That Questionaire
by Floyd Chappelear
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994
My congratulations are extended to those men who refused to reply to the infamous "Questionnaire" being mailed by some churches. My sincerest concerns are extended to those brethren who responded to it out of fear that support would be cut off. (Do not think for a moment that there was not a veiled threat of support denial, for those who sent out the Questionnaire initially had this to say, "This will confirm and demonstrate to the brethren here that every single man with whom this church has fellowship continues to walk ’in the old paths’ of divine revelation in spite of the fact that some brethren are drifting in our time. ...men who are drifting would resent and refuse to answer these simple Bible questions.") One cannot help but conclude that failure to respond would result in the severing of fellowship by that church!
However, enough has been said about the questionnaire itself in the pages of Gospel Truths, April, 1994. In this article, I want to consider some of the mind-numbing "apologies" given by those supporting the new creed.
"Elders have a right to ask questions of those they are supporting."
True, absolutely true. Nobody has questioned this right. However, the Questionnaire in question was not written or prepared by any group of elders! It was written by two preachers from separate states, divided by hundreds of miles. Elderships certainly have a right to use these questions, or any others, but let us not begin with an error; that is, that an eldership prepared them. One cannot begin from a false premise and reach a correct conclusion.
Additionally, when it is said that the Questionnaire is not being used to establish doctrinal soundness, those making the argument are not dealing with the facts. In the initial cover letter, establishing doctrinal soundness is the very purpose of the document. To fail to see that is to close one’s eyes to the most obvious truth. God said that certain ones in the first century had closed their eyes and stopped their ears lest they should see and understand — and be converted (Matthew 13:15). The same scene is upon us today.
The doctrinal unsoundness of those who sent the questionnaire is abundantly clear in their use of I Peter 3:15 to justify it. The passage says, "Be ready to give answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope which is in you." Obviously, some think this passage means, "Be able to give book, chapter, and verse for everything you teach." The passage has no such meaning. God is requiring us, in this text, to make an "apology" ("defense") for what has led us to be willing to suffer persecution and to live godly in this present world. We are to be able to give grounds for our convictions; i.e., Christianity is based on truth, the first of which is that Jesus, God incarnate (not just a man, an ordinary guy like you and me) came to the earth, lived and died, and bore our sins on the cross. In other words, Jesus is the "reason for my hope," not what I believe the Bible teaches about the war question, marriage, etc.
Brethren, there is no excuse for our constant misuse of this passage of scripture. It doesn’t support the contention for which we use it, and it loses its power when we misuse it.
Elders need this questionnaire to establish soundness. Nothing could be further from the truth! Qualified elders are able "by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus 1:9). When one justifies such a document on the ground that elders would not be able to otherwise determine soundness, it is more than suggestive of the idea that we have some unqualified elders running around. Frankly, I would hate to try to slip false doctrine past the elders of the Annandale church where I labor. Men are made elders because they know the word, not in the hope that some preacher will know what questions may need to be asked to determine soundness!
Brethren, from this day forward, let us say about the Questionnaire what we choose, but let us be totally honest. Let us never argue that an eldership prepared it in an effort to determine soundness or that it won’t be used that way! When we stick with the facts, the questionnaire loses its appeal to those who appeal to Christ!
