Christian Unity

The independent Christian churches have had a couple of great decades. From an article at the Christian Standard:

According to The New York Times, the Christian churches were the second-fastest-growing movement in America in the ’90s. Twenty years ago we had fewer than 10 churches that averaged 1,000 in attendance. Last year Christian Standard listed 117 averaging more than 1,000. There are eight churches exceeding 5,000! Some ridicule large churches and try to paint them all with a shallow brush, but those 117 churches baptized more than 20,000 people last year. If the angels of Heaven rejoice when one sinner comes to repentance, that’s reason for us to celebrate. (excerpted from Bob Russell’s closing sermon at the North American Christian Convention in Kansas City, July 6)

I would say that is something to celebrate. Let’s celebrate with them!

I ran across the following today, and thought it was worthy of a “me too” post:

“I ask that men make no reference to my name, and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? My doctrine, I am sure, is not mine, nor have I been crucified for anyone. St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, would not allow Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I, poor, foul carcass that I am, come to have men give to the children of Christ a name derived from my worthless name? No, no, my dear friends, let us abolish all party names, and call ourselves Christians after him whose doctrine we have.” – Martin Luther

“I should rejoice (so little ambitious am I to be at the head of any sect or party) if the very name [Methodist] might never be mentioned more, but be buried in eternal oblivion.” -John Wesley

“I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ’s name last for ever. I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living.” -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

from Some Thoughts on Unity posted by Phil Miller on Sunday, 16 September 2007

I’ve been enjoying Jay Guin’s series on instrumental music lately. In part 3 of the series, he makes a very astute point about what is authorized in worship, from 1 Cor 14.

Traditionally, the churches of Christ have taught that there are five authorized “acts of worship”: singing, praying, preaching, giving, and communion. Biblical support for these acts of worship in the general assembly can be found in the first Corinthian letter:

1. Singing (1 Cor 14:26)
2. Praying (1 Cor 14:14-15)
3. Preaching (1 Cor 14:26)
4. Giving (1 Cor 16:2)
5. Communion (1 Cor 11:20-34)

Of course, since churches of Christ hold that the spiritual gifts of prophecy and tongues have passed away, Paul’s discussion of those matters has generally been considered not to be relevant to the modern church.

Notice, however, that Paul was answering the question, “What activities are permissible in the assembly?” In each case he applies the rule that whatever is done must build up the church.

1Co 14:12-13 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.

1Co 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

Paul applied this principle to tongues and prophecy, but also to singing and to instruction. His entire argument about tongues is this: Whatever does not edify, is worthless in the assembly. It seems that the purpose of the assembly is to edify the Christians.

That is consistent with what the writer of Hebrews taught:

Heb 10:23-25 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Christians come together as a church in order to encourage one another. That is the purpose of the assembly. God gave us the “worship” assembly for our benefit, not His.

Notice also, as Paul answered the question “What activities are permissible in the assembly?” he did not ask “What acts has God authorized?” Instead he asked, “What edifies the church?” Clearly, whatever builds up the church is authorized by God. God wants the church to be edified. In other words, He wants the church to be brought to a better understanding of the gospel of Jesus, and to be urged to respond appropriately to what God has done for us through Jesus. As Paul wrote in Ephesians:

Eph 4:11-16 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

What does all this mean practically? First, it means that we must do everything in a way that builds up the church. The traditional five acts of worship can be done in a manner that builds up the church, or in a manner that bypasses the gospel of Jesus completely. Everything done in worship should be focused on the gospel.

Secondly, other things done in the assembly can build up the church, besides the traditional five. In his article, Jay points out that even the announcements can encourage the church to do good works:

But aren’t [announcements] encouragements to love and good works? Don’t they include messages about who is in the hospital or had a baby or jobs that need to be filled? Or maybe they are celebrations about someone’s work in the church or an anniversary. It’s all encouragement!

Similarly, the fellowship before and after the formal assembly is an opportunity to encourage one another and to urge one another to love and to good works. Surely that kind of fellowship is authorized as an activity of service (worship) in the assembly!

So we need a broader view of what is permissible in the church service. The rule has nothing to do with five authorized acts of worship. Instead it concerns whether or not those things build up the church in the gospel. From the perspective of unity, it means that we certainly shouldn’t be drawing lines of fellowship over things like communion cups, instrumental music, dramatic productions, videos, praise teams, etc. Whatever edifies the church in the gospel is permissible.

What is required in order to be saved? Do churches of Christ add requirements to the pure gospel message? And if so, what are the implications of that? These significant questions are the topic of an online book by Jay Guin, a third generation elder in the churches of Christ.

My study has led me to a great many observations and conclusions, but there’s one conclusion that troubles me greatly, and I write this in hopes of being proved wrong. I know that’s an odd thing for an author of a religious book to say. Indeed, we church authors just about always write to prove ourselves right and our opponents wrong, but I find myself wishing to be wrong.

You see, I’m of the opinion that Galatians teaches, and teaches quite plainly, that adding any command to the gospel—that is, making any law beyond obedience to the gospel a requirement to be saved—causes one to fall from grace, indeed, to be alienated from Christ. If this is so, many within the Churches of Christ are in jeopardy of their souls, as it is nearly universal in the Churches of Christ to add commands to the gospel as further requirements to be saved.

Jay begins by providing biblical definitions of “gospel” and ‘faith”. Based on passages like Rom 10:9-11, Rom 10: 14-17, 1 Cor 1:17, 1 Cor 1:23-24, 1 Cor 15:1-6, 2 Cor 4:4-5, he establishes that the faith which saves us is faith in the gospel; and the gospel is the message about Jesus being the Son of God, dying on the cross for our sins, being raised again on the third day, and now reigning as our Lord. Those are the truths in which we must put our faith in order to be saved.

He then defines “works” based on Rom 11:6 (KJV), Gal 3:2, Rom 4:1-5, James 2:14-19, and Eph 2:8-10.
From these passages, he argues that “works” refers to anything done in an effort to earn salvation. According to the gospel, our salvation comes by grace through our faith and not from our works. However, if we are saved, that will result in us doing good works. In Jay’s own words:

Now the key is the direction of the arrow of causation. Works do not cause salvation; rather, salvation causes works. We can state this in terms of formal logic. The statement “If I do good works, then I will be saved” is false, because no one other than Jesus is capable of doing works that merit salvation (Rom. 3:23). On the other hand, the statement “If I am saved, then I will do good works” is true. Now, my logic professor at David Lipscomb taught me that any true statement can logically be “double reversed” into the “contrapositive,” and it will still be true: “If I don’t do good works, then I am not saved.” And this is precisely what James says.

Because we have been saved, we love God and we seek to please Him. We don’t merely “love” because it is commanded! And so our good works are a natural, willing and eager response to the grace we have received, because we love, because God loved us first. God’s requirements are written on our hearts through the Holy Spirit so that we want to do what is right.

Jay demonstrates that there are two things that are required to be saved: faith (in the gospel), and repentance (lordship). And there are two things that can remove us from our saved position: abandoning that faith (1 John 4:1-2), or abandoning repentance (Heb 10:26-31).

All this leads to his very important conclusion:

Therefore, I readily accept as saved those within the Churches of Christ who disagree with me on any number of issues. The Scriptures teach that salvation is determined by faith and penitence—not by being right on the fashionable theological issues of the day. I can be entirely penitent and yet disagree on what the Bible says on any number of subjects. Neither the age of the earth nor the scriptural grounds for a divorce are matters of faith, and thus being wrong on those subjects is not a salvation issue—provided that I’m penitent, meaning that I’m trying to honor God in my study and teaching.

Now there are several Scriptures that authorize expulsion of church members who behave divisively (e.g., Rom. 16:17; Tit. 3:10). But being in error is not by itself divisive—or else we’d all have to agree on every single point of doctrine and practice— and we don’t and can’t. Similarly, a church may disfellowship a member due to unrepented moral sin. But this is to shame him into repentance (2 Thes. 3:14-15) because an impenitent Christian is in jeopardy of his soul under Hebrews 10:26. But a Christian who disagrees with me on, say, the role of women is not thereby impenitent and hence not a subject for disfellowshipping.

Jay develops these ideas further by examining the concepts of faith, hope, and love, in contrast to law. He shows from the book of Galatians that whoever adds any legal requirements to the gospel falls from grace. He further develops this idea from Romans 14 – 15, concluding with the following comment on Rom 15:7

In short, and it’s quite unambiguous in the Greek, we must accept as fellow saved people all those who’ve met the terms that we had to meet when we were first saved. “Hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized” defines not only who becomes saved but whom we must treat as still saved. More precisely, someone who’s become a Christian and who remains true to his original faith and repentance is still a Christian, and we must treat him as such.

He then turns to the disturbing implications for legalists in the churches of Christ:

You see, in teaching that certain doctrines other than the gospel are essential to salvation, we’re effectively saying that to be saved, you not only must hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized, you must also join a congregation with a scriptural name, with a scriptural organization, and with a scriptural pattern of worship. Thus, if your home church has an elder who might not be properly qualified, or your church does something in worship that might lack authorization, you must change congregations or else lose your soul! I know Christians who have left their local congregation and take communion weekly at home rather than risk damnation by joining an unscriptural Church of Christ.

I fail to see how insisting on these rules as conditions to salvation is any different from insisting on circumcision as a condition to salvation. Either way, you’re insisting on obedience to a law in addition to the gospel.

Jay then offers a word of hope. Paul had not yet deemed the Galatians church as a whole to have fallen from grace — though he apparently felt that the false teachers had done so. So perhaps the churches of Christ are in no worse condition today. But Paul did address the Galatians with some of the most urgent warnings in scripture. They were in great danger of falling from grace. Adding requirements to the gospel is a perilous path.

There is much more to be gleaned from this online book. I heartily recommend it. May we all gain a better understanding of grace, faith, and the gospel of Christ!

Eph 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostle Paul, teaches us that the maturing of the church should lead to unity in the faith. There is only one faith on which we are to build unity (vs 5). What is that faith?

Often we find Christians failing to be unified because of differing understandings of scripture. They may believe different things about instrumental music, or predestination, or the resurrection, or a thousand other topics. It is often argued that we cannot share the same faith if we do not share the same doctrinal understandings, even on such issues as music. Is this what the scriptures mean by “unity in the faith”?

Faith [Gk pisteuo] is fundamental to salvation:

Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes [Gk pisteuo] in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Rom 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe [Gk pisteuo] in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Mar 16:16 Whoever believes [Gk pisteuo] and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe [apisteo] will be condemned.

Note however that two of the above passages link salvation to faith plus something (confess Jesus is Lord; baptism). In the Romans passage, our salvation is conditional upon making a sincere and legitimate commitment to obey Jesus as Lord. In the Mark passage, salvation is made conditional upon a particular case of obedience. This is consistent with what Paul wrote in the introduction to Romans:

Rom 1:5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

We are called to the kind of faith that produces obedience.

But does unity require complete agreement on every matter of obedience? Romans 14 answers that for us:

Rom 14:2-4 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Note that the two people described do not agree on what it means to obey in the case of eating meat. Each one is responsible to obey what he understands. They share the same kind of faith in Jesus, but that faith produces differences in obedience in the two men, because they have different understandings on the subject of eating meat.

So, what is the faith on which we are to be united? From John 3:16, we are to have faith in Jesus. Rom 10:9 further clarifies that we are to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. And Mark 16:15-16 tells us that we must believe the gospel that has been preached. Paul made it clear in 1 Cor 15:1-11 what makes up the gospel, which must be believed: the facts about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf, because of our sins. These are the facts that one must believe to be saved. These facts define the faith (belief) that in turn defines the boundaries of unity.

Many other matters that divide Christians fall under the category of obedience, rather than faith. Take instrumental music as an example. One person believes singing in worship must be a cappella. Another believes it may be accompanied by instruments. As long as each is practicing according to his conscience, they are to be accepted by one another, just as the two men in Romans 14 were to accept one another despite different views on eating meat.

Note, the fact that each is following his conscience does not necessarily mean each is accepted by God:

Rom 14:22-23 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Either, or both, may be condemning himself by what he approves. Even so, if the two cannot come to agreement on what is required for obedience, they must not quarrel nor judge one another, but instead they must keep their convictions to themselves, and leave the matter in God’s hands. (The few limited exceptions to this are spelled out in scripture; for example, 1 Cor 5:9-11 ) It is before God that each stands or falls. And God is able to make both of them stand.

So we are to be united based on our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and on our mutual commitment to obey Him, beginning at baptism. Given those things, we are to accept one another, to live according to our own consciences, and leave judging up to God. May we all learn to accept one another as Christ accepted us.

Over the past few weeks I have posted a series of articles proposing an approach for achieving unity among Christians;

Introduction
Part 1: One Body
Part 2: Congregational Relationships
Part 3: The Bible
Part 4: Silence of the Scriptures
Part 5: Authority of the Scriptures
Part 6: Accept One Another
Part 7: Freedom to Grow

Acts 2:38-39 contains a promise of forgiveness upon repentance and baptism. The passage clearly states that the promise applies to “all whom the Lord our God will call.” Gal 3:26-28 confirms that those who respond to this promise become sons of God, and are “one in Christ Jesus.” On that basis, we become part of the body of Christ. Therefore each of us should accept all the other members of the same body.

While we assemble in various separate congregations in different places, Christians should accept one another even across those congregational boundaries. Yet we should respect those congregational boundaries when it comes to matters of judgment and differing convictions on peripheral matters. God places leadership in the local congregation, and God will hold that leadership accountable for that flock. We can encourage one another across those congregational lines, urging one another to live lives worthy of the calling we have received. But we must not draw lines of fellowship excluding people who have been adopted by God according to the scriptures, even if they do some things differently from us, and even if they understand some things differently from us. It is before their Lord that they will stand or fall, and we are not to pass judgment on them (Rom 14:4)

As people move back and forth between congregations, we must accept them on the same basis that God did. If they were adopted as sons of God according to the scriptures, we are to accept them accordingly. Likewise, those entering a new congregation are to respect the leaders God has placed in that congregation, even though they may do some things differently from other congregations.

Matters on which the scriptures are silent must not be permitted to divide Christians. Such topics have been the root of innumerable divisions over the past five hundred years, and that needs to change. We should not insist that silence is prohibitive, nor that it is permissive. Silence by itself is not sufficient grounds for prohibiting a practice, because silence does not tell us anything about God’s will. Silence is silent. Prohibiting a practice requires other sound biblical reasons based on what the scriptures actually say.

The scriptures are the only source of divine instruction available to the church today. It is the duty of each Christian, and each church leader, to seek to understand and to follow the will of God revealed in the scriptures. In doing so, we must recognize our own fallibility as well as that of our fellow Christians. Unless the scriptures explicitly make a certain matter essential to salvation, we must not presume to do that ourselves.

It is not just a good idea for Christians to accept one another. It is the clear command of God. Failure to accept those whom God has accepted is direct disobedience to our Lord’s command. Therefore, no division is permissible which is not explicitly commanded in the scriptures.

The Christian church must be a safe place to learn and to grow. So we must protect those who understand some things differently from us. Everyone must be given time and space so the Lord can work. Remember, the Lord is able to make each of us stand.

My hope is that this series of articles will start a new conversation leading to humility, gentleness, and peace among Christians. Our Lord is still at work in the church. May we have faith in God who will make us all stand united together!

I always love to hear of others who are beating the Christian Unity drum. This time the drumbeat has a bit of a Latin sound! Recently I was contacted by Andre Lopes of Cristianismo Unido asking permission to translate some articles from my blog for his site in Portuguese. So today the first translated article went online: Comentário sobre a Hermenêutica da Restauração (translated) (original).

I have placed a link to Cristanismo Unido in my links section on the right-hand side of the screen, along with a second link to translate his blog into English via translate.google.com .

Andre, thank you for your desire and efforts to promote unity!

I am taking a one-post break from the Proposal for Unity series to mention another effort to do God’s will that is not bounded by the traditional walls of division.

This past weekend, my wife and I attended facilitator training for the Dynamic Marriage class by the Family Dynamics Institute. From their web site:

By being trained to lead our Dynamic Marriage class, you can transform bad marriages, increase intimacy in good ones, save the futures of children involved in hurting homes, and bring new families into your church.

In the class I attended were two couples from former ICOC congregations, several from a cappella churches of Christ, some couples from charismatic churches, a Baptist couple, and probably some others among the sixteen couples present. Some were church leaders of various types, while others were just servant members of their congregations. What was most interesting to me is that the doctrinal differences among these groups were completely irrelevant to the topic of the workshop. As a result of the shared experience of the weekend, bonds of trust and respect were built. It amazed me how working on our marriages together for three days built such bonds so quickly.

This is an excellent example of the kind of things we can do together despite our different understandings of scripture. I heartily recommend the program to anyone wishing to help the marriages in your own congregation.

One hundred and ninety-eight years ago this month, Thomas Campbell wrote the most influential man-made document in Restoration Movement history, known as the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington. In that document he appealed to all believers in Christ to drop their sectarian differences and to come together on the basis of the scriptures. The centerpiece of the document was a set of thirteen propositions on which he believed unity could be built. (I wrote a fifteen-article series of comments on these propositions in the early days of this blog.)

For the subsequent few decades, great progress was being made toward the vision of the elder Campbell. But by the time of the American Civil War, the movement had strayed from the unifying heart of the thirteen propositions. From that point forward, the movement fractured again and again over many issues. Not only did the Restoration Movement fail to unify all believers in Christ, but the movement could not even remain unified within itself.

I do not believe the fracturing of the movement had to happen. There was a lot of wisdom in those thirteen propositions (after all, they were drawn directly from Scripture!) which could have prevented the divisions.

I also believe we can still learn from the past and correct the course. The last chapter of this story has not yet been written. I hope that we can discern how to worship and to serve God according to our own consciences, while accepting others whose consciences perceive things differently from ours. And I hope we can discern how to treat one another with the respect that is appropriate toward one for whom Christ shed his blood.

Maybe I am excessively optimistic, but I believe I see early signs that many in the Restoration Movement are becoming ready for a more informed effort towards unity. At many centennial events, sincere men from different fragments of the movement met together to talk about what is needed for unity. In many of these cases, animosity has been left behind. One can see the beginning stages of respect. People are weary of the division.

So perhaps the time is right to make a modest proposal–or rather, a series of proposals. I intend to spend the next few weeks posting a series of articles proposing how we might move forward together toward unity. I want to frame these proposals loosely around the original thirteen propositions of Thomas Campbell. But I want to connect them to current realities in the various segments of the Restoration Movement. Perhaps, by studying these topics with the benefit of history, we can better understand what God would have us to do from this point forward.

The original thirteen propositions make a compelling case for a particular kind of unity. It is not unity based on perfect agreement on all topics, but rather a unity based on a common relationship with our Father in heaven, through our common Lord and Savior. It is a unity based on being adopted into the same divine family, on our mutually being sons of God by faith (Gal 3:26-27). It is a unity based on our common commitment to Jesus. It is a kind of unity that I think, today, many of us are ready to try. I think it is the unity for which Jesus prayed. Let’s see if we can find it together.

Act 10:9-16
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Act 10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

To Peter, it seemed impossible, unimaginable. Inconceivable! Would God accept uncircumcised Gentiles in to the church of Christ– men who did not follow the law of Moses? But it was evidently so. The Holy Spirit came upon these men in a startling way–not as a result of baptism (Acts 2:38) nor as a result of an apostle laying on hands (Acts 8:17-18) but spontaneously and unexpectedly, with no human intervention (as in Acts 2:2-4). It was just like at the beginning (Acts 11:15). Here, as on Pentecost, God was providing a sign endorsing the proceedings. In Acts 2, the sign demonstrated that the gospel message spoken by the apostles was from God. In Acts 10, the sign demonstrated that the gospel message was not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. In both cases, the sign enabled the Jews who were present to overcome their preconceived ideas so they could understand something that was totally new and unimaginable to their Jewish minds.

Like the Jews, we have preconceived ideas about who can be saved. And like the Jews, our ideas are often inaccurate. We tend to think that only people like ourselves can be saved. Especially, we think that only people who believe exactly as we do can be saved. Restoration Movement Christians have a long history of excluding people over issues like instrumental music, missionary societies, communion cups, the practice (or lack) of pre-baptism “counting the cost”, existence or absence of discipling relationships, or even the name on the sign outside the church building.

None of those issues is made a condition of salvation in scripture. There may be biblical truth on one side or the other of each issue. Some may be matters of indifference to God. But regardless, we are not authorized by scripture to draw lines of fellowship over such disagreements. On the contrary, we are prohibited from doing so:

Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

I do not think God appreciates it when we reject those whom he has accepted. We must not call anything impure which God has made clean.