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The Apostles warned the early church, that 'ravenous
wolves' would enter in not sparing the flock. A whole series of
references can be found warning against
those who would not endure sound doctrine and who would take away
disciples after themselves. We well know how the early church began to
fall apart and error led to greater error, with those holding the 'truth'
declining into a minority. By the fourth and fifth centuries Ecumenical
councils had been set up with a view of representing the church to the
world. Any group that resisted was persecuted. Truth continued to decline
and the darkness of Catholicism filled the nations.
Rejection of Rome and her dogma was the force that
united the evangelical groups, yet there is little evidence any of them
found the truth in it's entirety. Most believed the universal churches
doctrines to one degree or another. These churches fragmented and the
ecclesiastical world unable to find solutions to the divisions, yet
desirous of opposing Catholicism, put their trust in ecumenicalism as a
solution. So the World Council of Churches, which has it's roots in the
Ecumenical councils, exists to encourage and maintain dialogue between
different denominations and to engage in joint acts of worship. The Roman
Catholic Church is conspicuous by it's absence. Today there are, as there
have been for many centuries, earnest and devout churchmen who deeply
lament the state of Christianity, but they do not hold the truth and with
the morass of false teaching in the churches, it is not surprising they
are as blind guides leading the blind.
But in God's mercy the truth as we know it
eventually emerged from the morass of apostasy, a rare jewel in the world
again. The light shone forth in the darkness, but the same forces that led
to the destruction of the early church were soon at work again. False
teachings and those unable to hold to sound doctrine appeared and the
cycle began all over again. Should we be surprised? No, for human nature
does not change. Human nature has always sought to assert itself and it's
wants and needs. Further, man always seeks to justify his own desires and
actions, rather than submit to God's just law.
Christadelphians have been in existence for well
over 100yrs and have striven over this time to uphold the purity of the
faith entrusted to us. There are now Christadelphian Ecclesia's worldwide,
brethren and sisters from all backgrounds united by the same faith and
hope. Yet sadly over the years the sound doctrine of scripture has been
eroded and those who teach error and accept unscriptural practice, have
come into our midst. This situation should not come as any surprise to us.
We read in scripture that the early church was afflicted with the same
problems and these were something that the Apostles constantly warned
would occur.
There have been worthy brethren and sisters in the
Central Christadelphian Fellowship over many years, who have been
seriously concerned about the loss of doctrinal unity and lack of
agreement in matters concerning doctrine, practice and morality within
their community. For this reason the 'Appeal to All Ecclesia's Committee'
was established to identify error of belief and practice that had crept
into the Central fellowship. This committee has continued in it's
existence for many years now. One brother who serves on the committee was
once asked if things had improved over the years. He responded that the
opposite was true, things had become worse not better!
However this decision by some to 'fight from
within', however well motivated, is unsound and unscriptural. The history
of Central shows a progressive influx of error. Had scriptural principle
been carried out in the first place, including separation from error, then
the problems besetting the fellowship would be far less, not greater. Over
the years amalgamations and re-unions have taken place, which have
exacerbated the problems. One example being the Suffolk Street re-union.
It is true to say, that those going under the umbrella of the 'Central
Fellowship' are not in a 'fellowship', but rather in a confederacy. For
groups to share the same name does not imply either shared belief or
fellowship. Indeed many groups under the umbrella of 'Central' will not
meet with others who share the same name. The Shield and Logos groups in
Australia being a case in point. Another example being a group of
ecclesia's in the UK who will not meet with any who are part of the
Endeavour group. The Endevourites being a group who for years have plagued
Central with false doctrine.
Brother Bernard Burt of the Coventry Central
Ecclesia, one time editor of the Bible Student, wrote:
"There is a great deal of sound and
fruitful teaching going on in the brotherhood in these latter days, yet
for all this the error of Jehoshaphat has been increasingly apparent
amongst us from the mid 1950's. Mainly, I believe, due to a lack of
appreciation of the doctrine of fellowship, the ways of the religious
world around us are creeping into the Ecclesia."
Later in the same paper Brother Burt wrote:
"There are at least two ways In which the
twentieth century Ecclesia can respond to these changes:
1. By acting on the positive example of
Jehoshaphat and ensuring that there is within the Ecclesia sound and
faithful teaching on our unique doctrinal heritage.
2. By only fellowshipping those who believe the
same things, hope the same things and live the same things as we do.
Closing the ecclesial door on all others is not hardhearted, it
is an act of love towards the Lord our God." (The New Bible
Student 1985 Vol.1 No.5 p.145-146.)
It is a pity his words were not headed.
A Need for
Unity not Disharmony.
The profound teaching of scripture with its sublime
theme of unity enshrined within the Yahweh name, is so wonderfully
illustrated when on that dark Passover night in Egypt every household in
Israel took a lamb "according to the house of
their fathers, a lamb for a house" (Exodus 12:3) This act
united all the sons of Israel in one supreme act of salvation, hundreds,
thousands of lambs, each one pointing far into the future to the one Lamb
of God. God and Israel were united in Fellowship on that night, for every
single one of them obeyed his word which brought to them the wisdom of
salvation.
We can consider also the consecration of Aaron and
his sons and their sacrificial offering to Yahweh. They made atonement for
themselves and for the people, this then was followed by a united response
of acclamation, "when all the people saw, they
shouted and fell on their faces" (Leviticus 9v24). It was a day of
unity and fellowship for every Israelite who had gathered round the
Tabernacle of Yahweh. "Behold", mused the inspired poet of Israel, in
meditation upon that day of consecration, "how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity". (Psalm 133)
It was the Law which united Israel with their God,
for God said to them that he would shew "mercy
unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments".
One Yahweh, one Law, one people. "Thy
word is very pure; therefore thy servant loveth it".
(Psalm 119:40)
It is this pure and precious word, which unites us
all with the God of Israel through Jesus Christ. Jesus said
'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth... that they all may
be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
one in us ...I in them and they in me" (John 17:17, 21-23)
There is then a cardinal need for unity. A divided
church is not the church of the Lord. The church or Ecclesia of the Lord
is that which is "perfectly joined together in the
same mind and the same judgment", (1Cor 1:10) Paul allows no
compromise. If there is division among us, if we are not of one mind and
one judgment, then we are not the body of Christ. The plethora of error in
doctrine regarding divorce and remarriage, sisters not wearing hats, the
idea of partial inspiration of scripture and indeed all the other ills
that beset Christadelphia, show a distinct lack of unity of mind and
judgement. The process of decay that has taken place mirrors exactly that
which occurred in the early church and that process is accelerating. When
the appeals Committee was first established in Central, it was in response
to problems that not only still exist, but have grown far worse. Many
accuse other fellowships of promulgating the fact that these errors exist,
but in fact this is not the case. All the problems others are accused of
exaggerating, were in actual fact highlighted originally by the Appeals
Committee from WITHIN Central.
Individual and collective response to the
commandments of Jesus cannot be based upon majority decisions, nor upon a
freedom to determine our own actions and behaviour. We have no permission
from the Lord that allows any right of self government. Did not our Master
say "Ye remain in my love IF ye obey my commands".
The doctrine of ecclesial autonomy has no place in our community. There is
only one hope, one faith, one body. Paul describes the body of believers
as a living temple, the temple of God "Which temple
ye are" (1Corinthians 3:17). If any man defile the Temple, him
shall God destroy. We rightly condemn the ecumenicalism of Christendom
with its aims of creating bridges between denominations, by making
allowances for a diversity of doctrinal interpretation and practice.
Ecclesial autonomy under the umbrella of the Christadelphian name, is but
another example of ecumenicalism. Thus the idea is promulgated that to be
a 'Christadelphian' - a brother or sister of Christ - all must be under
the Central umbrella. Any who dare resist this ecumenical call are branded
heretics and accused of breaking the body of Christ asunder. No doubt the
early Catholics did much the same to those in the early church who held
fast to sound doctrine. Those who endeavoured to maintain the truth in
it's beauty and purity. In a nutshell THE DOCTRINE OF ECCLESIAL
AUTONOMY IS AGAINST THE CLEAR TEACHING OF SCRIPTURE. It is a
false doctrine widely upheld by the Central Christadelphian Fellowship and
the root cause of it's many troubles. A Christadelphian ecumenical
movement is indeed being advertised in E. European newspapers further
promoting this false doctrine.
For the past one hundred and twenty years the
history of the Christadelphian's has involved a constant effort to "continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers". (Acts 2:42)
Brethren and sisters have long striven to cope with each false belief and
practice as it has arisen. Why? To create division? To prove they are
right? No, rather out of love for their Master, having a sincere desire to
guard the apostles doctrines, by faithfully executing, often with great
sadness, the Lord's command:
"A man that is an heretic
after the first and second admonition reject" (Titus 3:10)
We need always to have Pauls warning in mind that
those who fail to reject heresies will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:20-21)
It is true that many divisions have taken place in
the past more on personality grounds than doctrinal grounds and I am sure
most Christadelphian's can think of such divisions. This was true also of
the early church. John writes of a certain brother 3 John 1:9 "I
wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have
nothing to do with us." There will always be those who love the
pre-eminence and try to take a following after them. But this is
no excuse for neglecting to deal with and to separate from error.
It is our earnest conviction that the members of the
Dawn Fellowship have tried to keep the integrity of the apostles'
doctrines in all points, without compromise.
However this must not be construed as a belief that
Dawn consider themselves to have a 'perfect fellowship'.
It is rather a desire not to compromise sound scriptural teaching out of
love for the Lord Jesus. It is erroneous to claim as some do today that
the causes of divisions in the past are now historical and they should not
be allowed to continue to separate us. That is an argument of the apostasy
and apostate churches.
The leaven of false doctrine is deadly. The members
of the "golden candlestick" Ecclesia in Asia, which included Ephesus
,Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, failed to
respond to the Masters urgent call to repentance. In AD 64 Paul lamented
in his last recorded letter "This thou knowest, that
all they which are in Asia be turned away from me". This must have
been only a year or two after Jesus had sent his letter through the
apostle John on Patmos.
These candlestick communities were not the only
churches to succumb to the apostasy. If only they had listened to the
Masters urgent warning to deal with error. The Asian ecclesias also
included Antioch, Iconium , Lystra, Derbe, as well as Colossae. These had
all turned away from Paul's stand for the truth. As early as AD 50 the
Galatian brethren were in deep trouble - "O foolish
Galatians, who hath bewitched you?"
It is noteworthy that Jesus did not immediately "cut
off" these "candlestick ecclesias". He warned them that they had heresies
in their midst and he called them to urgently repent. Jesus saw their
faults and he told them what they were. But Paul's letter to Timothy
reveals the tragic outcome; they failed to purge out the leaven which "leaveneth the whole lump" (1Corinthians
5:6-7) and they will pay the price of rejection at the judgment seat.
Human nature always seeks to justify, seeks to excuse, seeks to go it's
own way - 'well I feel this or that', 'O well you can't be hard hearted',
'You must show love and forgiveness', 'we must be united', 'block disfellowship' and other similar such phrases. As to those churches they
were no longer in fellowship with Paul, they were no longer in fellowship
with the Lord, their descendants are now Orthodox!
The Scriptures are very clear in the spirit's
teaching about what Central brethren call 'guilt by association.' The Body
of Christ is one body. Not fractionated as is Central.
Jesus spoke of his body as a temple. "If any man
defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are" (1Cor 3:17) One 'heretic' defiles the
whole Temple of God, the body of Christ, those who should be the faithful
guardians of the apostles' doctrines. That one piece of leaven "leaveneth
the whole lump" To teach as some do that there is no such thing as 'guilt
by association' is a false teaching which must be treated according to the
apostles doctrines. (Romans 16:17 Titus 3:10) If any man bring another
doctrine do not welcome him! For any other doctrine will not save.
Paul's analogy of the human body as the body of
Jesus is of course bases on the Lord's own teaching;
"If thy right eye offend
thee, pluck it out, and cast It from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body
should be cast: into hell And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off,
and cast if from thee: for it is profitable far thee that one of thy
members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into
hell".
It is hard to think of clearer teaching than this
concerning guilt by association.
To weaken our lofty calling by permitting ourselves
to tolerate ungodliness within Christ's body, is not loving God. Showing
understanding, tolerances and even love even love towards those who
knowingly and wilfully subvert the truth by ungodly teaching and practice,
may be in tune with modern liberal theology, but it is at enmity with God.
To refuse to cleanse and purify the one body, of a member who offends by
unrighteousness, endangers the whole Body. It endangers the entire
Ecclesia of the Lord, not just one part of the body (ecclesial autonomy) .
Deuteronomy 13 provides us with a chilling insight into the mind of God
regarding those who bring the apostasy into his precious church. The
doctrine of guilt by association is plainly taught in both the Old and New
Testaments, "And whether one member suffers, all
members suffer with it; or one member be honoured all the members rejoice
with it." (1Cor 12:25) The teaching that there is no such thing as
guilt by association is again an false doctrine and like the doctrine of
ecclesial autonomy must be rejected as a heresy.
Brethren are quite keen on quoting the parable of
the wheat and the tares to support this concept. If only people would read
it properly and in context. Jesus disciples couldn't always grasp the
meaning of his parables and they certainly were quite mystified by this
one. When they reached the house "the disciples came
unto him, saying, declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field".
It is interesting to note that; they didn't ask about the wheat - that bit
of the parable seemed obvious - it was the tares that puzzled them. Jesus
explained the meaning of this parable in sublimely simple terms.
"The field is the world". It is the
Son of Man who sows the good seed in the world. "But
the tares are the children of the wicked one: the enemy that sowed them is
the devil", an obvious reference to the serpent's lie whose seed
has polluted the entire world. This beautiful, yet simple little parable,
perfectly illustrates that the children of the kingdom are
"in the world but not of it". Jesus prayed
"not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,
but that thou shouldest keep them from evil. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world" (John l7:l5-16).
To apply this parable to the ecclesial world, then
draw the conclusion that the wheat and the tares remain together within
the temple of God, only to be rooted out at the time of judgment, is an
interpretation quite contrary to the commandment of the Lord that false
teachers should be avoided. A clear command that anything which offends
the body of Christ should be cut off. |
