Counter Counter Argument -- "How can Ahnsahnghong be the Christ?"

By special request from a World Mission Society Church of God member, I will be addressing several key points and counterarguments that the WMSCOG uses to respond to objections.

We can call this the counter-counter-argument series.

Let's start with the argument:
Many people, upon hearing the teaching that Ahnsahnghong is the "Second Coming Christ" say something like, "How can this be? He is just a Korean man! It's hard to believe!"

Now let's consider the WMSCOG's counter-argument (with quotes from The True WMSCOG, though the ideas appear on many websites) and responses to each part:

It's just like 2000 years ago...

"Today, 2 billion people in the world easily believe that a 33 year old Jewish carpenter... is the Christ.... When Jesus appeared 2,000 years ago, the people at that time did not see the glory of God, but instead they saw a 'mere man'."

Yes, it is true that when Jesus walked the earth, many people did not believe in Him as the Christ (Messiah), but now we (Christians) believe in Him. Many do not believe in Ahnsahnghong as the "Second Coming Christ," but that has no bearing on whether he actually is or not.

There are numerous people in the world who have claimed to be the Christ. They could say the same thing, "It's like 2000 years ago! People did not believe Jesus then, just like they don't believe me today!" That doesn't mean anything.

But let's look beyond that because their point is that is was possible for people (like the disciples) to know that Jesus was the Christ. They could know because of the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus's teachings.

Apply the same standard...

"Now, the reason I believe that Christ Ahnsahnghong is the second coming Christ, is based on the standards by which the disciples were able to recognize Jesus at His first coming.
1. Christ Ahnsahnghong fulfilled the prophecies of the second coming
2. Christ Ahnsahnghong taught the words of eternal life"

1. The Prophecies
This is a circular argument because the "prophecies" that the WMSCOG use are verses that they themselves interpret in such a way to fit Ahnsahnghong. You will not find these "prophecies" from other established and well-regarded Bible scholars.

I've written extensively about these "prophecies," but please let me know if you think there's one I've missed or need to give more attention. You can find these posts on my index page. In short, the "prophecies" do not work.

2. The Teachings
Ahnsahnghong's teachings are flawed, which shows that he is not God. I've written multiple articles about different problems in WMSCOG doctrine (see the index), not to mention this list of mistakes.

But when the WMSCOG says Ahnsahnghong "taught the words of eternal life," they really mean that he "restored the Passover." This is also incorrect because a) the Passover did not "disappear from the world" or need to be restored, and b) it's not the act of eating a bit of bread and drinking a bit of wine that saves us.

I'll be examining more of the WMSCOG's counterarguments in the near future. If there is one in particular you'd like me to address, please say so!

Christmas Resources for a Balanced View

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy to all the people.  Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'" -- Luke 2:10-14

To a Christian, Christmas is not about presents (though generosity is good) and trees with ornaments and lights (though they are pretty).

It's not about Santa and his reindeer and elves (though it can be a fun game for some).

It's not about snow (though it would be beautiful, it never snows at my house).

It's really not even about being with family (some do not have any) or the date of December 25 (we can't even be sure when exactly Jesus was born).

Why?  It's a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.  Without His birth, there would have been no crucifixion, no resurrection, no triumph over sin and death, no salvation for us.

Those other things can be nice, but you can celebrate the birth of Jesus without any of them.  All you really need is a heart that remembers the great wonder of God, being born as a baby so He could pay the price for our sins because He loves us so much.

The World Mission Society Church of God is not the only anti-Christmas group.  When we are confronted by those who wish to condemn Christmas for being pagan, a product of Satan, and a holiday that has no place in a Christian's life, there are three paths we might take:

1.  Believe it all, and become scared that we have fallen for Satan's trap, and abandon Christmas altogether.
2.  Ignore it all, and staunchly maintain the Christmas traditions we've always followed, though are unable to say why.
or
3.  Do some balanced research, become educated, and view Christmas from a new perspective.

Since my sister has been with the WMSCOG, and anti-Christmas for 8 Christmases now, I have been doing my research.  I still believe in celebrating Christmas, but now I do it from a new and more balanced perspective.

If you also have been put in the position to be researching Christmas, you've probably already been inundated with anti-Christmas arguments.  Here are some resources you might like that will help you with a balanced view:

The Catholic Encyclopedia on Christmas (very balanced)
Christmas Reconsidered
A Critique of Hislop's The Two Babylons (a common source of arguments for the pagan connection)
Message from the author of Babylon Mystery Religion (another source for pagan arguments)
Silly Reasons to Abandon Christmas
Origins of Christmas Traditions
The Star of Bethlehem Documentary (youtube video)

My previous posts about Christmas:
Christmas Thoughts
Christmas -- Repsonding to WMSCOG Comments

By the way, did you know God said this in the Bible?
"The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir, and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet." -- Isaiah 60:13

During the physically dark time around the winter solstice, these verses show very meaningful symbolism that would point people to the true God.  Consider:
"because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." -- Luke 1:78-79
and
"the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned." -- Matthew 4:16 (Jesus fulfilling what was said in Isaiah 9:2)

May you have a blessed and meaningful season.

Conversation with Cyrus, a WMSCOG member

In my previous post regarding clues that the World Mission Society Church of God is false, one of those commenting was "Cyrus."  Cyrus is currently a member of the WMSCOG and is willing to engage in conversation to clarify some points.  Thank you, Cyrus!

Our conversation will take place right here, through the comment section of this post.  I hope it will serve as a good source of information for the rest of our readers here.  However, I respectfully request that the comments on this post be limited to just Cyrus.  For anyone else who wishes to comment about this conversation, please visit the forum (examiningthewmscog.com/forum), or send me an email.  Thank you!

First, some ground rules, Cyrus, for you and me:

• Each comment should be made in two parts, a response to the previous point and the raising of a question.
• Response -- We should respond to the question that was last put forth, keeping in mind the purpose of explaining and encouraging understanding and not simply fighting.  Also, please avoid using phrases such as "You don't understand because you are not one of God's chosen" (more examples here).  We can also respond to the previous response, as long as it doesn't include an additional question that needs an answer.
• Question -- We should ask a question, either to further pursue the issue, or raise a different point.  For the ease of following the conversation, please limit the question to one point.  Do not ask a question related to your response and ask a new question as well.
• If we think the other's response is incomplete, inadequate, or needs to be clarified, first we should answer their question (give our response), then our question should concern the previous response.  In other words, don't avoid their question in order to focus on their response.  In this way, we should never be talking about more than two topics at once.
• Timeliness is nice, but life is busy.  A delay in answering should not be taken negatively or cause concern, unless there has been silence for more than two weeks.

I hope that is all clear.  Thank you, again, and now let's get started.  You posed the first question...

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"Let us make man in our image... Male and female He created them" Genesis 1:26-27. "the Spirit and the bride say come... Take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22. The bride of christ is His bride. Guests are invited to the wedding supper, not the bride. We are the guests. Right?

My response:
The first part of what you wrote (Gen. 1:26-27) is about the word Elohim.  I have written about that here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.  I'm going to focus on your question about Revelation 22.  I understand your question to be, "We are the guests at the wedding supper.  Therefore, doesn't someone else have to be the bride of Christ?"

I have heard the WMSCOG say that the Church cannot be both the bride and the guests at the wedding.  But please consider this...

God is called the father of the Israelites, but God is also called the husband of Israel.  But how can the Israelites be both the children and the wife of God?  It doesn't make sense, does it?

It does when you consider that individually, the people were counted as God's children.  But corporately, together as the nation, they were considered as God's bride

In the same way, individually, we are each invited to become part of the Church, the body of believers.  But corporately, together as the Church body, we are the bride of Christ.

God uses descriptive language to help us understand our relationship with Him.

I hope you are able to understand that this is a valid, alternate interpretation of the same verses.

My question for you:
The WMSCOG teaches that there are two distinct Gods.  How do you reconcile that with verses such as these which declare there is only one God?  (Note that all of these quotes use the singular word for God.)
"For I am God, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:22 and 46:9)
"Is there a God besides me?  Indeed, there is no other rock; I know not one." (Isaiah 44:8)
"Before Me there was no God formed; nor shall there be after Me." (Isaiah 43:10)
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God," (1 Timothy 1:17)

Ok, your turn.  Please remember the two parts, response and question.

What the WMSCOG Requires for Salvation (Preaching is Vital)

If you have a loved one who's a member of the World Mission Society Church of God, you might wonder:
Why do they spend so much time at church?
Why do they do so much preaching?
Why do they try so hard to do the will of God (as the WMSCOG interprets it)?
Why do they give so much money to the church?
Because they are taught that they will only enter heaven if they are obedient.  If they are lacking in perfect obedience, then they believe they are at risk of losing their salvation, and that's a serious fear.

There are numerous verses showing us that our salvation comes only by the grace of God.  It is God's gift to us (grace) and not something we can earn (by our works).
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" -- Eph. 2:8.
"Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." -- Rom. 4:4-5

Knowing that the World Mission Society Church of God places such a high emphasis on obeying all the commandments of God, I have often wondered what they think of God's amazing grace.

In talking with the WMSCOG, they do acknowledge that salvation is by God's grace.  And occasionally, I can find written statements like this:

As ministers of the new covenant, we are like the baton, and God is the Conductor who holds us and accomplishes everything for our salvation....  Therefore, we should continuously give glory and praise to God for blessing us with salvation. We were sinners who couldn't save ourselves, to say nothing of others....  It is not by our works that we are saved and bear fruit....  And we should praise God the mighty Creator who made the universe and everything in it and saved us by His grace.  (from Sing Praise to God)

However, when I consider the rest of what the WMSCOG teaches, it becomes clear that their idea of grace, and my idea of grace (as a Christian) are vastly different.

When I examine what the Bible teaches about God's grace, I see that I cannot earn my way into heaven.  It's God Himself who has blessed me with salvation by His grace.  I have it already, and nothing I do can add to it or earn it.  Though I should try to live in a way that pleases God, my failure at perfection does not affect my salvation.  Salvation is given first, then good works follow.

I'm reminded of an analogy I once heard about our efforts to "help" God "pay" for our salvation.  It's like being presented with a gift of a luxury automobile worth $1,000,000.  When your benefactor pays for the car, you thank him for the gift, but say, "No, no.  Please let me help you pay for that.  I have a few quarters in my pocket...."  And he says, "No.  I know you could never afford this, that's why it's a special gift.  Don't cheapen it by trying to help pay with your quarters."

On the other hand, when I read and hear what the WMSCOG teaches about God's grace, it's more like this.  God has given you the opportunity to be saved.  God, by His grace, has made salvation available.  As long as you show you are worthy by obeying ALL God's commands (and don't forget about believing in "Heavenly Mother" too), you may receive God's gift of salvation and enter heaven.  Salvation is available, but obedience gets it for you.

Using the same car analogy, we might picture our benefactor purchasing the car for us, but we are not allowed to actually receive the gift until we've shown him that we can save up $1,000,000 in our bank account to prove that we are worthy of it.

If you have a loved one in the WMSCOG, then you've likely already seen their striving to be worthy of that salvation.  But just in case you wonder if that's what they are really being taught, I'll leave you with quotes from the WMSCOG themselves.  There are a great many, so I'll try to control myself and not list them all, but I want you to see just how much they emphasize this.   (And you are free to look up the sources and check the context for yourself.)

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"However, only those who fully obey God's word can be said to truly believe in God....  If one defers doing the will of God, he is detestable and disobedient and unable to escape destruction." (from A Hesitating Faith and an Entrusting Faith)

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"No one can be perfect without obedience....  Salvation is based on obedience....  Salvation is impossible apart from obedience." (from According to Your Word)

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"We must keep in mind that we do not belong to God when we fail to wholeheartedly follow His teachings."  (from Become a Greater Vessel)

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"Washing feet [at Passover] might seem insignificant, but actually it is an important ceremony established by God for our salvation....  Only he who does not slight the least of God's words is worthy of being chosen by God."  (from God's Chosen Ones)

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"If one speaks thankful words, he will be one step closer to heaven; if he utters grumbling words, he will be one step closer to hell."  (from Learn to Be Content)

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"If we obey God's word, we will go to heaven, our eternal home. If we don't, we will be punished in hell."  (from Let Us Know the Love of God)

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"Those who do not keep the Sabbath cannot acquire the citizenship of heaven....  Jesus will turn His face away from them, saying, '...Do you know the reason why I have not granted you heavenly citizenship? Have you ever kept the Sabbath holy?' ... It is a qualification for the citizenship of heaven to celebrate the Passover....  He opened the way to the forgiveness of sins through the Passover of the new covenant....  Here is one more necessary condition for the heavenly citizenship-knowing God's name and celebrating God's feasts such as the Sabbath and the Passover."  (from Let's Acquire the Citizenship of Heaven)

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"When our Master comes back and settles accounts with us, we should all please and satisfy Him as ministers of the new covenant, saying, 'We have gained ten more talents by leading many souls to heaven.' Then He will say, 'Well done! You are worthy of My sacrifice.'"  (from Like Christ)

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"If we do realize that we are grave sinners, we shall serve others through our life. That is the way to expiate [atone for] our sins....  Never give up the opportunity of preaching which is God's sacred command and the way to receive the forgiveness of sins."  (from Lord!  I Am a Sinful Man!)

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"Obedience is a necessary qualification to enter heaven. God, who is righteous and just, is ready to fulfill the gospel work when our obedience is complete....  We must obey everything that God has commanded us, even the least thing.  God told us, "Be joyful always," and "Be united in love for one another." We have to obey these words, too....  When we forsake our own thoughts and submit joyfully to God's will, we can complete our salvation....  The 144,000 are the people who fully obey the word of God with joy and thanksgiving."  (from One Man's Obedience and One Man's Disobedience)

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"I believe that you, all the people of Zion, will have no regrets when you go back to heaven and confidently say that you have made every effort to preach the gospel. I hope all of you will live a life without regret, completely obeying God's will and saving all people around the world, as well as your family, relatives and neighbors. Then we will all be greatly loved and complimented by our Heavenly Father and Mother." (from Regret for Things That We Have Not Done)

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"However, we cannot acquire eternal life without laboring for it; the crown of eternal life cannot be given to us without effort."  (from Remain Faithful to God Until the End)

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"When we remove all the impurities of our soul, we will receive spiritual blessings from heaven and become worthy to return to our heavenly home....  As the children of God, we must not only keep all of God's commandments but also purge away all our dross, in order that we may enter the kingdom of heaven. [dross = 'the evil and impurities of our soul,' 'everything that God does not proclaim as holy'] ... No one can be a spiritual being in the kingdom of God unless he is purified from the impurities of this world."  (from Remove the Dross from the Silver)

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"Now, we need to examine ourselves to see if we have faithfully tried to bear such beautiful fruit of enlightenment every moment since we were called by God....  If we have born no fruit unto God for many years, we are not worthy of His call. [fruit = a new convert] ...  Haven't you awakened enough souls to be worthy of God's call yet? Don't worry. You can start now."  (from Role of one person)

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"In other words, there is no salvation, no eternal life, for those who do not observe the feasts."  (from Salvation is Given to Those Who Celebrate the Feasts)

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"If we disobey even a single command of God, we will end up being like Esau who gave up his birthright."  (from The Firstborn of Heaven)

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"It is the duty of God's people to thank God always. As God gave us the command to 'remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,' so He also gave us this command: 'Give thanks always.' ... Those who complain can never enter the kingdom of heaven."  (from The Gifts of God)

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"In order to enter the kingdom of God, we should always pay attention to God's word and carry out His will....  There are many wills of God recorded in the Bible. It is God's will that we should keep His commandments, laws and decrees. It is also God's will for us to have a disposition and faith worthy of God's people. Above all, there is an important teaching from God, which we should practice in order to enter the glorious kingdom of God. [1 Thess. 5:15-18]  ... He who is full of complaints and is not joyful or thankful can never enter the kingdom of God. Only the person who is always joyful and thankful in the will of Father and Mother can go to the kingdom of heaven."  (from The Kingdom of Heaven We Are Going to)

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"The Bible teaches us that no matter how eagerly we may believe in God and however passionate our faith may be, if our deeds are not good, we will never be saved....  We must obey everything God has taught us, without neglecting it, no matter how small it is."  (from The Life of a Christian)

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"As the watchmen of the truth, let us follow God's command to save the world by leading all people to Zion where Elohim our Father and Mother dwell, who protect us from disasters through the Passover of the new covenant and give us the blessings of eternal life, so that we can repay Elohim for Their grace."  (from The Mission of Watchmen and Signs of the Present Time)

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"What is most pleasing to God is to lead dying souls to repentance and salvation. So, if this work of salvation is not processed well, how anxious and grieved God must be!  Unless we have such a burning heart, it is proof that the Holy Spirit has left us.  Even until the end of the year, if we bear no fruit or have no will to bear fruit or don't feel anxious, we should reflect on ourselves: ‘What's wrong with me?' ... [Let's] judge if our souls are alive or dead according to whether we have borne fruit or not." [remember, "bearing fruit" = recruiting a new convert]  (from The Work of the Holy Spirit Is Fulfilled through Preaching)

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"Only those who are spotless and blameless after Father and Mother are worthy to enter the holy city....  Unless we fully resemble God, we will be rejected by them and weep bitterly. We are to have the marks of Christ-suffering, loving heart, tireless enthusiasm for preaching the gospel of the new covenant day and night."  (from Those Who Resemble God)

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"Considering the above verse [1 Cor. 9:16], preaching is the whole duty of us all, isn't it? Unless a watchman performs his duty, he will be killed by the enemy or punished by death according to martial law. Likewise, unless we carry out our mission of preaching, we may lose our salvation....  As Christ's workers, let's faithfully fulfill our duty as a watchman and try to save many souls by using the talents God has given us, like the Apostle Paul did, so that we can all bear much beautiful fruit and attain salvation."  (from Time to Preach)

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"Since Jesus says we cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are born again, 'being born again' is the most urgent task for those who hope for heaven. Of course, we must obey every teaching God has given us in order to be born again, but unless we become gracious in our speech, we may fail to enter the kingdom of God....  The kingdom of God is really not a place where we can go just by spending time doing nothing. Since Jesus has clearly said that we cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are born again, we should make continuous efforts to be reborn. If you fail after trying once, please try twice, three times and more, forcefully advancing towards the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing we can't do if we try ten times or more."  (from Unless We Are Born Again)

Letting your light shine...or seeking glory from men?

I've been thinking lately about the emphasis the World Mission Society Church of God puts on its community service activities.
Yesterday there was a missionary visiting my church.  He shared about the work God has been doing through his ministry in another country, taking care of abandoned babies and rescuing children from living in sewers.

It's not an uncommon thing to hear Christians share about the good that different ministries are doing around the city, around the country, and around the world.  It maybe providing meals to those in need, helping victims of natural disasters, donating money for good causes....

There are a few good reasons for spreading the news about these things.  It encourages people to see the good that's being done.  It inspires them to get involved themselves and do something to make a difference in the world.  It draws attention to the needs in this world and let's us know ways we can help that we may have been unaware of before.  It brings attention to God and displays His goodness.

On the other hand, there is a danger of going too far in spreading the news about good works.  When the emphasis turns from being encouraging, inspiring, and God-honoring to being prideful, attention-getting, and building up one's own reputation... there is a problem.
It's the difference between
Matthew 5:14-16, "...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
and Matthew 6:1-6

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly....

We are not to flaunt our good works to receive praise from people.

Have you ever visited the World Mission Society Church of God website and seen their list of awards?  Here it is on their English website.

Now, I know God is the judge of men's hearts, not I.  But to me, such a list of "Awards Received" has the appearance of seeking "glory from men," especially considering how the list is made.

When I analyzed the list, there were a total of 113 awards listed.  Of those 113, one is from 1995, one is from 2001, and the rest are from 2002-2011.

Now consider this... many of those awards are actually multiple awards for the same event or 'good deed' listed separately.  For example, the Mayor of Daegu gave a plaque to the WMSCOG and a letter of appreciation to its volunteers in thanks for their help regarding the "Daegu Subway Arson Tragedy" in 2003--that is listed as two awards.  Or likewise, the WMSCOG received plaques of appreciation in 2003 from both the Mayor of Kimcheon and the Head of Yeongdong County for helping the flood victims of typhoon "Lusa"--also listed as two awards.  (Incidentally, there was no typhoon "Lusa" in 2003, but there was a typhoon "Rusa" in 2002, which the WMSCOG lists 2 additional awards for.)

Here are a few other examples:

• 5 awards are regarding Typhoon Maemi in 2003.
• 6 awards are regarding heavy rain and flooding in August 2002.
• 5 awards are regarding the 46th North Gyeongsang Province Sport Festival (2008)--all 5 of those are from the governor of the province and dated July 22, 2008.
• At least 8 awards (possibly 2 more) are regarding the 8th Busan FESPIC Games held in 2002--and 6 of those are from the "Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Busan" dated Nov. 1, 2002.
• And 22 awards (!) are regarding the 2003 (22nd) Daegu Summer Universiade--many of those sharing the same source and date, such as the 6 awards from the "Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism" dated June 25, 2004.

Therefore, at least 46 of those 113 awards are from these 5 events alone.  This is a little like a country winning the Olympic gold medal for ice hockey, but wanting to count it as 23 gold medals--one for each player.

It's also interesting to note the delay in the award date compared to the event date.  For example, that Summer Universiade in Daegu was held in August of 2003, yet 10 of the awards for it were given in June and August of 2004.  Then there's the award from the Mayor of Busan regarding the 14th Busan Asian Games dated Sept. 5, 2003, yet those games were held in Sept-Oct of 2002.  And don't forget those awards for typhoon "Lusa" received in 2003, which probably refer to typhoon "Rusa" which occurred in 2002.

Yes, it's interesting, isn't it?  It made me wonder if the World Mission Society Church of God is trying to inflate their award count, and perhaps requesting awards and recognition for services performed.

President's Volunteer Service Award
If you are wondering the same thing, you might want to check out one of their latest awards--from "The White House Washington," the President's Volunteer Service Award.  It's right at the top of the list on that page of awards, and on the church's Korean website it's displayed quite prominently.

There is an informative article about it here.  And here is information about the award itself.

It turns out this award from the President is available to anyone for the asking.  You basically just have to perform the required number of service hours (you are on the honor system here!), request your award package, pay a small fee, and there you have it!

I don't want to minimize the award too much.  When used properly, it's a nice token of appreciation for someone who is involved in community service.  I know my children would feel quite special to earn one, and I would congratulate them for it.

However, when all it really takes to get one is to sign up as a "Certifying Organization," tally up the hours of your volunteers (verifying them yourself--or not), and submit an order, you can see how the process might be misused by someone trying to increase their own prestige.

Think about it... the award is only supposed to be given to U.S. citizens who have performed a minimum number of community service hours (unpaid and not court-ordered).  But certificate packages can be ordered BLANK!  Yes, that means any name can be written on the certificate!

The English website only shows only one Presidential award, for the WMSCOG, but the Korean website shows two.  The award missing from the list on the English site is the one that has Kim Joo-cheol's name on it.  (I find it hard to believe that Mr. Kim is a U.S. Citizen.)  Plus, the award for "World Mission Society Church of God" displays a "Lifetime" level award (the "Call to Service" award), which is not available to groups.  It's enough to give this award a suspicious appearance.

Update September 1, 2012 -- I just noticed that the English website now shows both awards, but the problem still remains.  A group is not eligible for a "Lifetime" level award ("Call to Service"), and even the most basic award is only available to United States citizens.

Update November 1, 2012 -- I'm adding screen shots of the awards as displayed on the WMSCOG's English awards page, just for the record.

Update November 17, 2012 -- The WMSCOG has put out a new video called "Come to Heavenly Mother," which shows the President's Call to Service Award featuring the name "Zahng Gil-jah."  Remember, only United States citizens are eligible for this award.  Are we to believe that Zahng Gil-jah and Kim Joo-cheol are both United States citizens?  Here's a screen shot of the award.

Moral vs. Ceremonial Law

I've written before about the list of requirements for salvation, according to the World Mission Society Church of God.  But the more I learn about the WMSCOG, the more I see how inconsistent they are with their teaching and practice.

The WMSCOG says that ALL God's commands must be obeyed in order to gain salvation.

• "Even though this regulation [the veil] seems minor, it cannot be neglected. None of God's commands were instituted meaninglessly. All of the regulations were given to God's people because they are necessary for our salvation and allow us to enter the kingdom of God." (from Fundamental Truths: Veil)
• "There are numerous people in the world who claim to believe in God. However, only those who fully obey God's word can be said to truly believe in God. We often see many people say they believe in God but deny Him by their actions." (from A Hesitating Faith and an Entrusting Faith)
• "Christians must always live according to the word of God. God told us not to add or take away from the words of the Bible because He put all the means for salvation together in the Bible....  Salvation is based on obedience."  (from According to Your Word)

Yet the experiences of myself and my friends show that in practice, they do NOT follow ALL God's commands.  I'm not talking about the ones they say changed with the New Testament, but regular commands for our way of living.  For example, here are a few that we've seen...

• They accept, and even encourage, members pursuing marriage with unbelieving non-members.  However, the Bible says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers..." (2 Cor. 6:14).
• They accept a member's divorcing an unbelieving spouse, even though the unbeliever does not wish to divorce.  However, the Bible says, "...if any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her...." (1 Cor. 7:12-13)
• They (at least in the congregations we know) do not preach to certain kinds of people, such as the elderly in nursing homes, the very poor, the mentally handicapped, and those in prison.  However, the Bible says we have a God who is "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9).

I've often wondered why the WMSCOG puts so much emphasis on what we would call the ceremonial law--keeping of days (Sabbath, Passover and Feasts), rituals (footwashing, veil), and traditions (women and men separated during church, timing and order of services), etc.

But the moral law doesn't seem to matter--life choices (like marriage and divorce), behaviors and attitudes (like disdain for certain classes of people).

That's opposite of the mainstream Christian churches who consider the moral law priority, and the ceremonial law unimportant.  No wonder we have such a hard time talking to each other about obedience!  We have radically different ideas of what to obey!  Why is that?

In reading Ahn Sahng-Hong's book, The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life, I finally realized why.  Here it is, are you ready?....

Ahn Sahng-Hong said that keeping the moral law is not necessary for salvation!  That means he believed you must keep the ceremonial law (such as the Sabbath and the Passover) to be saved.  BUT if you did not keep the moral law (laws against such things as stealing, lying, adultery), even though you'd get in trouble with society, you would still have your salvation.  Those types of sins don't really matter in regards to salvation.  Here's exactly what he said on pages 431-433 (chapter 32),

"As long as we do not break the new covenant, we are set apart from sin.  What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?  Not at all.  Although a sin is not taken into account under the new covenant, it may be counted under the law in human society.  In order not to be condemned or punished by society, we ought to observe the old law or the law of the world.  Moreover, we ought to do what the people of the world regard as good, for the sake of the gospel....  

"Moral law is not directly related to salvation.  However, if there were no moral law, the church would be in disorder and the light of the gospel would be hindered from shining in the world.  It is not by keeping the moral law that those who preach the gospel in this world can become God's children and be saved.  Even though they keep all the law, it cannot lead them to the kingdom of heaven but just helps them keep their present status while they live in this world."

Does the World Mission Society Church of God really mean what they preach--that ALL God's commands must be obeyed for salvation?  No.  In this case, they seem to agree in practice with their founder Ahn Sahng-Hong who taught that obedience to the moral law was not required.  In doctrine, though, they disagree with Ahn Sahng-Hong when they teach that all God's word must be fully obeyed.

Galatians 4:26 -- Part 5

Well, I hope my internet browser is going to work today long enough to get this posted.  Now where were we?....  Ah, yes...

Galatians 4:26  "But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother."
So we've seen already some of the WMSCOG's misinterpretations regarding how Abraham repsresents God and how Isaac was chosen as heir.  The WMSCOG then goes on to explain how since Isaac was born from the free mother, so must we become a child of the "Heavenly Mother Jerusalem" (aka "Mother God") so that we can have the inheritance of eternal life.

But what is the message Paul really has for us in this verse?
I suggested it earlier, but if you haven't already read the book of Galatians, go ahead and read it, the whole thing.  It's not that long.  Then focus in again on the passage in question, chapter 4, verses 21-31.

First of all, Paul says in verse 24, "These things are to be taken figuratively...."  That means he's speaking in symbolism and allegory.  He's already warned us not to take the example literally--it's a metaphor.  "The women represent two covenants."  He tells us directly that he's going to use this metaphor to compare two covenants.

"One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.  Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children." (Gal. 4:24-25) 

He is using Hagar and the present city of Jerusalem to represent the Law, the covenant with Moses.  Those who trust that following the law will save them are slaves to that law.

Ishmael was born to the slave woman, Hagar.  Abraham and Sarah knew God had promised them a son, but it wasn't happening.  So they used their own efforts to make it happen, through Hagar.  There was nothing special about Ishmael's birth.  It's not unusual for elderly men to father children.

Those who trust in following the law, are also trusting in their own efforts to save them, just like Abraham and Sarah, through Hagar, used their own efforts to get a son.  But Ishmael was not the son that God had promised them...

But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother....  Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise....  Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. (Gal. 4:26, 28, 31)

Sarah was the free woman, and Isaac, her son, was not born in the ordinary way.  Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac was born.  How can a 90 year old woman become pregnant and bear a son?  Only by a miracle of God.  When God promised them a son, it was Isaac he had in mind.  Isaac was born to fulfill that promise, and it was Isaac, not Ishmael, who became the heir of God's special covenant. (Gen. 17:19-21)

The descendants born to Abraham through Isaac were children of that promise.  By our faith, we Christians are considered the "spiritual seed" of Abraham, and we are heirs and children of God's promise too. (Gal. 3:26-29)

But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” (Gal. 4:30)

The one who strives to accomplish salvation through their own efforts by following the law ("the slave woman's son") will not be able to share the inheritance of God that is only available to the one who has accepted God's gracious gift of salvation, by faith and not because of their own efforts ("the free woman's son").

Hagar and the "present city of Jerusalem" stand for the Jewish church at the time, which relied on following the law (think of the Pharisees), and likewise for all the current churches which teach that salvation must be earned by following the law.

Sarah and the "Jerusalem that is above" stand for the true church (not talking denomination here, but the general body of believers), which is in a state of freedom (see also Col. 2:14).

This fits with the theme of the book of Galatians.  By faith we are set free from slavery to the law.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1)

Galatians 4:26 -- Part 1

It seems the WMSCOG is constantly quoting Galatians 4:26 to prove that there is a "Mother God":
"But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother."

What does that verse mean?  Does it indicate another God, the "Mother," as the WMSCOG claims?
Those are the questions I wanted to explore in my studies.

The first thing to do, before examining the details of the WMSCOG's interpretation, was to read it myself in context.  And not just the whole of Galatians chapter 4, but to read the whole book of Galatians--it's only 6 chapters long.  If I read the whole book at once, it will help me get a clearer idea of Paul's message.  (You can read it for yourself, too.)

This is a letter written by Paul to the Galatians when he had heard that they were turning away to other gospels.  He warns them not to accept any gospel other than the truth that Paul had given them, even if it appears to come from a trustworthy source. (Gal. 1:6-9)  He continues throughout his letter to compare the freedom we have in Jesus Christ with the slavery of being under the Law.

I'm going to pull out some verses and main points...

This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. (Gal. 2:4)
We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. (Gal. 2:15-16)
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Gal. 2:21)

ALL of chapter 3, here's verse 11: Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”
and verse 18: For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
and verses 21-22: Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Comparing heirs and slaves, Gal. 4:1-7, here's verse 7: So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Concern that they are turning back to slavery, Gal. 4:8-9...Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Using Hagar and Sarah to compare the Old Covenant and New Covenant, slavery to the Law vs. the promise of freedom through faith. (Gal. 4:21-31)  Here are verses 23-24a: His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.  These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants.

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Gal. 5:4)
The acts of the flesh compared to the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:13-26, here's verses 17-18: For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
and Gal. 6:15...Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.

When you look at the book of Galatians as a whole, it is not talking about the existence of a "Mother God" at all.  The passage about Hagar and Sarah is just one example among many points in Paul's message that we are not under the regulations of the Law any more.  We are free, no longer slaves to obeying the Law!  We can know the grace of God through faith.

More about Galatians 4:26 next time...

Click here to go on to Part 2.

The Sabbath, Part 3

I was just rereading what I wrote last time and realized it might be a little unclear. So I revised a little. Hope it helps.

Romans 14:5 says, "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." We are not to judge each other on this matter. But I wondered, what would make someone choose either Saturday or Sunday as the "proper" day?

Regarding Saturday vs. Sunday, I've seen that the various views of churches fall into these categories:

• The Sabbath was kept on Saturdays throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it must be kept on Saturdays now. That is the Biblical day, despite the efforts of the Church to change it to Sundays.
• The Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday by apostles in the early church. It is clear that God approved this change (perhaps even meant it to change), and therefore we must keep Sabbath on Sunday, and not Saturday.
• The Sabbath does not need to be a particular day of the week. To work 6 days and rest on the 7th means that we must have one day a week for a Sabbath. It could be any day, even Thursdays, just as long as you keep a Sabbath every seventh day.
• The Biblical Sabbath has always been on Saturdays, but Jesus fulfilled the law for us. The Sabbath is one of the ceremonial laws (like the Feast days) and it was not re-commanded (is that a word?) by Jesus, and so we are no longer obligated to it. We choose Sundays to gather together in worship as a continual memorial to the Resurrection.

Can you think of any other category for viewing the Sabbath? If you know of one I've missed, please share.

My children are studying for a Bible quiz, and one of their questions is,
"Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath?"
Their answer is,
"Because Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath, we worship on the day of His resurrection."

You can see then, the teaching of the denomination I attend falls into the fourth category. But the more I study the Sabbath, the more I can understand each of the viewpoints. But I thank God that He is a righteous judge who looks at our hearts. We are not to judge each other on this matter.

The funny thing I've noticed about my life, is that although Sunday is my special day for worship with my church family, I am so involved in different ministries at my church, that it is definitely NOT a day of rest. It turns out that Saturday is the day I can really find rest from my busy week. So in a sense, I've got both--Saturday AND Sunday. Interesting how it worked out that way...

Read a little more about the Sabbath here.

The Sabbath, Part 2

The Bible is so rich and deep. There is so much to study and learn from it. I wish I had more time, but I’m glad for the time I have, and I’m also glad for my family and the other responsibilities that God had blessed me with. After all, we can’t study ALL the time, or there would be no time to put it into practice, right?

So last time I was here looking at the Sabbath and saw that in Romans 14 and Colossians 2, Paul warns us not to judge other believers on their keeping of days. That would cause division and stumbling.

The World Mission Society Church of God wants us to believe that if we don’t keep the Saturday Sabbath, then we are not saved, not going to heaven. But if we are not to judge each other on the keeping of days, doesn’t that mean our salvation is not linked to keeping the Sabbath (on Saturday or any other day)? How do we gain salvation anyway?

This takes us back to whether it is faith or works that saves us. And as I’ve shown before, we are saved by grace through faith, not by any works that we do. (Eph. 2:8-9)

The WMSCOG says that God commanded the Sabbath to be kept on Saturday, and so Sunday worship is a “rule of men,” from Matt. 15:9, “They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

But if you look at what was happening in Matthew 15, you see that Jesus was criticizing the Pharisees for imposing their own rules and traditions on the people, making them additional requirements to be acceptable to God.

Sunday worship is NOT a requirement earn salvation or be acceptable to God. It is NOT a “rule of men” in this way like the WMSCOG would have us believe.

We do not keep Sunday worship because we are obligated to, under the law upon pain of death (like the Sabbath laws). There is NO command in the New Testament to keep ANY special day, Sunday or Saturday or any other. We keep Sunday worship because we LOVE to worship our Lord Jesus and remember His resurrection. The principle of the Sabbath is still there—a day for rest and focus on the Lord, once a week. But the legal requirement of the particular day is gone.

That’s what I see.

Whichever day we set apart to the Lord, we remember that our observation of that day is not a matter of salvation. It is Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins—that’s what has provided our way to heaven. We as believers serve the Lord everyday of the week, but for our spiritual and physical well-being, it is a good idea to give one day out of seven as a specific time for rest and worship. One day out of seven--that is the way we take our Sabbath rest.

But again, let me emphasize, that the Sabbath rest is like any other commandment in this way: They are given so that we may "enjoy long life" and "so that it may go well with you" and so that we may learn to "fear the LORD" (Deut. 6:1-3). It's Jesus' work on the cross which provides salvation (our eternal life with God), not our work in keeping all those commandments, including the Sabbath.

I’d like to focus next time on the day of the week—Saturday or Sunday. What would be the reasons to choose one or the other?

Click here to go on to Part 3.

The Sabbath, Part 1

The keeping of the Saturday Sabbath is one of the World Mission Society Church of God's main doctrines. They believe that long ago the Christian church changed to keeping the Sabbath on Sundays to satisfy sun-worshippers, that worship on Sunday is basically a scheme of Satan, and that Jesus and the apostles kept Saturday Sabbath so we must also. They say that Saturday Sabbath is one of the marks of Jesus' true church, and therefore a church that worships on Sunday cannot be a true church of God.

I’ve been studying about the Sabbath, and oh my goodness! I knew there were differences of opinion, but I didn’t know it was such a BIG controversy! And with many so adamant about either Saturday or Sunday, and each view point using scriptures, history, and logic to support it… How is someone like me going to sort through it all? There’s only one way—going straight to the Bible to see what it says and read it for myself… and pray that God would give me clarity.

Are Christians required to keep the Sabbath, and should it be Saturday or Sunday, or could it be any day of the week? What can we understand about this directly from the Bible?

The first thing to note is Romans chapter 14. I can’t copy the whole chapter here, but if you have the opportunity right now, go read it. It’s all about judging others about what they do or don’t do according to their faith. At that time in the early church, one of their big controversies was about what to eat—the dietary laws. In talking about whether or not we should judge others about their diets, Paul mentions days of worship as being similar.

Romans 14:1-6
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

Now, I’ll let you decide which has “weak” faith – the man who “considers one day more sacred than another” or the man who “considers every day alike.” Either way, if he is “fully convinced in his own mind” and “does so to the Lord,” then we are not to be the judge. It is God who will judge His own servants because it is God who knows their hearts.

Romans 14:20 says, "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense."

Since Paul equates the day of worship with this food issue, I think Paul would also say…
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of the day to worship. All days are worthy of being used to worship God, but it is wrong to cause someone else to stumble because of your insistence on the “right” day.

In other words, the difference in which day to go to church should not cause such division among Christians as to destroy the work of God and cause others to stumble.

Colossians 2:16-17 has a similar tone…
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

I think that’s enough to get started, but this is a big topic. I’m sure it will take several posts to get a thorough look….

Click here to go on to Part 2.

An Interesting Comment about Sin

I have been noticing a change in my relationship with my sister over the last couple months. I hope it's a good change... She's been calling more often, a lot really, to say hi and chat and also has gotten back into reading the Bible with me. The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG, or COGWMS, if you'd rather) has somewhat faded into the background. We don't talk about it much at all, which has cut down on the stress, but it's still like a big elephant in the room. We know the disagreement is there and we're just ignoring it for now.

It was our project last summer to read through the Bible beginning to end. Well, the summer got busy and we only made it to about Job. All winter long, she was too busy, so I waited and waited, and now this summer we are back with our reading. It's been nice to be reading the same book and be able to talk about the interesting things we find in God's Holy Book... and we've made a point not to debate about it, just to see what's there.

I was recently talking with my sister after we had each read through the book of Ecclesiastes. And we had a short exchange about a couple verses which I thought revealed something about the WMSCOG view of sin.

We noticed Eccl. 7:20 which says,
For there is not a just man on earth who does good
      And does not sin.
This is not the only verse which tell us there is no one without sin. (If our salvation was based on what we do, how well we obey God, well, we would ALL fail and be lost. That's why we must be saved by our faith in what God has done for us--paying the price Himself for our sin.)

Then we noticed Eccl. 8:5,
He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
      And a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment
God's commands were put in place to protect us and help us live a successful life.

After reading these two verses, my sister said...
"So even if we sin, if we are obeying God's command, we will be ok."

Read that again...we can sin and obey God's command at the same time?
How can you sin and obey at the same time?
I think it's because they don't really count ALL of God's commands as necessary for salvation. They say they are ALL necessary, but I think they only focus salvation on the ones that are visible on the outside--attending the feasts, the veil, tithing... Not the ones that are internal, like avoiding lust, hate, worry...

What do you think? Have I got it right?

UPDATE--Yes, I was right.  See "Moral vs. Ceremonial Law."

What Ahnsahnghong said about Faith

Another problem from Ahnsahnghong's book, “The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life”:

Chapter 32, Page 435 (English/Korean edition)
“According to the law of faith, our salvation is guaranteed once we are justified by faith in Christ…. According to the law of faith, once a believer has the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus, his salvation is guaranteed.” [quote from John 5:24] “When we carefully study the words above, we can clearly see that salvation depends on faith, not the deeds of the law. This faith is not what the general Christian churches believe, but the conviction that we have redemption through the blood of the new covenant which Jesus made with us.”

If the church claims that its founder is God in the flesh, shouldn’t they follow what he teaches? Is this what the World Mission Society Church of God teaches, that salvation depends on faith (through the blood of Jesus) and not deeds, and that you cannot lose your salvation? No, they teach that a person must physically eat the bread and wine of the Passover every year, and not just Passover, but ALL the feasts of God, and all the “Law of Christ,” and every commandment no matter how small.

The WMSCOG website itself says (concerning the veil), “Even though this regulation seems minor, it cannot be neglected. None of God's commands were instituted meaninglessly. All of the regulations were given to God's people because they are necessary for our salvation and allow us to enter the kingdom of God.”

The WMSCOG then, also contradicts its own founder, Ahnsahnghong.

Faith and Works--Part 2

It's been pretty hard to get real answers from a World Mission Society Church of God member when I ask about confusing or questionable doctrine, but I did finally get an answer about this one...

How is it that the WMSCOG says that you must obey ALL of God's commandments in order to get to heaven, when the Bible so clearly says that our salvation comes by God's grace and not our own actions? It is God who makes us righteous. We cannot do it ourselves.

Here's the explanation I was given (my paraphrase)...
Yes, it it God who makes us righteous by His grace. Our actions are not what makes us righteous. But the way He extends that grace is not simply by our belief and trust in Him and the sacrifice of Jesus. God has given us commands (like the Passover). We must obey what God has told us to show Him that we have faith in Him. He has told us what to do, and when we do it (ALL), then we show we have faith in Him, and then He will give us His grace.

Ok, now think about that.... It circles right back to works--our salvation depending on our own actions (such as physically ingesting the Passover bread and wine, on the right day, at the right time). It is not really free grace at all.

So how then do we reconcile salvation by faith, with the verses that tell us how important works are?
James 2:14-19
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

John 15:5-8
5 ″I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

Luke 6:46
"But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"

Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We are saved by grace, through faith, when we believe and trust in Jesus.
Romans 10:9-10
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

If you truly love God and believe in Him, your life will show it. Your life will start to change so that you will live in a way that pleases Him. You will WANT to do good works and obey Him. You may not always succeed, and you may have a different impression of how to obey God than the Christian standing next to you. But your heart will be in the right place.

1 Samuel 16:7
...For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

If you say you believe God and love Him, but you live your life in a way that shows no regard for the way He wants you to live, if you don't care about what He wants you to do and only want to do your own thing--then you may need to examine yourself and see if you really love Him or not. Perhaps you are just saying so, but it's not in your heart.

And so there is an important difference here....
According to the WMSCOG, you obey God so that you can be saved.
According to the Bible and mainstream Christianity, you obey God because you are saved.

Faith and Works--Part 1

Psalm 130:3 (NIV)
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O LORD, who could stand?

There is NO WAY any of us can be good enough, do enough, to earn our way to heaven. As you can see, if you try to follow ALL of God's commands, you will inevitably fail. It's not just attending church and tithing and other things that show outwardly. It's also (and especially!) about the heart, our attitudes and motives.

Think you have finally conquered sin in your life? Then you are lying to yourself...
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

If you are relying on what you do--following ALL of God's commands--so that He will save you. Well...you are not going to make it. You can NEVER be good enough that way. What hope is there then? God gives us salvation not because of what WE do, but because of what HE has done. He will give us that salvation freely by His grace and mercy when we believe in Him and accept Jesus' payment on our behalf for our sins--by FAITH, not by works.

Romans 3:23-24
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Galatians 2:21
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians 5:4
You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

2 Timothy 1:9
[God] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace...

John 6:28-29
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Romans 4:2-5
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness

Romans 9:30-32 (NIV)
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.

Are those enough examples for you? It's clear through Scripture that it's not our actions that save us, but God's grace through our faith.

Click here to go on to Part 2.

The Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ

With all of the requirements of what a World Mission Society Church of God member must do in order to get to heaven, you might ask them why they are so busy following the law.

The answer I got was that they do not follow the Law of Moses, but the Law of Christ. From 1 Corinthians 9:21 (NIV), "though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law." So when the New Testament talks about us not being justified by observing the law, they say it means the Law of Moses (which was given in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). They will agree that they are not bound by the Law of Moses anymore, but they must follow the Law of Christ.

They use verses like these:

1 Corinthians 9:21 (again), "to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law" --Paul is under the Law of Christ!

1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." --We must do everything as Jesus did, follow His example in everything, like when he went to the Temple on the Sabbath (Saturday)!

James 2:14, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?" --See you can't get to heaven by just believing! (so they say...)

What do they say is the Law of Christ? I haven't gotten that complete list, but they do say the Law of Christ includes...
*keep the Saturday Sabbath, NOT Sunday
*keep ALL the Feasts of God, especially Passover
*keep them on the exact right day, in the exact right manner
*be baptized in the new name
*women must wear veils in church or praying
*DON'T celebrate Christmas, Easter, or any other manmade traditions like these
*pay your tithe to the church
*do anything else that God commanded, no matter how small it seems (except things that Jesus changed, such as dietary laws, circumcision, and animal sacrifices)
*and don't forget, you must worship the "Mother God"

Those I've asked say it's not hard, just a day--Passover--oh and Saturdays, the Sabbath. But question them further, and they admit that it is more than that, really.
And if it is ALL that God commanded, then it must also include those commands that I wrote about yesterday.

If that's true, it's a very heavy yoke to bear. Who can manage to keep ALL those commandments ALL of the time?

But what if we look to see if the Bible tells us more specifically what the Law of Christ is? Do a search for "Law of Christ" in the Bible (BibleGateway.com is useful for this), and here's what you'll find:
Galatians 6:2
"Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

That's it--carry each other's burdens. It's about love.

Now I'm going to search for "command" in the Gospels and see if there is any other specific command...
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
John 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:17 "These things I command you, that you love one another."
--It's about love.

Mark 12:30-31 (This is in Matthew 22 also)
"And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”
--It's about love.

Mark 10:19 (This story is repeated in Matthew 18 and Luke 18)
"You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’"
--When Jesus talked about the laws (of Moses), this is what He mentioned. Nothing about Feasts or Sabbath. It's about love.

Jesus did not tell us all about how important it was to keep the Sabbath and Feasts faithfully. He told us how important it was to love and have a right heart. Loving others is even harder than loving God. Especially when those others are enemies or otherwise...unpleasant.
It's relatively easy to go to church on special days, pay your tithe, and wear a veil. It is NOT easy to love! Who can do this perfectly?

The WMSCOG says that if you keep the Sabbath and the Feasts, then you will also be keeping all the other commandments, including loving God and others. But this is not true. Our actions do not always match our heart. Have you ever known anyone who could go through the actions of love, but not actually love in their heart? I have.

That was exactly what the Pharisees were doing--all the actions of following the law, but without a heart of love.

Praise God, He saves us by His grace, and not according to how well we keep His commandments--including loving others!
More about grace next time...

What is required according to the WMSCOG

In thinking about how we are saved, how we will be able to enter heaven, this is what the World Mission Society Church of God says, straight from their main church website (WATV.org), from the page about the veil, under "Word & Truth":

"God gave us this veil regulation as a sign representing God's authority. Even though this regulation seems minor, it cannot be neglected. None of God's commands were instituted meaninglessly. All of the regulations were given to God's people because they are necessary for our salvation and allow us to enter the kingdom of God.... If we regard God's regulations as trivial, God will regard us as trivial."

In other words, the WMSCOG says that following ALL of God's commands, no matter how minor or trivial, are vitally necessary to gain salvation and enter heaven.

They will tell you that this means: keeping the Saturday Sabbath, keeping ALL the Feasts of God (including Passover), wearing the veil (for women), and everything else that God commanded.  (And don't forget that you must worship the "Mother God" also!)

But here's a difficulty... If ALL of God's commands MUST be followed to enter heaven, then they ought to have a list of ALL of these commands. After all, it is only fair that a church member knows what God expects of them so they don't inadvertently miss one.

No one has been able to give me a list yet of all of these necessary commands. I've seen them start a list (Saturday Sabbath, Feasts of God...), but they never really finish it. They say that if you keep the Feasts of God, then you automatically will be keeping the 10 Commandments. But God commanded more than just the 10 Commandments.

Here are a few of God’s other commands which I wonder if our WMSCOG friends are keeping so that they will be allowed into heaven….

Romans 13:1-7 about submitting to authorities, or obeying the law of the land (when it does not contradict God’s standards of course)… Do you ALWAYS come to a full and complete stop at stop signs when you are driving? How about NEVER driving over the speed limit (even a little)?

How about this one…Lev. 19:27 “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Did Jesus change this requirement? How long is your hair near your ears?
Or Deut. 22:12–Have you put tassels on all your coats?

Here’s something more serious–Matt. 19:9. Do any of your church members get a divorce for any reason other than adultery? How about remarriage after divorce, for any reason? That’s adultery too (Mark 10:11-12).

Or Matt. 5:27-28. Looking at another lustfully is counted as committing adultery. Does your gaze ever linger too long on an of those attractive celebrities or magazine covers?
And Matt. 5:42--"Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."  Do you give to everyone who asks?

Here's one that may seem trivial, but the WMSCOG says that doesn't matter.  I wonder if they follow this command? -- Romans 16:16, "Greet one another with a holy kiss."

And perhaps the toughest commandment of all to keep–Do Not Worry. It’s in Matthew chapter 6. Do you never, ever worry…about anything, at any time, even as your first response before you can think rationally about a situation?

That’s just a short list of the many commandments that are in the Bible. Do you really think it is possible to keep them ALL, especially if you don’t have list to refer to so you can check yourself? Heaven is going to be a very empty place if it is only populated by those who have kept ALL of God’s commands.
I’m thankful for God’s grace that saves me despite my failure at keeping ALL of His commands.

Coming soon... the Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ...and more about God's wonderful grace.

UPDATE
The WMSCOG doesn't really consider ALL commands necessary, like they say they do.  Read this post for more details: Moral vs. Ceremonial Law.

Judging Others

I have been told things like this, numerous times by World Mission Society Church of God members:
"You say you love God, but you really don't! If you loved God, you would do what He says. You don't do what He says, so you don't really love Him. If you love God, why don't you do what He says?"

They will quote Luke 6:46, "“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"

By "doing what God says" they specifically mean that I should be
* going to church on Saturday (not Sunday)
* celebrating Passover (that is, the Lord's Supper only on the special night of Passover, not any other night or more than once a year)
* keeping all the Old Testament feasts of God
* NOT celebrating Christmas or Easter

The WMSCOG and its members claim that they follow all the Words of God, that they do keep all God's commands, and so they are the ones who truly love God (or "gods" I should say, because they have 2 of them).

Jesus said, in Matthew 7:1-2, "“Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

Yes, when we see sin, we can call it what it is, sin. But we MUST be careful about judging the motives and hearts of others--that's God's job. When you judge others harshly, you open yourself up to being judged yourself with the same measure.

If the WMSCOG wishes to judge others by this measure ("You don't really love God! Why do you not do what He says?"), I will take that measure and turn it around to them.... Do you always do everything that God says?...

I want to explore legalism and grace next. Legalism is doctrine that our salvation, our way into heaven, is gained through the things we do, our works, following the laws and commandments of God. Grace, however, is mercy and favor freely given by God, not earned by what we have done, but by faith in Who we believe. How do we enter heaven--by grace or by works?

Romans 3:21-24 (NIV)
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.