Hope of Salvation: How the Church of God Differs from Protestantism
By Robert J. Thiel
Perhaps the most often asked religious question I have heard is, "How is the Church of God different from Protestant faiths?" The most obvious answer is that of history. While most Protestants trace their history through the Catholic Church until the time of the reformation led by Martin Luther, the Church of God traces its history from the first Pentecost after the crucifixion of Jesus. While there are many beliefs within the Protestant world, this paper will most often referred to the predominant belief within Protestantism on the subjects it addresses.
While history is the most obvious answer, probably the biggest differences relate to teachings concerning the law and salvation. (Note: When this article uses the term 'Church of God', it does not includes those groups who also use that name which teach against the ten commandments, are non-Sabbatarian, are 'Pentecostal', and/or are trinitarian. Some of the beliefs mentioned in this article are also not held by groups that do not believe in the observance of the Feasts mentioned in Leviticus 23.)
Contrary to what some seem to feel, the message of the Church of God is one of hope for all humankind. While this message does include one of repentance (Acts 2:38), it is more than that. It includes the hope of the resurrection and the promises God made (Acts 26:6-8). It is the gospel, the GOOD NEWS, that God will intervene in world affairs and establish His kingdom on the Earth (Mark 1:14; Acts 20:25; Revelation 11:15).
"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:3-5). The Protestants and the Church of God accept this plain teaching.
But who will be there and who will not?
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Revelation 22:14-15).
The basic Protestant view is that the ten commandments were done away, that now one only needs to believe on Jesus Christ, and that the only commandment now is love one another. Protestants tend to feel that since God showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16), that this sacrifice allows Christians to love one another without the need to keep the ten commandments. This view seems to ignore the plain scriptures which show that Jesus kept and taught the ten commandments, Paul kept the ten commandments, as did the other New Testament writers.
It also ignores a couple of other interesting scriptures in the Book of Revelation: "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17) and "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12). Both of these scriptures show that the saints during the end-time believe in Jesus AND keep the commandments of God (though many Protestants feel that the ten commandments were only for the Jews to keep, this ignores the fact that the ten commandments were all in effect before Mount Sinai and that the Bible calls New Testament believers 'Jews' more often than it calls them Christians).
While the basic Church of God view is that the commandments show love, the basic Protestant view seems to be that the law contained in the ten commandments is done away and that they (Protestants) show love apart from the law. In the view of the Church of God, the many of the problems people now experience is because they have rejected God's governance over their lives, including keeping His laws. (The Protestant view seems to be that all the problems people have are because they live on the Earth, and that for some reason other than obeying God's commandments, paradise--which they define as being in heaven--will be better than Earth.)
James wrote, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty" (James 2:8-12). James, of course, was talking about several of the ten commandments.
James also wrote, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 17). In the view of Martin Luther, the acknowledged founder of Protestantism, the book of James was an epistle of straw. This seems to contradict II Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The Apostle Paul quoted the following about the new covenant, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness" (Hebrews 8:10-12). Furthermore he taught, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?...For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord...What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet'...Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 6:14-15,23;7:7,12). (This article will not take them time to discuss all of the writings of Paul that the Apostle Peter wrote are improperly twisted, II Peter 3:15-16, but here is a link to the article Paul and the Ten Commandments which shows that Paul taught that all ten commandments are to be kept.)
When is Salvation Available?
The Protestant view correctly teaches that there is salvation in no other than Jesus (Acts 4:11-12). Yet the basic Protestant view is that unless one professes belief in Jesus prior to death, then salvation will be unavailable. It is perhaps because of the difference between this view and that of the Church of God, that Protestants tend to label Church of God groups as cults. The remainder of this article will attempt to demonstrate the biblical error of this Protestant view.
The Church of God teaches that God is only calling a relatively few during this age with the Day of Pentecost (also called the Day of Firstfruits, Numbers 28:26) partially explaining this. "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18). The Church of God teaches that God will ultimately give every individual an opportunity for salvation--and that nearly every individual will accept that opportunity.
Protestants seem to feel that whosoever will may come. Jesus and the Church of God teach, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). And that will be few at this time, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14), "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:14).
Protestants tend to feel, correctly, that God uses ministers to preach (Romans 10:14). Yet, the message is not always clear. In Isaiah 6:9-11 God teaches, ""Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed." Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate"". In other words, the bulk of the people are not to understand until after a time of great desolation.
The Apostle Paul Makes it Clear that Not All Have Been Called Yet
The Apostle Paul wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else. Look how he makes it clear that God did not call all of Israel and that God has allowed people to be blinded until it is time, but that eventually "all Israel will be saved":
"What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: "God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day." And David says: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always." I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, If by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins"" (Romans 11:7-27).
It should be noted that when Paul uses the term "all Israel", he seems to be referring to "spiritual Israel" (as opposed to physical Israel). For earlier in Romans he wrote, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God" (Romans 2:28-29).
Jesus Further Taught
Protestants often teach that Jesus used to parables to make the meaning of what He taught clearer, yet the New Testament shows the opposite is so, "And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.' "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it"" (Matthew 13:10-17).
Furthermore, even those who hear can have their understanding taken away, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful " (Matthew 13:19-22).
So now we see the dilemma that Protestant teachings on salvation face. Since Jesus taught the message is not intentionally made clear, only those been called now can understand, and even those who understand can get their understanding taken away by a wicked one (or temptations) or can be not chosen (by God), what happens to those who do not understand? Or what happens to those who have never even heard of Jesus? The official position of many Protestant churches is that those individuals will burn forever. Which means that most of humanity throughout its history is doomed to be punished forever.
Is that fair?
Obviously not.
God Is Love
"God is love" (I John 4:8). Romans 9:14-15 states, "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." We know that God chose part of Israel in the Old Testament, and few, if any, others.
If the predominant Protestant interpretation is correct, then God is going to punish everyone else who never had any opportunity to live God's way of life. There was no internet, etc. in those days, and no possible way the average person living in China, Japan, remote Pacific islands, India, etc. could possibly have learned anything about the true God of Israel; yes God says that they have no excuse concerning knowledge of His existence (Romans 1:20) and that all should repent (Acts 17:31), but not all hear (Romans 10:14) or are chosen (Matthew 22:14). The same scripture that commands all everywhere to repent also states, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked" (Acts 17:31). The Protestant view seems to be that those whose ignorance that God has overlooked are lost--if so, why would God have overlooked their ignorance?
Even in Israel, most were not called. But even though dead, they still had hope. One of the scriptures that is commonly read on in the Churches of God on Last Great Day of the Feast (John 7:37) is Ezekiel 37:11-14, "Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.' "
Without a future resurrection to judgment, which allows for hope, then this passage is untrue (or to be interpreted quite differently than from what I think it clearly says).
All the Currently Uncalled Are Not the Same
Most Protestants teach that one is either saved or lost (however they seem to put babies and very young children in the category that they are saved without first accepting Jesus Christ, since the very young could not know nor sin). The general Protestant belief (babiew notwithstanding) suggests that all the 'unsaved' are in the same situation. This does not seem to square with what Jesus taught in Matthew 11:23-24, "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." (Jesus taught the same basic thing regarding Chorazim being contrasted with Tyre, and Sidon, Luke 10:13). Now God destroyed Sodom for its wicked works (Genesis 18:20;19:24). If what the Protestants believe is correct, then all in Sodom will be destroyed and will be no better off than those in Capernaum--which is a clear contradiction of what Jesus wrote.
Furthermore, Jesus did not let those in Capernaum know all that He did, Matthew 8:4-5, " And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum..." (Although He did do miracles there, Luke 4:23.) Also, He spoke to them in unclear language, like parables (John 6:41-59). So, we see that many wanted to see, but were not allowed to.
The following scriptures show that only some are now called: 1 Peter 2:9-10, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light". Ephesians 1:4-6, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will".
God Wants all Saved
But God wants all saved! 1 Timothy 2:2-4, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
"And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (Revelation 20:12). The basic Protestant view is that those in not in the 'first resurrection' (Revelation 20:5), will be judged and condemned when they are brought back to life. While this is partially true, it ignores that Jesus taught it would be more tolerable for some than others at this time (Matthew 11:23-24; Luke 10:13). Even though these people will have no excuse (Romans 1:20), God will be merciful. The Churches of God generally believe that only those who have intentionally disregarded what they knew and sin willfully (Hebrews 10:26-27) will be cast in the lake of fire (Hebrews 10:27; Revelation 20:14). Others (including babies) will be given a real opportunity for salavation. This period of time is believed to be around 100 years. Isaiah 65:20, "No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." Those who still are sinners after this period will also undergo the punishment of being cast in the lake of fire.
The Churches of God generally believe that God reveals His plan of salvation during His annual worship calendar. Protestants have normally rejected God's Holy Days for others with much less biblical support (for further information, please read the article Is There "An Annual Worship Calendar" In the Bible?)
It is Not a Second Chance
Those who already had their opportunity will be destroyed without this later opportunity (Hebrews 2:3;6:4-5). Thus the Bible is clear that some are called now, and others to be called later. This is the hope of not just physical Israel, but also those who will be called later and to be part of spiritual Israel (Romans 9:6-8). While there may be more than one way to interpret various scriptures, I believe that overall, what Churches of God teach on this subject is consistent with the Bible. Since God is love and intentionally has not called or chosen everyone in this age, then it is clear that He does have a plan for all.
"And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? " (Acts 26:6-8).
Or why should it be incredible that God truly has a plan for salvation? There are probably around 350,000,000 nominal Protestants currently alive; and perhaps 10% of those are devout. If one takes the Protestant view to its logical conclusion, then over 5,900,000,000 people currently alive are doomed to burn forever. The Protestant view seems to be that God will show His love by saving a relatively few Protestants while tormenting the greatest majority of humankind forever. Surely, any thinking Protestant can see the gross error in the traditional Protestant view.
If you are Protestant, and cannot yet accept the view of the Church of God, that nearly everyone will be saved, I certainly can understand your reluctance to accept such a radical (though biblical) view. I would suggest that you pray, fast, and meditate about it. The God we serve in the Churches of God is just, and truly is a God of love.
Bob Thiel, 2002/2004