Sabbatarian Churches of God: What Are the Doctrinal Distinctives of a
This is an article which has been written to help define what the basic Sabbatarian Church of God is. I was born-again and drawn to Jesus in one, and attended that same Sabbatarian Church of God for over 27 years. So I know a little bit about them. First I am going to explain a couple Messianic Jewish terms that defines these groups and how they differ from the rest of Gentile Christianity. All the Sabbatarian Church of God denominations fit into the first of these two categories, while one did come into the second category, but did not remain a non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God for more than five or six years, before becoming a Sunday observing church. So here goes with those two Messianic terms or categories:
Torah-observant: Torah-observant believers in Jesus believe the Ten Commandment Law of God including seventh day Sabbath, Holy Days of Leviticus 23 and dietary laws of Leviticus 11 are in full force for the believer. They often look at other (Sunday observing) believers as “false Christians” from strictly a doctrinal belief point of view, and not out of any hatred or dislike for Sunday observers. As such their doctrinal beliefs have separated them out from active joint participation within the rest of the body of Christ. They still perform an active and important role in witnessing to the carnal world, as the Lord directs them. Romans 14 warns, “who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (vs. 4). That “man” in “man’s servant” is Jesus Christ, in context with Paul’s epistle here. Having spent 27 years in one of these Sabbatarian Churches of God, and having fellowshipped with several others from time to time, I have witnessed the indwelling Holy Spirit in many if not most of their membership.
Non-Torah observant: Non-Torah observant believers in Jesus or Yeshua believe the New Testament “Law of Christ” (9 of the 10 Commandments) to be in full force for the believer. They believe “Days of Worship” have been made an optional choice under the legislation found in the New Testament (cf. Romans 14 and Acts 15). That means “days of worship” are an optional choice, left up to the believer and the denomination he or she attends. If one does not agree with the choice of his or her denomination, the individual is free to go to the one that matches his or her choice in days of worship. Gentile Christian believers for almost 1700 years have chosen Sunday/Christmas/Easter as their primary days of worship. Messianic Jewish believers who are non-Torah observant choose the Sabbath and Holy Days to worship on, and most also observe the dietary laws of Leviticus 11, mostly out of ethnic cultural choice. But rest assured, their Messianic Jewish observance almost matches the observance of the Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God, those days being previously ingrained into their cultural upbringing for millennia. Romans 14:1-23 defines these freedoms of choice over days of worship, while the actual legislation of them is recorded in Acts 15. I prefer these Messianic terms over others, as they are totally non-derogatory and lack the slanderous connotation of other terms that have been used to define these two groups of believers.
Part I, Torah-observant Sabbatarian Churches of God: As you will notice, it is the “Days of Worship” which define the Sabbatarian Churches of God. In their obedience to the biblical Christian standards Christ gave to the Church, they are in total harmony with the rest of Gentile Christianity. It is in days of worship where they differ. Their church life revolves around the Sabbath and Holy Days, especially in what these days symbolically represent in Scripture. We will see that what they believe in this area almost totally matches what the Messianic Jewish believers believe. And God has just restored the Jewish branch of the body of Christ all just within the past 37 short years, so taking a closer look at our Sabbatarian Church of God brothers wouldn’t be a bad idea. First they base their belief in the Old Testament Law of God still being in full force on a simple interpretation of Matthew 5:17-19, which states, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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…” Now here is an important point in their theology. Have heaven and earth passed? No they haven’t. Even though others argue that Christ fulfilled them, it can be pointed out that he expects us to follow his example, which was one of obedience to God’s law. Also, in Scripture we can see when heaven and earth do pass away, and that is in Revelation 20:14-15 and Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Also see 2 Peter 3:10-13 where Peter graphically describes this event. So “till heaven and earth pass” puts a time element for the law of God remaining intact, a time element which is often ignored by Gentile Christians who try to use only part of this verse to prove their point. Continuing in verse 19 of Matthew 5, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men to do 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.” Then Jesus goes on in Matthew 5 to define the spirit of the 10 Commandment Law of God. So this passage is the bedrock of the Sabbatarian Churches of God’s belief in the Old Testament 10 Commandment Law of God being for Christians. As I stated before, the major difference is in the days of worship they observe. But it is important to also see what they see in these days. So let’s take a look.
The Holy Days of Leviticus
To learn the biblical historic and prophetic significance of God’s Holy Days, believed by both the Sabbatarian Churches of God and all Messianic Jewish believers in Yeshua, log onto the following link and read the whole file: http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm . The Holy Days and what they represent, when properly understood, appear to have far more significance in explaining the whole of God’s redemptive plan of salvation for mankind than the Gentile Christian days. Few understand this important point, because few look beyond the actual days and into what they represent. So be very sure to log onto that link above and read that file before continuing. There is tremendous meaning in the historic and prophetic symbolism of the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 which most of Sunday observing Christianity is almost totally ignorant of. The Sabbath: A careful reading
of Leviticus 23 will show the seventh day Sabbath is also listed as a
Holy Day (Leviticus 23:1-3). Hebrews
shows the actual physical Sabbath represents the spiritual rest we have
in Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within believers. This rest is experienced in reality 24/7. But
just because we are living the reality does not make it wrong to observe
the shadow of that reality. Read Hebrews 4:1-11. Verse 10 is a direct reference to God taking
rest in Genesis right after the creation, which created the Sabbath by
the very fact that God rested. The
Jews, Messianic believers and
Typical sermons given by a viable
First, most Sabbatarian Churches of God keep an ancient Christian Passover that Polycarp and Policrates (disciples of John) kept in Asia Minor (100’s AD through 250AD). Passover service: This following link goes to an article showing how this Christian Passover service is currently being observed (and is the way we believe John, Polycarp and Policrates observed it). Log onto: http://www.cbcg.org/passover_ceremony1.htm and http://www.cbcg.org/passover_ceremony2.htm . I have an article on this website which shows the last six days in the life of Jesus Christ before going through his crucifixion at this link. It was taken from the Sabbatarian Church of God I spent 27 years in, and many of you have been logging onto it and reading it every year in the spring. It’s at: http://www.unityinchrist.com/lamb/lastsix.htm . (It makes clear Scripturally why Sabbatarian Churches of God observe the Quartodeciman Passover on the 13th/14th Nisan.)
Typical sermons for the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread
Log onto these and see the significance of how these churches use these days of worship to teach powerful biblically redemptive themes about Christian growth and sanctification, using each Holy Day to teach both New and Old Testament lessons of redemption in Christ (and our part in the process). First Day of Unleavened Bread: http://www.cbcg.org/ub2007_day1a.htm Last Day of Unleavened Bread: http://www.cbcg.org/ub2007_day7a.htm and http://www.cbcg.org/ub2007_day7b.htm. There was a weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread, so let’s not miss that one: http://www.cbcg.org/ub2007_sabbath1.htm and http://www.cbcg.org/ub2007_sabbath2.htm. I guarantee you, you will not be disappointed by the content of these sermons. These Sabbatarian brothers are just as viable believers as many of you (and they actually believe you guys are less viable, but we won’t go there). Most
of the links listed here are from The
Christian Biblical Church of God, a
Some might be led to think the Torah observant variety of Sabbatarian Churches of God are sort of dying out after the massive split in the Worldwide Church of God during the 1990s. Not so. There are now over 374 separate “denominations” of Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God in existence right now. Many of you may be wondering at this point, especially since most Messianic Jewish believers are non-Torah observant, are there any non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God? To answer that, read through the next part of this article. The fundamental prophetic beliefs of both the Torah observant and non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God believers can be found at http://www.unityinchrist.com/destiny/DestinyOfMankind1.htm.
Part II: Non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God. It is historically believed by recent church
historians that most of the early Judeo-Christian churches were non-Torah
observant Sabbatarian Churches of God (after 50AD) in
Why Did We Leave Worldwide?
When the Worldwide Church of God came into the New Testament understanding of Romans 14 under Joseph Tkach Sr.---i.e that choice over Days of Worship are an optional choice for believers---at that moment the Worldwide Church of God had just become what the Messianic Jewish believers call a “non-Torah observant” Sabbatarian Church of God, the very first of its kind in 1700 years. Most Messianic believers are non-Torah observant, while up to this point in time (1995) all the Sabbatarian Churches of God were Torah-observant. That meant that any Christian church or Christian individual which observed Sunday/Christmas/Easter instead of the Sabbath and Holy Days of Leviticus 23 were regarded by them as “false Christians.” But for a very short span of time the Worldwide Church of God was a “non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God”, which meant that even though they chose to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days of Leviticus 23 voluntarily---they recognized the Sunday/Christmas/Easter observing Christian churches as brothers in Christ, and also as genuine parts of the body of Christ. Very
sadly, Joe Tkach Sr. died of cancer in 1995, and just as sadly, under
the leadership of his son Joe Tkach Jr., the Worldwide Church of God
changed from being a “non-Torah observant” Sabbatarian Church of God---the
only one of its kind since 325AD---to a Sunday/Christmas/Easter observing
Christian denomination. Result: Now those who are non-Torah observant
Why did we leave? The best way to explain this is to refer you to some quotes of Rodney Stark, a sociologist who wrote a stunning book titled The Rise of Christianity. I made editorial remarks between quotes I took from his book. The first two pages apply very succinctly to this issue of why we non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God believers left the Worldwide Church of God, and it has nothing to do with the fact that they are now a legitimate Holy Spirit filled Sunday observing Christian church. What forced us out? Why were the changes from non-Torah observant Sabbatarian to Sunday/Christmas/Easter too much for us? Maybe not many of you who went through this looked at it this way, but this is the real underlying reason we fled. I’ll reproduce those two pages right here.
Quotes taken from Rodney Stark’s “The Rise of Christianity”, chapter 3, The
These are direct quotes from Rodney Stark’s book “The Rise of Christianity”, chapter 3. Rodney Stark is a sociologist, not a historian, but he brings a fresh perspective to church history and how the early Church grew, from a sociologist’s perspective. He uses historic evidence very carefully to back up his prognosis of early church growth patterns and that the early church was indeed heavily Jewish both ethnically and in worship practices.
“Granted, the received wisdom recognizes that Jews made up the bulk of
very early converts, as phrases such as “Jewish Christianity” and “the
Christian Synagogue” acknowledge. But
it is generally assumed that this pattern ended abruptly in the wake
of the revolt of 66-74, although some writers will accept a substantial
role for Jewish conversion into the second century, regarding the Bar-
Kokhba revolt [132-135AD] as the “final straw” in Jewish-Christian
sympathies.
Perhaps only a sociologist would be foolish enough to suggest that, contrary to the received wisdom, Jewish Christianity played a central role until much later in the rise of Christianity—that not only was it the Jews of the diaspora who provided the initial basis for church growth during the first and early second centuries, but that the Jews continued as a significant source of Christian converts until at least as late as the fourth century and that Jewish Christianity was still significant in the fifth century.” [“The Rise of Christianity”, p.49, par. 2-3, Rodney Stark]
Next is a quote where Rodney gives a little social science which put the historic evidence in a new light. The bottom line of the social science here is “birds of a feather flock together.”
“The second proposition is that People
are more willing to adopt a new religion to the extent that it retains
cultural continuity with conventional religion(s) with which they
already are familiar…As Noch so aptly put it: “The receptivity
of most people for that which is wholly new (if anything is) is small…”
[ibid. p. 55, par 2&3]
And who did the apostle Paul evangelize to, Gentiles? Or was it to the Jews of the Diaspora, and the God-fearers within the same synagogues? If so, what religious customs of worship would have provided this continuity? It wouldn’t be the Gentilized Christianity of today we’re so familiar with. The continuity would have been found in early Nazarene Jewish Christianity. Stark further postulates:
“The principle of cultural continuity captures the human tendency to
maximize—to get the most for the least cost. In
the case of adopting a new religious outlook, cost can be measured
in terms of how much of what one already knows and more or less accepts
one must discard in order to make the shift. To
the extent that potential converts can retain much of their original
cultural heritage and merely add to it, cost is minimized (Stark and
Bainbridge 1987)” [ibid. p.55, par. 4]
And here is an interesting modern proof of this principle. The Worldwide Church of God, prior to coming into a better understanding of the New Testament freedoms which allow for freedom of choice in “days of worship” (cf. Romans 14), were a Sabbath/Holy Day observing Sabbatarian Church of God. They were a true reflection of the early Judeo-Christian Churches of God in their worship practices. Their members were spiritually brought up in these “Jewish” days of worship, including Levitical dietary practices. A few years after they accepted this New Testament understanding of freedom in the area of days of worship, they changed over to Sunday/Christmas/Easter observance for their days of worship. From the period between 1995 and 2005 they lost a very large number of their members, merely because the cost of accepting this new religion which went against their spiritual cultural background was far to great. Where that church had an estimated 150,000 members, it now numbers in the mere few thousands, whereas the two major splinter churches which broke off from them are healthy. I am not trying to slam any of these churches, just making a sociological observation that fits this “social law” Rodney Stark brings out here. The apostle Paul said the same thing when he said “Were you born a Jew? Remain a Jew. Were you born a Gentile? Remain a Gentile.” Paul in no way meant that one should not accept Yeshua, Jesus, only that if your background was Jewish, be a part of Jewish-Christianity, not Gentile—don’t go against your cultural-spiritual upbringing. Messianic Judeo-Christianity did not go against Jewish cultural upbringing, it only enhanced it. If Paul’s major evangelism was within the Jewish synagogues of the Diaspora, then the Judeo-Christian churches he was founding observed Hebrew Old Testament Holy Days and Sabbath as days of worship. Where his converts were strictly Gentile (as a few were), he encouraged them to chose days of worship conducive to their cultural upbringing, as Romans 14 indicates….” Click on this link to read the whole article: http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/print/QuotesFromRodneyStarkpprt.htm. The mistake has been made. The article at that link defined it pretty well. Too late for those leaders involved to correct it. How many of us are there? I don’t honestly know how many of us non-Torah observant Sabbatarians were slowly forced out of the Worldwide Church of God when they started quietly shifting from Sabbath to Sunday/Christmas/Easter observance, but my guess is that it was multiple tens of thousands of us. Now we’re scattered all over the spiritual landscape, all over the body of Christ. When I came into the New Testament understanding of Romans 14, that choice of Days of Worship (and also dietary laws) was totally optional for the believer (during the Church Age, Acts 2 to 2nd Coming), I also came to recognize the rest of the body of Christ, the Sunday/Christmas/Easter observing part as being legitimately Christian as well. I developed a keen interest in learning about them and their history, and also learning which groups were genuinely spiritually alive, and which groups appeared to be spiritually dead or dying. I also found a few Christian denominations to be genuinely false Christians, even though they may have genuine believers in their midst. When I first started this website 12 years ago, the Lord inspired me to reach out and try to nourish all believers within the body of Christ, regardless of which denomination they came from. But my heart went out to and continues to go out to those scattered non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God believers, wherever they might be, with whomever they might be fellowshipping with. I feel their spiritual loneliness because I am one of them. If you want to do something about it….if your desire is to attend a non-Torah
observant
I will not be the leader---spiritual or otherwise---over any of these Internet Churches of God that may form up. Feel free to use this site for nourishment and ideas on how to give connective expository sermons within your congregations. All I ask is that you make the commitment individually to contribute to International evangelism by means of supporting the $5.00 a week program as outlined in the site’s Mission Statement ( http://www.unityinchrist.com/missionstatement.htm), and that you fill in the memo section of these checks “Internet Churches of God.” Should any of you form into a house-church, do let me know by email or letter ( PO Box 875, Fitchburg, MA 01420) giving me contact information of the person who either runs the house-church and/or the person whose house is being used as a meeting location. But do not post this information on the Guestbook of this site. This information will be used to maintain contact between house-churches and build a locator data-base for coordinating attendance of major Holy Days between house-churches, and maybe even for publishing and distributing a church newspaper (online, but not on this site). What brought all these ideas about? I have been attending a small Sabbatarian house-Church of God in my area, but it is Torah observant, along with another non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God believer friend. Then the thought crossed my mind “There must be more of you guys out there! Come on, let’s here from you!” So I sat down and wrote this up. My guess is that there are a minimum of 20,000 to 30,000 of you guys out there. And for those of you who are NTO-SCOG’s and read this, pass this onto others who you know are, but don’t know about this website. Tired of being lost, misunderstood, lonely? Tired of being that spiritual square peg in a round hole? I am, that’s for sure!
Two important definitions
Torah-observant: Torah-observant believers in Yeshua or Jesus believe the Ten Commandment Law of God including Sabbath, Holy Days of Leviticus 23 and dietary laws of Leviticus 11 are in full force for the believer. They often look at other (Sunday) believers as false Christians from a strictly doctrinal belief point of view, and not out of any hatred or dislike for Sunday observers. As such their doctrinal beliefs have separated them out from active participation with the rest of the body of Christ, but they still are a part of the body of Christ. Why? They have the Holy Spirit, as does the other group. That simple. Argue with God who places his Spirit within them, not me. Non-Torah observant: Non-Torah observant believers in Yeshua or Jesus believe the New Testament “Law of Christ” (9 of the 10 Commandments) to be in full force. They believe Days of Worship is an optional choice, left up to the believer and the denomination he or she attends. Messianic Jewish believers who are non-Torah observant choose Sabbath and Holy Days to worship on. Gentile Christians choose Sunday/Christmas/Easter as their days of worship. Romans 14:1-23 defines this freedom of choice over days of worship. I prefer these Messianic terms over others, as they are totally non-derogatory and lack the slanderous connotation of other terms that define these two groups of believers.
Non-Torah observant Sabbatarian
Churches of God Should Have Two Major Distinctives
1st Distinctive, Prayer: One thing I’ve noticed about the Torah observant house-Churches of God I’ve attended and gotten to know. They’re static---stuck in place with only the same core members they have attending in each congregation. They’re successfully “holding the fort” but not advancing in the first part of the Lord’s commission, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit….” They do have the second part right, in a Torah observant manner, “….Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you….” I really don’t think this has anything to do with the fact that they’re Torah observant Sabbatarian (Worldwide was under Mr. Armstrong, and boy did we evangelize and grow). I do think this has everything to do with the lack of concerted group-prayer within their congregations and services. They have the Holy Spirit richly evident within their members, and they have a sound biblical understanding. But the Holy Spirit isn’t drawing new converts into their congregations. The saving and fresh enabling power of the Holy Spirit isn’t as active in these groups, and so they remain as they are, tiny little Sabbatarian house-Churches of God, tiny remnants of the early Churches of God---yet not dynamic, not growing and expanding in new members. Let’s take a closer look at the actual calling process God uses when he draws a person to Jesus and into saving knowledge, and see if we can learn something. How exactly are people called, drawn to Jesus? Answer: God the Father calls new believers by drawing them to Jesus. Jesus said so in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Again in verse 65 Jesus repeats this, “And he said, ‘Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come to me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” So, first point, it is God who actually does the calling. God the Father does this through the Holy Spirit. Next question: ‘What does the Holy Spirit do within a person?’ Jesus explained this principle to the disciples during his last Passover on earth. He wanted them to understand something vital before he left them to return to God’s throne in heaven. John 14:16,23,26, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [the Holy Spirit], that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth….”, “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words [context of the chapter and all of 1st John, “the commandments”]: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” How does God the Father and Jesus make “our abode with him?” This whole chapter is showing it is by the Holy Spirit he places within believers. “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Then in chapter 16:13 Jesus shows more of what the Holy Spirit will do within believers, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Next question: When God calls or draws someone to Jesus and into saving knowledge of God’s Word, what was that person like before he or she was called? Do the “unsaved” understand the things of God, or the truths revealed in God’s Word? This next passage explains some important concepts about the mind of an unbeliever as compared to a believer. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, “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 [i.e. ordinary human intelligence], save [except for] the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but [by] 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 Spirit 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 [i.e. has the indwelling Holy Spirit] judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who knows the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” And I think you can see how it is that we have the mind of Christ dwelling inside our minds. The difference between the mind of one who is indwelt with God’s Holy Spirit and one who is not is like the difference between the mind of man and the mind of a cow. Paul explains here that man, through the human spirit, understands the knowledge of man. Few have asked what knowledge that is, but think, we can understand mathematics to very high levels, astronomy, music, the arts. Humans can create at a level that supercedes anything in the animal world (spaceships, computers, just to name two). Where do you see this in the animal world? We’ll see as Paul points this out, he takes the analogy further to show that understanding the things of God is just as great a leap in knowledge as that between animal and human mind. So you see, the ordinary mind of man cannot understand the things of God or spiritual knowledge revealed in the Bible. All the efforts of well-intentioned believers to evangelize to the world so that they might draw people to Jesus---if not accompanied by powerful group-prayer that God open their minds to this knowledge---is a fruitless waste of time and money. (And when you see an evangelistic outreach having success, rest assured group-prayer accompanied it.) Let’s take this a little further. You saw how God has placed a human spirit within the mind of man so that mankind can have intelligent human understanding of his world around him, on a far higher plane than those in the animal kingdom (as evidenced by the world around you—do monkeys make cars, trains, aircraft?). Now let’s see what Satan does to the minds of mankind, those who have only the spirit of man within their minds. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” It is Satan who has blinded the natural minds of mankind to God’s truth as it is revealed in the Bible. As a matter of fact, ordinary mankind cannot read the Bible and gain any understanding from it. So it is only God through his Holy Spirit who can un-blind a person and draw that person to Christ. Evangelize all you want, it will not bring one single convert into your midst without the un-blinding power and revelation of God’s Holy Spirit working within the mind of that individual. Since it is only God who can call and draw a person to Christ, wouldn’t you think prayer to God would be a really important part of our efforts to evangelize? Now
let’s look at the power of prayer. Jesus
said this to the disciples, giving them a very important principle in
prayer. This is what makes group-prayer
so powerful and vital to our congregations. Group
prayer in the name of Jesus, prayed by Holy Spirit indwelt believers
in Jesus, can pull down the very power of God from on high to accomplish
what we are helpless to accomplish---which includes unlocking the mind
of a deceived, blinded person of this world. Let’s see what Jesus said. Matthew
18:19-20, “Again I say unto
you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” In
the realm of prayer, that has to be one of the most important passages
in the whole Bible. And yet so
few churches, so very few congregations take proper advantage of this
prayer-law set in place by Jesus. Some
vital principles of group prayer are explained on this link: http://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/prayer-teamessentials.htm. A whole church congregation in
2nd Distinctive, Sabbath and Holy Days: The second distinctive of these non-Torah
observant Sabbatarian Churches of God are the seventh Day Sabbath and
Holy Days (of Leviticus 23) which they observe as their “choice” in days
of worship. When understood, the Biblical symbolism of
these days, whether it be historic or prophetic, is far more spiritually
relevant to the overall plan of salvation God details in his Word than
the Gentile days of worship (Sunday/Christmas/Easter). Just because “days of worship” have been made
an optional choice for the Church in general during the Church Age doesn’t
make the Old Testament days of worship given by God to
On the other hand, do not feel that you are all alone in your non-Torah observance of Sabbath and Holy Days. The Lord God has just, within the past 37 years, restored the Messianic Jewish branch of the body of Christ (to upwards of half a million Jewish believers in Jesus!). And they all to the last man, woman and child observe these days, and most of them in a non-Torah observant manner. That means, they look upon their Sunday/Christmas/Easter observing brothers in Christ as genuine believers in Jesus, and not as “false Christians” (as the Torah observant Churches of God tend to). The historic and prophetic meaning of the Holy Days is a huge subject, with their various themes running throughout the whole Word of God. But just to get you started, log onto these links: http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm. http://www.unityinchrist.com/lamb/lastsix.htm http://www.unityinchrist.com/lamb/whatispassover.htm http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Leaven.htm and for the expanded symbolic meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles log onto: http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm Understand, many of you who came out of the Torah observant Worldwide Church of God still adhere to the dietary laws of Leviticus 11. The apostle Paul in explaining the freedoms we have in Christ over choice in days of worship warned believers to be careful about not offending believers who had chosen to keep observing Sabbath/Holy Days and dietary laws of Leviticus 11. Because any non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God would naturally have some in their fellowship that adhere to the dietary laws, within these churches and congregations, all should adhere to them while they are actively fellowshipping within the congregation. What you “allow” for yourself in your own home is your own business, as long as it doesn’t offend. The same goes for putting out all leavened products during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Most in these fellowships will be doing so. While being non-Torah observant allows you freedom to not follow these practices, realize you are fellowshipping with and attending a church that does believe in these symbols, and as a group will be adhering to those observances and laws, albeit on a voluntary basis. Same goes for fasting on the Day of Atonement. Don’t like it, go to a Sunday observing church. Be sure to understand the conditions of the freedoms Paul describes in Romans 14 which allow for you to worship as you do, and that this freedom does not include offending others within your congregation. To learn more on that, and the central biblical foundation non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God are built upon, log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/romans/romans12-14_2.htm. These days of worship are your distinctive, and although you observe them on a voluntary basis, worship days are to be taken seriously, no matter what day you chose to worship on. I hope no one who has read this far thinks that if non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God really do form up that this is just some human effort at “playing church.” Far from it, it is a group of people who believe a certain way, worshipping the Lord on certain days, who are trying to live Christian lives, fully indwelt with the Holy Spirit and trying to help the whole body of Christ to fulfill it’s mission, stated in Matthew 28:18-20. Their mission is similar to the mission statement of this site. Should you decide to call yourselves an Internet Church of God and come under that banner, you should actively follow the $5.00 a week program outline on this site’s mission statement (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/missionstatement.htm.) What follows is a list of hypertext links to vital parts of the site that could be used to nourish a non-Torah observant Sabbatarian house-Church of God—both for doctrine and ideas about structure, as the congregation grows.
Also there are many good articles in the Messianic section that are appropriate sermon content and educational articles for Sabbatarian Churches of God. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/messianicmovement.htm and refer to the upper nav bar. Again,
this is merely a suggestion. Definitely
sign the Guestbook and see how many others in your position sign it,
and then take it from there if sufficient numbers do sign on. No way it can hurt to see how many of us are
out there by signing a Guestbook and identifying yourself as an NTO-SCOG.
I have several words of advice which I will give. One is, should you decide to gather together to form a non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God, it is serious business. It’s not a game of playing church. God in setting up the church in the wilderness took these things very seriously. Just read Leviticus 10 if you don’t believe me. Nadab and Abihu paid with their physical lives. Paul cautions those who build Christian ministries in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 to build with precious metals and stones, and not wood, hay and stubble. “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so by fire.” One thing I have learned from attending a small Sabbatarian house-Church of God is that having quality leadership at the top (say heading up all the local house-Churches) can be critical to helping the whole movement stay united and growing spiritually. This is done by that leader or qualified church leaders preaching quality Christ-centered and powerful sermons on the Holy Days that are appropriate “meat in due season” for that particular Holy Day season (Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets-Atonement-Tabernacles). Without good solid church leadership at the top providing this flow of quality spiritual food on the days that are the distinctive of these non-Torah observant Sabbatarian house-Churches of God, any movement to create and maintain a non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God may not have the spiritual cohesive strength to endure and grow. The Sabbatarian Holy Days of Leviticus 23 must be used by qualified leader-teachers to provide unity and growth to the whole group. The very first distinctive of the house-Churches of God is that they must be houses of prayer. And that the first thing they must consistently pray for is that God raise up preacher-teachers in their local house-church, and also raise up a humble spiritually qualified teacher-leader for the whole group of house-Churches of God. Log onto the prayer section and make this your first priority (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/prayer-teamessentials.htm ). Without including God, you don’t stand a chance. Satan will tear this movement apart before it can get established. Small-group congregation start-up
tips
The first priority of every church or small-group congregation is the steady week in, week out spiritual nourishment of that group. A small-group congregation will not grow spiritually, and thus later numerically, with insufficient or poor spiritual nourishment. Also this spiritual nourishment and fellowshipping must be on a steady weekly basis to be totally effective. I have been a part of two house-church fellowships within the past year, and noticed one common denominator within both, and that was the great difficulty or strain placed on the person or family hosting the house-church or small group. In one small-group this strain prevents them from having services, on average, no more frequently than once a month. Even if they were providing the best possible spiritual sermon nourishment, it is way to infrequent to promote spiritual growth in anyone in the group. Thus the small-group remains static in both size and spiritual health. This brings us to an important point, the first point I wish to make to help enable your small-group to provide maximum nourishment and growth potential. This point, if followed, will enable your group to meet every week. This point brings up a touchy subject, but realize the health of the small-group depends on this.
1. The small-group needs to have the members that are regularly employed tithe to the group on the net of their incomes. Chose out two members that serve the group the most (members who would more than likely be chosen later on as deacons), and have them set up a joint checking account for the small-group/congregation. Now what will this do for the small-group/congregation? With only five tithe-contributing members (say making $15 an hour, so their tithe on their net incomes would be about $45 a week), the small-group would collect sufficient funds weekly to be able to afford hall/building rental for weekly services. The stress and strain would no longer be on a host-family to provide their home for services. Any extra tithe money collected could go for a sound system that could play tapes of quality sermons, and other expenses as they arise, maybe like buying chairs. As the group grows in size due to steady feeding on the Word of God, fellowshipping and prayer-meetings, eventually sufficient monies would be available for the salary of a pastor, and other needs of the congregation. It must be realized that the first priority of the tithe money is to provide for the spiritual feeding and growth of that small-group’s members. This tithe money is really God’s and he wants it used primarily to spiritually nourish the members donating it. It’s sort of a sacred trust. Many small groups stumble and fail due to the fact that they don’t understand this essential principle for growth. [to study further on the principles of gifts and tithing log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/gifts.htm.] 2. Since these small-group/congregations we’re talking about are either going to be autonomous or semi-autonomous non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God, most if not all the funds donated and collected will stay within that local congregation. If you are using connective expository sermon tapes provided by this site, after you grow sufficiently large (50 members or more), a small percentage should be sent to UNITYINCHRIST.COM (5% to 10%) to help defray those costs and help the site grow, to keep the nourishing flow of sermon transcripts growing, as well as pay for online advertising for this site. Don’t forget, some of your future members may come from people who are reading this article, so it’s a way of supporting some of your own growth. (This would be a voluntary decision made by each small-group/congregation.) 3. As tithe funds start to build up, this money should also be used for rental of halls that can provide actual meals for the Holy Days, which are a specific distinctive of these non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God. Don’t forget, the seven major Holy Days are days used for extra teaching in God’s Word, where “meat in due season” is provided. Each set of Holy Days represents key elements of God’s overall plan of salvation for mankind. Time is needed to teach the related Scripture passages that deal with these days and what they symbolize. So much beautiful fellowshipping occurs while eating meals inbetween double Holy Day services, which helps make these days special, “iron sharpening iron.”
So you can see, a member’s tithe is primarily used to help enable the spiritual nourishment of the small-group congregation. After sufficient growth in numbers of members, the congregation can use a percentage of their collected tithes to support evangelistic outreaches, local, national and international, whatever you decide on.
4. Don’t forget, this website offers “connective expository sermon” tapes for any sermon transcribed on this site. I highly recommend starting out with the 1st John 1-5, 2nd John and 3rd John series. This series is highly spiritual growth oriented. This offer is open for any non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God small group desiring to start up. Just contact me via the Guestbook on this site, and I’ll get back to you to make mailing arrangements for the brick of tapes. Statement of Beliefs for aspiring “Internet Churches
of God”
Introduction
First, as pointed out on the Homepage of this site, realize that God
by divine acts is the one who makes individual people believers,
Christians or Messianic Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. This
is done by the placing of his Holy Spirit within the people he is
calling and drawing to Jesus. This
“conversion” is primarily an act of God. That
Holy Spirit can and does guide the new believer into proper understanding
of God’s Word, the Bible, but does not always guide everybody into
perfect understanding of the Bible, simply because our own human
wills often thwart God’s Holy Spirit, preventing a perfect interpretation
of God’s Word by anyone. The
freedom to believe and practice what one believes in the secondary
areas of doctrine, explained in Romans 14, also allows for the many
true and differing denominations we see in the body of Christ today. A
Christian or Messianic Jewish believer in Yeshua is merely one in
whom God has placed his Holy Spirit within. That
believer can dwell within a genuine part of the body of Christ, or
even what one might consider a “false” church, and still be a believer. Also, you will find that God uses the various
denominations the way a national leader uses the various parts of
a nation’s military organization. Their
overall mission to evangelize and announce the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ is the same, but many of these differing denominations
perform “specific” tasks and spiritual military functions. Just
like the army, air force and navy all perform complimentary but differing
tasks to accomplish their overall objective, so do the differing
true denominations which make up the body of Christ. This
potential “denomination” would be considered like the paratroopers
during WWII (Easy Company), who were used to be connective links
between various army ground-pounders in critical areas. This
potential denomination, as explained a little further on, is meant
to create a viable link between Messianic Jewish and Gentile Christian
denominations. It should prove to be an exciting task for
those who volunteer to be a part of this “specialized unit” of God’s
army.
Primary Doctrines that define the faith:
There is one God (Elohim) in three persons, the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. [persons
is an incomplete and inadequate description for the Triune God, but
it’s the best we have] This
“one God” is defined in the Old Testament in the Shema, “Hear O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4). [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/john/john1-1-5.html.] God in Genesis 1 is called Elohim, and in
1:26 God, Elohim said “Let us make man in our image.” Adam and Eve were created one flesh, and as
Paul indicated, it is the spirit in man, their human spirits intertwining
in a married couple, that really creates this one flesh. This is a direct type and picture of the Triune
God, pictured between every couple.
God the Father: See John 6:27b;
1 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:1; Rev. 3:5, 21; Jer. 3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal. 1:6;
Matt. 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46;
Rom. 8:14-15.
Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ [Hebrew: Yeshua
haMeshiach] is God the Son. As
John pointed out in John 1:1-14, Jesus was the pre-existent One
called the Logos or the
Word, who became flesh. This
very Logos was the one called Yahweh in the Old Testament, as Jesus
himself admitted to seeing and talking with Abraham, and stating
“before Abraham was, I am”. Jesus
was Yahweh dwelling in the tabernacle in the Wilderness with Israel,
and in Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. Jesus
has existed, like God the Father and the Holy Spirit, eternally
(Psalm 110:1, cf. Hebrews 1:13; Isa.
9:6-7). As John points out in 1st John,
those who teach and believe Jesus is just a good person, and not
God the Son, come in the flesh, eternally existent, are false Christians. The Old Testament prophecies prove who Jesus
of Nazareth is [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/1stcoming.htm.]
The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit
(Hebrew: Ruach HaKodesh)
is first introduced in Genesis 1:2b, where Elohim describes the Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of God moving upon the waters. The
Holy Spirit indwelt Old Testament individuals and leaders such as
righteous Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, king David, Solomon,
Hezekiah, and all the holy Prophets. In
the New Testament the Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus as the “Comforter”,
which he gave to his disciples after his resurrection in John 20,
and to all believers afterward, from Acts 2 onward. He
empowers us (Acts 1:8), seals us for eternal life (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). If
we have not the Spirit, we are none of his (Rom. 8:9). He leads us and teaches us (Rom. 8:14-17). Acts
2:38 says “Repent, be immersed [baptized], and receive the Holy Spirit.” God used the Holy Spirit to create the heavens
and the earth, and the creation described in Genesis 1 was done through
Christ by the Holy Spirit. The
actual doctrine titled “the Trinity” was not initially taught in
the early Church, but was teased out of the Scriptures over the first
300 years, and basically at first was a doctrine promoted by the
church that became the Roman Catholic Church under Constantine. It
was used to help identify the Judeo-Christian Churches in Asia Minor,
so they could be extinguished. That
is why Torah-observant Sabbatarian Churches of God, genuine remnants
of these early Judeo-Christians, do not accept the Trinity doctrine,
but call the Holy Spirit “the power of God”. John
nowhere identifies true believers from false by acceptance of the
Holy Spirit as the third person of the God-head, and God has seen
fit to bless all these Torah-observant Sabbatarian Churches of God
with the indwelling Holy Spirit, regardless, so they as well, are
genuine believers in Jesus Christ. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/TheHolySpirit.htm.] The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ
effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from
their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ. The
Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christ-like [Messiah-like]
in character and behavior, and gives them power for witness in the
world. The Holy Spirit is
apparently omnipresent throughout the entire universe, holding physical
matter together at the atomic level. This
is what makes “God” omnipresent,
and in ultimate control of the entire physical universe.
The Word of God: We believe that
the written Word of God (the Bible) is the true revelation of God
to mankind (as written in its original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew
texts), and as such is infallible.
Second Coming of Jesus Christ: We
believe in the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to establish
the physical Kingdom and government of God on earth, headquartered
in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:9). As
such the “Church” is to be a “John the Baptist” type work, heralding
the gospel of salvation, which includes a message of his 2nd coming
to establish his Kingdom and government on earth. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm and http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm.]
As such we believe in and teach a pre-millennial view of Bible prophecy,
based on a more or less literal interpretation of both Old Testament
and New Testament prophecy.
Secondary beliefs specific to our denomination: The secondary nature
of many of the doctrines we held, and many of us still believe to
be true, are not fundamental to the core beliefs of the Christian
faith. Nonetheless, most of us tend to believe these
are true, and they form a major distinctive of our fellowship. Most of these beliefs are to be found in the
Jewish and Messianic Jewish prophetic interpretations of what the
Holy Days of Leviticus 23 mean. We cannot be an effective link between
the Jewish and Gentile sides of the body of Christ without believing
these (with exception to our beliefs about hell). [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm and http://www.unityinchrist.com/destiny/DestinyOfMankind1.htm.]
Hell: [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm ]
British Israelism: The individual is free to believe or disbelieve in
this doctrine, but it is not officially taught by this fellowship. If any elements of this doctrine are true,
this will become evident as the final phases of the 2nd coming
unfold.
Days of Worship: Our days of worship
are the voluntary observance of the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Holy
Days of Leviticus 23. The
dietary laws of Leviticus 11 will be adhered to while members meet
in group settings, as well as unleavened bread during the Days of
Unleavened Bread, again in group settings.
SPECIAL PURPOSE OF THIS “DENOMINATION”: To
promote unity through spiritual nourishment to the entire body of
Christ so that it can more effectively promote the Gospel to the
world in preparation for the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ
(Matthew 24:14; 28:18-20), and to promote actual unity between the
Jewish and Gentile sides of the body of Christ [see the final part
of this document]. This website, UNITYINCHRIST.COM, is one of
the major evangelistic and online functional tools for promoting
this dual purpose of the Internet
Churches of God. We will directly contribute to the overall
evangelistic unity of the body of Christ by support of the major
international non-denominational evangelistic and care-giving organizations
via the $5 a week program. This $5 a week should be deducted from
each member’s tithe and sent individually by that member to these
major organizations with the word’s “member Internet
Church of God” written in the memo section of each donation check
sent. [for details see http://www.unityinchrist.com/missionstatement.htm.]
USE OF THE NAME “Internet Churches of God”: Those individual groups of believers who wish to form up into congregations using the name “Internet Churches of God” should as groups believe and hold to this statement of beliefs as congregational units. Freedom to believe what one wishes in the secondary areas exists within these congregations. But if disagreement is sufficient to cause problems, those disagreeing individuals should find a true Christian fellowship that better suits their beliefs, and will be encouraged to do so by the congregational leader. Not everything on this website that is of secondary nature must be believed by members of this fellowship. For instance, there is much disagreement as to whether Global Warming is true or not. It just seems to fit prophecy, and the facts point in this direction. But it is not “gospel” truth. The same is true with current events, some of which, when viewed down the road, may actually be elements of prophecy being fulfilled, while others may not be that are considered to be right now. Use wisdom and keep an open mind in forming your own set of secondary beliefs, and respect the right of others within the body of Christ for their right to believe as they d |