Local congregations of Christ and the individuals who comprise them,
send forth an unshakable plea to the ends of the earth. The appeal is
distinct from any statement made by any other religious body on the face
of the earth. In a world that is flooded with religious error and compromise,
the plea is refreshing like spring rain falling on roses soon to perish from
drought. What is "Our Plea?"
We appeal to the denominational world to lay aside all religious
creeds and accept the sacred scriptures as the only rule of faith and
practice. God has given us the new covenant which is "the pattern of
sound words," and we are to follow it. (2 Tim. 1:13; ESV) It came
from God's mind, was revealed by the Holy Spirit and preached by
the apostles and evangelists who lived in the first century.
(Jno. 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10-13; Eph. 3:5; 1 Thess. 2:13) The new
covenant is perfect in every way and nothing needs to be added to
it or taken from it. (Gal. 1:6-9; Jas. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:3) It will be the
written standard of judgment on the last day. (Jno. 12:48;
Rom. 2:16) Therefore, we urge that the Methodist disciplines,
the Baptist manuals, and the catechisms and dogmas of Roman
Catholicism be abandoned posthaste! They are in part, the
bases for religious division, strife, and unbelief. Anything less than the
scriptures is too little. Anything more than the scriptures is too much.
Anything that claims to be equal to the scriptures is blasphemous and
unnecessary!
We appeal to the religious world to lay aside denominational
language, and to call bible things by bible names. The new covenant
never speaks of "baptizing by means of sprinkling, pouring, and/or
immersion." Immersion is the action authorized by God's word. The
very act itself is a portrayal of a burial and resurrection, neither of which
is pictured by sprinkling and pouring. (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12) The new
covenant never speaks of the Lord's Supper as a "sacrament." It is
called the breaking of bread; the Lord's Supper; and a communion
or participation in the body and blood of Jesus. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16;
11:20) The new covenant never calls God's people by such sectarian
names as Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, or any
of the other designations of the denominational world. The name by
which the believers honored Christ is Christian. (Acts 11:26; 26:28;
1 Pet. 4:16)
We appeal to religious leaders and their followers to respect the
silence of the scriptures. God's word teaches us that we do not have
the right to do what God has not revealed. We only have the right to
act in harmony with divine revelation. We must "speak the very words
of God." (1 Pet. 4:11) We must act on what God has commanded.
(1 Cor. 14:37) We cannot know God's will unless he tells us. He has
told us his will by the words that constitute the new covenant. (1 Cor.
2:10-13; 1 Thess. 2:13) Silence does not authorize one to act; it
prohibits in that one must not do "what the scriptures do not say."
We ask, "What says the scriptures; what is written?" (Rom.3:4,10;
4:3) Jesus could not be a priest on earth because he was from the
tribe of Judah, and Moses spoke nothing about priests from Judah!
(Heb. 7:14) We may not use instrumental music in worship because
God has not told us to use such in the worship of the New
Testament period. (Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12; Jas. 5:13)
We appeal to the religious world at large to refuse to practice
anything that God does not authorize by direct statements, approved
accounts of apostolic action, or the implication of the sacred text.
(Acts 15; Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17) Therefore, we urge that women elders
and preachers, religious titles of distinction, church sponsored
recreation and entertainment, and a myriad of other unauthorized
practices be eulogized as false, taken to the cemetery of apostacy,
and buried beneath the pile of departures from the apostolic pattern,
and a grave marker be erected that reads, "Here lies the not so dearly
departed and we pray that they never be resurrected again!" This,
dear friends, is "Our Plea."
RD
Copyright 2011
send forth an unshakable plea to the ends of the earth. The appeal is
distinct from any statement made by any other religious body on the face
of the earth. In a world that is flooded with religious error and compromise,
the plea is refreshing like spring rain falling on roses soon to perish from
drought. What is "Our Plea?"
We appeal to the denominational world to lay aside all religious
creeds and accept the sacred scriptures as the only rule of faith and
practice. God has given us the new covenant which is "the pattern of
sound words," and we are to follow it. (2 Tim. 1:13; ESV) It came
from God's mind, was revealed by the Holy Spirit and preached by
the apostles and evangelists who lived in the first century.
(Jno. 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10-13; Eph. 3:5; 1 Thess. 2:13) The new
covenant is perfect in every way and nothing needs to be added to
it or taken from it. (Gal. 1:6-9; Jas. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:3) It will be the
written standard of judgment on the last day. (Jno. 12:48;
Rom. 2:16) Therefore, we urge that the Methodist disciplines,
the Baptist manuals, and the catechisms and dogmas of Roman
Catholicism be abandoned posthaste! They are in part, the
bases for religious division, strife, and unbelief. Anything less than the
scriptures is too little. Anything more than the scriptures is too much.
Anything that claims to be equal to the scriptures is blasphemous and
unnecessary!
We appeal to the religious world to lay aside denominational
language, and to call bible things by bible names. The new covenant
never speaks of "baptizing by means of sprinkling, pouring, and/or
immersion." Immersion is the action authorized by God's word. The
very act itself is a portrayal of a burial and resurrection, neither of which
is pictured by sprinkling and pouring. (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12) The new
covenant never speaks of the Lord's Supper as a "sacrament." It is
called the breaking of bread; the Lord's Supper; and a communion
or participation in the body and blood of Jesus. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16;
11:20) The new covenant never calls God's people by such sectarian
names as Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, or any
of the other designations of the denominational world. The name by
which the believers honored Christ is Christian. (Acts 11:26; 26:28;
1 Pet. 4:16)
We appeal to religious leaders and their followers to respect the
silence of the scriptures. God's word teaches us that we do not have
the right to do what God has not revealed. We only have the right to
act in harmony with divine revelation. We must "speak the very words
of God." (1 Pet. 4:11) We must act on what God has commanded.
(1 Cor. 14:37) We cannot know God's will unless he tells us. He has
told us his will by the words that constitute the new covenant. (1 Cor.
2:10-13; 1 Thess. 2:13) Silence does not authorize one to act; it
prohibits in that one must not do "what the scriptures do not say."
We ask, "What says the scriptures; what is written?" (Rom.3:4,10;
4:3) Jesus could not be a priest on earth because he was from the
tribe of Judah, and Moses spoke nothing about priests from Judah!
(Heb. 7:14) We may not use instrumental music in worship because
God has not told us to use such in the worship of the New
Testament period. (Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12; Jas. 5:13)
We appeal to the religious world at large to refuse to practice
anything that God does not authorize by direct statements, approved
accounts of apostolic action, or the implication of the sacred text.
(Acts 15; Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17) Therefore, we urge that women elders
and preachers, religious titles of distinction, church sponsored
recreation and entertainment, and a myriad of other unauthorized
practices be eulogized as false, taken to the cemetery of apostacy,
and buried beneath the pile of departures from the apostolic pattern,
and a grave marker be erected that reads, "Here lies the not so dearly
departed and we pray that they never be resurrected again!" This,
dear friends, is "Our Plea."
RD
Copyright 2011
We ask, "What says the scriptures; what is written?" (Rom.:4,10; 4:3)
ReplyDeleteRom. 3:4,10 is the passage referenced.
Amen to the article brother!