False brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. -- Galatians 2:4, World English.
The Bible instructs you whom to fellowship as "brethren;" -- only believers who are seeking to walk, not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Not believers of any and every thing, but believers of the Gospel record -- that mankind is fallen into sin and its penalty, death, and that only in Christ is there salvation, "through faith in his blood" "shed for the remission of sins", as "a ransom [a corresponding price] for all." Any who merely believe in Christ as a noble and good person, a grand example of righteous living, etc., may be agreeable as neighbors or business acquaintances, but they are not "believers," and hence are not "brethren," any more than are Jews, Mohammedans, Infidels, publicans and sinners -- for practically these also so acknowledge him....
Thus seen, a knowledge of doctrines is not our ultimate object in meeting, but the building up of characters, which, as attempted copies of the character of God's dear Son, will be "accepted in the Beloved." But God declares that knowledge of the doctrines which he has revealed in his Word will be of great value to us in our endeavors to grow in his grace. -- Excerpts from "Concerning Profitable Meetings", Watch Tower, September 15, 1895.
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Have we a full measure of liberty today? Or have we simply a certain kind of liberty which needs to be examined to see if its elements are sound? You see, the Catholics had what they called liberty, which was freedom to accept as truth what the Catholic Church taught. The Anglicans gave liberty to conform one's religious life to their faith and practice. A similar kind of liberty obtained among Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and others. Since that time all the Protestant denominations have broadened out, but at one time each of them taught that the liberty of Christ was confined to itself, and that the way to heaven lay in harmony with its creed. Well, the question for us to face is this. Is it possible that today there is manifested a certain brand of liberty -- Bible Students' liberty, which is liberty to believe precisely what a certain number of "orthodox" Bible Students are handing out as truth cut and dried, mandatory and supposedly unassailable, which must be followed in all the letter of the law whether the spirit of the law be conformed to or not? -- Walter Sargeant, "Liberty in Christ".
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Sadly, our flesh constantly pulls us to desire unity, not just of spirit, but also conformity to some sectarian standards we often deem to be necessary for unity. The apostle Paul warned of such. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) But even in this matter, we could become sectarian in not allowing others to fellowship with us because of what we deem to be their sectarianism. If one believes that God sent Jesus to die for our sins, and that God raised Jesus up from the dead (Romans 10:9), although that one may be endeavoring to walk in the spirit but may fall short due to carnal sectarianism (heresies), that one should not automatically be thrown out of fellowship because of such belief, but rather that one should be treated as a "babe in Christ". Sadly, many of the God's people remain "babes in Christ" all their lives. Probably, such miss out in attaining the goal of the prize of high calling, but that should not be the criteria by which we should judge our brothers in Christ. Indeed, we have no authority from God to judge fellow believers regarding whether anyone has or has not attained the goal of that prize. Paul himself stated that he did not believe he had attained that goal at the time when he wrote to the Philippians. -- Philippians 3:12-14. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.
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