Questions and Answers
Since you believe that Mr Herbert W Armstrong had the ministerial rank of “apostle,” what is your response to those who believe that there is to be no further understanding or change after he died on January 16th 1986? Our original Q&A on this subject, as quoted in the first part of this series, covered 1 Corinthians 11 v 1: “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” In some other translations “imitate” is translated as “follow” and so the words follow and imitate seem to be interchangeable – but are they? Dictionary definitions are as follows: Follow: go after as an admirer; strive after; aim at Imitate: mimic; try and get as close to the real thing as possible; impersonators “Mimetes” is the Greek word translated imitate (see Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries). So we need to know – and be sure – what Scripture says and imitate any leader only according to revealed Scriptural instruction and not to add on any unnecessary, unwanted, unwarranted or personal opinions or baggage. The Christian life, as revealed in the Bible, is one of overcoming and growing spiritually toward the goal of being spiritually mature like Christ. God expects us, as Spirit-begotten Christians to be developing… Since you believe that Mr Herbert W Armstrong had the ministerial rank of “apostle,” what is your response to those who believe that there is to be no further understanding or change after he died on January 16th 1986? (Part 1) It is true that there are those who believe that understanding can only come through an apostle and since there are no apostles alive today, everything that was understood at the time of Mr Armstrong’s death is to remain so and any further understanding is not to be countenanced. Of course, some have declared themselves to be apostles (and prophets) but self-declaration is not tantamount to unchallenged approval. We have covered a number of matters via Q&A’s, editorials and member letters and it is worth mentioning these before we start looking at this overall question. Q&A – Some state that the Church of God must not change any of the teachings established by Herbert W Armstrong prior to his death in 1986. It is further stated that his doctrinal understanding has the weight of uncanonised Biblical truth. As a basis for this position, 1 Corinthians 11:1-2 is quoted. Our answer to this belief is set forth in the following response. The three periods of the year in which annual Holy Days fall are mentioned in Exodus 23:14-19. Note verse 19, which states, “‘The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God…’” (also, Exodus 34:26). While God requires an offering of all kinds of “firstfruits,” the emphasis in Exodus is of “the FIRST of the firstfruits.” In the more extensive presentation of the feasts of the LORD as found in Leviticus 23, we find the offering of the “wave sheaf” described (verses 9-14). It was to be presented as the very firstfruits of the harvest (verse 10). The timing of the wave sheaf offering was to take place following the weekly Sabbath associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That always placed this ceremony on a Sunday within the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the rendering of the King James Version for Leviticus 23:11 is: “‘And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.’” The idea conveyed here is that the wave sheaf was to be offered in the morning of the first day of the week. In actual fact,… Don’t Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14 teach us that Christ nailed God’s law to the cross so that we do not have to obey it anymore? Ephesians 2:15 reads that Christ has “abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances…” Colossians 2:14 reads that Christ has “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” The Authorized Version says that Christ “[blotted] out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us…” In a letter of the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God, the following comments were made regarding Colossians 2:14: “The ‘handwriting of requirements’… simply refers to the debt each of us owes for our sins (Rom 6:23; I John 3:4). Our individual, personal sins separated us from God and demanded the death penalty (Isa. 59:2). This debt of sin is what Paul said was ‘against us’ and ‘contrary to us’ (Col. 2:14), because it would prevent us from being in God’s Kingdom.” In an earlier and much more comprehensive letter, discussing Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15, the Worldwide Church of God wrote the… There are explanations from both sides on this issue. Let us examine what Christ said about the sign that He gave in regard to His messiahship. “But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’” (Matthew 12:39-40). So just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so Christ would be three days and three nights in the earth (in the tomb or a grave; “hades” in Greek). This was reiterated in Matthew 16:4: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah…” Let us look at the account of this event, as it pertains to Jonah: “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Notice, the LORD had… Some claim that this Scripture shows us that Gentile Christians are only obligated to abstain from the four things which are specifically mentioned in that passage, and that they are otherwise free from the “Old Testament” law. Others claim that today, they don’t even have to abstain from these four things anymore. However, Acts 15:19-20 does not teach anything of the kind. It quotes James as saying: “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.” This concept is reiterated in Acts 15:28-29. To fully understand this passage, we must review the context. The Jerusalem Council was held because the charge had been made by some that Gentiles could not be saved unless they became “circumcised according to the custom of Moses” (Acts 15:1) and unless they kept “the law of Moses” (verse 5; compare Acts 15:24). During the discussion, it was emphasized that God had called Gentiles to repentance irrespective of circumcision and the observance of ritual laws (verses 6-9). As mentioned, the discussion evolved strictly around the “custom of Moses”… The House of Judah rejected Jesus Christ when He first came to them—a fact foretold and indeed fulfilled! Yet, it was from among His countrymen—Jewish men and women—that Jesus first found those who came to believe that He was “‘…the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Mathew 16:16). There was a sense of expectancy for the appearing of the Messiah in the time of Herod the king. Luke, chapter 2, and Matthew, chapter 2, recount events which occurred in the land of Judea following the birth of Jesus—all pointing to prophecies about the Messiah. These things were known— they were spoken of by many people (compare Luke 2:17). It was knowledge of the Messianic prophecies which drew the attention of those who did follow Christ: “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’” (John 1:45). The apostle Paul identified himself as “‘…a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee’” (Acts 23:6). For a time Paul did not believe Jesus to have been anything more than a dangerous cult leader. Note what he says of himself: “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism,… In the last Q&A, we discussed the fact that even though God’s law is written in the heart of a true Christian, that does not mean that he or she can ignore written rules defining and explaining God’s law. We concluded by saying that we must follow God’s law, including its written rules, from the heart (Romans 6:17), and that we can only do so if God’s Spirit dwells in us. In this Q&A, we will discuss the practical consequences when God’s law is written in our hearts. In Old Testament times, God revealed the law of the Ten Commandments to the people, but since they did not have the Holy Spirit, they were unable to keep the spiritual intent of the law. However, God expected them to keep at least the letter of the law, but they were also disobedient in that regard. They sinned gravely, and sin is the transgression of the spiritual law (1 John 3:4). Because of their sinful conduct, God introduced a sacrificial system of ritual laws and regulations to remind them of their sins and to make physical amends (Hebrews 10:1-4). This system of ritual laws was only temporary (Hebrews 10:8-10). It included the laborious… Since the law of God is in our hearts, do we still need any written rules? Are we not to live by the Spirit, and not by the letter? It is a common misconception, and a very deceitful one at that, that Christians are not in need of any written rules, as (so it is claimed) they will automatically do what is right, since the law of God is written in their hearts. With this dangerously deceptive concept, traditional Christianity attempts to justify their claim that Christ came to do away with the rules and regulations of the Ten Commandments of the “Old Testament.” They state that today, Christians will just need to follow some nebulous and ill- or non-defined spiritual principles, without the need of any written rules. They even claim that this is so, as we are not to follow the letter of the law, but the Spirit. As we will see, the fact that God’s law is written in our hearts does not mean that there are suddenly no more written rules, which define the law of God. Rather, what is meant by this is that the written rules have become an integral part of the person; the true… In our last Q&A, we asked and answered the question whether footwashing is still necessary today as a part of the Passover ceremony. We pointed out that footwashing at Passover eve is indeed a command by Christ which is still in force and effect today (obvious exceptions apply, for instance, when a person is alone and partakes of the Passover at home). We also mentioned that the entire Passover service is in remembrance of Christ’s death, and that it is only to be observed by properly baptized true Christians who have received the Holy Spirit. Those who have not (yet) been baptized in accordance with Scripture should not participate in the annual Passover service. In our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” we stated the following on pages 10-12: “The Old Testament demands that no male who was uncircumcised was to participate at the Passover (Exodus 12:48). Even though physical circumcision is no longer a requirement for New Testament Christians, they are circumcised spiritually (Colossians 2:11–12; Romans 2:26–29). This can only occur through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which God gives us after proper baptism. Christ’s disciples had been baptized (even though, in the extraordinary case of…January 16, 1986–No Further Understanding or Change? (Part 2)
January 16, 1986–No Further Understanding or Change? (Part 1)
What is the Meaning of the Wave Sheaf Mentioned in Leviticus 23?
Did Christ Nail God’s Law to the Cross?
Was Jonah Alive or Dead in the Belly of the Whale for Three Days and Three Nights?
What is Meant in Acts 15:19-20?
Why Did the Jews Reject Jesus?
What Does It Mean to Keep God’s Law from the Heart?
No More Rules to Be Obeyed?
Should an Unbaptized Person Participate in Footwashing?
