Time to Act
(Editorial - March 2004)
In the “News and Notices” section, the Toledo, Ohio, ecclesia reports its approval of the NASU and urges other ecclesias to do the same “so that unity between Unamended and Amended ecclesias can be realized as soon as possible.” In a letter to the editor, a sister asks “What is the next step?” and urges ecclesias to move forward.
Surely it is time to do something. During our own lifetime, every ten years efforts to resolve this longstanding problem have reached a climax, with progress being made in the 50’s and the 90’s. Now is another opportunity to do something. We will seize this opportunity, if we see the priorities of our Lord.
Expecting too much
When our own ecclesia took up the issue, we reread the doctrinal text of the
NASU with particular care. In doing so, we noted that some of the points
were not phrased the way we would prefer to express them. The fundamental
doctrines set forth were fine, but we hesitated at the exact linkage of
ideas in a particular section.
Then we experienced our own personal awakening. Had we lost all sense of proportion and true biblical perspective? As much as we had academically studied a point, when it came down to decision time, we had fallen back into natural ways instead of spiritual ones. We know division is of the flesh, while unity is vital to the Lord and the product of his teaching at work in us. The detail we were fretting over was nothing compared to the great issue of unity. Upon reflection, yes, we’d add our vote to approving the NASU document as a basis for a scripturally sound unity.
The biblical emphasis
Look at the first epistle to Corinth. Here
was an ecclesia in which incest was being approved (I Cor. 5), and brethren
were striving with one another in the gentile courts (ch. 6); thee was
disarray at the memorial service (chs. 11, 14) and there was wrong teaching
about the resurrection (ch. 15), yet the first problem addressed was the
schism in their midst (chs. 1-4).
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions (mg. schisms) among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (I Cor. 1:10).
How could this be, seeing there were strong-minded brethren who would not be of the same mind on every detail or reach the same judgment in every situation? They would achieve the desired unity through humility, recognizing that “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…and base things of the world…that no flesh should glory in his presence” (I Cor. 1:27-29).
Who were they to think their detailed understanding was so superior? Paul had set them an example of fundamental, straight-forward teaching: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified…And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom” (2:2, 4). In like manner, who are we to insist our own individual slant must be accepted by all, so long as we are in agreement on the fundamentals of the faith?
The apostle continues his reprimand by saying their division was the product of the flesh: “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men” (3:3)? The Corinthian brethren no doubt felt, as we often do, that they were defending correct doctrinal details; they were being biblical and spiritual. But Paul cuts right through their human rationales to the real problem: a natural tendency to assert our own will and preference.
Was that behind our own initial reluctance to vote for approval of the NASU document? Yes, it was.
A
consistent emphasis
The remarkable importance
of unity is evident again in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. After the
first three chapters of lofty praise and doctrinal exposition, the apostle
turns to exhortation and straight away stresses the importance of the unity
of the body.
[I] beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).
Quite remarkably this exhortation comes ahead of the extended development of the new creation in Christ (4:22-5:21), the magnificent discourse regarding marriage and family life (5:22-6:9), and the powerful warning to resist the world (6:10-17). Unity is clearly a matter vital to our Lord.
We also note the instruction building up to the appeal for unity: it is predicated on humility, the same context as in I Corinthians.
In reviewing the NASU unity document, we need to keep our priorities spiritual. Let us consider it with all lowliness and meekness keeping fully in mind the importance to our Lord of the unity of the believers.
The document addresses issues of mutual historical concern. Given our human tendency to tunnel-vision, we may see our own areas of historical concern but have difficulty seeing the other person’s. “What are those in the other fellowship worried about?” we may feel. We’re sound on the fundamentals and loyal believers walking in the faith. Our human reaction is to think the other fellowship has taken some quaint or ill-phrased comments and made a mountain out of a molehill. If, however, we follow spiritual instruction to act with all lowliness and meekness, we’ll consider our brother’s concerns and provide sound assurances in a vocabulary suitable to their needs.
The NASU doctrinal sections do exactly that.
Same pattern in Romans
After 11 chapters of expounding the gospel of
grace in Christ Jesus, Paul details the implications of the gospel in our
daily lives. After an opening two verses of general exhortation he again
considers first the issue of the one body in Christ: “For as we have many
members in one body, and all members have not the same office…” (Rom.
12:4-8).
Again the unity of the body is considered ahead of several vital topics: specifics of godly living (12:9-21), our relationship to human governments (13:1-7), the principle of love (13:8-14), and handling differences of opinion regarding religious practices (14:1-15:6). It’s really quite remarkable that the Lord’s priorities seem so different from our own. When we realize there are at least 17 different fellowships all calling themselves Christadelphians, we can’t help but wonder if we’ve somehow missed the mark.
Here in Romans, we note again the exhortation to oneness is set in the context of an admonition to humility:
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3).
As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, surely we can see the point. Unity can only come about through humility. The natural man tends to be full of himself and his own opinions; the spiritual man, in lowliness of mind, considers the other believer his better and in lowliness and meekness seeks reconciliation.
A
time to act
North American brothers and sisters once
again have an opportunity to move forward in healing a long-standing
division in the body of Christ. As the NASU Committee has written: “None
of us created this problem, but by God’s blessing, we now have the means and
opportunity to resolve it.”
Recognizing the priorities of our Lord and the lowliness of spirit to which we have been called, let’s do it.
Don Styles