In the prophetic outline of church history given us in chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation, we see that after the Protestant apostasy depicted in the message to Sardis, it was said to Philadelphia: “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” In the nineteenth century many of the Lord’s people availed themselves of that open door, returning to the simplicity of the New Testament practice by abandoning all human names, to be gathered to the precious name of Christ alone.
That door is open still, and will remain open till the Lord shall come, so that we, as they, having but a little strength, may avail ourselves of it. It is not the door into another fold or enclosure. Rather it is a door that opens outwards, to enable us to escape from the confusion and restricting influences of organized Christendom. It is a door that leads outside the camp to Christ Himself. “Let us go forth therefore unto Him, without the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13).
If it be asked: What are we to do? the answer is plain. We must surrender every name, system or practice that is unauthorized by the Word of God, and return to the simplicity of New Testament teaching.
In doing so, we shall meet with fellow-believers as Christians, gathered only to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the purpose of carrying out His mind regarding worship, ministry, prayer, and evangelistic service, in dependence on the Holy Spirit. We shall not countenance any form of clerisy, but allow freedom for the exercise of any spiritual gift which the Lord may be pleased to vouchsafe to us. We shall recognize as elders or shepherds all who are qualified to engage in that service according to the requirements of Scripture.
If, however, we do take scriptural ground, and are determined to practice all that the Word of God enjoins, we must take heed lest we be found boasting in the very scripturalness of our position or harboring a censorious spirit toward those who remain in the place from which we came out. For it is only too possible to be scriptural in our position and yet sectarian in our attitude.
It is also possible to be in a scriptural position and be greatly lacking in other respects. For, as has been often said, a scriptural position is no guarantee of a scriptural condition, and no assembly can function satisfactorily if there is a condition of carnality, pride, or worldliness. So we must ever be dependent upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and power.
The question, then, reduces itself to this: Is there such a thing today as being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone, in recognition of His Lordship, and in complete subjection to His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible for believers to be gathered simply as Christians and in recognition of the essential unity that links them together as members of Christ’s body, as all Christians were in the first century? And is it the mind of God that they should renounce all man-made religious associations and parties, in order so to meet according to the Word of God?
To ask the question is to answer it. Even if no other Christians in modern times had recognized the possibility and necessity of it, it would still be our duty and privilege to do that which God’s Word reveals to have been His mind for all His people from the beginning of the church’s history, and till Christ shall come.