A Response to a Letter by Bishop Moore-Koikoi Related to the Fall Out of General Conference 2019!

It seems as time moves along I find myself in disagreement with at least some of the bishops of the United Methodist Church, including the present bishop of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference where I hold my membership as an ordained elder. I responded to one of her letters prior to registration for an annual conference session. I believe I made my position clear to her in the following words >>>

Bishop Moore-Koikoi:

In your recent letter you reiterated concerning persons registering to participate in discussions related to the fallout following GC 2019 held earlier this year. You clearly stated that if any of us were going to try to convince others that we were right, DO NOT register!

In the first place, my calling from God as I entered the pastoral ministry 60 years ago as of June 21 was not to convince anyone that I was right! My calling was and is to preach and teach the truth of God’s inspired Word. The choice people make after being exposed to the Word of God presented is their responsibility.

In the second place, however, I know I am right on several critical issues related to the Christian faith such as:

1. Jesus Christ is exclusively the only way of forgiveness from sin and hope of being a resident in His Kingdom forever. Years ago there was a magazine printed for U.M. pastors titled, Circuit Rider. One issue showed a picture of a statue of Jesus with the question, “The Way, the Truth, the Life?” imprinted over it. The issue was devoted to a debate as to whether Jesus is the only way of salvation and eternal hope or the other religions in the world are on an equal level with Christianity and have valid claims in addressing the issue of eternal destiny! Either the radical “I am” statements of Jesus as stated in the Gospel of John are true and exclusive or He is the biggest liar and fraud to ever walk on two feet and certainly not worthy of 1 second of our time! Further, all that He said and did are true. If not, then throw the Bible into the garbage can, close the churches, and live the rest of our lives always wondering what happens when we die!

2. Jesus placed 4 demands on us humans. Unless we are converted and become as children, unless we repent, unless we draw life from Him by faith, and unless we are born again we will have no part or place in His eternal Kingdom!

3. The miracles as recorded throughout the Scriptures literally happened as reported in all the details, whether it be the Red Sea crossing, an iron axe head floating in water, a man swallowed by a great fish, feeding thousands of people with a few loaves and fish, the virgin birth, or a host of others. In my elective courses at seminary I chose to do one on contemporary U.S. theologians and one on European theologians. One of the wildest among many was one who said that Jesus was likely conceived when Mary was intimate with a mercenary on duty with the Roman army and he was an ancestor of the German people! How is that one for inspiring your faith and to know that Jesus had German blood running through His veins?

4. Jesus is going to return to this sin saturated planet at some point in the future. And yes, I know, it is common to deny this and be skeptical as to whether He really will come back. But He specifically promised He would return with many changes planned as He establishes His Kingdom. Having been personally acquainted with Him now for over 62 years I know I am right when I say that He always keeps His promises!

5. God is not only a God of love and compassion, but He is also a God of wrath and judgment! Starting in the book of Genesis and continuing all the way through the book of Revelation the truth of this is constantly repeated. The ruins of past cultures are mute evidence of the fact that a society of people cannot endlessly defy God and His standards for a sane, sensible, serene, stable, and secure nation and expect to survive. The once mighty Babylonian and Roman empires are prime examples!

6. God has clearly drawn the boundaries on human sexuality making clear to all who with open heart and mind take an honest look at those boundaries. He has spelled out explicitly what is sexually acceptable and what is not, even to the point that some immorality is not merely a sin, but an abomination!

Still contending at Circuit Rider's Range and blogging at Musings of a Maverick

Clayton D. Harriger, Retired Elder
Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference
The United Methodist Church
cc: Members of the Cabinet 44 5 Comments Like Comment Share

How to Become a Christian!

The most critical decision a person will ever make in his or her lifetime is the place and prominence that Jesus Christ will have in one’s everyday life with all its challenges and responsibilities! Will He be one Who is personal Savior and Lord as well as a faithful Friend always present on a 24/7 basis? OR is He one Who has been rejected and the choice has been to concentrate on self and the desperate pursuit of money, this world’s material goods, and pursuit of worldly pleasures with the deadly belief that if one just gets enough of these things one will be incredibly happy and satisfied! And there are those who become aware of the fact that there is a need to get right with God but choose to put that critical decision on the back burner until some “convenient” time in the future. See how one man ended up with all his wealth which he had zealously pursued in Luke 12:16-21.

God never speaks in terms of a convenient time but always in the present – the here and right now! NOTE > For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. [2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV].

The beginning point in becoming a Christian is honestly facing the truth that we have been born into this world with three strikes already against us because of inherited sin. We are sinners who have sinned against God and against our fellow humans. This tragic way of life begins as soon as we are born, expecting everyone to dance to the tune we play on our fiddle as we journey each day in the search for more money, material goods, and a plethora of pleasures. We may even attend and join a church while doing all this and earn the reputation of being an outstanding citizen in the community!

But God has each of us as being labeled a sinner, condemned, and deserving of spending eternity in a Devil’s Hell! Here are some statements from God’s Word that plainly reveal our lost condition > The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. [Jeremiah 17:9,10 KJV]. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [Psalm 14:2,3 KJV]. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God … [Romans 3:23 KJV].

However, God took the initiative to do something about the destructive problem of sin that had infected the entire human race. Here is how the Bible tells it> And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [John 3:14-18 KJV]. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [1 John 4:10 KJV]. The word, propitiation, literally means satisfaction – that is, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He made it possible for us to be completely forgiven of our sins and God will never hold them against us ever again! God no longer condemns us but accepts us as though we had never sinned against Him. In this matter God has the ability to forget the offense of sins permanently > I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. [Isaiah 43:25 KJV]. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. [Jeremiah 31:34 KJV].

There is something each of us must do if we are going to become a Christian. Jesus said it these words > I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. [Luke 13:3 KJV]. His message always called for people to repent > And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. [Mark 1:12-15 KJV].

Repentance involves three areas in our experience in becoming a Christian:

1. Intellectual – that is, we become mentally aware of the reality of sin, that it is offensive in God’s sight, and we are guilty of committing the same repeatedly.

2. Emotional – that is, we become deeply bothered and troubled about our sin and become very guilty in our conscience! This the Holy Spirit working and speaking to us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and convict the world of sin. Note what all Jesus revealed about the Holy Spirit in John 14, 15, and 16.

3. Volitional – that is, a clear and deliberate decision to renounce and abandon all known sin presently existing in our lives. We completely forsake it and want nothing more to do with anything we know that offends God!

The result? A miracle of transformation as our lives have been turned around 180 degrees and we begin walking in fellowship with our Lord rather than ignoring Him and concentrating on our self-centered way of life against Him. The apostle Paul described this miracle by saying, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” [2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV].

My friend, if you are reading this and you have never thought about how it is between you and God nor thought about asking Jesus to come into your life as Savior and Lord, I appeal to you to make that decision today. Tell God you are sorry for your sins, ask His forgiveness, and invite Jesus to come into your life as Savior and Lord. If you would like to have some literature to help in getting established in your faith, email me at cdharriger@hotmail.com and provide your full name and mailing address.

For those who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord never forget that God does not whisk us off to Heaven the moment we repent and believe, but allows us us remain in this world for one main purpose and that is to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and to lead others to believe in Him. Therefore it is necessary that we become familiar in explaining to another person what becoming a Christian is all about!

God’s best to you always as Jesus tarries in His coming to this very needy world.

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn 'til setting sun
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care
Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there!

From the song of faith, When the Roll Is Called up Yonder