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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman NeeEvery local church should receive all kinds of genuine believers in Christ (Rom. 14:1-6; 15:1-7). We have no right to give up any believer, unless he is divisive. When a believer becomes divisive, he is divided from the church already. But as long as a believer is not divisive, we should not give him up. If a believer prefers to keep the Sabbath whereas we take the Lord’s Day, or if he eats only vegetables whereas we eat every kind of food, we still must receive him. We must receive him because God has received him (Rom. 14:3) and because Christ has received him (Rom. 15:7). We must receive every believer in Christ according to Christ (Rom. 15:5). (Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 45) Therefore, a local church must include all kinds of God’s children who seek the Lord. It must include the brothers who sell everything as well as the brothers who do not sell everything. We cannot include what is not in the Bible; otherwise, we will include the world. But we must include what is in the Bible; otherwise, we will separate and exclude some of God’s children. (Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 58) We do not become a church just by putting up the name of the local church. We become a church only when there is spiritual inclusiveness that includes all of the children of God. (Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 64) c. Three Things That Can Exclude a Believer from the Fellowship of a Local Church While the local church must include all the genuine believers in its locality, there are three specific things that can exclude a believer from the fellowship of a local church. Witness Lee, in faithfulness to the Scriptures, expounds on these three things—(1) being divisive, (2) being heretical, and (3) commiting gross sins and living in them: A believer can be kept away from the fellowship of a local church, that is, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, because of only three things. a. Being Divisive The first thing is being divisive, making divisions and causes of falling contrary to the apostles’ teaching (Rom. 16:17). In Romans 14 Paul said that we must receive all kinds of genuine believers, whether they keep certain days or consider every day alike, whether they eat herbs or eat meat (vv. 1-6). Then, in chapter fifteen Paul said that we must receive genuine believers according to Christ (vv. 5-7). In these portions of the Word, Paul was very broadminded, very generous, and, in a sense, very liberal. But at the end of chapter sixteen Paul said, “Now I beg you, brothers, keep a watchful eye on those who make divisions and causes of falling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.” These two things—the making of divisions and causes of falling—have been and still are going on among us. Thus, we need to keep a watchful eye on those who make divisions and causes of falling contrary to what we have learned of the apostles, and we must turn away from them. In dealing with the divisive ones, we must also take Paul’s word in Titus 3:10, “A factious man after the first and second admonition refuse.” A factious person is a divisive and sectarian person. According to Paul’s word in Romans 16:17 and in Titus 3:10, after the first and second admonitions, we must reject such persons and turn away from them. To do this is to quarantine such persons. To quarantine a person does not mean that we hate that person. If one member in a family became ill with a contagious disease, the rest of the family would need to quarantine him for the safety of the whole family. Otherwise, the entire family would be affected. Likewise, to practice Paul’s word in Romans 16:17 and in Titus 3:10 is to quarantine the divisive members in the Body of Christ. This is not my teaching; it is my presentation of the holy Word to you. b. Being Heretical The second thing for which a believer can be kept away from the fellowship of the church is being heretical, denying that Christ came in the flesh (2 John 7-11). This implies the denying of Christ’s redemptive work, which was accomplished by Christ in His flesh (Rom. 8:3; Col. 1:22). Teaching heresy is not merely a matter of teaching wrongly or differently. In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul said that he had urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order that he might charge certain ones not to teach differently. However, in 2 John 7-11, John was not referring to those who taught differently, but to those who taught heretically, denying that Christ came in the flesh, that is, denying Christ’s person in His humanity, and denying His redemptive work. They do not believe that Christ is both God and man who came in the flesh to accomplish redemption for us, the sinners. The apostle John said that if such a one comes to us, we should not receive him into our home, and we should not even greet him. Then John said that if we greet him, saying to him, “Rejoice,” we will share in his sin. This is not my word, but the word of the apostle John. Thus far, among us there is no one who is teaching heretically. However, there are some who are making divisions and causes of falling. c. Committing Gross Sins and Living in Them The third thing for which a believer can be kept away from the fellowship of a local church is the committing of gross sins and living in these sins, not being willing to repent of them and forsake them (1 Cor. 5:9-13). A person who commits gross sins in this way should be removed from the fellowship of the church. But once such a one would repent and forsake his sins, the church should forgive him and receive him into the fellowship of the church, that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan (2 Cor. 2:5-11). In his first Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul charged the church in Corinth to remove a sinful brother from the fellowship of the church. Later, this one repented, and the news came to Paul. Immediately, Paul wrote the second Epistle, charging the church to forgive this one and to receive him back. If we do not do this, we may be taken advantage of by Satan in that he might devour such a repentant one. (Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 45-48) | ||||