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REFORMATION
Possible?By Buff
Scott, Jr.
Webmaster note: The question
and answer secession below is presented as a challenge to every one of
us. It will not sit well with all as it is radical in its approach. Yet
a radical change is much needed these days! D S Warner, a radical
reformer in the late 1800s, believed that the signs of true reformation
were; (1) the breakup of old relations, (2) the drawing of new lines of
fellowship, (3) exposure to persecution. If these be true, can we not
say that to a small degree we are already in a time of reformation?
Reforming The Establishment
I want to address this issue by asking
questions and advancing answers. My answers may not satisfy all of you.
I hope to be able to communicate my ideas with a minimum of confusion.
It seems the need to clarify never ends. That being the case, I solicit
your patience as I try to speak clearly and distinctly during this
experience with words. If my approach to these matters makes for greater
understanding and brotherhood, my efforts will not have been wasted. -
Buff Scott, Jr.
Question
Considering the rampant division within the Christian community, is
reformation likely to occur?
Answer
Possibly, yes, but change will not come
easily. The “chief priests and teachers of the law,” or most of today’s
clergy and religious leaders, will oppose reformational efforts. They
will try to persuade the crowd to ask for the status quo and to
have reformation put to death. It was the clergy who “persuaded the
crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed” (Matthew 27:20).
They refused change and killed the world’s greatest reformer. They
executed the Prince of Peace! They were more willing to “bosom-buddy” a
murderer than to see their sects and denominations undergo reform. A
repeat today would not alter the scene.
Question
Who can struggle for
reform?
Answer
Only the free man. He must be free from anything that enslaves.
He is not free if he is a party man. If he has yielded his will to some
church or denomination or cult, he is enslaved, for he is bound to
uphold his party’s creeds, promote its philosophies, and fight for its
growth and survival. Should he waver a little to the right or lean a
little to the left, he is soon called upon the partisan carpet and told
to shape up or ship out. If he refuses to shape up or line up with the
party’s shibboleths, he will soon find himself on the outside looking
in. But this is the best thing that could happen to him! He would meet
freedom face-to-face for the first time. He could then declare with the
apostle Paul, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a
slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (I Cor. 9:19).
Question
Is it possible to free oneself from all partisan entanglements?
Answer
Of course. I did, many years ago, with the Lord’s direction, and
I’ve never regretted it for a moment. We can serve others better when we
are free of all partisan ensnarements, and that is because we don’t have
to look over our shoulders to see if our party’s “chief priests” are
looking our way. The free man does not nor cannot represent any church,
faction, denomination, or cult upon the face of this earth. He is
God’s representative! He answers only to his Lord, not to the “chief
priests and teachers of the law.” He has no lords, popes, or masters to
whom he must give account.
Question
Would you describe such a man?
Answer
He is bold but not violent; firm but not rude; outspoken but not
mouthy. Above all, the free man is compassionate and loving. He will
always remember that a man called Jesus transformed the world without
throwing a rock, burning a building, drawing a sword, or brainwashing
weak and innocent minds. This man Jesus changed the world by the simple
act of persuasive teaching. There will never be another like Him. Praise
His Holy Name!
Question
Are you saying that a “free man” should not listen to or take advice
from others?
Answer
No, that's not what I’m saying. We are not free if we
refuse to listen to and take counsel from others whose wisdom is on a
higher level than ours. Listening to and accepting counsel from others
is not the same as being dictated to by the “chief priests and elders.”
Submission to the latter will enslave us. Listening to the former will
make us wiser.
Question
How can we differentiate between the two?
Answer
Look around you. Observe and evaluate. What do you see?
Pewwarmers? Preacher worshippers? Spiritual deadbeats? Lukewarm and
uninformed believers? If this is what you see, you’re looking at a
system of slavery. Run as fast as you can! No, don't place yourself on
the outside by abandoning your efforts to reform. “Run away” or renounce
partisan slavery. Only then will you be able to work within the system
to reform it.
Question
Are you bitter toward those who do not share your views on reform?
Answer
Goodness, no! I love them. I meet with them. I study with them.
They are no less my brothers because they are not as caught up in
reformation. My ministry is reformation. This is where the good Lord has
planted me. I dare not reject the brother whose ministry is in some
other field or area of life, or whose divine assignment differs from
mine. I know only that I must work for reform. And I cannot work for
reform by rejecting those who do not agree with my efforts.
Question
What aspects of reform do you recommend?
Answer
1) Churches must be willing to
surrender all party labels, names, and partisan practices. The
denominating of separatist Christian groups must cease. We must
recognize that wherever God has a child, we have a brother or a sister.
We have no half-brothers or half-sisters in the Lord. We are blood
fellows of Jesus the Lamb.
2) Draw no party lines. If Jesus did not erect
the barrier that keeps our brothers out, dismantle it. Remove the notion
that salvation is found in our association with churches. Patterns and
parties (churches) cannot save. Jesus is our Pattern, our Plan, and our
Salvation. Churchism is the wrong answer to the world’s problems. If a
solution is ever found, the world must look to Jesus—not to churches.
3) Purge all ritualism and formalism from our
meetings and get back to the simple, informal, mutual method of sharing
with and edifying one another. Our open class meetings resemble the open
meetings of the early believers, for everyone is encouraged to
participate. Participation makes for spiritual growth. Pewwarming makes
for spiritual retreat.
It is utterly ridiculous to speak of leaving our class meetings to go
“into the sanctuary to worship.” Worship in the new age is never defined
as moving from one location to another. If we are not worshipping in the
first room, it is unlikely the situation will improve by moving to the
second room. For the committed believer, worship cannot be turned on and
off at will. It is his whole life.
4) The “pulpit minister” must go! His position
is a cancer in the body of believers, preventing the various parts from
functioning as God intended them to function. The divine testimony is
silent about our modern-day “pastors” and “pulpit ministers,” except
they are referred to as hirelings (John 10:11-13). They need to be
dismissed and encouraged to find a job.
Conclusion
These changes are not likely to come about overnight, for they
did not develop overnight. Somewhere along the trail, change will come.
The mood and the times are right for it. May God grant us wisdom as we
make preparations. |
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