"Did he combine doctrines?"
Letter to the Editor:
GOD’S MESSAGE, January 2000, p.2
GOD’S MESSAGE, January 2000, p.2
I READ THE HISTORY of your Church and I learned that Mr. Felix Y. Manalo had been a member of many different churches like the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian Mission, and Seventh-day Adventist. Doesn’t this prove that he is not a true messenger since he took all of his teachings from these different churches and combined them to form the teachings of the Church of Christ?
Christopher Dawson
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Editor’s Reply:
The Bible testifies that the one sent by God speaks according to the law and to the testimony (Is. 8:20). To speak according to the law is to teach the will or doctrine of God, not one’s own will — no addition nor subtraction (Jn. 7:16- 17; Dt. 12:32). A messenger of God must also possess the testimony or the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).
Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the last messenger because he is the fulfillment of the various prophecies recorded in the Bible (Rev. 7:2-3; Is. 46:11; Is. 41:9-10). The fact that he became a member of other religions prior to his being called by God does not in any way prove that he was not sent by God. Before Apostle Paul was called to become Christ’s apostle, he belonged to the religious group known as the Pharisees and he had been one of the ruthless persecutors of the Church (Acts 22:1-4). Moses was raised as an Egyptian before he was called by God so that he would be prepared to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Acts 7:22). In the same way that Apostle Paul and Moses were prepared to lead and administer God’s people, Brother Felix Y. Manalo was also prepared, one way of which was through his membership in other religions where many of God’s people would come from.
Brother Felix Y. Manalo did not take the doctrines of the Church of Christ from these religions. He left such religions precisely because he found many of their doctrines different from the doctrines of the true Church of Christ as written in the Bible. For instance, all of those churches believe in the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ while the Church of Christ believes that the only true God is the Father (Jn.17:1, 3; I Cor.8:6), and Jesus Christ is not God but man in state of being (Jn.8:40; I Tim. 2:5).
The doctrines that Brother Felix Y. Manalo taught are the words of God written in the Bible — no additions nor subtractions — which is a characteristic of the true messenger of God.
Note: Some words and phrases are in bold & italics for emphasis.
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“Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].”
(Eph. 4:29, Amplified Bible)
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(1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Amplified Bible)