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Differences with other churches
People often ask why churches are separate. For the serious Bible student these differences are important. These differences are based on serious disagreements in Bible understanding and interpretation. Christ indicated that every word written in the Bible is not written in vain, but needs to be considered.
“ But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
(Matthew 4:4, KJV)
The Bible is a large and complex group of literature, and it takes a great deal of study to comprehend all it's writings. The letters of the apostle Paul are particularly misunderstood by many. One needs to be educated into a broad understanding of the background of the Old Testament scriptures and the times and cultural influences to begin to understand Paul correctly. The apostle Peter saw how religious leaders misunderstood the sacred writings:
“ 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
(2 Peter 3:16, KJV)
A full understanding takes a long study, particularly to undo the misunderstandings, but we will deal with the most obvious signs and differences.
Keeping the Commandments
While many churches may claim that the Law is done away, even the Commandments, it is easy to prove that the Commandments are NOT done away. Christ would disagree with these churches in the strongest terms.
“17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”
(Matthew 5:17-20, KJV)
The first difference then between the Church of God (Seventh Day) and many other churches is a commitment to the keeping of all the Commandments of God, as combined and summarized in Exodus 20.
Keeping the fourth Commandment
The next logical difference then is the acknowledgment of the seventh day Sabbath. We have three witnesses showing us which day is the seventh day of the week. They are firstly the typical international business calendar, secondly the naming of the days of the week according to the celestial planets in terms of importance and influence on the earth, and thirdly the continual habit of the Jews from the times of the Exodus. Since the Sabbath is one of the Commandments, the Church of God celebrates the seventh day Sabbath as God commands us.
We do not follow the added laws concerning the Sabbath as found in the Law of Moses, to be implemented in the land of Israel. By the decision of the Jerusalem Conference as can be seen in Acts 15, we are not bound to keep the Law of Moses. Therefore our observance is not as restrictive as those of the Jews. We neither pay serious attention to the added rules of the oral traditions, or the Talmud. We recognize that Christ took some of the Jews to task on their restrictive observance, making the Commandment burdensome beyond it's original intention. Christ indicated that certain essential services need to continue, and that if the calf is in the pit, we need to work to get it out. We therefore do not advocate that people in an integrated economic situation need to loose their jobs and surrender their families to poverty and even starvation. We do not advocate holiness by ritual, but an honest recognition of the truth, and a wise and prudent effort at moving as much work out of the Sabbath, and making time for God and family on the Sabbath, to make it a joy.
The second difference is therefore the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, compared to those Churches that keep Sunday, the first day of the week.
Among the Sabbath keeping churches, there are differences between the Church and several other major groupings. We will deal with some of them.
Seventh Day Adventists
One of the main concerns is granting undue importance to the works and writings of William Miller and Ellen White. They made several prophesies concerning the end of the world and the coming of the Messiah. William Miller for instance set the date for Christ's return at 1844. Since some of their prophesies proved to be false, we do not regard any of their work as authoritative, as the Bible instructs us.
“ 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”
(Deuteronomy 18:20-22, NIV)
We therefore reject any special significance in Bible prophesy to the year 1844. We believe the provision for salvation was complete when Christ died, rose from the dead, and returned to the third Heaven.
Pagan practices
A further concern is that we should avoid all pagan festivals and practices. From encyclopedias one can learn that practices like Xmas and Easter celebrations do not have any Biblical origins, but has in fact its origin in the pagan practices of other non-Christian religions. We therefore do not keep Easter, Xmas, Halloween or any non-biblical festival or ritual. From the Word of God we can see that His Will requires us NOT to incorporate religious practices of other religions into true Christianity.
“2 This is what the LORD says:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.”
(Jeremiah 10:2-4, NIV)
The Trinity doctrine
A further concern stems from their recent introduction of the Trinity doctrine in certain areas. We believe that the Father is the most high God, and Christ is His subservient Son. This has always been the case, and will always be the case. The Trinity doctrine reduces the full realization of the spiritual implications and emotional reaction to our sin Sacrifice. The word “Trinity” does not exist in the Bible, but this doctrine was gradually introduced a few hundred years after the first Advent of Christ.
Worldwide Church of God
The Worldwide Church of God built by H W Armstrong underwent major doctrinal change during the middle 1990's. Today there are many different offshoots.
Keeping the Holy Days?
One of the main differences is that we disagree with the addition of the keeping of the Jewish Holy Days (John 2:13, 5:1, 6:4, 19:42) as a requirement for salvation. These Holy Days of Israel were given by God to circumcised Israelites (Exodus 12:48) through Moses to be implemented by the Levites, and to be kept at the “place the Lord shall choose” (Deuteronomy 16:16), Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 7:12-16). The apostle Paul kept the Holy Days because he was a circumcised Jew. Most of us are not Jews, and by the decision of the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15) we are not under the Law of Moses. We disagree with the notion that a church has the power to indicate “the place” as anywhere else, but Jerusalem. The idea of selecting holiday sites around the world and alleging that the “Lord has decided to place His Name there” may be seen by the serious Bible student and even the Jews as quite preposterous.
However we see no harm in allowing extra worship oppertunities as we are able, but 100% attendance is not required for salvation. We understand that the gentiles were allowed into the court of the gentiles in the Temple in Jerusalem, and we henceforth have the priviledge to avail ourselves of the opportunity to hear sermons on the Holy Days. However, to propose that we must be willing to loose jobs in order to attend is not required accoring to the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15), for we are not under the Law of Moses.
Grafted into Israel?
A further error is the doctrine that Christians must be grafted into Israel. This stems from a wrong understanding of the following verses in Romans 11. Speaking of the Christians from gentile nations, Paul had the following to say:
“22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. “
(Romans 11:22-25, KJV)
According to Armstrong's theology the gentiles were grafted into Israel. Notice how illogic this argument really is. If Israel were removed, does that not mean that the gentiles were removed as well, since they were supposed to be grafted into Israel?
The truth is that Israel was grafted into the promises to Abraham which implies Christ. Note the following verse:
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 10:1-4, KJV)
Israel was planted into Christ during the Exodus, but due to their rejection of Christ when and after He came in the flesh, they were removed from Christ, and us gentiles have the opportunity to be grafted into Christ.
Our position
The Church of God (Seventh Day) has been careful to avoid apostasy on the one hand, and extremism on the other hand. The basic statement of beliefs has been maintained since it's formation in the 1800s, and we have not hurt anybody with doctrinal error or misplaced religious fervor.
