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Scripture Reading: Rom. 14:1-6; 15:7
The problems prevailing today in Christianity are mostly due to our different opinions regarding certain things, and these different opinions are due to a shortage of Christ. We all have our own tastes and our own concepts in so many matters; but if we are in our opinions and our concepts, we only cause trouble. For instance, regarding the matter of baptism, there are many different opinions, and they have caused much trouble. However, if we are full of Christ, we will not care for these things.
The attitude of the apostle Paul in Romans 14 regarding different concepts of eating and the keeping of days was exceedingly liberal and general. According to the teaching of the Bible, it is abundantly clear that today under God’s grace, there is no need to make distinctions regarding the things we eat. All things are good for food, both meat and herbs—there is no difference in the eyes of God. We can eat herbs, and we can eat any kind of meat. The apostle Paul knew this better than we. But in this chapter he said not a word according to the doctrine regarding this matter. Instead, he said, “He who eats, let him not despise him who does not eat; and he who does not eat, let him not judge him who eats” (v. 3). If you eat all things, do not despise those who do not; if you do not eat all things, do not criticize those who do. What a liberal attitude the apostle tells us that we should take! As to the doctrine, he said not a word.
Concerning the keeping of days, the apostle said, “One judges one day above another; another judges every day alike. Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Again the apostle took a very liberal attitude, not saying which was right or which was wrong. According to the Scriptures, we should not keep any day in this age. Today, under the Lord’s grace, every day is the same. Even the Sabbath differs not from any other day. The apostle knew this quite well, but he did not speak concerning the right doctrine. He did not say whether esteeming one day above another is right, or whether esteeming every day alike is right. He only said, “He who regards the day, regards it to the Lord” (v. 6). His attitude was truly liberal.
Could we be so liberal? We must be so liberal. By the Lord’s mercy and grace, we must learn to be so liberal. I do not mean that we should be liberal regarding the Lord. We must be absolutely definite concerning the Lord and the church as His expression. But could we be liberal with all other things? Whether or not a brother or sister should do a certain thing depends upon his or her feeling before the Lord. If they feel they should do it, let them do it unto the Lord. Perhaps they will feel that they need not do it. Then let them not do it unto the Lord. If the Lord wants them to do it, they should not say no to Him.
We should not have any legal regulations, and we should not attempt to make everyone alike. If we insist upon having certain things in uniformity, we are legal. If one eats herbs and feels that everyone should also eat herbs, it will cause trouble. As long as the brothers and sisters do not do things that are sinful, we should not trouble them. We should only be definite regarding Christ as life and the church as the expression of Christ. With all other things, we must learn from the apostle Paul to be very liberal and general.
We should not insist on anything, but keep the oneness for the church life in spite of all dissenting matters. We must be delivered from the divisive elements of all different opinions. How can we be delivered? It is only possible by caring only for Christ and the church. We must be filled with Christ and strong in our spirit for the church life.
Suppose I am a brother who loves to practice a certain thing which to me is very scriptural, and when I come to a certain local church, I find that the church opposes that very thing. But regardless how much they oppose it, they are still the church there. I am for that thing, because it helps me enjoy Christ; but since the church opposes it, I should not insist on practicing it in the public meetings. When I am at home, however, I will still practice it very much. Then I will be so burning with Christ that when I come to the meetings, I will come burnt and burning. I will not speak of that very thing, but I will be burning with Christ. If there is the slightest opportunity, the fire of Christ will get into the meeting through me. Whoever I contact, whether he be an elder or a brother, will be burnt. Perhaps after a certain time, the entire church will be burned by me.
We should not be for anything but Christ and the church. If I am one who is so much for doctrines and teachings, it is certain that I will cause trouble in the church. When I come to a certain local church and feel that they do not have any order, I will move to correct them. But if I do this, it proves that I do not know Christ so well as life and that I am not strong in the spirit for the church life. If I am full of Christ and strong for the church, I will not care what they do or what kind of doctrine they have; I will only praise the Lord that here is a local church on the proper ground where I can minister Christ. I will be afire in the spirit and so full of Christ that when I come to the meetings, I will minister Christ to others. I will be for Christ and the church—nothing else. I will not care for right things or wrong things; I will only care for Christ and the church.
If I am such a person, most of the seeking ones sooner or later will be helped by me, and the Christ whom I experience and minister will also be a living experience to them. This will keep the oneness and strengthen the church life. It is by keeping the oneness of Christ that the church is enriched; it is doctrines or different opinions that damage the Body. Eventually, the people in that place will not care for anything other than Christ and the church. They will not care for what is right or wrong; they will just care for Christ and the church.
Here is the way for us to keep the proper oneness. We must not try to convince others of our opinions, but just be strong in the spirit, rich in the experience of Christ, and care for the proper church life.
There are always two things that cause problems in the church. The first is that people continually desire that others be the same as they. The second is that people want regulations. They always ask, “Which way is right? Is this the right way?” We are all like this, and we must by all means be delivered from these things. What we need is not regulations but to be filled with Christ and rich in the church life. We should not be for this way or for that way but just for Christ and the church.
In everything other than Christ and the church, we must be liberal and general. There is no need for us either to oppose or impose anything other than the Lord as life and the church as His expression. Perhaps some will think that I am too liberal and do not care for the Bible. But I would ask them to read Romans 14 again and care for this chapter as they care for the whole Bible. The apostle Paul is so liberal and general in this chapter, and he tells us to be such. The book of Romans has not only chapter 12 but also chapter 14. People today pay much attention to chapter 12 but neglect chapter 14. But without chapter 14, it is impossible to have the real Body life of chapter 12. The Body life of chapter 12 requires the liberal and general attitude of chapter 14 so that its oneness may be kept. Otherwise, it will be damaged by dissenting opinions and different concepts in certain matters. If we do mean that we care for the Bible, we must care for this chapter, Romans 14.
Perhaps there are some who do not like to hear everyone saying Amen in the meetings. But those who say Amen do have the ground to say it. When the people of Israel came into the land of Canaan, the entire congregation said Amen (Deut. 27:11-26), and in Revelation 5:14 and 19:4 the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders said Amen. They will turn to you and ask, “Where is your ground for not saying Amen?” Who is right and who is wrong? In any case, we must be liberal with all things like this. We must not care for all such things, but only for Christ and the church life.
I have a deep conviction that in these last days the Lord will recover the proper church life. He will not care for these doctrinal things, just as He did not care for such things when He first came. At that time the Lord Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, abandoned all the religious customs. They did not surrender God, but they gave up the religion of Judaism. I believe that now, at the time of His second coming, the Lord will repudiate all the forms, regulations, and dead doctrines of Christianity.
The proper way to have the church life is simply to have Christ as the foundation upon the proper ground of oneness. That is all. We must not care for anything but Christ and His church on the proper ground of oneness. If we are strong in the spirit and full of Christ, it will be easy for us to go on with the local church, caring not for other things. Whether or not people play the piano in their meetings, we simply do not care. We only care to minister Christ to people and have the proper church life. We would not criticize or be occupied with different opinions. Whether people have the Lord’s table in the morning or in the evening, it simply does not matter. As long as the church in our city is on the proper ground of oneness, we will be one with it and minister Christ in it. That is sufficient. We will relinquish all opinions and care not for any regulations. Then it will be exceedingly easy for us to go on with any local church with the ministry of Christ.
When Christians come to a new place, they always pay attention to the little things. Some always look to see whether the bread at the Lord’s table is leavened or unleavened. Others want to know whether wine or grape juice is used in the cup. They always consider these trivial matters.
There are others who have certain kinds of rules and regulations for the Lord’s table. These, of course, are not written but nevertheless understood. When they go to another place, they will be very critical if people do not practice the Lord’s table as they do.
Oh, we all need the Lord’s deliverance! We must see that we are not for these things. We are for Christ and His church. As long as the saints love the Lord and come together on the proper ground of oneness to minister Christ to one another, that is sufficient. We all must be fully occupied with Christ and the church on the proper ground. We must not pay attention to anything else. We must give others the freedom to act according to the way they feel led of the Lord. We must not criticize anyone according to our concept. All we need is to keep the oneness and minister Christ to people. We must be liberal in our attitude and strong in spirit.
As far as my realization is concerned, I do not like to use many small cups at the Lord’s table. To me it is contrary to Scripture. I do not prefer baptism by sprinkling over baptism by immersion. To me, this also is unscriptural. I also feel that the sisters should cover their heads. But in all these past years I have never insisted upon these things, and I have never been troubled by them. When I go to a certain place, if the people use one large cup or many small cups, I will not be bothered. If you let me do it, I will have one large cup; but if you do it, you may have the liberty to do as you feel led of the Lord.
Wherever we go, wherever we are, we must go along with the church there. Perhaps we would like to practice immersion, but the church practices sprinkling. Then we should not impose immersion upon them. Of course, this does not mean that we should not fellowship with them regarding this matter. If they would take what we have seen, it is good; but if not, we should not cause trouble. If we realize that by speaking of a certain matter we will cause a disturbance, we should not say anything. Though we may not agree with them in certain things, we should not impose anything upon them or insist upon anything. We must go along with them in their way. If we are in a position to make a decision regarding certain things, perhaps we would not proceed in the same way. But if we are not in such a position, we should not say anything to create trouble. This does not mean that we agree with them in their way, but simply that we do not care for these things. We only care for Christ and the church. There is no other way for us to keep the oneness on the proper ground. We all must be so liberal; otherwise, sooner or later, we will create another division.
We must learn to be liberal and general. For anyone not to pray-read the Word, in my estimation, is a great loss. Whenever I open the Bible, I would pray-read. But if you do not do this, I am not troubled. Regarding things like this, we must have a general attitude. For the ground of oneness, we must be definite; but for other things, we must be general. Then we will have real oneness and a proper expression of the Body of Christ in the city where we live. This is the proper and unique way to practice the church life.
It is only by being so liberal and general that we can receive all the saints in the proper way. If we are otherwise, we cannot avoid being sectarian in the matter of receiving. If we are special in anything and insist upon that, we will probably not receive those who differ from us in certain matters. But the apostle said, “Him who is weak in faith receive, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations” (Rom. 14:1). What he meant when he referred to “him who is weak in faith” is illustrated in the following verses, which cover the matters of eating and the keeping of days. By this we are affirmatively told that we must receive the saints who differ from us in these things. Any saint who holds a different opinion or concept regarding the things of which we are in favor, we must receive, “for God has received him.” As long as he is a saint, as long as he has been received by God, we must receive him. Since God has received him, we have no right to reject him. Our receiving must be the same as God’s receiving, no less and no more. God’s receiving is the basis of our receiving. Our receiving must not be according to our taste, our opinion, or our assertion. It must be in accordance with God’s receiving. It must be based upon God’s receiving—nothing else.
God receives people according to His Son. As long as a person receives His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as his personal Savior, regardless of the concepts he holds regarding all other things, God receives him immediately. Since God receives people in this way, we too must receive people in the same way. Our receiving must be in accordance with God’s receiving. If our receiving differs from His, it means that we are wrong: either we are more narrow or more broad than God. This will cause much trouble and damage to the church life.
God’s receiving is based upon Christ’s receiving, and Christ’s receiving is in accordance with our faith in Him. Whoever believes in Him, He will receive. Whoever receives Him, He will never reject. He said, “Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out” (John 6:37). Since coming to Him, believing in Him, receiving Him, is the only condition for Christ’s receiving, we must receive people upon the same basis with nothing added. As long as one believes in Christ our Lord, as long as he receives Him as his personal Savior, we must receive him with nothing else required. Regardless of how he may dissent in so many other things, as long as he is a real believer in the Lord, we have no choice but to receive him, for the Lord has received him. This is why the apostle said, “Therefore receive one another, as Christ also received you to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). We must receive whoever Christ has received. We must have such a proper receiving of all the saints so that we may keep the proper oneness; otherwise, we can never keep ourselves from being sectarian and causing much confusion and damage to the church life. To practice the church life by keeping the proper oneness, such a general receiving is necessary. May the Lord have mercy upon us.
