Judgements of the Church

In the Bible, we read a lot about God's commandments, His laws, and His statutes, and also another word, judgments. I think I've heard sermons about the laws of God, the commandments of God, including the statutes, but what about judgments? There's much in the Bible about the judgments of God, and if you were to look it up in the concordance, you would say that we are to keep God's judgments. The word judgments goes back to the Hebrew word mishpat, M-I-S-H-P-A-T, and it means a verdict pronounced judicially, a judicial verdict, a sentence, or formal decree, a judgment. As much as we would use the word in English, a verdict, then a decision that applies to the law in the given situation or circumstance. So, judgment, when you think about it, is actually the application of God's laws to certain situations that develop in life, in the life of individuals or groups. In any home or family or business, there is going to be a need for judgment, for decision-making. Decisions have to be made, and certainly in the Church of God, there is a need for judgments. So today we're going to talk about the judgments of the Church, the judgments of God.

I want us to turn first of all over to Matthew 23 and 23. What we're talking about today is not a light matter. It should not be taken lightly. Near the end of the sermon, I'll bring out just how important judgments are in life and in the Church. Matthew 23 and verse 23, we read, These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. And so certainly judgment, then, is one of the weightier matters in the Bible. For a long time, I wanted to give a sermon on judgments of the Church, and I thought after Pentecost that this would be a good time to give it. That's the title of today's sermon, Judgments of the Church. I want us to first of all notice that there were judgments made in the early Church, and that God expects the Church to be able to make judgments based upon laws and principles found in the Bible. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6. This verse indicates that we should be able to make judgment in the Church, and judgment that is right and true. And based upon God's Word and God's righteous laws. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 1. We have a passage here about judgment in the Church. Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? We know that is what will happen in the millennium, in the thousand years when Christ and the saints will reign. The saints will judge the world with Christ. And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Brethren, we should be able to have judgment in the Church, honest and fair and just judgment. Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the Church to judge? Are we going to go outside the Church? That would be what he is referring to, to seek a judgment. I say this to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you, someone capable of righteous judgment, not even one who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers. Now therefore it is altogether an utter failure for you to go to law against one another.

Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded instead of taking your brother to law? No, you yourselves do wrong and defraud and you do these things to your brethren. So this passage then is talking about the fact that we should be able to have judgment, righteous judgment in God's Church.

And that certainly there is a need for judgment in the Church in matters that arise. Let's go to Matthew 16. It is indicated here that the ministry of God's Church would have a responsibility of judgment upon their shoulders. Matthew 16 and verse 18.

Jesus was asking who people thought he was. And Peter said in verse 16, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter. And on this rock, the word Peter is from Petros, a small rock. On this rock, it goes back to a Greek word, Petra, which is a larger rock. On this rock, this crag of a rock, I will build my church. Jesus was referring to himself. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And in this verse 19, he goes on to say, And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. God's ministry would not be able to preach the truth about God's kingdom and his purpose that we be in his kingdom unless we understood it. The keys of God's kingdom would be understanding about the kingdom of God, and about the laws of God that we are to keep, and about the setting up of God's kingdom on the earth. Prophetic knowledge as well. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. There's more of the idea here that actually what we bind and loose on earth already has been bound or loosed in heaven. And God's spirit simply leads and guides us to see what direction he is leading us.

A good example of that is in Acts 15, of judgment, where God looses something and made it clear to the apostles that it was loosed. It was loosed in heaven long before it was understood on earth and loosed on earth. In Acts 15, we have the chapter on circumcision. Remember that some people were saying you must be circumcised to be saved. The Jews in that time had always circumcised, and they thought, well, if somebody is going to be in the church, then he must be circumcised.

They believed that was a requirement. Well, in verse 6, Acts 15 and verse 6, the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. Peter stood up and made certain comments, and Paul and Barnabas got up in verse 12, declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. Finally, James stood up and gave a judgment. He said in verse 19, therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God. In other words, our judgment should be that circumcision is not required of those that are turning to God. Those Gentiles coming into the church. So what was it that convinced them? It was circumstances that Peter had seen, that Paul and Barnabas had seen, and that others had seen.

Gentiles who were uncircumcised had received God's Spirit, had spoken in other languages. So God had already been showing them that something is loosed here. Physical circumcision is not required for salvation. So what is loosed on earth had been already loosed in heaven. God had already been showing the church which way to decide or make judgment in a matter like this. So led by God's Spirit, they made a judgment. The judgment was that circumcision was not required.

There's another example of judgment in the early church that I'd like to refer to. Then we're going to get into most of the sermon about judgments in the church today. I think it's important that we understand the judgments that we've had to make, that we've had to face. In 1 Corinthians 5, there is an example of a judgment against an individual that had committed an act of immorality in the church.

He had gone into his own father's wife, 1 Corinthians 5, verse 1. His stepmother, no doubt, had committed a sexual sin with her. People had not put him out and dealt with it. They were puffed up about it even. Paul says in verse 3, I indeed, as absent in the body, but president and spirit, have already judged. Paul says, I've passed a judgment in my own mind as though I were present concerning him who has so done this deed.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together along with my spirit, with the power, the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Put him out of the church. Put him back into the world. Maybe the spirit can be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. In skipping on down to the last two verses, he says, for what have I to do with judging those who are outside?

We don't try to judge those outside. Do you not judge those who are inside? That's what we're talking about today, the judgment inside the church. But those who are outside, God judges. So the judgment that Paul said needed to be made was, therefore, put away from yourselves that wicked person, the one who had committed the immoral act. Put him out. That was the judgment. So God's church then does not accept that kind of behavior of his membership. So we see that the early church was authorized to make judgments. There were wise men in the church able to make judgments, and of course God's Spirit was guiding and directing them.

Today, the Church of God also has had to make judgments. And you know, as ongoing, there will be yet judgments to be made in the future. We've not made all the judgments at all. There will be situations that come up. There will be circumstances where a judgment is required. The Council of Elders, maybe the doctrinal committee, or ones that can provide information will be called upon to help in making that judgment.

I'd like for you to know some of the judgments the Church has made. There are many of them, and you are aware of them. Maybe just about all of them, I would imagine. But it will be a good review. But for those who are not fully aware of some of these judgments, it will be good for them to know. Let's go over some of the basic judgments then of the Church in our time, and show the scriptural basis for each one. First of all, let's take tithing. We all believe in tithing.

Abraham tithed. Jacob promised that he would tithe. It's 10%, right? The word tithe means 10%. But the question is, what do we tithe on? We know that we don't tithe, for example, in the case of a farmer. He takes out his business expenses, and once he can calculate his profit, the profit on his farm, he's able to then calculate his tithe, his 10%.

But what about the gross income? Most of us don't have farms. We get a paycheck, and yet we don't get a full pay of what our income is. There's what is called the gross income, and we know that the government, in the form of taxes, takes out a big bite. Do we tithe on the gross income, or do we tithe on the net income?

Well, we do find the word increase. You can read that in Deuteronomy 14 and verse 22, and also in Proverbs chapter 3 and verses 9 and 10. We find the word increase. And what is the increase? Is it the net income, the paycheck that you are given, or is it the gross income before taxes are taken out? The church has made a ruling on this, and these papers are all available to you online, that I'll be referring to today.

I'll be referring to a lot of study papers. This tithing on net income doctrinal statement paper is just one page alone, but not including the cover page, just one page of written material. And it gives a judgment of the church on tithing on the gross or the net.

Let me read just the last few paragraphs. Our modern system of economics is quite different from that of biblical times. Furthermore, our system of taxation has a greater impact on wages and salaries than previous ages. If we take into account the various forms of taxation, such as income tax, sales tax, value-added tax, property tax, social security tax, the burden is often oppressive. The church recognizes the confiscatory nature of such taxation. Nobody asks you if they can take that money out of your paycheck. They just take it out. You just don't get it. You don't ever see it. It's confiscatory in nature. Therefore, the Council of Elders has adopted the following proposal. This is our guideline. This is our judgment on this matter. While the church acknowledges the validity of God's law of tithing, it also recognizes the excessive levels of taxation and their impact on individual incomes. The church believes that the appropriate definition of increase is net income after income tax. Therefore, the church teaches that the tithe may be calculated on net income after income tax has been deducted. Of course, members are free to tithe on gross income before income taxes are deducted if they so choose. And they are free to make contributions above their tithes as an expression of God's way of giving. So we judge that the net income is the true increase that we realize, and therefore is our titheable base.

What about the second tithe? We don't have a written policy or judgment on second tithe, but an unspoken policy would be that it is calculated also on the net income, the increase. We read and do run into Chapter 14, verse 22, and on down about the second tithe. And it does say, you shall truly tithe on the increase of your grain year by year. So the festival tithe or the second tithe would be calculated the same way as the first tithe is calculated.

Again, we don't have a written statement on that, but that is in practice the way what we have judged. What about the third tithe? It goes on and did a run in Chapter 14 to describe a tithe that every third year is to go to the widow and the needy. In our modern society, many nations have taken upon them tremendous social programs. They cover just about everything. And of course, in our own country, there is a lot of money that goes toward food stamps, welfare, and other programs of assistance that are similar to that of the third tithe.

Well, we've looked at that. The Church has. And we have written a statement also on third tithe, which I will now read to you. Many nations in our modern world have various social programs, the effect and intent of which is to fulfill the purpose of the biblical third tithe. These programs are financed by an involuntary system of taxation. In most cases, the annual rate at which social taxes are extracted is greater than the biblical third tithe.

The Armstrong had to look at this way back in 1982. It was brought to him that some people in Britain and Scandinavia, where they had tremendously expensive social programs, where their living was being so jeopardized that they just did not have very much left after they paid the first and the second and the third tithe. So he looked at that and he felt that members in Britain and Scandinavia did not need to pay what in effect would have been an additional third tithe to the Church. As Mr. Armstrong put it, the state, to a large extent, takes care of the widow, the elderly, the unemployed, the orphan, and the destitute.

Well, skipping on down, we've come to realize that this applies also in the United States as well, and maybe in other countries. And so the Council of Elders has resolved that where governments provide programs, the intent and purpose of which is to provide for the needs of those that are the biblical third tithe was designed to assist, and that where such programs are funded by an annual rate of taxation greater than the biblical third tithe, members who are so taxed are not obligated to pay what amounts to an additional third tithe to the Church.

Now, we go on to say that members not taxed in this manner, if they are not paying any taxation that would go into a social program, then they should follow the scriptural example to pay the third tithe. So that is our judgment. We believe the third tithe is something we should, that we're responsible for. But if taxation is indeed covering it, we don't feel that you are then required to give an additional third tithe.

And we end the statement by saying that the Council of Elders further resolves that there are always needs not adequately provided by national government social programs, and therefore the Church does maintain a Church assistance fund so that the biblical injunction to care for the needy within the Church can be fulfilled. So we encourage everyone to contribute toward that. If you feel that our taxation covers as far as helping the needy and there's no requirement for another third tithe, it would still be good to give some toward the Church assistance fund.

From time to time, we draw upon that to help our members pay for food or maybe house rent or other bills. So that's the Church's judgment on the administration of third tithe in today's world. You see, these then are judgments made on principles and laws of God and their particular application to our circumstances today. Sabbath judgments. Let's get into that area. There are a good number of Sabbath judgments the Church has had to make.

I might mention one that we have never spoken about a great deal, but we abide by it, and it's actually a judgment that is made by the nations on the earth. The nations on the earth have set the international date line. It kind of evolved and developed and ultimately ended up at the 180th longitude and opposite the prime meridian. If you were to look at the international date line, it comes down on the 180th longitude. It goes eastward around the eastern tip of Russia, and then it cuts back over and goes west of the 180 for the Aleutian Islands.

Then it comes back to 180 and comes on down, and then it juts way over toward the east around the equator just below the equator. Then it goes on down. It's quite irregular, but we feel that, when we respect the international date line, as far as the members of the church, then our members begin the Sabbath. Those who live just west of the international date line begin the Sabbath long before we do. For those just east of the international date line, they begin it, I guess, 23 hours before the ones just east of it.

You could have someone living a few miles apart, and one begins the Sabbath, and then 23 hours later, the Sabbath finally arrives just to the east of the international date line. But we respect the international date line in that God has given nations certain authority to rule and to govern. And whether Christ will change the international date line when He returns, we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, the church has no authority to go otherwise.

God has not authorized us to be the ones to determine the international date line. We do have other Sabbath questions that judgments... I mention the international date line because that is a judgment of the nations. The nations generally all agree with where the international date line is. It's a judgment of nations where that has been placed.

It makes logical sense where it is. It is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It has the least number of people affected by it. It would not make sense to put the international date line through the middle of Asia or the middle of North America, would it? Or even the Atlantic Ocean would not serve as well. The middle of the Atlantic would not be as good as the middle of the Pacific.

So where it was placed, it does make sense in some field that God inspired it to be put where it is. Leave that alone. Let's go on to another question. The beginning of the Sabbath in extreme northern and southern regions. We've had to judge on that as well. One man told me he went to the Antarctic or the Arctic. I can't remember which, but in the middle of summer, the sun never did go down.

It just kind of got at a low point and then it would just kind of circle around. Big circles in the sky. Anybody ever seen that? But that's the way it is for several months. Well, what about people that want to keep the Sabbath, where there is no sunset?

The Sabbath command is still there every seventh day. So the church is judged on that. The Creator God determines when the Sabbath day begins and ends, and sunset to sunset throughout the Bible. For all areas between the Arctic and Antarctic circles where there is a rising and setting of the sun, members should keep the Sabbath from sunset to sunset. But members living above the Arctic circle, 66 degrees, 33 minutes north latitude, live in a region where there is no sunset or sunrise for about three months in the winter. Similarly, there is no sunset or sunrise for about three months in the summer. There is no specific biblical instruction for people living in such an area. No one in the church can change what God has set, but in extreme situations like this, the church must make administrative recommendations. For our recommendation, we call it our judgment. You might say a recommendation, administrative recommendation. To adhere to scriptural principles, it is to view and recommendation of the church that a member use the time of sunset at the nearest latitude directly south of his location where a sunset actually occurs. He can find a sunset directly south of him. He should not go east or west, but go directly south and find a sunset. And so we recommend that he let that be the beginning of his Sabbath, and from sunset that way south of him to sunset south of him the next day.

That's the way he would mark the beginning and the ending of the Sabbath day. So in the Arctic and Arctic areas, that is our recommendation for the beginning of the Sabbath. Again, this paper is online. All of these are online members' website resources, papers, and you'll find these all listed.

What about business questions? What about keeping a business open? Can a Christian have his business open and have people working for him? Well, no. As a church, we recommend that members who own businesses close them on the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset in order to observe the commanded Sabbath rest.

And this was in United News back in February 2003. Remember the Sabbath and certain business questions that come up. And let's see, in the same one, there were comments made about ranchers and dairymen. What does a dairyman do? And Abraham was a rancher, so how did he handle his cattle? And he must have had milk cows. How did he handle that? We're not told exactly, but I'll read what the church has judged on ranchers and dairymen. In reference, even... Let me see. Let me break down a bit further. According to the commandment, all work was to cease when the Sabbath began as the sun set on the sixth day.

Whatever work would be required to feed and water your animals would be appropriate on the Sabbath, but one should not use his animals for work on the Sabbath, plowing a field, so forth. Jesus made reference to this principle in the New Testament. The Lord then answered him and said, Hippocrates, does not each one of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? So Jesus chose watering, and certainly by extension we could say feeding your animals on the Sabbath. In the case of dairy cattle, it would not be wrong applying this principle to relieve the animals by milking them on the Sabbath. Different dairymen may choose to do differently. Some milk late on Friday and then don't milk again until after the Sabbath on Saturday evening. Others milk on Sabbath morning. The actual practice can be worked out as to what is best for each individual case. So we have situations that come up of this type that we also have to make recommendations and judgments as to just... We do want to be true to God's Sabbath day. That's the important thing.

What about eating out on the Sabbath? This is a question that comes up and has come up in the past. We have a whole article again, a paper, a study paper, eating out on the Sabbath, principles of Sabbath observance. It actually is 10 pages long, and I'm just going to read the last paragraph or two. There are many other things that can be said about this issue, but the conclusion of the Church is that eating out on the Sabbath does not violate the Sabbath command. Whether one eats out on the Sabbath or does not eat out is a personal choice, but it must not become a point of division within the Church. If, after looking at all the Scriptures on this subject, an individual feels compelled not to eat out on the Sabbath, in a restaurant on the Sabbath, the Church respects His position, and so should each of us, if anyone feels like He cannot in good conscience do that. We simply ask that He keep it as a personal decision and not make any effort to persuade others of His view. To attempt to persuade others would be divisive. All things should be used for the purpose of edifying and building up and not tearing down.

So there's our judgment on eating out at a restaurant on the Sabbath. Let's get into the Hebrew calendar. We've had to also look at the Hebrew calendar real closely. And what is the proper time to observe God's Holy Days? And who is the custodian of the calendar? I believe that there are verses in the Bible that show that the Jewish people are the ones responsible. For example, in Romans 3, we're not turning to many of the verses. There are verses for all of these judgments which we have read. On this one, the Hebrew calendar, in Romans 3, verse 1, what advantage then has the Jew? What is the profit of circumcision? Any advantage to being a Jew? Verse 2 is the answer. Much in every way. No, there are advantages. Much in every way. Chiefly, the very top of the list, because to them were committed the oracles of God. And the Old Testament scriptures would certainly be included here. The knowledge of the Sabbath. The Jewish people have kept the Old Testament scriptures. The knowledge of the Sabbath. The knowledge of the Holy Days. And also the calendar. Nobody else has preserved the calendar century after century after century. The Jews have. And today, you can look at our calendars. They have Rosh Hashanah. They have Passover. Passover is one day late, but still the Jews know that it's on the 15th. They have their Passover. But the knowledge of when the Passover should occur is on the 14th day. We are able to determine that. So we use the Hebrew calendar. And let me read from our study paper again, the doctrinal paper, the Hebrew calendar. Again, all of these are on the same area under papers on our members' website. Okay, the last of our doctrinal statement is a paragraph there that I wanted to read. Some people have taken it upon themselves to determine the calendar. God lets them do so, but does He give them the authority in this matter? If I want to begin to have my own ideas about the calendar that are different, but who authorizes me to do that? Or anybody else? Romans 3 would indicate that if anyone is authorized to keep the calendar, it would be the Jews. And that's part of the oracles of God. The United Church of God accepts the Hebrew calendar. Here's our judgment after a lot of study on the calendar. The United Church of God accepts the Hebrew calendar as being authoritative in determining when the Holy Days are to be observed. We will continue ongoing study. We always are willing and strive for that. But we currently see no evidence that would cause us to reject the Hebrew calendar that has been accepted in the Church of God since at least 1940. So a judgment has been made that we should use the Hebrew calendar for determining when to keep God's Holy Days.

Let's get into another area of judgment, divorce and remarriage. Do you know that it is necessary for the Church to be involved in divorce and remarriage issues? We have a study paper. Again, this is around 10, 12, 11 pages long. The statement of belief paper is with the title divorce and remarriage.

It says on page 9 that divorce in the Church. There's a section here on divorce in the Church. Divorces that take place before conversion, we don't worry about that. All those sins of the past mistakes, maybe some have been mirrored and divorced several times. All that is in the past. But if there is a divorce that takes place after one becomes a member, that's where we are concerned.

Because the Scriptures are quite a number of Scriptures that have something to say about this.

Let me read from page 9 of our paper. Divorce in the Church affects more than just the couple that is divorcing. Since Christ clearly shows that there are cases where divorce can lead to sin, the Church does have a concern for the well-being of the people involved in the entire congregation. If a person remarries without scriptural grounds, the result is adultery, therefore sin or immorality within the Church.

And of course, if the individual, if it's left up to the individual to judge, he might be biased in his judgment. He may want remarriage and judge himself to be free, whereas maybe he's not. Maybe there are not scriptural grounds for him to remarry. In a frequently asked question, that's another part of the UCG, the main website, frequently asked questions, there's a section, What Does the Bible Teach on the Subject of Divorce and Remarriage?

A paragraph near the end says, When a marriage between two believers ends in a divorce, they may or may not be free to remarry. Within the United Church of God, the ministry considers the circumstances that led to the failure of the marriage in order to make a determination in accordance with biblical guidelines. A judgment is made by the ministry. Let's see the basis of that in the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 7. And in verse 10, be good for us to be aware of these Scriptures that apply to two people, divorced, who are members of the Church in verses 10 and 11.

To the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord. A wife is not to depart from her husband. God doesn't want marriages to break up. But even if she depart, let her remain unmarried. This would be, then, to two married members, two people that are married and members of the Church. Even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And the husband is not to divorce his wife. And then it gets into those who have an unbelieving mate. But if any marriage breaks up, the Church has an interest that God's principles are not violated.

If somebody were to remarry and not have scriptural grounds, there would be sin, then, in the body. And therefore, the ministry of the Church is responsible to judge in matters of marriage and see exactly where a person does stand in the sight of God. Be sure to read our paper, Divorce and Remarriage.

What about voting and involvement in politics? Well, we have a statement on that as well. And we have a paper on it. In fact, it's a long paper. 23 pages long. Voting and Involvement in Politics. You'll find it on our members' website under Papers. Here's the part of the concluding statement. The United Church of God maintains its traditional teaching that a Christian should avoid voting and participating in political elections and running for public office. The Church does not declare voting itself to be a sin.

However, this does not change the teaching and judgment of the Church regarding what is in our collective best interest. Even if one does not vote, division can result if one brings his political preferences to the Church. A person could come into our congregation talking just politics and that could certainly cause division. The act of not voting in the elections of this world in agreement with the principles given above is not an end in itself.

Even more fundamentally important for members of the Church in serving as an underlying reason for not voting and running for public office is promoting peace within the Church. That would be something if we're all every Sabbath here. About half of us Democrats and half Republicans. So we're having it at each other in our discussion because we're so involved in politics. Well, that's a concern. Promoting peace within the Church, not division over vote-related issues is also the clear issue of coming out of this world.

But we do go on to say in the final paragraph that voting in local, issue-driven matters has been seen as an exception such as local school bond issues, PTA, water treatment, zoning changes, sewage disposal, trash hauling, some of these things. If you were to see something in your area and you have a strong feeling about it, maybe a zoning issue or trash, if they're going to put up a big trash area near your community and you would like to get involved in that, then the Church has not seen that that's a problem, these local-type issues.

These cases of local issues are not viewed in the same manner as participation in the politics of this world. So read the entire article. If you have any need or question about it, voting and involvement in politics. The Church has made a judgment on that. What about balloting in the Church? Voting in the Church. We do voting in the General Conference of Elders. Is that wrong? There's a study paper on that as well, a doctrinal paper. Our conclusion is that balloting or voting is not unscriptural. It is not wrong. It's a way of seeking the multitude of counsel.

It's a way of reaching consensus. It's something we've actually been doing already anyway. How many times have we... I've asked my congregations many times for a show of hands. You're voting. You're balloting. We could pass around a piece of paper. It would be the same thing. And whether we should... maybe how we should do combined Holy Days or activities. So to get consensus or to get a multitude of advice and input, we've been doing that all along anyway.

And so balloting is just a way of doing that. At the very end of this 13-page doctrinal paper on balloting, again, that's available online, there is a significant difference between voting and what is commonly called politics. The unpleasant and ungodly wrangling over issues along with vying for personal advancement. Clearly, Christians must distance themselves from all negative and carnal politics of this nature.

We employ voting or balloting as a method of expression at all levels within UCG in an orderly and godly manner. Again, to get the multitude of advice and to reach a consensus. So, you know, judgment has been made as far as using that procedure for balloting and reaching judgments and decisions.

What about jury duty? We know that we are to come out of the world. We know we're not to become entangled in the affairs of this life and this world. The conclusion of the Church on this leaves it a little bit open-ended, but it is slanted toward be careful as far as getting involved in a lawsuit or as a juror.

The United Church of God supports its members in the exercise of their faith based on sincerely held religious convictions which the Church believes are consistent with Scripture. When a member seeks exemption from jury duty pursuant to his personal beliefs and convictions based on the Bible, it is the Church's position that such action is in keeping with the Scriptures. The United Church of God does not condemn any member who may, in good conscience, believe that he or she can, as a Christian, serve as a juror in a particular case. What one does must be governed by his or her own convictions based on the Bible, not on the beliefs or conduct of others. In any event, it is appropriate to ask that a member's convictions in this regard be respected.

We leave that a bit open. If you ever feel like you can get involved and serve in jury duty on a case, we leave that up to you. But again, this right up, the statement of belief, slants it that we should be careful getting involved in the affairs of this world.

The blessing of little children. We've made judgments on that. We do it the second Sabbath after the Feast of Tabernacles. However, a person could have a private in-home blessing of his little child, or it could be done upon his request at another time of the year. So we do have a policy on that. It's also online. The Church service format that we have, we have judgments on that. That normally is two hours long, standard songs, prayer, sermonette, announcements, songs, all right on toward the closing prayer. That's a pretty standard service format. However, when there's going to be a Bible study after services or some other club or activity, sometimes services may be shortened to 90 minutes and without a sermonette.

So we have guidelines. Judgments or decisions have been made along those in those areas as well. And there are other things where we have judgments as well, such as marrying outside the faith. What does the Church teach about that? I think I'll leave some of this for you to study and to read. We certainly teach very strongly. I'll just make a comment or two about marrying outside the faith. We teach very strongly that the Scriptures state that we should be in the Church, that a person should seek to marry a believer in the Church.

If someone chooses to do otherwise and against Church teaching and counsel, then we do not disfellowship that person. And we certainly hope that it will work out well and we'll try to help any way that we can to help it to work out well. And if a member were to bring the person that he has married to our service, then we would make that person welcome.

So that, again, is explained thoroughly in our paper, Marrying Outside the Faith. Okay, there are other judgments. These are some of the Church judgments that I wanted to bring out today, but just so that we all are on the same page, so that we all understand the Church's position and judgment on these matters. It is obvious that God has given authority to the Church to perform and carry out judgment. And one of the primary reasons is unity. We all do want to speak the same thing.

We want to be on the same page. In 1 Corinthians 1, I just have to turn back a couple of pages here, because I was in chapter 7. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10. Notice why judgment is so important and necessary. In 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10, we want to make sure we are on the same page and unified and together, same mind and same judgment. Many judgments will be made in the local area.

In one way or another, we make many judgments locally. Sometimes situations arise that are too hard, and judgment has to be moved, then, to a higher level. We have original pastor, Mr. Ken Martin. We also have ones at the home office. Sometimes it has to go up to those over the local minister. Let's go to Deuteronomy 17. When it does say go to our home office, then, when a hard matter, every hard matter, should go to our home office for them to ponder and to decide.

It's just like the circumcision decision went to the home office of that time. It came to Jerusalem. That's where they decided about circumcision not being necessary. In Deuteronomy 17 and verse 8, If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of blood guiltiness, between one judgment or another, between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, that is at the local level, then you shall arise and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. You shall come to the priest, the Levites, and the judge there in those days, and inquire.

They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. A decision would be made, then, at the home office. You shall do. What are we to do with such a judgment? You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you, according to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you you shall do.

You shall not turn aside to the right or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. And the man who acts presumptuously, who will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil person from Israel, and all the people shall hear in fear and no longer act presumptuously. So you know, that's how we ourselves, we have to be very careful then in matters of judgment. We believe that God does guide that His ministry takes judgment seriously and then strives in every way to apply the laws of God to specific situations and events and needs of the church and to make righteous judgment the right kind of judgment.

And it would be dangerous of us to be presumptuous. I say this to all of us that I think it's very important. The New Testament says the same thing toward the church. Let's notice this in Matthew 18, that we must not then be presumptuous as far as judgment that is made by the church. The ministry and the leadership of the church takes judgment seriously, I can assure you.

They do not take it lightly. We take God's laws into consideration and strive then to apply God's laws to the given situation at hand. In Matthew 18, verse 15, Moreover, if your brother sins against you, Oh, this is a one-on-one situation at first, your brother sins against you, then go and tell him his fault between you and him alone, just the two of you. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. What if he won't hear you?

If he will not hear you, then if possible, and if applicable, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. So you do that. Second step, number two. Step number three now, verse 17, If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. Well, that would be bringing it then to the ministry. Tell it to the church. But notice how important it is that this person would eventually see the error of his way. If his sin, if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a haven and a tax collector.

Let him be like one that is not even in the church. If he's not going to repent of his sin, if he's not willing to really see his sin, then let him be like a haven and a tax collector. And it goes on down to say in verse 18 that God is guiding in judgment in the church. Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

Or will have been bound in heaven could be the way that is translated. Whatever you lose on earth will or will have been loosed in heaven. Like the circumcision thing is, God's Spirit has already determined that actually. So again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything, they ask it will be done. So you see that it is important then that if we don't understand a decision, that we abide by it, that we are submissive to it, and that we are obedient. You know, think about it. When we do not, when we agree with a judgment, then we're not tested. There's no problem. You agree with it. It's when we disagree with a judgment that we're tested.

Our loyalty, our faith, that God is guiding is tested when we do not agree. But hopefully that is not the case with any of us. Brethren, to begin to wrap up the subject on judgment, I hope it's been helpful to you, and I think it is a very important one. You can see why it is a weightier matter of the law. Because situations do come up, circumstances and situations that need an answer, need a verdict, need a judgment.

And God's Church is up to it. Jesus Christ is going to carry out righteous judgment when He returns, it says, in the prophecies of the Bible. Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11 have verses on that. And the saints of God are going to help to execute righteous judgment on the earth and to assist Jesus Christ. So we need to be learning righteous judgment today. Remember, righteous judgment is based upon the holy and righteous laws of God. The basis of judgment is God's law, God's commandments.

Let's read a couple of verses in conclusion. Then in Jude, Jude, verses 14 and 15, Jude, the book of Jude, verses 14 and 15, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints. So Enoch, way back before the flood, prophesied about the coming of Christ and the saints. But for what purpose will Christ and the saints come? Verse 15, to execute judgment. So Jesus Christ and the ten thousands of saints are going to execute judgment, righteous judgment on the earth. There's not going to be anybody that's slipping money under the table, no lobbying.

It's going to be holy and righteous judgment. On all, it says. And facing those that are ungodly and certainly then urging them to repent. So Jesus and the saints will execute righteous judgment on the earth. And we must learn then be learning about righteous judgment today. Let's go to John chapter 7 and verses 23 and 24, our final scriptures. So I think these verses here admonish us what we want to be doing. And I hope this sermon will help all of us.

If there are questions about some of the judgments the church has made, then read the study papers that we have. Those study papers show a lot of scriptural background for judgments that have been made. In John 7 and verse 23, here's a situation. Let's get the picture.

Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath. And the Jews were not happy. But He would heal someone on the Sabbath. Jesus said in verse 23, if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, the Jews were very careful to do that. If that eighth day happened to be on the Sabbath, I attended the circumcision of our two sons. I think one was on the Sabbath. We did it on the eighth day also. Not that it had to be done on that day, but we did. And that's the way it was to be done in the Old Testament.

So Jesus said, if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? He said, that doesn't make sense. And He said in verse 24, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. So that's what we need to be doing as well. Learning how to administer and apply God's laws and commandments and judge righteous judgment.