Around us, we again and again see many “Church of God” groups “splitting” or coming apart in various ways. Often this is because they do not have the right kind of leadership—a leadership truly guided and inspired by Jesus Christ, the true Head of God’s Church. We in the Living Church of God understand that to be an effective “team” to do Christ’s Work in this hectic world—and to prepare to be totally loyal kings and priests in Christ’s coming Kingdom—there must be right leadership and genuine unity.
As true Christians, we are called to be totally “at-one” with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ (John 17:20–23). Jesus prayed for all true Christians “that they may be one just as We are one” (v. 22). God inspired the Apostle Paul to exhort us to endeavor to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:3–6). Later in the same chapter, Paul describes how Christ gave the ministry to edify the Body of Christ, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (vv. 13–14).
Most of you reading this have “endured” through much strife and division by misguided or deceptive leaders among God’s people. Truly, as God’s word—and much experience—has shown us, where there is a lack of true Christian leadership in the ministry, countless brethren have been and will be “carried about with every wind of doctrine.” We must never allow this to happen in the Living Church of God—the Church that the living Christ is primarily using to do His Work at this time!
Sadly, from time to time, we may see newer members—or even self-willed or confused older brethren—come up with “different” ways to observe the Passover, and Pentecost, different ways to observe the weekly Sabbath, different ideas about the need to use the so-called “sacred names” and other such topics. So, what does God’s inspired word tell us about how to handle these disagreements—which are potentially divisive for the whole Church? Is it “every man for himself”? Joe Blow may say, “Here is the way I look at it!” Then John Doe testily replies, “But here is the way I look at it!”
What to do?
The genuine answer, of course, is that from the beginning Christ has put leadership in His Church. In the Old Testament Church—the “Church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38, KJV)—Christ placed Moses as the primary human leader. Although Moses obviously made a few mistakes, Christ took care of Moses—and made sure that Moses’ occasional mistakes did not do serious or permanent damage to the “congregation of Israel” or prevent them from fulfilling God’s purpose at that time. Guided by God’s Holy Spirit in the New Testament Church of God, we today should be far more willing to follow Christ’s proven human leadership than were those carnal Israelites. For we should deeply realize that our primary message to this confused world is the “good news”—the Gospel of the coming Kingdom (or Government!) of God. Obviously, we are here in this life to learn and to practice the same kind of government we will be administering over the entire world in a few years!
A VITAL Teaching and Practice
So it is absolutely vital that we grow in unity and loyalty, and that we develop a spirit of humble cooperation and submission to Christ’s government through His Church today!
Of course, if we in the Living Church of God leadership someday completely turn aside from God’s laws and His ways, God’s people may need to do what we all did when He raised up this Work! If the Council of Elders were to fail to put apostate leadership out of the Living Church of God, brethren might need to break off and start an entirely new physical organization, whose leadership God had visibly selected by “fruits”—and whose leaders and members would all be fully willing to surrender to God, to teach His Truth, to do the Work and to learn and practice God’s government fully in preparation for becoming kings and priests in His Kingdom.
However, brethren, as long as we in the LCG leadership today teach and practice the basic principles about the key doctrines as mentioned above, there is really no excuse for people to break off in a self-willed manner—thereby causing division in the Body of Christ and in the Work which God is using—and thereby actually undermining the ability of the Church to grow and more powerfully reach out to this confused world while there is time! Just look at the sad fruits of those who have tried—even with the best of intentions at first—to humanly “fix” problems they thought were more important than the unity of God’s people to do the Work!
Yet many confused and often self-willed men who simply want to be “important” or “in charge”—many who are not “servant leaders” and have had no training and virtually no experience at higher-level leadership—still continue from time to time to break off in order to be the “head” of their own group. In nearly every case—without naming specific names—their work begins to diminish rather quickly after a few months or years—and usually ends up coming to nothing! All they have done is cause confusion, hurt God’s people, and in fact damaged the very Work of God! Obviously, Jesus Christ and God the Father are not pleased with that kind of attitude and approach. For Christ is now developing a loyal “team” of ministers and brethren and is trying and testing them to make sure that they can become a unified body under His leadership, and that they are loyal to Him and to one another in carrying out His Work both now and in Tomorrow’s World!
Please do not underestimate the importance of proper loyalty to Christ and to His human leadership! For the Bible is full of examples of how God looks on those who cause division, and who in various ways “water down” the degree of support and loyalty they ought to give to Him and to His true servants.
Witness how even Moses’ brother and sister rose up against him—saying, in effect, by their actions: “We don’t need you! We can decide these things for ourselves.” Yet Jesus Christ severely rebuked Aaron—even though he was God’s High Priest—and Miriam was stricken with leprosy to deeply humble her and make her see what a grievous error she had made in turning against her brother Moses as the human leader whom Christ had installed (Numbers 12:1–16)!
What if 250 top “leaders”—men of “renown”—were to turn against me personally, or against the overall human leadership of the Church, today? That is exactly, in type, what happened when Korah, Dathan and Abiram took it upon themselves to challenge Moses’ leadership! Brethren, please read carefully the account in Numbers 16. They were given a number of opportunities to repent. But they did not. So, God created a “new thing” and “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.” Then “a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense” (vv. 28–35)!
It is very clear—from dozens of examples in your Bible—that God hates the act of rebellion against His human leadership! And He rejects those causing division among His people! It all started back when Lucifer began to “feel his oats” and decided to rebel against God. He stated, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:12–14)!
So, Lucifer was “brought down”! For his rebellious thoughts and actions, he and his demons will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Matthew 25:41)! Dear brethren, the book of Proverbs is literally filled with teachings and exhortations about the importance of each one of us humbling ourselves! Notice: “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23). And, as we should all remember, Jesus Christ Himself gave very similar instructions again and again in the New Testament. He said, “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).
God Hates “Division”
The living Christ inspired the Apostle Paul to tell us, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
It is vital that we all learn to “speak the same thing,” and that we learn to follow the teaching and godly example of the inspired leadership Christ has put in His Church—unless, as I have stated, you find the Church going totally contrary to God, not preaching His word and not doing His Work. Short of that, it is not right for each one to start promoting differing ideas on all kinds of basic teachings and practices that in many cases were discussed and settled by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong and Church leaders many decades ago—and, in other cases, have been settled by the Living Church of God Council of Elders after much prayerful, heartfelt discussion!
Brethren, God’s word is very clear on this basic principle! “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). So, it should be obvious to all of us that God will be very displeased if every Tom, Dick or Harry tries to come up with different ideas and approaches as to how to keep the Sabbath, how and when to keep the Holy Days, whether to use the so-called “sacred names” and other such matters. For people who like to follow their “own ideas” usually forget completely one vital fact: Jesus Christ is right now the living, active Head of His true Church! His inspired word tells us that God has seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly places, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:21–23).
Remember, God’s word tells us that Christ is the Head over “all things” to the Church! Even though we might have disagreements—from time to time—about when and where to have Sabbath services, how the Youth Program ought to be administered and any number of practical details, we have to realize that Christ Himself will guide and orchestrate matters, overall, so that His Work is carried out and His will is done through His true Church which keeps His commandments. When the apostate leaders of our former association turned away from God, of course, Christ’s blessing and direct guidance were discontinued. That is obvious. But, again, now that we have truly “revived” the Church and the Work of God for some 17 years—with balanced and loving servant leadership, overall—it should be obvious by the “fruits” that we are being led by the living Christ. As we approach the end of this age, we must fully realize this, and must grow in our ability to work together in unity and harmony and love—so God’s will and His Work can be carried out with deep faith, cooperative teamwork, love and zeal.
Christ “Guides” His True Servants
Most of us understand that the very “mind of God” is revealed—often in great detail—throughout the entire Bible. Notice how God describes Jehoshaphat, a righteous king of Judah. Jehoshaphat made some mistakes—as all human beings do—but overall God’s word speaks very well of him. And so we read: “Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, ‘Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment’” (2 Chronicles 19:5–6).
Today—in the Spirit-led Church of God, with deeply converted ministers leading—it should be obvious that Christ will also be with us “in the judgment” as His true ministers prayerfully direct the Work, and endeavor to make sound and godly decisions based upon His word.
This is a vitally important “key” issue! If any of us fail to fully realize this, we will simply multiply confusion and division in the very Church and Work of God. Such confusion and division will greatly hinder the completion of God’s Work being done through His human instruments in the Church at this time! Please study, meditate and earnestly pray about this and strive to understand this fully, brethren! For your eternal life may depend on it!
As you know, God’s word tells us, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” (1 Corinthians 6:1–3). It should be obvious from this scripture that true Christians are now “in training” to become kings and priests—assisting Jesus Christ in His Kingdom in ruling over cities and nations on this earth (Revelation 5:9–10). God’s people—especially those of us in the Living Church of God—do understand this and are conscientiously trying to follow the form of government God has revealed in the Bible—better preparing us to assume those positions of rulership in Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom. So, we should all try to be more sensitive to this vital part of our training and preparation for the Kingdom. We should welcome the knowledge that Christ is the living Head of His Church—and that He will guide and orchestrate things through His human instruments today, despite our occasional human mistakes.
One basic scripture that should help us better understand Christ’s government is in Colossians 2:13–17. Paul describes how Jesus Christ wiped out the “handwriting” or “note of guilt”—the record of our sins “that was against us, which was contrary to us”—and “nailed it to the cross” (v. 14). Then he goes on to explain that we should not let another human being “judge” us regarding how we keep God’s festivals or Sabbaths “which are a shadow of things to come.” Then Paul finishes the sentence by saying that it is not another man that should judge us, but the body of Christ (v. 17).
Those of you following along with your Bibles will notice that many English-language translations of verse 17 use the word “substance” instead of “body.” However, as you can verify by looking at the Greek text or any “interlinear” Bible, the original God-inspired word used here is soma—which always means “body” and is the exact Greek word Paul also used in Colossians 1:18 to describe Jesus Christ as the living Head of the soma (the “Body,” meaning the Church).
So, although we must not let outsiders—or even confused fellow brethren—“judge” us regarding how to keep the Sabbaths or Holy Days, it is the responsibility of the leadership Christ has appointed in His Church to make those decisions under His leadership! For, as we have seen, Jesus Christ has committed Himself to guide His faithful servants in making such decisions.
Yes, it would be correct to observe that human leaders even in the true Church do make mistakes from time to time. But the mistakes they make are nothing compared to the chaos and confusion a church without true Christian leadership will continue to cause—even to the destruction of the brethren! As Mr. Herbert Armstrong said a number of times, “God has allowed me to make hundreds of mistakes, brethren! But He has never allowed me to make any really serious mistakes that would destroy the brethren or destroy the Work!” And that is certainly true today!
Therefore, all of those who are deeply converted and have surrendered to Christ’s leadership will submit to the decisions of God’s true ministers—especially in administrative details of how to keep the Sabbath or Holy Days, whether to use the so-called “sacred names” and other specific details that do not involve whether or not we keep God’s basic laws such as the Ten Commandments or the weekly and annual Sabbaths. If we see by the “fruits” that Christ has established truly converted leadership in the Church—however imperfect, since all humans are imperfect—we should joyfully accept this leadership, praying that God will lead and guide and orchestrate all the decisions for good for His own name’s sake! This is the attitude Christ is seeking in every one of us!
Realizing that the Bible reveals the “mind of God,” we should note carefully God’s mind regarding individual judgments or decisions within His Church. God inspired Moses to write, “If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you” (Deuteronomy 17:8–10).
God then told His people that they were not to “turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, [today’s faithful ministers], that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel” (vv. 11–12). Certainly, God’s Church today does not invoke a physical death penalty on anyone as did ancient Israel. But the principle of having a profound respect for those whom Christ has placed in authority is something substantiated throughout the Bible and, frankly, must be heeded by those who are truly converted in God’s Church!
Dear brethren, any one of us who defies or turns away from this basic principle of how God directs His Church will likely not make it into the Kingdom—the Government—of God. At most, if we do make it, we will have a greatly diminished reward because of our weakness and confusion and selfishness in not having been willing to submit, in faith, to Christ’s leadership in His Church today! Please think this through!
Truly, brethren, God is preparing a family of deeply converted men and women who will respond to the direction of Jesus Christ. For He is preparing a “team” of kings and priests to be dedicated, loyal leaders under Christ’s direction who can be “counted on” always to follow Christ’s leadership—whether directly or through those whom He has appointed as leaders under Him—in His Church today and later in His Kingdom. The attitude of Satan the Devil, in wanting to turn aside and exalt himself, is in total contradistinction to this basic principle of submitting to Christ and His leadership. Each one of us who is sensitive to Christ’s will and His direction in our lives should study, meditate and ask God to guide us in this and sincerely want to be “on Christ’s team” now and forever!