The second condition which constitutes a sect is having special articles of belief. We have been saved and become a part of the church because of the “one faith,” the fundamental faith, spoken of in Ephesians 4:5. The apostle Peter said that this is the equally precious faith allotted to each one of us (2 Pet. 1:1). Everyone who is saved has this precious faith. However, in addition to the “one faith,” the fundamental faith, Christians today have added many other articles of belief, such as baptism by immersion, baptism by sprinkling, keeping the Sabbath, keeping the Lord’s Day, pre-tribulation rapture, and post-tribulation rapture. These additional beliefs to the “one faith” are special creeds. Almost every denomination in today’s Christianity has its own creed. For instance, the creed of the Anglican Church has an article that says, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.” This really is a special belief that is not common to all the saved ones. You believe in the Holy Catholic Church, but I do not. You cannot be saved to a greater degree by believing in the Holy Catholic Church, nor can I be saved to a lesser degree by not believing in the Holy Catholic Church. But there is a faith which both you and I have, which you and I have in common, which is indispensable to every saved one, and without which we cannot be saved. This is the faith which is called the “one faith.” Besides this faith, there should not be any other faith. Otherwise, the brothers who believe in baptism by immersion will say, “We believe in being immersed,” and the brothers who believe in baptism by sprinkling will say, “You believe, but we do not.” In this way problems will arise and divisions will begin. Therefore, special articles of belief absolutely must not be brought in, because once they are brought in, they will cause believers to be divided. Some of the views represented by these kinds of special beliefs might be right and biblical, but none of them should be considered a condition for the fellowship of believers. If we make any of these beliefs a condition for the fellowship of the believers, it will become a special belief that divides the believers. Therefore, whenever believers focus on these special beliefs, they become a sect. In order to renounce sectarianism, we must have only the “one faith” and not care for anything else.
The third condition which constitutes a sect is having a special fellowship. What is a special fellowship? It is a fellowship outside of the fellowship of the church. Everyone who is saved and has the life of Christ is in the church; therefore, they can take part in the fellowship of the church. If a Christian group considers that a person who is saved and has the life of Christ must also believe in a certain article of belief in order to be qualified to take part in the fellowship, then this is a special fellowship outside of the fellowship of the church.
When I was a child, the pastor of a certain denomination would stand up and declare, when they were about to have the holy communion, “Those who are not members of this church, please leave.” When they were about to take the holy communion, to have their “holy fellowship,” there was a separation. Those who are members of their congregation could take part, and those who were not members could not take part. This is a special fellowship.
Some brothers and sisters believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the believers and do not receive those who believe in post-tribulation rapture. Their receiving is according to their special belief. They will not receive those who do not believe in their special belief. Receiving based on a special belief is a special fellowship.
If a person wants to join the Seventh-day Adventists, he must acknowledge the Sabbath day; otherwise, they will say, “We cannot receive you. As Seventh-day Adventists, we cannot receive someone who believes in keeping the first day of the week. If you believe in keeping the first day of the week and want to join us, you must change your belief. You must believe in keeping the seventh day.” If a person wants to join their church, he must acknowledge that he believes in keeping the Sabbath. Only when he acknowledges this will he be received by them and counted as one of their members. This is a special fellowship. This kind of special fellowship does not receive all whom God has received, and it does not receive all who believe in Christ as Christ has received them (cf. Rom. 14:1, 3; 15:7). Hence, it is contrary to God’s desire.
The Baptists are also like this. If you want to be a member of the Baptist Church, you need to believe in baptism by immersion. Otherwise, they may acknowledge that you are a Christian, but they will not recognize you as a member of the Baptist Church. This is a special fellowship. Once there is a special fellowship, there is division; thus, a circle, a sect, is formed.
Today every sect and denomination in Christianity have special names, special beliefs, and special fellowship. Therefore, they are all sects. They are sects even if they have only one of these three conditions; they do not need to have all of these three special things. Based on these three special things, it is very easy to see, beyond any doubt, that the denominations in today’s Christianity are sects.
In addition to these denominations, there are other scattered small groups—the so-called nondenominational Christians who have left various denominations. Some of them meet in homes, and some meet in other places. They say, “We have no special name, no special beliefs, and no special fellowship, so you cannot say that we are a sect. We are nondenominational, we are general, and we acknowledge all the children of God.” However, this is not enough. We still need to measure them by the following three conditions.
We first must see whether their fellowship is isolated, rather than universal. If their fellowship is isolated and not universal, they are a sect. This is because the church is one in the universe, the fellowship of the church is one, and its expression in a locality is also one. People cannot say, “We do not have a special name, a special belief, or a special fellowship. We are simply a group of believers meeting and serving the Lord here. We do not care about the believers in other places, nor do we have fellowship with the churches in other places.” If this is the case, they are a local sect. Although they have no special name and no special belief, they are isolated and have no fellowship with the churches in other localities. Therefore, they are a sect. There is only one church on the earth. Regardless of time or place, there is only one church. Although the church is manifested individually in various localities, the church in each locality is not isolated; rather, it has fellowship with churches in different places which constitute the universal church. Therefore, if a group has a fellowship that is isolated and not universal, a fellowship that is limited only to believers in its locality and does not extend to the churches in other localities, then this group is a sect.
We also need to look at whether there are separate administrations in the same locality. Some groups have nothing special, having no special name, no special belief, and no special fellowship. They seem to be nondenominational, but their administration is separate from other nondenominational groups in the same locality. They do not meet together as one with other nondenominational groups in the same locality. For example, in Taipei there may be three small groups, none of which have a special name, special belief, or special fellowship, but the three groups have separate administrations and are independent of each other. This is also sectarianism. According to the Scriptures, a locality can have only one church, and in a church there can be only one group of elders which represent one administration. The Bible says that the apostles appointed elders in every church (Acts 14:23), and it also says that the apostle charged Titus to appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5). This shows that the elders in a church are the elders in a city, and the elders in a city are also the elders in a church. The apostle did not charge Titus to appoint elders in every street. If he had, we would need to admit that there could be a church on a street. Rather, the apostle charged Titus to appoint elders in every city. Therefore, in a city there can be only one group of elders, and there can be only one administration of the church; there cannot be two or more groups of elders, and there cannot be two or more separate administrations of the church. Although the church in a certain locality may meet separately in many places because of a large number of believers, the administration should still be one.
Today in Taipei it is incredible that people refer to elders of a church on a particular street. This way of speaking shows that the church is divided in its administration. This division in administration is even more a division in actuality, a division in substance, a division in essence. Therefore, even more it is a sect. Some may not have a special name, a special belief, or a special fellowship, but if they have an independent administration, a separate administration, a special administration, they are a sect.