Friday, August 10, 2007

Part 4—Who Is My Brother—Brothers in Error

Part 4  Brothers in Error
Last time we talked about false teachers and sound doctrine and what that included in New Testament times.  We saw that, generally speaking, the false teachers spoken about in the New Testament primarily fit into one or more of the following categories:  1)They were men who’s hearts and motives were not trying to serve God but were trying to mislead people for personal gain.  2)They were men who seemed to want no restrictions on their lives or moral actions.  3)They were men who were trying to bind their beliefs and opinions on other people or 4)they were men who were denying the very heart of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PEOPLE, THE ONES WHO WERE WRONG IN THEIR BELIEFS, BUT DID NOT FIT INTO THE CATEGORIES LISTED ABOVE?  We will talk about that (very good) question right now.

1.  WEAK BROTHER
In 1 Cor. 8 Paul is addressing the Corinthians about the doctrinal issue (very much doctrinal issue) of eating meat offered to idols.  After reading verses 4-8 it becomes very clear that, doctrinally speaking, there is nothing wrong, in and of itself, with eating meat offered to idols.  Those who believed that it was wrong to eat this meat were in doctrinal error.  In a very real sense, they were believing and teaching false doctrine.  And yet, Paul treated them very differently than he treated those who were teaching false doctrine in the scriptures we studied in Part 3. Why is that?  Could it be that even though their understanding of God’s word was wrong, their motives were right?  They were abstaining from eating meat because of their faith in Christ.  And, though they were wrong, what they believed did not deny the heart of the gospel.  Nor did they believe it for selfish gain.  Their belief did not cause them to live blatantly immoral lives.  They were just good Christian people who misunderstood God’s word and were living out what they believed to be sound doctrine.  Because of that, Paul just called them “weak brothers,” not “false teachers.”  Should we do any different?

2.  WORLDLY, MERE INFANTS IN CHRIST
 Five chapters earlier (1 Cor 3) Paul is dealing with another issue–following after different men in the church.  Keep in mind that even though these men are following after different men, Paul still calls them brothers (verse 1)(they are also jealous and quarrelsome-1 Cor. 3:3).  In chapter 1 verse 2 he called them “the church of God …those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy…,” and then shortly thereafter he begins talking to them about their divisions.  When he gets to chapter 3 verse 1, he does NOT call them “false teachers,” but “worldly—mere infants in Christ.”  Why doesn’t he call them false teachers?  In verses 16 & 17 he tells them that “God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”  Once again, though they were wrong, what they believed did       not deny the heart of the gospel.  Nor did they did believe it for selfish gain.  Their belief did not cause them to live blatantly immoral lives.  They were just good Christian people who misunderstood God’s word and were living out what they believed to be sound doctrine.  Because of that, Paul just called them “worldly—mere infants in Christ.”  But what if they never grow up?  I believe Paul deals with that in this same chapter.  Let’s look at what he has to say.

3.  GOLD OR STRAW 
If you look at verses10-15 of chapter 3, Paul discusses the work that he and Apollos and Cephas are doing.  He talks about how their work must be laid on the foundation that Jesus Christ laid and no other.  He talks about how some men will build on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw(v12).  He then tells of how each man’s work will be tested.  “It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 14 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss: he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”  If I understand this illustration right, Paul, Apollos and Cephas are the workers and these Christians are their work.  In the final judgment, some of these converts may be burned up if they are wood, hay or straw as opposed to gold, silver or costly stones.  It seems that this is determined by the kind of Christian lives they lead.    At what point is that determination made?  It doesn’t say specifically, but it may not be determined until judgment day.  At that point God will decide.  Until that point, I believe it is my responsibility to love and accept them (Rom 14:1) and consider them brothers, unless they violate one of the key principles that we talked about earlier.  It is also my responsibility to try , in love, to teach them and encourage them–to make sure they are made of gold.

SUMMARY:     Paul calls them the church of God (1 Cor 1:2, Rom. 1:7) even though 
                 a.   They are worldly, infants in Christ 1Cor 3:1 
                 b.   Jealous and quarrelsome 1 Cor 3:3 
                 c.   Following different men 1 Cor 1:11-13, 3:4-5 
                 d.   Disagree about eating meat offered to idols (Rom 14:2) 
                 e.   Disagree about what days are sacred (Rom 14:5)

CONCLUSION: 

     A.  SO HOW SHOULD WE TREAT THOSE WITH WHOM WE DISAGREE? 
                  
           1.  Do not allow ourselves to be bound by a legalistic set of rules unless it regards things explicitly stated in the Bible.  

                 Gal 5:1,13  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery….v13 do not use your freedom to indulge in the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.(also Phlp 3:6Legalistic righteousness) 

            2.  Be tolerant of those with different views and beliefs 

                  Eph. 4:2  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.   Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.   

                  Romans 14:1-15:7   Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.  4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.  10 You, then, why do you judge your brother?  Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.  13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Rom.15:1  We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak . . .5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  7  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

     B.  KEEP IN THE FELLOWSHIP WHEN 

           1.  SPIRITUAL BABES –Romans 14:1 (they need it to help them grow) 

           2.  THOSE SNARED BY SIN  (They need it to bring them back) 

           3.  THOSE WITH UNORTHODOX VIEWS (that don’t deny the gospel, for the sake of teaching, encouraging, and rescue from harm).

In considering how we should act toward our brothers with whom we have differences of opinions, we should continue to study together to try to more perfectly understand what God’s will is for us.  As long as we are both continuing to strive to be what God wants us to be, we must continue to consider ourselves brothers.  Possibly, and even probably, they are wrong in their understanding of God’s word—-but we probably are, as well.  But unless they or we wreck our faith by denying the heart of the gospel or by living blatantly immoral lives, they are still my brethren.  If we do not accept them, we may be rejecting someone that God has accepted.  And I do not want to risk that.  May God bless you and me as we try to understand his will for us.   Dennis

 

Posted by Dennis at 21:24:55 | Permalink | Comments (8)

Part 3—Who Is My Brother—Contending for the Faith

Part 3  “Contending for the Faith”
In part 1 we talked about “Who is My Brother.”  We looked in the N.T. to see what it took to become a child of God, a member of his body–the church.  In part 2 we looked at some examples of where people were “kicked out of the church.” 

The question we will discuss now has to do with those people who didn’t fall into the “authorized kick out” categories but are not full of “sound doctrine” or are “false teachers”.    Are they still our brothers in spite of their faulty doctrine or false teaching?  Let’s look at false teachers in the Bible to see who and what was included, biblically, in those descriptions.

There is a widely accepted publication called “Contending For the Faith.”  It states that it is “for, elders, preachers, teachers and concerned Christians.”  This publication states that it “was begun and continues to exist to defend the gospel (Philippians 1:7, 17) and refute error (Jude 3).”  These are good and biblical causes.  In Philippians, Paul stated “for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.” 

As I was growing up in my biblical training I heard this “contending for the faith” (and similar) phrase(s) often.  Generally speaking, it was used (by me and many others) to justify condemning anyone who didn’t agree with what I believed about instrumental music, the name on the building, how often to take communion, baptism, etc.  This publication has used the phrase in much the same way for much the same purpose. 

But what is the “gospel” of which these verses speak?  Is it not the “good news” that Jesus came and died and was buried and rose again that we might have the chance for eternal life?  Yes!  That is the gospel.  And sometimes we may need reminding like those Christians needed in 1 Cor 15:1-8 (part 2).  And we, as members of his body should indeed defend the gospel.  We should not allow it to be taught that any of this did not happen or that Jesus was not the son of God.  But these verses don’t give us the right to condemn everyone with whom we disagree on every doctrinal issue.  It’s just not there.   
In Jude 3, where the publication takes its name, Paul wrote the brethren to urge them to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”  As you continue on with verse 4, you see what he was telling them to contend against—”certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”  I encourage you to read the rest of Jude to see how vile and worldly these men were. 

They met both of the criteria that we studied about earlier, for being rejected –they were extremely immoral and they denied Jesus as the Only Sovereign and Lord.  If we have men among us that deny Jesus and are immoral like this, we should not tolerate their presence for a moment.  I am in total agreement with this publication to this point.  I am in disagreement when it goes beyond that in condemning others. 

BUT WHAT ABOUT FALSE DOCTRINE THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES MENTIONED IN THOSE PASSAGES? Let’s look at some of the other verses we have used to justify our exclusion of others.  For example:

2 John 9-11  “anyone who does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God;  whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.  10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.  11 Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” 

We have traditionally used this to cover a lot of subjects and issues.  But if you look back to verse 7 you will see that he is talking to them about “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.  Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.”  It’s back to the basics of “first importance” in 1 Cor. 15 once again.

Gal 1:6-9  . . . “preaching a different gospel than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.”  We expand this to mean everything we believe, not just the gospel.  Once again, we need to keep in mind 1 Cor. 15:1-8.

Philippians 3:17b-18   “take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you 18 For, as I have often told you . . .many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.”  Verse 2 tells who he is talking about–”those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.”  These were men of the circumcision party who were trying to force people to be circumcised before they would accept them as brothers.  They seemed to have other problems as well–v19 “…their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.”   

1 Tim 1:3  . . .”command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer”  

 What did Paul specifically mean when he was talking about false doctrines in this situation.  In the verses following this instruction, he spelled out some examples of what he meant.  
            v4 not to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.  These promote controversies rather than God’s work–which is by faith.  
            “7 they want to be teachers of the law, but don’t know what they are talking about. . .9 the law is made for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers–and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,….” 

These examples of false doctrine seem to be quite different than the “false doctrines” I’ve seen these verses used to condemn.  These examples seem to be pretty blatant and obvious to most religious and non-religious people in the world.

1 Tim 6:3  “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching 4 he is conceited and understands nothing.”  Paul follows this statement with a description of whom he is talking about. 
 4b “he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

1 Tim 4:1“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, who consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”  What are these things being taught? 

            “3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving.” 

 When Paul was writing to Titus, he told him to appoint elders in every town, and then he described the kind of man Titus was to look for.  As part of that description, Paul told Titus in Titus 1, verse 9 that “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”  Then Paul explains why he gave this instruction (once again, there is a practical reason for all of God’s instructions). 

            10″For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.  11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.  Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’  13 This testimony is true.  Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. . . .16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.  They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. 

 (Beginning with the next chapter, Paul then tells Titus himself, in Titus 2:1  “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine,” followed by a description of what that is.  I would encourage you to read Titus 2 to learn what Pauls description of sound doctrine is.) 

 2Pet 2:1 . . .”there will be false teachers among you.(They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who brought them. . .v13 Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.  14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed . . .)

To summarize, there is a definite responsibility on our part to refute false teachings and false teachers and to teach sound doctrine.   That fact seems undeniable to me and I have no problem with it.  Where I have a concern is in my belief that often we (myself included (formerly)) have expanded the parameters of what that encompasses.  It seems that, generally speaking, the false teachers spoken about in the New Testament primarily fit into one or more of the following categories: 
1) They were men who’s hearts and motives were not trying to serve God but were trying to mislead people for personal gain. 
2) They were men who seemed to want no restrictions on their lives or moral actions. 
3) They were men who were trying to bind their beliefs and opinions on other people or
 4) They were men who were denying the very heart of the Gospel (1 Cor.15:1-8). 

ADDENDUM:

Some have mentioned that we are to be fruit inspectors.  We should watch out for false teachers by watching for their bad fruits.  “By their fruit you shall recognize them.”  And we should use this to determine who is my brother as well as the methods we’ve mentioned in the previous lessons.

Therefore, I looked up these references to good and bad fruit.  They are recorded in Matthew and  Luke.  Let’s look at each of them to see what was said and then let’s look at the context in which they were said.

            Matthew 3:8,10  “8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 10. . . every tree that does not  produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

This statement was made by John the Baptist as he was in the desert near the Jordan river .  He was baptizing people who came to him confessing their sins.  When he saw the Pharisees and Saducees coming, he call them a “brood of vipers” because they did not feel the need to repent since they were descendents of Abraham.  Anyone who does not repent of their sins cannot bear the fruit about which John is speaking.

            Matthew 7:15-16 says, “Watch out for false prophets. . .16 By their fruit you will recognize them. . . 17 Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. . . 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

This is a statement from Jesus in his sermon on the mount.  In the second half of verse 15, Jesus describes these false prophets more fully.  “They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  These are not men with pure hearts but limited understanding.  They are aggressors who intentionally mislead and destroy the vulnerable.

            Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”

This statement is made by Jesus to the Pharisees after Jesus had driven a demon out of a man.  The Pharisees were saying that Jesus had done this by Beelzebub.  In verse 34 Jesus calls them a “brood of vipers.”  He then calls them evil and says that evil things come out of their mouths because of the evil stored up in their hearts.  Once again, these are not good people who need further teaching, they are evil men who would like to destroy Jesus.

            Luke 3:8,9   “8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. . .9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

This is Lukes account of the Matthew 3 incident above.  After the people heard John call the Pharisees a “brood of vipers,” they asked him in verse 10, “What should we do then?”  John replied in the next 4 verses with a list of “good fruit” examples.  John 3:11  “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”. .. And to the tax collectors who were baptized “13 Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”  And to the soldiers who were baptized “14b Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”  These are not exactly the same kinds of things we have used to differentiate  between good fruit and bad fruit in the church.

            Luke 6:43  “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.

This comes from Lukes account of Jesus’ sermon on the mount.  He follows these verses with a fuller description of the kind of people he’s talking about.  “45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart him mouth speaks.”  Once again were are talking about evil hearts, not pure hearts who are mistaken.

For us to use these verses to condemn people who are searching for the truth, but come to different conclusions than us is, in my opinion, a misuse of the scriptures. 

But what about those people—the ones who are sincere but are sadly mistaken in their understanding of God’s will.  Doesn’t accepting them, in effect, cause us to condone doctrinal error?   That’s another great question.  I guess that means we are going to have to have a part 4. 

Stay tuned.  Dennis

 

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Thursday, August 9, 2007

Part 2—Who Is My Brother—Exclude These

Part 2— “Outties”

Last time we covered how one becomes a child of God, a “member” of his church, his body.  Now I want to look at what the Bible teaches about  how one “falls away” or stops being my brother.  In my growing up years (and many years since) we were pretty exclusive in who we would consider our brethren.  I’ve heard the phrase “it’s a shame that they are not Christians” used about people who believed just like me (and had been baptized) except they had a piano in their church building and they had a different name on the door.  Is that the Biblical criteria for not being a brother?

So today I want us to consider the question WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE DONE ALL OF THAT (good stuff as stated in part 1), BUT BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY THAN US ON DOCTRINAL ISSUES?  AT WHAT POINT DOES ONE “FALL OUT” OF THE CHURCH? AT WHAT POINT DO I DRAW THE LINE IN DETERMINING THOSE WITH WHOM I CAN FELLOWSHIP AND WORSHIP?  (WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS THAT WE MUST HAVE IN COMMON?)  Let’s look at the scriptures to see where the lines were drawn in the New Testament.  That ought to be a reasonably good source for this information.  

According to the Bible we are to include as a part of our brotherhood those who have followed the teaching in

1 Cor. 15:1-8 “[1]Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

This passage is the beginning of a response by Paul to a group who is evidently teaching that there will be no resurrection.  Paul makes a very logical argument against this belief in the rest of Chapter 15 (vs12-19, ff).  What is key with this passage (15:1-8) is that it reveals absolutely necessary beliefs which one must have to be saved.  Paul stresses these beliefs by reminding them that he passed these key beliefs on to them as of “first importance.”  These are not optional items.  This is the heart of the gospel.  One must believe these things or they are rejected, as we shall see with the following scriptural examples.

EXCLUDE THESE

1.  EXCLUDE PEOPLE WHO’S ERROR OF BELIEF DENIES VERY HEART OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE 

       a.  2 Jn 7-11  do not acknowledge Jesus in flesh 

       b.  2 Tim.  2: 17-18  Hymanaeus and Philetus resurrection already past. 

       c.  1 Tim.1:18-20  Hymanaeus and Alexander (have rejected their faith & good conscience v19, blasphemed, v20) 

       d.  Jude 4  godless men who change grace into license for immorality & deny Jesus Christ 

       e.  1 John 2:18-26 (v26 some trying to lead you astray, antichrist)v22 Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.. 

One cannot deny the heart of the gospel as stated in 1 Cor. 15:1-8 and still be my brother. 

2.  EXCLUDE PEOPLE REGARDING THE WAY THEY LIVE

DISFELLOWSHIP SHOULD ONLY BE IN REGARD TO WHAT IS STATED EXPLICITLY IN THE SCRIPTURES, NOT OPINIONS ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE NOT EXPLICITLY STATED.       

                Gal 5:19 tells us that the “acts of the sinful nature are obvious:” 

                a.  1 Cor. 5:1-5,13 (Man with father’s wife) 

                b.  Gal. 5:19-21  “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft;  hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy;  drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who LIVE like this will not inherit the kingdom of God .” 

                c.  1 Cor. 5:9-11 (similar list–sexually immoral, homosexual, greedy, etc.) 

                d.  1 Cor. 6:9-11   (similar list—p.s. he’s talking to Christians)

3.  EXCLUDE THOSE WITH A DIVISIVE SPIRIT AND WHO ARE TRYING TO BIND THEIR BELIEFS ON OTHERS. 

                a. 3 John 1:9-10 (NIV)   I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. [10] So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. 

                b.  The theme of the letter to the Romans is revealed in (Romans 1:16-17 (NIV)  “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. [17] For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The rest of the book expands upon that theme that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works.  Those who are requiring circumcision and the following of legalistic rules are causing divisions and putting obstacles in the way of the followers.  About them Paul says in Romans 16:17 (NIV)  “ I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. “ 

                c.      Titus 1:10-11 (NIV) “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.  [11]  They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”
            Later, Paul further expands on the issue and tells Titus how to approach it. Titus 3:9-10 (NIV) “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. [10] Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.”

4.  EXCLUDE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST THEIR BROTHER AND REFUSES TO CORRECT THE SITUATION AFTER FOLLOWING BIBLICAL PROCEDURE.

Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)   “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. [16] But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ [17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

DO WE HAVE ANY BIBLICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EXCLUDING ANYONE FROM THE CHURCH WHO DOES NOT FALL INTO ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES? 

I don’t think so.  These are the only Biblical examples I could find that authorized the exclusion of people who had become Christians at one time.  (If you can find more, let me know please.)  Which leads me to my next question. 

 HAVE WE (including myself, personally), IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST , EVER EXCLUDED ANYONE FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN THOSE ABOVE?

Unfortunately, (although with honorable intentions) the answer is yes we have.  (In light of letter “3a” above and the fact that those who were “binding on others what they believed” were in jeopardy of being no longer acceptable, it is kind of scary to think that we, in our zeal, may have been guilty of this for these many years.) 

But now we have a dilemma.  Paul talks a lot about CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH AND FIGHTING FALSE TEACHERS AND FIGHTING FALSE DOCTRINE.  What about all of those types of issues.  Doesn’t that authorize us to exclude those who are guilty of those things? 

And what about  ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN CAUSING THE CHURCH TO SPLIT , AND DENOMINATIONALISM, ETC? 

These are good questions.  We will work on that in Part 3.  There is an answer.  Until then, the only people we are authorized to exclude are listed above. 

God Bless you as you ponder these thoughts.  Dennis 

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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Part 1—Who Is My Brother?

WHO IS MY BROTHER?   Part 1–”Innies”
Today I want to start a series about “Who Is My Brother”.  I may interject other posts during this series, but I will always use the terminology “Who Is My Brother” in the title if it is a part of this series. 

It has been my experience throughout most of my Christian life that people in the Church of Christ have been pretty exclusive in who they include as fellow Christians.  That’s loosening up some and it’s been awhile since I personally heard anyone say the words “we are the only ones going to heaven .”  I’m sure there are those who still believe that, but the environment to say that comfortably has not been around for awhile. 

My purpose for doing this series is not as much to determine who is my brother as it is to determine who is NOT my brother according to scriptures.  I want to look at what point does someone stop being my brother—according to scripture ( not Church of Christ tradition).  At what point do we “get to” exclude someone?  That’s the part I really want to address, but before I can get to that, we need to establish who IS my brother.  We are looking for “innies” and “outies” here.   So the question for today is “HOW DOES ONE BECOME A CHILD OF GOD, MY BROTHER?”   How do you get to be an “Innie?”

Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 2:36-37,38,41 Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.. . . 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Rom. 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Gal 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

WHO IS MY BROTHER?  Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, has confessed that Jesus is Lord, repented of one’s sins, and has been baptized is a Christian, a child of God and my brother in Christ. 

And, as stated in Acts 2:47 (NIV), when someone has done these things it is the Lord who has added them to his church  (Acts 2:47 (NIV)  . . . praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.). 

And the church is not the building.  It is his people.  We, the Christians, are the church and the body of Christ.  1 Cor. 12:27 (NIV)  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  This is what I teach because this is what the Bible clearly teaches and I can not imagine ever seeing it differently.

NOTE:  If someone tells me they are a Christian, I accept them as my Brother without quizzing them about these matters.  Even if they have not understood the scriptures completely on this matter (because of who taught them) I believe it is God who ultimately decides who is my brother, but I feel a personal responsibility to always teach what I’ve stated above.  If they are in error about being my brother, I believe that I stand a much better chance to teach them the way more correctly if we are on “brotherly” terms.  After all, the objective is to get to heaven and to take as many others with me as I can. 

Next time we are going to examine what should be the criteria (according to the Bible) regarding at which point we can not (or can no longer) accept someone as a brother.  Is it if they use instrumental music?  Is it if they worship with a Denominational group outside of the Church of Christ ?  Is it if they believe in speaking in tongues?  What, according to the scriptures, removes them from being a Christian and from being my brother?     

Stay tuned!!!   Dennis

Posted by Dennis at 23:31:06 | Permalink | Comments (1) »