GF: I wanted to speak and give another sermon on the book of John, and I knew that there was something about John 11...

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God..." (Galatians 2:20)

The faith of the Son of God

"...who loved me, and gave himself for me." 

The very same faith, Paul said, the very same faith of Christ; that faith that He had on this earth, and that He has. Paul said, "I live by that. I have the very same faith, the faith of Christ."

ESN: Is this what Paul is saying here? Does "the faith of Christ" really mean we must have Christ's faith? Or is Flurry attempting to rewrite Scripture? According to the best Greek scholarship, Flurry is wrong. W. E. Vine, in dealing with the preposition "of," explains:

GF: (Quotes John 11:8): "His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?"

And the way Christ conducted the Work was not how dangerous it was; if Word had to be done there, He just said, "Look, we have to go back and do it.

And we face problems and trials like that, ourselves. Sometimes we just simply have to walk into harm's way because, well, something has to be done. [emp. mine]

(Talks about the Scriptures where Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.) So Christ is correcting them, and He wants to correct all of us from time-to-time, because, brethren, this is the kind of faith that gets us healed. I mean healed in this life, healed or resurrected from the dead. It's the same faith. And Christ was trying to get them to see, look, remember it talks about in James, raising him up? When you anoint a person you raise him up, a type of the resurrection and Christ is trying to get them to see, look, it's really the same faith that causes you to be healed, that it does in the resurrection, because in fact, many people are healed in the resurrection. We know that. [emp. mine]

ESN: The words in James (5:15) about "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up" does not say that it is God's will for Christians to always be healed. If that were true, none of them would ever die. Some commentators say the word "sick" is literally "weary one" and this verse refers to spiritual restoration, not physical, since the verse goes on to say, "and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." Many who have taken this verse to refer solely to physical healing have remained ill, or have ended up dying.

GF: Mr. Armstrong—do you remember years ago when he said, "I stopped breathing. I stopped breathing."

And through the nurse resuscitating him, he came back to life. He said, "I actually stopped breathing."

Now he was healed and he was resurrected in that sense. Wasn't he? Healed and resurrected.

ESN: Many people have stopped breathing and have been resuscitated through modern medical technology; i. e., CPR or heart massage. Does this mean that they were "healed" and "resurrected"? Was HWA healed of his heart condition? If this was true, he wouldn't have continued to have heart problems and doctors the rest of his life.² 

GF: Now, again, you see, James says if you anoint a person, the prayer of faith shall raise him up. A type of that resurrection. It's the same faith required for both, for both the healing and the resurrection.

ESN: Where does it say in Scripture that it takes the same kind of faith to be healed, as it takes to be resurrected? We are told to pray "according to the will of God." (I John 5:14) Whether we are healed, or not healed, depends on His will for our lives. Moreover, Christians will be resurrected when Christ returns because of placing their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, not by working up their own faith to be resurrected.. 

GF: Now, Mr. Armstrong didn't want to come back to life. He asked God right after that, "Well, God, if you don't have anything more for me to do, please let me die."

ESN: Is this what HWA said? Or is GF embellishing Armstrong's words? Here are quotes from HWA's exact words to the brethren in 1978 concerning this incident:

HWA took a 30 second lack of breathing incident and turned into a "miracle" because (according to him) he was God's instrument to "get the Work done." This places HWA in a special category in members' eyes. If HWA had been dead four days like Lazarus was and then came back to life, it would have been much more of a "miracle" than it was made out to be. (HWA was known to have added to this story later, saying that "God raised him from the dead."³)

GF: He was tired; he was worn out. And you know something brethren? He came back, and said he did more in that next seven years than he did in all the rest of his life, combined.

ESN: HWA and his WCG were exposed for corruption and scandals, starting in the late 1960's.⁴ Is this doing more than he did in all the rest of his life? The work of HWA wasn't the work of God.

GF: I can remember his son coming to one area that I was in, and when he was speaking, he said, "My father says he stopped breathing."

Now, that's the way he put it. "My father says he stopped breathing."

I think he implied, well, he didn't believe that. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing, that his own son didn't even believe what his father said? And somehow didn't think that God—God, brethren, could just let a man stop breathing, and then start him up again? [bolding mine]

Is it a small issue if you can't believe God can start a man breathing again?

ESN: Flurry says that it was "God" that let him stop breathing, and "God" that "started him up again." 

GF: Or bring him up out of the grave like He did with Lazarus? You can imagine what that would do in this world today. They'd never let you get away with that, raising somebody from the dead. [emp. mine]

ESN: First, GF talks about God raising Lazarus and then he transfers raising people from the dead to an act that the members might do. The miracles of Jesus in the gospels were a testimony to the Jews that He was who He said He was—the Messiah, the Son of God. 

GF: But I'll tell you, I believe there's a big chasm between where Mr. Herbert Armstrong is and where his son is, Garner Ted Armstrong. That's just what I believe.

ESN: Since GF believes all go to the same place (the grave), what does he mean that there's "a big chasm" between where HWA and GTA are? Where is HWA supposed to be? In heaven? And GTA is in hell?

GF: We've seen a lot of people do some strange things, that are inside God's Church today, and you and I are going to have to be awfully serious about building our faith, and I'm talking about faith that will get us healed and get us resurrected, that will raise us up. Whether it's now or in the future, what difference does it make, if it's God will?

ESN: GF again bases being healing and being resurrected on having a certain kind of faith, which is not Scriptural. Our resurrection will be because of Christ's all atoning sacrifice on the cross and our faith and trust in Him.

GF: Now, Mr. Armstrong said, near the end of his life, that he didn't think his son was ever converted...

ESN: Did HWA say this because of the known immorality of his son? Then where does that leave HWA? Was he not an habitual liar and a hypocrite? (as shown in many places on this site) Read: Mystery of the Ages (a critical review) and accompanying research articles)

GF: ...but even if he wasn't, brethren, that doesn't absolutely mean he's going to be resurrected in that resurrection pictured tomorrow.

ESN: Now here is some strange double-talk. GF is saying that even if someone isn't converted, it doesn't mean they will come up in what HWA called "the second resurrection," or "Great White Throne Judgment." Yet GF has taught that one "must" remain converted in order to come up in the first resurrection to life eternal. So what resurrection is left for GTA? The "third resurrection" (that GF teaches), which is supposed to be the resurrection to the lake of fire? 

GF: [Jews in Sodom and Gomorrah] knew who this Man was; they knew He was from God. They knew He came from another world. They just couldn't bring themselves to trust Him, and to believe in somebody that came from another world... [emp. mine]

ESN: What other "world" is GF referring to that he says the pre-incarnate Christ came from? Doesn't the Bible say He came from heaven?

GF: Now, the way I look on that is, that when Mr. Armstrong died, I think God did that—we could say that's a Lazarus on a small scale...

ESN: HWA being resuscitated after not breathing for 30 seconds is a "Lazarus on a small scale"?? That's a mighty small scale.

GF: God wouldn't want to do something like that today because, well, they'd probably never forget it, and maybe it might cause us more problems than it's worth today. ... 

ESN: What is GF saying here? Is he trying to give the members a reason for why his wife wasn't "resurrected from the dead"? If God "raised HWA from the dead" (i. e., "brought him back"), then why couldn't He do the same thing today as he did in 1978? While God could perform any miracle He wants, how much is this occurring in the world today in a genuine manner? The disciples not only raised the dead in the first century, but they also had the ability to take up deadly snakes and drink poison! (Matthew 10:8) No mention of that here. 

GF: Doesn't that help your faith to grow? I mean, we're talking about faith in being able to be healed, faith in being able to be resurrected; it's the same faith. But if you don't have the faith to be healed, how can you be resurrected?

ESN: Instead of helping the brethren's faith "to grow," this seems like a fear tactic. What GF is saying is that if members don't have enough faith, not only will they not be healed; they just might not get resurrected! What a fearful thought to think your own resurrection depends on having a certain kind of faith instead of resting on the Words of Scripture.

GF: (Quotes John 11:21) "Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

So she's making that ridiculous statement. [emp. mine]

ESN: What is "ridiculous" about wanting your own brother not to die?

GF: (quotes John 11:24) "Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 

Now, brethren, tomorrow pictures the resurrection of the Last Day, and here's a lady that KNEW that he was going to be resurrected then and he would be in that resurrection and that God would take care of him, and her faith was deplorable! And she KNEW about and BELIEVED in the resurrection that is pictured tomorrow. She BELIEVED it. But then, Satan does, too. He believes in that day. He believes in God's Plan. 

ESN: GF shows an incredible lack of mercy and compassion toward Martha. Of this passage, J. Vernon McGee says, 

GF: There's no difference, really, in the faith to resurrect somebody from the dead, or to believe in the Great White Throne Judgment, or some resurrection. We're going to have to have FAITH to come up out of the grave, or to come alive when Jesus Christ gets here. 

ESN: Christ is the one who saves us and Christ is the One who resurrects us. Our hope in the resurrection is based upon Christ's resurrection from the dead.

GF: Now, Jesus Christ was upset with these people, and I'm sure at times He's upset with us. You know He is, considering what we do. [emp. mine]

ESN: Does the Bible say Christ is upset with us? This goes completely contrary to His love for His children.

GF: Now look, He does resurrect people from the dead, and I have  ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that he resurrected Mr. Armstrong, just brought him back to life. Brought him back to life, and he didn't even want to go on living. He knew how helpless he was, and how hard it was, how difficult it was to go on doing the work at the age he had to do it, and he didn't want to do it. But God figured, "Well, that's no good. That's good that you're that age. Then you'll rely upon Me more! And not yourself."

ESN: What is GF saying here? No matter how tired and burdened you are, no matter how hard it is, you will want to keep going—just like HWA did. Don't think about how God promises to give us comfort and encouragement, just think about how HWA did it, and so can you.

GF: If Mr. Armstrong did more in those last seven years than he did ALL the rest of his life, and he wanted to die because he was so old and weak, well, then there must be a great value in those trials we're going through, wouldn't you think, sometimes when we're awfully weak, sometimes when we'd rather, maybe, have somebody else do the job instead of us doing it?

ESN: Do you feel the pressure, guilt and heavy burdens that GF has just placed on the members? No matter how tired, no matter how old, no matter how weak—they better keep pushing on; they better keep praying, striving, sending in their tithes and offerings, having faith, or they won't make it. No rest. But what did Christ say?

GF: Now, brethren I'm saying this in love. I love all of you very much and I know you're God's people.

ESN: Does he love them? If so, why no mention of the Savior's love for them?

GF: But I do want you to consider seriously the truth that God is giving you at this Feast, and I think that's why God wanted me to get more into this. He's concerned about YOU, and He wants to know that you go away from here and you really use what you're learning to TRUST Him, whether it be to heal or face any problem that's out there.

ESN: GF is giving the same message HWA thundered out: "Now that you've received the truth, you are responsible for it!" What truth?? The truth is in Christ Jesus. The truth is knowing Him and receiving His salvation. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6) [emp. mine]

GF: There isn't ANYTHING we can't do, and the biggest flaw we could have is looking and trusting ourselves. That's the biggest flaw of all.

ESN: In other words he is saying that they can be healed, they can rise from the dead, they can keep going ... anything, they can do it, and if they don't, they have looked to themselves and they are flawed.

GF: If we really and truly, deep down, believe—here's the point—really deep down, believe in that resurrection that's pictured tomorrow and the first resurrection, we also believe that God will heal us right now. Now, of course, there's always the possibility He won't. He might let us die, but we're still going to be healed. It really doesn't make that much difference, as long as we're doing God's will. It doesn't really matter.

ESN: Believing we can be healed is connected with believing in the resurrection. However, GF says God "might" let them die (as we assume happened with his wife), but it "really doesn't make that much difference" and "it really doesn't matter." What a statement! Grieving for loved ones who have died evidently doesn't mean very much as far as GF is concerned. What does the Word of God say? 

GF: The problem is—if we don't get these words in our mind and begin to apply them .... when Mr. Armstrong died and had to be brought back to life, and if He can't reach us in teaching through examples like that, HOW is He going to reach us? Well, it's only gong to be through suffering, isn't it?

ESN: GF is telling them that if they don't do what he has told them, they are going to suffer (yet many of them are already suffering). 

GF: Do you know about the Laodiceans? Do you know why they're going to suffer, and suffer, and suffer, as perhaps nobody in the Great Tribulation? because they know they could have avoid it. 

ESN: The "Laodiceans" to PCG are not only those in the Worldwide Church of God, but all those who aren't in the PCG and don't trust what GF is saying. GF has put himself up in the place of God in the minds of the members. Fear of suffering in the Great Tribulation keeps them from leaving. 

GF: They won't BELIEVE! And there's no excuse for their unbelief! There's no excuse for their lack of faith!

ESN: There is nothing in Revelation that says the church of the Laodiceans won't believe. It says they are lukewarm. The Laodiceans made their boast in material possessions. It had to do with worldly wealth. Does this describe the members in PCG, or does it sound more like Gerald Flurry? The Laodiceans had no love of Christ, no preaching of grace.

GF: And so I'm really telling you how to avoid some suffering. Mr. Armstrong had some wonderful books on healing, a booklet on healing, and one on faith. ...we need to read them from time-to-time and keep working on building our faith, and accept the tests that God gives us, because it really is good for you. [emp. mine]

ESN: What GF is telling them will almost guarantee suffering. HWA's healing booklet has caused countless people to die because they didn't go to the medical establishment when they needed to. There is nothing "good" in placing our trust in a man and failing to exercise wisdom and good judgment. 

GF: (Quotes John 11:25) "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"

I mean, here's a bold statement. This man standing right there before her said, "Look, I AM the resurrection. I'm the one that's going to resurrect all those people on the Last Great Day."

ESN: GF is adding words. Jesus does not say in this passage of Scripture that He is going to resurrect people on the "Last Great Day." There is no Jewish feast day called the "Last Great Day." Furthermore, you won't find it anywhere in the Bible. This idea is what HWA concocted by putting together the words "...on the eighth day" from Leviticus 23:36,39 and "the last day" plus "great day of the feast" from John 7:37. 

GF: "I'M the one that's going to be used to resurrect those people in the first resurrection. Are you telling Me I can't bring somebody up out of the grave NOW?"

I mean, He was incredulous! 

ESN: GF is portraying a false Jesus here; a Jesus without humility, love, mercy and compassion. Jesus was not incredulous. He was instructing Martha.

GF: (Quotes John 11:26) "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

He's asking them. Do you believe that someone—I mean, really, brethren, this is heavy, heavy, heavy and wonderful truth. But he says, "Whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe that?"

ESN: Those who have trusted Jesus have eternal life at that very moment and shall never die spiritually for their sins, because Jesus has died in their place. How much does GF really understand what Jesus is saying in this verse?

GF: Well, I certainly think you do, but we need to work on building our faith; we need more of that. 

ESN: Faith works by love and it's acting on what God has said. While there are graces we add to our faith (2 Peter 1:5-7), there is nothing mentioned in the Bible about "working on building our faith." Instead we are to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (II Peter 3:18)

GF: I mean, you're going to be the Bride of Jesus Christ! You have noticed how He looks, right? I know you have, because we keep pounding away at it and pounding away at it at the Feast of Tabernacles.  [emp. GF's]

ESN: Do true ministers of God need to "keep pounding away" at their members? 

GF: He's asking us, "Do you believe? Do you really believe this?" Because 95% of God's people don't. Let's be honest; let's not sugarcoat this. Let's look at it the way it really is. Do you believe this? The Laodiceans don't.

ESN: Where does GF get the figure that 95% of God's people don't believe they were called to be the Bride of Christ? This would leave only 5% as believing. That is absolutely absurd and has no biblical basis whatsoever. 

GF: The healing promise includes the resurrection. But you can't just say, well, just because you believe in the last Great Day or the first resurrection, that  you have the faith to get you there. ... Why should it seem strange that the Head of this Church, who IS the resurrection, would maybe cause Mr. Armstrong's heart to start beating again? I mean, come! Where's the logic in that? Is Jesus Christ REALLY the Head of this Church, or isn't He? If He IS, that's NOTHING!

But that's what Christ was dealing with here. It doesn't make any difference which resurrection it is, or if it's a resurrection today. It's still the same.

ESN: What is GF trying to get across here? Is he saying that all who died with a disease (including his wife) will be "healed" in the resurrection? The Bible shows us that in the first resurrection we will have a body like unto Christ's glorious body. Nothing is said about being "healed in the resurrection."

GF: But I want you to see, brethren of God, how the Head of our Church felt about that. Please notice this. (Quotes John 11:32) "Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

Well, here we go again. That's the sister. You know how it is in families, they tend to think alike. So here she comes along and she thinks the same way.

ESN: GF's judgmental and insensitive attitude toward women is shown by his words. The way Jesus treated women is revealed in the Scriptures. Jesus was always merciful and compassionate. Martha doubted and needed instruction; Mary wept and needed comfort. Jesus met both of them in their need.

GF: (Quotes John 11:33) "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her..."

I mean they were really, really crying and mourning the death of Lazarus. They were all weeping.

"...weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,"

Because they were just out of control in their weeping, as it were, compared to what Jesus Christ said it should have been.. [emp. mine]

ESN: Since when is weeping for a loved one that has died considered being "out of control"? But those who are unfeeling and callous, it would be.

GF: And then he groaned in His Spirit and was troubled. Do you think sometimes we trouble Jesus Christ, brethren? Do you think sometimes He groans about what we do and how we conduct ourselves? I think so. I mean, I'm just being honest with you in love for you; I'm not trying to beat you down AT ALL, but we must face reality. And God is not going to give us all this wonderful future here unless we really believe, and have His faith in us, the very same faith He has.

ESN: What cruel, uncaring, lying words! GF says he is not trying to beat them down, but what else could this be called?! He has given a totally false picture of the Lord Jesus and has left the members feeling guilty, unloved by Christ, unable to measure up, and afraid that they won't inherit eternal life unless they "really believe" and have the "same faith" Christ had. As shown at the beginning of this article, it is faith in Christ that saves. 

GF: (Quotes John 11:36) "Jesus wept." And how many of us have memorized that as a child. Jesus wept. All these people were crying around there, and you know what it did? It made Jesus Christ weep, only He was weeping for something far different than what they were.

You see, we can get too carried away with death. Well, it's such a terrible thing, he's dead. It really is not a huge factor in the overall plan of God. [emp. mine]

Jesus Christ cried! Because they didn't believe! And they should have! 

ESN: GF again shows his incredible lack of compassion for those who have lost a loved one. Contrary to what GF thinks, this verse shows the heart of God. When we go through times of sorrow and affliction He is there, He cares, He weeps with us. 

GF: (Quotes: John 11:42) "And I knew that thou hearest me always:"

Now, brethren, our faith is not perfect, but we need to know that God always hears us if we're praying in faith. ... That's what this chapter is all about. He's saying, "Look, you people cannot make it if you don't just get away from that human faith, and begin to have the faith that I have! And I KNOW that My Father always hears Me." [emp. mine]

And He thanked Him before He even resurrects Lazarus. How about that for faith?

ESN: Jesus said what He did so that the people would believe on Him. The rest of the verse (which GF didn't quote) reads:

GF: I'm telling you, the stakes are awfully high, and most of God's people have not passed the test...

ESN: Healing and being in the resurrection is not a matter of "passing the test." Whether we are healed, or not, depends on the will of God. Being in the first resurrection is a result of placing our faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

GF: ...if we don't really search for all the fragments, as I was saying before, and really learn everything we can at the Feast, we won't build that kind of faith. But if we do that, we will. We will. That's a promise from God. This is a relationship.

ESN: This is not a relationship that GF is describing. This is bondage.

GF: See, if you had real faith you'd stand there and you'd talk to your Father the way Jesus Christ did, and you'd bring the Father into the picture. ... If you have the Father in the picture, you know you're a son and you know that you're going to enter into His family, the Father's always foremost in your mind because He's building His family, and He always hears you, unless you're sinning. 

ESN: GF berates the members for not having "real faith" while the Word of God instructs us to place our faith in Christ, to believe in Him, and that He becomes the Mediator between us and the Father. (I Timothy 2:5) To know Him is to know the Father, who already is in the picture. 

GF: (Quotes John 11:43-45 about Jesus raising Lazarus). ...maybe the more John thought about it and thought about it and Christ worked on his mind, because he lived to be this old man, then he began to say, "Whoa! We didn't even get that example! We didn't even understand what Christ was talking about! We didn't even know that He was trying to show us the kind of faith that we have to have if we're going to be martyrs, if we're going to have to die. 

ESN: Who is the "we" that John is supposed to have said didn't understand what Christ was talking about? The Scriptures show that the entire church at this time turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6), raised the dead (Matthew 10:8; Acts 20:9-12), had great faith (Romans 1:8) etc. And many Christians down through the century died as martyrs without renouncing their faith in Christ.

GF: And all of them did, except John, and he went through prison camp. ... I'm not trying to put him above the others, at all, but I'm just saying that he had a lot of time to study and think and pray and analyze, "What did Christ mean by this example?"

ESN: Most scholars affirm that Revelation was written in A. D. 95 or 96 (when John was on the Island of Patmos) and after Domitian died in A. D. 96, John was allowed to return to Ephesus where he wrote his epistles about A. D. 100). Did John set around studying, thinking, praying, analyzing? Or did he write what Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, inspired him to write? 

GF: And I think yesterday on the plane God just decided to give me more understanding. Now, I call that revelation!

ESN: Is God giving "revelations" today? Or are we to listen to His Son and what He has revealed in the inspired Word of God?

GF: I'm nobody, I'm a sinner. I'm not fit to be here, and I'm not here exalting myself. I hope and pray to God that I'm not.

ESN: Then why does GF want to make the members think that he has certain "revelations" that God again revealed to Him? Isn't this putting himself up?

GF: "...it's not going to be long. We'd better get used to this; it's not going to be long till we're going to meet David, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all these great men of the Bible. It isn't going to be long.

ESN: Didn't HWA, for decades, say that it "isn't going to be long"?

GF: ...God was just pouring thoughts into my mind ... I was just told, and I don't know how many people this involved, maybe it's just a few, maybe it's more than a few, I'm not sure, but some people, anyhow, that registered to come to the Feast just didn't come. ... Now, I know there are some legitimate reasons, and please understand I'm not talking about that, but I'm talking about people that just do that and then they don't show up, and I'm telling you, brethren, they THINK they have eternal life. I don't believe they do! 

ESN: Anyone that has trusted Christ as their personal Savior can know (not "think") that they have eternal life:

GF: I think they're dying! Or in some extreme cases, maybe they're dead spiritually, forever!

ESN: We cannot lose our eternal life.

GF: When God gives it to me, I'm afraid not to give it to you. And I hope that we always have that fear, because that is precisely why we're here, to learn to fear God. And we'd better fear Him, brethren, and I'm not taking about the punishment part of it. I'm talking about the reward that God is going to give you for doing this, for just believing Him. 

ESN: GF is greatly concerned about losing members, which has been happening as more people wake up, realize he is not speaking for God, and leave. God has not given us a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7). There is no fear in love, because fear has torment. (I John 5:18). Our eternal assurance rests on Christ and what He did for us on the cross—an all atoning sacrifice—which has enabled us to receive redemption through His blood; forgiveness of all our sins, past present and future and our being eternally safe in Him—it does not rest on what we might think or do.

GF: We all have too much carnality. Mr. Armstrong said he thought he was only 51% converted. That probably makes us less than 51% converted, by a considerable margin, maybe. Well, let's hope not.

ESN: GF tells us that Mr. Armstrong thought he was "only 51% converted" we must be less than that percentage. Does this make sense? First of all, becoming converted is not a matter of degrees, it is a matter of trusting Christ and receiving a new nature. It's a matter of whosoever will may come. GF emphasizes "carnality." The Word of God shows that we cannot reform or change the old nature, but we can walk in the Spirit and have the love of Christ.

GF: So I don't want to have Jesus Christ on my case, for, well, I mean, really it's pretty dramatic, brethren. Of I had never really understood John 11 like I do now, it's pretty dramatic that God sort of crammed it in my head on the way down on Alaska Airlines, of all places! That's the wonderful God that we serve.

ESN: This doesn't sound like a "wonderful God." It sounds like a harsh taskmaster that is ready to punish his subjects for the least infraction. 

GF: I mean, the Father wouldn't have sent Jesus Christ down here to be BUTCHERED and KILLED unless He was serious, would He? If He's that serious, we must get that serious. ... Why would He come down here and go through the meat grinder for you? And we need that kind of faith. How did He get through it? Well, through this faith that I'm talking to you about. That's how He got through it. That's how He made it through.

ESN: These are coarse and unfeeling words to describe our Savior's sacrifice! God knew from the foundation of the earth that His Son would come and willingly die for our sins: 

GF: And I don't care what anybody says, I don't care what those people that didn't come to this Feast say, I don't care what the Laodiceans say. at the end of the day, this is going to judge you. The scriptures can't be broke. It's going to judge all of us.

ESN: As children of God who have trusted Him as our Savior, we have nothing to fear when Christ returns:

GF: If Jesus Christ were here today, do you think He would be here? Do you think He would be here, attending this Feast? Do you think He might just register and not show up? I mean, this is everything to Him. This is His life! This is what he died for! And lived for! I think we all know the answer to that.

ESN: Would Christ be observing days that pointed to Him and have already been fulfilled through his death and resurrection? Whether we need to keep the Law for salvation has been covered elsewhere on this site.⁸

GF: I mean, God is serious about this because, after all, if the Father would give His only begotten Son and let God die for our sins, you know He's serious and He really is putting it all on the line, taking a chance of losing one of the two gods.

ESN: Where in the Bible does it say that we will become "gods"? This is an idea that HWA pilfered from the Mormons,⁹ but it is not scriptural. There are ample verses that show we become "children of God," "sons of God" and "heirs of God," but never "gods."

GF: Don't you think He's going to require something of us? Well, we do, and that's why we're here, and I know that, brethren. I know that's why you're here. But God help us if we let down like that.

ESN: God doesn't "require something of us." We are saved by His grace and it is His Spirit in us which will produce works of love.

GF: (Quotes John 20:24-26 about Thomas not believing) "Stick your fingers into these holes in my hands, and your hand right in my side where I was SPEARED TO DEATH, and BELIEVE!

ESN: Jesus was not "speared to death." He was already dead by the time the spear was thrust into Him. The soldier wanted to make sure He was dead. Jesus willingly gave up His spirit when He died. This is placed right after they filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed. See the gospel accounts, especially John 19:33-34:

GF: Well! Now, Thomas ought to have had more faith than that, and sometimes, brethren, we ought to have more than what we have, and I include myself. We ought to have more faith. There's some people going to have to have a gaping hole and Christ standing there to stick their hand into His side before they can believe? And that kind of faith is going to get us nowhere.  

ESN: The Scripture shows that Thomas loved Jesus. He had previously said in John 11:16, "...Let us also go, that we may die with him." Although Thomas missed out on the joy and peace the other disciples were experiencing after Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus showed much love and understanding with Thomas. He didn't berate him or criticize him for his lack of faith, as GF does with the members. Jesus came especially to see Thomas and to give him proof that He was alive. 

J. Vernon McGee says (in referring to these verses) says: 

GF: ...But He wanted Thomas and He wanted all of them to see, "Yes, that was Me! Yes, that was the Word that became flesh! I was here on this earth! And they did kill Me because of your sins! I died because of your sins!

ESN: The Scriptures do not state that Jesus reprimanded his disciples in this manner whatsoever. He was loving and kind with them.

GF: And now, brethren, He wants us to believe, and that's the kind of faith that's going to get us resurrected. ...

ESN: Is that really what is "going to get us resurrected"? Or is it our faith in Christ?

By D. W.
Exit & Support Network™
November 19, 2004