Does Character Matter?

By Harry Osborne

Does character matter anymore? Do you care whether one tells the truth, exemplifies fidelity, avoids intoxication or exhibits other factors consistent with good character? Some polls in recent weeks have suggested that many are willing to excuse a President with significant character flaws because they discount the importance of character to leadership, especially when they think he brings them economic advantages. It seems to me that the same tendency may be seen throughout our society.

One need not think very hard to come up with several cases of esteemed athletes widely used in advertising and other ways who have been caught in various unlawful or unethical actions. The defense of their continued use is that the athletes are not intended to be role models in character, even though they are taken as such by many young people. When disciplinary action is taken against offenders, it rarely amounts to more than a slap on the wrist.

This disregard of character is sometimes taught at an early age. Have you seen coaches of young children seek to win even if it meant cheating? It is a sad fact that youth sports are being marred by adults who bring foul language and alcohol usage into the presence of children. Is that a proper influence regarding character to be placed before our children or does such matter to us?

The same questions could be asked about the effect of teachers, governmental officials and others who have influence in our society. If their character is flawed, can they be trusted to lead in their given areas? The Bible declares that character issues should be carefully viewed and that one without good character should not be trusted for leadership. For example, notice these statements of Scripture about the importance of good character in leaders.

Regarding  the  need  for  righteousness  —  “It  is abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness. Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him who speaks what is right” (Prov. 16:12-13).

Regarding the need to speak the truth — “Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, much less lying lips to a prince” (Prov. 17:7). “The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (Prov.

12:19).

Regarding the need to shun promiscuity — “Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings” (Prov. 31:3). “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away” (Prov. 6:32-33).

Regarding the need to avoid intoxicants — “It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to seek intoxicating drink; lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted” (Prov. 31:4-5).

If the need for character was seen by those guided by God’s inspiration, why is our society increasingly showing disregard for the importance of character? If a man’s words cannot be trusted, how can his leadership? If a man’s words are filled with fifth, why should we expect anything different with his actions? If he is given to drugs and alcohol, how can we be confident in his sobriety at times when wise judgment is needed?

Character does matter! In fact, one’s character is the best gauge we have by which to judge one’s fitness for leadership. If we disregard flaws in one’s character and put him or her in a place of leadership over our children or our country, we are inviting disaster upon ourselves. God has always blessed righteousness and punished evil. Remember  Sodom and Gomorrah?

The Ruthlessness of Satan

By Tom M. Roberts

Many do not like to watch “nature shows” on television wherein predators stalk, capture, and disembowel their prey even while they kick, struggle, and scream. The food chain has many links, but from the top down, each devours the other. As one commentator said, “There is neither vengeance nor remorse in the Kalahari.” Eating is simply a matter of survival and those high on the food chain are not angry or embittered at those whom they eat. Hunger motivates the chain, parents must feed their off-spring to survive, and so the life and death struggle continues day after day, ageless millennia, from Eden until now.

However timid some may feel about the process, there is a fascination about watching a lion single out a lone animal from a huge herd, stalk it until the prey is within reach of a quick charge, then spring out and, without conscience or guilt, dispatch it ruthlessly. Once the prey is chosen, neither pity from the devourer nor terror from the one to be devoured changes anything. Remorseless, merciless, pitiless and unforgiving, the hunter takes the game.

There is a lesson in this about Sa- tan that we often fail to appreciate.

Never once has Satan said, “Enough, no more, I am satisfied.” Not one time has the Devil wished for the salvation of a single individual. Not once has Satan allowed a sinner to go free out of pity.

“The Devil Is A Roaring Lion”

Among many of the descriptions of Satan, Peter spoke of him as a lion. We are the prey, and we are warned, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). When Peter uses an analogy to describe our enemy, it is for the very reason that Satan has features like a lion. But the analogy breaks down in that the real lion eats only to live while Satan destroys out of anger, vengeance, resentment, and bitterness. The Devil destroys for the sake of destruction.

The reason for this, the Scripture teaches, is because Satan has been cast down and seeks vengeance. “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Rev. 12:12). Knowing his doom, Satan seeks to drag us into eternal torment with him. He is a predator, seeking prey.

One of the more chilling things revealed in the Scripture is the statement that Jesus made to Peter just prior to Jesus’ arrest. During the Supper, while the disciples argued about who was greatest, shortly before Peter betrayed Jesus, Jesus turned to him and said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke

22:31). What a terrible thought! Satan knew Simon Peter’s name, his weaknesses, his closeness to Jesus and he wanted to “sift” Peter to see if he could withstand the test. This statement haunts me.

Does Satan know my name? Does he desire to sift me? You? Is Satan lying in wait and stalking us like a predator after prey? Who can deny it? Like the lion, Satan has no remorse nor conscience. There is no pity, no mercy, no fair rules of conduct. He is an “adversary” that is absolutely ruthless.

Do we need to be convinced as to Satan’s ruthlessness? Look at his history among men.

We can only imagine the beauty of the Garden of Eden and the fellowship that existed between God and man. Sin ruined Eden and man’s life has never been the same. Our lives have been corrupted, shameful sin has plagued us and death is our lot. Satan, knowing all this, lied without compassion and said, “You shalt not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). Did Satan care that we would loose fellowship with God, be exiled from the Garden, and die both physically and spiritually? No, he intended to do exactly what he did, to bring misery and destruction into the lives of mankind.

The broken trail of human error can be traced (due to Satan’s influence) through Abel’s death by the hand of his brother, the increase of sin until God sent the flood upon all the earth, the betrayal of Esau by Jacob, the sale of Joseph by his brothers, the cruel treatment of Israel in Egypt by Pharaohs, the cycle of sin among the Judges, the sins of the kings of Israel through idolatry, Israel’s captivities among the nations, the slaughter of infants at Bethlehem, Jesus’ death on the cross, the martyrdom of the saints, and, even to this present day, the turmoil of sin in society and our personal lives.

Never once has Satan said, “Enough, no more, I am satisfied.” Not one time has the Devil wished for the salvation of a single individual. Not once has Satan allowed a sinner to go free out of pity. The torment of the rich man in Hades (Luke 16) did not assuage his appetite for more victims. Eight million Jews sent to their deaths by Hitler did not satiate.

But let’s make this personal. Satan has no mercy, he is ruthless. Have you lost a dear relative to death unprepared for eternity? A son? A daughter? Do you know someone under the influence of alcohol or other, stronger drugs? The Devil devours the lost, even if it is your loved one. Are your grandchildren being led astray? Only the Devil rejoices, but he does rejoice. He has “asked to have them.” He has “asked to have you.” His hatred knows no limits.

Look at the havoc among churches by the evil action of Satan. Fellowship is destroyed, friendships are ruined, the cause of Christ is made a “hiss and a byword,” and the Devil is happy! Denominations are in the grip of error, sin abounds. While time remains, the work of evil continues.

I understand that nature has gone awry due to the curse of sin on the earth. The prey being taken by the predator is the result of Eden’s loss. We will never see the Garden again and Satan is loose among us. The worst horror films from Hollywood cannot match the reality of the Demon from Hell that lies in wait for each of us.

Modernism says that the fear of Satan described above is paranoia, mental sickness, and schizophrenia. That, dear friend, would be a relief. But Satan is real, altogether, and very much at work on planet Earth.

It is only in Christ that we have any hope of winning this battle. Each of us has felt the power of Satan each time we sin. We all have been “wretched” as Paul was, under the curse of sin (Rom. 7:24), wondering “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” This “roaring lion” has claimed us all as victims (Rom. 3:23). But Paul rejoiced in victory: “I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25).

By God’s grace and man’s obedient faith (Eph. 2:8-9), by the remedial power of the blood of Christ, Satan can be, and has been, conquered. All our life we have feared the Devil because of sin and death. Jesus changed all that by coming in the flesh, enduring temptation, overcoming sin and death, and setting us free. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).

The hapless gazelle has little chance against the prowling lion, but we have Jesus on our side. When he warned Peter about Satan “desiring to have you,” Jesus also said, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (v. 32).

Eighth Trip to the Philippines, November 7 – December 8, 1997

By Jim McDonald

Although I had not initially planned to make a “solo” trip to the Philippines, that was the way it turned out. Dennie Freeman from Huntsville, Alabama had planned to go but circumstances at home were such he felt it necessary to cancel his trip. So, I traveled alone and arrived late on Saturday night, November 8, in Manila. Still, I passed through customs much more speedily than usual and soon I exited the terminal building and was met with warm greetings by the dozen or so Filipino brethren who came to welcome and help me on this journey.

Ben Cruz, preacher for the Kapitbahayan church in Novatos, opened his home to me and he and his wife gave their bed to me. I have known Ben for five years and rejoice to see him and the Kapitbahayan church grow steadily. The church is more than double in size now from what it was the first time I met with them. It now has elders and deacons and Ben’s radio program is one of the principal reasons for the success of the church. This program is Manila’s only program which brethren air and is reached in many distant places, even to other islands. Reports from Palawan tell that it is heard even in that island. I preached for three different Manila area churches that first Sunday (there are about 30 churches in metro Manila), with the first baptisms on this trip occurring at Kapitbahayan. Six put on Christ in baptism.

Prison Preaching

One of Ben’s radio converts is a man named Emilio Meagal, a preacher who was formerly a Pentecostal preacher. Emilio had been teaching in a prison for women in Manila’s City Jail and thus Ben “inherited” that work through Emilio’s conversion. An appeal from another preacher to Ben to seek out (I think) his son, led Ben to seek permission to enter into one of the Philippine’s highest security prisons and teach prisoners there. By chance a cousin of Ben’s happened to be the warden and this opened the door for the weekly classes Ben teaches there (with others) within this prison which (we were told) incarcerates about 6,000-8,000 men. High interest was evidenced by the students and about 60 men attend the classes. Through help from brethren and churches I had brought 700 Bibles that day and nearly 80 of these were given to these prisoners. Personal histories were given about some of these and their crimes included murder, rape, theft, and drugs.

Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan

I had scheduled a visit with Jojo Tacbad in Betis, Guagau, Pampanga which area still suffers from the eruption in the early nineties of Mt. Penitubo. Jojo had begun a new church in one of the barrios in July 1997 when eight out of one family had been baptized. During our visit there eleven more were baptized, including one from Bataan which will offer opportunities to conduct classes there. One who was interested but who was not baptized that day was a young widow who was about to give birth to her third child. Her husband’s death left her virtually alone and penniless in the world. Brethren there begged that some temporary help be given her and so we did, from funds that individual Christians had given us to “use as we saw fit.”

I spoke a couple of times in Moncada, Tarlac (Marcos Balaleng, preacher) and then proceeded to Pangasinan, where for the next three days I was busy with a seminar for preachers (Sison) and preaching for different congregations in the area. About 50 preachers attended the lectures, including three liberal preachers for Aurora province. We met with two different congregations in Bila, where division had taken place two or three years ago. Hopefully, the two congregations have been reconciled and now worship together in the same place. By Sunday afternoon, November 16, with 34 having been baptized to that point, I was on my way to San Fernando, La Union, preparatory to visit Abra Province, one of the primary factors which prompted this eighth trip of mine.

Abra

Abra is a mountainous “land- locked” province. Our company entered Abra from the west. Brethren in Santa Maria had hired a jeepney for our proposed four day journey to carry the 13-14 who were traveling together with me. We had hired both jeepney and driver for 500P (Pesos, or about $15). We stopped for a couple of hours in Bengued, Abra’s capital, to greet and speak to a group of brethren in the home of Rey Jacobs. Abra’s economy lags behind the rest of the nation (which is bad enough). There is a paved road from Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur to Bengued, and while there is some pavement beyond Ben- gued to cities in the interior, after we bade brethren good-bye in Bengued and were on our way to Salappadan (our destination) we soon ran out of pavement and the rest of the way had to be traveled over rocky, dirt roads. We had to ferry across the Abra river. Nevertheless, before day’s end we ar- rived in Salapaddan and the home of Eusebio Cabannag, preacher there and the host for this seminar.

There are many congregations in the vicinity of Salapaddan but sadly, brethren are badly divided. There are brethren who believe in only one container for the Lord’s supper; as well as “liberal” and “conservative” brethren. And, there are several congregations which are associated with Christian churches and who call themselves “The Church of Christ, Instrumental.” We were told there are about 14 different such congregations in Abra none of which use an instrument for economic reasons, they can’t afford to buy one! But, there were other differences: they have a sort of conference they recognize themselves as identified in.

There were about 50 in attendance including preachers from all the above mentioned groups. There were two major hindrances to my speaking that day: the problem of trying to properly address such a diversity of problems in such a limited time and the added irritation of the presence of a deranged man who continually, and all day long, detracted my audience with his gestures and protestations to the things I said. Still, for all that, measured success resulted. Three one-cup preachers surrendered their opposition to “multiple-containers” which included one congregation of about 25 members; two “liberal” preachers gave up their divisive views and two Christian Church preachers renounced their belief in the use of instrumental music in worship. We hope that this movement toward unity can be realized even further in May (1998). Jim Everett of Cedar Park, Texas and I will be back in the same region to give more time to each particular group. We have been told a larger number of others there will give us audience then. One was also baptized in Salapaddan.

Our company proceeded next to San Juan, Abra which necessitated that we retrace our steps back to Bengued. San Juan is the home of Isidro Tacis and one night was spent with this preacher and his family. The congregation has a block building but there were no doors or windows in it. Several Christians from Centerville, Texas have sent sufficient (hopefully) money for brethren to install the lacking items. Centerville supports brother Tacis. Five were baptized in San Juan.

Nueva Ecija

Again we retraced our steps as we departed from Abra. We traveled many kilometers over the same road we had passed four days earlier. We were on our way to another province called Nueva Ecija and I spent the night with Lordy Salunga (Tarlac, Tarlac) where brethren from Nueva Ecija were to rendezvous with us. Like Abra, Nueva Ecija is also “land-locked” and has about ten congregations. I had made arrangements that the approximately 200 remaining Bibles I had left in Manila be brought to Lordy’s, but a misunderstanding in my request caused the Bibles to be left in Angeles City where Lordy preaches, rather than in Tarlac, his home. So, for the rest of my journey I could only “promise” Bibles when we could get them delivered, rather than being able to give them to brethren in the various places as I had been doing up to that point in time.

Brethren from Nueva Ecija were late in arriving and I assumed that another misunderstanding had taken place so Lordy and two other brethren with him, carried me into the western section of Nueva Ecija. Soon, however, Gady Castres, Sammy Ordinario, and Jun Bautiste (all preachers in Nueva Ecija) made contact with us and we were on our way once more. Several hours later (after a visit to a drive-through window of one of the region’s “McDonald’s”!) we arrived in Canaan. Anselmo Veterbo is the preacher for the two congregations in this region. I spoke to seven different congregations including Munoz where Gady Castres preaches. Gady is one of the best song leaders Filipino brethren have and is likely the best they have in knowledge and teaching. On an earlier trip with me, R.J. Stevens had met Gady and recognized Gady’s musical knowledge and ability. Jun Bautiste is a young man who finishes college this year. He preaches for the brethren in Cabanatuan City. There are many brethren who have moved here from other areas but have fallen away. If Jun had support to work with brethren, many of them could be reclaimed and the church greatly strengthened.

Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela

Domie Jacob and Ferdinand Baigan were waiting for me at Carranglan when Sammy and the other brethren car- ried me there. This is a very impoverished congregation with about 20 in attendance. We met under a shed of one of the brethren’s home. We then traveled to Sante Fe, Nueva Vizcaya where Fertinand preaches. I spent one night in a motel there (150P or about $4.50) but didn’t sleep much. The church in Sante Fe meets high on a mountain.

There are five or six churches in the province four of which were recently begun as a result of the radio preaching of Domie Jacob. This program is heard in many areas and is having remarkable success. I held a lectureship in Candon, Domie’s home, and there were seven preachers in attendance, all of whom had formerly preached for the “one-cup” brethren This had been a “strong-hold” for this teaching but Domie’s efforts brought many of them to a proper understanding. Nine were baptized here. From Candon I traveled to San Augustin, home of Lorenzo and Dennis Lazaro, father and son “preacher team” formerly Pentecostals. Lorenzo has made a great sacrifice to obey the gospel, jeopardizing his own personal property when he left the Pentecostal church. I met also a young preacher here named Edgardo Larrobis, who was one of Domie’s recent converts. Edgardo had formerly been with liberal brethren. Edgardo has much ability. I was much impressed by his musical knowledge and ability. If he can get a little more musical training, he will be of great worth trying to help his Filipino brethren sing.

Cagayan

Four Cagayan preachers came to pick me up in Candon: Felipe Catoles, Restie Graneta, Edgar Uggadan, and Francisco Pagulayan. We spent the next several days preaching among Cagayan churches as well as venturing into Kalinga Province. I preached at Rizal, Kalinga, in the home of Geronimo Ganela and among those who were present was an uncle of Gerenimo’s who was a Christian church preacher. He was almost persuaded but did not obey while we were there.

Kalinga province is the home of Domingo Dangiwan, a preacher whom I baptized about 1995 in a irrigation canal in Tabuk. Domingo is zealously carrying the gospel to minorities of his people and about ten were baptized on this trip in the same canal Domingo had been baptized in three years ago. There is no Bible in the Kalingan dialect and it is possible that Domingo will translate some portions of the New Testament into the tongue of his people. Among those I baptized was Ricardo Bangguwoy who had walked two days on a lame leg to hear me in Tabuk. He thought I could lay my hands on him and heal him! A recent letter from eight teenagers of this new church tells of their faith and zeal to share the gospel with their people and of their efforts to better themselves by traveling down from the mountains to Tabuk to attend the high school there. These young people could all use a little cash and used clothes to make their lot in life a little easier, for in their words, they are all from poor families.

I preached one time in Pamplana, Cagayan. I had spent the night with Larry and Gerenimo Guillermo (son and father preacher team) and they had carried me to meet with brethren here. This is also a newly formed church and many are being converted. A large company of preachers from both Ilocos Norte and Sur had arrived and there appeared to be about 300 in attendance. One of the minorities with whom brethren have been working is the “Negritos,” identified by some as the “original Filipinos.” Their ancestors also were “headhunters”! Thirty-one of these were baptized as a light rain was falling (Picture # 5). These also were very poor. I saw old men and women scantily clad and with no shoes at all. Some of the preachers who began this work were also touched by their needs and had earlier besought me that something be done to alleviate some of their suffering. Help was given them from the Eastside, Baytown, Texas church but it was limited in comparison to their needs. It would provide rice for perhaps a week. There are about 60 members in this congregation.

Pugudpud, Ilocos Norte

Shortly before leaving for the Philippines, the Main Street church elders in Lewisville, Texas had called asking me to deliver benevolence to some churches in northern Ilocos. There were ten of the congregations, eight of which were in a region called Pagudpud. I consented and this distribution was made at one of the congregations along the highway. The picture below shows the congregation and the preachers as they were given the distribution the Lewisville elders had directed me to give on their behalf. Droughts, floods, typhoons and the effects from El Nino have brought a great deal of suffering and hardship to many of our Filipino brethren.

Angeles City

After the distribution of relief to saints in Pagudpud, I spent the night with Materno Sibayan, Sr. in Sinait, Ilocos Sur and next morning Mat, his son, accompanied me to Tarlac, Tarlac where I spent two days preaching in the Angeles City area. Lordy Salunga is the preacher in Angeles and one could not hope to find a more faithful, trustworthy servant of God than he. The Angeles City church building is modest but one of the nicest that Filipino brethren have. Lordy is doing a splendid work in the area and also preaches over a newly initiated radio program.

Home

Fred Agulto, Ben Cruz, and two other Manila preachers came to Angeles to carry me back to Manila where I spent my last night with Ben and Delores. Early the next morning ten brethren accompanied me to the airport where we said good-bye once again. About 28 hours later I entered the Houston terminal to be welcomed by Betty and Jimmy, my youngest son. How good to see the faces of my beloved family and to be safely home once more!

Epilogue

There were 110 baptisms in the 30 days I was in the Philippines; three “one-cup” preachers and five “liberal” preachers gave up their doctrines that separate them from us and two Christian Church preachers renounced their false teaching. I had delivered funds for benevolence from two American churches to about 15 poverty-stricken churches. Since arriving home Philippine letters tell that the Christian church preacher I left in indecision in Kalinga continued his study and that both he and his wife have since been baptized; that eight women in Manila’s City Jail have been baptized (45 men were baptized by Ben after we left Manila for northern Luzon) and that the young widow in Pampanga had given birth to her third child and was preparing to be baptized. A letter from one of the former liberal preachers from Aurora reports that brethren from Pangasinan had come and strengthened the churches in Aurora and that now all the congregations are united — there are no more “liberal” churches in that province. A letter from Abraham Aguete (Pagudpud) reports another 51 baptisms in that region. The work is prospering and the precious gospel of our Savior is being preached. God is being glorified. The Filipino fields are still “white unto harvest” and from every quarter and region of those 7,000 islands methinks I see men standing, appealing to brethren here, “Come over to the Philippines, and help us!”

Applying the Bible’s Teaching on Church Autonomy

By Steve Wallace

For many years now there has been controversy over marriage, divorce and remarriage among those in the Lord’s church. Many debates, discussions, and studies have taken place over such propositions as, “The guilty party in a divorce may remarry,” “Alien sinners are not under God’s marriage laws,” and “The word ‘adultery’ refers to a legal rather than a physical, sexual act.” Through such studies it has been established that those who would affirm the previ- ous propositions are in error and that their doctrine leads to and defends people committing adultery. Also, many who believe and teach such error have been identified.

As time has passed, two different views have developed of brethren who teach and practice the above doctrines. Some believe that they are in error and need to repent of their false teaching or be treated in accordance with 2 John 9-11 and Romans 16:17-18. Others look at them in quite another way. This can be seen by looking at what they have taught. It has been taught that such differences as we have with these brethren are the kind Paul addresses in Romans 14. Also, it has been pointed out that we have had differences on the Christian’s participation in carnal warfare and the woman’s head covering, and have not divided over them or called one another false teacher because of such differences. From this fact it has been argued that we should likewise not divide with those who teach clear error on marriage, divorce and remarriage or call such brethren false teachers. Yet another argument on how we should view such brethren is currently being advanced. I am hearing it more and more. We address it in this article.

How does the Bible’s teaching on local church autonomy fit into this discussion? When asked about the errors we are facing on marriage, divorce and remarriage, some preachers will reply, “I believe in local church autonomy” as if that somehow answers the question. Brethren will state their convictions on unscriptural remarriage, speaking the truth of the Bible, and then say, “But I am not going to get into what (error) is being taught on this subject in another autonomous local church.” You can talk to brethren about a church hiring or using a known false teacher and they will say, “That was their decision as an autonomous local church.” Churches who teach error on divorce and remarriage have argued that their autonomy allows them to do so. If a brother in one church tries to warn another church about an errant preacher that church is considering using, some will cite the “restraining implications” of church autonomy as showing that no one is “to have authority beyond the local church.”

Such views of local church autonomy as those above hold some pretty serious consequences in the present cli- mate among us. This concept allows some brethren to say that they will not be a part of a church that accepts those in adulterous marriages, but then stop short of condemning those who are a part of such a church. It allows other brethren to say that their autonomy allows them to teach error. This view gives still other brethren a basis for hiring a preacher who is sound on these remarriage questions while refusing to condemn a church that hires someone who is unsound. The church autonomy argument muddies the waters in the current controversies on marriage, divorce and remarriage. It is leading many brethren to view those in error with indifference. It will cause churches to invite those who teach error to hold gospel meetings, in contradiction to the plain teaching of Christ (2 John 9-11). It will gradually lead to such brethren being accepted as if they were sound brethren. After all, if they are not viewed as being in error in the churches where they presently hold membership (and they are not according to this view), how can we view them as being in error when they come to preach or be members at the local church where we live and worship? Further, it seeks to stop the mouths of those who are teaching truth by answering a false teacher in another church, thereby al- lowing those “whose mouths must be stopped” to continue their erroneous teaching (Tit. 1:10-11).

In light of these very real consequences we must ask, Are the above mentioned arguments proper applications of the Bible’s teaching on church autonomy? We answer in the negative for the following reasons:

1. It says that one is limited as to whom he can teach the Bible. The Bible gives freedom in this area (Matt. 28:19-20).

2. The Bible allows the practice of identifying false teachers in another church. When Paul told the Philippians to “beware of dogs” (Phil. 3:2), he was clearly warning them of Judaizers in other churches. There is no mention of any such problem at Philippi and the Judaizers were clearly active in other churches (cf. epistle to the Galatians). The brethren at Philippi were to be aware of false teachers in other churches.

3. It allows each church to make its own laws on matters of faith. The Bible says there is one law for all churches (1 Cor. 4:17, cf. Matt. 28:18). No church can use its autonomy to do that for which there is no authority!

4. It implies that one does wrong in passing information of error in a local church to another party who might try to help that church. The Bible clearly allows this practice (1 Cor. 1:11; 5:1; 11:18).

5. It says that one cannot warn another church about a false teacher it may be thinking of using to work with it. Clearly, the brethren in Ephesus did no wrong when they wrote to the brethren in Achaia exhorting them to receive Apollos (Acts 18:27). In light of this, how could it be wrong if, in the event Apollos was a false teacher, the brethren in Ephesus wrote to the brethren in Achaia exhorting them not to receive him? Why would one be infringing on a local church’s autonomy and the other clearly authorized?

6. It implies that truth is relative and regional rather than objective and universal. The same Gospel that is to be preached to all men is also to be abided in by all and it will judge all (Mark 16:15; 2 John 9; John 12:48). If what is preached and believed by many on the West Coast with regards to MDR is wrong in the Midwest or South, it is also wrong to those on the West Coast! The fact that many autonomous local churches in this area of the U.S. have made the decision to teach and practice these errors does not somehow make it “right for them.”

Conclusion

Before closing, let us all recognize that, after all that can be done has been done in applying the above points, local churches will have to make their own decisions as to the course they will choose in the present controversy. Churches in the first century had to make their own choices between righteousness and sin (Rev. 2:16; Matt. 7:13-14). The regrettable choices of erring brethren in the divisions over instrumental music and institutionalism show us that, in the end, a local church will decide where it stands. If it decides to embrace error the faithful can keep trying to teach and reach those in such churches, but no organization exists to control them. We see herein a difference between trying to bring a church under Christ’s control (teaching) and trying to bring it under the control of some humanly devised hierarchy, such as exists in Roman Catholicism.

After all is said and done, Christ will judge all men. He will do so by his word (John 12:48; Rom. 2:16). Let us all encourage one another to obey and follow his word. Let there be no strife among us on this issue, for we be brethren. We are right to seek to teach and instruct those in other local churches to help them come out of error. This is as much an act of love as when we try to teach an alien sinner in another state or country. Let us not be cowed by those who refuse to help their brethren who are lost or erring!