IT ISN’T INFORMATION THAT IDENTIFIES YOU AS A CHRISTIAN!

Anyone who has ever been a part of one of the Armstrong Churches of God will immediately recognize this ice breaker question when introduced to others within the culture: “How did you first learn/hear about THE TRUTH?” And we all understood exactly what that question suggested about what identified someone as a “TRUE” Christian (as opposed to all of those deluded “so-called” Christians who adhered to a more traditional understanding of what it meant to be identified as a follower of Jesus Christ). You see, for Armstrongites, a “TRUE” Christian was distinguished by his/her ability to understand and accept the teachings of Herbert Armstrong. The acceptance of this “TRUTH” was the proof/evidence that the Holy Spirit was working with you or dwelling within you! Folks who didn’t understand or accept those teachings simply weren’t being “called” or guided by the Holy Spirit!

Never mind that Christ clearly stated that it was the presence of an EMOTION that would identify his followers – NOT the understanding or acceptance of some package of doctrines! We read in the Gospel of John that Christ told his disciples: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35, NLT throughout, unless otherwise specified) So, according to Christ, it was this love for each other that would mark them as his disciples. Notice too, the ONLY understanding that he ever mentioned in this regard was the understanding that HE was the Messiah, the Christ! (Matthew 16:16-18)

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul also identified the presence of LOVE as being much more important than the depth of someone’s understanding. He wrote to the saints of Corinth: “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:2) He went on to say: “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless…Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:12-13)

Moreover, the Apostle Paul also wrote to the saints of Galatia about the fruits or evidence that would characterize those who had God’s Spirit dwelling within them. He said: “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Notice, please, that knowledge or understanding didn’t even make the list!

Likewise, in the first epistle of John, we read: “If anyone claims, ‘I am living in the light,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” (I John 2:9-11) A little later, we also read: “If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So, we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.” (I John 3:14-19)

So where did this fixation with spiritual understanding originate? The short answer is: “in the mind of Herbert Armstrong!” The longer answer is found in Mr. Armstrong’s interpretation of a passage from Paul’s first letter to the saints of Corinth. According to Herbert, the prooftext for this notion about the understanding of certain things being the thing that identifies one as a Christian is found in the second chapter. We read there: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.” (Verses 9-16, KJV)

Laying aside Herbert’s musings, let’s look at the context of these remarks and examine what kind of deep knowledge is imparted to a person by the presence of God’s Spirit. And both of those things are accomplished by simply reading the eight verses which precede Herbert’s favorites (quoted above). Paul wrote: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (I Corinthians 2:1-8, KJV) So, we see that this information which the Spirit imparts to the human mind involves “Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Which, of course, is consistent with what Christ revealed to his disciples about who he was, why he came to this earth, and what that meant for us (hint – salvation)!

And we should make one additional point about THE TRUTH before we close. Jesus Christ once told Thomas: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) So, we see that Jesus Christ is the ultimate manifestation of God’s TRUTH!

In other words, there is absolutely NO suggestion in this scripture that the understanding and acceptance of a package of teachings (more particularly, those of Herbert Armstrong) are indicative of one’s status as a “REAL” Christian! Christ once told his disciples: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So, every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:15-20) What kind of fruit has the Armstrong Church of God tree produced? Do we see evidence that the members of those churches love each other? Do we see evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control among these folks?

Judging whether someone belongs to God or not is above my pay grade. Maybe that’s why Christ insisted that his followers NOT judge each other? After all, who are we to judge another man’s servant? Moreover, Christ did give his followers the Parable of the wheat and tares and suggested that it would be the job of his workers (angels) to separate the weeds (false Christians) from the grain (the folks who were really his) at the end of the age! Hence, I would say that Scripture clearly refutes the notion that spiritual understanding is the hallmark of a “TRUE” Christian. What do you think?