FISHERMAN'S NET LIBRARY

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 |     |   |         THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD AND         |   |     |
 |     |   |          SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS COMPARED          |   |     |
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   Historically, Seventh Day Baptists are much older then the Worldwide
 Church of God. Seventh Day Baptists date their actual origin back to
 the early seventeenth century in England and to 1671 in America. The
 Worldwide Church of God was actually organized in the twentieth century
 by its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, as the Radio Church of God.
 
   Several Sabbatarian denominations have attempted to trace the history
 of Sabbatarianism through the Waldenses, Lollards and Anabaptists of
 Western Europe some of which kept the Sabbath on the seventh day of the
 week. Their purpose, however, was to show an unbroken line of Sabbath
 observing churches from apostolic time to the present in order to claim
 apostolic succession. This position is no longer held by the Worldwide
 Church of God. Seventh Day Baptist have never felt the necessity to make
 a claim of apostolic succession since they have always recognized that
 the "invisible, universal Church of God" consists of all who believe in
 salvation by faith in Christ without regard to doctrinal differences. 

     The two denominations are alike in the following ways:
     
   1. Both are Christian bodies. Both believe the Church is the Body
   of Christ, consisting of all who have faith in Jesus Christ and in
   whom the Holy Spirit abides. Both believe the Church is to preach
   the gospel, to teach all that Christ commanded, to baptize, and to
   nurture the flock and is directed by the Holy Scriptures, led by
   the Holy Spirit, and looks continually to Jesus Christ as its Head.

   2. Both believe that the gospel is the good news about salvation by
   God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ and is the message that
   Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that he was raised on
   the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to
   His disciples. Both believe it is the good news that the kingdom of
   God has been inaugurated by the saving work of Jesus Christ.

   3. Both believe water baptism signifies a believer's repentance
   and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and both practice
   baptism of believers by immersion.
     
   4. Both believe that the Christian faith includes allegiance and
   obedience to our Savior and the purpose of His law is summarized in
   His commands to love God and neighbor and therefore faith in Christ
   leads to works of love and service. Both believe that through the
   Holy Spirit, Christ transforms the hearts of his followers, which
   produces the fruit of the Spirit.
     
   5. Both hold worship services on the seventh day of the week.
     
   6. Both hold to the principle that the Bible -and only the Bible-
   is the authoritative source of our faith.
     
   7. Both believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the
   Godhead, the Comforter promised by Jesus Christ, sent from God to
   the Church and lives in the believers, transforming them through
   repentance, sanctification and continual renewal, and is the Source
   of inspiration throughout the Scriptures.
     
   8. Both believe that Jesus Christ, as he promised, will return to
   earth to judge and reign over all nations in the kingdom of God and
   His second coming will be visible, and in power and glory. Both
   believe that this event inaugurates the resurrection of the dead
   and the reward and the inheritance of believers which is eternal
   life as immortal children of God in communion with Him.

     Important points of difference are:

   1. Seventh Day Baptists are a covenant people, bound together by
   loving relationships with God and with each other. They covenant
   together, agreeing to strengthen these relationships. Doctrinal
   differences are tolerated within the church family because it is
   love that holds Seventh Day Baptists together, and not doctrinal
   uniformity. The Worldwide Church of God has a creed determined by
   its church headquarters. Local churches are bound together by
   agreeing to this doctrinal uniformity.

   2. Seventh Day Baptists believe in individual interpretation of
   the Scriptures under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For this
   reason they allow for differences of belief and understanding of
   the Scriptures. The Seventh Day Baptist Statememt of Belief is
   therefore kept to a minimum in its basic. The Worldwide Church of
   God affirms that its Statement of Beliefs does not constitute a
   closed creed and they constantly renew their commitment to truth
   and deeper understanding and respond to God's guidance in beliefs
   and practices. However they have a much more extensive set of
   beliefs and the recent revision was made without seeking any input
   from the local churches. Their regimentation in doctrinal beliefs
   from church headquarters discourage any personal search for God's
   continuing revelation and inhibit personal religious liberty.
     
   3. Local Seventh Day Baptists churches are autonomous in polity.
   They are congregational in organization. Denominational Boards, the
   General Conference and its committees exercise only delegated or
   advisory powers to effect the will of church membership. The World- 
   wide Church of God is authoritarian in church organization; local
   churches and individual members are to a large degree directed by
   and responsible to the church headquarters. In the Worldwide Church
   of God, the decision-making process involves councils of ministers
   reporting to the Pastor General, who holds the chief administrative
   office in the Church.

   4. Although the Worldwide Church of God holds worship services on
   the seventh day of the week, they now believe that the Christian
   Sabbath is the regenerated life of faith in Jesus Christ, in whom
   every believer finds true rest. The weekly seventh-day Sabbath,
   which they now hold to have been enjoined upon Israel in the Ten
   Commandments was only a shadow that prefigured the true Reality to
   whom it pointed--our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They now claim
   that physical Sabbath keeping is not required for Christians and
   holding weekly worship service on the seventh-day Sabbath is now
   only done because it is the tradition and practice of their church
   as is also the celebration of the annual festivals based on the Old
   Testament feasts God gave to Israel, serving only as memorials of
   God's great acts of salvation in history and as annual celebrations
   of God's power, love and saving grace in Jesus Christ.
          
   Seventh Day Baptists believe that the Sabbath of the Bible, the
   seventh day of the week, is sacred time, a gift of God not just to
   the Hebrew people but as Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man"
   (which in the Greek New Testament is "anthropos" -all mankind). The
   Sabbath was instituted at creation long before there were Hebrew
   people, it was affirmed in the Ten Commandments which is the Moral
   Law beyond the Mosaic Covenant, and was reaffirmed in the teaching
   and example of Jesus and the apostles throughout the New Testament.
   Seventh Day Baptists believe that the purpose of Sabbath rest is to
   be an experience of God's eternal presence with His people. In the
   Christian's obedience to God and in loving response to His grace in
   Christ, the Sabbath should be faithfully observed as a day of rest,
   worship, and celebration. Seventh Day Baptists believe that one of
   the purposes of the New Covenant in Christ is to write all of God's
   Moral Law -all Ten of the Commandments and not just Nine- on the
   hearts of all those who love and trust in Him for their salvation.
 
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