The Visible Church & the Outer Darkness:
Some Final Considerations.
Chapter
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6
We live and minister in an age that highly prizes individualism and has in many ways lost sight of the unity of Christ's body. The church has drunk deeply of the individualistic spirit of the age. As a result, few modern Christians have experienced the communion of the saints. When they are confronted by non Christian sects, one of the first attractions the cult has for them is a new-found sense of belonging to something more important than they are as individuals.
The history of Presbyterianism in the United States has been one of division and schism. The difficulty is not simply whether issues are of such fundamental importance as to justify divisions in the body: very few are. The problem is compounded by the fact that separatism has been such an easy “answer” that most of us have never learned how to work with those with whom we have disagreements. Offenses are aggravated by personalities and we often lose any sense of proportion.
We must be willing to face the issues troubling the church today. We must learn to face those issues together. We must recall who is the enemy and who the ally. We must take our respective stations on the walls of Jerusalem and faithfully refuse to quit those stations until relieved by King Jesus. According to our several duty posts, we face different temptations. There are reformed ministers who have come to doubt the lawfulness of their ordination vows; there are particular churches that question their affiliation with imperfect denominations; there are private Christians who have little idea how or when they may lawfully leave a less reformed church to be dismissed to a more reformed church; and finally there are both private Christians and particular churches that have already separated to independency or isolation.
First it is necessary that we learn to speak to one another. It has often been the case that divisions were kept up simply because parties were unwilling to listen or be taught. Yet we must be seeking unity if we would ever find it. We should be pressing one another for conferences and meetings. We should be urging harmony in all our dealings with one another. We must think less of the manner of our joining than the fact of our joining. Once some union has been achieved, the manner of our joining will be seen as far less consequential than we originally thought.
Although the things that unite us are far more fixed by Scripture, the things that occasion division are more likely to attract our attention. Therefore when Christians meet to follow peace, careful choice should be made as to what will be discussed first, second, etc. That which is most likely to cause contention should be later. This way both sides will have opportunity to see how far they are in agreement before seeing how far they are apart.
The sorts of differences that may be the occasion of division are either doctrinal, emotional or practical. The doctrinal consist of differences of judgment or teaching; the emotional consist of differences in temperament or personality; practical differences are those in tradition, government or worship.
God has placed remedies within the church for each of these. Each difference should be approached with both readiness of mind to hear what the other side has to say and with a willingness to search the Scripture to see which side to the controversy has the better case.
Ministers and sessions should be working as cordially as possible with their presbyteries; presbyteries with their synods; etc. to bring about the sort of conferences that can in their peacefulness and unity glorify God. General Assemblies should be working through standing inter-church committees to bring about unity within the body.
When private Christians see something amiss within the particular chuch of which they are members, they must approach their elders with all humility. It may be that they can be helpful to a session already inclined to further reform. It may be that they can point out areas of practice that the session had not previously considered. It may be that the session can point out to them where they have misinterpreted either Scripture or the session's actions. It is only as Christians talk with one another that the real point of controversy can come to the surface and be handled.
There may even be times when it is for the best interest of all involved for a private Christian to request dismissal to another congregation. It would be presumptuous to attempt to detail all situations when such might be the case. Nevertheless, it is possible that such situations could arise. In an instance such as that, it would violate common decency, not to mention Christian unity, for the private member simply to take his leave without further discussion of the matter with those God has placed over him.
Finally, there are some who have already opted for either independency or isolation. These people are, for the most part, a hurting people. They must feel their isolation from the rest of Christ's body. Yet, in spite of perceived hurt feelings and wounded pride, they must come in from the cold.
Perhaps there will not be a fully united church during our lifetimes. But we must never stop working to that end. For our part, God has called us to be faithful and to leave “success” in His hands. At such a time as it pleases the Lord, He will reunite His body. The same God who brought down the Berlin wall overnight can also bring down the walls that we have built to separate ourselves from one another.
Page Last Updated: 01/10/08 12:13:37 PM