THE POWER OF AN ASSEMBLY TO BIND AND TO LOOSE. (Matt. 18:17,18.)-Continued.
2. THE DOCTRINAL LIMIT.
The passage before us says nothing explicitly with regard to the power of the assembly as to doctrine. It is simply personal trespass that is in question :"If thy brother trespass against thee." And it is striking that when we take up the first epistle to the Corinthians, in which undoubtedly we have the matter of discipline on the part of the assembly treated of, we have, with one exception that I shall presently notice, nothing but moral condition. The person to be dealt with there was an immoral person, plainly; and the apostle says, " But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat . . . therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (chap. 5:ii, 13). The one thing here which is not simple immorality is idolatry; but it is at any rate plain, naked evil, about which there could be no question for a Christian. He was a " wicked person " who worshiped the gods of the heathen, and a wicked person was to be put away. But this involves no decision about doctrine, no pronouncing upon truths of Scripture, plainly. "Wickedness" was not a nice question, needing much knowledge of the Word to detect. It needed godliness. And this is the one thing that could be rightly expected of an assembly of Christians:not learning, not powers of research and skill in argument, not much attainment, where the most part might be babes; but hearts true to Christ, and a real desire to glorify Him. This would be their qualification for all that was required of them. Wickedness is opposed to godliness; and the godly might be trusted to know it and to cast it out.
But the church is never the teacher, never called to utter its voice upon points of doctrine; but Christ by His Word and Spirit alone are to be heard here. Nor is the church called to authenticate His teaching, but to receive it. Her attitude is not here that of authority, but of submission. The Jezebel-church it is that calls herself a prophetess, and where this claim is made the Lord rebukes His saints for "suffering" it.
The truth is to make itself felt as that in the conscience, not established by human authority, but itself authority. " If I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me ?" the Lord demanded of the Jews. Wherever the church comes in authoritatively to define, the conscience is taken away from its true allegiance, the healthful exercise of the soul is lost, the fear of God is taught by the precept of men (Isa. 29:13), and the authority of God is taken away by that which professedly maintains it. Of all this, Rome is the natural outcome. Babylon is built up by such doctrine; and it is the mercy of God if "Babel" be plainly written upon it by the confusion and scattering which results.
On the other hand, it will be asked, If the church be not the judge of doctrines, how is discipline in these matters to be carried out? I answer, the Church is the Church of Christ, and not of Antichrist; the gathering practically is "unto His name." But this " name " expresses what He is Himself. If He be not "Jesus," " Christ," and " Lord " to us, there is no gathering-point, no center of attraction, no actual gathering therefore. All is lost. There is really no church to exercise discipline. It is a deeper question than that of its acts:it is a question of its very existence.
But these fundamental truths are what every one gathered knows, what every one accepts, what does not require to be pronounced upon, but has been already by every soul that has received the gospel. He who, as an undone sinner, has trusted the blood of Jesus as his salvation from eternal wrath, knows in himself what enables himself to refuse and necessitates his withdrawal from all that is not this. He may, alas ! be seduced into another course; but it is godliness which alone he needs to keep him in the right path here. He has to make no new attainment to be qualified for his place in. the assembly, and to give judgment of what he is called upon to refuse.
Thus, to pronounce upon "wickedness" is a very different thing indeed from defining as to truths. There is a creed to maintain, but it is that which every one who can rightly be received as a Christian has accepted to ' begin with He must be faithful to it, and is not always necessarily faithful. But there are no new points to be defined. In the maintenance of a true gospel, he can be with all who are seeking to maintain it, without regard to differences which may still exist.
The church needs not, then, to define doctrine, so long as it is the Church. It needs to be separate from unfaithfulness to Christ,-that is, from "wicked persons." Those who attempt to do more do less, and in assuming authority are themselves in insubjection to it. It is evident that, to be the voice of the assembly, the discipline of the assembly must be intelligible to, and carry the conscience of, the least intelligent there. Otherwise some must act blindly, from confidence in others, and the seeing must lead the blind:in other words, the leaders must act, and the rest acquiesce; or the "assembly" practically stand for a part of it,-perhaps the most intelligent part:but who among the blind are to see this?
Foundation-truth is to be maintained, and upon this the church is founded. We need not to be told what it is, if we are on it, but we do need to be warned that we be faithful to it, and to put away from among ourselves any wicked person.
And as to all that is not foundation-truth, what do we need ? Is it not to realize the power of the Word of God, and of His Spirit, to lead us into all truth, and bring us to unity of mind and judgment? It is not a common creed and ecclesiastical decisions that can do this. The power of the Spirit can only really be known where we walk "in all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." A godly walk and a tender care for one another, and not legislation, are the way to unity. God has ordained no other. How plainly are we told so ! and how abundantly experience confirms this, where by grace we have been enabled to heed this exhortation !
"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." So it reads, and such is the divine order and connection between these two things:not "truth and grace," but "grace and truth."
Quite true that they come together and cannot be separated from one another for a moment. This is a blessed reality, for then where grace comes truth comes of necessity; but it is grace which introduces the truth, opens the way, disposes the soul for its reception. Thus if repentance is to be preached to men, it is in the name of Jesus -that name which is in itself a gospel, of Him whose presence in the world is God's pure grace.
Find me a company of those who are living godly in Christ Jesus, but among whom the truth can only make its way by the help of ecclesiastical decisions, and I will find you hot ice, cold fire, or any similar absurdity that you can name. This were to deny the Lord's own saying, that "if a man love Me, he will keep My word." To even the babes in Christ it is said, " But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you "-you need no mere human authority for that which you receive (i Jno. 2:27). Certainly, then, they need not the church, which was never called to teach, and which cannot teach:for who are the taught, if the church teaches? All this leads directly into those Romanizing views of the church, which narrow it down to a certain number of those supposed competent ones, from whose disputes with one another the Lord's people are so often torn asunder from end to end. God would put the power for discipline into the hands of those who by their very incompetency are saved from the jangle of these disputes. For the decision of the church in any matter is to be the decision of the least as well as the most intelligent, the babe as well as the " father." How wise with infinite wisdom are the ways of God !
The church, then, must be built on the foundation, or it is not the Church. But being there, its duty is the simple one of caring for godliness, of putting away any one manifested as a "wicked person." The doctrinal limit in discipline is very plain.