Our Basis of Fellowship
(Editorial - October 2003)
In 1883, Bro. Robert Roberts wrote “A Guide to the formation and conduct of Christadelphian ecclesias.” Today we refer to it as The Ecclesial Guide and use it as a source of very helpful and scripturally-based advice on many aspects of ecclesial life. Section 34 of The Guide discusses a “Basis of Fellowship” and sets forth the advantages of having “a definition of the doctrines that are recognized as the truth” concerning which we all agree, and which will form the basis of the examination of applicants for immersion.
Bro. Roberts recognized there would be objections to such a written summary: “The history of creeds [in the Christian church], which have supplanted the Scriptures in past ages, naturally leads some to feel an objection to this basis in a written form.” But, he reasons: “So long as it is understood that the written definition is not an authority, but merely the written expression of our identical convictions, there is not only no disadvantage, but the reverse, in reducing the faith to a form that shuts the door against misunderstanding.”
A
sample ecclesial constitution
As part of The
Ecclesial Guide, after setting out general principles in 46 sections,
Bro. Roberts provides “A System of Rules Embodying the Foregoing
Suggestions.” This is actually a sample constitution which many
ecclesias use as a starting point for framing their own ecclesial
constitutions. Any ecclesia using this sample of necessity modifies some
details to fit its own size, order of service, duties, etc. But very many
ecclesias retain the first three clauses. These clauses read:
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“That we are a Christadelphian ecclesia."
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"That we accept and profess the doctrines and precepts of Christ, as taught in the apostolic writings, and defined in the annexed Statement of Faith and Epitome of the Commandments of Christ. [The Birmingham, UK, Statement of Faith in the original 1883 edition].
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“That we recognize as brethren, and welcome to our fellowship, all who have been immersed (by whomsoever) after their acceptance of the same doctrines and precepts.”
These clauses set forth the basis of fellowship and fellowship practice in the sample constitution in The Ecclesial Guide.
Doctrines and precepts
Throughout the above
citations from The Ecclesial Guide, we have been underscoring such
words as “doctrines,” “convictions,” and “doctrines and
precepts.” We have been doing so to focus our attention on this
critical fact: Our fellowship is historically based on agreement with the
same scriptural teachings and not to a specific human expression of
these beliefs. Thus, the Christadelphian community across the world has
many different statements of faith all of which express the same
doctrines and precepts of Christ.
This fact is well expressed in an article titled, “Fellowship: Its Spirit and Practice” by the Committee of the Christadelphian Magazine:
“When someone wishes to become a Christadelphian, the question is not primarily whether he accepts the Statement of Faith but whether he holds the Bible teaching on which it is based…Statements other than the Birmingham Amended Statement have always been regarded as acceptable amongst ecclesias in the Central Fellowship, provided they uphold the same Bible teaching” (The Christadelphian, 1/1972, pp. 9,13).
Varied expressions of the same doctrine
Take the following as an example of
expressing the same doctrine in different words. Regarding the holy spirit:
God is “everywhere present by His spirit, which is a unity with His person in heaven…,” and it is a doctrine to be rejected to believe “that the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father” (The Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith # 1 under “Truth To Be Received,” and # 6 under “Doctrines To Be Rejected”).
“The Spirit of God is the power by which He sustains all creation, is everywhere present, and works His will. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God in special manifestation” (Bradford, UK, Statement of Faith # 2).
“The Holy Spirit (Not the Third Person in a Trinity). That the Holy Spirit is the power of God, by which He accomplishes His will, and by which He created all things, revealed Himself to His prophets, and manifested Himself in His Son” (Birmingham Suffolk St., UK, Statement of Faith # 3).
“Jesus Christ is the Son of God born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, which is the power of God” (Kingston, Jamaica, Statement of Truth).
We may personally prefer one of the above expressions of the same Bible teaching over the others. Or we may wish to take a phrase from one and a phrase from another to form, in our opinion, the best possible expression of this doctrine of Christ as taught in the apostolic writings. The point is, however, that we would be seeking to express the same scripturally based teaching regarding the holy spirit, the power of God, in contrast to the false idea that the Holy Spirit is the third person of a triune godhead. A similar comparison could be made for every doctrine in the BASF – God, the Bible, the nature of man, the origin of sin and death, the promises, person of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, etc. Obviously space doesn’t allow for that. As we examine different statements current among us, the point becomes clear that we do not have a single Christadelphian creed, but we do have a common acceptance of the same “principles and precepts of Christ as taught in the apostolic writings.”
Berean–Central reunion statement
In September, 1952, a unity statement was
drafted which brought together the Central Fellowship ecclesias in North
America with most of the Berean Fellowship ecclesias on the continent. That
document follows the precedent of the Ecclesial Guide in stating it
is agreement on the doctrines of scripture which forms the basis of
our fellowship. The statement reads in part:
“That we agree that the doctrines set forth in the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith are a true exposition of the first principles of the oracles of God as set forth in the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles, and that therefore these doctrines are to be believed and taught by us without reservation…That we recognize as brethren and welcome to our fellowship all who have been immersed by whomsoever after their acceptance of the same doctrines and precepts…” (The full statement is in The Christadelphian, p. 376, 12/1952.
Statements forming the basis of reunion in Great Britain and Australia follow this same pattern.
The danger of verbal short-hand
Throughout the North American Central
Fellowship ecclesias, the BASF is almost universally used as the ecclesial
statement of faith. As a result, we commonly use a verbal abbreviation in
welcoming people to the breaking of bread who meet on the BASF. What we
really mean is, we welcome to the table those who believe, teach and
fellowship on the basis of the doctrines and precepts of Christ, as taught
in the apostolic writings and conveniently set forth in the BASF. But
that’s quite a mouthful so we shorten it to those who “meet on the BASF.”
The problem with continued repetition of the abbreviated statement is that we can forget the true basis of our fellowship. And exactly what the community feared would happen, does happen – a creed supplants the scriptures.
This is a very real danger and is one part of the religious mindset which leads to a falling away from true, vibrant, Bible-based, Christ-loving Christianity. Unless we keep our bearings on our true basis of fellowship, we’re liable to be headed to the very condition Christ had in mind when he said, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8). We have a creed containing right teaching but individually we may be lacking a sound knowledge of the scriptures upon which it is based. The end result of this mode of thinking is that we exclude from the table those who believe in the same truth as we do, but for reasons of history, geography, culture, or local custom, have chosen to express it in different words.
We need to take the time and breath to say it right: “our fellowship is based on the acceptance and profession of the doctrines and precepts of Christ, as taught in the apostolic writings and expressed in the BASF. We welcome to our fellowship all who have been immersed after their acceptance of the same doctrines and precepts.” We will then be in accord with our historical position so compactly summarized in Bro. Roberts suggested constitution and reiterated throughout our history: we will welcome “all who have been immersed (by whomsoever) after their acceptance of the same doctrines and precepts.”