Society is working hard to redefine right and wrong and to negate any standard of absolute morality as mandated by the creator of the universe. Regardless of prevalent unrighteousness and the pseudo-intellectual approach to morality, God has a moral law by which the world will be judged.Read more
Turn away from sin, reject the wrong, and be saved by the power of God. Wherever the message of Jesus Christ is preached, the message of true repentance must be heralded; for without repentance, there is no true salvation.
Turning Around
Repentance occurs when one is sorry for past sin and turns away from it in pursuit of Christ. It involves actively turning away from that which is wrong and a decision to never go back. Repentance infers a reversal or a change of direction. Many professed Christian churches are preaching Jesus Christ as the atonement for sin but are not preaching the message of repentance. It is one thing to accept Christ, but it is another to make a change and quit doing those things which are displeasing to God. While salvation is not attained by good works and is a divine gift of God, we also have personal responsibility. The apostle Peter told the people, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). God will only forgive people who are serious about their salvation to the extent that they are willing to completely forsake all ungodliness.Read more
While the chapels may be filled with lovers of the world who claim to be lovers of God, the divine Church of God is composed of those who are sold out for God and devoted to Christ and His cause above all else. As spiritual pilgrims on earth, God’s children still need jobs to work, schools to attend, houses in which to live, and money with which to buy things. However, they seek not the earthly treasures of this world but seek rather to please God daily with their affections, time, energy, and earthly possessions.
While there are many spiritual gifts, the offices of the bishop and of the deacon are the two official offices that exist in the biblically defined New Testament church for leadership and operation under the authority of the Holy Spirit (1 Timothy 3:1, 8).
The office of the bishop is synonymous in scripture with that of the elder and is a term to denote the called and qualified preachers of the Word of God. There are many proofs that bishops and elders were the same, and it was not until the apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church that a distinction was created.
There are multiple, important purposes for the ordination of ministers in the Church of God which should be valued accordingly and never undermined because of personal agendas, philosophies, or prejudices.
Confirmation of Something Spiritual
According to scriptural teaching, there is something spiritual conveyed in the act of ministerial ordination. Paul referred to ordination when he instructed Timothy: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery” (1 Timothy 4:14). The study of this verse conveys much truth about the practice of ordination.Read more