 |
|
Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
First, if a church is really standing on the ground
of locality as set forth in the Bible, she must receive all whom the Lord has
received. Romans 15:7 says, “Therefore receive one another, as Christ also
received you to the glory of God.” Here we see one thing: The receiving of a
Christian is based upon the receiving of Christ—that is, we should receive one
another as Christ has received us. In other words, we cannot refuse those whom
Christ has received. If a sinner has been received by Christ, we must receive
him as a brother. If we do not receive a man whom Christ has received,
immediately we are a sect, not the church.
What is a church? A church receives all whom Christ
has received in one locality. God is not as concerned with those who live in
Shanghai receiving the brothers in Nanking or Chungking as He is about them
receiving the brothers in their locality. We must receive all whom Christ has
received. If we want to determine whether or not the church in Tientsin is a
church, all we have to do is see whether or not it receives all those who are
saved in Tientsin. Suppose the brothers in Tientsin want to be selective; they
only want to receive a certain type of people who have been received by Christ
and not another type of people who also have been received by Christ. Then
that is not the church. We cannot say that we receive those who are the same
as us, while we do not receive those who are not the same as us. We cannot
fail to receive one whom the Lord has received for any reason; otherwise, we
are not the church.
…“Him who is weak in faith receive,…for God has
received him” (Rom. 14:1, 3). Suppose someone is a vegetarian. We may consider
that he is very weak. However, the basis for receiving is whether or not God
has received him, not whether he is strong or weak. Perhaps he is a weak
brother, but we still must receive him. God already has received him without
regard for his strength or weakness; therefore, we must receive him as well.
The fundamental fellowship of a church in a locality is based upon the
fellowship of God. We must receive a brother whom God has received. We cannot
have any reason to refuse him; otherwise, we are a sect, not a church. The
church in a locality is based on a receiving that is as broad as God and also
as strict as God: Whomever God receives, we receive; whomever God does not
receive, we do not receive. The universal church receives all whom God has
received in the whole world; a local church receives all whom God has received
in a locality. No matter how different a brother is from us or how far short
he is of our standard, there is only one requirement for us to receive
him—that is, has God received him? If God has received him, we must receive
him. Therefore, a local church—we must be very clear about this—must take the
life of Christ and faith in God as the basis for receiving believers. Apart
from this we do not have any other demands. If we make other demands as
certain requirements, we are a sect just like any other sect. A sect is
condemned and is therefore a very serious matter.
Does this mean that we must receive all believers in
a locality without any reservations? No! A church in a locality must not only
receive all whom Christ has received in that locality, but must also exercise
church discipline. What is this discipline? When a brother who has been
received by the Lord commits something that requires the Lord to exclude him
from fellowship, we too must exercise discipline upon him. We should not say
that we want all whom the Lord wants and all whom the Lord does not want. If
the Lord puts a certain one into the world, yet we put him into the church, we
open a door to the world in the church. As a result, there will be no boundary
between the church and the world; the wall between them will be torn down by
us.
We often use this illustration: When a boat is at
sea, the boat and the sea cannot have fellowship. As soon as they begin to
have fellowship, the boat will begin to sink into the sea. Likewise, if a hole
is drilled in the church, the line of separation between the church and the
world will disappear. Therefore, the local church must exercise discipline; it
must have disciplinary action in order to be a local church.
Next Page
|
|
|
|
|
