There are two broad principles that form the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. One is the observance of a way of life: “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.” The other is the belief of and obedience to doctrines concerning God and his salvation: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you might know what is the hope of his calling.” Both of these principles are equally essential for eternal life, and moreover they are mutually dependent. The way of life when faithfully observed reflects a sincere acceptance of the doctrine, while on the other hand the doctrine depends upon a practice of the way of life to preserve it from perversion.
Christendom fails to perceive this elementary fact. Having their eyes blinded by the false philosophies which were introduced into the primitive church, they find the doctrine inconvenient, and give attention instead to living a good life, which often is compromised because of faulty beliefs; they put their trust in an easy salvation and give credence to a universal salvation upon a repentance which is of the death-bed variety.
The church began its course upon the highest level of ethics and beliefs, but it was not long before human rivalries and ambitions began the process of corruption. Very early there were those who proposed, “Let us do evil that good might come”, and, “Let us continue in sin that grace may abound”. And then with these false ways there had to be a covering of false doctrine: “The resurrection is past already”, God is a God of love and the judgment of Christ will be easy, and -Jesus Christ came not in the flesh”.
Paul foresaw the approaching declension, “Grievous wolves shall enter in not sparing the flock. . . . Of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things”. Sectarian trends appeared quickly; parties claimed, “I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas, I of Christ”. Leaders took the salient features of the instruction of their favourite teachers and converted them into antagonistic doctrines. And before the end of the first century Docetists were openly teaching that Christ was a heavenly appearance only and had not come in the flesh. From that point onward there came a long succession of heresies about the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit which became incorporated into the Catholic church in the fourth century as the Athanasian Creed.
The origin of the corruption can be traced in part to the condition of the Roman Empire: it was decadent, politically and socially; pantheism was destroying every good way of life, and the church was sporadically persecuted and forced into conformity. The problems of the wide-flung empire were beyond the administrative capacities of emperors and senates; agrarian and social disorders had increased the disparity between plenty and poverty, and whole communities were being submerged in exorbitant taxation and the growing evils of the times.
Among all this evil the church held together by the oversight and leadership of its bishops, although it was troubled by its conflicting theologies. The bishops advanced their rival beliefs, sometimes with violence and worldly practices, until finally the disunity of the church on top of the disunity of the empire added a further peril which pagan emperors could not endure. The church had grown numerous by the middle of the third century and exercised some power upon the public mind, and Diocletian determined to break it with persecution and bring it into alignment with his unifying programme. This was the harshest and most widespread persecution which the church endured; but the persecution failed in its object, so that subsequent emperors, chiefly Constantine, took the more subtle line of drawing the church into alliance with the State. This process of elevating the church to “heaven” necessitated the calling of the Council of Nicea in 325, over which Constantine personally presided and used his persuasiveness to bring the church to agreement upon its new creed. Politics of a high order were introduced into religion, and the corruption of ethics and doctrines was inevitable. The consequences have been disastrous to truth, as we are well aware.
This pattern of first moral and political corruption, followed by doctrinal apostasy, all throughout the succeeding centuries fills volumes of ecclesiastical history. As a body of believers of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus we cannot afford to be ignorant of this development. It affects us deeply.
The corruption of the world all around us needs no stressing, except that in this state the world is desperately in need of the salvation which only Christ Jesus is able to bring to it. In this matter the call to the service of our Lord places upon us the obligation to let the light of the gospel shine outward from our small communities, to show the beneficent influence of the light of Christ’s teachings upon a true way of life. The world with its violence, seemly morals, perfidious conduct, partyism and shady politics, its pressure group and communist cell activities, must not be allowed to impart the slightest colour to our ecclesial practices, for if the faintest shadow of these things is allowed to influence them it will destroy the value of our work and bring us down to the level to which Christendom has fallen. If we hold ourselves above these things we shall be blessed indeed.
But in order to hold aloof it is necessary to exercise a balanced judgment about the various factors that make up our ecclesial thinking. During the first half of this century we were unbalanced by undue emphasis upon doctrine and theology, which led to no small controversy, just as it did in the early centuries; fortunately this phase has been modified, although some would like to have it continued. The period between two world wars excited excess attention to exposition of prophecy with wrong expectations that caused some disappointment and public scorn; there are some others intent upon continuing this line. But now there is a growing trend to give more attention to the Christ’s way of life. There are not wanting those who regard this emphasis on ethics as a weakness—as a sidestepping of the hard instruction of doctrine.
But a fair reading of scripture and the light of history together will show how necessary it is to bring a balanced judgment to bear upon all aspects of revealed truth. The ecclesia is far from immune from the influence of its worldly environment. Satan’s conquests over the ecclesiastical institutions of the past should provide a warning to us to avoid the mistakes of the past and rather give heed to the “whole counsel of God”. Our mental limitations make us as individuals prone to follow exclusive lines, but as a body we should be able to follow a complete line that will give effect to all the requirements of the Lord.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One