 WO things or
either one of them will prevent any church from serving the spiritual ends
of our religion.
1. If the doctrine becomes modernistic,
questioning the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures, allowing the
teaching of evolution, doubting the deity of Christ or the necessity of His
atoning work; if there is a question about the final and eternal disaster
which befalls men, unless they come under the provisions of the gospel,
there is an effectual barrier against the blessing of the Lord, and there
can be no zeal for the promotion of spiritual religion. Heterodox teaching
or the neglect of positive orthodox emphasis leaves a church without the
help of God and without the help of earnest men.
2. If a denomination so lowers its
requirements for membership that sinners in the church become a majority and
the control of the church gets into the hands of sinners, there can be no
reasonable hope of effectual Christian work for the salvation of men, and
there can be no recovery. Probably no church which has departed from God and
become dominated by secret-society and other worldly influences ever found
its way back. The only thing left is a social club and a “social gospel.”
The Free Methodist Church does not have
either of these two weaknesses. The church is orthodox. No preacher in the
entire denomination dares profess to being a modernist. In the membership
are no doubt some who have never been converted and some who, by failing to
walk in the light, have lost all the grace from their hearts. However, these
are in the minority, and we believe a small minority. This church, because
of its standards, is not a comfortable place for sinners to hold membership.
Christians are in control in the general church, in every conference, and we
hope in every church in the denomination. This condition so far is
gratifying, though the boast cannot be made that every member is a
Christian.
The weaknesses of the Free Methodist Church
are two:
1. Many of our people have not obtained the
experience of holiness, or having once had that high state of grace are
without it today. Such ones are easy prey of the devil. They lack zeal, they
may neglect the means of grace, and they may become backslidden in heart if
not openly.
2. There is not the vision for the expansion
of the work that there ought to be. Some who talk about the ways of the
fathers, referring to the requirements of separation from the world, are in
an old rut. They never open a work in a new community. They have no zeal to
expand for God. Such are departed from original Methodism and from original
Free Methodism. Personal and church and conference evangelism are at the
very center of Free Methodism at its best. Some are too lazy to be
aggressive. They are too lazy to be good Methodists.
Among our excellent assets with which to face
the future are:
1. Sound doctrinal positions.
2. Correct and enforced standard of conduct.
3. Some of the most substantial and spiritual
Christians in the world.
4. A physical basis for our work in our more
than 2,150 church and parsonage properties.
5. Our opened mission fields in home and
foreign lands.
6. Our excellent educational institutions.
7. Our Publishing House.
8. Our young people, who are among the finest
on earth and who are among us in the largest numbers of any time in the
history of the denomination.
9. A reputation for orthodoxy, righteousness,
spirituality and stability.
And everywhere is a humanity in dire need of
the gospel we are appointed to publish. We are equipped to make the future
better than the past has been. In a day of cheap religion we may hold the
scriptural standard. Having received much by way of our fathers, we may pass
on this kind of gospel. “Be strong, and of good courage.” |