There is only one Christian fellowship outlined in the Scriptures. We read, "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Cor. 1:99God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)).
The Early Church.
For one brief moment, following the formation of the Church of God upon earth on the day. of Pentecost, the early church recognized and knew no other fellowship than this, and walked in the unity of the Spirit in its practical manifestation. Alas! declension, division, worldliness soon set in, ecclesiasticism without spiritual power became rampant. For centuries the professing church of God was marked by the ignorance, superstition, deadness and idolatry of the dark middle ages. Then came the glorious Reformation, too soon, alas! to be shorn of its spiritual force, when it looked to political power for support, and placed its confidence in princes.
A SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT'.
About a hundred years ago there began a blessed movement of the Spirit of God, calling attention to and reviving long-forgotten truths, leading men and women of all ranks to renounce unscriptural ecclesiastical associations, and to meet together in Christian assembly, gathered to no other name but that of their risen glorified Lord, and knowing no other fellowship but that which the word of God teaches.
No wonder that Satan made unceasing attacks on this most blessed and God-honoring movement. Too soon the enemy got in. Division after division has broken up and weakened this wonderful testimony.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
Amid all the ruin and confusion of the present day, many earnest Christians are disheartened, and wonder if there is any use in seeking to preserve a course, which seems to end only in disaster.
Is there then no divine path for the Christian today? Is he left to choose that fragment of the church, which is most to his liking? Or is he to be rendered so perplexed by all the claims put forward by different rival bodies of Christians, that he gives up all hopes of discovering what is the divine path in a day of ruin, and in despair takes the path of least resistance?
Surely these questions carry their own answer. The Christian is not left to his own choice in this important matter. He need not be perplexed. " The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way " (Psa. 25:99The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. (Psalm 25:9)). " If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine " (John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)).
EXCUSES FOR NOT RESPONDING TO THE TRUTH.
How many excuses are put forward by Christians for remaining in what they know to be unscriptural ecclesiastical associations, which will not stand the test of the judgment seat of Christ.
One will put family connections, the natural and right dislike of bringing in disunity in his family, among those closely related, such as husband and wife, parent and child, etc. Such put family feelings before loyalty to the Lord! Should that be? Should the Lord not be first?
Another will urge difficulty as to distance as a reason for being where he is, thus putting personal ease and convenience before fidelity to the Lord.
Yet another will give as his reason for remaining in unscriptural connections that his sphere of usefulness would be greatly limited, if he followed what he knows to be according to the Word. Here service is put before the Master-the 'servant's usefulness (?) before his Lord's will.
What a general turning over would take place if all Christians were true to their convictions.
We would urge upon all our readers to be faithful to the Lord and His word at all costs, as we would aim at it for ourselves.
BIBLE WARNINGS.
What a significant warning Scripture presents in the case of King Saul. Bidden by God to utterly destroy the Amalekites, he "spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly " (1 Sam. 15:99But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. (1 Samuel 15:9)). When Samuel asked what meant the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen, Saul replied that he had spared the best of the flocks of the Amalekites in order to sacrifice unto the Lord.
It seemed a very praiseworthy reason. Saul did not spare the best of the flocks for his own enrichment. There was nothing selfish in his action. It might be thought that the object in view would have atoned for his departure from strict instructions.
But it was not so. The King had committed an act of unpardonable disobedience. That act cost him his kingdom. Samuel answered in words that are historic: "'Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." How scathing was Samuel's language! Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry " (1 Sam. 15:2323For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (1 Samuel 15:23)). Pretty strong language this! Pretty stiff price to pay for departing from the word of the Lord, even for the apparently laudable object of using the best of Amalek's flocks and herds for sacrifice to the Lord.
How unutterably sad Saul's end was I Amid the deepening shades of spiritism; hard pushed by the Philistines, the enemies of the Lord; bereft of his sons, who had fallen in the battle; in terrible despair, he committed suicide, falling on his own sword-his armor suspended on the walls of the temple of the heathen goddess, Ashtaroth; his body hung on the walls of Bethshan -a terrible warning indeed.
Is this not a sharp warning to Christians who plead their, usefulness as a reason why they should remain in unscriptural associations? Is not their disobedience on a par with Saul's? Is not their act equivalent to sparing the best of the flock for sacrifice instead of obeying? Is the fat of rams a substitute for hearkening?
How many servants of the Lord, who have refused to follow the gleam 'on the plea that their usefulness would be curtailed, have found out that their spiritual power has largely, if not altogether left them, and their usefulness indeed been impaired?
For power with God we need to be right with God. And without spiritual power there can be no true usefulness.
TRUE CHRISTIANS ALARMED AND PERPLEXED.
In these days of unabashed worldliness in the professing church of God, of widespread Modernism in flip pulpits of the land, of Ritualism that is traitorous in the lengths to which it is being carried; true Christians are becoming increasingly alarmed, perplexed and troubled. The voice of the Lord is heard: " Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty " ( 2 Cor. 6:17,1817Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:17‑18)).
REASONS FOR WRITING THIS PAMPHLET
In moving about the country we find Christians generally in a state of distress, indecision and perplexity, whilst among young Christians, who are often where their parents are, without quite knowing why, there is a general demand for scriptural information as to what Christian fellowship truly is. We often hear the anxious desire, " I want to know why I am where I am."
It is to meet such cases that we put pen to paper. We propose to give a rapid sketch of how Scripture presents the Church of God as designed of God, and then to seek to compare with that standard the denominations of Christendom.
Finally we will take up the question as to whether assemblies professing to be gathered to the Lord's name in simplicity apart from manmade denominations, are part of one whole, and hence linked up one with another, or whether they are independent assemblies. Just as a visitor to some ruins of antiquity, finding a fragment here and a fragment there, and puzzled how to group things together, would be greatly helped if he were furnished with a plan of the building in its original completeness and splendor, so we deem: it best to go over the whole ground of truth as to the Church of God, and thus we trust this pamphlet may be more generally helpful than if we took anything for granted in the way of knowledge.
Necessarily we cannot go too much into detail, and must content ourselves with a general survey of the truth, else this modest pamphlet would be swollen to the dimensions of a bulky volume.