Therefore, a local church must include all kinds of God’s children who seek the Lord. It must include the brothers who sell everything as well as the brothers who do not sell everything. We cannot include what is not in the Bible; otherwise, we will include the world. But we must include what is in the Bible; otherwise, we will separate and exclude some of God’s children.
Acts 5:4 says, “While it [the property] remained, was it not your own?” It is evident that before the property was sold, it could remain the owners’. The Bible shows us that there were believers who did not sell everything; they all could still be Christians. If a certain group is unwilling to admit those who do not sell all, it is a “family” (as practiced by some Christians in China), not the church. Ordinary denominations do not require everyone to sell all, but the “family” does require this; therefore, they also are not the church. Anything that bars a part of God’s children is exclusive and sectarian. It is best for all the brothers to take the path of completeness. If we are not able to climb up this way, we should not hinder others from doing so. This is the only way for us to be inclusive and to be called the church. It is best for all God’s servants to come up to this standard. If we are not able, we must reserve the path for others to take. What the Bible permits, we must permit; what the Bible does not permit, we also must not permit. We must have the aspiration to climb higher; we must take this road no matter how difficult. But even if we cannot make it, we must still allow other brothers the liberty to take this way. The church should never include only what we can do and exclude what we cannot do. We are not large enough to be the standard; we cannot be the basis for forming any kind of judgment.
Andrew Murray once said, “We who are the Lord’s servants sooner or later will have to preach words which we are unable to fulfill.” We should never hinder others from going on because we cannot go on. The church in a locality must have this kind of broad-mindedness in order to stand in the position of the church. This may seem strange, but this is a fact. Paul’s walk was in accord with everything he preached, but people like us still have to preach even if we are not able to go on accordingly.
(3)Another example involves taking medicine when one is sick. There is a scriptural basis for this because Luke continued to work as a physician after he was saved. During times of sickness, it is all right to take something to help the body. Some brothers, however, only look to the Lord when they are sick; they take no medicine at all. The proper attitude of the church should include both. If brothers are able to believe in divine healing without the help of a doctor or medicine, this is best. If some brothers are short in faith and consult a doctor and take some medicine, this is also all right. If a group of brothers believe in science and think it is too much for others to refuse medicine and reject those who do, this group of brothers immediately will exclude some brothers and drive them out. However, we must not go to the other extreme, insisting on not seeing a doctor or not taking medicine like the former “Mount Zion Church.” If we do, those who are short in faith may be put to death by us.
On the west side of Egypt, along the Sudan, malaria was very prevalent. Many brothers who believed in divine healing went there and said, “Quinine is medicine; we will not take it.” As a result, every year scores out of a hundred died. But another group of brothers said, “In this place quinine is food, not medicine.” As a result, only a few in a hundred died yearly. Evidently, the proposal of the first group was wrong.
Basically, our attitude should be to not bring in what is not permitted in the Bible, but to include whatever is permitted in the Bible. This is the way to be inclusive, not exclusive. We should not say that we must depend on medicine. If we do, those who believe in divine healing will go away. We also should not insist on avoiding medicine; otherwise, those who are weak in faith will go away. A church must be inclusive, not exclusive. All sects are the result of failure in this matter. We must give our attention to this.
(4) Regarding the matter of holiness, many of God’s children believe that once they believe in the Lord they are perfect. Other children of God believe that they still need the second blessing in order to be perfect. In the Bible some were made perfect once they were blessed, but some also were blessed a second or third time before they touched perfection. Because the Brethren believe in perfection by being blessed once, the Holiness brothers leave because they absolutely believe that perfection is gained in the second blessing. But since they absolutely believe in the second blessing for perfection, the Brethren brothers leave because they believe in perfection by being blessed once. If a church picks only the Scriptures it believes in, it is not standing in the position of the church but, in fact, in the position of a denomination. We preach both the doctrine of perfection by being blessed once and the doctrine of perfection by receiving a second blessing. We can lead people to be made perfect by being blessed once, and we also can lead people to be liberated by receiving a second blessing. Whether or not we will bring forth more sects in the future depends upon whether or not we have reserved a place for all of God’s children. If we have not reserved a place for all of God’s children, we are a sect.
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