Church Sovereignty

Advocate  and Messenger--1929

There is no question among Primitive Baptists as to a gospel church having the right, and the only right, to discipline her members. A gospel church walking in obedience to the laws of her Divine Head is the highest ecclesiastical body on earth, and from her righteous decision there is no appeal. A member, or members of her body having been labored with according to the laws of Christ, and excluded or withdrawn from by her because of disorderly conduct or false doctrine, such members stand excluded by all sister gospel churches in order. For other churches to recognize or receive into their fellowship members excluded in gospel order would involve such churches in disorder. All orderly Primitive Baptists contend for this principle. The governments of their churches are congregational and they are therefore held together by the ties of a sister-relationship. Above them there is no human ruling power. Conferences, Councils, Union Meetings, Associations, etc., are creatures of churches-- not ruling bodies to discipline churches. But there is a power above the church:-- It is the Law of her Lord. From that law a church has no right to rebel. If she does, she becomes disorderly, and sister churches should not uphold her in her disorder, but should labor in love to show her the disorder she became involved in by disobeying the law of Christ. A gospel church is a Sovereign Church, but not in such sense that she may do as she please. She has no right to make a law, Christ is her Law-maker. She has no right to break His laws, but should faithfully execute them. We have Sovereign States, but there is a law above the State law. No State has a right to make a law to bind other States. Neither has any State the right to break the law which binds all the States. She is sovereign only within the limit of her sovereignty, and is bound by a law above her. So with gospel churches--they are sovereigns only within the limits of their rights and are hound by the Laws of Christ above her. Her duty is to execute the law--not to break it. A good brother writes me :-- "It is true that the church is fallible (may commit error) but I do not know of any body that is capable of trying the church." I think the brother is mistaken here-- he knows Jesus, and He is able to try the church. It is true that when a church acts disorderly, other churches, councils, or associations have no right to "try it;" but they do have a right to refuse to recognize her acts of disorder or to be bound by them. If not, then all orderly gospel churches would be bound by one disorderly church. And no Primitive Baptist believes such a principle is either sound, safe or Biblical. Suppose a church is dominated by a pastor, or moderator, who considers it disorderly for a member of the church to ask the church to consider the advisability of calling a pastor? And under this condition a member does ask that the church consider calling a pastor, and is excluded for doing so, is not the action of the church a disorderly one? Is not a church disorderly when it excludes members without trial? Against an Elder an accusation was not to be received but before two or three witnesses (I. Tim. 3: 2)--would not a church act disorderly to exclude an Elder without trial? Is a church orderly when it refuses to forgive brethren who ask to be forgiven? Is a church orderly when encouraging lawsuits against brethren and uses associations to extend her domination over churches and brethren?

We have but three cases of discipline recorded in the New Testament. The first offense was that of falsehood, hypocrisy, covetousness-- a pretense of devoting all to God and at the same time worshipping mammon. Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, were the guilty parties, and God struck them with instant death. (Acts. 1: 11). The second act of church discipline was for incest, unchastity, licentiousness. A member of the Corinthian Church (I. Cor. 5) was found guilty of this crime against decency, and Paul wrote the church that such an offender should be "delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." He was excluded from the church, but we learn that he afterward repented and was restored to the fellowship of the church again. (II. Cor. 2: 1-10). The third case of church discipline was for false doctrine. Hymeneus and Philetus denied the resurrection of the body (II. Tim. 2: 17-18) and were delivered unto Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme, (II. Tim. 1: 20). All these were public offenses, offenses against the morals, faith and purity of the church. God dealt directly with the first offense, showing his hatred for sin and as a warning against sinners. The church dealt with the other two offenses, but not without gospel labor, for all discipline is for the purpose of saving erring brethren, not to destroy them. And when the man who was excluded for immorality repented and turned from his sin, he was forgiven and restored. But some Baptists seem to think that even though an Elder should be excluded for merely a so-called minor offense, he should never, under any condition, be restored. This is rebellion to the law of Christ, which law requires kind and orderly dealing, labor of love, patient forbearance, and the spirit of meekness and forgiveness. But when exclusions are disorderly performed, the laws of Christ trampled under foot, and such a church manifest not the spirit of kindness and forgiveness, but a spirit of stubbornness and domination in the name of "church sovereignty," then the action of that church cannot be binding on any other gospel church; and if persisted in, and upheld by other churches, it results in confusion and division. A stubborn, unrelenting, unforgiving church, seeking to establish her standing and authority by the unscriptural power of Associations and the "going to law with brethren," is a church in disorder; and her plea to "church Sovereignty"-- to do as she pleases, and contending that other churches should be bound by her acts-- is church sovereignty gone to seed? "The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King: he will save us." Let us honor him, trust him, follow him, and seek to keep his laws; be kind, patient and forgiving; and "if a man be overtaken in a fault, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness (not seek to destroy him in the spirit of haired); considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6: 1-2). R.H.P.