Dear Brethren and Friends,
Each of us need to ask ourselves, “Am I a real Christian?” As the entire world begins to explode around us, we had better be sure!
We in the Church of God know that we are commanded by God to keep all ten of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 5:17–19, etc.). We are to live by every word of God (Luke 4:4). We are to help prepare for the coming Kingdom of God and “do the Work.” For Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” (John 4:34–36).
All of that is very good. But what is the single issue that the early Apostles—and all Christians—focused on the most? What was the source of their passion for God in those original days of Christianity? In his powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter cried out, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:22–24).
Later, the Jewish priests and leaders were “greatly disturbed” that the Apostles “taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2).
Then the inspired Peter told them to “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (vv. 10–12). Not only to the Jews, but throughout the entire book of Acts, we see that the wonderful message of Jesus as our Savior and living Head was preached to both Jews and Gentiles.
In dealing with the Gentile convert Cornelius, the Roman centurion, we see that God guided Peter, in his message to Cornelius and his Gentile friends and family, to emphasize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter explained, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly” (Acts 10:38–40).
In his famous prison epistles—primarily addressed to the Gentile churches of Asia Minor—the Apostle Paul constantly emphasized the key focus on Jesus Christ as our Savior. Paul wrote the Corinthians, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
Later, Paul explained the Gospel that he and the other Apostles preached to the original Church of God: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:1–5).
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:18–20). Also, Paul wrote the Colossians regarding God’s deliverance through Christ’s sacrifice, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14).
Brethren, I gave a sermon several years ago entitled, “We Are the Church of the Forgiven!” In that sermon, I explained how, on at least two or three occasions, Herbert W. Armstrong proclaimed before the entire Headquarters congregation and ministry that we—as a Church—often failed to emphasize the sacrifice of our Savior nearly as much as we should. Mr. Armstrong acknowledged that—in reacting to “mainstream” Christianity’s sole emphasis on the Person of Jesus Christ, rather than His message—he had unwittingly led us into an approach of “taking Christ for granted.” He stated many times that each of us must have a deep, heartfelt feeling of gratefulness for what Jesus Christ did in pouring out His blood for our sins!
Does this mean that we should not emphasize the powerful message of the soon-coming Kingdom of God in our preaching and writing? Of course not!
However, it does mean that we should make mention of Jesus Christ in our preaching, our writing, in our prayers and in our thoughts and actions as a vital part of that total message! For Christ will soon be the King of that coming Kingdom. By giving His very life and shedding His blood for us, Jesus is the One who gains us access to the Kingdom of God and eternal life in the first place! He is now our living High Priest and Head— guiding the Church in preaching the “Gospel of the Kingdom” and in honoring Him as well. So we must never forsake that vital component of the true Gospel! We must never water it down or hold back from pouring out our hearts to God in thankfulness and praise for giving His Son to reconcile us to Him and to help us gain access to the Holy Spirit and to eternal life.
So, we will continue to emphasize the message of the Kingdom of God—as we have always done. But, as thousands of “brand new” members come into the Living Church of God, it is my responsibility—as the one God used to raise up this present Work—to be absolutely sure that we do not “forsake” the emphasis which God’s inspired word places on the vital importance of Christ’s life and example, His death for our sins and His present work of living His life within us through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 2:20). All of us should periodically “examine ourselves” as to our relationship with Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Do you, dear brethren, fervently realize your personal need for forgiveness from your sins? Do you meditate on this and pray about it? Do you regularly “confess” your sins to God and ask Him to forgive them through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ?
Remember brethren, we all still sin! “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The Bible tells us to repent (Acts 2:36–38) and to confess our sins. As the Apostle John tells us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9).
How many of us get down on our knees regularly and pray to God, “Father, forgive me the sinner. Please apply the shed blood of Your Son to me. Through Your Spirit, please help me really overcome my own selfishness, vanity, lust and greed. Help me to overcome my ‘hurt feelings’ and attitudes of resentment against my brethren. Please clean me up and scrub me out and help me to reflect Jesus Christ far more in everything I think, say and do!”
This is the attitude of a true Christian! To be true Christians, we must genuinely appreciate and love Jesus Christ our Savior. We must be pleased to be Christians— called by His name. We must always be aware that we are the followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We must worship Him and adore Him and want to “walk” with Christ—and with the Father—now and forever.
Brethren, if we all learn to pray like this—and really mean it—then God’s Holy Spirit will be increasingly poured out upon us more than ever. The power of God will energize the Work of His Church more than ever. Then, we will not fall victim to the easygoing, self-sufficient lukewarm attitude of the Laodiceans. And each of us can build a deep, heartfelt relationship of love, thankfulness and trust in God through Jesus Christ our Savior and High Priest. For Christ truly is our wonderful Savior, High Priest and living Head.
