In the last chapter we saw that for the practice of the church life in oneness, the Apostle Paul took such a general stand concerning doctrines and practices. As to the matter of eating, whether a Christian brother eats this or another eats that, neither should criticize the other. As to the matter of keeping days, the principle is the same. Whether a Christian brother keeps a day and regards it as something special and another considers all days the same, neither should criticize the other. Everyone must be general.
Concerning the matter of eating things sacrificed to idols, Paul did not say yes or no; he only took care of the other’s conscience. Also, concerning whether one should get married, it is difficult to say yes or no. It depends upon the circumstances. If someone can stand all kinds of situations, it may be better that he does not get married. If not, it is better for him to get married. It is general. Paul knew all the proper doctrines, but in the practice of the church life he was so general. We all have to learn that to keep the oneness of the Body we must practice this generality. If we are special, if we are definite and specific in anything other than our faith, surely the oneness will be damaged. The oneness will be hurt and then we will be divided. The main cause for the divisions among Christians is the neglect of caring for the generality of the church life.
Now we need to see another balance. We have seen that the speciality is balanced by the generality. The generality also has to be balanced by something. We as human beings easily become one-sided and go to an extreme. In the Old Testament in the book of Hosea there is a verse in which the Lord likened Ephraim to an unturned cake (Hosea 7:8). Cakes baked in an oven or in a pan need to be turned again and again. If the cakes are not turned, one side will be burned and the other will remain raw. Some of Israel were like an unturned cake in the eyes of the Lord. They were always one-sided, and this is still the problem with the Lord’s children today. So many Christians are like unturned cakes. This is why we had to see the balance to the speciality in the last chapter and why in this chapter we must see another balance. In a later chapter we will see another balance. We need to be turning all the time. Then we will be the best “cake.” The speciality needs the generality to balance it. The generality also needs something to balance it.
At the beginning of this chapter I listed all the verses in the New Testament regarding the persons that could not and should not be received into the church life. Do not think the church has to practice the generality to the degree that it has to take all kinds of persons. No, not at all. Yes, we should be general, but still there are certain persons with whom we cannot be general, nor with whom we should be general.
In Matthew we can see the seriousness of neglecting to hear the church (Matt. 18:15-17). We think that if one loses his temper it is something serious; or if one commits something immoral it is more serious. However, if someone neglects to hear the church, we consider it almost as nothing because we do not have the church consciousness. However, the Lord Jesus said that we have to consider such a one as a heathen person. In the Bible a heathen man is worse than a sinner. The Lord Jesus also said that we have to consider such a one as a publican, a tax-gatherer. We should not consider him as a kind of weak brother and sympathize with him. Not to hear the church is serious.
The Roman Catholic Church exercised too much authority over the saints, so an item of the Reformation was to attack this over-exercise of authority. Thus, most of the Christians are so liberal concerning the church. Almost no one respects the church today. When we talk about respecting the church, some people even condemn us, saying that this is Catholicism and that this is the setting up of a pope. To have a pope is surely wrong. To exercise too much authority over the saints is also seriously wrong, but this does not mean that the church has no authority, nor does it mean that we should not be church conscious.
Let me illustrate this point. Suppose we have a brother who is nice in many ways. But he does something to a brother who is rough and not so nice. Eventually three brothers are forced to tell the church about it. The elders would then advise him to repent and to apologize to the rough brother. Yet, he would not listen; rather he would say that the rough brother was wrong. According to today’s Christian concept this is not so serious. Some might even say that it was the rough brother’s fault, not the fault of the nice one. Others might even sympathize with him based upon the fact that he has been so nice all the time.
What should we do in such a case? Would you agree to consider him as a heathen man and as a publican? I believe most Christians would not take this as something serious. Some would side with the nice brother and say that we should not make an issue of it. Others would say, “Let time vindicate. Probably after two weeks everything will be fine, and they will be reconciled one to another. Forget about it for the present time.” These attitudes are held by most Christians because they are not church conscious. They do not consider that to neglect to listen to the church is exceedingly serious. Even though in the church life we must be general, certain ones in some things might not respect the church nor listen to it. In this matter we cannot be general. This is altogether something of the oneness of the church. We must be conscious of the oneness.
Home | First | Prev | Next