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Encounter with "Church of God" missionaries.... - 11/14/2008 3:25:05 PM
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Holiday
Posts: 36
Joined: 5/15/2005
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Hello, I was leaving the library the other night at my college campus and I was approached by a young man and woman. They told me they were recruiting people for some kind of school with the word "elohim" in it. Immediatly they launched into a discussion about "did I know about the Mother God?" and so on and so forth.
I began to get right down to the point. I asked them if they were followers of Christ. They said yes they were, but they explained that for them, followers of Christ kept the Passover. This led to a 20 minute or so discussion on salvation.
The point I was making is that they were adding to salvation by telling me that I needed to not only keep the Passover, but the festivals of the old testament as well. I asked them which day they went to church, and of course, they told me "we keep the Sabbath" -
I countered their points with distinctions between the Old and New Covenants, pointing out that Christ is the fullfillment of the law, and that as followers of Christ and believers in Christ, Christians did not need to keep the ceremonial laws of the old testament.
The one point that they made that hit home with me was simply this: they stated that their faith in Christ was expressed by keeping the Passover, etc. They stated that this was the expression of their faith. They asked me, "so you just believe in Jesus - no thats not enough, you must have your faith rooted in an action...." the action they taught was to keep the law. I asked them, "so what you are telling me, is that Jesus gave us the power to keep the Law?" - to which I recieved a resounding "YES!" -
They were very nice and the conversation was pleasant. I enjoyed the chance to preach a little grace to these people and the pure simplicity of Christ's life living in us. I asked them about the man on the cross next to Christ - and how he didn't keep the Passover but was justified by faith alone. They said the reason we know about that is because God said that he was going to be with him in Heaven that day we can trust that he will be, but that God's message to every other person (other than the theif on the cross is "keep the Passover"......)
I asked them if salvation in their system was Christ + Law. They said, "no it is Christ alone, evidenced by keeping the law" - I thought that was a strange twist. In other words, they were using their adherance to the law as a proof of their own salvation!
The conversation ended when I politely declined to take literature from them. We shook hands and blessed each other. All of us went away smiling.
But, I have been wrestling with the concepts they brought forth and wanted to post here to see if anyone else has ran into this paticular brand of mother God, Zionistic, festival keeping, passover group.
Who are these people? The told me they were "Church of God" but I didn't think that denomination was like this.
Any thoughts?
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RE: Encounter with "Church of God" missionari... - 11/14/2008 3:53:42 PM
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Bluethread
Posts: 1666
Joined: 11/8/2007
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"The Worldwide Church of God" or "the Moonies" have been around for decades. This is a tight nit organization that works as much like a business than a church. I have had few contacts personally, but have heard that these individuals will say anything to recruit followers and/or aquire money.
_____________________________
"Show me wherein I have errored and I will hold my tongue." Iyov(Job)
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RE: Encounter with "Church of God" missionari... - 11/14/2008 6:11:27 PM
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tomhillbilly
Posts: 233
Joined: 3/18/2008
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I agree with these people to a point. Jesus fulfilled the law but he also said he did not change one bit of it. The law still applies which is evident in the need for repentance.
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RE: Encounter with "Church of God" missionari... - 11/15/2008 6:42:34 PM
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Johnny_
Posts: 395
Joined: 11/26/2006
From: California
Status: offline
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There are certain sects of the Church of God and Church of Christ demoninations that are considered to be cults. Those that contain extra-biblical activities and/or strict regulations within the mode of the church. However, not all of them are cults, you should check their individual doctrines and beliefs.
Now in respect to the Law, I would agree with Tomhillbilly. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the law was never changed. In other words, Jesus did not come to abolish the law. With that said, I don't think the law is a requirement for Christians since we now have Jesus Christ, but the law should still be written in our hearts.
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RE: Encounter with "Church of God" missionari... - 11/15/2008 7:44:06 PM
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Holiday
Posts: 36
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
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The law was the schoolmaster that showed us our sin. The law was meant to show us our need for Jesus, as no man could keep the whole law. The law and the sacrifical system were all symbolic of Christ's eventual giving of himself in our place, as our perfect sacrifice. There is no keeping of the law for those under grace. The is no justification by the law, unless we keep it perfectly, which none of us have. None of us except Jesus.
Many say, "I am going to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and do the things He did and be like him, etc." This is what the COG missionaries claimed they were doing by adhering to the Passover, citing the verses where Christ spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in the gospel of John.
The New Covenant mandate is that we BELIEVE ON JESUS, not try to follow in His footsteps and be like Him. We are supposed to rest in the work He did, and rest from our works unto salvation. The Scriptures show us that our righteous deeds are filthy rags to God; the only work He accepts is for us to receive His Son as our Savior.
Those of you who posted above on the law need to take a further look into what you are actually saying, as it appears from your posts that you also, in some way, seem to be relying on some acts of righteousness on your own parts to be saved or stay saved.
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