“How many of you were born into the Church?” Mr. Malone asked the campers during the first pyc Bible study on Friday evening, July 11. A huge swath of campers raised their hands.
“Who came in later on? Who came in with both parents—one parent—another relative?” Mr. Malone proceeded to question. “But you all have one thing in common,” he said. “All of you are set apart, holy to God, because of those parents, grandparents, caregivers that you attend services with (1 Corinthians 7:14). Just as first tithe is set apart for holy use, so are you—set apart, holy for God.
“Tonight, I want to explain the special category that the youth in God’s Church occupy.”
Not everyone can have access to God and Christ today (John 6:44). Not even Christ chooses who is called into His Church! Mr. Malone likened it to the way we might interact with a computer. It is as if you require a password to get through to God. All but those who have the password are met with the words access denied. But guess what? Because the youth in God’s Church are set apart—holy—they are met with the words access granted! They are like no other young people on Earth! Because God called their parents or caregivers, they too have the opportunity to have access granted to God—such a rare thing in this world! Acts 2:38-39 says that the promise is not only to the parents, but also “to your children.”
Mr. Malone referenced an article by Herbert W. Armstrong from the October-November 1980 Good News: “Your Children—future Gods?” Mr. Armstrong identified this article as the first time this revelation about the Church children’s holy status had been given in the Philadelphia era.
Mr. Malone then brought everyone back to the beginning when Adam and Eve had the way to the tree of life opened to them. They had “access granted,” but they were also shown the other tree—God didn’t hide it from them. They had to make a choice. And they chose from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—meaning that access to “the way” (Genesis 3:24—God calls the tree of life “the way”) was going to be denied to most of humanity throughout the next 6,000 years.
Young people: Seeing that you have been set apart, you have access to “the way”—access granted to this way that has been denied to the great majority of man. Mr. Malone likened it to the two opposite ramps to the Armstrong Auditorium stage. He asked us to picture the ramp on the audience’s right side as being the “right way,” and the ramp on the left as the “wrong way” (to which Mr. Turgeon responded the next day at announcements: “I’ll never look at these ramps the same way again!”). The ramp on the right represents the strait and narrow way, the one on the left the broad way of this world (Matthew 7:13-14). Those not called by God are blind, stumbling down the broad way of the world—a way devoid of light (John 1:4-5). They are not aware that another path even exists! That is why you are so blessed to have been set apart through your parents or relatives: Through the light (1 John 1:7), you are able to see a different way, a way that does work. But that does not mean you are ignorant of the existence of the broad, dark, wide way of the world. You are, essentially, in the same position as Adam and Eve—you have two paths before you, both of which you can clearly see. You have “access granted” to both of them. Which one will you choose?
We often talk about the “way.” As Mr. Malone pointed out, it is simply theway! Not just away that seems right to a man, but leads to death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). The Bible references theway in many scriptures. 2 Peter 2:2 mentions “the way of truth.” Psalm 119:30 also mentions “the way of truth.” Verse 32 not only admonishes us to go in this way, but also to run in “the way.” Psalm 139:24 speaks of “the way everlasting.” Proverbs 22:6 talks about training up a child in “the way” that he should go.
Mr. Malone went on to describe the many set-apart children of people called in the Bible—children and teens in a similar position to ours today. The children of Enoch had a special opportunity through their father’s obedience—and this had a ripple effect on down to Noah (Genesis 5:21-25). Noah’s children had special access to God, and his son Shem took advantage of it. The children of Abraham were set apart as well—the history of Isaac and Jacob makes this plain. Then there was Moses, set apart and brought up in the knowledge of the true God by his parents (Exodus 2:9-10; Hebrews 11:23-28). There was Samuel, whom his mother promised to set apart for God’s use before he was even conceived (1 Samuel 1:11). The examples go on and on.
Perhaps some of you have had some family difficulties—perhaps you are in the Church with only one parent, a grandparent or a caregiver. To you, Mr. Malone admonished, take heart! Look at the powerful work that was done through Esther—and she was brought up by her older cousin, Mordechai! (Esther 2:5-7). Then there is the minister Timothy, set apart through his mother and grandmother—with no mention of a father (2 Timothy 1:5). Mr. Malone went on to quote statistics of several current ministers in the pcg who came into the Church as a youth with a single parent or an unrelated caregiver. The statistics were amazing! It is possible to make it down this road, no matter the situation at home. If you are here, you have been set apart by God to be called by Him for His purpose, just like every other teen in God’s true Church! You have been given equal opportunity to “the way”—so choose it!
As for now, in this dark and evil world, there are two ways to choose from. But the time is coming very soon when there will only be “one way,” Jeremiah 32:38-39 says. There will no longer be the option of going down the dark road, the path of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life will, once more, be opened to all! And, as Zechariah 8:20-23 points out, because you have already gone down this path, you will assist many in leading them the same way—down theway—the way of holiness (Isaiah 35:8)—the biggest one-way road on Earth! All will have access granted.
And what will you say to them? Isaiah 30:21: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”