Truth Magazine

By Bobby Witherington

It is very obvious that we live in a religiously divided world. And to those people who care about others and who desire harmony in the most important and meaningful areas of life, this division produces both concern and sadness. It also causes frustration — especially on the part of those concerned individuals who have reasoned for hours on some disputed passage and finally conclude the discussion with the parties thereto being as far apart as when they began.  So, being unable to break the stalemate, they frequently seek to justify it by saying, “Well, when all is said and done, it really doesn’t make any difference, for after all, one church is as good as another.”

Do People Really Believe This?

If so, to be consistent, they must admit that for one church to be as good as another, then, there must be some standard that determines whether a thing is either good or bad. And they also must maintain that all churches, equally measure up to that standard, for, you see, if one church falls short of other churches in measuring up to that standard, then it is not as good as the others are. Moreover, to say that one is as good as another is not only to say that all churches are equally as good; it is also to say that all churches are equally as bad! Friend, are you a member of some church? If so, may I ask, do you believe the church of which you are a member is as bad as some others? If your answer is negative (and I suspect it is), then you do not really believe that one church is as good as another.

Is One Person As Good As Another?

By this question, I do not have in mind those persons who have never made any effort whatever toward following the Lord. I refer to those who profess to being his disciples. I read of some who are “weak in the faith” (Rom. 14:1) and of others who are “strong” (Rom. 15:1). I read of some who are likened to “gold, silver, and precious stones,” and others who are likened to “wood, hay, and stubble” (1 Cor. 3:12). I read of some who are “carnal” (1 Cor. 3:1), and others who are “spiritual” (Gal. 6:1). Can any say that all of these persons are equally as good, and therefore equally as bad? It is a fact; we do not, without qualification, say that one person is as good as another.

However, a local church is composed of people who are banded together in faith and practice. Moreover, the “faith and practice” of those people determine the right- ness or wrongness of the church that was formed by their together relationships. If, per chance, one church is com- posed of people who have failed to comply with those terms which make for discipleship to begin with, and another church consists of people who have complied with the scriptural requirements for discipleship, then is the former church “as good” as the latter? Moreover, if one church is composed of people who “bite and devour one another” (Gal. 5:15), and another church of people who are “knit together in love” (Col. 2:2), then is the former church “as good” as the latter?

What Saith The Scriptures?

In the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation, we note letters written to seven churches. One church (Ephesus) had some who had left their “first love” (2:4). Pergamos had some members who held “the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,” a doctrine of which the Lord said “I hate” (2:15). The church in Thyatira permitted “that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (2:20). The Lord described the church at Sardis as being “dead” (3:1), and the church at Laodicea as “lukewarm” (3:16). On the other hand, there was not one word of censure against the church at Smyrna (2:8-11), and approval was also expressed toward the church at Philadelphia (3:7-13). Can any person intelligently read these seven letters and then honestly conclude that every one of these seven churches was “as good” as the others? Friend, if we can’t say that about all churches then, why do we say that of all churches now?

Let Us Not Use A False Standard!

When one person says “I am as good as another,” he is making the same mistake made by some at Corinth. They measured “themselves by themselves,” and compared “themselves among themselves,” and Paul said they “are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12). They used the wrong measuring rod. If I say that “I am as good as you are,” and you say the same for yourself with reference to me, that does not prove that either of us is as good as we ought to be. When one man sets his watch by another man’s watch that was wrong to begin with, both watches are then wrong! So it is in religious matters. Since “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23), then neither a man’s life nor his individual doctrine is to be the standard that determines religious conduct.

The True Standard

“God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son” (Heb. 1:2). Jesus said, “the word that I have spoken,  the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). By reason of his death, Jesus became “the mediator of the New Testament” (Heb.  9:15), and it is through this covenant or testament that Christ speaks to us today. This, then, is the standard that determines what it takes to become and to remain his disciple.

Becoming A Disciple Involves:

(1) Believing in God and his Son (Heb. 11:6; John 8:24). (2) Repenting of all sins (Acts 2:38; 17:30). (3) Confessing faith in Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:32; Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10). (4) Being buried with Christ in baptism for the remission of sins (Rom. 6:3, 4; Acts 2:38). At this point, one rises to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4) and is “added to the church” (Acts 2:41, 47).

It is a fact that many churches are composed of those who have not complied with these simple terms that make for discipleship, but who have followed the terms that man has laid down. Friend, if a church consists of those who have not obeyed the Lord’s requirements for discipleship, then are its members disciples? If the members of one church have become disciples, and the members of another church have not, then is the latter “as good” as the former?

“Together Activity” Required For Discipleship

A true disciple (follower) of the Lord is a person who: (1) Became a follower of Christ, and (2) continues to follow him. In addition to living a morally upright life, the latter includes uniting oneself to a group of fellow disciples, being banded together as it were by a common faith and practice. In the first century those who did this were “called Christians” (Acts 11:26), and “they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).  Upon “the first day of the week” they “came together to break bread” or to partake of the “Lord’s supper” (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:20-28), and to “lay by . . . in store” or to give as “prospered” (1 Cor. 16:1, 2). They sang praises unto God (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), their music being vocal or acappella in nature. Moreover, their “together activities” involved membership in a local congregation whose total organization consisted of “bishops” (or elders), deacons, and saints (Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:5, 7).  Each congregation was to have its own officers (Acts 14:23) whose oversight was confined to that one church (Acts 20:28). A denominationally structured federation of churches was unheard of in New Testament days.

A Final Remark

Friend, if you can read in your Bible what it takes to become and to remain a Christian, and can also read of a band of Christians who have (and are) complying with those terms, what does that make them? A New Testament church! Now if you look around and observe a group of religious people who have not and are not following the conditions for discipleship, then is the latter “as good” as the former? Remember, it is not merely a matter of moral uprightness; it is a matter of showing respect for, and complying with the Lord’s standard.

“Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1). In some places, this passage cannot be obeyed. It must be preceded by admonitions to “let brotherly love begin,” for it obviously cannot “continue” where it has not yet begun!

Is this such a place? God forbid! However, all the bickering, backbiting, all the strife and division, in some places tells us that “brotherly love” is in short supply or is on back order. (1) Envy and jealousy are at the root of much of the contention that exists among God’s people. When men resent the money, honor, talent, ability, or success of another, bitter gossip will soon begin. (2) Pride kindles the fires of ungodly, unloving words and deeds. Pretentious, proud men feel imaginary slights and are wounded by arrows that have never been shot. Such men cannot be reasoned with, for every earnest appeal is regarded as another “attack.” (3) Laziness and indifference are the mother of hateful attitudes and the father of slanders. Those who do the least, gripe and grumble the most. They do nothing to advance the cause of Christ. They teach no one. They encourage no one. They invite no one. They assist no one. Their idleness gives rise to negative thoughts, to whining words of complaint, and to vicious deeds which will undermine peace, unity, and love.

In every church that is torn apart by a lack of brotherly love, look around, and you will see envy, jealousy, pride, laziness, and indifference. They are the agents of confusion and contention. Brotherly love cannot begin, nor will it continue, where these things abound. They are poison to the soul and destroyers.

By Daniel H. King

The Lord demands that we follow him in spite of hard duty. Too many take the easy road. They want to avoid the hard service. Jesus says to them, “Follow me.”

It is an entirely human trait to take the easiest route to any destination we want to reach. This is apparent in a number of ways, not least of which is the tendency we have to “make a path” where none was intended, across a yard or through bushes or other obstacles to our objective. It is surely the bane of the grounds-keeper of any public park or facility to deal with this peculiarity of human beings! Man will build roads through the most (seemingly) impassable areas: mountains, rivers, deep valleys, and inhospitable climates because they represent the shortest distances to places where he wants to go — quickly. We want the fastest and easiest road to our destination.

But sometimes there are no quick routes to get where we want to go. And there is no way to make one. This is true of heaven. There are no fast or easy ways to get there. This is aptly illustrated in an incident related by John in one of the post-resurrection stories which he told about an exchange which took place between Jesus and Simon Peter.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou was young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me (John 21:18-19).

The critical line in this conversation is the final one. Jesus told Peter, “Follow me. ”What comes before this line and afterward is both interesting and instructive. It offers considerable information about the road that leads to heaven, suggesting that there is no quick or easy route. Christ told Peter to follow him:

Even If Following Spells Hard Duty

In verses 15-17 Jesus had stressed to Peter his responsibility in feeding his sheep. Peter was to bear the burden of a shepherd: many sheep with many problems. We read in his first epistle that he was then serving in the capacity of an elder (5:1). There he urged other elders: “Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to (the will of ) God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:2-4).

The eldership is hard duty. No getting around it. Any- one who does it is to be admired and appreciated if he serves well. This is exactly what the Scripture says: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this were unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). But the Lord demands that we follow him in spite of hard duty. Too many take the easy road. They want to avoid the hard service. Jesus says to them, “Follow me.”

Even If Following Leads to Persecution and Death

The Lord told Peter in verse 18 that when he was young he clothed himself and went wherever he liked, but when he was old someone else would “gird” him, and he would stretch out his hands and another would carry him where he did not wish to go. In speaking so, Jesus was defining the general method of Peter’s death. Ancient tradition has unanimously informed us that Peter died by crucifixion as his Lord had done, upside down by his own request. Following Jesus led to persecution and death for Simon, the fisherman apostle. But the Lord still told him, “Follow me.” Suffering and death are terrible things. One would hope to avoid them. Undoubtedly Peter did not look forward with any relish to the thought of dying by torture. But he did so because his Lord had said to him, “Follow me.”

How often in our own lives have we wrestled with our religious and spiritual convictions and the consequences which they bring to us in this present evil generation. I suppose the Lord might say to us, “You have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin . . .” (see Heb. 12:4). And Peter might say to us, “How easy you have it compared to the burden the Lord asked me to bear! ”We ought to be ashamed!

Even If Following Leads You Where You Would Not Go

“Another shall gird thee, in places where we would not go.” Men who preach the gospel often journey into dangerous situations in countries where they are not wanted. Preachers and elders frequently have to intrude themselves into circumstances they would prefer not to be involved in, but because they are followers of Christ and have been given responsibilities having to do with their fellow Christians, they cannot avoid involvement. When you have seen a brother or sister commit sin, you must go to them in a spirit of meekness and speak with them in loving concern (Gal. 6:1). You probably will not want to go. If you go, you may not be well received; in fact, in some cases you will be told to mind your own business (and you must be assured that the matter is your business before you go!); but if you are following Christ you will go in spite of everything. The Lord said, “Follow me.”

Even If Others Must Bear A Lighter Load

In verses 21-22 Peter asked the Lord what was to be- come of John: “Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.”

He must surely have been thinking, “If I must die a tortured death, then is some terrible thing also going to happen to John. If not, then it isn’t fair!” Well, dear friend, life is not fair. Never has been. Never will be. Furthermore, God does not promise us that just because we become followers of Jesus Christ, it will suddenly become fair. It won’t. All the evidence we have about John suggests that he died of extreme old age in Ephesus. Peter, on the other hand, was crucified. Peter was asked to glorify God by a martyr’s death. He complied. John was asked to glorify God by a long life lived in service to Christ. He also complied. They both obeyed the Lord’s command to follow him. No matter how easy or hard it is for ourselves or others, Jesus still demands, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.”