SEPARATISTS, OR SCHISMATICS

By Gary Ray Branscome

In an ideal world, the Word of God would be faithfully taught in every congregation, there would be no division, and Christian believers would be welcomed as brothers by every congregation in the world. However, that is not the case, and the words, “There will be false teachers among you, who will privately introduce damnable heresies,” make it clear that we should not expect it to be the case (2Peter 2:1).

The words, “damnable heresies” tell us that many of the errors that cause division will be so serious that we cannot remain in fellowship with congregations where they are taught without endangering souls. In contrast, many congregations separate themselves from other Christians over unscriptural or trivial matters, and we call those who do so, separatists or schismatics. In saying this I want to make it clear that any errors that contradict Scripture, or add to what it says, are never trivial. The matters that I am calling trivial are matters which the Bible leaves free. Matters such as the use of musical instruments in worship, the day on which we worship, clerical vestments, customs, and so forth.

The book, “The Small Sects in America,” by Elmer T. Clark, lists hundreds of small sects that arose during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some may be listed only because they are small, but many separated themselves from others for unscriptural reasons. Reasons that all too often consist of nothing more than some silly “doctrine” cobbled together from interpretations. Furthermore, the importance that they attach to those doctrines seems to be rooted in the idea that having a distinctive “doctrine” makes them more righteous than those who do not have it – and that is just another form of works righteousness.