Dear Brethren and Friends,
As the Passover season approaches, all of us in God’s Church must truly “examine ourselves” as God commands us to do. For the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Indeed, if Christ is not genuinely living within each of us, we are, in fact, “disqualified” from being part of the Kingdom of God. We are, in fact, disqualified from being taken to a Place of Safety before the Tribulation begins.We are, in fact, disqualified from becoming those kings and priests who will assist Jesus Christ in ruling this entire earth and bringing genuine peace and joy to a war-torn, starving and sick world.
So, we must each do our part to go “all out” in genuinely examining ourselves, overcoming our carnal human nature and growing toward the fullness of Christ.
Somewhere on this earth, a true Church of God exists where Christ is not merely present, but where His Spirit is energizing the members—where they are actually growing in grace and in knowledge while powerfully doing HisWork! Surely, most of you who are reading this are part of that Church right now. You are part of it in a physical sense, obviously, but have you really examined yourself to be sure that you are part of the “inner core” that is truly growing toward the fullness of Christ, and is qualifying to receive the ultimate reward God has promised?
God inspired Peter to give us this warning, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” (1 Peter 4:17–18). As this present age of human society comes to a close, God will certainly be judging each of us to see if we are genuinely prepared and “qualified”—through Christ in us—to be full members of His coming Government. Do we really appreciate how wonderful—and how important—membership in the very Family of God actually is? Do we really go “all out” in preparation for our part in Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom?
The Apostle Peter described one of the many tests we will all be required to pass: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12–13). Brethren, as this Work grows in power and impact, the world will certainly “come down on us” with a vengeance! Satan will be furious at what God is doing through us—so he will inspire blinded and confused men to persecute us terribly! Are we shallow Christians who will quickly give up under these trials and tests that are surely coming? Or will we be so dedicated and so close to Christ that we will overcome and truly hold fast the Truth and continue to do the Work with all of our hearts?
The early Christians had many such tests—as will we. We should all remember the inspired account about how “great persecution arose against the Church which was at Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1). For Saul—later the Apostle Paul—had led in the persecution of the Church in his early years, before Christ struck him down. Notice as the inspired account continues, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (vv. 3–4).
Think!
Dear brethren, if some of us were beaten and “dragged off” and put into prison, how many of you would become afraid or confused—or even decide that maybe God was not with us after all—and turn aside to the world? Each of us needs to think through what we might do in the above scenario, or other similar situations that no doubt will come to pass within the next several years!
Is God truly real to you? Can you honestly say that you are “walking with God” and are daily committing yourself to genuine Bible study, meditation, prayer and regular fasting in order to “seek God” and draw close to your Creator? Are you genuinely preparing yourself, by walking with God, to be a real king and priest in Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom?
God inspired John to tell us that He has “made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9–10). As Christ stated directly, “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father” (Revelation 2:26–27).
Remember, brethren, being an “overcomer” does not mean merely attending Church regularly and being part of the “physical” body of Christ. It means truly conquering your human nature, the world around you and Satan the Devil through your constant contact with God, and your deliberate and fervent yielding to Christ to live His life within you. To “overcome” is not to merely “hold your own.” It involves changing and growing unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—therefore qualifying in that way to be a ruler over entire cities and nations. This process is real, and it is leading to a genuine reward in Christ’s coming World Government to be set up on this earth.
We say this. But do we really believe it? Each of us has to answer that question, and make sure that we actually do.
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to let him, “know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Many scholars agree that the term “ground” here is better translated as “bulwark”—which gives a more specific picture of God’s Church being a powerful barrier—protecting the Truth from error and from Satan’s confusing devices.
Remember, somewhere on this earth, there is one Church that teaches not only about the commandments—as many “Church of God” groups do—but that powerfully emphasizes and explains how vital it is to understand God’s loving Government and to practice it in a balanced way!
Some groups have wrongly used the concept of government to tyrannize their members, employing a kind of human dictatorship in which they cow individuals into submission by various threats, and by disfellowshipping dozens and scores of people for any kind of disagreement or even for asking questions of the leadership. That is not God’s Government—as I trust all of us in the Living Church of God understand.
Yet some of the larger “splits” from the original Church under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong have virtually done away with the entire form of government the Bible describes, which Mr. Armstrong taught and we must learn and practice in order to be those kings and priests Jesus Christ talked about! In some of these groups, instead of tyranny, we find a different misunderstanding—a great deal of laxity and neglect of the basic concept of the entire Kingdom of God, the Government for which we must be preparing.
By contrast, as most of you reading this certainly know, there is a Church of God somewhere that teaches the truth about the Government of God, that practices it throughout its congregations in a loving and balanced way overall, and that is trying wholeheartedly to prepare its members to become kings and priests in God’s Kingdom. Brethren, we ought to be—and to remain—that Church!
But, even in that Church, there are people who are very weak or Laodicean in their approach. Therefore, when God speaks to us throughout Revelation 12 in describing a Church of God that is taken to safety, this inspired passage describes some who are “left behind” and are obviously not protected: “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (v. 17). So, even though many thousands of people in the various Church of God groups may, in general, “keep the Commandments,” they will not all be taken to safety! Though they are part of God’s Church, they obviously do not have Christ fully living within them and helping them live as the “overcomers” whom Christ is preparing to be rulers in His Kingdom.
In Revelation 3, God tells those who do not just “call themselves” Philadelphian, but really are Philadelphian, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (vv. 10–11). So Christ is pleased that the true Philadelphians “persevere” in keeping the basic approach and training many of us had under God’s servant, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. This would obviously involve learning and practicing God’s Government as a vital part of true preparation for Christ’s Kingdom—as Mr. Armstrong emphasized again and again. Christ tells us, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” We must not be among those who turn aside from the basic training God has given us, which should have been preparing us for God’s Kingdom. We must not drift into the attitude of “watering down” true Christian practices and teachings, of falling into “politicking” and self-promotion, and “voting” for Church offices—which Mr. Armstrong so strongly condemned—and other practices that would certainly corrupt our entire approach to the Kingdom of God!
Brethren, we must not be ashamed to “hold fast” to the Truth we have been taught about the Kingdom of God—and the vital importance of learning and practicing right, balanced, loving Church Government! And we must not try to be so “understanding” that we allow—without even warning them—some of our separated brethren to be led into the confusion and division that this turning aside from God’s kind of Government will bring! For each of these organizations that fails to properly practice the Government of God will suffer for it!
The Eternal God says to all who are willing to learn and grow in Christ, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:12–13). We in the Living Church of God must wholeheartedly “examine” ourselves in every way. We must make sure that we are overcoming our selfish, vain, lustful and foolish habits. We must literally give ourselves to Christ and “walk with God” in our daily way of life. We must be genuine “overcomers” and we must persevere so that we may have the wonderful reward of being pillars in Christ’s coming Government and, finally, even in the New Jerusalem that will come down from heaven!
As we approach the sacred Passover season, brethren, we should truly meditate on all these things. We should humbly examine ourselves and determine to go “all out” to be true overcomers and eventually pillars in the soon-coming Kingdom of God.
With Christian love,