THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 26, JULY 29, 2001

IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY

It is sometimes necessary to expose false doctrine and, motivated by love, to stand toe to toe with the purveyor of what is untrue. This is nothing new. The Apostle Paul found it necessary to clearly identify certain individuals, such as Hymenaeus and Philetus, as well as the error that they taught. John warned of extending the boundaries of fellowship beyond the boundaries of truth in 2 John 9 - 11, when he wrote, "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."

Sometimes, when brethren are determined to cling to what is not true and to practice that which is not authorized, division becomes necessary. I can not engage in that which I know to be unauthorized nor can I uphold the hands of those who are teaching what I know to be untrue. All division is heart-rending. Long time friendships will probably end. Perhaps even families will be torn apart. Division brings tears to the hearts of faithful children of God, but if it must be - it must be!

However, in the absence of doctrinal issues, why are there "church troubles"? Why do congregations end up torn by bitterness and strife? Why is it true that in most major metropolitan areas it is possible to find several "conservative" churches that have started as splits, often rancorous splits, with no doctrinal reason? Why are there brethren who will not talk to each other, refuse to step foot in various church buildings, and have nothing good to say about each other - when there are no significant doctrinal differences among them? It is not supposed to be this way!
In the last 25 years I have seen churches split, brethren "jumping" each other in the church building after services, and gossip fly to the point that it brought tears to its victim. I have been in worship services where the tension was so evident that concentrating on the worship of the Lord was almost impossible. I have heard brethren seem to take a perverse delight in troubles that another "faithful" congregation was having. I have seen all of this take place and none of it have anything to do with a doctrinal issue! It is not supposed to be this way!

Please, do not misunderstand what I am saying. When doctrine that is not according to truth is being espoused and practices are being advocated that are not authorized by the gospel of Christ - we must either correct that false teaching and eliminate the unauthorized practice, or separate ourselves. But even that must be done with love and true concern for the souls of those with whom we disagree.

I did not "grow up" in the church. I was born and raised a Roman Catholic. I must say that I never knew true love among people who were not related physically until I was baptized into Christ and added by the Lord to His church. Faithful brethren are the best people on earth. They are my family! At the same time I must sadly say that I never knew true hatred either, until I saw, and experienced, the way that some brethren will treat each other. It is not supposed to be this way!

So, I have repeatedly asked myself "Why". I have prayerfully asked God to help me to understand it. The easiest answer is "lack of love", and that is true. For brethren to treat each other in such an ungodly manner is evidence of a lack of love for God, for Christ, for the Word of God, and everything that is right and proper according to it. But it is also evidence of an over abundance of love - love for self! In every single instance of "church trouble" that I have been aware of, it has come about because for some, self was most important - more important than the truth, more important than God, more important than the Lord, and more important than those whom Jesus died to purchase.

In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter wrote these words, "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Adherence to the principles set forth in this verse, and in several others that we will notice, would eliminate the over abundance of love for self - PRIDE - that causes so many problems in congregations of the Lord's people.

First of all, the meaning of "younger men" and of "elders" in this verse has been the subject of a great deal of debate, almost to the obscuring of the real message to be found there. I will simply state that contextually I believe the "elders" of verse 5, are the same as the "elders" of verses 1 - 4. They are those individuals who, having met the qualifications, have been appointed as overseers of a local congregation. The "younger men" would be those who perhaps by virtue of their age may have a tendency to chaff under the legitimate oversight of the elders. The real issue, however, is subjection and it includes the "elders".

The word for "one another" means "reciprocally, mutually". So what all Christians are to clothe themselves with is to be done reciprocally, or mutually. What we are to clothe ourselves with is "humility". It is interesting that the concept of humility, the idea of serving one another reciprocally, was unknown among the pagans of that time. Thayer writes of the expression "clothe yourselves" in this way: "to fasten or gird on one's self; the egkomboma was the white scarf or apron of slaves, which was fastened to the girdle of the vest (exomis), and distinguished slaves from freemen; hence 1 Pet. 5:5 ten tapeinophr. Egkombosasthe, gird yourselves with humility as your servile garb (egkomboma) i.e. by putting on humility show your subjection to one another."

"Humility" is defined by Arndt and Gingrich as, "the having of a humble opinion of one's self; a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness; modesty, humility, lowliness of mind." Putting those definitions together, one's mind is immediately drawn to Philippians 2:3 - 8. There Paul wrote, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit (pride - g.l.), but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
This is the attitude that Christians are to have one to another. It is one of mutual service. It has no room in it for arrogance, an "I am better than you" way of looking at things. It doesn't allow for a Christian to set himself, or herself, over and above others and expect everything to go his or her way. If I am more interested in your welfare than I am in mine, and you feel the same way about me, (because in Christ it is to be mutual and reciprocal), how are there going to be problems of a non-doctrinal nature that we can't work out? The truth is, a lot of Christians just don't have that attitude.

How serious is it to fail to have and to manifest this attitude? Peter said, "for (hoti - because) God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble". This is all about the way we view and treat each other and Peter says that God opposes the one who is arrogant, proud, who thinks he is better than anyone else. Thayer defines the word huperephanos as, "especially in a bad sense, with an overweening estimate of one's means or merits, despising others or even treating them with contempt, haughty." On the other hand, the "humble" person is the recipient of God's favor and blessings. Brethren, pride destroys!

This is the way it is supposed to be, but there will continue to be strife and bitterness, biting and devouring, and congregational splits in the absence of doctrinal matters as long as some brethren look at others and see only themselves. Whose church is it? Does it belong to me? Does it belong to you? "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor. 1:13)

Greg Litmer