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Scripture Reading: Matt. 18:17; Rom. 16:17; 2 Thes. 3:6, 14; 1 Cor. 5:9-13; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9-11, 7
In the last chapter we saw that for the practice of the church life in oneness, the apostle Paul took such a general stand concerning teachings and practices. As to the matter of eating, whether a Christian brother eats this or another eats that, neither should criticize the other. As to the matter of keeping days, the principle is the same. Whether a Christian brother keeps a day and regards it as something special and another considers all days the same, neither should criticize the other. Everyone must be general.
Concerning the matter of eating things sacrificed to idols, Paul did not say yes or no; he only took care of the other’s conscience. Also, concerning whether one should get married, it is difficult to say yes or no. It depends upon the circumstances. If someone can stand all kinds of situations, it may be better that he does not get married. If not, it is better for him to get married. It is general. Paul knew all the proper teachings, but in the practice of the church life he was so general. We all have to learn that to keep the oneness of the Body we must practice this generality. If we are special, if we are definite and specific in anything other than our faith, surely the oneness will be damaged. The oneness will be hurt, and then we will be divided. The main cause for the divisions among Christians is the neglect of caring for the generality of the church life.
Now we need to see another balance. We have seen that the speciality is balanced by the generality. The generality also has to be balanced by something. We as human beings easily become one-sided and go to an extreme. In the book of Hosea in the Old Testament, there is a verse in which the Lord likened Ephraim to an unturned cake (7:8). Cakes baked in a pan need to be turned again and again. If the cakes are not turned, one side will be burned, and the other will remain raw. Some of the children of Israel were like an unturned cake in the eyes of the Lord. They were always one-sided, and this is still the problem with the Lord’s children today. So many Christians are like unturned cakes. This is why we had to see the balance to the speciality in the last chapter and why in this chapter we must see another balance. In a later chapter we will see another balance. We need to be turning all the time. Then we will be the best “cake.” The speciality needs the generality to balance it. The generality also needs something to balance it.
At the beginning of this chapter I listed all the verses in the New Testament regarding the persons who cannot and should not be received into the church life. Do not think that the church has to practice the generality to the degree that it has to take all kinds of persons. No, not at all. Yes, we should be general, but still there are certain persons with whom we cannot be general, nor with whom we should be general.
In Matthew we can see the seriousness of neglecting to hear the church (18:15-17). We think that if one loses his temper, it is something serious, or if one commits something immoral, it is more serious. However, if someone neglects to hear the church, we consider it almost as nothing because we do not have a church-consciousness. However, the Lord Jesus said that we have to consider such a one as a Gentile. In the Bible a Gentile is worse than a sinner. The Lord Jesus also said that we have to consider such a one as a tax collector. We should not consider him as a kind of weak brother and sympathize with him. Not to hear the church is serious.
The Roman Catholic Church exercised too much authority over the saints, so an item of the Reformation was to attack this over-exercise of authority. Thus, most of the Christians are so liberal concerning the church. Almost no one respects the church today. When we talk about respecting the church, some people even condemn us, saying that this is Catholicism and that this is the setting up of a pope. To have a pope is surely wrong. To exercise too much authority over the saints is also seriously wrong, but this does not mean that the church has no authority, nor does it mean that we should not be church-conscious.
Let me illustrate this point. Suppose we have a brother who is nice in many ways. But he does something to a brother who is rough and not so nice. Eventually, three brothers are forced to tell the church about it. The elders would then advise him to repent and to apologize to the rough brother. Yet he would not listen; rather, he would say that the rough brother was wrong. According to today’s Christian concept, this is not so serious. Some might even say that it was the rough brother’s fault, not the fault of the nice one. Others might even sympathize with him based upon the fact that he has been so nice all the time.
What should we do in such a case? Would you agree to consider him as a Gentile and as a tax collector? I believe most Christians would not take this as something serious. Some would side with the nice brother and say that we should not make an issue of it. Others would say, “Let time vindicate. Probably after two weeks everything will be fine, and they will be reconciled one to another. Forget about it for the present time.” These attitudes are held by most Christians because they are not church-conscious. They do not consider that to neglect to listen to the church is exceedingly serious. Even though in the church life we must be general, certain ones in some things might not respect the church or listen to it. In this matter we cannot be general. This is altogether something of the oneness of the church. We must be conscious of the oneness.
Romans 16:17 says, “I exhort you, brothers, to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.” This verse can only be applied where the church life is proper. If a Christian group is divisive already, it does not have the standing to use this verse. It must practice the church life with the proper and balanced teachings of the apostle Paul—the tempered teachings, not the untempered teachings. To use this verse, a local church must be properly balanced. Otherwise, what it teaches will not be proper, and it will be hard for a believer to listen to that church. Every local church must be very careful not to overemphasize anything outside the realm of the faith.
Let me illustrate this point. Suppose a local church overemphasizes head covering, telling everyone that head covering is a specific thing in the church life, and all the sisters must have their head covered. If this is done, some of the sisters might become dissenting. Then someone might say, “Let us apply Romans 16:17 to them.” This would be a wrong application because the church is wrong in overemphasizing head covering. The overemphasis of head covering is what caused the dissension.
Now let us consider a further point. Suppose a local church stresses the oneness, the unity. It stresses one city, one church all the time. One city, one church even becomes the church’s slogan. As a result, some of the saints become dissenting, even undermining the church by going from member to member and saying, “This is really too much. The church here is a one city, one church sect. It is a local- church sect.” If this is the case, Romans 16:17 has to be applied to the dissenting saints. This is the same in principle as with our Christian faith when we say that the Bible is God’s Word, divinely inspired word by word. Regardless of how much we say this, it does not mean that we overemphasize it. Day by day we may say this, yet still we are not overemphasizing it, because this is something specific in our Christian faith. But suppose someone says, “Only say that the word of the Bible is inspired by God. Do not emphasize word by word. Just take the Bible in a general way. The Bible is good, but probably some of the verses, at least some of the words, are not inspired by God. Some are only spoken by the writers themselves.” In such a case we must apply Romans 16:17.
We must be clear and exceedingly balanced. According to history, being unbalanced, overemphasizing certain things, is the cause of all divisions. The apostle Paul’s teaching was very much balanced, so he could say that anyone who causes division contrary to his teaching has to be avoided, has to be turned away from, has to be marked out. However, in some of the so-called churches, this verse could never be applied, because they do not have the standing to apply it. They are a division already. To apply this verse we must absolutely not be divisive. We must fully be a genuine, proper local church with much balance.
In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 14 the principle is the same as in Romans 16:17. Paul says that some walk disorderly and not according to the things which were handed down and received from him. He also says that if anyone does not obey his word in this Epistle, we should mark this one so as not to mingle with him. We should mark these, withdraw ourselves from them, and not mingle with them. To mingle with them will strengthen their divisive spirit. It will help them cause more dissension. Only a local church that is proper, genuine, and normal has the position to apply verses such as Romans 16:17 and 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 14.
Now let us consider 1 Corinthians 5. These verses cover sinful things such as idolatry, fornication, reviling, drunkenness, and rapaciousness. All these things are exceedingly evil and either insult God’s divinity or damage humanity. Idolatry is something that blasphemes the person of God. Fornication, reviling, drunkenness, and rapaciousness damage humanity. God cares very much for His divine person. He is a jealous God. He also cares for humanity. So God will not tolerate any of these things. No one who practices idolatry or is a fornicator should be allowed in the church life. The local church also should not tolerate any person who is a reviling one, a drunken one, or a rapacious one. All these things damage humanity and also damage the Lord’s testimony on this earth among human beings. Therefore, Paul told us that a Christian brother or sister who practices any of these things has to be removed from among the church (v. 13). But as long as something is not sinful and as long as it is not related to idols, or to any kind of fornication, reviling, being drunken, or rapaciousness, we must tolerate it.
Then Titus 3:10 says clearly that a man who is factious after he is admonished once or twice, refuse, because division damages the Body of Christ. God takes care of Himself. He also takes care of humanity. Third, He takes care of the Body of Christ. In a local church none should do anything that damages God’s person, humanity, or the Body of Christ. If one damages any of these, we cannot continue to receive him. Either the church has to put him away, refuse him, or turn away from him. We cannot mingle with such persons.
Second John 9 says, “Everyone who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.” This refers to one who goes beyond, goes further, than the teachings of the apostles concerning Christ. The apostles taught that Christ is the Son of God incarnated to be a man and that He is the One who gives us eternal life. They also taught that He is the One who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day. These are the main points of the apostles’ teaching. Giving eternal life is for regeneration. Dying on the cross for our sins is for redemption. Resurrection is for life impartation.
Even in the first century, some so-called Christians, called antichrists, had gone beyond these points. Some said that Christ did not come in the flesh (v. 7). In other words, they did not recognize the incarnation of Christ. Today in the same principle some of the so-called modernists who call themselves Christians say that Christ died on the cross as a martyr, suffering persecution, and that He did not die there for our sins. These say that His death was not for redemption, only for martyrdom. They also say that Christ never resurrected. If one of those will admit that Christ was resurrected, he will say that He was only resurrected spiritually, not physically. All these persons have gone beyond the teaching concerning Christ.
We should not give this kind of antichrist or modernist a greeting (vv. 9-10). If we give them a greeting, we share in their evil works. Even the more, we should not receive them into our home. Someone might say that if we practice this, we are too specific and that we must be general. But we cannot be general with these kinds of persons. They are the ones who blaspheme Christ. We cannot mingle with blasphemers of the Lord. Anyone blaspheming the Lord Jesus must be put out of the church. We have to turn away from him.
I hope that this word has made it clear who are the persons with whom we cannot mingle. We Christians many times are specific when the Lord demands that we be general. Also, many times we are general when the Lord demands that we be specific. However, I believe that after pray-reading all these verses a few times, you will get the clear concept. In the church life, regardless of how general we are, there are certain persons whom we cannot receive. We have to be specific with these kinds of persons. We cannot mingle with any of them.
Many times people have come to our meetings and have become excited. They proclaimed that our meetings are wonderful and that the way the Lord is moving among us is marvelous. However, after some days, they stopped coming because they heard something with which they disagreed. This kind of behavior shows that these dear ones had never seen what the oneness of the church is. If they had seen what the church is and what the oneness of the church is, they would not have cared about the things with which they disagreed. They would not have cared for the condition of the church but for the proper standing.
Let me illustrate by using the captivity of the people of Israel as an example or as a kind of type. During the normal time in their history, all the Israelites in the Holy Land were one, taking Jerusalem as their unique center. Later on, they became scattered. In other words, they became divided. First, some were carried away to Assyria. Then some were carried away to Egypt. Eventually, nearly all the remaining ones were taken to Babylon. This was their captivity. This was also their division. After seventy years of captivity, the Lord commanded them to return. Not a large number, but only a small remnant, returned.
Nehemiah, Ezra, and Haggai show us that the returned ones were in a poor condition. Some had married Gentile wives. Suppose that in Babylon most of the remaining Hebrews were spiritual and godly, even having some giants of spirituality among them. Also, suppose that they always had good meetings. Furthermore, suppose that those in Syria and Egypt were not as good as those in Babylon but at least better than the returned ones. Now my question is this: “Which of these four groups would you join?” Suppose most of the people in Babylon were godly, spiritual, and lovable, and their meetings were high. Also many spiritual giants were there. Would you go to join them or the returned group in Jerusalem whose condition was so poor?
The real situation today is that almost no Christians take care of the standing. Most care only for the condition. Why do Christians like to join a particular group? It is because those in it are spiritual, or their meetings are good. However, we have to realize that the standing is much more important than the condition. The standing can never be changed, but the condition may fluctuate. Today the meeting may be marvelous, but tomorrow it may be poor. I do not say that we should not pay attention to our condition, but this is not the first thing. This is not the primary thing. It is secondary. The primary thing is the standing. If we have seen what the church is and what the recovery of the oneness is, we would care mainly for the standing and pay some attention to the condition.
We like to improve our condition, but our burden is for the position, the standing. The people in Babylon might have been quite spiritual. They might have had outstanding teachers expounding the law and ministering the Word properly and richly. However, regardless of how spiritual they were, how much they knew the Word, or how much they were behaving in the proper way, they were not in the oneness, and they did not rebuild the temple. They were not the ones to accomplish this because they did not have the standing. They might have even had the ability and the capability, but they still did not have the standing. Therefore, they could not rebuild the temple. God’s desire on this earth is not mainly the spirituality of His people. His main desire is the rebuilding of His house.
History tells us that not long after the return from captivity and the building of the temple, Christ came the first time. He was born in Bethlehem, through a descendant of the house of David. Regardless of how spiritual those in Babylon were, they were not the people with the proper standing for Christ to be born through them. Christ was born in Bethlehem of one who was a descendant of the returned ones. Only the returned ones standing on the proper ground fulfilled God’s purpose to rebuild the temple and to bring Christ to this earth. If one comes to take the way of the local churches, to be a part of the Lord’s recovery, only because the meetings are good, I am afraid that someday he will leave, because the condition of the meetings will fluctuate. Today there is a clear sky, but tomorrow there may be a foggy sky, and the third day a stormy sky. Then he will be scared away. However, if he is clear about the standing, he will not care for the fluctuating weather.
I encourage you to bring all these things to the Lord and pray. Have you really seen the church? Have you really seen what the recovery of the oneness is? Throughout the past years we have passed through many kinds of sufferings, persecutions, attacks, and criticisms, not from the Gentile world but mainly from some in Christianity. By the Lord’s mercy we have never been shaken. The more we are attacked, the more solid we become. The Lord has gained the victory.
We who have been brought back to “Jerusalem” have to be clear about what we are doing and where we are standing. Today the condition may be glorious, and tomorrow it may be pitiful. But do not be bothered by this. The third day may be wonderful. However, we need to stand in a balanced way. If we are not balanced, we will cause trouble. We will lose the impact and even allow some ground to be taken by the enemy. As long as we are standing on the proper ground with all the proper balances, we will be here until the Lord comes back. Nothing can surpass this way or this testimony.
