Four Great Mandates
For the last seven years of his life, the late editor-in-chief of this magazine, Herbert W. Armstrong, often emphasized three major areas of Christian living. I have called these "the three mandates." But I wonder how many have truly taken them to heart! One of the failings of human nature, it seems, is forgetfulness. All the finest, most valuable and important instruction in the world is of no use at all unless it is put to use. Let's take time in this special issue of The Good News to review these three fundamental areas of Christian conduct, along with one more great mandate I feel now needs to be emphasized.
1. Come Out of the World:
The first area, or mandate, as I have called it, is to come out of the world.This is probably the most basic of all Christian instruction. Yet how difficult it is to do! We live in a world that has rejected God as having any final authority over men's lives. It is a world based on the way of GET, of selfishness and pride -- a world living in direct opposition to God's way of GIVE. God is love (I John 4:8). His commandments define godly love. The apostle John wrote: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:3). But God's commandments are not terribly popular in today's world. They are considered "old fashioned," "moralistic," "restrictive" or "inhibiting." It is often considered self-righteous or moralizing even to talk about keeping God's commandments. Yet in a prophecy about the final judgment of the end-time Babylon, we are told, "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues' " (Revelation 18:4).
God calls upon His people, those who earnestly desire to serve Him, to come out of the way of life that the rest of the world is following. And understand -- you have to be in something in order to come out of it. God calls us while we are yet sinners. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). But when He calls us, God tells us to stop sinning -- to stop living the way the world around us does. We are to begin keeping His commandments. We are to evaluate our values, our habits, our conduct and our thinking in the light of God's Word. We are to change those areas of our lives that don't reflect His values and instruction. This does not mean to hide from the world in some mountain cave. No, we have to live in the world. But God tells us to stop living like the world (John 17:15-16). Those who desire to obey God must evaluate their personal involvement in the things of this world that are contrary to His law. Dress, entertainment, conversation, friendships, hobbies, employment, even attitudes and values can be good or bad, right or wrong, depending on whether they are based on God's law, or not. "Does my life reflect God's Word, or does it reflect this world?" is a question we each need to ask ourselves. And we must change where necessary.
2. Simplify Your Life:
The second mandate Mr. Armstrong emphasized is to simplify your life. The quest for material success has become an all-consuming goal for many in our industrialized Western world. Burning desire for more possessions, more money, better cars, better homes, better clothing and a more "glamorous" life-style has robbed people of many of the real values of life -- a happy marriage, happy children, profitable friendships and the joy of serving others. The reckless pace our self-oriented society demands often produces only greater stress -- physical, emotional and mental. Peace of mind becomes increasingly hard to find. Frustration and anxiety become the rule. Jesus Christ viewed life through different eyes than the world around Him. "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses' " (Luke 12:15). The apostle Paul warned that Christians should not "trust in uncertain riches but in the living God" (I Timothy 6:17). A man who sets his heart on getting more and more, God says, troubles his own house (Proverbs 15:27). The ultimate fruit of a life devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and gain is bitter fruit indeed.
3. Prepare to Become Teachers:
The third concept Mr. Armstrong focused upon in his final years is to prepare to become teachers. The ultimate responsibility of those God calls and trains in this physical life is found in Revelation 20:6: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." God is preparing those whom He calls His "first-fruits" (James 1:18) to reign with Christ over all the nations when Christ returns to establish God's Kingdom. How important it is, then, for those whose minds God has opened to understand His plan (I Corinthians 2:9-12) to be learning of Him so that they will be skilled in the things of God!
Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Learning the way of God takes not only study, but practice! It is a' way of life! Jesus Christ set an example that is to be followed, not just talked about! He lived His Father's commandments. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus spoke of the attitude a Christian should have toward God's way: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). The apostle Peter admonished those who call themselves Christians to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). Growth comes by both study (II Timothy 2:15) and by plain old experience! You have to put into practice what you learn. God tells us to be doers of the Word, not forgetful hearers only (James 1:22). Only in this way will a Christian be prepared for the awesome responsibilities Jesus Christ will place on each one when He returns to establish the government of God to rule all nations.
4. Emphasize the Family:
There is a fourth major area I feel needs to be added to these three. I sum it up in three words: Emphasize the family. The family is the building block of society. But family life is breaking down today. Divorce rates are at an all-time high. The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of single-parent families. More and more people are simply deciding never to marry. And strife within families, between husband and wife, and parents and children, is an ever-growing social problem.
God uses the marriage relationship as a type of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Marriages can be happy. They can reflect the genuine love that exists between Christ and the Church. Children can be a blessing, rather than a curse. The Creator has given mankind His Word as the guide to human relationships. Those who put His ways into practice find that they do work!
God has made available through His Church today several tools by which those who desire to serve Him can learn more about Him and His way. This magazine, The Good News, contains articles about Christian living and Bible-study topics each issue. In addition, the Church publishes a number of booklets on various Bible topics, as well as the monthly Plain Truth magazine and the in-depth Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. Further, the weekly World Tomorrow television program is available in many areas around the world. God has made available an enormous wealth of righteous instruction available free for the asking. But as I explained at the beginning of this "Good News Personal," all of it is of no real value at all unless it is put to use.
How about you? Are you a forgetful hearer only? Or are you like the wise man Jesus described in Matthew 7:24-25? "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."
Joseph W Tkach
Pastor General Worldwide Church of God