Our Plea

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     We plead for the following things in these days of departure and dissension.

1. The new covenant scriptures as a revelation of the will of the absent King, and as an all-sufficient rule of faith and practice.
2. A restoration of the primitive order as set forth by the apostles of Jesus the Messiah, in its fulness and simplicity, as essential to the maintenance of a proper relationship with God the Father.
3. The one body of our Lord, composed of every immersed penitent believer in the world, as opposed to human religious parties which segregate, separate and divide the people of God.
4. The priesthood of all believers, in practice as well as theory, and the rights and prerogatives accruing to all from such a priesthood.
5. The mutual ministry of the community of saints, utilizing every talent of every member, to the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom.

     This plea, by its very nature, places us under obligation to oppose the following things which are in opposition to that plea.

1. Every human creed, written or unwritten, which seeks to bind upon the hearts of men that which God has not legislated, or to set up any opinion, doctrine or dogma of man as a basis for, or a test of, fellowship.
2. Every modern institution or device created by human wisdom to do the work which God has legislated as in the realm of the divine organism, and which, by its very existence, infringes upon the functions of that organism.
3. Every sect, denomination, faction or party which exalts any theory or opinion, to the division of the body of Christ, regardless of its name, prestige, power or influence.
4. Any semblance of special clergy, whether manifested in a hierarchy of prelates, or in a system of "located ministers" who are accorded special rights, encomiums, and privileges, denied to other faithful servants of the Lord.
5. The creation of a system in which an evangelist is called in from the gospel field, and hired as "the Minister" of a congregation, and thus becomes the pastor, employed to edify, train and exhort the saints, in a congregation having bishops or elders.

     Our contention and our plea is based upon a positive conviction that it will avail us nothing to propose, devise, construct or establish any organization in the realm of the spirit, which is without warrant from God, and not authorized in His revelation. Here we stand!