ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS (NO. 3)
W. Carl Ketcherside
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(Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of replies to an article by Reuel Lemmons, in Firm Foundation, June 11, 1963, under the title, "Objections Brother Ketcherside Does Not Answer." For a complete copy of the article by Bro. Lemmons and our previous replies see our issue of last month.)
9. "Bro. K. thinks all the sons of God are in the church of Christ but they are not all in one corral.... Brother K should tell us what other corrals the Lord has sheep in besides the church of Christ." All of God's sheep are in the church of Christ but they are not all in the partisan corral or faction with which Bro. Lemmons is identified. The church is in a state of schism. The flock of God is scattered. Not all of God's sheep are in the corral that sponsors Herald of Truth or in the corral that opposes it. Not all are in the one-cup corral or with the individual communion service corral. Not all are in the non-instrument "Church of Christ." Not all are in the "Christian Church." Does Brother Lemmons think the church of Christ is confined to the restoration movement? Did Jesus shed his blood for the restoration movement? God's sheep, who have been received by him, have allowed themselves to be herded into many sectarian corrals, but they are still his sheep even though caught in strange thickets.
10. "The Roman Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, and scores of others have 'believed the report' and have 'climaxed the manifestation of that faith by baptism.' Has God made them our brothers because we have a common father? Does 'the fellowship' include all these and more?" Every sincere believer in the Messiahship and Sonship of Jesus who has been immersed into Jesus Christ as an implementation of that faith is God's child and has been called into the fellowship of God's Son. Regardless of who immersed him he is God's child because he has been born again. He is my brother because he has the same father as myself. No one is in the family of God because he is a Roman Catholic, Mormon or Baptist, but because he is a child of God. There may be those in all of these sects who have been born again of the water and the Spirit. All such are my brothers. They need not leave the family and go out of what God brought them into, in order to come back in again. They need only to renounce that to which they aligned themselves which separates and segregates them from the rest of God's children and be just Christians, and Christians only!
11. "His entire contention that unity is equated with brotherhood is false." Our brother concludes that the fellowship may be equated with brotherhood in one sense, but denies they are equated with unity. My position is simply that "unity of the Spirit" is created by the fact that the one Spirit dwells in every son of God because he is God's son (Gal. 4:6). This creates
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12. "The brother's position makes God responsible for unity, or the lack of it, because God is the author of 'brotherhood.' If he were right, then it would be as impossible for us not to have fellowship with each other as it would be impossible to be sons of the Father without the new birth." I do not understand Brother Lemmons' reasoning at this point. While I believe that God is the author of our fellowship I believe that we can so act as to have God disinherit us, and those whom he rejects from his family we must also reject if we remain in the family status. I do think we have made tests of fellowship which God has not made and does not sanction or recognize, and in doing this we have split and shivered the brotherhood into rival fragments. Since these walls are artificial and not created by God to divide his family I do not recognize their validity and I can see my brothers on both sides of all of them. I do not say that others must do this but I do say that I must do so, for I can no longer be factional with my present conviction leading me to love and respect all of my brothers in Him.
In closing, let me say that I believe we are victims of a factional philosophy that purity of doctrine can only be maintained by separation from brethren. We have mistakenly equated fellowship with endorsement and confused unity with conformity. As a result the restoration movement is one of the most divided religious movements on the contemporary American scene. I am earnestly trying in a very weak way to restore a sense of brotherhood and fellowship in which it will be possible for us to discuss our differences as loving brethren, rather than as warring aliens. To this end I beg the prayers of all who love the Lord Jesus Christ with pure hearts.