Chapter
III
The
Evils Of The Universal Church Theory
Throughout all Christendom people speak of the blessings of belief in the
universal, invisible church theory. Most of these are imaginary. Really
there is neither a need nor a place for such a church. Belief in this theory
has resulted in great disobedience to Christ and untold harm to true New
Testament Baptist churches. I shall point out a few of these evils.
1. This theory teaches an imaginary church. This is not something affirmed
by some lone Landmarker. Our opponents freely concede such is the case
in their own writings. Edward T. Hiscox defines the universal, invisible
church he believed in as "a conception of the mind, having no real existence
in time or place, and is not a historical fact, being only an ideal multitude
without organization, without action, and without corporate being" (The
New Directory Of Baptist Churches, p. 24). This is a most noble confession.
It admits the big church exists only in people's minds, and that it is
not capable of literal manifestation at the present time.
2. This false teaching discredits the local church of the New Testament.
Universal church men apply such terms as the body, the house, the building,
and the bride of Christ to the big church. Hence they miss the great lessons
being taught concerning the local, visible body of baptized believers.
These metaphors of the church are perverted and abused until they lose
their practical teaching. Great stress is laid upon "the true church" (universal,
invisible mythical church) as being Divine while a local church is "man's
church."
Some of these universal church theorists look upon the local church as
a "necessary evil." Others see no need of attending or being a member of
a local church. They watch TV or go to the golf club while the "unimportant"
local church meets on the Lord's Day. Their tithes and offerings are sent
to some evangelistic association, mission board, Christian foundation,
or Christian college. The universal church teaching has robbed local churches
of active members. If people took the invisible church teaching to its
logical conclusion, they would close the doors of all local churches and
leave God's preachers without a church in which to preach.
On page 1299 of the Scofield Reference Bible there is found this note:
"Church (visible) Summary: The passages which speak of the Church of God
(here and I Cor. 10:32) refer to that visible body of professed believers,
called collectively 'the church,' though it exists under many names and
divisions based upon differences in doctrine or in government. For the
most part, within this historical church has existed the true Church, 'which
is his body'. It is plain from this note that Mr. Scofield does not look
upon the local church as "the true church." This implies each local church
is a false church and not a true church of Jesus Christ. This is an awful
slam upon every local church which is a true, authentic, and genuine church.
3. The universal, invisible church robs God of His glory. The Bible teaches
that God receives glory in this age through the church (Eph. 3:21).
But the local church has little or no place in the majority of modern schools,
radio programs, or missionary endeavors. Men are appropriating to themselves
the glory which belongs to God in and through His church. They glory in
their little Babels, while turning up their noses at the church which Jesus
actually built. All these extra scriptural organizations, void of church
authority and without Heaven's sanction, are nothing but parasites upon
the backs of local churches. They contribute nothing to the true churches
but take much from them. By doing this they rob God of His glory.
4. This theory is responsible for much of the disobedience with regard
to the ordinances. Why are there so many professed Christians not church
members? Why so many nominal believers living without New Testament baptism?
Why is there little or no desire to remember the Lord's death? It is because
vast multitudes have been convinced they are already members of the big
imaginary church which is the real important thing. These unbaptized, disobedient,
misguided souls pride themselves as being a part of "the true church."
To many of them the ordinances are "non-essentials" which greatly divide
the body of Christ. It would be below their dignity to concern themselves
with such "minor details." They feel they have the baptism of the Holy
Spirit and that is all that really matters. Any system of teaching which
causes men to fail to be baptized as Christ was does not honor the Head
of the church.
5. This theory is responsible for much of the inter-denominationalism and
non-denominationalism of this generation. According to modern thinking,
to be "unsectarian" is to become an angel among devils! Heretical preachers
and union revivalists have founded their whole movements upon the premise
that all Christians are in "the true church." They say Christians should
drop their "petty differences" and work together to advance the "cause
of Christ." Down with the little local church which stands in the way of
"church unity." Invite all to the "Lord's table" regardless of their faith
or lack of saving faith. Take anyone's immersion regardless of what they
teach. Doctrine is not important. We have no creed but Christ. This is
the cry heard from universal, invisible church men in this generation even
in so-called Baptists ranks.
Baptist churches have nothing to gain from a union meeting and everything
to lose. By such meetings Baptists declare that man-made churches are equally
churches of Jesus Christ, although many of them teach just the opposite
of what Christ taught! With the pleasing pretense that there is "no difference,"
Baptist churches are affectionately requested to surrender the doctrine
of God's sovereignty, salvation by grace, and believer's baptism. The reason
they must do this we are told is because we are all members of the big
church, the mystical body of Christ made up of all believers. For Baptists
to unite with heretics is to say that error is as good as truth, disobedience
is as good as obedience, unrighteousness is as good as righteousness. All
know that this is not so. The truth is a sacred truth that we Baptists
have no right to betray for any cause or under any circumstance.
6. This theory promotes the Ecumenical Movement which is destined to
become the Great Whore (the apostate church) in the Book of Revelation.
Those familiar with the writings of ecumenical leaders know these liberals
plead a visible union of all churches on the basis of the fact that all
believers are in the universal, invisible church. These super church men
know that so long as a Christian makes the true church the local church
which is sound doctrinally, he will never become a part of the Ecumenical
Movement.
Liberals in the Southern Baptist Convention have been laboring for years
to get rid of Landmarkism, or the belief in a local, visible church to
the exclusion of a universal, invisible church. They know that Landmarkism
must go before the Southern Baptist churches will be willing to enter the
National and World Councils of Churches.
W. 0. Carver (1868-1954) taught for years that the word church is used
in the New Testament primarily to refer to "the universal, invisible spiritual
church, regenerate believers, constituting the body of Christ." This teaching
can be found in an article on "Baptist Churches" written by Carver for
the book, edited by R. Newton Flew, entitled: The Nature Of The Church.
Mr. Carver's paper on "Baptist Churches" was a part of a "group of papers,
prepared as material for discussion at the Third World Conference on Faith
and Order At Lund, Sweden, (which) gets down to specifics in hope for church
unity in Christendom" (inside front jacket).
You want more proof that the universal, invisible church teaching is preparing
Southern Baptist for entrance into the Ecumenical Movement? E. Glen Hinson,
Professor of Church History, Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, KY,
has written a book called The Integrity Of The Church. It is filled with
the invisible church doctrine and ecumenicalism. Hinson believes Baptists
should engage in "dialogue, cooperation, and communion" with other denominations
(p. 87). The reason for this is all Christians are in "the one body." He
also says, "Christians can learn much from other faiths and thus should
welcome the current trend toward dialogue" (p. 95). On page
141 he mentions "a Christian Marxist dialogue going on in Europe."
Mr. Hinson declares on page 33 that if we consider the Bible infallible
and inerrant in all its parts, "we will apostatize from what it teaches
by letting bigotry create an excuse of zeal to make everyone believe what
we believe." On pages 110-111 he justifies the ordination of women to the
ministry and pleads with churches to push for ERA. On page 140 he says,
"To affirm evolution is not to deny God ..." On page 145 he says the job
of the church is not "winning the lost to Christ" but to make "a wholesome,
well integrated person within the context of the society in which he or
she lives."
Please consider that this liberal has no problem with belief in a universal,
invisible church. All liberals hold to the big church idea. Ye not one
single person who believes in the local church only can be found who is
a liberal theologian. This fact alone should open some people's eyes. If
liberals and the leaders of the Ecumenical Movement were deprived of their
invisible church, they would lose their chief argument for the super church
they seek to build. This also should open some people's eyes. Furthermore,
I would ask can a system of teaching which fits perfectly with liberal
theology and fosters the Ecumenical Movement be of God?
7. This erroneous view greatly confuses Christians. It would have them
to believe there are two different kinds of churches in the world today,
one local and visible while the other is invisible and universal. When
they read the Bible and come across the word church, they must pause and
ask themselves, "Which church is this?" To ascertain the answer they must
not consult the Holy Spirit but books written by universal church men to
know the answer. To teach that Christ has two different kinds of churches
in the world today is contradictory to the Bible. Ephesians 4:5
says: "There is one (as to kind) body." Universal,
invisible
church people have two bodies!
According to I Corinthians 4:5, a church must be assembled to carry
out its business. Paul said it must "gather together." This can only be
so of a local church. The universal, invisible church has never yet assembled
as some of its members are not yet born. Nevertheless, invisible church
theorists insist a person must believe this never assembled church is the
"true church" of Jesus Christ. This is most confusing to any intelligent
person who can see from I Corinthians 5:4 that what can't gather
together cannot properly be considered a church in the New Testament sense.
The Bible teaches disorderly church members are to be disciplined (Matt.
18:15-20; I Cor. 5:9-13; II Thess. 3:6; Titus 3:10).
This is to prevent the church from being blamed with their sin. This is
the command of God for the local church. But if the big church idea is
true God allows people in "the true church" which He commanded us to exclude
from the local church! This would make God inconsistent and foolish, a
thing which we know cannot be. Yet if the Lord has only one kind of church,
a local church, then there is no problem.
8. This theory is utterly impractical in preaching the gospel to a lost
world. If such a thing as the universal, invisible church exists, its membership
is known only to God. It has never met or assembled in all the history
of the world. Hence it furnishes no place for believers to engage in public
worship (Heb. 10:25). It has no church covenant as a covenant can
only exist between members of a local church. It has no ordinances or officers,
for these are for real churches. It has no church building, no song books,
no musical instruments, no pews, no pulpit, and no offering box. It has
and exercises no earthly authority. It has no mission in the world or message
for the lost world. It has never been persecuted by the world as the world
has never seen it. It cannot receive members, nor exclude members. It has
never sent out one missionary and never will. It has no Sunday School,
no vacation Bible schools, no music schools, and no evangelistic meetings.
Its fellowship is imaginary. It is only a mere concept of the mind, a spooky
thing and not a true New Testament church.
Since the organization of the Jerusalem Church by Jesus Christ, the emphasis
in Christianity has been upon the "churches of God" (I Cor.
11:16). This is the only way the congregational life of the Christian faith
can be expressed.
Even the most pronounced advocates of the invisible church are forced by
stark realities to organize multitudes of congregations to meet the need
of their religious programs. From the practical stand point, none of them
want to preach in an invisible church to invisible members who sit in invisible
pews. No universal, invisible church preacher wants to pastor an invisible
church nor draw an invisible salary. Isn't it strange that they make so
much over the supposed invisible church!
9. This theory ruins young preachers. Often some young Landmark preacher
will begin to read the Puritans who were universal church men. He will
become so engrossed with their writings that he embraces their ecclesiology,
never knowing that the Puritans were bitter persecutors of their Baptist
forefathers. At other times some young Land mark preachers will hear some
silver-tongued, Reformed Baptist preacher bring a great message on justification.
He becomes so carried away with such a person that he jumps on the Reformed
(I prefer the term "Deformed") Baptist bandwagon. I personally know of
some who did this and became scarcely less than immersed Presbyterians.
In my lifetime I have seen this theory ruin the ministry of young preachers
in our ranks. Some very promising young ministers were widely used in revival
meetings and Bible conferences. Others were successful pastors. Then they
jumped on the universal, invisible church bandwagon. Some lost their churches,
had their revival work terminated, and ceased to be used on Bible conference
programs. At least two ended up having to go to work in a store to support
their families. It grieves me to see our young men fulfill the prophetic
Scripture (II Tim. 4:3-4). I, for one, long to see them be recovered
from their errors. The universal, invisible church took much away from
them and gave them nothing in return.
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