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A Voice Cries Out Amid Religious Confusion: Part Eleven
WHATANDWHY
THE
CHURCH?
How could the world have become so mixed up? Out of this spiritual
wilderness, a voice críes out in clarity and power,
with the reassuring truth of the world's only and sure hope!
Editor's note: We are printing here,
serial/y, the new book by Herbert
W.
Armstrong with the same tille as this
series. The book wi/1 appear /ater in
bookstores.
Chapter7
Part Four
I
t is the function of the
CHURCH- as the spiri–
tual MOTHER of Chris–
tians in it- to develop
holy, righteous and perfect
Godly CHARACTER in those
God has called- those God
has added to the Church.
Remember, none
CAN COME
to Christ, except called and
drawn by God the Father
(John 6:44). Newly converted
members are not brought to
spiritual conversion by "sales–
manship" of human evange–
lists- are not "talked into"
March 1981
by
Herbert W. Armstrong
being "converted"- are not
emotionally high pressured by
high-powered evangelistic ora–
tory or fervor-or by emotion–
packed "altar calls" in evange–
listic crusades to the moanful
strains of a choir singing,
" Just as 1 am, I come, I
come."
You cannot find tbat sort of
MODERN
"Oid-Fashioned Gos–
pel" crusading either taught or
used to set us an example in the
New Testament! Yet people
today suppose falsely that is the
way Christ intended- the way
Jesus initiated.
Jesus
DID NOT
come on a
"soul-saving crusade!" NEVER
did He beg or plead with anyone
to "give one's heart to Him." At
Jacob's well in Samaria Jesus
spoke toa woman about the Holy
Spirit in terms of " living
water."
The woman said to Jesus, ..Sir,
give me this water, that
I
thirst
not." Here was a direct request
from an unconverted woman for
salvation and the gift of the Holy
Spirit. BUT J ESUS ONLY TOLO
HER OF HER SIN5-0F WHAT SHE
HAO TO REPENT OF! He did NOT
say, "Come to me, justas you are,
in your sins."
None CAN COME to J es us
except God the Father draws
him! All have sinned. Sin is
against Goo the Father. Sin must
first be repented of-turned
from!
Jt
is much more than
remorse for gui lt.
lt
is a matter of
being sufficiently SORRY to TURN
FROM the sin, overcome the sin.
This reconciles one to God on
faith in Christ.
It
is Goo the
Father who adds to the Church
such as He calls to be saved (Acts
2:47).
It
is Goo who sets mem–
bers in the Church
(I
Corinthians
12: 18)- not the emotional orato–
ry of the evangelist in the emo–
tional altar call!
God sets individual members
in His Churcb that His holy,
righteous perfect CHARACTER
may be developed in them. And
WHY? To prepare them to
become Goo BEINGS in the
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