Last Month’s Editorial (10/98, p. 361) commented on the practical impact of believing the one hope. Discussion was prompted by a concern many are experiencing as the Bible seminars attract interested friends who are receptive to sound Bible instruction but who are not following through to full commitment in baptism. Increased Bible knowledge is good, and a necessary prerequisite because, to be saved, we must believe the “things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12).
Only when we are equipped with such a faith does baptism reconcile us to God and relate us to the promise of eternal life.
But the knowledge by itself, does not save. We must act; we must repent, be baptized and then faithfully live as disciples of Christ. Our concern is how can we help motivate people to such action.
A letter to the editor this month responds to our concern by suggesting friends interested by our instruction must also see in us the gospel come alive. While we may feel uncomfortable with the comments made, a vital chord is struck because we are urging our friends not only to be baptized into Christ, but also into the fellowship of our community. That objective is right: “For as the [human] body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free” (I Cor. 12:12-13). Immersion involves baptism into Christ and into the community of the saints. This is the first principle doctrine of the one body which should be part of our primary instruction.
God’s deliberate choice
Joining the local ecclesia may not seem to us the wisest course for our potential new brother or sister. We may feel he could better spend his time preaching to his friends in his former religious group. We may feel that could be a more effective way of spreading the Truth. But this is not God’s design.
We may be concerned about the variety of personalities our new brother/sister will have to deal with in the local ecclesia. Can you imagine the situation in New Testament times when slave owners found they would be associating on an equal basis with slaves? Imagine the fear of telling the Jewish convert he is now to meet in full fellowship with Gentiles, visiting in their homes and sharing meals at the same table?
Part of our first-principle instruction should be that any person who believes the Truth and commits himself to living it, must not be refused. He may come from a background that is radically different from our own. We may find associating with him uncomfortable and would prefer ecclesias were divided along ethnic, social or economic lines. But this is not God’s design. Believers are to put aside social differences and are to be bound into one fellowship by their baptism into the one body.
Each has a part to contribute
“The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” (I Cor. 12:21). The doctrine of the one body should have great impact on conduct. When we become part of the body, our performance affects every other part of the body and the performance of the other parts affects us.
The point is clear enough with respect to our natural bodies; it should be equally as clear with respect to the spiritual. We help to convey this teaching in our first principle instruction by involving others in the process. While we may feel we can handle the entire situation ourselves, that is not the way God has intended life in Christ to operate. Each member of the ecclesia has a part to contribute. And everyone is dependent to some extent on the effective contribution of others in the community.
We need also to respect the strengths of those being instructed, building in them a confidence that they can be useful members of the body of Christ. In the teacher-pupil relationship, sometimes the pupil feels as if he knows nothing and the teacher knows everything. Yet many times those we are instructing contribute excellent thoughts and observations and they should be acknowledged for their useful input An attitude of trust and respect is the basis upon which future relationships are built.
The family of God
Baptism unites one with a new family. This simple point is part of the doctrine of God manifestation which is a vital teaching setting the Truth apart from error. In the wonder of His gracious generosity, the Father includes into His name not only His Son, but also the angels and all those who come to Him in faith. Our understanding of this matter clarifies many otherwise difficult portions of scripture and identifies where christendom has gone astray in its teaching.
But our knowledge should do more; it should impact our words, attitudes and actions as we manifest the moral attributes of the family of God: compassion, patience, humility and a fervent love for the Father of the family. If we are people who have truly been reborn by the word of God, it should show. Our correspondent suggests we should personally reflect “the dynamic power to change our lives which only the true Gospel holds.”
Fractured families
In today’s world, many of our friends have personal experience with divided homes. Principles governing life in the family of God provide the perfect antidote to the divisive spirit plaguing many families: “God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it” (I Cor. 12:25-26). If these principles of mutual respect, care and empathy exist in a family, it will be better able to weather storms of trial and temptation. In association with ourselves, may our friends see the love and unity which should characterize family life in the Lord.
Yet all involved in first-principle instruction know the great difficulty of explaining the division in the Christadelphian community. Our differences seem so small compared to the great doctrines held in common and which our friends have come to see separate us from other Christian denominations. May the Father and the Son help to heal the breech in accordance with the Son’s appeal that all who believe in him may be one in his name.
Effective gospel proclamation involves good teaching in more ways than one. The Lord whom we follow had great power of utterance, but perhaps more importantly, as our correspondent notes, “He was his message!” May this be true of ourselves as well.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One