Update 111

One of the greatest problems that people in general have, is that of right balance. Why is it that so many can be extreme in their approach, behavior and attitude? Of course, some would see balance as the middle road where fence sitting is a prime attribute and where indecision can reign. That, however, is not true and right balance. Whilst there may be individuals that can fall into such a category, they would not exemplify real balance.

We are to be a light to the world and to set the very best example. Do others see us as truly balanced individuals? Lack of true balance in our Christian lives can impact negatively on the way that others view us and the Christianity that we espouse. It can reduce our effectiveness in this area.

True balance means stability and constancy. It means that we have to become more like God the Father and Jesus Christ. They are the two most balanced individuals that it is possible to be. Malachi 3:6 is a simple little verse but with so much meaning: “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” God is never changing, always constant and balanced. Hebrews 13:8 gives us the same ringing endorsement of Jesus Christ: “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

God wants us to build His characteristics — the traits of His own nature — into our lives and into the way that we act and behave. Over the years, the true Church of God, “the mother of us all,” has engendered stability and growth in us through a balanced diet of sound doctrinal teaching, personal prayer, study and occasional fasting. The ministry strives to have a balanced approach to sermon subjects, including Christian living, doctrine, and prophecy, as we all continue to strive to be balanced in all things.

True balance is so important. Balance is not extreme. Suicide bombers are extremists. Trappist monks, known for their silence, are extremists. How can extremists interact with fellow human beings and be useful in society? People who watch television all day, every day, are extreme in their behavior, and so are Church members who focus solely and exclusively on prophecy.

We should be thoroughly balanced individuals. In short, balance is required in every aspect of our lives. We are to be followers of Christ. Let us follow Him in this most important area of our Christian lives — that of true and godly balance.
 

ISRAEL & THE UNITED STATES vs THE WORLD?

Dramatic developments in the Middle East during these past two weeks have shown how quickly Israel and the United States can find themselves isolated and condemned by world opinion.

As the Jerusalem Post reported on September 13, 2003, “the United Nations Security Council’s 15 member-nations warned Israel Saturday against carrying out its decision to ‘remove’ the Palestinian leader [Yasser Arafat].” The threat “set off pro-Arafat marches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and drew opposition from the European Union, the United Nations and Arab countries,” according to the article. The paper continued, “The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, threatened it would wage an ‘all out war’ against Israel if Arafat were to be harmed in any way. In a statement released Friday, the group said Israel would be ‘flooded’ with suicide bombers if action was taken against Arafat. ‘We will prove that we know how to defend our leader and symbol of our resistance,’ the group said.”

The newspaper also pointed out that “a poll conducted Thursday evening and published Friday in the Yediot Ahronot daily shows sixty percent of Israelis would like to see Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat killed or expelled.”

Israel’s reaction to the unanimous view of the Security Council, including the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France, was one of defiance, stating that Arafat is “a complete obstacle to peace and should have been cast aside years ago,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

Subsequently, the United States vetoed a proposed Syrian-sponsored resolution of the 15 Security Council members that would have demanded of Israel not to expel or kill Arafat. Bulgaria, Germany and Great Britain abstained, while France, China, Russia, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico, Syria, Angola, Pakistan, Chile and Spain voted for the resolution. Many commentators see the US veto as having been prompted by pressure from Israel. As USA Today reported, Washington vetoed the resolution as it did not condemn terrorist groups attacking Israel. Although Washington explained that it continues to oppose expelling Arafat from the West Bank, many observers are doubtful. “Arabs were dismayed by the veto, with some saying the vote showed the United States had lost its credibility as an honest broker in the Middle East,” according to USA Today. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said that the reasoning for Washington’s veto was “baseless.” He voiced his concern that the veto might be seen as a license to go after Arafat. France said “it regretted that the U.N. resolution on Israel didn’t pass. The resolution had ‘ a balanced message that we believed could bring a consensus,’ Cecile Pozzo di Borgo, the French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in Paris.”

Der Spiegel Online added that observers predict serious consequences for which the United States will be held responsible. Germany’s ambassador to the UN, Gunter Pleuger, stated that he was disappointed by the vote, as it had sent the wrong signal, and not all options had been explored.

Arafat dismissed the aborted effort of the Security Council to pass the resolution against Israel. A resolution “will not shake us,” Arafat said, “regardless as to where it’s coming from. We are more important than any resolution,” he added, according to Spiegel Online.

IRAQ’S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION?

The London based Sunday Times newspaper reported that inspectors had found no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It stated that British defense intelligence sources had confirmed that the Iraq Survey Group, an Anglo-American team of 1400 scientists, military and intelligence experts, has delayed indefinitely the publication of a full report, which had been due on September 15. The newspaper added that the report may not be published at all.

JAPAN vs NORTH KOREA

news.independent.co.uk reported on September 15 that “Japan’s Defence Minister [Shigeru Ishiba] has stressed his country’s right to strike North Korean missile sites if an attack is thought imminent.” The article continued that North Korea has allegedly “at least 100 Rodong ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan.” According to Ishiba, “‘the threat from North Korea…. is not just aimed at Japan and the U.S., it’s a problem for the whole world.’… He believes that President George Bush’s strategy is closer to his own approach, than the strategy of Bill Clinton. ‘Clinton’s policy toward North Korea was based on two false premises: one, that Pyongyang would keep its promises [regarding the 1994 agreement to abandon its nuclear programme]; and two, that North Korea would collapse,’ he said. ‘North Korea neither kept its promises nor collapsed. We are now faced with the consequences.'”

The article pointed out, too, that “a number of senior politicians have recently floated the idea of Japan developing its own nuclear weapons, and in June, a bipartisan defence group of 103 junior politicians called for the government to change its defence-only policy to allow for a ‘minimum’ level of offensive capability to attack an enemy.”

SWEDEN AGAINST EURO

“Sweden got a clear message on Monday that it will pay a political price for snubbing the euro by being frozen out of EU decision-making,” according to MSNBC News of September 15. The article continued, “The resounding 56-42 percent ‘No’ to the euro in Sunday’s referendum follows a rejection of the European Union single currency by the Danes in 2000 and a ‘not yet’ from Britain… Asked if Sweden would lose influence by staying outside the 12-nation euro zone along with fellow EU members Britain and Denmark, [European Commission chief Romano] Prosi told Swedish Television: ‘Certainly, yes.’… Britain saw the rejection of the EU’s most ambitious economic project as a blow to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Tabloid daily the Sun said it would ‘send shock waves round Europe and dent Tony Blair’s dream of getting Britain to dump sterling.'”

GERMANY’S NEO-NAZIS

“The threat to Germany from neo-Nazis has risen to a new level, Interior Minister Otto Shily has warned,” according to news.bbc.co.uk of September 15. The article continued, “The discovery of a suspected plot to bomb a Munich Jewish centre during a visit by the German president [Johannes Rau, as well as Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber and Jewish leader Paul Spiegel] has ‘dramatically confirmed’ the danger to society, he said on Monday… Officials believe plans were being made to bomb the centre on 9 November, when its foundation stone is due to be laid at a ceremony… The suspected attack would have coincided with the anniversary of the Nazis’ 1938 Kristallnacht attacks, when thousands of Jewish targets were attacked and dozens murdered… ‘There have been hints that right extremists are really a great potential danger for our society… This has now been dramatically confirmed,’ [Schily said]… ‘Faced with the flood of pictures from the Middle East, we had forgotten what extremists could also plan here at home,’ wrote Guido Heinen in Die Welt. ‘German political terrorism is back.'”

SCHILY CONDEMNS UNITED STATES ANTI-TERROR PRACTICE

In other news, Schily attacked the United States in an unusually serious way. According to Der Spiegel Online, dated September 9, Schily condemned the U.S. practice in its fight against terrorism to neutralize suspects without trial, stating that this practice violates fundamental principles of International Law. Schily, himself an attorney who had defended German terrorists in his earlier years, continued that the U.S. did not resolve fundamental questions, but he was hopeful that the thought process in the United States would lead to acceptable solutions.

GARNER TED ARMSTRONG DIES AT 73

As Associated Press reported on September 16, “Evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong … died Monday from complications of pneumonia… He is survived by his wife, three sons and five grandchildren.”

A: 1 Kings 15:5 reads, “…David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”

The account of David’s transgressions “in the matter of Uriah the Hittite” can be found in 2 Samuel, chapters 11 and 12. First, David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba; then, he tried to cover up his sin in different ways; failing that, he had Uriah murdered in war, so that he could take Bathsheba to become his wife. We read that “the thing that David had done displeased [or better: “was evil in the sight of”] the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). Later, after David came to his senses and realized what he had done, Nathan the prophet communicated God’s words to David: “Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (2 Samuel 12:9-10). Nathan added, “…by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14).

David’s conduct “in the matter of Uriah” constituted a great sin. This does not mean, however, that this was the only sin that David ever committed. The passage in 1 Kings 15:5, quoted above, must be read in context with all the other Scriptures on this subject. For instance, note the following statement in 1 Kings 14:8, “… yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do ONLY what was right in My eyes.” Taken all by itself, this Scripture would say that David did not sin at all — not even in the “matter of Uriah.”

A similar passage can be found in Acts 13:22, where Paul relates the following: “And when He had removed him [Saul], He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'” Again, a superficial reading might suggest that David did not sin at all.

The truth is, of course, that David sinned in many different ways. For instance, David sinned when he numbered the people at the end of his life. We are told in 2 Samuel 24:10: “And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned GREATLY in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.'”

David sinned on other occasions, too. Notice his words in Psalm 38:4, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.” Notice Psalm 40:12, “… My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are MORE THAN THE HAIRS OF MY HEAD…” Notice, too, David’s prayer in Psalm 25:18: “Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive ALL MY SINS.”

The Bible makes it very clear that everyone sins — even after conversion — and that there is no human being [with the only exception of Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth] who does not sin (compare 1 Kings 8:46). Job thought that he was not guilty of sin, but he deceived himself (compare 1 John 1:8). He was guilty of self-righteousness, thinking that he was more righteous than God (Job 32:1-2). God had to deal with him very severely so that he could see himself for what he really was (Job 42:6).

We are also told in Scripture that God forgives us our sins and even forgets about them, once we confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). In that case, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness (same verse). He will remember our sins no more (compare Jeremiah 31:34).

David had a loyal heart. When he sinned, he repented and asked God for forgiveness. He did not try to hide his sins, but he was truly heart-broken. He desired earnestly to be forgiven. He said in Psalm 51:3-4, 7, 9-11: “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight… Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… Hide Your face from my sins, And BLOT OUT ALL my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

When God forgave David, He removed his sins — not to be remembered anymore. Upon forgiveness, David was justified or righteous — but he always understood where his righteousness came from. He said in Psalm 24:5, “He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM THE GOD of his salvation.” Other passages confirm that our righteousness must come from God — in fact, it is God’s righteousness within us that makes us righteous (compare Philippians 3:7-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

God said that David followed Him with all his heart. When David sinned, he repented and obtained God’s forgiveness. God would forget his sins. That is why God could say, “David has kept My commandments. He followed Me with all his heart, to do ONLY what was right in My eyes.” (Compare, again, 1 Kings 14:8).

We also understand, of course, that God forgave David his sins “in the matter of Uriah.” Still, in the one passage, in 1 Kings 15:5, God brings this matter one more time to our attention. Not, because God had not forgiven David, but because this was a sin that belonged to a slightly different category. It was not the unpardonable sin, to be sure, since David will be in the Kingdom of God (compare Jeremiah 30:9; Hosea 3:5). However, it was not a sin that was committed “in ignorance” — because of a temporary, passing weakness that had “snuck up” on David. This was a planned, premeditated, carefully designed sin. David thought through very diligently how to cover up his sin with Bathseba, until he resorted to the murder of Uriah. God brings up the “matter with Uriah” one more time, because He was terribly grieved that David would have acted in such a way — and He wanted to impress on the reader the awful consequences of that sin for David and his entire household.

When we sin and subsequently confess our sin to God, God is faithful to forgive us (Compare, too, Proverbs 28:13: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”). We should not sin (1 John 2:1), but as humans, we will (compare again 1 John 1:8-9). Upon forgiveness (compare Romans 11:27), God will remember our sins no more (compare Hebrews 8:12). This should show us that we must strive to do the same. When we forgive, we must also forget. David sinned in many different ways — as we all do — but he obtained complete forgiveness from God, as his heart was right. In God’s eyes, David kept God’s commandments; following God with all his heart, to do ONLY what was right in God’s eyes.

We have placed another Standing Watch program on our Web site. It is titled, “Train Your Child…”

Our new booklet on “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World” is finished and on its way to the printer in Canada. It has been placed on our Web site at: http://www.eternalgod.org/lit/booklets/spirits.htm.

The Global Church of God in the UK has by now received about 1,000 responses to our ad campaign, offering “God’s Commanded Holy Days” and “Don’t Keep Christmas.”