About

Peter Ditzel speaking with Herbert W. Armstrong
Peter Ditzel (left foreground) speaking with Herbert W. Armstrong (right foreground) in 1982

In the mid-1990s, Peter Ditzel (a former member of and writer for the Worldwide Church of God) began writing a small series of articles that exposed the heresies and spiritual abuses that were continuing in the Worldwide Church of God even after the death of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. These articles appeared in The Quarterly Journal of the Personal Freedom Outreach, a well-respected Christian apologetics journal. Many people who read the articles wrote asking for help for themselves or loved ones exiting Armstrongism, to ask doctrinal questions, or to share their experiences in Armstrong-type sects.

Expansion

Peter realized that cults and unbiblical teachings are flourishing because too many people are ignorant of the basics of biblical Christianity. In particular, they are ignorant of the sovereignty of God and that all who are born of God are dead to the law. This ignorance leads to an erroneous view of salvation that is based on human works, free will, and dependence on law keeping (legalism). Toward the end of 2000, Peter launched wordofhisgrace.org to address these issues.

The website has since grown in impact and respect. Our increasing number of articles are reproduced and favorably cited on websites around the world. We publish Gospel tracts and small books that have been widely requested and used by a number of missionaries. We also publish an email newsletter. Everything we write is centered on Jesus Christ and our commitment to take the Bible alone for our doctrine.

Sovereign Grace

We believe and teach the five points sometimes known as the Doctrines of Sovereign Grace, the Five Points of Calvinism, or the TULIP. As they have come to be summarized, these five points are: 1) Total depravity—all humans are dead in sin and can do nothing to save themselves; 2) Unconditional election—God from eternity has elected to save His people by His sovereign grace, not because of any past, present, or future good works these people may perform; 3) Limited atonement—the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was completely efficient to save everyone whom God intends to save; 4) Irresistible grace—no one can resist God’s grace; 5) Perseverance of the saints—because our salvation is from beginning to end completely the work of the omnipotent God, once we are saved, we are always saved because God causes us to persevere. Through our website and publications, we try to reach the unchurched and the churched with the glorious Good News that God is saving His people, that He will not fail, and that any attempts by men to work for their salvation are at best no better than filthy rags and excess baggage.

New Covenant

We also teach that the Old and New Covenants are distinct covenants, and that all whom Jesus has saved are loosed from and dead to the law. In this we differ from those who follow Reformed or Covenant theology in that, while they de-emphasize the newness of the New Covenant by viewing it as merely a new administration of a continuing covenant, we view it as truly new (because the Bible clearly states so), though foreshadowed by and a fulfillment of the promises in the Abrahamic covenant (to which the Mosaic, or Old, covenant was temporarily appended). This results in some practical differences (for example, we do not believe that there is a day of the week that Christians must keep as a Sabbath—see “What Is the Christian Sabbath?”).

Growing Impact

From the ever-increasing number of “hits” we are receiving at wordofhisgrace.org to helping Christian student groups spread the Gospel in European universities to supplying books to seminary faculty in Russia, from sending books to seminary students in the United States and Canada to getting Christian books to missionaries in Asia for translation into local languages, wordofhisgrace.org is having an international impact. To God be the glory!

Copyright © 2000-2010 Peter Ditzel