Should Separated Christians Preach in the Sects . . .

A Letter to a Fellow Believer in Christ

By the late E. Hughes (England)

Dear ——,

I have this morning received your letter, and hasten to reply to the question which you ask therein. You ask:

"Is it right for one who has been separated from sects , by the Word of God, and gathered unto the Name of the Lord, to go into sects or sectarian missions to preach, if invited to do so?" And you desire that I give you a "plain answer" to this question from God's Word. I shall endeavour to do so in all simplicity.

First, let me give a word of personal testimony. Many years ago, God, in His mercy, saved me from sin and hell. He also delivered me from Romanism and all other isms, and gave me His own Word as my guide and my counsellor. He gave me, at the time of my conversion, an intense love for His Word, and I began to read it and seek to be guided by it in everything, as His child. I learned, as I read the Word, that I was born of God, Jn.1.12,13, and His child, that He had given to me eternal life, 1Jn.5.13, and that, being in possession of it, I should never perish, Jn.10.28, none being able to pluck me from His hand.

I learned that I was dead and buried with Christ, Rom.6.4-6, and also risen with Him, Col.2.11-13, and that baptism in water, by immersion, is a figure of this, 1Pet.3.12. So, in obedience to the Word, I was baptised, Acts 10.47,48;18.8.

I learned that it is the desire of the Lord Jesus that His people should "Remember Him," and show forth His death in the breaking of bread, 1Col.11.23-25, on the first day of the week, Acts 20.7; that His saints gathered in His Name, apart from the world, should be together, Acts 2.44; that the Church is one body, Eph.4.4, not many, and that all the members have been set in their places by God, 1Cor.12.12,28, and have their special work to do. I saw that they, when so gathered, are to be led of the Spirit of God in their worship, 1Cor.12.11; 14.15-25, and that those who so gather are not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, Heb.13.12,13. As I sought to yield obedience to these simple and plain commandments of the Lord I found myself outside all denominations and every other system that is contrary to the path marked out in the Word for His people, and I found myself with those who had been led by the same Word and were seeking, as I was, to obey it. I remain where obedience to the Word has led me, and until I see from that Word that I am commanded by God to go into the sects and systems which men have formed, and of which I find nothing in the Word but condemnation, I must (and by grace I will) remain where I have been led by the Word of God. I have no inclination or desire to leave the happy position into which I have been brought, and in which I enjoy fellowship with God's saints in worship and service, to enter any place where such fellowship is impossible. I cannot worship God in such circles, because of the will and the ways of man displacing the Word and the way of God, and, for the same reasons, I cannot serve or preach there. Worship, in God's order, comes first, service next. We "draw near" to worship first, and "go forth" to serve, Heb.10.22;13.13, next. As a "holy priesthood," believers are to "offer up" their spiritual sacrifices, and then, as a royal priesthood, to show forth the virtues of Him who has called them, 1Pet.2.4-9. We are not at liberty to sever things that God has joined together. If I cannot go in and share in the worship of these sects, then I am unable to go and take part in service with them. And this is not because of no invitation being given — for I have had tempting invitations, with golden baits accompanying them — but simply because the Word of God, that severed me from all such religious systems, can never lead me back into them again, not even for a day or an hour. This is how the whole matter stands with me. I have no liberty to huckster or tone down the Word of God on this or any other subject; it has been given to be obeyed, not to be trifled with, or held fast and loose as occasion requires.

You may ask me — "Why should you hold so tenaciously to these things? Many do not so hold them. Some who profess to be where you are go in and out among sects and sectarian missions, and their names appear as preaching in them." My answer to this is, it is my responsibility to obey the Word, whatever others do. If you were to ask me why I "hold so tenaciously" to the truth of eternal life, I would answer by quoting Jn.10.28, and say, "That is enough for me." If I am asked, "Why were you baptised as a believer?" I would turn to Matt.28.18-20, for the command; to Acts 8.38, for the example and mode; and to Rom. 6.4-6, Col.2.12, for the doctrine. If I am asked why I gather in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and not in the name of a sect or party, I refer to Matt.18.20; 1Cor.1.10; 5.4; and Acts 2.41-44. And, if these be according to God, then every departure from them, and every limitation and corruption of them, such as are plainly seen in all the sects and systems of men, is in opposition to God and His Word. How could any man who fears God and is guided by His Word, go into such places where God's Word is dishonoured and the Lord, as Head and Ruler, is denied His place. If these denominations and sectarian missions are right, then we should never have separated from them. If they are wrong, as I am certain the Scripture shows all sects and divisions to be, 1Cor.1.9-16; Rom.16.17, then it is wrong to return to them, whether to preach or to hear. For me to enter one of those places would be to disobey 2Cor.6.14-18; 2Tim.2.19-22; to say in practice that they are not so far wrong, after all; that separation from them is not of much importance, but can be laid aside when occasion requires; that the Truth of God can be given up without much concern, and that to turn my back on those whom God has separated from the world's religious systems and gathered to Christ, is a small matter compared with preaching. Those who go in to preach in sects, help to perpetuate them, and to draw others to them, and stumble others who are seeking to find their way out from them. Some justify their action by saying they "go in" to help others "out." What a fallacy this is! Let me close with an illustration.

It is Saturday afternoon, and the pit is closed for the week. The miners have all reached their homes, but John F—— has not arrived. His wife is alarmed, and in her distress goes to Andrew F—— to tell him her trouble. Andrew makes his way to the pit-mouth, but finds nobody there, the engines are stopped and all is quiet. Shouting with all his might down the shaft, "Hullo, John, are you there?" A voice from below replies, "I cannot get out, there is no cage here." Andrew is moved with pity for his neighbour and volunteers to slide down the wire and help him out of his unhappy position. "No, no!" cries the entombed man, who knows that the presence of another in the pit will not make matters any better for him. "Do not on any account come down here. If you are to be of any help to me in getting me out of this place, you must stay out of it, and help me from where you are." So I would say, dear J—— if those who have been brought out of sects and unscriptural systems of religion are to be of any service in helping others out of them, they must keep entirely outside of them all themselves. Read Jer.38.6-13, and you will see how they got him out, and let us give heed to the Word spoken to the prophet long ago, which is as applicable now as then. "If thou take the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth; let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them," Jer.15.19.

I shall be glad to hear if these Scriptures which I have quoted, and the reasons I have given, are a satisfactory answer to the question which you have asked.

Yours ever in the Lord — E. H. (Barrow).