Biblical Separation Defended - Far Eastern Bible College

ARGUMENT VI“Judge Not, that Ye Be Not Judged”The Argument Advanced by Dr. FermThe sixth New Evangelical contention is that the Lord specificallyhas forbidden us against sitting in judgment against other Christians. Inaddition to this it is said that, “In city-wide meetings . . . it would beimpossible [italics mine] to set up a local committee that would agree onwhich churches are worthy and which are not”; and the judging ofhuman associations to whom the one who makes a decision will bedirected is not here necessary since the “Holy Spirit must be trusted toperfect the work which he has begun.” 1Dr. Ferm feels that the issue resides “in the realm of Christianethics.” 2 He boldly asserts that,Any minister or church that willingly enters into acooperative effort, where the Gospel is to be preached withoutrestrictions of any kind, is certainly deserving of having convertswho so desire to join in the fellowship of that particular church.If later any are led astray, or spiritually starved, the responsibilityrests squarely on those churches, not the evangelist. To take anyother course is to sit in judgment on other Christians, somethingagainst which our Lord specifically warns us. 3An Examination of Dr. Ferm’s ConclusionsDr. Ferm has concluded that the Lord has specifically forbidden usto sit in judgment of another Christian’s doctrinal soundness, but sincehe does not state his Scriptural grounds for this, it will be impossible to52