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earth, which are now, by the same
word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men.
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of
this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise,
as sorne men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. But the
day of the Lord will come as a tbief
in the night; in the which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fer–
vent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be
burned up" (TI Peter 3:1-10).
Malachi adds, of that final de–
struction of the willful rebellious into
unconscious (Ecclesiastes 9:5) anni–
hilation:
"For, bebold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly,
shall be stubble: and the day that
cometh shall burn them up, saith the
Lord of hosts, that it shallleave them
neither root nor branch.... for they
shall be ashes under the soles of your
feet in the day that
r
shall do this,
saith the Lord of hosts" (Malachi
·4: 1-3).
The Name of the True Church
The NAME of God's true Church is
important-but not alone tbe exclu–
sive proof of identification, because a
small number of professing Christian
sects use the name. Yet the one and
only original Church founded A.D.
31 by Jesus Christ most certainly will
have the true NAME!
God names things and people what
they
are.
The "church in the wilder–
ness"-the
O
Id Testament church (or
congregation) was named the "con–
gregation of Israel" because it was
composed of the physica lly born chil–
dren of Israel. The two-letter word
of
denotes ownership or origin .
The New Testament Church orga–
nized by Christ is called, twelve
TIMES in the New Testament, "the
CHURCH OF Goo," sometimes with a
modifying word or pbrase such as
"the Church of God, which is at Co–
rinth," or the "Churches of God in
Judea." Today it is known as the
Worldwide Church of God.
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1979
The English word "church" is
translated from the Greek
ekklesia,
and the Greek word used in the origi–
nal writing of the New Testament
means, simply, a group, an assembly,
etc. , without specific reference to a
church.
At Ephesus, for example, the
city council-political-was called
an
ekk/esia,
with no religious conno–
tation at all.
The ONLY FACTOR that makes the
word "church" sacred is when it re–
fers to the Church of Goo-in other
words, the group, congregation, as–
sembly or church that BELONGS TO
Goo. It is Goo's name connected
with it that lends sanctity to the
name.
For example, the name "Roman
Catholic Church" means a universal
(catholic) church of Rome. The "Lu–
theran Church" is that group or body
of people following or established by
Luther. The "Methodist Church"
means (in its name) a group or
body of people following a certain
method. The "Baptist Church" by
name means a group or combina–
tion of groups who believe in bap–
tizing and who follow John the Bap–
tist. The name "Congregational
Church" simply implies a group of
people who believe the !ay people
ought to have the authority. The
name "Presbyterian Churcb" means
an associated group who believe the
"presbytery" of officiating clergy
have the authority.
The name "Church of God"
meahs that group of "called-out
ones," called out from this world.•
who look to Goo as the authority–
and who submit to government from
God through Christ, through (on
the human .leve!) apostles chosen
by Christ-NOT elected by the
people!
So there is vital MEANING to the
name of the true Church. And the
name is IMPORTANT!
In Jesus' last prayer to God before
being crucified, He prayed, "I have
manifested
thy name
unto the men
which thou gavest me out of the
world... . And now ... l come to
thee. Holy Father, keep through
thine own name those whom thou
hast given me, that they may be ONE,
as we are. While I was with them in
the world , I kept them in
thy
name ..
."
(John 17:6, 11-12). o
(To Be Continued)
REAL
CONVERD
(You
can'l
win the prize
unlessyou
start the racel
The apostle Paul likened the
Christian lite to a race which
must be run for the "prize"
of eterna! lite. A person does
not even begin his "race,"
however, until he has under–
gone a
genuine
conversion.
The New Testament concept
ol conversion involves much
more than a mere intellectual
or ritualistic acceptance ol a
set of beliels. True con–
version can be delined in
two parts. The lirst involves a
definite event which occurs
when God fulfills His promise
to place the Holy Spirit
within a person alter certain
conditions are met The sec–
ond part is a process which
continues through the CMris–
tian's lile.
lf
you'd like to
know more about the Bible's
teaching on conversion,
request the free booklet
Just
What Do You Mean-CON–
VERSION?
Write
to
The Plain
Truth.
(See addresses on in–
side front cover.)
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