In the church we receive all genuine Christians. We receive those who speak in tongues and those who do not speak in tongues; those who have been immersed and those who have been sprinkled; those who wear a head covering and those who do not wear a head covering; those who practice foot-washing and those who do not practice foot-washing. In fact, we would receive even Catholic nuns and priests who are true believers in the Lord Jesus. We receive all Christians, no matter what kind of Christians they are.
It seems that no two Christians are the same in opinion. They all have different opinions about various matters. Praise the Lord that in the church we do not touch these differing opinions. We all have locked our opinions away, knowing that if we bring them into the church, they will cause division. We only care that people believe in the Lord Jesus, are saved, and love Him. We would encourage them all to go on by loving the Lord, by growing in His life, and by realizing the proper church life to satisfy the desire of God’s heart.
There may be some Christian groups who claim to have no particular name, fellowship, or teaching. They declare that they hate any name other than the name of the Lord Jesus and that they do not hold any particular fellowship or teaching. Rather, they receive all kinds of genuine Christians. If this is the case, then we must check three other matters, none of which is simple. Firstly, we must see what kind of fellowship they have. Although they may not have a particular fellowship, their fellowship may be isolated, not universal. Although they receive all true Christians, they do not fellowship with any other churches. Their fellowship is very limited and isolated in their own realm. It is not universal or even fully local. This makes them a sect. Such a group is not a local church—it is a local sect. This matter is very delicate, and few are able to perceive it. It is easy to see that those with a particular name, a particular fellowship, and a particular teaching are sects. But it is difficult to see that a group without these things may still be a sect if its fellowship is isolated. Although such a group claims to be the church in its locality, it is actually a local sect.
There may be a group that has no particular name, teaching, or fellowship, and whose fellowship is not isolated. Nevertheless, they may insist on having a separate administration, a separate eldership. This separate eldership constitutes them a division. No matter how many believers there may be in a particular church, the church in that locality must be under one eldership with one administration. The city of Anaheim has one mayor and one city hall. But the city of New York, which is vastly greater than Anaheim, still has just one mayor and one city hall. If the city of New York had more than one mayor, it would be a sign that the city had been divided. Although there were tens of thousands of believers in Jerusalem (Acts 21:20) and although they met in various homes, they had only one set of elders. There was still just one eldership, one administration.
Suppose there is in Anaheim a group of Christians whose practice closely resembles ours. They have no particular name, fellowship, or teaching, and their fellowship is open to all, to the whole church throughout the world. Nevertheless, they insist on keeping a separate eldership with a separate administration. Because that separate administration is a cause of division, this group is also a sect. If there are two administrations in a city, then there are two “churches” in the city. It is like having two mayors and two administrations in one city. If this is the case, then that city must be divided. From all these points we can see that it is not a simple matter to know the church.