If You Cease Doing the Work...
Back to The Work of God
Study carefully this statement from Mr. Armstrong, returning often to read its wisdom. May it sober and send chills through you. Strive to never forget it (italics mine):
“I have always noticed that those whose hearts—and their pocket books as well—are really in the work of God are the ones who remain spiritual, close to God, and who are growing spiritually. And, without exception, every single member of God’s Church who has ever lost interest in this WORK OF GOD—this work of carrying the Gospel to the world…begins to fall backward spiritually. Soon such people go off into false doctrines. Their understanding is closed. They begin to believe errors and lies. They become more and more bitter, unhappy, and they either go back into the world or they go into some false offshoot movement which bears no fruit, and fails totally to carry out the Commission of Christ—THE WORK OF GOD!”
“More Growth in the Church of God,” GN, March 1960
Since early 1993, when I was terminated from the WCG, it has been terribly painful to see so many depart from God’s Work, only to fall into seemingly endless, crazy prophetic ideas and false doctrines—exactly as Mr. Armstrong warned! Invariably, once people abandon the Work, they do go off into strange, odd, even bizarre theories and thinking. It has also been my experience that they do become bitter and unhappy. And they docease to “bear fruit,” because they fall into self-righteousness, criticism, attacking and outright condemnation of others. Their self-centered view contracts their universe to an inward focus, leaving them believing themselves right and all others wrong!
Amazingly, people who break off from supporting the Work, thinking they are “holding fast,” fall into serious false teachings that they cannot see. Also, I find it an astonishing irony that many still in the WCG believe thatthey must still do the work—albeit as Protestants do it, and without the truth—and, at the same time, many who at least profess to believe the truth will no longer do anything!
This is another of the great ironies of the Laodicean age.
Fatally Flawed—and Faithless—Logic
The question is how could this happen? Here is how such people fool themselves:
First, despite Mr. Armstrong’s teaching about the restoration of God’s government to His Church, these believe that His government can no longer be found. In effect then, they at least tacitly believe that the WCG’s apostate leaders held the power to destroy the government of God—to erase it permanently from Christ’s Church. Yet, false leaders could never destroy the government of God! Do you think that the omnipotent Christ of the Bible would remotely consider permitting wolves to hold the power to unseat Him as Head of His Church and Work? Believe me, there are faithless people of such thinking!
Second, and similarly, these people believe that the one true Church doctrine is no longer applicable in our time. In other words, they believe Christ now “is divided,” and that wolves also hold the power to do this—that the Body of Christ can be divided into hundreds of organizations and groups, contrary to the plain teaching of the Bible and Mr. Armstrong. Again, there are such faithless people (Matt. 16:18). Take a moment to read Hebrews 11:6.
The reality is that because of doctrinal compromise, brethren in the seventh era—those outside Christ’s Church and Body—are divided, will remain so and this will grow worse.
Third, they then conclude that, if there is no longer a single organization in which God’s government resides, they need no longer pay Him His tithes, let alone offerings. After all, if Christ is not present leading any oneorganization, there can really exist no further obligation to pay Him what is His. This time, read Leviticus 27:30, followed by Malachi 3:8-10, to remember one of the reasons that the end-time nations of Israel are cursed—and to be reminded of another reason you were called to assist in warning them! Now take a moment to carefully read both parts of I Samuel 15:23 about rebellion and stubbornness.
Fourth, these false teachings carry an automatic disregard of Hebrews 10:23-26, which explicitly warns that “forsaking the assembling of [oneself] together” is a willful—UNPARDONABLE—sin! Take a moment to read and reread this blunt passage. As with tithing, government and continuing God’s Work, some reason that if there is no one unified organization in which Christ is working, there is no further obligation to fellowship each Sabbath with any group—one can bounce around at will between organizations, “picking and choosing.”
Fifth, if there is no remaining government of God in place, comprised of qualified, faithful ministers and elders, under one servant whom Christ has chosen to lead it, there is no requirement (or need) to permit any minister or any ministry to ever again admonish, correct, train or teach anyone. How wonderful, natural, easy and convenient is this reasoning for deceitful human nature (Jer. 17:9), which hates being corrected and ruled, anyway (Rom. 8:7)! Take a moment to review Hebrews 12:6-12, focusing on Hebrews 12:8 and the word “bastard.”
As with the beginning of this book, this section concludes with a similar, sobering warning from Mr. Armstrong—and it works in concert with all his previous statements. He felt that as time grew shorter God’s people must press harder—not let up or quit because they grew “weary in [the] well-doing” of preaching the kingdom of God to a sick, dying world. Notice:
“In my over forty-six years’ intensive, rich, active experience, since God changed MY direction into HIS WAY, I have observed that the very first need of every Christian, who is to GROW and develop this spiritual character, is to have his heart completely in THE WORK OF GOD, which the living Christ has called His servants to do, as His instruments! Our ‘WORKS’ are our part in GOD’S WORK getting His true Gospel to the whole world as a witness preparing the way for Christ’s coming. We are merely His INSTRUMENTS. It is GOD’S WORK! Those who condemn ‘WORKS’ are condemning the Great God who is the actual DOER through us as His instruments and Coworkers! It is not, after all, our works!
“Those who are self-centered, caring nothing for the WORK OF GOD, having not enough outgoing concern to want to help GET CHRIST’S MESSAGE out to this blinded, deceived, dying world, fall away. Those who center their whole ‘Christian’ life and activity on developing their own selves spiritually, whose hearts are not in or concerned about this great OUTGOING worldwide WORK OF GOD, actually directed by the living CHRIST, develop only INWARDLY, until they shrivel up spiritually and fall by the wayside!”
What Will You Be Doing in the Next Life?, pp. 26-27
Looking Ahead
At this time, The Restored Church of God has gone on to experience an even more massive explosion in the scope and size of the Work that God is doing here. But this rapid increase has been underway for quite some time. You must recognize that there will come no other organization even close to being in position for God tolater do what He is already accomplishing in RCG. Here is why this is true. I will briefly whet your appetite for Chapter Seventeen.
First, understand that we are now experiencing a growth curve that could only be described as unprecedented in the history of the Work of God through all ages. This means that we are giving away millions of items annually on our websites as of this writing, having almost tripled in size for six straight years. But, more importantly, it means we are almost certainly on our way to tens or even scores of millions of pieces of literature distributed annually across the world on the very near horizon for this Work. Again, time has been proving this statement true for at least several years. This also means we have distributed more material annually since 2006 than all of the big splinters put together—almost certainly BY FAR!
All of this has meant a TREMENDOUS increase in the number of daily inquiries that we have been receiving, and of course greater growth in the Church has been occurring as a result. RCG itself actually grew by almost 26% in 2006 over 2005. Growth in 2007 was just over 16%. 2008 saw more than 28%, 2009 was just over 22%, 2010 was above 29% and 2011 was almost 21%. Such growth can only mean that the Church’s ability to expand its impact will grow exponentially. More laborers (ministers) in the harvest translates into even more laborers in the harvest after that—and thus grows both the Church and Work at a greater rate. Because of what THIS WORKmust yet accomplish, it could hardly be any other way.
What will happen in the years beyond simply defies projection! All those whose hearts are in the Work will find that there is no better and no more exciting place to be than RIGHT HERE!
Back to The Work of God