As our church leaders sat discussing whether we should appoint more elders, we were left with the question “What is the principal criterion for a man to be an elder?” Several qualified men hesitated because they did not think they met the criteria, but Paul was not afraid to appoint elders in every church he […]

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Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself . . . (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians surprises us each time we read it. One […]

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Cosmos and cosmetic — two words that don’t seem to have much in common but share a common Greek root. The Greek word has two primary meanings: order and beauty. While these ideas might seem disparate to us, in Greek they were closely related. Things in proper order, like the cosmos, were beautiful. Beautiful things […]

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We are besieged in our culture with messages about situational ethics and moral relativism. “If it feels good, do it,” we have been told for decades. And where did that get us? What if God has a different message for His children? Peter emphasizes that God’s plan for us is holiness. Quoting Leviticus, Peter reminds […]

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The Church of Christ, later known as the Church of God (Seventh Day), of the 1860s did not have a written position on Christian lifestyles. Apparently she left standards of morality and Christian living up to the Christian community as a whole. The church’s theological concerns were weekly Sabbath observance, the second coming of Jesus, […]

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Statement of Faith 9 Marriage   This we believe: Marriage is an institution of God and is an exclusive lifetime union between one man and one woman for the purpose of perpetuating humanity and enriching human experience. Reflecting the bond between Christ and His church, marriage may be broken only by sexual immorality. Like the […]

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The law of the Old Testament — what we call the Torah — may confuse more people in the church today than any other topic. Some see a disparity between a strict adherence to the law in Moses’ day and a more relaxed understanding in some parts in Jesus’ day (Luke 6:1-11). Church members realize […]

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From the archive • March 1968 A Call to Holiness • by John Kiesz   There should be seen a vast difference between sinners and saints. According to the Scriptures a sinner is one who transgresses the law (1 John 3:4), while a saint is one who keeps the law (Rev. 14:12). Eventually sinners will […]

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