Cherry Pickin'

Towards the end of my time in the xCG, I was dealing with seeing how wrong Herbert Armstrong was on a few issues. As much as it hurt and ran contrary to everything I believed for decades, I had to face facts. I started to think it was as simple as not condemning others who disagree with me. Now I understand it's more than that. I cannot demand others believe as I do.

In response to my xCG friends who demand I keep the Old Covenant as they do: Why do you try to convince me to keep the law when you don't keep the law?

For example, God said in Deuteronomy 16: 16 "three times a year every male will appear before Me [you go one time] ...and they will not appear before Me empty." That was in reference to a burnt sacrifice, which everyone knows are gone. So, not being content to keep the law, HWA changed the sacrificial law to mean "money", and changed the 3 times to be 7 times - and yet you follow him. In order to facilitate the newly changed law, he also changed the tithe law. He undermines the Malchizedek priesthood, reinstates the Levites (well, the parts about money anyhow), takes a tithe out of money (when tithes were never from money), and then proceeds to multiply that 3 times. The first tithe being for his Levites, the second to keep the law he changed with some saved out for the Levites, and the third was supposed to go to the poor but went to his Levites again (who weren't supposed to own property by law, but that third tithe got them the BEST property). Then he went even further and changed Tabernacles all around. Will you be making a booth of branches this year? He interpreted Tabernacles to mean "the Millennium" when there's not the slightest evidence that's what Tabernacles is about - in fact it's contrary to Tabernacles symbolism.

This isn't law keeping, it's law changing! It's cherry-picking! You cannot have it both ways. No one can say "the law is in effect", but then cherry-pick what parts of the law that meant. Not if you intend on looking down on others who don't agree with you.
(GAL. 5: 2-4) "Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised [set out to keep the Old Covenant], Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

People always say to me "I'm doing the best I can". If it is a law, you wouldn't try to convince me I have to keep it, then make a convenient excuse for why you don't keep it. Because "I do it the best I can" isn't exactly honest. It's not hard to make a booth of sticks, we've known for years about making booths of sticks, some Jews today make booths of sticks, it's just that for some reason you won't do it. And to smooth it over you say you're doing it as best as you can. By your own actions you prove it's not a law to you. The way I see it, you're not keeping it as best as you can, you're keeping it as best as you care to; there's a difference. You cannot cherry-pick!

(GAL. 5: 18) "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Let go of your fear. Overcome it with the love of Christ. Let that Holy Spirit live in you and the good works will flow out of you from it. The New Covenant... it's amazing!