One defining characteristic of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is an absoluteness for the truth. If we are faithful to the Lord, we cannot compromise the truth. For that reason we can accept only what matches God’s intention as expressed in the Bible; we cannot accept manmade imitations...
Teaching and Fellowship
Our Attitude Toward Other Christians and Their Work Part 1: Maintaining the Oneness With Fellow Believers
This three-part article will address the relationship between those who meet in the local churches and fellow believers, the denominations and free groups to which they may belong, and their work. If we are not clear in these matters, we may be influenced by accusations that those in the...
Our Attitude Toward Other Christians and Their Work Part 2: The Vision of the Lord’s Recovery Being Contrary to Today’s Christianity
In the first article of this series we saw the imperative of preserving the oneness of the Body of Christ and avoiding divisiveness on our part at all costs. Our attitude toward other believers, including those who do not meet with us in the local churches, should be one...
Our Attitude Toward Other Christians and Their Work Part 3: Not Entangling the Work of the Lord’s Recovery with Others’ Work
In addition to our attitude toward other Christians and toward the denominations (parts 1 and 2 of this series), we need to consider our attitude toward others’ work, and more specifically, toward the work that is being carried out today by the denominations, free groups, and parachurch organizations of...
Assailing the Ground of Oneness (2): Diligently Keeping the Oneness Requiring a Local Ground
Ephesians 4 speaks of one Spirit and one Body and of our need to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace (vv. 3-6). Some Christians ask whether the oneness of the Spirit and of the Body mentioned in Ephesians 4 are not sufficient in...
God’s Government and God’s Grace
God has two complementary systems—a system of government and a system of grace— through which He accomplishes His eternal economy. A proper understanding of these two systems and how they interrelate yields great insight into the revelation of the Bible, the ways of God, and the nature of God’s...
Concerning Allegorizing the Bible
From the beginning of the church age reputable Bible teachers have recognized that many portions of the Scriptures, in addition to their literal meaning, also symbolize spiritual truths. Extracting the spiritual meaning from the literal words of the Bible is called allegorizing the Bible. Some people argue that it...
Questions and Answers about Apostles and Co-workers
Who has the authority to appoint and remove elders? According to the New Testament, apostles, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, have the authority to appoint elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:28) and to remove elders when the need arises. If an elder becomes a...
Being Overcomers with a Vision, Not Idealists with a Dream
As the Lord’s lovers who seek to practice the church life according the way revealed by God in the New Testament, we should be people of vision, not idealists. The apostle Paul was such a person, a person who was captured by the heavenly vision of the transcendent God-man,...
Dispensational Discipline
Dispensational discipline refers to God’s discipline of His children in the next age. The New Testament shows that God judges His own children (1 Pet. 1:17; 4:17), and the Lord Jesus makes it abundantly clear that His followers will be rewarded or disciplined at His return (Rev. 22:12; Matt....