Being Correspondence in 1876.
Q. I shall be glad to have your judgment and help upon the following points. A few Christians are meeting here apart from system. They invited me to take my place with them, but I could not, because they allow Christians who are in system to break bread before seeing their way clear to leave it. Mr. M., who has recently arrived from England, thinks me too exclusive, and tells me it would be allowed by brethren there, providing such Christians were known to be walking consistently.
I may add that those meeting here are not agreed as to whether those already breaking bread should be allowed to attend meetings in system. Is not the first point necessary? and would it not preserve from going back to system, discipline being carried out upon any persisting in what is unscriptural?
A. The primary point to be decided as to the Christians you name, who are breaking bread apart from sects, &c., is:—Whether they are just emerging out of the darkness of the unscriptural position as to so called church ground, desiring to act according to the light received? If gathered intelligently in, or unto, the name of Jesus, owning Him as the true and only center of gathering, are they allowing anything contrary to, or subversive of that name, or are they seeking to maintain the unity of the Spirit, as members of the one body of Christ formed by the Holy Ghost who works in the assembly?
Should this be the case, as I judge it is if Mr. M. is identified with them, they as others are simply acting on the only Scriptural ground open to believers in a day of failure and confusion like the present. It is surely our privilege through grace to be found with such, counting on the grace of Christ and the Spirit's guidance to meet anything that may rise up, whether as to the conduct of those gathered on that divine ground, or as to their fellow believers mixed up with and sanctioning what Christendom has adopted contrary to Christ and the truth of God.
It is important to keep before us the fallen state of the church in contrast with what she once was weakness, failure, and division, instead of power, faithfulness, and oneness. We with all saints were verily guilty of helping it on. We are conscious too that grace alone led any of us to look it fairly in the face and judge ourselves in the Lord's presence; and it is on Him we can count for wisdom and grace to act for Him in the path He marks out for days of difficulty and weakness If the church has failed as a witness for Him, He abides faithful and remains the same. The truth of God is unchanged, and the Holy Spirit continues ever true to each, and He is here to act in the saints for the glory of Christ, and the maintenance of the truth. When the professing church has so decayed, that not only the truth as to what the church of God is has been lost, but almost what is fundamental for the soul's salvation, we do well to remember, that the Spirit leads the soul to Christ, setting Him forth to sinner and saint, the object of testimony for salvation and the sole center of gathering, as well as the rest for departing from iniquity. It is not to the measure of truth received by any, but to Christ Himself, the One in whom truth in all its fullness dwells, that the Spirit gathers. It is needful therefore to be jealous lest the measure of truth received should become a standard rather than Christ Himself. This would make a circle outside the many existing already in the shape of sects, and so miss God's provided object in upholding and cleaving to Christ and the unchanging truth of God.
As to your points of reception as well as action towards those received, it is needful to be as large in heart as Christ, so as to take in all that are His, and on the other hand to carefully shut out those who hold anything contrary to the truth, and dishonoring to His name, bearing no less in mind how He, in times of weakness and confusion, stoops in grace to help the weak, and lead on the least, that are desiring to please Him. Those too more advanced than others have to take care not to use their measure of light and experience as a rule of judgment for others. Rather let them lay themselves out to help the ignorant to a fuller knowledge of truth, but in no way compromise truth, or lower the glory of the Lord Jesus.
It is well to know the Lord's mind as to receiving Christians to break bread who may not as yet see their way clear to come out of the varied systems.
Suppose a believer, not seeing the place he is in as identified with system to be unscriptural, yet through circumstances desirous of remembering the Lord with those intelligently meeting on scriptural ground: is it imperative that such should be intelligent as to what the church of God is, and the Scriptural ground of gathering?
If souls are known to be believers walking consistently, though surrounded by much that would defile brethren of greater light, yet (Christ being the alone ground of reception, and the membership and fellowship at the Lord's Table being that of the whole body of Christ) I see no Scripture for refusing such.
The responsibility would be theirs in returning to the place and things opposed to it. Such depart from you and the practical unity of the Spirit; but you do not, by their individual act, identify the divine ground with them or their unscriptural system. Christ, and not light about Him and truth, is the test; so that whilst intelligence is blessed and needful to carry out the mind of the Lord, it is not the standard of reception. It may ever be well to press on souls what is due to Christ, making known the place taken in relation to Him. Moreover it is never advisable to bring souls in hastily or by pressure, but rather through their own exercise or desire. Doubtless there will and must be the call for grace and wisdom on the part of those better acquainted with the true or the false position. Through the lack of intelligence and the measure of cleaving to former associations and teaching, the soul may not be sufficiently established to get clear at once of the things previously sanctioned. Patience with pastoral care is needed; but to bring in a standard of intelligence or rule would be to displace the Lord Himself as the true center of gathering and thereby shut out many of the Lord's little ones, whom He may be graciously leading on to act in faithfulness to Himself Where weakness, failure, and ruin are contemplated, provision is made for even two or three. Matt. 18:20 declares “Where two or three are gathered in [or to] my name,” to such Jesus vouchsafes His presence though little may be known, yet counting that light and understanding will follow. If Christ be the gathering center and governing object, it must be so; moreover, the Holy Ghost having liberty to act in relation to Christ, it becomes the true place for growth and blessing.
I hardly think it needful to contemplate evil in the shape of souls going back to the thing they have left. Our safety, whether ignorant or intelligent, weak or strong, ever is and must be the Lord Himself. Away from Him, the most accurate position must sooner or later manifest declension; as the church in her responsibility is a sad sample, from Ephesus' departure from first love (where there was intelligence and testing as to what was false) down to Laodicea with her boasted riches to the exclusion of Christ who is outside. We need to keep Christ and His claims before us together with the Scriptures, seeking to pick up those whose hearts are toward Himself but guarding with jealousy the compromising of His holy and worthy name. Alas many have done this who formerly were ostensibly on the common ground of the church of God, gathered to the name of Jesus in the Spirit's unity; yet did they allow or gloss over teachings, which, if accepted or sanctioned, destroy Christ as the center, and leaven those gathered to His name. I allude (as you may know) to so called Open Brethren, who, if not holding blasphemous doctrines as to Christ, did in a real way refuse to judge. Saints of God in the systems know nothing of this, nor of the Scriptural way of meeting, though many may willingly be ignorant and satisfied to go on in an unscriptural position. Whilst therefore those who separated to Christ, and thereby judge what is false, are called to keep clear of all evil, they should carefully keep the door as wide open as possible for godly or exercised souls to follow. To avoid stumbling-blocks is obligatory; but with it let us exhibit the grace and faithfulness of Christ and so draw others out of the meshes of Christendom into the blessed liberty of Christ. For this the eye must be upon Him who in times of declension reveals Himself to the church of Philadelphia first as “holy and true,” then as power, setting an open door for the faithful to enter, though they realize little strength, but are keeping His word and not denying His name, whilst awaiting the answer to His own word “I come quickly.”
May each be kept true to the claims of Christ, loving and owning all saints, consistently with holiness and truth, and giving heed to the exhortation “Wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us [or you] to the glory of God.” G. G.