Speaking of counterfeits ...
4 posted on 4/12/2013 12:20:28 AM by Springfield Reformer (Winston Churchill: No Peace Till Victory!)
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To: Springfield Reformer; All
I would recommend everyone read this link by CARM before getting too involved with this thread. You may even want to look up the UCG’s website.
Evidently, they teach that God the Son and God the Father are two separate gods, who are “one God” by being in the “Family of God.” Human beings can partake of divinity by joining the “family of God,” thus becoming God by their definition.
They claim the Holy Spirit is not a Person, but is a force. And this force they possess, which they only possess, because of their keeping the dietary, festival and other Old Testament ordinances. In order to even receive the Holy Spirit, you must have someone from the UCG lay hands and pray over you. Thus, no Christian has the Holy Spirit, since He is in the sole possession of the true church of God on Earth (the UCG).
They also claim there is salvation after death, and deny the eternal torment of the damned.
I’m sure it gets worse, but that’s just a quick overview.
From the website:
The United Church of God is a non-Christian cult that denies the Trinity, the true divinity of Christ, and requires both baptism and obedience to the commandments to be saved. It teaches that there is a "God family" of which we can become members through keeping the Law.
The United Church of God is a non-Christian cult
They start off with a lie (non-Christian) and a pejorative use of "cult". If they wanted to be honest they could have said "non-traditional" or "unorthodox" Christian.
that denies the Trinity, the true divinity of Christ,
UCG doesn't embrace the trinity doctrine because the trinity doctrine is not biblical...it's an evolved doctrine that didn't become an official part of church teaching until 3 centuries after the death of Christ. The second part implies that UCG denies the true divinity of Christ. This is either a deliberate lie or an error of massive proportion. UCG believes completely and fully in the true divinity of Christ.
and requires both baptism and obedience to the commandments to be saved.
A lie or half truth at best. The only thing "required" to be saved is the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift but obedience is expected in return.
Heb 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Heb 5:9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
It teaches that there is a "God family" of which we can become members through keeping the Law.
Again, a deliberate lie or outright misrepresentation. We are children of God...God family is a way of describing our relationship with our father in heaven. We don't become children by "keeping the law". We become children through the grace of God through Christ...but again obedience to the Lord is expected of his people.
In short, this analysis seems to take the position of the counterfeit church described in the article. The main thrust of this false church is that the law of God is somehow "bad" and to be avoided and that obedience to the Lord is something that Christians shouldn't practice.
Thanks for giving me the chance to set the record straight. Some Christians would repudiate liars even if they agree with the sentiment of the lies. Others will condone them.