Sabbath Message 25/9/28/120
Dear Friends,
One of the most basic of New Testament teachings is to let our yes be yes and our no be no.
In other words, we are required to state the truth simply and sincerely, and to give our word without undue oaths and protestations and to be true to our word.
The concept comes from the application of the Ninth Commandment, namely: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”
This most basic of commandments to tell the truth has been misapplied and written down by religions and societies over time. This command is essential to a free and just society. Without it no justice is possible in trials or in business or in proper social conduct.
In today’s world we usually have to get everything in writing because a person’s word is no longer their bond. Fortunately we have bodies of legislation that protect us from dishonesty and give us redress. However, it is not so everywhere. Organisations are bound by agreement for entry and operation, as are societies in general. Even we as a church have to get things in writing from those who would be part of us.
To make life clearer and easier God gave us the Law from Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to Moses and Aaron, on down to the prophets, and to Christ and the Church.
Most of us are aware that Satan has done his best to corrupt the application of the word of God through the Bible. When not able to corrupt the actual text, the next best thing is to corrupt the understanding of its application. That is the basis behind the corruption of the Jewish understanding through the Oral Traditions embraced by the Pharisees and Rabbinical Judaism and later Kabbalah. It is how Christianity was corrupted by Trinitarianism and the pagan calendar intrusions of Christmas and Easter. Recently a council in Britain changed the name from Christmas to “Winter Lights.” The resulting outcry forced them to change it back, but they were correct in the first place. The festival has nothing to do with Christ and Christianity, and is actually banned by the Bible at Jeremiah 10:2-5. The festival celebrated around 25 December is linked to the Saturnalia and Egyptian and other Mother Goddess theology and is totally pagan. The history is detailed in the paper The Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235).
The moment anyone exposes the origins of this system they are attacked as having something wrong with them.
Most of us who genuinely sought after truth and tried to follow it were attacked for what we do. Those who persevered were often called into the Churches of God and baptised into the Body of Christ.
For those of us who embarked on this route it has been a period of trial in our lives trying simply to live by the Bible and within the society of the nations in which we are called. Over the centuries much of the world’s systems have been actively hostile to the Churches of God and the truth they espouse.
We often ask ourselves the question: “What does God want me to do?”
No one person can act in isolation from the body that God has called out. They are placed together piece by piece, or one by one, as it is time for them to take part in the establishment of the body that God has given to Jesus Christ.
Most of the Church of God are dedicated hard working individuals and families who diligently seek to work towards the growth of the Church in faith.
It is sometimes observed that there is “a streak of naivety that dwells in the children of light”.
Often we trust people and so we must. It is God that calls and gives to Christ. Jesus Christ was given his own apostles and one of them was a demon. Judas was given the opportunity to advance, yet betrayed Christ. That was allowed so that Scripture might be fulfilled. Sometimes, and more often than we would like, people betray that trust within the Church.
We are all confronted with situations of truth, and trust and ethics. Most of us are completely trustworthy in the execution of the tasks and duties entrusted to us. Many do it to their hurt and are found blameless before God.
All too often we forget the fact of the selfless service of the normal members of the body. Often we are all so busy that we forget to say words of encouragement to those who are the basic mechanics of the system. The men and women who are enmeshed in the daily struggle to make a living in an increasingly hostile environment are not always remembered. They are the basic cogs of a machine that cannot run without them. In the same way, the elderly at home who pray each day for the welfare of those in the faith and for the conduct of the world are often placed in the background while the more ambitious advance in the spotlight.
No organisation can advance, let alone serve God, unless it is grounded in the truth. No lie is of the Spirit of God. Satan is the father of lies. The entire corruption of the system God has laid down is enabled by the casting of truth to the ground.
If you have been entrusted with a task in the Body of Christ, then do that diligently. If you make an error, then repent and get on with what you have to do.
Sometimes we are forced to deal with error in the Churches of God. Often those who read the facts are unaware of the problems. Remember this important fact. The epistles of the New Testament were written to deal with specific problems that arose in the Churches of God in the first century. They are not good news stories and smooth things. They are doctrinal and theological expositions on the Nature of God and doctrinal issues of importance. They deal with the correct functioning of the Church of God in the light of sin and error.
The issue of repentance is based on the reaction to the truth of the word of God and the perception of our own conduct in relation to that truth. For true repentance to occur, there must be a perception of error and the capacity to react to that knowledge.
Most of the elect are overjoyed at simply being with each other and being able to live according to the Laws of God.
This love and harmony is the particular hatred of the fallen Host and they do as much as they can to plant tares among us and to cause division.
Sometimes people are called into the faith but fall by the wayside. We still give them the chance to repent. If they repent, we forgive them. That is the way life is in the faith. We forgive seven times seventy on request, as we are commanded.
When unconverted people are exposed they often do not admit error and the truth but rather attack and lie.
How often is it like that in the human mind? God gives us a life and a system and we accuse Him of causing the problems. We don’t obey the rulebook, and hate and abuse one another, and it is then God’s fault that there is evil in the world.
We were all called to the Faith to follow the truth of the Bible. We gave our word to defend that truth. When we are confronted with truth then we have an obligation to change. Truth is, as we saw, the basis of the law enshrined in the Ninth Commandment.
We are called to the truth. Only the truth will set us free.
Let us all be true to the Faith. If we make an error and are given the opportunity to correct it, then be open and strong enough to admit error and change. Take the opportunity to repent and fix the problem.
God is concerned for our welfare. He puts us where He wants
us. We should all be concerned for each other.
In our love of one another we should all take care not to judge and accuse one
another. We should extend the opportunity of repentance and grace to one another.
We should all be concerned for the support and encouragement of one another.
Life is not easy and it will get harder. We should not make it harder for one another. Be true to our word and support and encourage one another.
In this difficult time over the so-called Christmas season encourage one another and make the truth available for those who do not understand the truth.
Encourage those who labour for the Word of God. They need your love and prayers also.
Pray for the Church and the brethren who are that Church for
we are the Temple of God.
Wade Cox
Coordinator General
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