Many groups calling themselves churches of Christ do not strictly follow Christ. Such as it was in the first century, Romans 9:6. A problem arises in how to talk about these churches that use the same name yet teach differently (Gal 1:6-9). In English, we do this with descriptive adjectives. I might talk about some cars on the road, but if I want to narrow the field, I can mention the yellow cars or those yellow cars with four doors.
“Conservative” and “liberal” are just how a person approaches authority. (Col 3:17) A liberal finds justification in an authoritative document based on what the document does not say. A liberal approach states that when something is not expressly forbidden, then it is allowed. A conservative approach is just the opposite. Something that is not expressly allowed, directly or implied, is forbidden. One of the distinguishing factors between churches is their approach to the authority of the Scriptures. Some take a liberal approach and others a conservative approach. (Matthew 7:21-22)
One of the problems with a liberal approach to the Scriptures is that it is hard to establish boundaries of how far you can go and not exceed the authority of Christ. Thus, in recent years, there has been a rise of ultra-liberal groups. Most of the congregations have a liberal approach to the scriptures, but not extreme, so they began calling themselves “mainstream” to distinguish themselves from the “way out there” liberals. Most mainstream churches consider themselves conservative when compared to the ultra-liberals, so they might call themselves “conservative” and the ultra-liberals, “liberal.” (I have named them consiberals.) They tend to call the original group that they branched off from “antis” because their truly conservative approach to the Scriptures makes it appear to the liberal groups that they are against everything they want to do.
Because of the liberal approach, most of (perhaps not all) these congregations found justification to use the Lord’s money to fund institutions to do portions of the church’s work. The conservative congregations objected. Thus, another distinguishing attribute is the support of institutions (institutional) or the rejection of institutions (non-institutional). We must point out that the mainstream churches of Christ have adopted this liberal approach to the scriptures to allow for the fellowship of false teachers. They hold to the belief that if one does not preach opposing doctrines from the pulpit everything is okay. This flies in the face of 1 Peter 4:11 “Speak as the oracles of God”. We are not at liberty to speak what we think, feel, or even our opinion. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us we have been furnished with everything necessary for good works. The point is where will it stop?
This disunity is wrong (1 Cor 1:10-13). However, I also should mention that the ultra-liberal groups are fast approaching a denominational viewpoint. Denominations tend to see themselves as an organization composed of churches. The Bible speaks of the church as composed of Christians, whether we are addressing the church in a universal or a local sense. Denominations tend toward organizing beyond the local church, so there are regional and sometimes worldwide headquarters. Denominations use documents beyond the Bible to define their sets of beliefs, such as statements of faith, creeds, and manuals.
As for the congregation where I attend, we are conservative, we have conservative members, conservative preachers, and conservative elders, and as a side note, we intend to remain conservative. Our goal is to do exactly as God has commanded to the best of our ability. When someone says, “I wouldn’t go over there they are conservative,” what they are saying is they do not want to be bound by any rules from God that would hinder their lifestyle. 1 Cor 7:23 “bought with a price, therefore be not the servants of men.” Yes, we are conservative, we want to go to heaven, and the only way we see to get there is to be obedient to God in all things, giving Him the glory.
Enjoyed this article it is spot on.
Very good article. We’ll said, my brother.