My Reasons for not being free to engage in Inter-Denominational Services

by the late W. Trew

(This is a copy of an address given in Shield’s Road, Motherwell in 1954)
(Submitted by J. D. McColl, Australia)

PART 4

On one occasion a brother invited me to have lunch with him. I did not know at the time he was simply seeking the opportunity to have a talk with me about this matter, to upbraid me concerning my attitude of mind to it. He commenced by saying that I ought to go into denominations, not only to preach the Gospel but also to teach believers there. But after being faced with what I have now told you, he said, “I can now understand that you cannot go into these places to teach, but you ought to go to preach the Gospel, simply as an evangelist.” But that loses sight of my responsibility to any who would be saved as the result of my preaching, as well as my responsibility toward my fellow-believers who are in these places. Let me take the second of these first. We have no monopoly of the truth of God. The truth that God has graciously given us belongs to all our precious fellow-saints and we have a definite responsibility to communicate it to all of them. But I cannot do that by preaching in their denominations.

Then I have a very special responsibility to those whom I lead to the Saviour. But that I cannot discharge within the limits of the denomination. Here is another case that will serve to illustrate this. We have with us a young brother, full of activity and spiritual initiative. He was, before the war, in an assembly which was very dull and apathetic. The conditions of war took him away from home, and put him into touch with some live energetic assemblies. Then the war ended, and circumstances required that he should return home. He found it impossible to settle down again to the same old apathy and deadness in the home assembly, and he wondered what he ought to do. Just then he heard of a group of Christian men of all denominations in the town, who were preaching the Gospel inter-denominationally and getting blessing. So, thinking that he might be able to do something useful, he joined with them. In one series of meetings in which he took part, some souls professed to be saved. Immediately he felt that he was responsible to teach them further. But when he did so, the harmony of the band of workers was destroyed. Then he realised that he must make a choice. Either he should work with the band inter-denominationally and restrict himself to Gospel preaching, or else he must break with the band and be faithful to the terms of the commission. He made the decision, and returning to the assembly, he began to pour his life into it. And since these days, the assembly has been greatly prospered of God, many have been saved and saints have been led on in the ways of God.

Against all of this, it has been urged that Paul went into the synagogues, and therefore we ought to go into denominations to preach. The two things are not at all parallel, and therefore, on the basis that Paul entered synagogues to preach, we cannot argue that we should go into denominations. Temple and synagogue were connected with the only religion God has ever given to men. When God was about to reveal Himself as He has now done, in the full revelation of the Christian faith, Judaism was set aside by God, morally in the death of Christ, doctrinally in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and publicly in the destruction of Jerusalem. The Acts of the Apostles covers the transitional period between the two administrations and during that period the Gospel was “To the Jew first” and then to the Gentile. In obedience to this, Paul went to the synagogue, until in Acts 19 a point of crisis was reached. “He went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus; and this continued by the space of two years.” The word translated “Separated” is a strong one which means that “He placed them apart and built fences about them.” (Strong’s Conc.). And from that day, Paul never entered a synagogue again, as far as we are told in the Scriptures.

But Christendom, in the multitude of its parties and sects, exists today, as the result of apostasy from the Word and Ways of God, as is clearly proved by the letters preserved for us in Rev.2,3. And its future is foretold in Rev.17.

Therefore the cases are not at all parallel, and we cannot justify inter-denominational service on the basis that, at one time, Paul entered synagogues to preach.

The passage in 1Cor.9.19-23, in which the apostle says that “I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some,” has been pressed into service by some in a way that is a libel upon the character of that faithful, devoted servant of Christ, and almost an accusation that he was prepared to compromise the truth of God, in the interests of the Gospel. So far from that being the case, in that very passage the Apostle guards himself against every such accusation, by saying, “But under law to Christ,” or as another has translated his words “In lawful subjection to Christ.” As to any privilege of his own, he could give it up in the interest of souls and the Gospel. He could not give up that in which he was bound in duty to God. He had no liberty in that which belonged to another, but with regard to anything which was simply his own right, he could, and did, give it up, that by all means he might save men. To use the passage as it has been used by some, is a cruel slander of Paul and is in itself proof of what I have contended, that inter-denominational service makes necessary a compromise of the truth of God. So much so, that you cannot share in inter-denominational activity without being willing to compromise. But those to whom the Master has entrusted His goods, the precious deposit of truth, must be faithful to their trust. Truth is not theirs to compromise. “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.”

On one occasion the disciples came to the Lord Jesus and John said, “Master, we saw one casting out demons in Thy Name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” And Jesus said unto him, “Forbid him not; for he that is not against us is for us.” Do not let us get the matter wrong. It was not a question in John’s mind of “He followeth not us.” John’s difficulty was that he was not following the Lord. Brethren, we must not speak against those who seem to be getting blessing. Let us rejoice unfeignedly that Christ is preached, and let us pray that the Gospel preached will be blessed of God to the salvation of many and that the saved ones will be led on in the ways of God.

But when we have done that, can we link up with inter-denominational movements, of which there are so many?

Let me try to tell you what it will mean, if you do so. In a recent inter-denominational Gospel Campaign, more than 40% of the workers in the enquiry rooms and many members of the council were from the assemblies. They voluntarily associated themselves with women publicly testifying, with taking money from the unsaved in public collections, and many other things which they knew to be contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures, and consented to be bound by the sacred promise of the Campaign leader to direct all his converts to the existing denominations of their own choice.

Brethren, that is more than we dare do, unless we are prepared to give up all that we have learned of the truth of God, in what we suppose to be the interests of the Gospel.

WHAT WILL THE RESULT BE?

Encourage the saints to link up with these things, in inter-denominational interests and you will not be able to teach again the evils of sectarianism and of clerisy; and you will sacrifice your moral right to teach the truth of the New Testament concerning the assembly of God. Along that road lies the permanent loss of all that we have treasured as the truth committed to us of God and we shall rear amongst us a generation of believers who do not know and cannot see any difference between the assembly and a denomination. When the time comes for the burden of the responsibility of the assembly testimony to rest upon their shoulders, the character of the assembly will have been destroyed and what was once an “assembly of God” will have become nothing more than “a Gospel Hall.”

We today have a responsibility to the future generation, to hold inviolate all the precious truth of God and to pass it on to them complete. Our only safety lies in being content to be guided by the Scriptures, satisfied to live within the limits of the revealed will of God, whatever the consequences. The judgment seat of Christ is before us when “Every man’s work shall be made manifest” and “The fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” and “in that day” it will be faithfulness begotten of devotion to Christ that will count, and it will be sweet to hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

—Concluded