It is fashionable in some segments of Christadelphia to devalue the work of Bro. John Thomas.
On occasion one might hear comments such as, “I don’t need to read anything written by Dr. Thomas, the Bible is good enough for me;” or “He was just flesh and as fallible as any man.” Perhaps we’ve heard “His writing is just too difficult and old-fashioned.”
Bro. Thomas was not inspired, he was not a prophet, he received no vision; there were no “golden plates,” he was not infallible. Why should we bother to read and respect the works of a man who has been dead for more than a century? An example of why we should can be found in a letter to Bro. Thomas from one of his contemporaries published in the Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come under the caption “Good Wishes.”
“The following is from one who is now a worthy brother in the faith; but formerly, like ourselves, groping in the darkness of Scotto-Campbellite speculation. The writer says:
“Dear Brother, I feel very grateful to you for your able and independent advocacy of ‘the truth as it is in Jesus.’ May our Heavenly Father increase your ability in the fearless and courageous defense of His holy word from the traditions of men. Be encouraged, dear brother. But for you, those of us who believe with you the glorious gospel of the kingdom to be established at the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, would be now in Egyptian darkness. We owe you a debt of gratitude we can never pay. But our Heavenly Father will; for He is able to give you all things with life eternal. Blessed be his Holy name for His great mercy to sward. May He long preserve you to defend His truth to His appearing in His kingdom is the prayer of, Yours, Sincerely,
Thomas Hamlin
Nottoway, Va., Feb. 7, 1860
(Vol. X. No. 5, p.112).”1
Our debt to Bro. Thomas
We, too, should honor Bro. Thomas as did Bro. Hamlin. In the writer’s opinion, he was a man providentially raised up for this work. Because of this, we owe him honor in the same fashion that the apostle Paul urges the Thessalonians, “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (I Thess. 5:12-13).
This statement does not mean that Bro. Thomas was inspired or that there is nothing left of the Bible to be known. He would be the last one to say that the Bible should be laid aside in favor of man’s pronouncements. The beauty of the Bible is that it can be studied for a lifetime without plumbing its every depth. Let us recognize, however, that the doctrines of Truth are known. We no longer need to agonize over our theology. Matters of fundamental belief are settled. The time for debate, uncertainty and recovery are past. Our duty as believers is to now preserve and defend the faith that has been recovered from apostate Christianity.
In addition to setting forth the first principles, Bro. Thomas left a legacy for the Christadelphian community -certain things that have become traditions.
The authority of the Bible
Foremost of these traditions is that the Bible is the supreme authority on all matters of doctrine and conduct. The Christadelphian community does not recognize the ecclesiastical authority of any man; we have no priesthood, minister or church hierarchy. “Let the example of the noble-minded Bereans be ours. They searched the scriptures daily to see if the things taught by the apostles were worthy of belief; ‘therefore they believed.’ If, then, not even the preaching of an apostle was credited unaccompanied by scriptural investigation, is it not infinitely more incumbent on us that we should bring to a like test the opinions and precepts of the uninspired and fallible professional theologists of our day?” (Elpis Israel, p. 6, 14th edition).
As Christadelphians it is our solemn duty to read and study God’s word, to make it the supreme authority in our lives. This means not just knowing God’s Word, but doing it. We cannot truly be Christ’s brethren unless we are faithful doers of his word. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
Because the Bible is our authority, Christadelphians should shun any dealings with false religion or the corrupt institutions of the world (II Cor 6:14-18).
Simplicity of worship
It is our tradition to worship God in simplicity. Christadelphians shun the corrupt and unscriptural practices of so-called Christianity. We have no professional clergy, no elaborate ceremony. For more than a decade after the writing of Elpis Israel, it was not even considered necessary to formally adopt a name for the group of believers who were eventually called Christadelphians.
The group of believers associated with Bro. Thomas when he lived in New York City organized themselves formally with the name The Royal Association of Believers. When the association wrote its constitution in 1854 it consisted of only 11 articles concerning its operation. The service specified in this constitution varies little from the way Christadelphian ecclesias of today operate. Quoting from article 3:
Objects of the Association: “We, the Undersigned, whose scriptural position is defined in No. 2, Do Hereby confederate ourselves into a visible association, for the weekly remembrance of the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread; for the celebration of the high praises of God; for the reading of the Scriptures; for the support and proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom; and for mutual assistance in time of need” (Herald of the Kingdom, Vol. IV., No. 1, p. 11).
Proclaiming the gospel
It is a pioneer tradition to preach the Truth.
“When men’s hearts are opened by the Lord’s truth, it opens their doors and their purses; and they use their means, their money, their tongues, and their influence, to bring the truth to the very door post of their contemporaries. The truth is expansive in its effects upon the hearts of believers. They cannot shut it up, and hide it, as it were in a napkin. It must find vent in some way; so that if they cannot plead for it publicly, or being prophets at home are without honor, they will do the best they can in conversation to make it understood, they will spare no pains and expenses within their ability to procure a public testimony in its behalf, and will leave no endeavor untried to collect the people together to hear the word explained for faith and practice” (The Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Vol. I. No.1, p. 68).
Bro. Thomas answers the question, “What is the duty of brethren in relation to the proclamation of the truth?”
“As to the duty of brethren in relation to the proclamation of the truth, we would remark that our own practice is an illustration of our conviction of their duty and privilege… Have we been ‘specially called and sent’ to draw the bow? We have had no dream, nor heard any voice which they have not heard. Did they then, ever hear that we were called to do what they are privileged not to do? Have they not heard the voice of the Spirit as well as we, saying ‘Let him that understandeth say, come!’ And they know that the Spirit saith, ‘He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Ecclesias.’ We confess that we cannot perceive that we are bound to wear ourselves out by much labor, while they are free to ‘fold their arms in complacent quietude,’ doing nothing” (The Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Vol. VIII., No. 12, pp. 270).
The duty of the Christadelphian today is no less than it was in the last century. We have the obligation to speak out for the Truth at every appropriate opportunity. It is not necessary for us to travel to some foreign land to proclaim the gospel. The harvest is plentiful wherever we are..
Pastoral care
As important as our duty is to proclaim the Truth it is only one facet of our responsibility to Christ. It is good to remember that those who have newly come into the Truth should not be neglected. The apostolic example was to nurture those who were newly come to the Truth that they might grow strong in the Lord.
When a balanced approach is maintained our ecclesias will be sturdy lamp stands reflecting God’s glory and sustaining his children.
Bro. Robert Roberts shows the balanced duties of the ecclesia in article 12 of The Ecclesial Guide: “The objects of ecclesial operations are twofold: 1) the edification (or refreshment, encouragement, strengthening, or building up) of its individual constituents in the faith, ‘the edifying of itself in love’ (Eph. 4:16); and 2) the exhibition of the light of truth to ‘those that are without.’ In this two-fold capacity, the ecclesia is ‘the pillar (that which upholds) and ground (that which gives standing room) of the truth’ (I Tim. 3:15).”
The spirit of commitment
Bro. Thomas devoted his time, his money and his life to the Truth. He traveled extensively in preaching the Truth, even risking his life. When we read of his commitment to the Truth, we ask ourselves, “How much does the Truth really mean to me?” Bro. Thomas was truly a man who had discovered a “pearl of great price” and was willing to sacrifice everything for it. Here is a worthy tradition for today’s Christadelphian to emulate. Let us seek to capture that pioneer spirit in which we are willing to sacrifice our time, money and even our lives should it be necessary.
How can we do this?
First we must be devoted students of the word of God. We must drink deeply of that fountain of spiritual knowledge found in the scriptures.
We must preach the Truth. Many of our internal problems would shrink to insignificance if the whole ecclesia would pull together for the proclamation of the gospel to a perishing world.
We must live the Truth. The gospel is not merely an academic exercise in how much we can know about the Bible. The doctrines of the Bible must be engraved on our hearts as well as our minds. The blessing is not simply to “him that watcheth;” but to him that “watcheth and lceepeth his garments.”
If our lives are not examples of faith in action, let us resolve to make them so. For our Lord, when He returns, will expect his servants to be engaged in His business and not their own. Let us resolve to live the pioneer tradition.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One