In the year 1945 certain liberal minded brethren seized the title that pertains solely to the Word of God and gave the name to their magazine. It would be better called “Specious Weed”.
This magazine, through a current editor, John Bennett, denies separation and promotes Neo-Evangelicalism.
Mr Bennett begins his editorial in the Vol. 67 No. 2, 2012 issue by bemoaning the lack of love demonstrated by those who disagree with him. He part-quotes Gal.5: 22, ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love’, and ignores the other eight ingredients of this ONE fruit. He claims that “picking out just a few of the fruits of the Spirit we can see how practical it is” He also rejects the Authorized Version of 1 Cor. 13: 4, in favour of the NKJV because of its weak translation of agape.
An unwillingness to contend for the faith shows no love to Christ.Those who do contend are described as making a “so-called ‘stand for the truth’”. So he mocks those who oppose error. He describes them as those who “bite and devour one another.”
If one must ‘stand for the truth’ we are informed, it must be done according to the dictates of those being corrected. A person who refuses to heed admonition unless it is done with an inane grin (proving love?), we say, is apostate. For that matter a person who rejects the AV Bible is also apostate.
Mr Bennett claims that those who do promote error, Paul describes as “my beloved brethren”. 1 Cor 15: 58. This requires a further abuse of Scripture on the part of Mr Bennett, when he writes that some in Corinth were denying the truth of the resurrection.
This is a double falsehood. Paul did not refer to “some of you”. He asked “How say some among you?”
J B will not accept that “some have crept in unawares”. He will not accept that Paul elsewhere spoke of “false brethren”. 2 Cor. 11: 26, Gal. 2: 4. Rather, he will hold that any person holding Brethren Assembly membership is one of his beloved brethren. What a delusion! My brethren, and all of them beloved, are faithful brethren. Our fellowship is based on light (which means I love some brethren who are not in fellowship with us!)
J B‘s second false representation is this. These false teachers in fellowship at Corinth were not denying the truth of resurrection. Mr Bennett might have avoided this error had he read the passage carefully. They were denying an aspect of it.
Paul wrote, “How say some AMONG you that there is no resurrection of the dead?: 1 Cor. 15: 12. They were denying an aspect of resurrection. Personally I expect to attain to the resurrection without passing through the article of death. I am looking for the Rapture, which may be today. We have to ask at this point,is Mr Bennett an A-millennialist?
Tares AMONG the wheat doesn’t make them wheat.
An example of correcting in love.
Scene: High Street.
Mr B is about to step off the pavement into the path of an oncoming bus.
Loving Bro: Er-hum, excuse me Mr B,sorry to intrude on you while you are busy. I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that if you continue along your present course of locomotion, you are likely, yes indeed I would say positively, you may, or certainly, ……. oh dear, poor Mr Ben. He’s been flattened. Maybe I should just have shouted at him.