STRAIGHT PATHS For The CHILDREN OF GOD.
Plain words concerning:
SECTARIANISM.
The
Word of God teaches:-The Church of God is one body {Eph. 4:4}; all Christians
are members of it {I Cor. 12:13}; Sectarianism, which is "schism" in the body
of Christ, is sin {Cor. I Cor. 1:10}; Christ is the centre of gathering;
believers ought not to meet on the ground of any doctrine or truth, however
precious, nor should they assemble in the name of any man, sect or party {Matt.
18:19, 20}; liberty should be afforded for the exercise of the "gifts" bestowed
by the risen and ascended Head of the Church {Cor. 14:31}; the hope of the
Christian is the return of the Lord Jesus to take His people to be with Himself
{Titus 2:13}.
THE NEW BIRTH
.
Nicodemus, the learned Jewish rabbi, was startled by
Christ’s declaration-"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be
born again he cannot se the Kingdom of God" {John 3.3}. Though educated, moral,
and religious, the Lord Jesus, in answer to his enquiry, emphasized His
statement in the words- "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye MUST be born
again" {v.7}. What is the reason of this necessity? Some look upon it as an
arbitrary decree on the part of God to hinder earnest, seeking souls from
obtaining salvation. This is a great mistake. There is a moral necessity for
regeneration. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" {v.6}, and can never
be anything else. Cultivate it, improve it, religionize it, it is still
"flesh." If one were taken to Heaven without being "born of God" {1 John 5.1},
he would be wretched and miserable. The carnal mind -"or the mind of the
flesh"- is enmity against God, for it is not "subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be; so them they that are in the flesh cannot please God"
{Romans 8.7,8}. All of us by nature are "children of wrath" {Eph. 2. 3}. Some
imagine that they were born into the world "Christians," but they are mistaken.
We were all born sinners to start with. "Through the one man’s
disobedience, the many were made sinners" {Romans 5. 19. R. V.} By the fall of
Adam the many-that is all of us -were made, or constituted sinners. If we were
to ask a Sunday School class "What is a sinner"? most likely the reply given
would be "one who sins." But the answer does not go deep enough. Men are
constituted sinners by virtue of what they are, not on account of what they do.
Men sin because they are sinners. No one is guilty of Adam’s
transgression, though all suffer on account of it. An apple tree is an apple
tree in January as much as it is in September when it is laden with golden
fruit. Because it is an apple tree it bears apples. The new birth is an
absolute necessity in order to be a child of God.