The Only Ones? (Part 2 of 4) by David McClister
(Reprinted from The Palmetto Reminder http://www.palmettochurchofchrist.org/)
"You people in the Church of Christ think that you are
the only people who are going to heaven, and that everyone else
is going to hell."
Have you ever heard anyone say such things about the Church of
Christ? In short, it is a charge of intolerance, narrow- and/or
closed-mindedness, and even spiritual bigotry. It is, to be sure,
a very serious complaint and warrants equally serious attention
and answer.
2. The charge often assumes that many different religions are
part of the same system of truth.
The charge leveled against us often assumes that the many different,
even conflicting, denominational religions out there are all part
of one big universal church. In other words, all the churches
together make up the universal church. We often hear John 15 cited
as proof of this idea. There Jesus said, "I am the vine,
and you [plural] are the branches." This is taken to mean
that Jesus is the head of the church, and all the different denominations
are simply branches off the main vine, Jesus.
Now if this were correct, and if we assented to it, then the charge
against us might have merit. If the church is made up of various
churches, then no one church would have the right to claim to
be the church exclusively. But Jesus was not talking about different
churches in John 15. He was speaking about individuals; He was
talking to the apostles. This idea that all the different religions
make up the universal church is not taught in the Bible. I challenge
anyone to find the verse where it says so, and show that the context
demands such an interpretation.
Truth is one. That is, the truth about one thing cannot possibly
contradict the truth about something else. All truth is harmonious
with itself. Therefore, if two churches claim to be part of the
same universal church and the same system of truth, but one church
teaches that all men are born sinners, and the other church teaches
that no men are born sinners, one of them has to be wrong. There
is no escaping that conclusion. So this idea that different churches
can teach and practice different - even conflicting - things fails
to meet the test of good common sense. If all the denominational
churches were only various parts of the same system of truth (as
they claim they are), then there would be no contradictions between
the teachings of any one church and those of any other church.
The unified nature of truth demands it. But since the different
denominational churches do indeed teach and practice conflicting
things, it only shows that these different churches cannot be
part of the same truth.
The Bible says very plainly that there is one church. "There
is one body," Paul said (Eph 4:4), and the church of the
Lord is His body (Col 1:18). More importantly, the church, or
the body of Christ, is made up of individuals. The church is not
made up of churches. In 1 Cor 12:27, Paul said "Now you [the
Corinthian church] are Christ's body, and individually members
of it." Each Christian is a member of the body. The Bible
nowhere says that the body is made up of individual churches.
Remember Acts 2:47? Did the Lord add churches to the church, or
did He add saved individuals to the church?
You see, then, there is only one true church spoken of in the
New Testament. Any church that teaches or practices things different
from, or contrary to, the teachings and practices of the New Testament
church, cannot possibly be a true, right, or correct church. It
has to be, by definition, a false church.
It is at this point that many people begin to disagree. "Do
you mean that other churches are wrong? That other churches are
going to hell?" Well, apart from the problem discussed in
the previous article (that salvation is on a church basis), and
that it often implies something about judgment-making that is
incorrect (more on this below), I do not see why that should be
such a surprising idea. If the one church spoken of in the Bible
is built on the truth, and another church teaches or practices
things contrary to that truth, how could that latter church claim
to be a true, or right, church? That idea might not be the most
comforting idea in the world, but I think we all can see that
it is the only idea consistent with the truth.
3. The charge assumes that it is by our own judgments that we
can say that certain people are heaven- or hell-bound.
It is God who sends people to hell. It is God who decides who
will spend eternity there. "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,"
says the Lord (Rom 12:20). God has not delegated one piece of
that judgment to anyone in the church.
It is important that we get this straight. There is a big difference
between warning others as to what God has said about the consequences
of their actions or lifestyles, and taking it upon myself to decide
individually where each person will spend eternity. The former
I must do, the latter I cannot do. God is the one who establishes
the standards by which we are to live, and it is God who will
deal with those who refuse to live by those standards. God expects
me to warn others of what He will do to the disobedient, but I
am out of line when I take it upon myself to pronounce someone
guilty of hell's fire.
Now, when I warn someone that what he or she are doing or teaching
violates the revealed will of God, I am not necessarily acting
as their judge. I am simply telling them what God has said; I
am only a messenger, as it were. Although it might not sound too
different, there is a difference between saying to someone "If
you do that you'll go to hell," and saying "God has
said that He will punish people who do that." The difference
is that the former statement is very often spoken as if we had
the right to judge souls, whereas the latter statement gives due
weight to the fact that it is God who has spoken and who will
judge.
I am glad God has not left the matter of deciding eternal destinies
up to us. There is simply too much that we do not, and cannot,
know about others. It is not always possible for us to be fair
in our judgments. Paul said "But to me it is a very small
thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court;
in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing
against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who
examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment
before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring
to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives
of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from
God" (1 Cor 4:3-5).
The point is that we are not in the judging business. God has
not given us the job of deciding the eternal destinies of those
around us. Our job is much more simple: to tell them what God
has said about how He wants all people to live, and to warn them
that God will punish those who do not. The charge that "you
people in the Church of Christ think everyone else is going to
hell" completely misunderstands our role in relation to God's
judging. If someone wants to criticize or oppose us for warning
people that God says sinful practices or false doctrines puts
them in jeopardy of hell, then they must take the matter up with
God, for we are only speaking what God has said.
Can We Understand the Bible Alike? By Andrew Mitchell
(andrewm@wnclink.com)
The Rule Book. Could you imagine the chaos in a ball game if
the referees could not understand the rules alike? How could
the game be played if each team added their own amendment to the
rules? I have seen arguments over the rules in a ball game, but
I have also seen those arguments settled by simply getting out
the rulebook. The referee who was wrong simply submitted to the
rule and the game was back in progress. If men would treat God's
rulebook with the same respect, we would not see the division
we see today.
We CAN Understand it! Paul said, "Whereby, when ye read,
ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ"
(Eph. 3:4). Later in the same letter, he said, "Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord
is." (Eph. 5:17) We can see clearly from these two verses
that we CAN understand the scriptures.
Each individual can understand God's word, because whole books
were to be read to congregations (1 Thes. 5:27; Col. 4:16). Parts
of these books were addressed to different groups of individuals
who were expected to understand it and follow it: Wives (Col.
3:18; Eph. 5:21-24); Husbands (Col. 3:19; Eph. 5:25-29); Children
(Col. 3:20); Slaves (Col. 3:22); Slave Owners (Col. 4:1). Each
of these would have to understand their instructions in order
to be obedient to it.
Timothy knew the scriptures even from his childhood (2 Tim. 3:15).
So yes, we CAN understand it. It simply takes a pure and honest
heart (2 Thes. 2:10; Mt. 5:8), and desire (Mt. 5:6; Lk. 11:9).
We CAN Understand it ALIKE! That is the ONLY way we can understand
it! Not only CAN we understand it alike, we MUST understand it
alike, or someone has MISUNDERSTOOD it! God expects us to be in
harmony when we SPEAK, THINK, or DISCERN (1 Cor. 1:10).
In Favor of Plain Speech - C.S. Lewis, reported that he once heard a preacher close a sermon by warning, "my dear friends, if you do not accept this truth, there may be grave eschatological consequences."
Afterward, Lewis asked what the preacher meant by "grave eschatological consequences." Did he mean that his hearers would be in danger of going to hell if they did not believe? When the preacher answered "yes," Lewis replied: "Then why didn't you say so!?!" (Selected from The Beacon.)
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Our weekly services are held at 1318 Griffin Road, Leesburg, Florida
34748.
Phone: (352) 365-9946 for times of services.
Web site: http://www.geocities.com/~cdillinger/cocbs/cocbshp.htm
MONTHLY BIBLE READING: Genesis 11-35; Job
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
BIBLE INSIGHT is published
for the members of, and visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly
Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church
address or via e-mail: dillinc@yahoo.com