WHEN THE TARGET IS UNITY
by Peter MastersFROM SWORD & TROWEL 2000 No
1
The old standard military firing range target may be pressed into service as a
way of viewing different levels of fellowship for different groups of evangelicals.
At the centre of the target is the bull’s-eye, representing the
closest unity we can have. In the bull’s-eye we can unite with fellow Christians
and other churches most closely, for these are the ones who believe exactly the same things.
They love the Lord and they love the great doctrines of the faith. They share, let us say,
even the same views of the ordinances and of church government. There is scarcely a
whisker of difference between us.
Around the bull’s-eye is a broad band called the
inner. This also represents a very close level of fellowship, but not quite the same.
Perhaps we are Baptists, and a Presbyterian believer comes along who loves the same
doctrines in every other respect. We embrace that person entirely, and if he is a preacher, we
may greatly value his ministry. The inner is so very close to the bull’s-
eye, but we normally remain in different congregations, teaching those distinctives
we believe to be right.
It may be that we know a deeply spiritual and good-hearted brother or sister,
who is Arminian in doctrine. As individual Christians we can fellowship very closely with
such friends. We know they are believers, we see something of their hearts, and we relate to
them very warmly. They have a dramatically different view of the mechanics of salvation,
and that hinders our working with them as we can with bull’s-eye folk. We
cannot join so closely with them, but the inner is pretty near to
the bull.
The next circular band on the target, outside the inner, is called the
magpie. This represents people we gladly recognise as fellow believers, and we can
fellowship with them, but not so closely as inner people because, while they
are good-hearted in many ways, they do some unbiblical and foolish things. For example,
they may be involved in doctrinally compromised situations. Perhaps they belong to de
nominations where they are greatly outnumbered by unbelieving liberals, and identified
with them. They are good people, and stay in these denominations relatively innocently.
They do not mean to aid and abet liberals, and have not seen things that way. Nevertheless,
these friends must go in the magpie classification. (The term
magpie is not really appropriate, but it happens to be the name of this band of the
target.)
We very much want to have fellowship with these friends, but to some
extent there is a barrier, as we cannot condone their associations. They are not deliberate,
wholesale compromisers, but they should not really be where they are. In the view of this
writer, adopters of new-style modern-idiom worship are also involved in a worldly
compromise which is so serious that they place themselves in the magpie
circle, at best. (The promoters of these things are outright new-evangelical
compromisers and belong in the outer.)
The last band of the target is the outer. In this outer
circle go the people who, while we recognise they affirm biblical Christianity and profess to
be converted, are in a shocking state of compromise, encouraging, aiding and endorsing,
say, the ecumenical movement, women ministers, clergy or ministers who are enemies of
the true faith, and so on. We can do little more than recognise them. We certainly cannot
join hands in fellowship with them because the Scripture commands us not to do so, lest
we become partakers in their sins.
The outer band is a band of recognition only, with sadness. We
cannot recommend their churches, their ministries or their books.
What about charismatics - where do we place them? Without complicating
matters, they may fall into one of several categories. There are charismatics who are earnest,
spiritual, and fairly moderate in position. At a private level, we may be able to relate near
the bull’s-eye or at the inner. This would not be practical at
church level, where doctrinal teaching must not be adjusted or compromised.
However, the majority of charismatics these days have lurched into such
ungodly and absurd extremes that one can only recognise them as possibly
being true believers. We must see them on the whole as outer band people.
Their doctrinal deviation is far too serious for approval.
An illustration of this kind may give a bad impression to those who do not stand in
precisely the same position, as it will appear to reduce them to second, third or fourth rate
Christians. We can only defend it by pointing out that they will also have an
intuitive rule of fellowship which does the same to those shown in the bull’s- eye of this chart! We accept this, believing that all must be true to their light.
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