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They Ignore God the
Father...DoYo
u?
There are two basic common and universal errors in the preaching of the "Gospel"
by this wor/d's "Christianity."
W
HAT ARE THE two most
niversal errors in the pro–
aiming of the "Gospel" by
the various sects and denominations
of traditional Christianity today?
1) They ignore God the Father,
and 2), they proclaim a FALSE GOS–
PEL- in which God the Father .is
mostly ignored. The Gospel
of
Jesus
Christ is the good news that Jesus
Christ, as God's Messenger, brought.
In other words, the message Goo
THE FATHER sent to mankind by His
Son and Messenger (Malachi 3:1) to
mankind.
Jesus said plainly, "I speak that
which 1have seen with my Father ...
for 1 proceeded forth and carne from
God; neither carne
J
of myself, but he
sent me" (John 8:38, 42). Again,
Jesus said, " The words that I speak
unto you 1 speak not of myself: but
the Father that dwelleth in me, He
doeth the works" (John 14:10).
In the first sermon Peter spoke to
gentiles, he said, "The word [Gospel]
which God sent . .. preaching peace
by Jesus Christ ... " (Acts 10:36).
That message from God the Fa–
ther was not proclaimed
to the world
from the middle of the first century,
when it was suppressed, until the
middle of the 20th century. Then,
after going to the United States coast
to coast, it began, January 7, 1953,
reaching all Europe.
What has been proclaimed?
MAN's "gospel" about the Person of
the Messenger, but omitting His MES–
SAOE, which carne from God the
Father.
Now how else do they ignore God
the Father?
They preach Christ-but Him
only.
Let me explain something here.
There are
two
w
A
vs ·of life: 1) the
way of GETTING, receiving, acquir-
May 1980
by
Herbert W. Armstrong
ing- the way of SELF-centeredness;
and 2) the way of GIVING, of helping,
cooperating, sharing, of outflowing
LOVE-which is the way of Goo–
centeredness.
Now how do they of traditional
Christianity preach?
Assuming that this is the
only
time
of salvation, they plead with people,
"RECEIVE Christ"- in other words ,
"GET," not "GIVE."
They believe the blood of Jesus–
Christ 's death,
gives
LIFE. But LIFE
cannot come from death! Notice
Romans 5:10: "For if, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to Goo
[the Father] by the death of bis Son,
much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by bis LIFE." We are
not saved- given eterna! life-by
Christ's shed blood-by His death.
We are reconciled to Goo THE FA–
THER by Christ's death.
How is that? The penalty of SIN
is death. Sin /S the transgression of
God's LAW (1 John 3:4). There is
ONE Lawgiver. Nor Jesus, but God
the Father! When we sin we are
cur OFF FROM Goo THE FATHER!
That is what modern "Christianity"
ignores. All have sinned. All have
put an impassable WALL between
themselves and God the Father. We
must be reconciled to God
first,
for
it is HE who has eterna! life to
give!
How may we be reconciled to God
tbe fatber? By REAL REPENTANCE.
Repentance is toward Goo the
Father, and faith is toward Jesus
(Acts 20:21).
Once we truly REPENT, which
means a complete change of ATTI–
TUDE, way of life and purpose, then
our faith in Jesus Christ and His
shed blood for payment of the penal–
ty of our sins, destroys that impassa–
ble wALL between us and Goo the
Father- and we then may receive
His Holy Spirit- after we have GIV–
EN our li.fe, through repentance and
faith , to Christ, who bought and paid
for it by His DEATH.
Then our salvation-gift of eterna!
life- is made possible by Christ's
RESURRECTION- by HIS
L/FE!
But this world's Christianity
thinks it may receive eterna!
lije
from Jesus' DEATH, and from Jesus
ALONE-leaving out the fATHER.
And once converted--changed–
what then? We must KEEP reconciled
to Goo by obedience to His Law. lf
we make a slip, or fall down along the
way, then IF we "confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins" (I John 1:9).
Of course, traditional Christianity
has lost sight of Goo's LAw and of
what constitutes SIN. Tbey ignore the
fact we must be first reconciled to
God THE FATHER!
None can cometo Jesus for eterna!
salvation, except God the Father first
draws him!
Jesus said plainly in John
6:44: "No MAN
CAN
come to me,
except tbe Father which hath sent
me draw him."
It
is God tbe Fatber who decides
whom He shall call.
It
is God the
Father from whom we have cut our–
selves off by transgressing His Law.
It
is the Father who has the Holy
Spirit to give. The sinner must first of
all, upon being called, REPENT–
cbange his mind and attitude in
regard to sin, and obedience to God's
WAY OF LIFE!
How does God cal! one? He
DRAWS one (John 6:44) by the mag–
netic POWER of His Holy Spirit,
working externally from outside one.
Through His Spirit, God
convicts
one. On the very day Christ founded
the Church, Peter had preached a
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