Is the Church of God really the church of God?

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Is the Church of God really the church of God?
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Introduction

• The following presentation is not intended to
  judge nor to condemn any man.
• I will spend much of our time educating you on
  the practices and doctrines of the Church of God.
• With the time remaining I want to address
  specifically some of what I believe to be the
  error and false teaching contained.
• Galatians 16-9

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Introduction

• The information that I will share with you was
  obtained by permission from the Church of God
  International offices located in Cleveland,
  Tennessee.
• If you wish to verify any of these claims, you
  may contact them at [phone].
• In our study tonight, we will examine the
  history, practice, and doctrinal commitments of
  the Church of God as it relates to the Word of
  God.

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My Duty

• Let me emphasize again that as a preacher of the
  gospel, it is my duty to preach the word and to
  reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete
  patience and teaching. For the time is coming
  when people will not endure sound teaching, but
  having itching ears they will accumulate for
  themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
  and will turn away from listening to the truth
  and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 42-4)

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• Founded in 1886 on the Tennessee North Carolina
  border by 8 Christians at the Barney Creek
  Meeting House.
• 21 years after the formation of this union, the
  growing movement would establish itself
  permanently as the Church of God.

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• Presently, the Church of God has a world-wide
  membership of over 6 million with a presence in
  nearly 150 countries.
• Leaders of the Church of God are recognized as
  some of the most respected Pentecostal leaders of
  today.

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• Christian
• First and foremost the Church of God is a
  determinedly Christian church. It is built upon
  the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The
  doctrines and practices of the church are based
  upon His teachings.

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• Protestant
• The Church of God is founded upon the principles
  of Protestantism, although not a traditional
  follower of any specific leader of the Protestant
  Reformation. The denomination stands firmly for
  justification by faith, the priesthood of
  believers, the authority of the Bible, religious
  freedom and the separation of church and state.
  It stands against the abuses and extravagance of
  ecclesiastical ritualism and dogmatism.

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• Foundational
• The Church of God subscribes to the following
  five foundational Christian doctrines
• The inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.
• The virgin birth and complete deity of Christ.
• Atoning sacrifice of Christs death for the
  worlds sins.
• The literal resurrection of the body.
• Christs second coming in bodily form to the earth

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• Evangelical
• The church of God has aligned itself with the
  basic statement of faith of NAE (National
  Association of Evangelicals), the largest
  association of evangelicals in the USA. Members
  of NAE subscribe to a common statement of faith.
  The Church of God can be described as positioned
  in the mainstream of Evangelical Protestantism.

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• Pentecostal
• In 1896, many members of the Church of God
  experienced a spiritual outpouring they
  identified as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
  Because it was so similar to the experience of
  the early Christians on the day of Pentecost, it
  came to be called a Pentecostal experience, an
  enrichment of the Christian life through the
  power of the Holy Spirit that empowered believers
  to be effective witnesses of Christ.

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• Charismatic
• The charismata (Gr.) or gifts of the Spirit
  appeared early in the life and ministry of the
  Church of God. The Holy Spirit bestows these
  gifts and those who accept the validity of these
  gifts are called Charismatic.The gifts can be
  divided into three categories
• Gifts of Revelation wisdom, knowledge,
  discernment
• Gifts of Power faith, miracles, healing
• Gifts of Utterance or Inspiration prophecy,
  tongues

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• Evangelistic
• From its inception the Church of God has been a
  revival movement. Evangelism has been in the
  forefront of all its activities. The church has
  maintained an aggressive effort to take the
  message of Christ throughout the world by all
  means and methods. Every program of the church
  reflects an evangelistic attitude revivalism,
  conferences, worship services, teaching,
  preaching and its missionary efforts.

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• Organized
• The magnitude of the Great Commission requires a
  united effort. This united endeavor is
  efficiently served by guidance, support,
  resources and leadership from a common center.
  The church of God is centrally organized.
  Centralized church government is administration
  from the international, state or local levels.
  It helps facilitate the fulfillment of the
  mission of the church.

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• The Church of God believes the whole Bible to be
  completely and equally inspired and that it is
  the written Word of God. The Church of God has
  adopted the following Declaration of Faith as its
  standard and official expression of its doctrine.

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• The Church of Gods Practical Commitments offer
  Scriptural guidelines for practical Christian
  living. They are
• Spiritual Example 5. Behavioral
  Temperance
• Moral Purity 6. Modest Appearance
• Personal Integrity 7. Social Obligation
• Family Responsibility

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• You should have all received a copy of the
  Doctrinal Commitments as promoted by the Church
  of God International Office located in Tennessee.
• Please keep this list and search the Scriptures
  to see if these things are so!

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• We have spent much of our time this evening
  looking at what exactly the Church of God does
  and what it teaches.
• Although I believe there are more than just
  three, I want to address what I believe to be
  three key points of error that are held by the
  Church of God.

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• History
• The Church of God openly admits to being a
  denomination that has its roots among men
  starting in 1886.
• The church of God has biblical historical
  references beginning a few years after the death
  of Christ Acts 2028 1 Cor. 12 1122 Gal.
  113

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• Denominationalism
• Again, the Church of God openly admits to being a
  denomination that has its roots among men
  starting in 1886.
• The church of God is not denominational!
• John 1720-21 Acts 2028-30 1 Tim. 41-3
• Ephesians 44 1 Corinthians 1213 ONE BODY!

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• Leadership
• The Church of God is led by the General Assembly
  that is made up of laity and ministers and meets
  biennially.
• The church of God is led by its head, Jesus
  Christ, and local churches are led by elders who
  oversee the flock.
• Eph. 122-23 Acts 2028 1 Peter 51-4 Titus 15

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Conclusion

• Time does not allow me to address many of the
  fundamental key points of doctrine that are
  taught by the Church of God.
• I hope that by simply seeing these three basic
  errors in the Church of God, that although it may
  claim to be the Church of God it is,in fact, not
  the church of God that we read about in the New
  Testament.
• Galatians 16-9