Edomites Among Us

by Floyd Chapelllear
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 3, September 1996

The sounds of battle had to have been terrifying to those Jews cowering within the walls of Jerusalem. The terrors of war were about to descend on them, and no relief seemed possible. The Sabine women’s fate would no doubt befall the Judean women, and death might soon follow. To some, the only escape was to flee Jerusalem through the craggy mountain passes of the Edomites. But the Edomites would not let them pass.

I do not know which battle against Jerusalem the book of Obadiah references. I do know this: God’s people were trying to flee the destruction when the Edomites blocked their way (Obadiah 1:14). For this, the wrath of God was pronounced against Edom (Obadiah 1:15). In fact, God said that “what goes around, comes around” when he pronounced, “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.” That should be a sobering thought.

A Modern Application

At times brethren in the institutional churches see trends within their fellowship that are alarming, and they want to get out. They may not see that the morass of institutionalism is at the heart of their predicament, but they do know that churches of Christ today are not like they were thirty years ago and that they are being ravaged by the Philistine of modernism. In “church hopping,” they may land in a non-institutional church and discover that “this is the way churches of Christ were when I was younger.” Motivated by a desire to serve the Lord as they once did, they may seek to identify with the conservative church. However, brethren today often stand as belligerent Edomites, blocking the way of escape for those who would flee institutionalism. How? By creating conditions or requirements that would block the way to freedom from the entanglements of sin. One of those conditions is requiring a public renunciation of the sins of institutionalism before the local church confers acceptance. These brethren, however, may not understand the institutional question; they just know that they want to return to what they once practiced. They want to serve God faithfully and diligently and see an opportunity which has not heretofore been seen. The “fine points” may be lost on them, or may be matters of indifference, but they do want to worship God in an environment less hostile and free from the modern gimmickry so typical of liberal churches.

The Edomite, however, will bar the door, demanding that until a public confession of the sin of institutionalism is proffered, fellowship cannot be extended. This arrogance is appalling for many reasons, but the most obvious is: “Where do we have the right to require a condition of grace that God never required?” Specifically, I refer to the practice of requiring a public confession of sin before the church before we will recognize another. To put it bluntly, the Bible does not teach public confession of sins as a condition of grace. (If you want to respond to this: don’t bother citing Matthew 18:15-17; James 5:16; or Acts 8:22-24 as none of these passages even remotely suggest such a thing.)

When a member of the royal family wishes to be forgiven of his sins, he needs but to petition the King in heaven; He alone has the power to forgive. When we require brethren to confess to us and beg our indulgence, we have gone beyond the word of God—way beyond.

Amarillo, Texas

A gospel preacher friend had been trying to persuade some kinfolk to leave the institutional church of which they had been a part for years. The ties of friends and relatives were strong, and they found themselves unable to leave. However, they moved to Amarillo, Texas, where they were free of the entanglements of friendship (see: Matthew 13:22, “care of this world”). Upon arrival, they began attending a conservative church, making it clear they came from an institutional background but wanted to “check out” what was being done.

Whether it was his habit or hobby, the local preacher occupied himself over the next several weeks indicting the liberals and preaching incessantly on the institutional question. Nevertheless, the couple soon told the preacher they were prepared to become members. Upon hearing this, the evangelist in question turned them away, saying, “I think you’d be more comfortable going somewhere else.” They left for an institutional church.

Frankly, that preacher should be ashamed of himself. That couple should have been received with open arms and in concert with the rejoicing that would have taken place in Heaven (Luke 15:5-6). “But,” the detractor cries, “they didn’t repent of institutionalism."  That’s because they didn’t necessarily believe it was sinful. But they had turned to God and were willing to embrace brethren who could teach them better. They should have been received as babes in Christ and surrounded by love.

For Whom Is the Gospel Given?

"So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:21-23).

The Lord’s invitation is for all. However, we need to take note that the invitation is specifically for the poor, the maimed, the halt, the blind. Now, brethren, if you have never done so before, think about this passage. Was this instruction given for the sake of the physically infirm or the spiritually imperfect? It is self-evident.

However, for those who are fearful of “filling the church” with the spiritually imperfect, then get busy building wheelchair ramps, installing hearing devices, and Braille readers for the blind. If it doesn’t fit the spiritually lame, then it doesn’t fit anyone.

A sister once filled out a guest card at Annandale with these words, “I am looking for a church which is spiritually alive and doctrinally pure.” A deacon brought me the card for my comments. “Those are mutually contradictory concepts.” If a church is spiritually alive, then it has new converts in it who believe all kinds of false concepts. If it is doctrinally pure, then it is as dead as a doornail.

Doctrinal conformity is not the basis for scriptural fellowship. Commitment to Christ is. The church is told to instruct those whose doctrinal views are incorrect so they might come to the same level of knowledge as the strong (Ephesians 4:11-15).

Come to the Feast

Let us not build barriers to those who would come to the feast that they might sup with the Lamb (Revelation 3:20; John 6:54-59). On the contrary, if they commit themselves to God, show they are willing to study and learn, and seek the way that leads to life, let us receive them as the Lord receives us.

We don’t need Edomites among us today.