A Local Church Having No Particular Teaching

In order for a sinner to be saved, the Bible requires only that he repent (Acts 2:28) and believe both that Christ is God come in the flesh (John 1:14; 2 John 7) to die for his sins (1 Pet. 2:24) and that God has raised Christ from the dead (Rom. 10:9). Once a person is regenerated by fulfilling this unique requirement, no teaching, however scriptural, should become the basis to determine whether a person is received in the local church. It is indeed doubtful that any two believers can agree on every point of doctrine, yet the local church of God is charged to inclusively receive every blood-washed, regenerated child of God, regardless of doctrinal affiliation or preference. Witness Lee was a strong proponent of this principle and testifies here regarding it:

The first factor of a denomination or a sect is a special teaching that differs from “the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42) in the entire New Testament, such as baptism by immersion, the presbytery (to administrate the church by the eldership), head covering, the keeping of days, diet, or a particular stress on a certain point of prophecy. All of these matters may be scriptural, but we should not make any of these a special teaching. It is right for us to have all our practices according to the Bible. Thus, in our practice we baptize people by immersion and we have the eldership, but we do not make these things particular items that divide us from other believers. Certain Christians divide themselves from other Christians over the matter of baptism by immersion. If a believer desires to be received into their membership, they require him to be baptized by immersion in their baptistry, by their pastor, and in their water. If he is baptized by immersion in another place and by other people, they will not recognize him. This is a special, particular teaching that divides these believers from other Christians, making them a sect and a denomination.

(Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 53)

Watchman Nee concurs with Witness Lee. Watchman Nee points out that inclusiveness is a primary and necessary attribute of the scriptural local church:

The church that includes all of God’s children can be counted as the true church. If we have some special doctrine or some special emphasis, if we accept certain kinds of teaching at the expense of the rest of the children of God, we cannot be considered as the church. We cannot be the church without inclusiveness.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 56, 284)

A popular Christian slogan, commonly attributed to St. Augustine reads “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.” There are certain core beliefs in the Christian faith that are universally deemed essential, including the canon of Scripture, the trinity of God, Christ’s divinity and humanity, and Christ's redemptive work on the cross. These basic tenets constitute the common faith (Titus 1:4), the faith common to all believers. This is the faith the Bible charges us to earnestly contend for (Jude 3). Yet there are many other lesser scriptural doctrines regarding prophecy, eschatology, typology, or Christian practice, termed "non-essentials" by St. Augustine, which historically have engendered disagreement and even division. The apostle Paul sets a pattern in the New Testament of treating such non-essential issues in both the local church in Rome and the local church in Corinth with a spirit of permissive generality. Regarding the treatment of non-essential matters, Paul simply exhorts every believer in the local church to be persuaded in his own mind (Rom. 14:5) while doing all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

Witness Lee makes this same distinction between the essentials of the common faith and non-essential teachings:

There have been teachings upon teachings, and all the Christians have been divided and are still being divided by differing doctrines.... All Christians are the same in the [common] faith, but we may be very, very different in the doctrines. Do you believe that we all will be the same in the doctrines? When will that time be? I can hardly believe that any two of us could ever be absolutely the same in doctrine. Then what shall we emphasize? Shall we emphasize the doctrines? If so, we will become divisive and eventually will be divided. We should not emphasize the doctrines, but only our Christian faith. We can emphasize this because with the faith there is no argument. In the faith we have no problems. We are the same.

(Witness Lee, Speciality, Generality, and Practicality, 14)

Elsewhere, Witness Lee also elaborates on the necessary attitude of generality toward non-essential things, not only between individuals, but between local churches:

The problem, however, is that when we visit another local church, we may tell the saints there that the practice in the local church where we are is the right way. We may try to make the church in another city like the church in our place. We should not do this. We should never say the way in our church is the normal way. It is absolutely not right to correct others like this.... To try to convince others of your way will only cause division. If you think your way is the best and it indeed is the best, others will see it and will learn of it. If others do not care to learn of it, that is up to them.

(Witness Lee, Speciality, Generality, and Practicality, 32)

God is concerned (John 17:21), as we should be, that every local church bear the testimony of the oneness of Christ’s unique Body. In the same text cited above, Witness Lee also says,

By all means we have to keep the oneness. Do not make anything definite. Do not make anything specific. Do not have anything set. We should be open, we should be general, and we should be learning all the time.”

(Witness Lee, Speciality, Generality, and Practicality, 32)

The Bible teaches, and the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee testifies, that the genuine local church receives every Christ who adheres to all the essential teachings concerning the Bible, the Triune God, and the person and work of Christ. Beyond this basic requirement, let each Christian believe and practice according to his conscience. The proper and scriptural local church cannot but receive every believer whom God has received (Rom. 14:3).

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