Present Threats 

by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr.

I do not remember a time in my lifetime when the peace and purity of the church has been threatened with more “winds of doctrine” than right now. I began preaching near the beginning of the institutional controversy that divided churches during the last half of the just recent century. “The issues,” as they were called in those days, were pretty much confined to efforts to activate the universal church in some form or the other. Today, even among those who came out of that controversy popularly labeled “non-institutional” (but not confined to them), there are a multiplicity of issues that have to be dealt with on many fronts. Among them are:

• The doctrine that salvation is grace based and not obedience based.
• The doctrine that grace covers the Christian’s sins even as he sins.
• The doctrine that all life is worship.
• The doctrine that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in a manner that mirrors the eating of a common meal together.
• The doctrine that social services are to be at the basis of our evangelism.
• The doctrine that fellowship should be extended to all “believers in Christ” without regard for doctrinal differences.

This, by no means exhausts the list of doctrines being floated out there among us and taking over churches. But this should be enough to occupy our minds to a little while.

However, I feel compelled to point out one other threat:
It is the growing number, who say they do not agree with these doctrines, who are unwilling to openly oppose them in any effective way. They prefer to bury their heads in the sand and believe that none of these present a real threat; or they prefer that they be dealt with in generalities (sometime called “just deal with the principle”) rather that clearly exposing each doctrine for the threat it is to the peace and purity of congregations and exposing the teachers as the false teachers that they are. This may well be as great, if not greater, a threat than the mere existence any of the doctrines.

Brethren, sometimes is better to “rock the boat” occasionally than to just stand back and watch it sink.

 

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