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A Serious
Warning to the Church Today
Wang Ming Tao
The writer has repeatedly
written to repudiate the wrong teachings of liberals and modernists and
warn believers to guard against these seducing, false teachers and their
false teachings. In recent years, it is indeed most heartening to see
many believers being gradually able to differentiate between Biblical
truths and fabricated, false doctrines. It is also most heartening to
see many Bible-believing Christians in many places having already
separated themselves from these seducing, false teachers and from the
churches or associations under their control.
On the other hand, we have
seen a most deplorable phenomenon: some Bible-believing Christians,
though having discerned between truth and error, are still associating
with these false teachers who preach false doctrines and with the
churches and associations dominated by them. If these believers had not
been able to discern the error of false teachings, I would not have
blamed them in the least. But now, despite having clearly seen how wrong
and how dangerous the false teachings of these false teachers are, they
still associate themselves with these false teachers and the groups
under their control. This is indeed most unpardonable.
Are these believers the
only ones who do such a thing? Are not many workers for God and many
leaders of so-called doctrinally sound churches also doing the same?
Have we not often seen many preachers and church leaders, who profess to
be doctrinally sound, go to participate in one mass meeting or another
convened by the liberals? Have not many fundamental preachers joined
hands with so-called “social gospel” leaders in promoting all kinds of
joint ventures? Have not many conservative churches often invited
liberal leaders as lecturers and counsellors? Have we not often seen
many believers and preachers, who profess to be evangelical, rally to
the support of the liberal leaders as soon as the latter initiate some
sort of movement? And have we not often seen so-called doctrinally sound
churches sending students to theological seminaries to receive
“modernist” education at the hands of liberal teaching staff?
All these are unfaithful
acts in the sight of God. For the false teachings of the liberals
confuse the Word of God and are at enmity with God. To unite with
liberals is tantamount to rebellion against God. It is also very harmful
to man. Uniting with the liberals may enhance their prestige and status,
but it directly or indirectly has evil effects on many doctrinally weak
and uninformed believers.
If the leaders of a
church, though doctrinally sound, God-fearing and God-loving,
nevertheless fail to completely separate themselves from the liberals,
that church will never reach the stage of very fervent spirituality. “A
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). For the
leaders of a good church to participate in a mass meeting called by
liberals, or to join hands with liberals in promoting joint ventures, or
to invite liberals to lecture, or to introduce into the church all kinds
of movements and techniques initiated by liberals, is tantamount to
mixing a new lump with old yeast. The result will never be good.
Nothing is more welcome by
the Devil than sending young men and women, who fervently love the Lord
and desire to serve Him, to theological seminaries dominated by
liberals. Many such young men and women have been completely ruined in
the hands of such liberal theological professors. Several years ago, the
writer, on the last day of a series of preaching engagements in a big
city, personally heard the testimony of a theological student at a
testimony session. He said that before admission to the seminary, he
firmly believed in all the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. He was at
that time on fire for the Lord. Later, he entered the seminary, and
within two years, he doubted and put a question mark on almost every
fundamental doctrine he had believed before! At the same time, his
fervent spirit became completely cold. He praised the Lord and thanked
Him for having now led him out of darkness into light. This is only one
of many similar instances. How sad and how deplorable!
God wants us to make a
definite decision. Are we willing to stand on His side? If so, we should
completely separate ourselves from liberal churches and associations and
their leaders who resist the truth. If we cannot do so, then let us not
tell others that we are Bible-believing and that our churches are
doctrinally sound. God does not want to use those who sit on the wall
with both hands holding people on both sides of the wall. God wants us
to declare very clearly where we stand. What He said through His servant
Elijah in the days of old to those vacillating Israelites, He is still
saying to these double-minded believers and their leaders today. “How
long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but
if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). God hates those who worship
Him and yet burn incense before the altar of Baal. God's servants cannot
compromise with the prophets of Baal, let alone join hands with them.
Similarly, believers who
faithfully serve God cannot compromise with liberals, let alone join
hands with them. When these leaders who profess to be doctrinally sound
and Bible-believing co-operates with the liberals, many believers are
greatly deceived by the liberals and suffer great harm. Heavy indeed is
the responsibility of these church leaders who worship the Lord and Baal
at the same time because of the sins thus committed.
Some will certainly argue:
“If we do exactly and so thoroughly as you have said, don't we offend
many people and meet with much difficulty?” You are perfectly right. If
we really want to have a clean break from the liberals, we are certain
to face ridicule, contempt, attack and persecution from many people. For
this we shall be ridiculed for being superstitious, depraved,
retrogressive, narrow-minded, and not magnanimous enough. We may even be
accused of being malicious and deliberately creating trouble. But what
does it matter? As long as God is pleased with us, it is enough. What is
the use of our being welcomed by the whole world if God is displeased
with us? Ought the servants of God be unfaithful to Him and disobey His
commandments because of the fear of offending men? If you fear offending
men, you may offend God. If you fear offending God, then do not fear
offending men. In this respect, the Apostle Paul has given us an
excellent example. Hear what he said: “Do I now persuade men, or God? or
do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the
servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
There is in the Bible a
very serious teaching, telling us how we should keep away from those who
forsake the truth and preach false doctrines. 2 John 9-11 tells us:
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both
the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this
doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
You see, to bid these
seducing, false teachers God speed is to become a partaker of their evil
deeds. Is it not worse to unite with them? Having read this passage of
the Scripture and learnt its teaching, we know that it is indeed great
wickedness for God's people to unite with liberals who preach false
doctrines, or to join their assemblies, or to invite them to preach, or
to send students to be taught by them.
The forces of sin are
increasing with the passage of time, so is Satan intensifying his
activities. The call of God to His Church is becoming clearer and
clearer. O men of God, rise up quickly and obey His command: “Earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” and
“fight the good fight of faith.”
Wang Ming Tao (1900 -
1991) was known as China's "Man of Iron," who suffered 23 years of
imprisonment by the Communist government for his uncompromising
defence of the Gospel.
- Published in
Bible Witness,
Vol 3 Issue 3 (July - September 2003)
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