Our Prayer Crisis

Part 2

By Sandy Ditoro

"For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)

In the home congregations of many of our EXTRA subscribers, a "change agent" would never penetrate the well guarded doors of our church buildings and certainly would never gain access to our pulpits. This is very commendable because God has warned us to be watchful. But have we let our guard and defenses down to another deadly error within our walls? We must seriously consider this problem and do all we can to use our influence to correct it for the sake of all our souls and so that God will hear our prayers.

Did you know that fellowshipping error that is in some distant congregation can harm your local congregation? If a false teacher or error being tolerated somewhere else can cause someone in my congregation to lose their soul, should I not use whatever influence I have to stop the problem? Below is an example I have made up to help us understand the problem (All names and incidences are made up):

Let's say that your congregation invites Brother "B" to hold a gospel meeting. Brother "B" comes from a congregation that is fellowshipping members who are not scripturally married. Also, some of the members there see nothing wrong with social drinking. The elders know about these errors, but they do nothing about it. They think it is more expedient for all concerned to use the "don't ask, don't tell" approach in dealing with error, especially unscriptural marriages. Brother "B" comes to your congregation, and he teaches the truth in all his lessons. Everybody loves him. He goes home, and everyone is happy.

Well, the problem happens when young "Susie" graduates and moves to the town where Brother "B" preaches. She places membership where he is because she remembers when he held a gospel meeting back home. She tells her parents that she has placed membership there.  They are very happy with her choice because they remember how sound he was, and they know what a great reputation he has in the brotherhood. Susie starts dating Bobby, a young man in the congregation. He has been married before and is not scripturally divorced, but Susie doesn't question his divorce because this young man teaches her Sunday morning Bible class. Eventually, they marry.

Later on, a young family, the Smiths, from your congregation moves to Brother "B's" city; and using the same reasoning Susie and her parents did, they place membership with his congregation. They become good friends with another young family, the Greens, in that congregation. The Smiths are introduced to social drinking; and the wife, Pam Smith, eventually becomes an alcoholic.

It can get very complicated.  Let's say Brother "D" is in the same town as Brother "B". Brother "D" is aware of the error that is being fellowshipped and ignored over there where Brother "B" preaches. Brother "D", realizing the danger to the souls where he preaches, speaks out and tells his congregation about the problem. He exposes all the error that is being fellowshipped over at Brother "B's" congregation, and he uses Scripture to teach them the truth on each matter. He refuses to go to their gospel meetings or to participate in Bible Bowl because Bible Bowl is held at Brother "B's" congregation. Problems begin when one of Brother "D's" elders tells him to quit talking bad about the congregation where Brother "B's" preaches. Brother "D" is reminded that this particular elder has a sister who worships over there and several members have friends over there. Brother "D" tries to explain to the elder that souls are going to be lost if someone doesn't teach the truth about the matter and tell everyone in their congregation not fellowship error. Brother "D" is fired, and most people in that congregation never think again about the problem.

Others hear that Brother "D" was fired; and they are told, at the school of Preaching where Brother "B" is on the lectureship each year, that Brother "D" is a troublemaker. Brother "D" comes to your congregation to try out. Brother "B" is good friends with one of your elders. He tells the elder that Brother "D" is a troublemaker, and Brother "D" is not hired. You learn of the truth about the whole matter from your friend, Anne. Anne is from the congregation where Brother "D" had preached before he was fired. She is upset and thinking of leaving her congregation but does not know what to do. She asks you for advice. What do you say?

Things grow even more complicated when, on the very same day, Anne calls you to ask for advice.  Your husband, Pete, who is one of the ministers of your congregation, is invited to speak at the lectureship at Brother "B's" congregation. The lectureship is well known, and it is considered an honor to speak at this lectureship. The lectureship is advertised in many brotherhood papers. If your husband accepts the invitation, his name will appear on the lectureship program in all these publications. Now, what do you do? Do you tell your husband what Anne has said? If you tell your husband, what will he do?

My comment: The devil's web grows wider and more tangled each day…..it is complicated; but it exists; and ignoring it does not cause it to go away or absolve us from guilt if we, in any way, fellowship this error.  If we fail to stand with a brother who tries to take a stand, if we hurt a sound brother by not taking a stand, if we fail to warn someone who is going to the congregation where the error is taught, if we have men to speak at our congregation who are fellowshipping error, if sound men speak at lectureships in places where error is fellowshipped, if sound men fellowship men who have besmirched the name of a sound brother who tried to expose their error… etc., etc., etc., what are we going to do about this problem before it destroys us all?

What can you do about the problem? Open your eyes. Don't close them so that you don't see error. God is not going to excuse our ignorance. If you love souls, you will not want to bury your head in the sand.

If you have a husband, talk to him and encourage him to talk to the elders about the danger of fellowshipping error. Go to your elders and talk to them about your concerns. If you do not have elders, then talk to a man who is a leader in your congregation. Pray about the situation. Teach other ladies what the Bible says about marriage, divorce and remarriage. Discuss in ladies class and when visiting with each other what the Bible teaches on all kinds of sins like social drinking, dancing, mixed swimming, etc. Discuss modesty. Encourage a friend, who comes to you with concerns about error, to stand up for the truth. Always encourage your husband to do the right thing. Don't be like Job's wife and encourage him to do wrong. Teach your children the truth concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage. Diligently teach them God's Word. Warn them to open their ears and eyes and to be aware if error is being swept under the rug, ignored and fellowshipped. Teach them to always do what they can to help someone who is standing for truth and to never strengthen the hand of error. Above all, do not just ignore sin. Sin will cause souls to burn in Hell forever and ever. Brotherhood power, politics, money, acclaim, name or fame has no power of persuasion with God. Abuse of this kind of power crucified our Lord. We must never bow the knee to any of these. Christ is our only Lord. Ladies, you can use your influence to correct this problem in the brotherhood. If God sees us making a genuine effort to stop this problem, He will bless our lives; and He will bless our nation. He will answer our prayers.