God has given the Salvation Army a charitable nature and blessed it with members who similarly want to be ‘like Jesus’ who himself went against the conventions of the day to become involved with people who were poor, sick and rejected by society.<\/p>\n
Rather than narrowly home in on doctrinal differences would it not be better to embrace the Salvation Army within your own thinking as a part of God’s gift to humanity? I’m sure Christ himself still welcomes the adoration and honor given to him through the ministry of the soldiers of Christ, known as the Salvation Army. Equally, God is surely raising His hands in despair at the petty arguments among Christians about liturgy and doctrine when we should all be telling and showing the world about the love of Jesus and how he can change lives.<\/p>\n
Forget the differences and embrace the mission!<\/p>\n\t
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:6-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is sad to see people who think they know exactly what God wants without ever asking Him. You state that the Salvation Army is God’s gift to humanity, but the denomination did not come from God. It’s doctrines are loosely based on teachings found in the Bible, but they do differ from those found in the Bible. You state that you are sure that Christ would welcome adoration and honor from these people, but it was Christ himself who scolded, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’<\/em>” (Matthew 15:8-9). Oh, but wait a minute! You said God is despairing over petty arguments about doctrine and here Jesus just scolded people from substituting man’s commandments for God’s doctrines. He used the nasty ‘d’ word (doctrine)!<\/p>\n
The fundamental flaw is your bold assumption that you know what God wants and what pleases God. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual<\/em>” (I Corinthians 2:11-13). The only way we know what God wants is by understanding what God said — not what you think God meant, but what God actually said. Then, when we follow God’s teachings (His doctrine, if you can bring yourself to say that word), then we demonstrate our love for Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments<\/em>” (John 14:15). Do you really, truly love God? Then why are you so willing to ignore what He has commanded and taught? How is God being honored when the organization being advocated is man-made in organization, doctrine, and action? “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome<\/em>” (I John 5:2-3).<\/p>\n
Somehow you have it in your mind that if a person stands up and proclaims the doctrine of God, that somehow God doesn’t want that to happen. “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints<\/em>” (Jude 3). Paul warned Timothy about people like yourself. “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:1-4).<\/p>\n
Unity only comes in standing behind our Lord and King. You might think it doesn’t matter whether you follow the directions of your Master, so long as your intentions are good, but if you know anything about warfare, you know that no army could survive second-guessing the commands of its general and each unit going off to do things its own way as it sees fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: God has given the Salvation Army a charitable nature and blessed it with members who similarly want to be ‘like Jesus’ who himself went against the conventions of the day to become involved with people who were poor, sick and rejected by society. Rather than narrowly home in on doctrinal differences would it not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[78,785],"class_list":["post-9153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-authority","tag-salvation-army"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57050,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":0},"title":"The Salvation Army","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Weaks I wonder how many people know that the Salvation Army is a church. The only time you see them is at Christmas time when the red kettles and bell ringers show up at entrances to shopping malls. How many times have people tossed money into the kettle,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/the-new-york-public-library-MNs3KvP5mAA-unsplash-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-your-warnings-against-the-salvation-army-going-to-cause-more-harm-than-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":1},"title":"Aren’t your warnings against the Salvation Army going to cause more harm than good?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: After reading your article posted on your web site entitled \"Can Christians help support The Salvation Army\" I was very sad. I am a Salvation Army Officer (ordained minister) and I have worked for The Salvation Army for 8 years. I have many conflicting opinions regarding your comments made,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57870,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/legalism-and-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":2},"title":"Legalism and The Salvation Army","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sam Stinson \"There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?\" (James 4:12). A man named Johnny Harsh, who calls himself a captain in the Salvation Army, has faced media scrutiny in recent days.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24650,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-mind-that-you-disagree-with-the-salvation-army-just-dont-write-about-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":3},"title":"I don’t mind that you disagree with the Salvation Army, just don’t write about it","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love the Lord with all my heart.\u00a0 In my life, I have been on an adventure with Jesus. I am not perfect (who is?), but I try every day to live a life as a servant of Jesus.\u00a0 I am really hurt that you would advise Christians not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12664,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-creed-book-for-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":4},"title":"What is the creed book for the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading your\u00a0articles about The Salvation Army and I cannot seem to locate a \"creed book\" that you quote. I also believe that what you practice and preach is false. I also believe that the legalism you practice will be the end of your ministry. I shall pray\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-support-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":9153,"position":5},"title":"Should Christians Support the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II John 5-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Would you consider it right to drop money in a Catholic church\u2019s collection box? Would you send monthly tithes to a Methodist church? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For Christians following the New Testament, the answer is a strong \u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t agree with the teachings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}