci­ples and brothers. "More people came today thanthey were expecting. They're out of wine."

Jesus glanced toward the serving tables andgave a slight shake of His head. "It's unfortu­nate, but what can I do at this time?" -

Positive in her own mind that Jesus could rem­edy the situation, Mary spoke to the servants andbrought them to Jesus. "My son will tell you whatto do," she said firmly and then looked up into Hisface with a confident nod (verse 5).

Because of His love and deep respect for her ,Jesus made a quick decision. "Fill those jarswith water," He told the servants, pointing tosix stone jars that stood in the back of thecourtyard. They were there to be used for cere­monial washings (verses 6-7).

The servants scurried about and brought inwater to fill the jars to the brims.

"Now," Jesus went on, "take them to theman in charge."

The servants carried the jars _one by onethrough the milling guests to the refreshmenttables. The man in charge gave a pleased excla­mation. "Young man!" he called to the bride-

-groom. "You have reversed the usual order.Your best wine has been saved for the last partof the day!"

The festivities continued with most of theguests not realizing that a miracle had

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

occurred. They raised their cups in anothertoast to the couple's happiness and sipped thefine wine with expressions of pleasure.

Cleansing the Temple

Jesus owned in Capernaum a house that Heprobably built with His own hands. After thewedding He took His mother there. His disci­ples and other relatives went-along for a-shortvisit (verse 12).

When it was time to keep the Passover, Jesusand His disciples traveled to Jerusalem. Jesuswent directly to the Temple. As He mountedthe steps , the sound of bleating sheep came toHis ears and He smelled the stench of animalsand fowl. The court was a scene of confusion.Merchants had set up stalls and tables and werebuying and selling animals and pigeons for sac­rificial offerings. They also exchanged foreign

'coins and made a good profit doing it (verse14).

Striding in, Jesus began to overturn tables inanger. "Get out!" He ordered the merchants,His face flushed with indignation. "Take all ofyour money-making schemes out of here!You've made my Father's house a commonshop!" (verse 16).

A few of the merchants began to gather uptheir coins and bird cages and took hold of theanimals' bridles to lead them away. Othersmerely looked at Jesus in astonishment.

"Take them out of here!" Jesus ordered theowners of oxen. They stared in disbelief.

Stooping, Jesus gathered up three strands ofshort rope , braided them into a whip andcracked it toward the oxen. "Out! Get theseanimals out of here!" The oxen began to move.He drove out the cattle after the oxen and thesheep followed behind. The owners of the live­stock began to hurry after them.

Turning back, Jesus overturned the remain­ing tables. When the place was emptied, Hewent out onto the Temple steps and kept theanimals and their owners moving on.

As they watched the developing turmoil,Jesus' disciples talked among themselves aboutthe zeal He had for the building that He called"my Father's house" (verse 17).

Meanwhile, someone had alerted the Temple -

11

officers and guards and they began to pour intothe area. "What's the meaning of this?"demanded a centurion as he saw Jesus standingat the top of the steps with the whip in Hishand.

Tossing down the whip, Jesus explained thatthe Temple was a house of prayer, and themerchants were guilty of transgressing God'slaw by profaning God's Temple. Warning Jesusthat he wanted no more such disturbances, theofficer turned away and led the guards back topursuing their own interests.

But the excited crowd grew larger. Rumorsof a "riot" spread. Instead of a riot, the onlook­ers saw a well-built young Jewish man speakingabout the coming of a Kingdom of God. Hepaused during His talk to reach down and layHis hands on a crippled boy's head. Healed, theboy straightened his legs and began leaping upand down. A man with a bent back reachedimploringly to Jesus and touched His hand, andhis back was instantly straightened.

The crowd saw Jesus do miracle after mira­cle. More people were attracted to the Templesteps, and they pressed upon Him . until Hecould no longer speak to them concerning God'splan for mankind. He moved down the stepsthrough the throng, healing all who called outto Him for help (verse 23).

Standing at the edge of the crowd, the Jewishelders, rabbis and priests watched with wonder.When they observed the faces of the people whomilled around Jesus, they saw adoration. Jesuswas becoming popular. The religious leadersbegan to grow uneasy.

The night visitor

During the closing days of the Festival ofUnleavened Bread, while Jesus was still in Jeru­salem, a religious man of high standing in theJewish council came to question Him (John3:1-2). .

Resting at night with His disciples on thehousetop of their temporary lodging place, Jesusdid not hesitate to receive the late caller. Hisdisciples stayed in the background so Nicodemuscould have a private conversation with Him. Inthe light of the torches flickering in the courtyardbelow, the two studied each other's face.

12

"Master," Nicodemus began carefully, "I'veseen you do miracles of healing and I know thatGod is with you."

"I'm glad you came," Jesus said. "I'm here to. announce the coming Kingdom of God. A man

cannot see the Kingdom unless he is born 'again."

Nicodemus looked puzzled. His eyebrowswent up. "Born again? Can a man be born asecond time from his mother? Impossible!"

"I'm not speaking of a physical birth. Flesh isflesh. To become a spirit being, one must beborn of spirit. Let's sit down and I'll explain itfurther." Jesus motioned to a couch that stoodnear the railing at the edge of the roof, and theyseated themselves.

Jesus raised His hand to the midnight breezethat drifted over the rooftops of the city. "TheSpirit of God can be compared to the wind. Wehear the wind, but we don't see it or know whereit comes from or goes to. One who is born ofspirit is like the wind. The Kingdom of God issomething that may be entered into only afterone becomes a spirit being. We must be com­posed of spirit, no longer made of flesh andblood" (verses 5-8).

"I'm sorry. I still can't seem to understandthis talk about spirits," Nicodemus admittedwhen Jesus paused.

Jesus shook His head. "We have teachers andrulers in Israel who are ' ignorant of spiritualthings. I'vejust begun to explain about the differ­ence between physical and spiritual matter, butyou're lost already. What if I go on to heavenly

. things? What if I told you that no one hasascended up to heaven except one person, the Sonof man who came down from heaven ?Further­more, this 'Son will be lifted up in .the way thatMoses lifted up the serpent on a stake when Israelwas in the wilderness" (verses IO-14). ,

Jesus went on to tell Nicodemus about HisFather's love for every human being . He also

'discussed man's evil nature and where man getsthat nature.

It was very late when Nicodemus left therooftop. The disciples had gone below and weresleeping. Jesus listened to Nicodemus' footstepsretreating down the stairs. Then He knelt topray. 0

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

How PureIs YOUR Religion?

Your conversion is measured in part by how yourespond to the needs of less fortunate

brethren in God's Church.

By Norman Shoaf

M ost members of God'sChurch can repeatfrom memory the

definition of pure religion. It isfound in James I :27: "Purereligion and undefiled beforeGod and the Father is this, Tovisit the fatherless and widowsin their affliction, and to keephimself unspotted from theworld." This verse gives one ofthe major criteria by which wecan measure our conversion ­our dedication to God's way oflife.

But how well are we fulfill­ing this criterion personal­ly?

Many in God's Church are, forone reason or another, not as fortu­nate as are others. They are theelderly who are unable to getaround as they would like or to takecare of themselves without help .They are the handicapped, whoseopportunities in life are restrictedby blindness, arthritis or some othercrippling illness or accident. Theyare the widowed and orphaned ­both physically and spiritually ­who are cut off from the normalfamily ties in which most, findencouragement and emotional sup­port.

The definition of pure religiontakes into account all these less for­tunate people. We can measure ourconver sion in part by how wellwe respond to others' needs in

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

warm, unselfish concern and com­passion.

All one Body

Are those Church members whoarenot physically blessed as much asothers any less important? No. Godmiraculously called everyone of usindividually, and is preparing each ofus for a specific position in His comingKingdom. He is in control of the cir­cumstances in which we each find our­selves, and is working with us to makeus what He wants us to be. But Hewants us to beconcerned forone anoth­er! Developing such godly love is abasic and supreme requirement inqualifying to beaMemberofHis Fam­ily.

"But now hath God set the mem­bers everyone of them in the body, asit hath pleased him. And if they wereall one member, where were thebody? But now are they many mem­bers, yet but one body. And the eyecannot say unto the hand, I have noneed of thee : nor again the head tothe feet, 1 have no need of you. Nay ,much more those members of thebody, which seem to be more feeble,are necessary:

"And those members of the body,which we think to be less honourable,upon these we bestow more abundanthonour; and our uncomely parts havemore abundant comeliness. For ourcomely parts have no need: but Godhath tempered the body together,having given more abundant honourto that part which lacked: That thereshould be no schism in the body; butthat .the members should have the

same care one for another. Andwhether one member suffer, all themembers suffer with it; or one mem­ber be honoured, all the membersrejoice with it" (I Cor. 12:18'-26).

God wants everyone He has calledto be part of one, unified Body. Hewants us to "have the same care onefor another." When one of us suffersor meets with unfortunate circum­stances, all of us should feel it andrespond with positive action . Whenone of us is honored, we can all sharein the happiness and satisfaction .

And God wants us to bestow honoron those parts of the Body that, car­nally, might seem to be less impor­tant or less honorable! He wants us tobe giving and outgoing toward eachother and to serve cheerfully. We areto take on God's very nature - wemust want to be this way.

God's way of life, as Herbert W.Armstrong, Christ 's apostle, hasexplained, can be described in . oneword: give. The way of give is diamet­rically opposite to the way most ofthis world lives: the way of get. Giv­ing is outgoing concern, caring, coop­erating, sharing, thinking of the otherperson instead of the self. The giveway is the way the Bible teaches:

"Let noneseek hisownadvantage butrather that of his neighbor" (I Cor.10:24,Modern Language Bible).

"Neither must each be looking outonly for his own interests but also forthose of others" (Phil. 2:5, ModernLanguage Bible).

God loves those who live His wayof life with zeal - those who givecheerfully (II Cor. 9:7). "Give, and it

13

shall be given unto you; good mea­sure, pressed down, and shakentogether, and running over, shall mengive into your bosom. For with thesame measure that ye mete withal itshall be measured to you again"(Luke 6:38) .

Look for opportunities

As you grow older spiritually, areyou becoming more aware of theneeds of your brethren? You need tocome to the point where you are con­stantly looking for opportunities tohelp others. Giving to others - lov­ing them as you love · yourself ­should become one of the very centralpurposes of your life.

What about the elderly or handi­capped people in your congregation?How do you serve them? Thesepeople don't necessarily need yourexpressions of sympathy, and theyhave little desire to be treated as spe­cial cases. Many of them, especiallythe widowed, may feel a profoundsense of loneliness or isolation fromeveryone else. One of their majorneeds is simple companionship - thechance to be accepted as part of thegroup - to feel needed and liked. .

Are you in the habit of asking thewidows and widowers out with therest of your friends after Sabbath ser­vices? Is the Sabbath the only timeyou ever make overtures to them? Doyou feel it is a burden to' conversewith them sincerely and be reallyinterested in what they would like tosay? Would you rather stick withyour own little group week afterweek? Don't leave it up to anyoneelse to express outgoing concern ­show it yourself! God is right nowjudging you according to how muchof His character you are developing.

What about visiting those who areill or who can't always make it toSabbath services? If the distance isreally too far to .drive, why not callonce in a while and show that youreally care about someone who maybe about to give up the hope that liesin us because he or she feelsunneeded and unwanted?

Don't forget those whose mates arenot in the Church and may even 'behostile to it. This special group ofpeople includes many who needattention and affection given in realChristian love. Many "spiritualwidows" and "spiritual widowers"

14

are facing some real trials in theirpersonal lives. Is it too much to ask tojust listen to them before or afterSabbath services ? Perhaps theywould really appreciate talking tosomeone who genuinely cafes andtries to understand. Make them feellike they are welcome to participatein your picnics, special dinners orparties if they so desire .

There are some young people,whose parents are not in the Church,who have come into fellowship withGod's people at the expense of actuallybeing kicked out of their homes. But

Jesus Christ puts Himselfin the place of the

elderly, the handicapped"the poor, the lonely,

the widows andthe orphans! When we

serve them, we areactually doing it

to our Master andSavior, and He remembers

it. On the otherhand, failure to

open our hearts tosuch brethren is equivalent

to openly rebukingJesus Christ - He

remembers that as well!

Christ promises that "There is no manthat hath left house, or brethren, or

I sisters, or father , or mother, or wife, orchildren,or lands, for my sake, and thegospel's, But he shall receive an hun­dredfold now in this time, houses, andbrethren, and sisters, and mothers, andchildren, and lands, with persecutions;and in the world to come eternal life"(Mark 10:29-30).

One of the most moving experi­ences I ever had at a Feast of Taber­nacles occurred as a result of justsuch a case. It seems 'a young manhad come to realize the necessity ofkeeping God's Holy Days and had

told his father, who wasn't in theChurch, that he was going to attendthis Feast. His father flew into a rageand announced that if he attended theFeast, he would not ' be allowed toreturn home. The young man decidedto come anyway.

When one of the ministers learnedabout what had happened, heannounced it in services, reassuringthe young man that he had not reallylost his family. "Look around you,"the minister said. "Look at all thefathers, mothers, grandparents,brothers and sisters, aunts and unclesand cousins you have here in thisauditorium [there were 7,000 to8,000 people present] . We all loveyou and are glad to welcome you intoour family." The very next day it wasannounced in services that dozens ofoffers had come to the ministry fromfamilies willing to take him in andcare for him as one of their own.

While the Church handles suchcases on an individual basis, this isthe type of love we all are to have foreach other as God's people-. This ispure religion.

You will benefit

But don't think that giving yourtime, attention, friendship and evenneeded physical help to less fortunate 'brethren will be an entirely magnani­mous act on your part. You are going .to reap several rewards. Just as theseemingly "less-honorable" parts ofour physical bodies serve vital func­tions, these brethren offer a neededdimension in the Church of God .

Older people, for instance, haveyears of life experiences under theirbelts and can offer you much wisdomand advice for living a successful life."The hoary head is a crown of glory,if it be found in the way of righteous­ness" (Prov. 16:31). Converted olderpeople are an indispensable part ofthe Body of Christ. .

By looking at life from the view­point of handicapped brethren, the 'rest of us can see how truly blessedwe really are, Their handicaps, whilehelping them build the character Godwants them to have, make us appre ­ciate our ' strengths, just as Paul,through physical weaknesses, becamestrong spiritually (II Cor. 12:9). Andthese people's trials provide us withopportunity to pour ourselves out inheartrending prayer that God will

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

help them and intervene soon in thisworld to abolish all suffering.

Those brethren who seem some­what aloof are in many cases shy orself-conscious, or they feel inferiorfor some reason. And they mayactually be desperately lonely.Befriend these people! Use humility,sincere concern and discretion, andyou will make new friends, developgodly traits and provide them withthe acceptance they are crying outfor. Once you bring them out, youmay find they have fascinating back­grounds and tremendous talents wait­ing to be tapped.

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

These "less fortunate brethren"are one of the Church's richest natu­ral resources, if only we will realizethis and begin to mine this gold.

By serving in this way we will reapspiritual blessings we may not readilysee.

"Then shall the King say unto themon his right hand, Come, ye blessed ofmy Father, inherit the kingdom pre­pared for you from the foundation of theworld: For I was an hungered, and yegave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gaveme drink : I was a stranger, and ye tookme in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I wassick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,

Are you constantly looking for opportunitiesto serve others? Giving should be the centralpurpose of your life.

and ye came unto me. Then shall therighteous answer him, saying, Lord,when saw we thee an hungered, and fedthee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

"When saw we thee a stranger, andtook thee in? or naked, and clothedthee? Or when saw we thee sick, or inprison, and came unto thee? And theKing shall answer and say unto them,Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as yehave done it unto one of the least ofthese my brethren, ye have done itunto me" (Matt. 25:34-40) .

Jesus Christ puts Himself in theplace of the elderly, the handicapped,the poor, the lonely, the widows andthe orphans! When we serve them, weare actually doing it to our Masterand Savior, and He remembers it. Onthe other hand, failure to open ourhearts to such brethren is equivalentto openly rebuking Jesus Christ ­He remembers that as well!

Practice pure religion

True Christians should be lookingfor chances to serve and help eachother as brethren. As Peter said, "Beye all of one mind, having compassionone of another, ' love as brethren, bepitiful, be courteous: Not renderingevil for evil, or railing for railing: butcontrariwise blessing; knowing thatye are thereunto called, that yeshould inherit a blessing" (I Pet. 3:8­9) . It is a blessing to be able to serveother members of God's Church!

Christ warned that in the end timethe lack of compassion and concernfor others, so rampant in this dyingworld, would afflict even some ofGod's people: "And because iniquityshall abound, the love of many shallwax cold" (Matt. 24:12).

Don't let this happen to you. Towhom much is given, much will berequired (Luke 12:48), and we inGod's Church have been givenmuch."

Help those brethren in need. Workto become stronger spiritually, soyour brethren can lean on you andrely on you. Then God can use you asa conductor for His Holy Spirit. Hislove can flow through you to othersand be a blessing to them. Look foropportunities to serve and practicepure religion. 0

15

Experiencethe Joy of

Godly Confidence!Do you suffer from feelings of inferiority?

They can inhibit your growth toward God's Kingdom!Here's how to overcome these feelings.

By George Kackos

Do you feel inferior orinadequate? Do youshrink back from

growth opportunities becauseyou are afraid of failure? Doyou feel uncomfortable aroundpeople who are in the habit ofaccomplishing worthwhilegoals? Do you look at newopportunities as threats ratherthan challenges?

Be honest with yourself. It iseasy to be .victimized by feelingsof inferiority.

We have been called into God 'sChurch to grow in character and abil­ity . God desires that we bear muchfruit, "some an hundredfold, somesixty, some thirty" (Matt. 13:23) .But feeling s of inadequacy canseverely inhibit this growth.

The man who was given one talentwas a victim of this attitude. Hebecame fearful. He wouldn 't step outin faith . Instead, he hid his talent inthe earth and incurred his master'sdispleasure. His master called thisman wicked and lazy, and took awayhis talent (Matt. 25:24-28)!

Do you suffer from this attitude-

16

and are you in danger of losing yourreward because of it ?

Why feelings of inferiority?

. Most people in the society aroundus have been condit ioned to feelinferior, some more so than others.Attitudes like " W hat's the use? Ican't succeed," "I'm no good" or "Ijust don't fit in" are not limited toanyone age group, intelligence lev­el, race, sex or social standing. Evengreat men like Moses (Ex . 3:II, 4:I,10) and Jeremiah (Jer. I :6) let feel­ings of inferiority temporarily inhib­it their personal growth . Butwhy?

Satan's society is based on wrongcompetition at every level. And whatis the result of this competition? Yes ,it produces some winners - but itproduces many losers as well, and los­ers are made to feel useless and lessimportant than others.

Consider how this happens, evenfrom birth in some cases. Perhaps achild is not really wanted by his par ­ents . How does that affect him? Hisneeds for parental att ention, approvaland guidance are unfulfilled . Itmakes him feel inadequate.

Then he faces his peers in school.Children can be very cruel, and he

might be put down, shunned or over­looked .

Then there is the working world.What is it like? In most cases there isa frantic race to see who can get tothe top, and it doesn 't matter whatmeans are used to get there. Gossip ,slander, ridicule, backstabbing andcorporate power plays are allaccepted by people in Satan's societyas legitimate means of getting whatthe y want. Frustrated by the struggleto overcome these adversities, a per­son is prone to simply give up.

What a tragic defeat of the poten­tial of human beings is brought aboutby the world's warped system!

God 's way of life is different! Itseeks to build up, to strengthen.Right competition develops andsharpens character rather than hurt­ing people (Prov . 27:17) . God hasbegun a work in us that will lastuntil the return of Jesus Christ(Phil. I :6) . God is not finished withus yet, and none of us needs to feelfrustrated or inadequate when werealize this .

Another danger we all face is fail­ing to accept our individuality. In aworld that reduces human identityand significance to a mere number orhole in a computer card, it is easy to

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

understand why few people under­stand who they are.

Yet our elder brother Jesus Christknew exactly who He was, ~hat Hispurpose was, when He needed to be onearth, where His Work was to takeplace, why He was necessary and how toaccomplish Hisgoals! And weare told tofollow His example (I Pet. 2:21) .

Just as Christ understood His role,we need to recognize our roles andrealize that each of us is different. Byreason of inherited genetic traits andsocial , school, work and famil y envi­ronments, we all have different abili­ties . We each excel in some areas,while we have limited ability inothers. God knows that.

But God honors individuality. Hedescribes His Church as a Body hav­ing different parts, each with a differ­ent job (I Cor. 12:14-18) . God hascalled many together, each with var­ied abilities to serve the Body as awhole. Though the foot doesn't servethe same purpose or work in the samemanner as the eye, they both areessential to the body.

We need to deeply understand thismessage of I Corinthians 12. Wedon't all have the same abilities andshouldn't compare ourselves to any­one except Jesus Christ. Next toHim, we all fall short.

It really boils down to what youchoose to think about yourself. Noone can make you feel inferior with­out your consent. You can stop theplague of self-doubt and go to Godfor His power. You don 't need theapproval of anyone except God. .

Face the fact that you're not going tobe great at everything, and don't try tobe something you're not. Identify yourweaknesses and try to strengthen your­self in those areas, but don't be over­whelmed by them. To feel inferior is notto be humble. Humble people have thehighest degree of confidence in God(Luke 14:II, I Pet. 5:6).

Look to God for confidenceAnswering our calling involves

making the transition from feelingsof inferiority or self-confidence togodly 'confidence. God wants us tolook to Him for strength.

The apostle Paul made this transi­tion . He no longer valued confi­dence in himself (Phil. 3:4-7), but

\

•The GOOD NEWS April 1981

looked to God for His power ."Not that I speak in respect of

want: for I have learned, in whatso­ever state I am , therewith to be con­tent. I know both how to be abased,and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I aminstructed both to be full and to behungry, both to abound and to sufferneed. I can do all , things throughChrist which strengtheneth me"(Phil. 4:11-13). It was Christ whostrengthened Paul. Christ gave himthe power to face whatever circum­stances arose in his life .

How precious is godly confidence!

Our elder brotherJesus Christ knew

exactly who He was,;what His purpose

was, when He neededto be on earth,

where His Workwas to take place,

why He was necessaryand how to accomplish

His goals! Andwe are told to

follow His example.

How reassuring it is to know that themind of Christ can help you face anysituation positively. Paul 'exhorts usto "Let this mind be in you, ' whichwas also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).Having Christ's mind is essential toovercome feelings of inferiority orreliance on self-confidence - confi­dence that excludes God.

But how do we build the mind ofChrist, 'so we will have godly confi­dence?

The mind of Christ is a product ofGod's Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9). TheHoly Spirit is given to us upon repen­tance, believing God's truth and bap­tism (Acts 2:38). Then we have themind of Christ.

But that mind must be developed,

just as the natural mind must be edu­cated to become knowledgeable. Thespiritual mind goes through a processto become spiritually mature. We donot attain full character developmentinstantaneousIy.

Christians can lack godly confidencebecause they fail to develop their spiri­tual minds. Certain experiences areneeded .to develop the mind of Christ.New ways of thinking must replace theold ways. A mind filled with godly con­fidence views life with a special positivi- ­ty. It is a viewpoint attained throughcontact with God, right experiences andacknowledging truth.

. A primary requirement is seeingthe truth about ourselves . Peopleoften develop a false picture of them­selves as they grow up . Some becomefilled with an inflated sense of theirabilities . Others deny their self­worth. Have you ever been around aperson who won't accept a compli­ment? That person may not believewhat he is being told. He thinks dif­ferentl y about himself and thereforerejects the compliment. On the otherhand, some people reject deservedcriticism because they refuse to seethemselves as they really are.

Without a true picture of ourselves,we will have trouble developing godlyconfidence. Satan wants us to have adistorted picture of ourselves so that weignore our awesome potentials.

What are you truly like? Are youreally what you've always believed?Assess yourself. The mind of Christ is amind of truth, not deception (John14:17). Have you asked God to allowyou to see yourself as He sees you? Behonest with Him in all ways and you'llattain a deeper state of conversion.

We must also understand thepower of God working in us. Themind of Christ removes a lot ofhuman limitations. Christ's discipleswere startled to hear about therequirements for salvation. They felthumans were inadequate to be saved.But Christ revealed God's power:"But Jesus beheld them, and saidunto them, With men this is impossi­ble; but with God all things are possi­ble" (Matt. 19:26).

Experience the power of God

You must go beyond merely seeingthe truth about yourself and acknowl-

17

SI

edging the power of God. You mustbegin experiencing it! This is wheremany fail. They won't step out infaith. They hold back, fearing failure ,not realizing they have already failedby not tr ying . You make the transi­tion to godly confidence when yousurrender to God . Then God 's powerwill flow through you.

Look at David. His confidence wasbuilt by slaying a lion and a bear.This gave him the courage to faceGoliath. David's confidence was fur­ther enhanced by defeating Goliath.Eventually he had the confidence torule a nation . Understand, it was nothis confidence, but confidence thatcame from God by living throughfaith. Our confidence can grow thisway. We can grow in the confidenceof God to someday help Christ rulethe world.

Consider Peter. He was a fisher­man by trade. Speaking before acrowd was probably a frighteningexperience. Serving Christ was diffi­cult at one point in his life. As aresult, he rejected Christ three times(Matt. 26:75). But look how the Spir­it of God - the mind of Christ ­transformed Peter on the day of Pen­tecost. What happened? Peter spokeboldly to the multitude. Three thou­sand were converted by the power ofhis message (Acts 2:14-41) . That isan inspiring example of the confi­dence that can be generated in us.

Cry out to God in heartfeltprayers, intense Bible study, medita­tion and fasting for the neededstrength to live your Christian life.With this strength you can step out infaith and achieve worthwhile goals.The basis of Christianity is overcom­ing (Rev . 3:5). It is a way of life thatbuilds confidence because we experi­ence the power of God working in us,helping us to push back our formerlimitations.

Accept God's love

One of the most powerful ways toeliminate feelings of inadequacy is toaccept the love of God. Realize howstrong God 's love for us is! Considerour remarkable calling. The vastmajority of mankind throughout his­tory has never had the opportunity toknow God's way. We are indeed aspecial group to God.

18

Our calling 'and the hope of eternallife ought to overshadow any otherconditions we are experiencing now,because these experiences are onlytemporary. Even poor health or pov­erty should not create feelings ofinferiority in us. God may be allow­ing these conditions to fulfill animportant purpose in our ' lives.

We need to keep the negative fac­tors in our lives in proper perspective.Many times our sufferings engenderfeelings of inferiority in us . Butnotice how Paul said negative condi­tions are to be viewed, "For I reckonthat the sufferings of this present

How precious isgodly confidence! How

reassuring it isto know that ,

the mind of Christcan help you, face

any situationpositively ... Having

Christ's mind isessential to overcomefeelings of inferiority

or reliance onself-confidence ..

time are not worthy to be comparedwith the glory which shall be revealedin us" (Rom. 8:18).

This is God's viewpoint. This is themind of Christ. It is the mind weneed!

Too often we fail to properly valuethe privilege of our calling into God 'sChurch and Work. Instead, we worry

. about how our physical conditionscompare with those of others. Whenwe do that, we set ourselves up to bevictims of pride or inferiority or both.And we may be guilty of makingwrong assessments about otherpeople.

Christ pointed His disciples to thefantastic honor of having their nameswritten in heaven (Luke 10:19-20).

Having your name written in heavenmeans you qualify to be in God 'sFamily. That ought to give a persongreat confidence!

When we lose sight of our humandestiny, we weaken ourselves. Weplace confidence in this uncertain,temporary life. We lose the power ofGod. Our partnership with God isdependent on our confidence in thehope of eternal life (Heb. 3:6). Whenwe feel of value to God , the mostimportant Being in the universe, itbecomes easy to value ourselves.Nothing can stand in the way of ourmaintaining confidence because wehave the most important thing in life- contact' with God.

Temporary setbacks or losses do notdestroy us. We do not giveup like peoplein the worldwho have nothing to liveforwhen their physical lives are disrupted.Instead , we are thankful for the experi­ences that show us how important thethings of God are.

The power of godly confidence

Nothing can shake truly godly con­fidence. If we have this confidence,nothing will discourage us or make usfeel inferior or inadequate. Thepower of our relationship with God isseen in the words of Paul :

" Who shall separate us from thelove of Christ? shall tribulation, ordistress, or persecution, or famine , ornakedness, or peril, or sword? As it iswritten, For thy sake we are killed allthe day long; we are accounted ' as­sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in allthese things we are more than con­querors through him ' that loved us.For I am persuaded, that neitherdeath, nor life, nor angels ,' nor princi­palities , nor powers, nor things pres­ent, nor things to come, Nor height,nor depth, nor any other creature,shall be able to separate us from thelove of God , which is in Christ Jesusour Lord " (Rom. 8:35-39).

We who are not cut off from Godneed to capitalize on this relationshipwith Him so that it builds and sus­tains our confidence. We need not bevictims. We can be survivors of thisworld 's system. Our lives can be filledwith something different. If we workto build into ourselves the mind ofChrist, we will be able to experiencethe joy of godly confidence. 0

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

WhoWas the 'Judas'of the Old Testament?

By Carrol Miller

"I speak not of you all: I .know whom I havechosen: but that the

scripture may be fulfilled, Hethat eateth bread with me hathlifted up his heel against me"(John 13:18).

The speaker? Jesus Christ. The .su bj ec t ? Judas .Iscariot, Christ'sbetrayer, the classic example of atraitor, and yet, at one time, oneof Christ 's closest disciples andone of the original apostles.

But Christ was quoting, almostword for word , Psalm 41:9, " Yea,mine own familiar friend, in whom Itrusted , which did eat of my bread,hath lifted up his heel against me."

What did Psalm 41:9 mean in itsoriginal context? To whom was Davidreferring when he wrote this verse? Doyou know the identity of the "Judas" ofthis Old Testament passage?

Who was this man who ate at David'stable, and who later turned against him ?He was David's counselor, his adviser ,his friend. David wrote of him: "For itwas not an enemy that reproached me;then I could have borne it: neither was ithe that hated me that did magnify him­self against me: then I would have hidmyself from him: But it was thou, a manmine equal, my guide, and mineacquaintance. We took sweet counseltogether, and walked unto the house ofGod in company" (Ps. 55:12-14).

Who was this friend and equal of theking in David's eyes? His name wasAhithophel, and his story is quiteintriguing. Ahithophel was highly hon­ored in David's court. Ahithophel wasthe father of Eliam, who was the fatherof Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hit­tite (II Sam. 23:34, 11:3). Ahithophelwas Bathsheba's grandfather.

Have you ever wondered whyBathsheba lived close to the king'spalace? Who was Eliam, her father?Who was Uriah - simply an

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

unknown soldier in David's army, aman David could send to his deathwithout a second thought? No. Eliamand Uriah were numbered among thetop 30 valiant men in David's armyand were part of the palace guard(II Sam. 23:23, 34, 39) .

When David sent Uriah to hisdeath, he murdered a valiant soldierand a trusted, intimate friend. Thiscrime was heinous in God 's sight.

But why did Ahithophel turnagainst David? The Bible does notsay. But there is the possibility ­knowing human behavior - that hemay have induced Bathsheba to takea bath on a rooftop, just at the righttime to be seen by the king. If Davidwere to be seduced to marry Bathshe­ba, Ahithophel would become part ofthe royal family .

After he saw David's repentancefor his sin with Bathsheba, Ahitho­phel threw in his lot with Absalom.Perhaps he felt he could manipulateAbsalom and thus be the actual rulerover Israel. This, of course, is specu­lation, but it is indicative of how somehumans reason .

Absalom, David 's son, conspired tokick David off his throne: "AndAbsalom sent for Ahithophel theGilonite, David's counsellor, from hiscity, even from Giloh, while heoffered sacrifices. And the conspiracywas strong; for the people increasedcontinually with Absalom" (II Sam.15:12) . Absalom had stolen thehearts of the people, probably withthe advice of Ahithophel (verse 6).When Absalom moved against Jeru­salem with an army, David fled forhis life (verses 13-14).

The story continues in verse 31:"And one told David, saying, Ahitho­phel is among the conspirators withAbsalom. And David said , 0 Lord, Ipray thee, turn the counsel of Ahitho­phel into foolishness. " (Ahithophel'sname means "foolishness.")

As David fled Jerusalem, however,

the king came in contact with anothertrusted friend and adviser. For yearsthis man stood loyally by David . Hisname was Hushai. He met David asthe king was fleeing to the wilder­ness, and wanted to go with him(II Sam. 15:32) .

Instead of allowing him to fleewith the others, David asked Hushaito return to Jerusalem. Why? "But ifthou return to .the city, and say untoAbsalom, I will be thy servant, 0king; as I have been thy father's ser­vant hitherto, so will I now also bethy servant: then mayest thou for medefeat the counsel of Ahithophel"(verse 34).

Hushai returned to Jerusalem asDavid directed. He did give counselcontrary to Ahithophel's and Absa­lom followed Hushai's counsel. Thissaved David's life and ultimatelypaved the way for David to berestored as God's appointed king overIsrael. You can read the account inII Samuel 17 through 19.

When Ahithophel found that hiscounsel was rejected, he realizedAbsalom would be defeated and hewent home and hanged himself(II Sam. 17:23). Ahithophel realizeda delay in attacking David wouldallow David to regroup his forces andwin back his throne. . .

When this occurred, Ahithophelwould be revealed as a traitor. Hecould not stand the thought of thepunishment that would come uponhim and the disgrace and ignominythat would come upon his family. Inhis state of depression he, like JudasIscariot, committed suicide.

So here is the story of the manDavid was talking about when hewrote the scripture Christ laterquoted in referring prophetically toJudas. And here, too, is the story of atrue friend and counselor of David,Hushai, a man who remained loyal tohim, just as the other apostlesremained loyal to Christ. 0

19

------> Closing .---.....The Generation GapGod's concern for us as His children is tremendous. Do we have

this same concern for our teenagers?

By Doug Horchak

"Idon'tknow my ownchild anymore! Eversince he started high

school, he has been off with hisfriends, doing his own thing. Iwish I knew how to getthrough to him ."

Does this sound like you?Thoughts like the se have gonethrough the minds of many par­ents of teens in God 's Church.

The tragedy is that all too man y ofthese parents become frustrated andconclude that there is no way to closethe gap be tween them and theirteens.

Some parents come up with somechoice excuses for divorcing them­selves from their teenagers' lives andinterests. Here are but a few:

"My teens don 't want me there.They want to be by themselves."

" We just don't have the sameinterests ."

" I have to work hard all year long .I'm not going to spend my time dur­ing the Feast with my teen."

"I have more important things Ineed to be doing. I can 't bother withthese juvenile matters ."

"That's why my kids are enrolledin school - it 's the school's job toprovide for them."

"T hat's the job of the pastor andthe Church. I thought YOU [YouthOpportunit ies United] was estab­lished to take care of the se needs."

20

The list goes on. Some parents willeven hold back until 75 percen t of theot her parents in t he Church getinvolved before the y will volunteer tosponsor or provide transportat ion toany youth activit ies. They feel the ydon 't have to get involved unle sseveryone else does, too.

The " generati on gap"

Involvement, tim e and" effort areall essential in nurturing wholesome,healthy, growing relationships be­tween parents and teens. Yet, someparents in God's Church neglectthe se key ingredients and add to theirown famil y's "generat ion gap."

In Proverbs 22:6 God promisesthat if we "Train up a child in theway he should go ... when he is old ,he will not depart from it." God istalking directly to us, the parents,showing the integral part we play ingiving proper direction to our teens asthe y mature to adulthood.

In this verse the Hebrew word for"train" is chanak . Thi s word's rootmeaning is " to narrow." God is show­ing that training our children involvesnarrowing the choices the y have tomake from the vast array of decep­tive, negative lifestyles th is world hasto offer (Matt. 7:13-14).

All too often parents give up ontheir sons or daughters , virtua llyturning them over to this society."After all, they're carn al" or "Theyare responsible for their own deci­sions," these parents say. The truth is

that the y want to wash their hands ofinvolving themselves in the lives ofthe ir teens in it viable, loving way.

Chu rch teens in differentcat egory

As Jesus Christ revealed to HisChurch through His apostle, HerbertW. Armst rong, I Corinthians 7:14shows that the unconverted childrenof C hurch members are set apart ­holy. Th at includes the teen agers.

Knowing about the spirit in manand that our children have access toGod's spiritua l values is the key tosuccessful child rearing in God 's :Church . Therefore, God expects evenparents of teen agers to take advan­tage of the tremendous. opportunityto positively influence their childrenabout God 's way of life.

The Church 's dynamic thrust tostrengthen the family, initiated byChri st through Mr. Armstron g,includes countless opportunities forparents and children to be activelyinvolved in functions provided by God 'sChurch: YOU activities, group out­ings, family socials and manyothers.

Te ens need pa rentalin volvement

No one can take th e place of aparent. Th e bond ing that is experi­enc ed between a newborn bab y andits parents is a beautiful and neces­sary process, and years later the needstill rem ains for parents to love andguide their teens. Psalm 127:3-5 tells

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

us that our children are really a bless­ing to us. They are described asarrows in a parent's quiver, and truly,they are arrows that need to be shotin the right direction . Skill and effort

are needed to guide and provide forour sons and daughters as they growup. '

It's all too easy to excuse ourselvesfrom spending time with our chil­dren. But no parent has avalid excusenot to be actively involved in the lifeof his or her children as they growfrom infancy through the teen yearsinto adulthood.

Although the individual interestsof teenagers can vary as widely asthey do with adults, taking the timeto show a true interest in your teen­ager's friends and concerns will showyour son or daughter that you reallydo care.

Sure, it takes time to learn aboutphotography or skiing. Roller skatingwith your kids or going with them toan amusement park may not be themost fun thing you ever do . But put­ting forth the energy to involve your­self in a realistic way can benefit you,the parent, in building bridgesbetween you and your children. Thistype of bond cannot be bought withmoney.

An ideal way to create this bond isto develop interests and hobbies as afamily - these can offer areas ofmutual interest when your childrenreach their teenage years. The pointis that parents should strive to sharein the interests of their children,regardless of their ages.

For instance, many parents areconcerned about teen dating - whento allow it and under what conditions.But-parents are the very ones who cando the most to develop right datingattitudes and habits in their children.Sponsoring quality group activitiesfor your young people can do a lot todefuse the premature pairing off andgoing steady that can take place whenyour kids are forced to constantlyfind their own social outlets.

Right parental involvement

Over the years, many haveassumed that only a young adult ­one .not too far removed from the

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

teens in age, one who knows theirlanguage and likes their music ­should supervise or lead the teens.Subsequently, some parents have alsoused that same philosophy in their

personal approach to their teens.They sometimes water down theirconduct and standards to an unac­ceptable level, all in the name of"communicating" with their teen­agers.

The apostle Paul told the Corin­thians there was a time to put awaythe childish approach and be ma­ture: "When I was a child, I spake asa child, I understood as a child, Ithought as a child: but when I

Involvement, timeand effort are all

essential in nurturingwholesome, healthy,

growing relationshipsbetween parents and teens.

Yet, some parents inGod's Church neglect

these key ingredients ..

-became a man, I put away childishthings" (I Cor. 13:11). The point isthat parents need to be mature yetunderstanding examples to their chil­dren .

Another caution is that parentsshouldn't overdo it. We can go fromone extreme to another, not realisti­cally "counting the cost" before westart getting involved (Luke 14:28­30). Be sure your priorities are wellestablished - don't spend so muchtime with one member of your, familythat you neglect the others.

Also, when stirred to action weoften "overkill." Don 't try to over­compensate for your past lack ofinterest in your teens in a short peri­od of time. You may experienceburn-out as a parent and then notoffer the consistent support your kidsreally need over the years.

Some parents feel that the Churchdoesn't understand teenagers - that

we involve adults too much in teenactivities - that we force ourselveson them.

But parental involvement is neces­sary for teens to properly develop

socially. If parent-teen interaction isnot present, teens are prone to seekrecognition outside the Church andhome. Parents should provide and aidin group activities for teens in theChurch to promote their social devel­opment.

We as God's children

One of the most beautiful andencouraging truths in God's Word isthat God is interested in seeing allHis potential Sons come to repen­tance and salvation (II Pet. 3:9). InJohn 3:16 we find that God loved allof us enough to give His only begot­ten Son so that we may all have achance to experience spiritual life inHis Family.

God's plan is pictured by this physi­cal life. Think about it for a moment. Inour spiritual infancy in God's Church- when we were first being called - weknew God was involved and interestedin our growth and development. We hadto believe that as a requirement for bap­tism (Acts 2:38-39).

As time goes on in our spirituallives, we sometimes act like teenagersdo physically. We may think weknow it all and can take care of our­selves. But .does God cease to activelyinvolve Himself in our lives then?No! God's interest and care for Hisspiritual children never diminishes.He continues to work with us as wemature spiritually.

Romans 8:28-31 tells us that Godcalled all of us for a purpose - thatHe does care. Paul ends with thestatement, "If God be for us, who canbe against us?"

Are you for your sons and daugh­ters? Are you interested enough toget involved in their lives during oneof their most crucial and potentiallytraumatic periods of development?

Let's be sure we understand"ourparental responsibilities. Let's set thegodly example of caring about ourteens by knowing them and beinginvolved with them. That's the way toclose the generation gap. 0

21

Don't AssumeYour Children

UnderstandHow well are you as a parent fulfilling your responsibility

of teaching your children about God's way?

By Gerald E. Weston

l1wo Churchmembers werediscussing howmuch their chil­

dren really got out ofChurch services andBible studies. One saidto the other: "Don't kidyourself. Your childrenhear more than youthink. Take mine, forexample. Recently ourminister was talking inBible study about Jesusreturning on a whitehorse. I didn't think my3 year old was listeningat all, but that night inher prayers she irn ploredGod toplease help Jesusnot fall off His horsewhen He returns'!"

Humorous? Yes. Butjust how much do your childrenpick up from sermons? Do theyreally have one ear open whilehunched over their 'd r a wingtablets? Does the story of Davidlodge in the recesses of their sub­conscious somewhere among the

hales in their storybooks? Does~ the meaning of the Holy Days~ register over th e notes passed~ between smiling teens ?~ For many year s I thought so. I

22

heard all the humorous stories told byparents who had overheard their off­spring commenting on minor pointscovered in sermons. Certainly if thekids picked up on these smaller mat­ters, the major lessons were sinkingin. I figured by the sheer number ofhours spent in Church services, theaverage Church youth had to knowvolumes more than a young personlacking such exposure.

One father of six expressed thissame view when he said : "If my kids

mess up , it won't be becausethey didn 't know better.They've been sitting in ser­vices all their lives . I'vemade sure of that. If theyleave, it won't be my fault."

But does this lineof reason­ing square with the facts ?

You may be surprised.I was. I was surprised the

first time I organized a gameof charades with a group ofChurch teens and found thatnot a single one out of 25remembered ever hearingabout the "valley of drybones." 1 was surprised dur­ing last year 's Feast of Tab­ernacles when the first fourteens who were asked at aBible baseball game didn'tknow what it meant to " af­flict your soul."

Yes, I have been surprised- perhaps shocked wouldbe more accurate - aboutwhat our children don't

know.Recently I gave a test to all the teens

in my two churches. The resultsastounded many parents. Most parentswere at least mildly embarrassed.

The questions on the exam were notunreasonable. One 19 year old who hadcome to services for only one yearproved this by scoring 90 percent. Thatwas, by the way, the only 90 percentscore and was the highest.

Most teens didn 't do that well. Inone church every teen present had

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

TEST YOURSELF BYTESTING YOUR TEENS

1) List the seven annual ' Feasts ofGod in order.

2) List the Ten Commandments inorder.

3) Who was Jacob's grandfather?

4) Who was Jacob's son who wassold into slavery? '

5) List the first five books of theBible.

6) List the first five books of the NewTestament.

7) Name one significant event thattook place on the first Passover.

8) Name one significant event thattook place on a Passover duringthe New Testament.

9) What does it mean to " afflic t yoursoul"?

10) What does the Last Great Daypicture?

Answers on page 29

that such teaching is just not thething to do nowadays. They don'tknow how to reach or communicatewith their kids. Just as Simi wasafraid of the people and thought hehad a better way of doing things,some today are afraid also. Just likeSaul, they rationalize that their wayis best.

But the facts are clear: The igno­rance of God 's laws among ouryouths cries out louder than theAmalekite sheep!

It's time for parents to stand upand be counted. It 's time for parentsto patiently, lovingly obey God 'scommand, not out of a spirit of dutyalone, but because they eagerly desireto lead the next generation in theright way of life. '

Of course, ther e is always the dan­ger of going overboard in anything,and this subject is 'no exception .Some have " turned off" their off­spring by the harsh approach theytake in teaching God's ways. There isa right and a wrong way to teach. But ,God's command is that parent s teachtheir children!

So why not grade your own perfor­mance - right now if possible? Giveyour children the accompanying test.Then grade the test according to theinstructions. Remember, however, thescoreyourchildren get is reallyyours. Ifthey score poorly, don't blame them.The responsibility is on your shoulders-God put it there! 0

attended services since the age of 2 orunder. One managed to get 40 per­cent right. All the other s scored 20percent or less! In the other churchthe scores were somewhat higher , butthe average was still well below 50percent. And I don't believe we canblithely assume these poor results aremerely an isolated example.

A clear instruction

Through Moses, God said: 'Takeheed to thyself, and keep thy soul dili­gently, lest thou forget the thingswhichthine eyes have seen, and lest theydepart from thy heart all the daysof thylife: but teach them thy sons, and thysons' sons .. . that they may learn to .fear me all the days that they shall liveuponthe earth , and that they may teachtheir children" (Deut. 4:9-10).

Moses specifically instructed theIsraelites to teach their children thecommandment s that were given atMt. Sinai .

After repeating the Ten Command­ments in Deuteronomy 5, God againemphasized the crucial importance ofteaching them to our children: "Andthese words, which I command theethis day, shall be in thine heart : Andthou shalt teach them diligently untothy children , and shalt talk of themwhen thou sittest in thine house, andwhen thou walkest by the 'way, andwhen thou liest down, and when thourisest up" (Deut. 6:6-7y'

Merely teaching the Ten Com­mandments would be a good start forthose who have neglected that respon­sibility, but God does not let us off thateasy."And when thysonasketh thee intime to come, saying, What mean thetestimonies, and the statutes, and thejudgments, which the Lord our Godhath commanded you?" (verse 20).Thisclearlystates that the testimonies,statutes and judgments are to betaught. Why else would your son askyou about them ? .

It is.clear from these verses thatparents are to teach their children,from a positive perspective, the rea­sons for keeping God's command­ments, statutes and judgments. Inaddition, we are to show how God haspersonally intervened and blessed us,and that keeping His commandmentsis for our good (verses 21-25).

God is very specific about certainthings He wants us to teach our chil­dren . The history and meaning of the

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

Feasts is clearlyobligatory (Ex. 12:26­27). You may, like many parents, beresting confidently, thinking your kidsknowallabout them. Don't be toosure.Unless you haveactively, and recently,discussed the history and meaning ofthesedays with them, you maybe in fora rude awakening.

More importantly, many parentsmay be in for a surprise when theyrealize just how important it is todiligently teach their children . Do wefail to grasp how urgent it is to keepthis command of God, and what God 'thinks of those who don't ?

There are sins of omission as wellas sins of commission. When we failto obey a direct command from God,it is pure and simple rebellion.

Saul's bitter lesson

Notice the example of Saul and how'he rebelled against God. Can you findaparallel in it for yourself?

God, through Samuel, commandedSaul to utterly destroy the Arnalekites(I Sam. 15:3). But what did Saul do?

. " But Saul and the peoplespared Agag,and the best of the sheep, and of theoxen,and of the fatlings, and the lambs,and all that was good, and would notutterly destroy them: but every thingthat was vile and refuse, that theydestroyed utterly" (verse9).

Saul reported to Samuel that he hadcarr ied out God's instructions. ButSamuel wasunimpressed. His replywasswift and biting: " What meaneth thenthis bleating of the sheep in mine r----------------,ears, and the lowing of the oxenwhichI hear?" (verse 14).

Saul had disobeyed a dir ect'command from God . His actamounted to open rebellion. Theresult ? Samuel told him: "Rebel­lion is as the sin of witchcraft , andstubbornness is as iniquity andidolatr y. Because thou ha strejected the word of the Lord, hehath also rejected thee from beingking" (verse 23).

Is it possible that you, withoutrealizing it, have fallen into thesame trap as Saul? Have yourebelled against God by neglectingto keep one of the clearest com- 'mands of the Bible, "Thou shaltteach them diligently unto thychildren;'? .

Some have been afraid they will"turn their children off" if theydiligently teach them. They reason

23

"The Work"? '(Continued from page 4)

hand-cranked Neostyle, which hesold me for $10. The first editionstencils were cut on a borrowed type­writer. I also managed to ·obtain asecondhand typewriter for $10 forthe second month., So already I was using modernradio - though the smallest in power- a 100-watt station. And now atypewriter and a mimeograph.

But we live in a far, far differentworld than that of apostles Peter andPaul.

The word apostle means "one sentforth" with Christ's Gospel message- the same message Jesus broughtfrom God.

As stated above, Peter was chiefapostle and human leader in the ear­liest years of the Church . After Peterseems to drop from sight, Paul was incharge, on the earthly, human level ofthe Church. Following this biblicalpattern and example, Christ's apostleis human leader under Christ, and inHis-authority, today.

Why only one apostle today?We .live today in a far, far different

world. The world's population hasmultiplied many times over. In thewake of the invention of the printingpress and the typewriter, KNOWL­EDGE has increased astoundingly notonly, but also the diffusion of knowl­edge. Unfortunately, that knowledgeis virtually 100 percent materialistic.The world is still in the darkness ofspiritual ignorance. It has lost - orrather never gained - the TRUE v AL­UES in understanding.

But escalation of carnal, selfishlymotivated diffusion of knowledge,

the advent and swift development ofmodern science and technology, theeffects of the machine age, all havemade today's world a fast-moving,complicated and complex worldutterly DIFFERENT than the world ofthe apostles Peter and Paul.

Instead of requiring more apostlesto go forth carrying the message,and directing the oversight of theearthly Work, it requires but ONE!Today that one can speak a messagewith a microphone and TV camerasbefore him, and by electronic magicvia satellite be SEEN speaking live byvast audiences in other parts of theworld. Or he can record a messageto be heard and/or seen later ontelevision or radio in any - ormany - parts of the world by vastaudiences. Or he can write messageson his typewriter, which arereprinted in newspapers, magazinesor other means of mass-duplication,distributed and read by thousands ormillions of people.

In Paul's day he could be heard byas many people as could hear a natu- _ral, unamplified voice. It would havetaken many hundreds of apostles toconvey the message to as manypeople then as it does today.

Today we have mechanical, orga­nizational facilities so that one mancan direct the functions of as manyas hundreds of apostles could havedone in the days of the Pauline min­istry.

But today, these same advancedmechanical facilities necessitate cer­tain differences in organizationalfunctions and procedures - thoughbasically THE PATTERN IS THESAME!

As the Church grew for 35 years atthe unmatched rate of 30 percentincrease annually over each precedingyear, the use of modern facilitiesincreased. God continually addedthose He called. Ambassador Collegewas founded in 1947, and later thecolleges in Britain and Texas. Doz­ens, scores, hundreds of God-edu­cated ministers were ordained. Webecame, by 1968, the WorldwideChurch of God.

All this time, it was the Work ofJesus Christ, through His chosenapostle, carrying on the Church'soperations, fulfilling the DUAL spiri­tual PURPOSES for the Church: I)proclaiming to the world, for a wit-

ness, the good news of the comingKingdom of God, and 2) feeding theflock - preparing those God calledin righteous spiritual character tobecome the Bride of Christ, to sitwith Him in His throne, and underHim to rule the nations.

The WORK consists of proclaim­ing the Gospel - by radio, by tele ­vision, in print (booklets, books, ThePlain Truth, messages in advertisingspace in magazines and newspapers,the Ambassador College Correspon­dence Course) .

This is a spiritual work. Broad­casting, both radio and TV, is doneby the" apostle. Most booklets and ­books are written by the apostle .The "Personal" - most read ­usually the lead article and oftenother articles are by the apostle.Other articles are by staff writerstrained in Ambassador College aswere all ministers. The AmbassadorCollege Correspondence Course,with thousands studying it, is all theteaching of the apostle. In this Gos­pel-proclaiming area is the MailProcessing Center, where hundredsof thousands - even millions - ofletters are received from listeners,viewers and readers . This centerincludes ordained ministers, trainedby the apostle, who answer lettersasking biblical questions and seekingspiritual counsel.

In the area of "feeding the flock, "first is Ambassador College, educat­ing and training men for the ministry,and others for various positions in theWork. The teaching is that ofChrist's apostle, who is president andchancellor of the college.

The ministry, consisting ofhundreds of ordained ministersteaching, as the apostle taught them,in local churches worldwide.

Serving them for the apostleis the Ministerial Services Depart­ment.

Also under the apostle and cooper­ating with Ministerial Services is theFestival Office , planning and arrang­ing the annual' Feast of Tabernaclesattended in many festival sites aroundthe entire world .

Feeding the flock in print is TheGood News , monthly, and TheWorldwide News , a tabloid, semi­monthly, besides the Pastor Gener­al's Report, weekly to the minis­try . 0

-The GOODNEWS April 1981

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MINI STUDY~-------------------

God's Work EthicPrepared by Richard H. Sedliacik

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•

God desires that Christians prosper both spir­itually and materially. He wants us to enjoy life .Christ Himself said, "I am come that they mighthave life, and that they might have it more abun­dantly" (John 10:10) .

"I wish above all things," says God throughthe apostle John, " that thou mayest prosper andbe in health" (III John 2). ' But in order to beginexperiencing this kind of life , we must practicethe way ot lite that will produce it. This includeskeeping God 's commandments and following theprinciples of Christian living and working that Godreveals in His Word .

Let 's look into the Bible to learn what kind ofan attitude and approach God's Spirit-begottenchildren should have toward work.

1. When God Almighty put Adam and Eve in theGarden of Eden, did He put man to work? Gen.2: 15. What was to be the continuing task of thehuman race? Gen. 1:26-28.

In the first two chapters of 'Genesis Godreveals Himself to us as a worker. Within six daysHis creative work unfolded. And when He createdthe first human beings in His own image, He made

. them workers , too.God told our progenitors to subdue the earth

- to produce from , develop and care for theirenvironment. Then when God planted the gardenin Eden, He put the man into the garden in order tocultivate and beautify it.

2. Does the commandment to rest on the Sab ­bath have another side? Ex. 20:9.

Though many have not realized it , the FourthCommandment also instructs mankind to laborduring the rest of the week. That part of thecommand is just as important as the part requir­ing man to rest on the seventh day of the week,the day God made holy.

The Sabbath commandment actually datesback to creation week. It was given to keep manin a close spiritual relationship with his Creator,who is a worker - who created and now sustainsHis creation . And God intends for us to become .like Him!

3. Was Jesus Christ sent to this earth towork? John 9 :4 . Did He reveal that the Father

is still busily engaged in His job? John 5: 17 .4. How zealously should we do all of our work?

Eccl. 9:10.God works with zeal. We are to become more

like God by putting the utmost of our energies intowhatever we set our hands to do! .

5. Did the apostle Paul, under the inspiration ofGod , point out that working is the way to beself-sufficient? I Thess . 4 :11-12.

Notice how the Revised Standard Version ren­ders verse 12: " so that you may command therespect of outsiders, and be dependent onnobody."

6. Did Paul command manual labor for theperson who wasn't used to honest work? Eph.4:28.

7. How did Paul deal with lazy , shiftless idlers?II Thess. 3: 10. Did he command them to work?Verses 11-12.

8. Will diligent effort prove its worth? Provo10:4-5, 13:4. Will the hard worker have thenecessities of life? Prov o20: 13, 28: 19.

9. Are those who refuse to work forever wish­ing for the things the diligent possess, but alwaysending up empty handed? Prov o 13:4, 21 :25.

10. Does the slothful person look for all kindsof dangers to justify his lack of effort? Provo22 :13, 26 : 13-15. Does he always have cleverexcuses or hard -luck stories about why he isunemployed - why he shouldn't work? Prov o26: 16. Is his love of sleep and lack of effort thecause of his poverty? Prov o6:10-11..

11. Does indolence tend to become habit­forming? Provo 19:15.

Some people use the slightest little excuse toflop down on the bed or couch - they cannotdistinguish between true tiredness and just plainlaziness!

12. Does it take effort, and sometimes evenphysical discomfort, to avoid being lazy? Provo20 :4 .

13. How does the condition of the yard , thehouse or the farm of the indolent person usuallyreveal what kind of individual he really is? Eccl.10:18, Prov o24 :30-34.

Take a look around your property. Does your

The GOOD NEWS April 1981 25

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home and yard or farm give you awa y? If so, tak einstruction from God 's words of wisdom.

God wants us to take care of what we have:" Be thou diligent to know the sta te of thy flocks,and look well to -thy herds [or whatever posses­sions you may have]. For riches are not for ever"(Prov. 27 :23-24).

14. Is there profit in all labor? And noth ing butpenury in talk? Provo 14:23.

If you happen to be unemployed, you can startprofiting from this pr inciple right now. How? Bymaking a "job" out of getting a job. Seek adviceon other types of employment if your skill is notpresently in demand, or perhaps it can be adapt­ed to some other job. And of course ask God tohelp you locate work. Then once you have a job,you are ready to put into action further pra ctica linstruction from the New Testament.

15. What did Paul teach regarding service toone's employer - one 's boss, foreman or super­visor? Col. 3:22-24, Tit. 2:9-10 .

Though Paul's instruction was specifically toChristians who were bond slaves at tha t time, theprinciples certain ly apply today. Whatever youroccupation may be , work at it as if you r immedi­ate boss were Jesus Chr ist Himself - " do itheartily, as to the Lord ." Be cooperat ive andzealous on the job. Be alert to please you r fore­man or boss by doing the job his way . And showyour willingness to go beyond what is requ ired.

Remember, too, that good personal relat ionson the job is one of the best forms of employmentinsurance. But a Christian shouldn 't be a flattereror a hypocrite in any sense. Show sincere , lovingco ncern and cooperation toward your employer,your foreman and you r fellow employees in everypossible way .

16. Can one expect to be paid a good salary ifhe is not worth it? See the principle in Mark4:24.

The way to receive a greater reward is to beworth more! Be a valuable employee.

Don't just plod along in your job with a ho-hum ,humdrum , every-day-the-same-routine attitude.Be energetic! Grow , produce! Study to improveyour skills . Take some night classes and / orcheck 'out books on your line of work from thepub lic library.

Really apply yourself and prove to youremployer that you have the capacity and the willto work and to do an excellent job. Do your partand God will bless you .

17. What is a sluggard like to those who hirehim? Provo 10:26.

He simply doesn 't get the job done . Therefore

he isn't paid much , if he can hold a job at all.18. To whom is the sluggard instructed to go

to study and learn about the initiative he lacks?Provo 6:6-9.

Many have never reall y understood the mainpoint of this passage. Certainly it inculcates dili ­gence. But notice verse 7. The ant not only works,but does so with " no leader, no foreman or chief"(Moffatt version).

Ants have a built -in, programed ability to workdiligently without _prodd ing. Mankind, _with theGod-given abil ity to think and reason, should notonly be able to do as well but infinitely better thanthese lower forms of life . A human should nothave to be constantly I supervised to do produc­t ive work. God is not supervised . We are to learnto be like Him.

19. Not ice Proverbs 12:24. Who will becomethe leaders directing the rest of the workers? The" dil igent"! And wha t will be the lot of the slothful?Same verse.

" The slothful will be put to forced labor" (Re­vised Standard Vers ion) . Those who must beconstantly supervised will be paid less thanthose who require litt le supervision . Do your jobwithout be ing to ld. Or do it immediately when toldhow. Get it right the first time .

Be the kind of person who increases his supe­rior 's prod uct ion and the production of all hisfellow workers . When the time comes for ra isesand promotions, this is the man or woman whowill be remembered.

20. Will the man who is a se lf-starter - theman who really app lies himself on his job withoutbeing prodded - find himself in the company ofimportant people? Provo 22:29.

21. Was Joseph an industrious young man whowas given greater responsibilities? Gen. 39:2-6,22-23, 41 :40-44 .

Are you willing to put forth the effort to be likeJoseph? He was diligent. And though he wasseverely tr ied and tested for a time , he stillobeyed God and God blessed him exceedingly.He eventually became prime minister of the entireland of Egypt, and will undoubtedly be given ahigh pos it ion in the soon-coming Kingdom of God(see Hebrews 11).

If you will rea lly be lieve God and set yourself tofo llow His Word , striving to obey all of God 'scommandments, He prom ises to bless you .

The apostle Paul sums it up in Hebrews 11 :6:" He that co met h to God must bel ieve that he is ,and that he is a rewa rder [both spiritually andphysicall y] of t hem that diligently seekhim." 0

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•26 The GOOD NEWS April 1981

PERSONAL(Continued from page 1)

The mate is no longer part of one'sempirical SELF. Resentment turns tobitterness, and bitterness to HATE.

Happiness is a funny thing ---.- or isit? The more you GIVE, the more youHAVE. But the more you try to TAKE,the more miserable you become.

It became clear. One WAY of life isthe SELF way - the INcoming way ­the GETTING way. The OPPOSITEWAY is the selfless way - the way ofhumility, getting rid of the SELF(which is your biggest enemy), theway of GIVING, serving, sharing., In the summer of 1933 we were

living in Oregon. I planned a series oflectures in and near Eugene, Ore ., toshare this BASIC KNOWLEDGE of thisright WAY OF LIFE with others. I waswithout money. But a man withwhom I had come in contact , believ­ing in this WAY, happened to be amember of a country school board.He offered me the use of a one-roomcountry schoolhouse eight miles westof Eugene. There was no rent. Iwalked out over the countryside,inviting neighbors to come to theseries of'lectures. There were only 35seats, but attendance averaged 36 ­an average of one standing.

That was a very small group ofpeople, but the response was electric.Some of those lives became happier!

A little later an invitation came tolecture over radio. The response wasentirely unexpected. There was then _only one station in Eugene, KORE,owned by Frank Hill. He called me intohis office, handed me a handful of let­ters. He suggested I plana regular half­hour program - offering to contributesubstantially byreducing the cost belowcost of operation. The price was $3 perhalf hour. That was the start of TheWorld Tomorrowprogram.ltcould nothave started smaller. The station thenbroadcastononly 100watts. But it wasaNEW KIND OF EDUCATION.

Education as organized in thisworld is restricted primarily to thephysical sciences, technologies andthe professions - teaching how toearn a living, but not HOW TO LIVE. Isaw the need of this broader kind ofeducation IN THE HOME. Without anyrequest from me, radio listeners vol­unteered to become contributors.

The GOOD NEWS April 1981

That was the start. As new co-work­ers volunteered to join with me, otherradio stations were added. Growth wassmall. But I never wouldsolicit contri­butions over the air. The radio programstarted on the air the first week in 1934.I managed to put together a homemade"magazine" called The Plain Truth,printed on a borrowed mimeograph,ready by Feb. 1. This wasoffered, free,to radio listeners.

Little by little it grew. In 1947Ambassador College was opened inPasadena ----.: with four students and afaculty of eight. It was a new type ofcampus education . We not onlybegan teaching students how to earna living - but also HOW TO LIVE.

And now, after another nearly 34years, I look back on a life that hasbeen filled with happiness - becauseit has been devoted to SHARING thisWAY to REAL SUCCESS 'with, first,about three dozen, then hundreds ,then thousands and today into theHUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of people.

From that high estimate I placed onmyself during my late teens and twen­ties,seekingSTATUS anda recognitionofIMPORTANCE, I skiddedbackward-allthe wayDOWN toself-abasementineco­nomic poverty. In financial poverty Ifound THE WAY to true SUCCESS. Ilearned that setting one's heart on mon­ey, material possessions or status onlybrings a CURSE. Financialsuccessissel­dom true success, because it is soughtfor itsownsake.

There is a CAUSE for every effect.TRUE success may, and perhapsusually should, include financial sue- ,cess. Money is power, but usually it isused to CAUSE curses, not blessingsand happiness. Money is good or evildepending on how it is used. If moneyis the end you seek, it will wreck youin the end. Self-centeredness, self­seeking - the GETTING, graspingway of vanity, jealousy, envy andgreed - is a CAUSE that always pro­duces a most UNHAPPY effect.

To HUMBLE the self, to be little inyour own eyes, to be honestly andsincerely concerned for others - toget ,on the GIVING, helping, serving,sharing way - that is the WAY OFLIFE that CAUSES real success!

To have the SELF brought down tothat junk pile was a painful experi­ence. But not for long. Yes, I'm glad Iskidded backward from self-esteem,ego and vanity and self-seeking. 0

Meditation(Continued from page 9)

the first place? It is not possible.The Bible gives many subjects of

meditation, such as: The works ofGod's hands, His creation (Ps. 8:3,143:5). (This isan especially appro­priate subject whenever you do find ascenic view; or when you observesome amazing thing in nature.) God'spast works in your life (Ps. 77:5-6,10-12). His strength (lsa. 17:10). Hiscovenant with His people and withyou personally (I Chron. 16:15).Your Christian calling and duties(I Tim. 4:13-15). Our High Priest,Jesus Christ (Heh. 3:1). God's stat­utes and laws (Ps. 119:48). His won­ders (Neh . 9:17) .

Can't think of anything to medi­tate about? This is enough to keepyou awake all night!

Positive results

Meditating brings positive results.Researchers have compiled reportsabout people in the world who spenda few minutes each day "meditating."By "meditating" they mean onlybrief periods of relaxing, withdraw­ing from involvements and pursuitsand getting reoriented. Even forthese halfway measures, the reportsindicate a lessening of stress, bloodpressure and oxygen consumptionand purport a wide range of benefi­cial changes in health, personality,intelligence and performance.

Meditating on God's way producesany positive results the world's way ofmeditation can produce, plus a wholelot more! It brings life - eternal life(Rom. 8:6), great blessings (Ps. 1),prosperity and success (Josh. 1:8),gladness (Ps. 104:34), hope (Lam.3:19-24, RSV), wisdom and under­standing (Ps. 119:98-99), enduranceand perseverance (Heb . 12:3),strength in the face of persecution(Ps. 119:23-24). Keeping your mindfilled with the goal God has set beforeyou will prevent you from slippingback into the world you came out of(Heb.ll:15-16). '

Isaiah summed up the whole sub­ject of meditation when he exclaimedto God, "Thou wilt keep him in per­fect peace, whose mind is stayed onthee: because he trusteth in thee"(lsa.26:3). 0

27

When is the first day of Abib?

The Bible makes plain that thePassover and the Days of Unleav­ened Bread must fall in the month

falls in such a year on the weeklySabbath.

The year 1927, the year that Her­bert W. and Loma D. Armstrongbegan keeping God's Holy Days, is anexample of this very postponement.That year the new moon of the sev­enth month, by the normal rule of theHebrew calendar, could have oc­curred on a Wednesday. But that daywas not to be declared the first daybecause of'.the special rule based onLeviticus 23.

By authority of the Hebrew courtthat long ago governed the calendar,that new moon in 1927 was deter-

mined in advance to be a Thursdayand the first day of the seventhmonth, The Armstrongs consequent­ly celebrated their first fast of Atone­ment, the 10th day of the month, onthe weekly Sabbath, not a Friday.

By authority of Scripture one can­not change the dates of the monththat are holy once the month is deter­mined. God hallowed the first and the10th day of the seventh month - asalso the 15th and the 22nd days.There are no others made holy. ButGod empowered men to examine allthe scriptures and to declare firstwhich is to be the day ' of the newmoon. Once that is declared, themonth is determined . And since anew moon begins a month (see Num­bers 10:I0, 28: II, I Samuel 20:5, 24­27 and I Chronicles 23:31 for proofthat the ' new moon begins themonth), we know.how to number suc­cessive days of a month.

What those today who want toestablish their own calendars andtheir own authority overlook is thatwe live on a round earth. One wouldhave thought they knew that!

A round earth requires an interna­tional dateline ---- one that is univer­sally recognized and established byauthority. As it happens any datelinewill cut across some major body ofland or island grouping.

The one dateline that has beenchosen and is authoritative is in themid-Pacific. Since it would cutthrough Alaska and the kingdom ofTonga in the South Pacific, an arbi­trary decision had to be made. The

islands of Alaska to the west areincorporated into the day that lies tothe east. And, in contrast, the islandsof the eastern part of the kingdom ofTonga are incorporated into the daythat begins to the west of the interna­tional dateline.

So we have members of God'sChurch in Tonga in the SouthernHemisphere who begin their Sab­baths and Holy Days one day beforebrethren who live to the west of themin the Aleutian Islands in the North­ern Hemisphere. They keep holy thetime that comes to them as it hasbeen authoritatively established for a

round earth.., , MtQ~t:M~ tQ God intended the earthto present just such prob-lems so that authoritativedecisions would have to be

made - and people tested to seewhether they are willing to comeunder authority of those empoweredto make just such decisions.

So which day is declared a newmoon is not a private matter that canoverride sensible requirements of theBible. The Pharisees misjudged thematter when they allowed Atonementto occur on a Friday merely to estab­lish a new moon in its "propertime."

They should have realized that if inJerusalem the first faint crescent isbarely seen after sunset in the westbefore it slips over the horizon, allpeople living to the east from Jordan

. to Japan and the Philippines won'tsee the new moon until the first cres­cent in their western skies until thenext day anyway.

So in most instances it is not evenpossible for all nations to see the firstfaint crescent on the same day!

It is not required that the first faintcrescent visible in Jerusalem alwaysbe declared the new moon . What isimportant is that the authority todeclare it arises from Jerusalem!

The authority of Jerusalem in theperson of Hillel II did speak in A.D.358-359 to authorize the presentHebrew calendar throughout thefuture until such time as a new courtsitting in Moses ' seat be reestablishedin Jerusalem.

(Continued from page 7)

Thursday. And that is exactly whatthe Pharisees anciently required bedone!

The Pharisees put major emphasison precise visual observation of thefirst faint crescent of the new moon.They overlooked Leviticus 23:26-32.So whenever the first faint crescentof the seventh new moon of the yearwas seen just above the western hori­zon after sunset on Tuesday evening,for example, they declared that day,Wednesday (which beginsthe previous evening), to bethe new moon.

Consequently that newmoon became the first dayof the month and the Day of Trum­pets , The result was the 10th day ofthe month - Atonement - wouldfall on a Friday in such a year.

They were more concerned withthe visual appearance of the moon 'sfirst crescent than they were with thespiritual requirements of-the Day ofAtonement. .

God, of course, had to correct that- and He did!

The Romans finally put an end tovisual observation of the new moonsby the Jews . The Jews ' chief leader,Hillel II, whose responsibility it wasto regulate the calendar, was forcedto issue a decree for the year A.D.358-359 to (re)institute the authorityof the fixed calendar we know todayas the Hebrew calendar. And one ofthe rules of that calendar is based onLeviticus 23:26-32.

Hillel II realized that these versesrequire that the Day of Atonementshould not fall on Friday, the prepa­ration day of the Sabbath.

The rule, therefore, is that if thenew moon of a seventh month couldoccur on a Wednesday (beginning theprevious evening), that day is not tobe declared the new moon. It is to bepostponed. But the day following is tobe declared the new moon.

That is, a Thursday (beginning theprevious evening) is the first day ofthe seventh month. That Thursday isconsequently the Feast of Trumpets,since the Festival falls on the first dayof the seventh month (Lev. 23:23­25). And the Day of Atonement,which is the 10th day of the month,

Calendar

28 The GOOD NEWS April 1981

of Abib, the first month of theHebrew calendar (Ex. 12:2, Deut.16:I). The month Abib has beenknown, since the Babylonian Captiv­ity , as Nisan, a word derived fromthe Semitic root nesu , meaning "tostart." It starts the months of theyear. Abib is derived from aviv,meaning "ears" or "green ears ofgrain ." The first month is themonth in which green ears of grainbegin to ripen - barley first, thenwinter wheat, which is usually stillin green ears when barley ripens.

Are we free to decide for ourselveswhen we think the month Abib .:....­the month of green ears - shouldoccur? Are we to decide the matteron the basis of the state of the harv estin the Holy Land today? Some sectswho refuse to use the words God andJesus Christ claim so. They have tak­en upon themselves the authority todetermine the calendar for them­selves. God lets them do so, but Hehas given them no authority in thismatter.

Who has that authority? Did Jesusgive authority to the New TestamentChurch to preserve God's calendar?Most certainly not! Nor did theChurch ever preserve it. Nor did theChurch preserve the Hebrew Bible .We use both. We have authority toteach and preach from the Bible(usually in translation) , but God 'sChurch has been given no authorityto preserve the Bible in eitherHebrew or Greek. Nor have we beencalled to determine the rules of God'scalendar. That is a matter He has left .to the Jews - hence it is proper tocall it the Hebrew calendar, just aswe speak of the Hebrew Bible.

How, then, is the month Abib orNisan determined?

It has already been determined!The matter was decided by Hillel IIand his court in the fourth centuryA .D .

Abib is determined by the rules ofthe permanent calendar. For ,exam­ple, this year, 1981 , the new moon ofthe seventh month is Tuesday.Sept.29, beginning the evening before. Itis this new moon that determines thecharacter of the preceding months ofthe year. The new moon of Abib doesnot determine the character of theyear.

The rules of the permanent calen­dar call for each of the first six

The GOOD NEWS Ap ril 1981

months of the year to be alternately30 and 29 days long .

Since the Bible does not declarewhich months have either 30 or 29days , it is an arbitrary decision ,enacted by those who are in authorityover God's calendar. God has left it tothem to keep it simple.

If He had not liked their deci sionHe would have caused them tochange it. But since each month isslightly more than 29Y2days long, thedecision of the court, or Beth Din , isreasonable.

That means the first half of theyear is always 177 days long (threemonths with 30 days plus threemonths with 29 days equals 177days).

And if the first day of the seventhmonth is on Tuesday, the first ofAbib is 177 days earlier, and on aSunday. (These first six months arealways 25 weeks and two days long.And, two days before a Tuesday is aSunday.)

When Nisan begins on a Sunday,the 14th day is a Sabbath, as it is thisyear. That is, whenever the Feast ofTrumpets and the first and eighthdays of the Feast of Tabernacles sea­son fall on Tuesday, as they do thisyear, the Passover will be a Sabb ath- more specifically, Friday evening.God has not left .the matter to eachperson to decide for him self. God isnot the author of confusion. The devilis!

So if someone were to ask, Butcouldn 't the month of Abib this yearbe one month earlier according to theBible? We answer no! on twocounts.

First, a change in the calendarlacks biblical authorization ; TheHebrew perpetual calendar is the soleauthority for the Church of Godtoday.

Second, even if it were perrriissibleto have Passover as early as March 20- the very beginning day of spring- the Festival of Tabernacles wouldfall too early.

Did you ever notice that the Biblerequires the Feast of Tabernacles,commemorating the second and greatharvest of human beings, to at leastreach the beginning of autumn? InExodus 34:22 'we read from theEnglish translation of the HebrewBible :

"Thou shalt observe . . . the feast

of ingathering at the turn of the year"(Jewish Publication Society transla­tion).

What is the " turn of the year"?The Hebrew word translated "turn"is tequfah, meaning " revolution, cir­cuit or end." It is used specifically forthe equinoxes or solstices.

It is here specificall y referring to theautumnal equ inox - when day andnight approach equal length . It norm al­ly falls on Sept. 23 this century.

But if the seven-day Feast of Taber­nacles were one month earlier this yearthe Festival would fall on Sept. 14-20.And that is wholly in summer and plain­lycontrary to Exodus 34:22 .

So before thinking the Hebrew cal­endar . needs your input, think firsthow much you 'need God's input fromHis written Word! He does reveal inthe Bible more than you may beaware about His calendar. 0

ANSWERS TO"TEST YOURSELF BY

TESTI~G YOUR TEENS,"PAGE 23

1) See Levit icus 23 .

2) See Exodus 20 or Deuterono-my 5.

3) Abraham.

4) Joseph.

5) Gen esis , Exodus , Leviticus,Numbers , Deuteronomy.

6) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,Acts .

7) Death angel passed over, first ­born slain , Passover lambkilled , etc .

8) Christ crucified, Passover sym ­bols c hanged to bread andwine , foot-washing ceremony,etc .

9) To fast, or humble yourselfthrough fasting.

to) The time when everyone whohas lived and never had anopportunity to know the truthwill have a chance for salva­t ion .

Note : Score 10 points for each correctanswe r. Each answer should be ent irelycorrec t. or no credit sho uld be gi ven. Forexam ple . the Ten Commandm ent s andFeast s must be in correc t order and all ofthem listed. If your teen score s 100point s. cong ra tulate yourse lf on obeyi ngGod 's command to teach your chi ldrendil igentl y. 80 or 90 points means youmust be doin g something right. 60 or 70means you need to be a bit more diligent.50 or below means you need to rereadthis arti cle . Don 't as sume your ch ildrenunderst and!

29

IF JesusWasGod...

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(Heb. 4:15)?- DID He really have human nature?- WHO was the "Father" to whom He

referred (John 5:17)?- WHO were His "brethren," His "sisters"

and His "mother" (Matt. 13:55"56)?

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