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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Gander sauce is horrible tasting stuff! That's what we are forced to eat when the unfair rules that we impose on others are forced upon us. The idiom goes something like this: What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Gander sauce, that's what I've been eating a lot of over the past few years. And, to complicate things, it is still a frequent staple in my diet. Gander sauce is closely connected to human ideas of justification, hence today's message.
Having been reared, indoctrinated in, and formally educated in the rules of the Churches of Christ, I speak from personal experience and not from mere theory. When I felt that a friend of mine was breaking ranks with the church, I called and asked him, “If you take this step, where will you draw the line?” He responded, “What line?” I clarified by saying, “The line of fellowship; who to recognize as faithful and who to deny fellowship because they are unfaithful.” I elaborated further. “What about the Christian Church and their use of mechanical instruments in worship? Will you fellowship them?”
My reaction to my friend's spiritual changes reveals two traits that characterize those of us who have adhered to the traditional rules of the Church of Christ. Rule number one is that in order to be saved, we must believe and practice sound doctrine. This, by implication, means that we must not practice false or unsound doctrine. Rule number two is that in order to be saved, we should lend support to (fellowship) only those who believe and practice sound doctrine. By implication, this means that we should not support (fellowship) those who believe and practice false or unsound doctrine. These were the two rules which forced me to ask my friend, “Where will you draw the line?”
It is this propensity among those who are affiliated with the Churches of Christ that led others to say things like, “Well, you think that if you are not a member of the Church of Christ you are going to hell.” Or, a bit more sarcastically, “You think that you and your little bunch are the only ones that are going to heaven!” It even led to jokes about heaven having sound proof rooms where members of the Church of Christ could be isolated so as not to hear others who make it in (contrary to the idea that only members of their little bunch would be admitted).
The error in this line of thinking is huge both in amount of error as well as in practical implications. First, it assumes that I can and must know the right side to be on concerning all doctrinal matters in order to go to heaven. Secondly, it assumes that in order of me to go to heaven, I can and must know that the beliefs and practices of all those with whom I am in fellowship are right. Neither of these two assumptions is true. This is a fact that we could never admit in the church. To admit it would be to deny one of the fundamental premises upon which the Churches of Christ are founded. To admit is means that we would have to apply the same sauce to our own beliefs and practices that we applied to the beliefs and practices of others. Rather than apply this sauce, we simply learned to put gravy on some servings and omit it on others! I plan to elaborate on this observation in tomorrow's installment.
So, where do we draw the line of fellowship? Who should we recognize as legitimate Christians? Will a person be automatically damned for sincerely believing and practicing a doctrine that is inconsistent with God's will? Somewhere in these questions and our flawed responses, there has to be a huge serving of grace! I have concluded that the goose and the gander both need this sauce to be right in God's sight. Further, any theory that depends upon absolute knowledge of and compliance with every doctrinal issue is a theory that demands the impossible; it is not from God!
Questions:
1. What well known biblical principle is similar to the goose and gander idiom (see Matthew 7.12)?
2. Is it possible to be guilty of sins of ignorance? If yes, would a person be capable of repenting of a sin of ignorance? THINK!
3. Who do you know anyone who is correct in all points of doctrine? In order for you to know this, what knowledge must you possess? Would it be arrogant to claim to have absolute knowledge on all doctrinal points? Isn't this what the Pharisees claimed to know?
4. Besides the grace that was manifested to all men at the cross, do we need a daily serving in order to be right in God's sight?
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