Biblical Separation Defended - Far Eastern Bible College

and its alleged or implied application toward the justification ofcooperative evangelism.The first argument affirmed that Christ’s instructions to the twelveand the seventy gave them warrant to abide with anyone at all, andtherefore the modern evangelist could do likewise. However, it was seenthat Christ in Matthew 10:11 commanded the twelve to search out a hostwho was worthy, axios. This command eliminates known heathen andfalse teachers, and negates the alleged claim that Christ instructed Hisdisciples to abide with or cooperate with any at all who would becomparable to liberals.The second argument affirmed that Christ accepted cooperationfrom any who did not oppose Him, and that today’s preachers may dolikewise. Here, however, it was found that this assertion could be madeonly by improperly defining the word “oppose,” so that today’sunbelieving liberals could be understood not to oppose the cause ofChrist. When unbelief and indifference to the claims of Christ and to thefacts concerning His life, and the teaching of same, were also includedas they should be as forms of opposition, it was seen that it wasimpossible to assert that Christ ever accepted or would have acceptedthe cooperation of any who so erred. It was seen that the biblical pictureof those who do not oppose Christ. was that of those who are for Himand His claims. These, who could not be liberals who reject thehistoricity of so much of the Bible’s Christ, are those who are trulyChristian; and these are the ones whose cooperation Christ accepts andseeks.The third and fourth argument maintained that Christ cooperatedwith errorists by His Temple and Synagogue attendance respectively,and therefore the preacher of today could enter houses of error and neednot withdraw from the errorists. Here the defense of inclusivistevangelism could not be substantiated because of the great differencebetween the conduct of Christ in the Temple and the synagogue and thebehavior of the cooperative evangelist in the meetings. which havemodernists on the sponsoring committee. That difference lies in the factthat a complete study of Jesus’ Temple and synagogue visits revealedthat He continually outspokenly and scornfully rebuked and reprovedpublicly the Christ-denying religious hypocrites of His day. He did not93