Where the Scriptures Speak
A certain man was filling out a credit application. When he came to the line where he was to list dependents
he wrote “none.” The loan officer asked him, “You’re married, aren’t you?”
The man replied, “Yes, but she ain’t dependable.”
He continued to fill out the application. When he came to the question “length of residence” he wrote
“about 75 feet.”
Words do not always mean the same thing to us as they do to someone else. Regardless of how clearly we
think we are stating something, there will be someone who will not understand.
The religious leaders who began the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) deplored the divisions that separated
Christians from one another. They sincerely believed that if everyone took the Bible as their guide there
would be no divisions into denominations. They considered denominationalism as sinful and contrary to the will
of God.
They coined (and borrowed) some principals, or axioms, to help explain their belief. One was: “No creed but
Christ; no book but the Bible.” Another was: “Where the scriptures speak we speak; where the scriptures are
silent, we are silent.” Yet another was: “In essentials unity; in opinions liberty, in all things charity.”
Those early leaders discovered that while the principals were valid (and still are) persons could not always
agree on what the scripture was saying. Words whose meaning seemed to be perfectly obvious to our early
leaders were not so obvious to others.
Persons could not always agree on what was an essential of the Christian faith and practice and what was a
matter of opinion. For example, our leaders were very sure that celebrating the Lord’s Supper weekly was essential.
Others said the frequency of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was a matter of personal opinion. Everyone
was using the same Bible and searching for the truth of God.
In our church we have Sunday school classes for all ages that are Bible centered. We have excellent teachers
committed to the teaching of Christ. We are searching for the word of God for us, but we know that we are not
God and cannot ever fully know God’s mind. In fact we should question the integrity of those who think they
know all the truth of God.
We call ourselves “Disciples” because by definition we see ourselves as learners or pupils of Christ. Let’s
keep learning, growing, and discipling ourselves, in Christ.
See You in Church,
Pastor Cameron