The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1967

I ) • _ l .. ltl Ifl e I l I l "" t:l , ,--';/ 11 ere lidm By Rev. Ben Jennings Ill tlll' tlli\ ,f tllt' I 1g). \ttl lcr tl1c J ·~t ,,t g .\~"-.. "' lC \\ ii) C )lllC 1\) ,l h , .. 1 d 111 g t' 1 1 t 1 c ,t ·· I I Ie 1\ I e c 111., t} I ~ l ,ra ·:· n ...ic1 th•, l1t.:,lti111g 011c l\.'\11 i ll'a111 th.: ·n1ca11".. tt,ell h\ \.)"1 ·,, Jcl,, r H, ' Ctlt t 11 't'l ,g1c ..11 - gr. .ice t t) 111,1n Di f- ~ (fl~)C lC,l h (iif- t' 1t h111c ,1, " f gra 'e... 0n1e \\ e .... .,.:- .. ~11. 1111c \\t rcJe t. hi article .1n ..1tt '111~,t t) .. :\t ft1rth "Tl1e it-/ea,1 r.> r l ,,irv." In o li 1ng \\e ,,ill ti. 1111.. .. c ""' ~r1ptt1re th'" n the "' rd. in J "'hn c,entt:en .. that the) all tna 1 1'~ \.'ne... ht \ r "e i being n11 t1sed. ,, eru ed , nd ,1ht1 ed h} the ct1meni– cal grot1p. ) et. i11 the , ame chapter there 1 a p rfect "n1ean of Ltnity" pr ,ented. '"t1nity·· that i , t ba ed tip n f11ll ... riptural authority L ~1p rficial. l t can unite on the urface ~lnd ~eparate at the core. The liberal pre ent a "unit),·· that divide . Bible hel1e, er practice a . eparation that tl n1te . l ~ one church proponent rece,tly called The Ecumenical Movement . ,·11 cretis111 . The Random Hou e new ~ unabridged dictionar)' ay that yn- creti m i "The attempted reconcilia– tion or unio, of different or opposing pri nci pie . practice . or partie ." We n1u t agree that the name fits the mo\ e. It i then by name and prac– tice. an attempt to bring together all religion into one fold and tinder - o:ie banner. Regardle of their dif- fe ...ence . it would unite - ~f ennonite and Methodi t. Lutheran and Latter Day aints . Pre<;byterian and Penteco tal , Bap,i t and Brethren. Je\\l a,d Jehovah' Witnes<;es. atholic and Culti ts. and call it the Kingdom of God. F.r t of all. true unity mu t be ba ea upon union v/ith the Lord Jesu Chr1 t Thi 1s paramount. When, and onl,, y.,hen v.'e are united with Him ~ do \\'e ha\e the first e ential of criptural u:1ity. Because - I. TR E V~ITY STEM FROM THE Si\ 1E OCRCE. · . . . The ' are not of the world. even a I am not of the world. · John 17:14 The pre ent da)' tinity move i APRIL, 1967 PAGE 8 l a,cti tl()On a ~al"ic ac;, t1n1ption th at a l l 111...: n arc 11 rot h \! r a 1 ti t h at , o d i ~ th~ .. at l1cr <)fal l. Bt1l Je 11 aid: H he ,~c t)ll .... e(I arc the childre n o f the l-..1ng<.i n1 : httt the tare are the child– ren f th e wicked ne ." Mt . 13: 38 He al :, aid th at the \ ., of Ma n '>l)\Ve(l the good <;eed and that the Devil owed the tares. Thu. we h ave a divided w rld l hat . tern<; from a di, 1 id ed ot1rce. In John 8 :23 Je t1 said. "Ye are fron1 beneath: I a111 from above: Ye are of thi w rld: I an, not of this \cvorld." And agai n we have a divided grou p that tern. from a divided ource. HExcept a man be born agai:1 he cannot ee the Kingdom of God.' Onl y tho e who are bor:i. from above can be united with the One who came fr om above. The world h ated Je us Chri t, and it will h ate all others who are born of Him. It is not po ible to unite. in thi world or the next tho e who did not ste111 fro,11 the sa1t1e soi1rce. IT. TRUE UNITY EPARATES FROM THE AME YSTEM. " I pray not that Thou hou1d t take them out of the world, but that Thou houId t keep them from the evil one . They are no,t of the wo rld ( y tern) eve:,. as I am not of the world." John 17: 15-16 There are two eparate and di tinct Y~ tern operating in thi world. One i D ivine, the other is atanic. One is from above, the other j from beneath. Thu our Lord prayed that Hi own might be kept from the evil one. These two contrasting ystems are ee:, today operating on three great battle front - political, i ntelleotual a nd ecumenical. Communi m lead atan army on the political front. Satanic rationali m, with its evolu– tionary theory, has set itself against Divine revelation 0:1 the intellectual front. Liberal theologian have set them elves again t Bible believers o n the ecumenical front. I can ti ll hear my mother saying "birds of a feather flock together." Tt hould be no surprise when we I · n r n < l f I h Ii 1, t aIs r, Ii g 11 i .1 g thc n1 sc lv ·s \'lit l1 C<l 111111,111i s 111 . nth i ti CVl) luti )11 , nnll 11)1 si ng f11n(l nn1 11t n ll il)lc l)cli cvcrs. It l l ·s l1<)Ck a11< 1 \t rt 11 wcvur. wl1 cn we I ·a,rn t ha 11rt)fcssc<I 11 il1lc bcl icvcrs cas t t hci lot wit 11 t l1c111 . ~ ornc ot1 t fro111 ,, n1on1 then1 . ait h the L.c>r(I.'' 'rr,,c U 11it \l'p(tr(1te.\ j,r,,,, tl1e .\'(1111e s ,s·t e11ir. II I. 1 I{ I:. I' Y - \ AN( J .. J l ·. [J Y 'J 11 l-:. AM 1.: <:.; I{ f JJl Rf ·1 •\ anc tif y them thr t1gh 1 hy tru th hy word i ruth - f r thci <;ake<; r ~a1c tify my\elf." Joh 17 : 17, 19 Thrre are two conflic ting systen1 in thi<i wor ld th at mu l never merge The Word of God has set them s !Jet's face it - the Bible is hoth <;anctifier of men and a epanator o men. One group is sanciti fied. c;e apart, by and throt1gh the Bible, whi t, a nother is et again t it . If men speal a:1d act contrary to the Bible, it i because they have not been set apar by it. The false cult were :i.ot set apar by the Word of God but by the word of some man or woman. Neither ar the Iiberal and modernists, who den the vi rgin birth, the sacrificial atone ment the bodily resurrection an, seco nd coming of our Lord, set apar by the Word of God. There are those timid souls wh• ca:,'t di ce rn , who say : "but they hav scripture to prove their point." S. do al l the cults and isms. They al LL~e enough of the dynamite of God' word to laun~h their unguided mi site . They cot1ld never get off th ground without it. But while the piously quote from holy writ the dis tingui hing mark of being et apar by it is not found in them. IV. TRUE UNITY - SEND~ I INTO THE SAME SERVICE. "A thou hast se:it me into th vvorld, even so have I also sen the,n into the world." John 17: 11 True unity will engage the chil< of God in the ame service that th, Father sent the Son to do. If we ca1 determine what His mission was, w• hould be able to determi:ie wha ours is. Hear Christ as He tells wha He came to do and what He did no come to do. For our purpose we ma~ learn as much from the negative a from the positive. In Matt. 10: 34 H< aid, " I came not to send peace or earth , but a sword." He came to pu the word between that which tern med from above a:1d that which stem med from beneath. He came to separ ate two irreconcilable systems. Wt could say, He did not come to unit< me:i., but 1:o divide men. The ver: heart of the gospel message i to ca1 ~ men out of darkness into light. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIS1