In the early part of 2 Cor. 2:1717For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:17), Paul uses this expression: "We are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." Notice how weighty it is! The margin reads, "Which deal deceitfully with the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." Could it be put more solemn or more weighty than that?
I read in the Word of God that divisions in the Church of God are a sin, and one solemnly condemned. If God, as it were, has given us a definite part of His instruction for His Church as long as it is here, then denominationalism is rebellion against God. It is of man. Can I glibly and suavely make allowance for it? Is that dealing with the Word of God faithfully before God, in the sight of God? Some day we are going to give an account of all these things. Yet, is it not true that many of these things are handled as though they did not amount to anything-just a matter of personal opinion?
One remembers reading an address that the president of a Bible institute gave to a graduating class. I suppose he had at least 20 different denominations represented in that class, and I presume he wanted to make them feel good, as they graduated and then went out into the field of Christian labor and conflict; so he said to them: "I believe God raised up different denominations for different emphases-as He raised up the Methodist Church to put emphasis on method in Christian work; the Baptists to lay proper emphasis on baptism; the Presbyterians to lay proper emphasis on church government; and he went down the list and named perhaps six or eight of the well-known denominations. Is that faithfulness to Christ? Is that the truth of the Word? Will that stand the test of the judgment seat of Christ? In principle, that is rationalism.
What is rationalism? It is that which neutralizes the Word of God; neutralizes the effect on the conscience so that man can take up the Word of God and ride right over its plain statements with a calloused conscience, because those who had instructed him had encouraged an elastic conscience on these points-had given him to feel that they were of no weight.
When Epaphras was laboring there on his knees in prayer for the saints of Colosse, what was the burden of his heart? That they might stand complete in all the will of God. Well, dear saint of God, where do you stand today? Are you bowing at the shrine of reason, or are you submitting to the Word of God? Are you seeking to fit your life into the pattern of the marvelous revelations which we have received through Paul?
Paul speaks of the "church of God." "Church of God"- what one are you connected with? Perhaps there is someone here this afternoon who says with pride, "I belong to the best of all-I'm a Baptist." One would perhaps agree that there is much to be said in favor of the Baptist Church, but I can assure you of one thing-Paul was no Baptist, for he said, "Christ sent me not to baptize." So you could not claim Paul. Now that is just one example. Perhaps you might say, "I belong to the Friends." "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Yet perhaps the most definite thing the Lord Jesus asked His own to do as long as they are in this scene is "This do in remembrance of Me." "Eat this bread, and drink this cup." "This do"-not something else! These dear people never, never have the Lord's supper. It is not a part of their plan or program or set-up at all. Is that Paul's doctrine? Does it make any difference to what you belong? God's truth is one complete whole. Paul is very anxious for people to get the whole of it, and makes no allowance forever having any will in the matter. It is for us to receive what God has said in His Word. Rationalism can rob you of the truth!
Then there is something else that can spoil you, too. And they work together, one on one side of the street and the other on the other. They seem to get along pretty well side by side. The other is ritualism.
Everything around us in Christendom today is tending to one of two climaxes. The head of the revived Roman Empire will be an absolute "no-God" man, but he will act in close liaison with the woman, the "great whore," the eventual form of apostate Christianity. Part of the Christian world now is heading for the man-rationalism; and part toward the woman-ritualism! When the true Church is taken out and all is left behind that is unreal, then you will find those two forces working together for a little while. And then, finally, in His governmental way, God uses the one to destroy the other; and then the Lord Himself destroys the infidel power. Everything around us today is moving toward the man or toward the woman-toward rationalism or toward ritualism. Which way do you want to move? Where do you want to be? Remember, according to Paul's doctrine, there was to be a definite, clear-cut testimony rendered to the world by the Church. The Church was left in this scene as a testimony for our absent Lord. She is waiting for the return of her Lord. We are "partakers of the heavenly calling." How much does the Church know about it? How far has the Church departed from it? Yes, we are called to heaven, not to earth. "Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Where is He? In heaven. The Church was never put here as an institution belonging to earth. Eventually, the Church is to be taken out of the world. In the meantime, the Church is waiting for the Lord to summon us to glory. That is the testimony of the Word of God according to the truth Paul brings out.
If Satan cannot corrupt things through rationalism, he will corrupt them through ritualism. Anything that seeks to make your soul fit for God apart from the work of Christ, is ritualism. Any least thing that is brought between your soul and the finished work of Christ, is ritualism, and it will spoil you and rob you. But you know it comes in bit by bit. It is referred to in the end of this chapter, verse 20: "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
(Touch not; taste not; handle not; which are all to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrine of men?" In the Revised Version you will find that these are put in opposite order: "Handle not; taste not; touch not." Now, this is not a question of temperance; anything like the liquor or tobacco question is not involved at all. It is a question of religious ritualism, and God is showing how man rather than accept the completed work of Christ to which nothing can be added, that sets him perfect before Christ-rather than accept that, he introduces religious performances to perfect himself before God. He introduces them innocently, as one might say, and finally secures the sanction of some great ecclesiastical authority, and they become so solemnized that perhaps only one man in the world dares touch them with his finger; but at the same time it had led away from Christ-led away from His completeness-that fullness that we have in Christ. So men are robbed in their souls.
This morning some of us came together, and we remembered the Lord Jesus in His death. Did you? If you did not, where were you? How often do you remember the Lord? He did not say, "As seldom as ye do it," but "As often as ye do it." We came to do it in solemn, precious memory of Him; and we drank the cup in solemn memory of His bloodshed for us. Why did we do it? Was it a means of making us acceptable to God? Was there merit in it? Did eating that bread, drinking that cup, give us some kind of religious position or standing that we did not have before? Not the slightest! There was not one atom of virtue in it from that viewpoint. It was simply a question of doing what the blessed Lord asked us to do- almost the last thing He asked us to do. Yet is it not a fact that some Christians become so busy with their testimony, giving their testimony, so busy in the Lord's work, that they do not have time even to come aside and remember the Lord in His death?
I remember an interesting case of a sister in -, who was connected with a church there; perhaps that church would rank at the top among fundamentalists. They have thrown themselves into gospel work but disregard almost entirely the line of truth we have before us today. This sister became exercised as to taking her place at the Lord's table. She went to the minister about it, and he discouraged her leaving; but she said she felt she must leave because she did not find in the Church some of the things she found in the Word of God. He asked her what were some of the things. "Well, I feel in my heart a desire to remember the Lord in His death, and I would like to do it with those who meet for that purpose, not as a denomination, not as some certain church, but meet in simplicity of faith to remember Christ." His reply to her was, "You know, there are a few of us in this big church that feel that way too. We meet to remember the Lord each Lord's day except the Sunday the church has communion." What an admission! Are there two standards? Two ways? Is God the author of confusion? Three Lord's days in the month they hold that semi-private memorial, but on the fourth Lord's day this is given up to meet as a denomination. Is that according to the truth and teaching of the Word of God? I do not say this to disparage any truth taught in that church; thousands of souls have been blessed there, no doubt, but that does not atone for the sad inconsistencies we have just called attention to. I do not discount the truth, but in the fear of God I am here to state we are not loyal to Christ if we compromise the truth, if we seek to hide some of it so as to become acceptable to the religious world.
In the next chapter, Paul says: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above." If you and I are seeking those things which are above, we are not going to be occupied with what man thinks. If the Apostle Paul cared for what man thought of him, he would never have written what he did in 1 Cor. 4:9-139For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. 11Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. (1 Corinthians 4:9‑13): "For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day."
Why did Paul have to suffer those things? That he might fill up that which was behind of the sufferings of Christ for His body's sake. Friend, here this afternoon, how much have you really suffered for the sake of the Church? How much have you paid of the price for treading the path of separation? If you and I are going to be obedient to the doctrine of Paul, it is going to isolate us from the great organized bodies of Christendom around us. The doctrine of Paul as to the Church has been given up long ago. For it was substituted the fallacy of what they call the "church invisible" and the "church visible." And so, all of Paul's doctrine as to the "church invisible" was given over to the keeping of the angels, as it were, while man took over the "visible church," after his own pattern. What sad confusion he has made of it! You can see it everywhere.
But Paul's doctrine cuts a distinct line. The Church is the witness for Christ, a witness for her absent Lord, maintaining all the truth as to Christ-not just a part of it. He left the Church here, not as an institution to establish foundations in the world, or to build for generations to come, but as a witness now-now-with the thought that at any moment we are going to leave it.
Over forty years ago now, I was worshiping in a church.
We had a godly man, for pastor. I was active there. Many dear Christians were in that institution. I left there because I did not find the doctrine of Paul. I found a part of the truth, but I could not go on with the doctrine of Paul and stay there. When I left, my dear old pastor wrote me a letter telling me what an awful blunder I was making in leaving a big ship to get into a very small one. Then he went on to tell me what
a big thing the M. Church was, and gave a long list of statistics. The whole letter was a mass of comparative figures. But there was not one verse of Scripture in that two-page, type written letter-not one verse of Scripture-and, what is more, there was not one reference in that whole letter to the will of God. No, it was a question of human wisdom. I was making a blunder, sacrificing my chances in life, jeopardizing my opportunities for advancement in the ecclesiastical world by stepping out and aligning myself with a group of "nobodies." Forty years have rolled by, that old institution still stands- I pass it many a time, but never with one note of regret that I did not stay there. I am glad that God revealed to me comparatively early in my spiritual life that the truth of Christ and the Church is so dear to the heart of Christ that I cannot be in full communion with Him unless that truth forms a part of my thinking and a part of my path and practice.
Paul says of the counsels of God, "I have kept back nothing." Friend, are you keeping back something? Are you compromising the truth? Fellow Christian, I feel so helpless as I close this address; I feel I have just scratched the surface. I feel there is so much here, and one would love to go on in this line. It is in this Book. Make it your own. Dig deep; find out what it has for you. Value it! Do not let anyone rob you of it. God forbid that I should discount the gospel. I do not mean that, but I mean do not stop at that. Go on to perfection. I am reading this verse in closing-Col. 1:2828Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28): "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."