Broad churches are bad and narrow churches are good – right or wrong? Well, it’s not that simple. There is a godly broadness and an evil broadness and similarly there is a biblical narrowness and an unbiblical narrowness. Yet many people miss this. One church is criticised simply for being broad as if that was automatically evil. They think the narrower a church is, surely the better. Some think the stricter and the harsher the discipline in a church the more biblical it is. However, reflect for a moment: Is it a healthy and happy home where the father rules with a rod of iron and the slightest infringement of the rules incurs a severe beating? Not without purpose does the Scripture say, ‘Fathers provoke not your children to wrath’ (Eph. 6:4). Harshness of discipline in either the family or the church is unbiblical. None were stricter than the Pharisees when it came to discipline, they were a very narrow church, but were not commended for it.

Sinful Broadness⤒🔗

Many churches today tolerate all kinds of errors. There seems to be no church discipline apart from discipline for ‘divisiveness’ or for being evangelical and holding firmly to biblical principles. There are churches which tolerate heresy, for example rejection of the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ and the substitutionary atonement. It seems a long time since we heard of heresy trials in the big churches, yet truth is fundamental to the church of Christ. Paul states to Titus:

A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. Tit. 3:10-11

Obviously, even in the early church, when they had so much of the Spirit and had the apostles and prophets around to guide them in the truth, they still had heretics. There are plenty around today too. John writes:

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.2 Jn. 10-11

Those who teach heresy, if they will not repent, should be put out of the church. Sadly, in the mainline churches today, those who preach and teach false doctrine are tolerated.

Another problem in many churches is the acceptance of behaviour which is in serious breach of the moral law. The Bible, for example, condemns homosexual behaviour yet many broad churches allow practising homosexuals even to be ministers. Paul had to admonish the church in Corinth to remove from their midst a man who committed adultery with his stepmother (1 Cor. 5). Christ died on the cross not only to save us from the guilt of sin but also to save us from sin itself. The Corinthians seem to have been puffed up with their own liberty and charity (1 Cor. 5:2). Their glorying was not good (v 6). They were to purge out the old leaven and not to keep company with fornicators.

Wrong Narrowness←⤒🔗

The Pharisees had no place in their church for any who had fallen. Sinners were not welcome even when they had repented. They seem often to have cast people out of the synagogue. They had a great respect for the Sabbath day, added many laws to define how the Sabbath should be kept and then disciplined people for breach of their Sabbath laws. Jesus healed a paralysed man and told him to take up his bed and walk. As the man made his way home carrying his bed the Pharisees stopped him and told him that he was breaking the law. When the disciples were hungry on the Sabbath and picked ears of corn, rubbed off the husks and ate them, again the Pharisees were ready to discipline. They basically accused the disciples of working, harvesting on the Sabbath. Interestingly they did not condemn the disciples and Jesus for walking through the fields on the Sabbath. Some of the more narrow among us might argue that the Sabbath be kept holy by staying at home privately worshipping God and going to the synagogue to publicly worship Him. We must take care not to judge the liberty of others by our own standards.

Jesus made plain that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Works of mercy such as healing the sick are appropriate on the Sabbath and also works of necessity such as preparing food. Further if an animal was in distress, if it had fallen into a pit on the Sabbath, it was to be rescued. Church discipline can be too strict and neither glorifying to God nor edifying for man. It can involve disciplining people for breaching man-made laws, or applications of God’s law.

Biblical Broadness←⤒🔗

The church of Christ is to be broad in the sense of being welcoming to all, whatever their background, nationality, culture and past sins. Jesus was criticised for sitting down and eating and drinking with publicans and sinners. We should be pleased if drug addicts, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexuals and criminals come to our church. None is to be excluded. There is something wrong if we show respect of persons. Here is someone wealthy or highly educated, do we specially honour them? Do we give a special welcome to those who come from our own background, culture and church? Over there is a black man or a Filipino lady; are they made to feel welcome? What about the alcoholic who has been living on the streets? What about this lesbian lady who turned up at church? Our church should be broad enough to welcome all. That does not mean of course that we condone their sinful lifestyle. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit who can change every sinner into a saint. Every child of Adam needs to repent. We must be born again. And ‘if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature’ (2 Cor. 5:17).

There is another side to Biblical broadness. We live in a world where even before we were born there were many churches. Essentially there is one church of Jesus Christ purchased with His blood. Divisions are often sinful but they are also part of present human experience. How do we deal with them? Do we excommunicate all churches but our own? No doubt we will consider our own the most biblical and that is why we are members of it, though more often we are members of churches because we are born into them or have followed respected leaders into them. However, we should recognise what is good in other churches and seek as much fellowship as we can with them without compromising biblical beliefs and practices. Some churches are terribly narrow and separatist. They are the true church and all others are schismatics. ‘No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you’ (Job 12:2). We are to recognise that God has given wisdom and godliness to others. Where churches do not deny the fundamentals of the faith or justify sinful behaviour which God has condemned we should recognise them as true churches and seek Christian fellowship with them.

Scriptural Narrowness←⤒🔗

There is only one way to heaven and Jesus is the way. He speaks to us about a narrow gate and a narrow way and the few there be that find it (Mt. 7:14). There are lots of people on the broad road which leads to destruction. Sadly this is true ecclesiastically too. Most churches in Britain today are not true churches. They do not have the gospel and they are leading men and women to destruction. We must not be ashamed to point out to people that unless they are born again they will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Jn. 3:3). Not only are unrepentant Muslims and Hindus excluded but also Roman Catholics who trust in the priest, the Virgin and the mass. Members of the Protestant churches who rely on their good works to save them will also perish. Faith alone in Christ alone is the narrow but only way of salvation.

Biblical Discipline←⤒🔗

Biblical discipline is vital to the health of the church. Where there has been a scandalous breach of one of the commandments or where soul-destroying heresies are tenaciously held to, such persons should be disciplined. Proper procedures must always be followed. Where the sin is private, attempts should be made to deal with it privately. Jesus makes this plain:

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Matthew 18:15-17

Church discipline is the action of the church courts and must be taken only on the basis of two or three witnesses and after careful consideration of the evidence. Harsh discipline which skips these steps is not God glorifying.

Things Indifferent←⤒🔗

There are some matters on which Christians take different positions. Alcohol is one of these. Some Christians feel very strongly that it is wrong to drink any alcohol and can give very cogent reasons for this. Others argue that the Scriptures allow drinking in moderation. Some churches will excommunicate a person who drinks even in moderation but this is wrong. It is an area of life where the Bible leaves each Christian to make up his or her own mind. There are many similar matters. For example in the realm of dress sometimes churches have taken very strict views, laid down the law and disciplined on that basis. There are two dangers here, one of making culture a law and the other of invading the area of legitimate Christian liberty. The church has no right to lay upon Christians laws which Christ has not laid upon them. He is the sole King and Head of the church. While modesty is prescribed, Christians may interpret this differently.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Let our churches be broad in the sense of preaching the gospel freely to all, in welcoming all kinds of people into our churches and in seeking to unite those whom the world would consider as opposites into the one family of God. Let us be narrow in rejecting teachers of false doctrine and those who profanely break the commandments while claiming to be Christians. Let us be narrow in carefully and lovingly disciplining the church, purifying it of uncleanness, warning those who are tempted, protecting the flock from evil influences and maintaining the good name of Christ. Let us be broad in not condemning those whom the Bible would not condemn and in giving scope to our fellow-Christians in things indifferent, things that are traditional, cultural and not forbidden by the Word of God.