The Heaton File

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. (Romans 3:28-30)

He Is A God For Everyone

The descendants of Abraham were a special people set apart by God for the purpose of bringing Christ into the world. From the beginning of man’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden, the Lord promised a Seed would come that would bruise the head of Satan. God promised Abram He would make of him a great nation, give him a land of promise and through his seed bring the promise of hope to all men. At Mount Sinai, the Egyptian Hebrews became the nation of Israel and forty years later received the land of promise in Canaan. Many generations later, a little baby Jewish boy was born in Bethlehem Judea that would grow to become the fulfilled seed promise of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells the story of the Lord working through the nation of Israel to bring His Son to the world to save all men. Jesus did not come to save the Jews only but also to save the Gentiles.

Paul’s argument in Romans is to show that Christ died for all men because all men sin. The Jews were different from the Gentiles only because of the national separation God created through the seed of Abraham. The Law of Moses was given to the Jews alone. This did not suggest salvation came only by the Law of Moses because Abraham was justified by faith and he never lived under the Law. The work of Christ was to show salvation was only through His blood and was given for all men, Jew and Gentile. The Lord is not just a God for the Jews. He sent His Son to die for the Gentile as well. There is one God who will justify the Jew and that same God will justify the Gentile. All men will find justification before the throne of the one Lord God Almighty.

Before Christ, the Jews found justification in the Law of Moses. The Gentiles found justification in being a law to themselves. Neither the Jew nor the Gentile could find salvation by keeping the Law or seeking righteousness through his or her own works. Jesus sacrificed His life to show the Jews that keeping the Law was to no avail and the Gentiles would never find righteousness in their own works. Jesus brought all men – Jew and Gentile – together through His blood. This was essential because all men would stand before one God to be judged. There will not be a judgment for the Jew apart from the judgment of the Gentile. One God will declare righteous according to one law. The Jew cannot be saved apart from Jesus Christ. Paul’s language shows the circumcised (Jew) will be judged according to the same law of the uncircumcised (Gentile) because Christ died for all men (Jew & Gentile).

The gospel of Christ is the only hope of salvation for every man and woman on earth. Regardless of race, nationality, gender, and age the Bible is the only truth whereby men can be saved. Contained with the pages of the Bible is revealed the plan of redemption for all men through the death of Jesus and His resurrection. No matter the nationality of man, God will judge all men according to the same message by one truth. There is one God, one judge, one hope and one book.

As there is no other avenue into the world of glory except through death, so there is no entrance into eternal life except through the narrow pass of judgment. (Emil Brunner, Eternal Hope, 1954)

The Mighty One, God the Lord, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. (Psalm 50:1-2; A Psalm of Asaph)

The Supreme Ruler Of The Earth

Every morning the sun rises on the eastern horizon and sinks beyond the western sky as the day ends. The radiant beams of the sun glow upon all humanity every day without ceasing. From the highest mountains to the lowest valleys, the frigid expanse of north and south and all the seas that cover the world, the sun blankets the earth with the glory of its light. Thousands of years have come and gone and the cycle of the sun continues. With each ray of sunshine filling the world with its glory is the knowledge there is a ruler who reigns over all the earth and the heavens above. His name is the Mighty One. He is God the Lord. There is none like Him. He rules over every molecule of man, every particle of dust and every star that fills the night sky. Creation was by His word and His word alone. He spoke and it came into existence. This same word holds the world together. The Mighty One is the supreme ruler of the earth.

The sun should humble the spirit of man when he considers how massive a star it is. It would take nearly one million earths to fill the mass of the sun. The sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface and 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at the core. 92,955,807 miles separate the sun from the earth. It is an incredible visage of the creative hand of God. Man must learn God the Lord formed this planetary power source by speaking it into existence and every place the sunbeam of its power reaches earth the Mighty One rules. The absolute ruler of the earth is not man, never will be man and cannot be man – He is God who rules the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down.

Man’s habitation is confined to the world because God has determined his boundaries. The Mighty One has declared His name to all men of every generation. God has placed the breath of life within man creating an eternal being that needs the wisdom of his creator to guide him. When man realizes how powerful God the Lord is he will know the only truth he can follow is the word of God. The Mighty One is the only God and there is none like him. His word reflects the perfection of beauty. The Bible is the spiritual light of His glory explaining where man comes from, why he is here and where he is going. God shines upon all men over the face of the earth.

Rejecting the word of God is like denying the sun that shines above. Man did not create it, cannot control it and will never change it. The Bible is not the word of man because he did not create it. The righteous judge of all the earth leaves His testimony on all men through the Bible because the Bible is the only truth, the Bible is the Mighty word and the Bible is the word of God the Lord. The Creator has spoken and called the earth to awaken and see His power. Glory shines forth from the peaks of Zion declaring the might and power of the only true God and Lord through the written word. The Bible shows that God is the supreme ruler of all the earth and there is no God like Him.

Nature is incessantly chanting the praises of the Creator, and nothing can be more religious than the hymns chanted in concert with the winds by the oaks of the forest and the reeds of the desert. (Viscount de Chateaubriand, Genius of Christianity, 1856)

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

The Only Authority

Recognizing authority is paramount to the doctrine of man’s relationship with God. Satan first challenged authority when he suggested Eve question the word of God. His goal was to make the woman believe the commandment forbidding the eating of fruit from the tree of knowledge was unfair and she should reject God’s oppressive authority. Since the beginning of time, Satan has destroyed God’s creation by challenging the authority of the word of God. When men believe they can become their own gods, serving their own will, finding a better way than the knowledge of the Lord; Satan has won a new disciple. Religion has become multifaceted in man’s attempt to establish his own authority. Churches abound in different styles, faiths, beliefs and acceptance of what men believe because there is no authority to govern the pattern.

Paul affirms what has always been true. There is only one God and there is no other. Through the grace of the Lord God, there is only one mediator and that is Christ Jesus. The authority of God is final. There is no word beyond His word. What has been written since time beginning is the word of God affirmed by the only authority that has a right to govern the affairs of man. The Creator demands the creation follow His word. As the potter, He has the right to mold the clay as He decides. Someone has suggested two important lessons to learn: (1) There is a God; (2) I am not Him. His word is the only word and His word is the only truth. Modern religious division decries the authority of God by rejecting His will for the whims of man’s wisdom. There is one God and that is final.

Salvation can only come through the one advocate given by God. Jesus told His disciples there was only one way to the Father because the only truth that would save man is found in the only life given to save man. Jesus Christ is the only mediator. Man has a direct link to the Father through Jesus and Jesus alone. It is an abomination for any man to take on the role of mediator. No Pope, priest, preacher or person should dare put on the mantle of authority that was given only to Jesus Christ and Him alone. There is one God and there is one Savior. One man died on a cross that was sinless. Only one came from Heaven to save man. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. One God. One Son. One way.

Religious division comes from the rejection of authority. Few in the churches of men understand the value of authority. It matters not what the Bible says for those who are ‘religious’ because a man tells them what to do. So much of what men teach and practice is not found in the Bible yet they deceive the masses to believe they have the authority of God. If every devout follower of the Lord would ask for Biblical authority for what is said and done, no religious division would exist. Churches of men would crumble under the weight of Biblical authority. We are shocked men would worship idols falling down to multiple gods and yet we practice the same lie in preaching salvation through the wisdom of man. Eternal life comes from one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. The Bible is the only book that reveals the mind of God to man. That excludes every other book written by men as a lie. One God. One Lord. One Word. One.

Authority permeates, guides, shapes our lives. The acceptance of authority is the acceptance of what is given by those who have more than we. (Paul Tillich, The New Being, 1955)

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him. (Mark 12:28-34)

There Is No Other But He

It is the nature of people to want to simplify things. Instead of complex and drawn out arguments proving a position, a clear demonstrative statement best serves the resolution of an issue. Studying the Bible can be seen as difficult and confusing but the truth lays in the fact God has always presented Himself in simple nuggets of wisdom. A man comes to Jesus and asked a simple question. He wanted to know what the first command of all is. With about seventy words, the Lord summed up the relationship of man with God and man with man. Responding to the answer, the scribe recognized that everything about life is founded on the truth there is one God and there is no one and no thing comparable to Him. Period.

The simplicity of the idea is astounding and powerful. Man must first come to the realization that God is one and nothing else matters. Moses begins the dissertation of God’s glory by showing in the beginning the Lord God created everything. This makes the Creator master of everything He creates. Light was established by the word of God, the world in all its glory formed by the word of God and man and woman created through the awesome design of an incredible Maker. The efforts of man to recreate the Lord God as a totem to worship are futile. Denying there is one God does not destroy the fact of one God. Isaiah’s argument against idols was to compare what a wooden carving can do against the hand of the Lord. There is no other but the Lord God.

For the Christian, the imperative of belief must rest upon the knowledge of one God and there is no other but the one Father. Accepting Jesus as the Son of God demands recognition of the authority of God alone. Jesus Himself humbled His will to the will of the Father because there is only one Father. The word of God is first, foremost and final. There is no appellate court. His word is the only word and His will is the only will. The Bible is the word of God and is the only book that man has been given to find salvation. No other book will bring eternal life but the message of God contained between Genesis and the Revelation.

Jesus commended the scribe for understanding the truth there is one God. Belief comes from the acceptance of the only authority in life will come from the throne of the one who created heaven and earth and created man. All men are the creation of one God. His will must be our will. The truth of one God is the only truth we have. When the judgment comes upon all men, one single thought will be foremost in our minds: there really is one God. The one question is this: do you believe there is one God and there is no other but He?

The denial of God is practically always the result of shutting one eye. It may be for this reason that God have us two. (C. A. Coulson, Science and Christian Belief, 1955)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

One God And One Father

One: a grammatical word indicating a single thing or unit, and not two or more. Used to distinguish something.

One God: a powerful statement indicating a single being and not two or more. Used to separate from any other god.

One Father: a familial relationship indicating a single gathering of people and not two or more. Used to separate from all other families.

One God and one Father is the affirmation that man cannot serve God in multiple ways by his own choosing and enjoy the blessings of the Father. There is only one way to Heaven and that is by His one Son who died on one cross to accomplish the one thing man needed most. The Bible is the one book that can help man find the one joy of eternal life. One God and one Father declares one truth and one truth alone.

Man has only one choice for eternal life. That choice is found in one God and one Father. Jesus is the one way, the one truth and the one life. There is one church, one hope and one faith. One door is open. Not two or more. One.

Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.” ‘ ” (2 Kings 9:30-37)

Her Name And Her Life

The birth of a baby is a wondrous event. There is found in the creative hand of God the beauty of His perfect design. Newborn babies are free from the ugly scars of hatred, lust, murder and prejudice. All babies share in the common spirit of perfection. Naming a baby is also an important role in defining the life of the child. The name will become synonymous with everything remembered about the child that grows to adulthood. In the long ago world of the Old Testament period, a baby girl was born to the king of Sidon. The name given the little baby girl meant “chased, free from carnal connection.” Her name would belie the nature the woman would become. Her name was Jezebel.

It would seem incredulous to attach the name of chastity with a licentious, fanatical, and evil woman. Even those not familiar with scripture have heard of the wickedness of Jezebel. The name did not make her the evil woman that she was; her life defined her character. There are few women in the annuals of history that describe evil as much as Jezebel does. Her husband Ahab was a whimpering puppet Jezebel used to do anything she desired. Untold lives were destroyed by her hand, righteous men like Naboth. The land of Israel was filled with sensuality, debauchery, and every evil devised by Satan. What made this more tragic is this came upon the people of God. They were His chosen people, His own special nation. No king that reigned in Israel following Solomon was righteous. Jezebel took evil to a new height and the Lord God was not unaware of her deeds.

The downfall of Jezebel came ultimately with the murder of the righteous man, Naboth. He was framed and murdered by Jezebel because Ahab wanted his vineyard. The prophet Elijah warned her and Ahab what would happen and God’s word is true. Jehu became the agent that carried out the will of the Lord. Her death was the fulfillment of the righteous judgment of a vengeful God who repays the evil heart with the penalty of condemnation. The final moments of her life are indescribable. What she realized in eternity is far worse. She did not live for God while she was Queen but when she died, she saw the Lord God in all clarity. What she suffers now will never end. And what became of Naboth? He is resting in the bosom of Abraham.

Our names were given to us for many reasons. We had no choice about that name but what we do with that name is what makes our name good or evil. The Hitler family of early Germany was a respected name for a hard working family. Adolf, the son, changed all of that. Benedict Arnold was a hero in the early days of our nation’s history but one fatal event changed his legacy. Jezebel was an innocent child at one time but her life story became the legend of incarnate evil because she chose to leave a legacy of wickedness. Our life and our name define who we are. What we do with our life will determine largely what our name will be remembered. More importantly, eternity will depend on whether our name is in the Book of Life. Now that is a great story.

Sometimes the pinnacle of fame and the height of folly are twin peaks. (Anonymous)

Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9)

The Way Of The Lord

There is a law of absolute truth that has been in existence since the creation of the world. When God pronounced the first words of creation He said, “Let there be light” and there was light. This was not just an act of creation; it was a profound statement showing the character, majesty and power of the Creator. His word spoke the world into existence. Authority was firmly established that moment when God ordered the world into existence. Creating light first was necessary because nothing that follows could be created without the presence of light. All would die without the first day of creation. The world is held together by the same word that formed its being. On the sixth day God created man and infused in him the need for light – both physical and spiritual.

Creating man in His image, the Lord began as He did on the first day and said to man, “Here is light and without this light you cannot exist.” That light was His word. Tending the garden was the blessing of man as he walked in the midst of Eden. Two trees were in the center of the garden. One tree would give eternal life and the other would bring death. When Satan came to Eve, he attacked the light, the word of God. Challenging the word of God he said, “Has God indeed said?” Failing to walk in the light of truth, Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit. The darkness of sin shrouded the world. Jesus came as the Light of the world to remove the gloom of disobedience becoming the word of truth from the Father. Light must come first so that everything else can live. Without Jesus, there is no life.

The prophet Hosea concludes his message with the truth the word of God is right and there is no hope for man if he rejects it. This is an absolute. A wise man will heed the word of God because it is the only truth that can give him life. The foolish man will reject the word of God, which is like a man denying the presence of light. A wise man will understand there is no hope without the word of God because all of life is established on God’s word. The Lord is right about everything. He never lies! The world can only find peace when the Light of the world enters the heart and illuminates the mind to know the will of God. Wisdom and discernment are found in the ways of the Lord. The ways of man are futile because he was created last – light was created first. Creation could not exist without light being created first and man cannot live without the word of God.

The ways of the Lord are right. Period. The authority of God’s world is established by the word of God. Satan continues to whisper in the ear of foolish men who will not believe in the light of His word. Rejecting light does not make the light shine less bright. It only serves to show the foolishness of man. Refusing to believe in the word of God only highlights the failure of man to believe in the only truth that will save him. The ways of the Lord are right. Believing that will change your life.

Light gives testimony of itself … and is a witness itself that the light may be known. Likewise wisdom, the word of God. (Augustine, In Joan, 8, c. 416)

And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. (Galatians 5:3)

Circumcision And Instruments Of Music

The early church had many struggles as it grew from infancy to spreading the gospel to the whole world. There was a great conflict with understanding the role of the Law of Moses and the new message of salvation for the Christian. At Pentecost, three thousand Jews accepted the kingship of Jesus Christ and formed the core of the church’s beginning. Their baptism for the remission of sins changed their spiritual lives but they would find it difficult to remove many of the trappings of the Law from their beliefs. Life under the Law of Moses was not a philosophical system of belief alone but an integration into every part of life. The Law prescribed the family life, economics, political and social culture that made a man and woman accepted under the covenant of the Law of Moses. At the center of the Law was circumcised, ordained by God through Abraham. Without circumcision, there would be no covenant with God. This was hard for the early Jews to change in their belief that circumcision (under Christ) availed nothing. Many in the First Century taught salvation through obedience in baptism but circumcision was also necessary to be saved.

Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia addresses the problem of salvation through circumcision. The apostle reaffirms the doctrine of Christ to the saints showing the Law of Moses was an integral part of God’s plan but now served only as a schoolmaster to bring the Jews to the knowledge of the Son of God. The Law was no longer binding and to teach the necessity of circumcision bound the person to keep all of the Law of Moses. If the Jewish Christian used the Law of Moses to prove the need for circumcision, he would have to enforce others parts of the Law. Paul shows the fallacy of this doctrine as trying to justify themselves by law thereby falling from the grace of God. Keeping one part of the Law required keeping every other part of the Law.

The question of instrumental music in worship is the same question of salvation by circumcision. Both are contained in the Law of Moses and commanded by God. Under the Law, instruments of music were a large part of the worship. Thousands of musicians, singers, choirs and instruments were used under the covenant of God with the Jews. David made instruments of music. Arguments made today for the use of instruments of music all come from the Law of Moses. There are no references to instruments in the early church because the Lord did not command their use. He clearly defined their use in the Law of Moses and if He had wanted them to be a part of the New Testament covenant, He would have clearly defined their practice. On the day of Pentecost, the first people to become Christians were Jews. They knew everything there was to know about musical instruments in worship. Why did the early Jews not use instruments of music? They were given a pattern to follow that would not accept the authority of instrumental music. Rather, they accepted the new law prescribing singing only.

Defending instrumental music in worship for the Christian is binding a portion of the Law of Moses that requires keeping the whole law. When an argument crosses the boundary of the Law of Christ to the Law of Moses, authority is destroyed. Keeping one part of the Law of Moses requires keeping the whole. Paul affirms keeping circumcision will necessitate the keeping of the whole law and this is true for instrumental music. When a person believes God accepts instrumental music, the law of circumcision will also have to be bound as necessary for salvation. Truth requires the binding of both laws because they come from the same law. Attempting to be justified by the law (whether instrumental music or circumcision) shows a person to have fallen from grace.

The church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes and dulcimers; and human voices strive to bear their part with them. Men run to the church as to a theater, to have their ears tickled. (Martin Luther;1483-1546)

Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22)

Tingling Ears

The value of Biblical wisdom is learning the pitfalls of pride, gossip and malicious talking. James said the tongue is untamable and from it comes cursing and blessings. With the tongue, a man can be filled with pride and with the same words be shredded with lies. It has been observed the Creator gave man two ears and one mouth so that he could find wisdom in hearing before speaking. The wise man exhorts the importance of not believing everything people say because of the dangers that come from pride, gossip, lies, and malicious talk. It is necessary to listen carefully to what is said evaluating the validity of how it will affect our lives. The example of ‘speech fidelity’ is an important lesson to learn for the child of God.

Wisdom is rooted in the ability to listen carefully. Discerning words is a tool to sift through what could be attempts to exalt the heart with prideful boasting. This will also temper the words we say about others. There are many tingling ears that long to hear morsels of words to pass along to others. Their aim is not to build up but to destroy. Often stories are told that are misunderstandings that become torrents of gossip that cannot be stopped. Before it is finished, lives are destroyed and friendships ruined. This comes from hearts that take everything as true without filtering the truth from lies.

Pride is when we believe everything people say about us. “They must be right because they are talking about me,” we think and our hearts fill with self-worth. The angels laugh when men exalt themselves. Made a little lower than angels, created man is not as tall as he believes himself to be. Wisdom will measure a man’s worth by what God says about him. The only thing that matters is how we stand before the Lord because one day we will all stand before the Lord and learn how tall we really are. There is no difference in one man from another. Jesus died for all men because all men need Jesus.

Believe nothing against another but upon good authority; nor report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to others to conceal it. (William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude, 1718)

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles — that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioners — not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “Put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

Helping Them Lose Their Souls

Love is an important part of the relationship children of God have with each other. We are bound by the same blood, the same sacrifice, the same Lord and the same Father. Entering a covenant with God in baptism, we put on Christ and become part of the body of Christ, the church. As fellow Christians, we help carry the burdens of life so we can all attain eternal life. We need one another. The church at Corinth needed to help one another and they were failing to show their love for a man who had his father’s wife.

It seems incredulous such a thing was being permitted within the church of God at Corinth. Paul decries the attitude of the brethren towards the man who was in sin because they were not concerned about his soul. The sexual immorality was of such a nature the Gentiles would not have condoned it. Why would the saints of God allow such a thing to continue? There can be many reasons but the conclusion drawn by Paul was the church continued to fellowship a man who was his own worst enemy standing condemned because of his sin. The apostle commands the church to take loving action against the man seeking his repentance and acknowledgement of sexual immorality. Their glorying or accepting this man into fellowship was not good. When a brother or sister in Christ turns away from the will of God refusing to repent; and the congregation continues to embrace the person in fellowship – sin will destroy both.

Accepting a person who is in sin is not seeking to save their soul but allowing them to believe they are saved in their sin. When a man and woman are in an unlawful marriage and fellowship continues to be engaged with the couple, who is being served? The marriage is unlawful according to the word of God. Turning a blind eye and continuing to act as if nothing is wrong allows the man and woman to believe their sin is justified. When a couple is disciplined by the church for an unlawful marriage and they leave to attend another congregation, keeping fellowship with them is rebellion against the will and word of God. The purpose of church discipline is to have the couple repent and change their lives. Brethren who continue to embrace the couple embrace their sin and help them lose their souls. Why would good-thinking brethren want to help someone miss Heaven?

Church discipline is hard. Punitive disciple is Biblical. It involves the pain of separation. What is forgotten in the process of church discipline is that sin lay at the root of the problem. These erring brethren are not enemies but we make them more the object of condemnation when we disobey the word of God and allow our emotions to embrace people who are going to lose their souls if they do not repent. Refusing to withdraw fellowship from disobedient brethren is sin and continuing to treat them as if nothing is wrong assures them of an eternity in Hell. This is not love. If we truly care for our brethren, we will do whatever it takes to help them see the error of their way and beg, plead, and admonish them to repent. Their eternal soul may depend on it.

We need a deeper and more tormenting sense of sin, a profounder consciousness of the eternal truth that a sin whether of indifference or intent against our brother or our sister is an offense against an outraged and indignant God. (C. S. Macfarland, Christian Service in the Modern World, 1912)