False Tests
W. Carl Ketcherside
[Page 12] |
The church of God was filled with the party spirit. It suffered from schisms and cleavages. The members could not be addressed as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. They were puffed up for one against another. The carnal spirit was prevalent. It is characteristic of all who are in such a state that they judge others continuously. The test employed is party allegiance. No one is considered to be in Christ Jesus who is
[Page 13] |
Here was a congregation which actually carried their party prejudices to the extent that they judged the apostle who begot them through the gospel as being unworthy. Motivated by their narrow, legalistic, egotistic, self-righteous attitude, they actually concluded the apostle Paul was not "faithful" or "loyal." He wrote, "Look at what is before your eyes. If any one is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind mind himself that as he is Christ's, so are we." Paul would not align himself with party at Corinth. To him, they were "called saints," they were all "brethren," they had all been called by God into the fellowship of his Son." In spite of their carnal nature, the jealousy and strife among them, he never once doubted that they composed "the church of God which is at Corinth."
However, such magnanimity of spirit, such wideness of mercy, such breadth of love, can never be tolerated by the conceit and exclusiveness of the party. So Paul was accused of instability and compromise. He wrote, "Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans like a worldly man, ready to say Yes and No at once?" The party spirit is proud of a man's position. It is not always concerned too much about his heart. If he lines up with the faction it is not required that he live up to the standard of Jesus. That is not the measuring reed. So Paul writes again, "What we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may he able to answer those who pride themselves on a man's position and not on his heart" (2 Con 5:11, 12).
We have many "Corinthian congregations" today. The Corinthian epistle was written to a church of Christ, a church of God. It stands as a constant warning of the tragic aftermath of the party spirit. It proves that a congregation planted by the gospel can become filled with such bitterness and animosity, such a spirit of judging and testing of others, that it will not recognize anyone as being in Christ Jesus who does not condone its narrowness. Even the apostle Paul was concluded to be out of Christ, because he refused to countenance any party. His heart-rending plea is the cry of the reformers of all ages, "Open your hearts to us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one." But such a plea stirs only a hollow echo in the closed hearts of those who dare not receive men upon the basis of purity of life and motive, but who must measure loyalty to Jesus, by faithfulness to the party!
The party spirit has not altered. It will never change. It conceals itself under new masks. It devises new yardsticks. It invents more modern tests. But if Paul were alive today, "The Church of Christ" would again disown him if he regarded the members of every splinter party his brethren as he did at Corinth. Once more he would be forced to write, "For I fear that perhaps I may come and find you not what I wish, and that you may find me not what you wish; that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder." I challenge my brethren to name a single one of these not prominent in "The Church of Christ" in this age.
Let every true laborer for unity of all believers take courage. Paul's life is a testimonial to the fact that men can read you out of their parties, but they cannot separate you from Christ. Only you can do that, and a very effective means of doing it is to start disowning and hating your brethren--any of them! Remember, the party spirit, being evil always purges out that which is pure!