SECTS AND THE MIND OF GOD
by Richard Burkard
Many journalists learn the polite, non-biased word to describe the old Worldwide Church of God and its spinoff groups (translation: you won't get sued) are religious sects. People and organizations which tend to oppose such groups use a much more foreboding word, which journalists are supposed to avoid unless there's direct evidence of it - cults.
The word "cult" can produce all kinds of scary images - from crowds chanting sayings over and over at a faster pace to a smug-looking leader, to masses of people walking around like a hall like zombies. In many cases, critics put two phrases on members of such groups. They're either under "mind control" or are "brainwashed" by their leaders in some way.
I scoffed at applying these labels to the old WCG (which is now Grace Communion International and striving to move away from that image). But shortly after my baptism, ministers brought Bible verses to my attention which actually reinforced the critics' viewpoint. I started telling church friends as strange as it sounded, the Christian way of life is mind control. Is that a fair statement - and what is the whole-Bible perspective?
Defining Terms
Before we dig deeply into Scripture, let's get an outside and hopefully impartial definition of some terms. A sect is defined by my American Heritage Dictionary as "a schismatic religious body.... any small faction united by common interests or beliefs."
The decades of fighting in Northern Ireland were described as sectarian - as Catholic and Protestant groups clashed often. Yet I can't recall anyone ever calling those groups "cults."
One dictionary definition of cult sounds similar to a sect: "A system or community of religious worship and ritual, especially one focusing on a single deity or spirit." But others are more ominous in tone. "Obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal... An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric interest."
Based on these definitions, some could say any church which is devoted to worshiping God or Jesus Christ is a cult. It could even extend to sports fans joining "nations" to back their favorite teams, as well as political parties.
You won't find the word "cult" in either the King James or New International Version Bibles. But "sect" appears a few times. A high priest had supporters from "the sect of the Sadducees" (Acts 5:17; KJV unless noted), which often was at odds with "the sect of the Pharisees" (Acts 15:5). Paul left the Pharisees to become what critics called "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (26:5, 24:5) -- the sect label some people put on Jesus (Matthew 2:23).
How interesting it is that "sect" comes from the Greek word for "heresy" -- a word we equate today to being the opposite of orthodox or accepted teachings. Yet it was the apostle Paul who declared, "....after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets...." (Acts 24:14) - along with a belief in Jesus Christ.
We see from these verses that all branches of religion can have sects. The Pharisees and Sadducees were Jewish. Modern-day Islam has similar groups, such as the rival Shiites and Sunnis. And by extension, mainstream Christianity has more sects than we can count - even within the Protestant "sect," which one dictionary would call heretical from established dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church.
Sects Within
So if we might borrow from a classic Ambassador College booklet title: "Is Sect Sin?" Some sects can be, if they take you away from the Biblical standard - and therein lies the problem. Christian groups, even within the Sabbath-keeping Church of God movement, have different views on what that Biblical standard is.
I write this shortly after a weekend snow and ice storm hit my area. As part of my job, I reviewed weekend church cancellation notices. There were so many of them, I longed for the ultimate right answer: one notice covering all believers - "so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought" (I Corinthians 1:10, NIV unless noted).
The apostle Paul wrote those words to a church which had internal "sects," with people seemingly following four different leaders (verse 12). People who have spent years in COG groups probably can think of similar situations in our time. But Paul went on to emphasize the last Name on his list - Christ, above mere servants such as himself (3:5-6).
So how do we achieve that perfect unity of mind? Since God the Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), we think it starts by being in tune with God's mind -- and by logical extension, putting out things contrary to that mind.
Thought Wrestling
This leads to a key verse to my old conclusion that mind control is essential in a Christian walk. Paul offers it to the Corinthians again: "We demolish and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (II Corinthians 10:5).
Sound extreme? For some people, it can sound well-nigh impossible. I've met people who admitted thinking was hard for them to do. Yet let's be honest - aren't we all thinking about something at any given point in the day or night? It could be your job, the drive to and from your job, or the song playing on the radio while you're driving. That thing which has your attention is the thing you're thinking about.
The Bible clearly shows some people's minds have been blinded from the things of God. "But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear," Moses concludes in Deuteronomy 29:4. Paul adds: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (II Corinthians 4:4).
Believers should stop here and, well, think carefully for a moment. Have we excused the ways and actions of a sinful world by saying, "God has blinded them to the truth"? Which "god" do we mean when we say that? COG groups have long taught this verse in II Corinthians refers to Satan -- yet only the New Living Translation directly names the devil there. And this appears to be the only place in the New Testament where the devil is called a "god."
Yet a wise man named Job said of God: "He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason...." (Job 12:24) In fact, God could afflict people with "confusion of mind" for not obeying Him and following all His commands -- even in Old Testament times (Deuteronomy 28:15, 28).
Jesus's own disciples didn't truly grasp the "person" they were following until after He was resurrected. "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45) - likely referring to the "Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" mentioned in the preceding verse.
Surrender Your Mind
So how do we "take captive every thought"? It begins by surrendering our thoughts to His -- "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).
Verse 9 goes on to note God's thoughts are higher than ours (suggested also in Romans 12:3). If this doesn't stick enough of a hole in your ego, go back to I Corinthians again. "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile" (3:20, rewording slightly "the thoughts of man" in Psalm 94:11). And even worse, Jesus bluntly declared, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts...." (Matthew 15:19; see also Isaiah 59:7) - in effect connecting our hearts and minds.
In other words, we need to be "serving the Lord with all humility of mind" (Acts 20:19, KJV; see also Daniel 10:12). It means admitting our hearts with their "evil thoughts" are deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), and asking God to clean them up. It also means admitting our minds are sinful by nature: "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God...." (Romans 8:6-7)
In fact, Paul goes even farther in I Corinthians. "Brothers, stop thinking like children," he scolds a church. "In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults" (14:20) - but here, Paul admits he was once in their spiritual boat: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me" (13:11).
Are You A Grown-Up?
This leads to the next obvious question: what's the difference between "childish" thinking and "grown-up" or adult thinking? Several verses indicate to us what the thoughts of a child are:
+ Thinking evil of others (Zechariah 7:10).
+ Plotting to gratify sinful desires (Romans 13:14).
+ Thinking we are something, when in reality we're not (Galatians 6:3).
On the other hand, God provides a simple checklist for proper thinking in Philippians 4:8. Put the wording from six Bible translations together (all lying around our home), and we can build it into a somewhat "amplified" list. Paul writes we should think about things which are....
1. True
2. Honest ("venerable" in KJV margin), noble, honorable, worthy, holy (CEV, assuming it flipped points 2 and 4).
3. Just, right
4. Pure
5. Lovely, attractive (Moffatt), friendly
6. "Of good report," admirable, good repute, high-toned, proper
7. "If there be any virtue," if excellent, any excellence, "truly worthwhile"
8. "If there be any praise," praiseworthy, worthy of praise, "all merit"
This becomes a great area for self-examination, at any time of year. Are your thoughts turned in these directions? And perhaps we should add: is your view of God and Jesus Christ turned this way?
Little Helpers
Now we know the right way to think - but how do we focus our minds in that way? That truly is the "mind control" challenge.
I think some Christians try to do it by carrying reminders of their calling with them, such as crosses or "WWJD" material. Church of God leaders have tended to scoff at this approach.
During the 2010 Feast of Tabernacles, United Church of God Council of Elders President Melvin Rhodes said in a video message "WWJD" items such as bracelets and key rings were "rather trite and rather meaningless.... certainly not something that we should do." I happened to be wearing one such bracelet, and at the end of the service I took it off - actually showing people sitting around me what I had done, so they could be witnesses.
Yet in late 2012 I started wearing it to services again - after Chairman Rhodes was called back to the UCG Home Office from an overseas trip, confronted with allegations of past indiscretions, removed as Chair and stripped of all ministerial credentials. (He quietly resurfaced during 2013 with his own blog, which doesn't seem to show any church affiliation.)
To this day, I don't know what Chairman Rhodes did. (If he was a Bible character such as King David or the apostle Paul, we'd probably know.) But I can't help wondering if a portable "reminder" of his calling might have made a difference.
Ancient Israel had such reminders. "Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear," Moses advises in Deuteronomy 22:12. Why? "You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes" (Numbers 15:39).
Some Messianic believers wear tassels today. Yet many COG leaders still frown on them -- and one current UCG Council of Elders member even has preached against listening to "gospel music" (he was not more specific), declaring it is too "self-centered." He did not advise which styles of music are more God-centered. Based on their messages, some COG Pastors clearly prefer country music -- but we'll leave that for others to analyze.
The ministers indicate the "Spirit in our hearts" (as in the Holy Spirit) should be enough to maintain a Christian walk (II Corinthians 1:22). But based on what ancient Israel did, how could "something extra" in our ears or eyes hurt -- especially if they're done discreetly, and not flaunted as "church swag"? (Jesus warned against doing that with tassels in Matthew 23:5-7.)
Truly the Holy Spirit's presence is important in keeping a God-focused thinking. Among other things, it is a Spirit of peace (Galatians 5:22) - "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Chris Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
A Full-Time Job
If there are further tips in Scripture on taking our thoughts captive, I have not found them. (You're very welcome to submit some.) I conclude from this that ultimately, a God-focused mind is a choice - and a continual choice: moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day.
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things," Paul recommends in Colossians 3:2. That's especially important in moments of full worship, when our minds should give God undivided attention.
"Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray," advises I Peter 4:7. (Yes, I know - Peter wrote that because he thought "the end of all things is near." That was in around 63 A.D. His personal end came a few years later.) The apostle suggests not letting anything get in the way of our thinking. In fact, the Moffatt translation puts it: "Keep cool and pray!"
And lest we think worship should be a mindless "lose yourself" experience, Paul gives this word: "So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind" (I Corinthians 14:15). In other words, Christians should not "check their brains at the door" when they gather for worship services! They should be fully engaged.
The toughest part of this for me comes at bedtime. It's easy to offer a "goodnight" prayer to God, climb into bed and think I'm "off-duty" from the Christian life until the alarm clock sounds. But in reality, sinful thoughts and actions still can occur in the "quiet moments" of the bed!
"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you," David declares in Psalm 63:1 -- adding in verse 6: "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night." My Bibles indicate David wrote this in a desert wilderness, while King Saul pursued him (see I Samuel 23:14) - so indeed, the future king had reason for his mind to be preoccupied. He chose to focus on God instead.
I know of people who use modern tools to keep a God-focused approach during sleeping hours. They play church songs or Bible tapes in their ears using headphones, or keep a radio playing a Christian station all night long.
Conclusions
Ungodly, devilish ideas and things can come at you when you least expect them. They could be one stray phone call or web page away. So it's important to keep on the "helmet of salvation" (Ephesians 6:17) to protect our minds and thinking.
"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways," Solomon says in Proverbs 14:8. We can look back at King Solomon's life and conclude he didn't always do that -- even though King David warned him, "....the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts" (I Chronicles 28:9).
It can be scary to realize God can examine your thoughts -- and even "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Proverbs 24:9, KJV). So we need to monitor our thoughts throughout each day, and kick out of our brains the things which don't belong. God "will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast...." (Isaiah 26:3)
The apostle Paul gives a summary of the gospel message in Philippians 2. It begins with these words: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (2:5, KJV). In fact, we're told to "fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess" (Hebrews 3:1). Seek God's help through the Holy Spirit to do that - even if you risk getting labeled, as a group in Japan was years ago, a member of a "doomsday killer cult."
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© 2013, Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.