02.38. Bound on Earth
Bound on Earth The principle of unity of action is also implied in the words of our Lord in Matthew 18:18 : "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Christ was speaking in the previous verses of discipline and of one who would not hear the Church or repent of his trespass against his brother. Such an one must be put out of the Assembly and his sin bound upon him in discipline. Its Universality This governmental act of binding or loosing of sins by those gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is bound on earth and in heaven according to the Lord’s words. Notice the Lord did not say, "Whatsoever ye shall bind in the Church or Assembly shall be bound in heaven," but "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." This expression "on earth" certainly covers more than the local Assembly where the discipline is enacted. These words of Christ show that the disciplinary act of one Assembly in the name of the Lord is binding upon all other Assemblies on earth. What is bound according to His Word in one gathering is bound on earth and ratified in heaven and is therefore to be accepted as such by all Assemblies. To do otherwise would be a denial of the unity of the Body of Christ and acting as independent Churches in opposition to the Lord’s words that an Assembly’s act is bound on earth and in heaven.
If one is Scripturally excluded from one Assembly he is outside of the Church of God on earth and must be considered as excluded from every Assembly elsewhere. As we have previously stated, the local assembly represents the universal Church of God and acts for the Church as such and not just for itself locally. Thus unity of action in discipline among Assemblies is taught by the words of the Lord in Matthew 18:18.
Another has well written: "Suppose we excommunicate a person here, and you receive him at S., it is evident you have denied us here as a body gathered in Christ’s name, and acting by His authority: for that is what discipline hangs upon. Further, the unity of the body is denied wholly. It is clear, if I have a part as faithful to Christ in excluding a person here, I cannot have one in another place in breaking bread with him there. Brethren united in the name of the Lord are not infallible, and remonstrance may be all right, but if a person is to be received in one place who is rejected in another, it is evident there is an end to unity and common action ... How could I hold with the rejection of a person here and his reception at S.? When deliberately done, it is evidently impossible. If I am out of communion with him here, and in communion with him there, the unity of the body is gone. And where is the authority of the Lord?" (J. N. Darby).
Mistaken Action That an Assembly may fail in its disciplinary actions and rule amiss is possible. The mind of God may be missed through a low moral state and its action may need to be rectified. Nevertheless, the action of an Assembly, even if questionable, should be respected at first view by other Assemblies. No Assembly has the right to immediately set aside a judgment of another gathering because it deems it unrighteous. That would be acting independently. The pretended competency of one Assembly to judge another Assembly’s acts and decide for itself whether it will accept its decisions or not is certainly a denial, in practice, of the truth of the One Body and outright independency.
We believe the following extracts from the writings of that esteemed servant of Christ, J. N. Darby, give the path of God which should be followed in regard to Assembly judgments and Assembly relationships. "I have always found that respecting the action of an Assembly prima facie (at first view) is the way of wisdom and what God owns . . . A judgment of an Assembly, even if I thought it a mistake, I should in the first instance accept and act upon. My experience has been that the path of God, is to respect the judgment of an Assembly of God, while free to remonstrate and beg them to review their judgment."-Letters, Vol. 2, p. 475, 156 (Old Edition).
"But while a local Assembly exists actually in a personal responsibility of its own; and while its acts, if they are of God, bind the other Assemblies, as in the unity of the one body, this fact does not do away with another which. is of the highest importance, and which many seem to forget, viz., that the voices of brethren in other localities have liberty, equally with those of the local brethren, to make themselves heard in their midst when discussing the affairs of a meeting of the saints, although they are not locally members of that meeting. To deny this would, indeed, be a serious denial of the unity of the body of Christ.
"And more than this, the conscience and moral condition of a local Assembly may be such as to betray ignorance, or at least an imperfect comprehension of what is due to the glory of Christ and to Himself. All this renders the understanding so weak that there is no lon;cany spiritual power for discerning good and evil. Perhaps in an Assembly, also, prejudices, haste, or, indeed, the bent of mind, and THE INFLUENCE OF ONE or of many, may lead the Assembly’s judgment ASTRAY, and cause it to punish unjustly and do a serious wrong to a brother.
"When such is the case IT IS A REAL BLESSING that spiritual and wise men from other meetings should step in and seek to awaken the conscience of the Assembly, as also if they come at the request of the gathering, or of those, to whom the matter is the chief difficulty at the tune. In such a case their stepping in, far from being looked upon as an intrusion, ought to be received and acknowledged in the name of the Lord. To act in any other way would be to SANCTION INDEPENDENCY and to DENY the UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.
"Nevertheless, those who once come in and act thus ought not to act without the rest of the Assembly, but with the conscience of all.
"When an Assembly has rejected every remonstrance, and refuses to accept the help and judgment of other brethren, when patience has been exhausted, an Assembly which has been in communion with it is justified in annulling its wrong act, and in accepting the person who was put out if they were mistaken as to him. But when we are driven to this extremity, the difficulty has become a question of the refusal of fellowship with the Assembly which has acted wrongly, and which has thus of its own accord broken its fellowship with the rest of those who act in the unity of the body. Such measures can only be taken after much care and patience, in order that the conscience of all may go along with the action as being of God.
"I call attention to these subjects because there might be a tendency to set up AN INDEPENDENCEOF ACTION in each local Assembly by refusing to admit the intervention of those who, being in fellowship might come from other places." (Translated from the "Messager Evangelique" (1872).
Godly Procedure In summing up what we believe to be the path of godly procedure as to the action of an Assembly in binding or loosing and any mistaken action therein, the following statement of principles is presented:
1. Normally what the Assembly binds on earth, God winds in heaven according to Matthew 18:18. If a man will not hear the Church, acting for God, he manifests stubbornness, which "is as iniquity" (1 Samuel 15:23).
2. There is need of submission one to another and to the Lord in Assembly decisions (1 Peter 5:5). If an Assembly is not united in its judgment, one faction should not press its judgment over the protest of the others. On the other hand, where an Assembly is largely of one mind, it is Scriptural for the others to submit to its judgment, even if they believe it faulty, unless something very vital is involved.
3. If, however, a judgment of an Assembly is definitely unrighteous and cannot be Scripturally sustained, we cannot believe that the Judge of all the earth, who does what is right (Genesis 18:25), would hold anyone responsible to bow permanently to what is unrighteous and contrary to Scripture. The Lord’s words, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," are not unconditional and absolute or to be misconstrued as equivalent with ’*approved in heaven." The throne of heaven can only approve what is righteous and according to God’s Word and of His Spirit. An Assembly’s act may be viewed as bound in heaven, but if it is not according to the Word and will of God, it will be a distressing bond bringing sorrow and confusion in its train, rather than being a uniting bond of peace which draws hearts together in happy, holy and free fellowship in the Spirit.
4. In such cases of mistaken and unrighteous judgment of an Assembly, there should be an orderly and Godly procedure. When every man does what is right in his own eyes, confusion results, as in the days of the Judges in Israel (Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25), and authority is nullified or set at nought. "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33). The orderly procedure would be for individuals or Assemblies who are exercised about the wrong action, to present in grace their exercises to the Assembly and seek to show them "a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31). If our eye is single, we will seek God’s glory and not selfjustification. Thus the principle of grace in government would apply to Assemblies as well as to individuals.
5. The Assembly in such a case must be willing to reconsider its judgment and action which does not commend itself as of God and according to His Word to brethren at large. God’s Word is given for "correction" as well as for other purposes (2 Timothy 3:16), and Assemblies as well as individuals must be subject to it.
6. In the finality of things, submission to supreme authority comes before submission to subordinate authority; and the call to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 2:29), takes precedence over the command to "hear the church" (Matthew 18:17). This is in accord with the principle that "God must be obeyed rather than men" (Acts 5:29 New Trans.). When an Assembly acts in self-will or mistakenly, they are acting as men (1 Corinthians 3:3). Christ ever remains the Head of the Church and all must be subject to Him.
7. Hence if an Assembly maintains permanently a judgment which their brethren generally deem to be unrighteous and contrary to Scripture, that Assembly, by refusing correction from God’s Word, manifests insubjection to the Lord, the Head of the Church, and loses its proper Assembly character. Such an Assembly might finally have to be cut off by the others from fellowship. This would be an extreme case, and such action should only be taken after all efforts of grace have failed to recover it.
We trust the foregoing will help our readers to perceive more clearly the divine path in regard to Assembly judgments and the proper relationship that should exist between Assemblies, especially when failure and difficulties arise. May we be kept from extreme actions of all kinds, on one side or the other, and be preserved from independency in any shape or form.