Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry
Seems to me primarily with Lee, there was more of an emphasis on Darby (an exclusive brethren) than any of the open brethren brothers from the 19th century.
As I have said before many who come into the recovery bring their baggage from previous fellowships. For Nee and Lee, that baggage was the exclusive (aka Plymouth) Brethren.
Judging supposed sin indicates judging without having the facts. A brother may be removed from fellowship for his preference to read from the Bible and not the ministry publications. Brothers like Mario Sandoval and Steve Isitt are put out not because they're trying to stir up division, but because of offending elders in Ontario and Seattle unwilling to repent and reconcile with them. It's confronting "the brothers" that's considered worthy of "judging sin" in the context of Titus 3:10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning,
Question, who is being factious?
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What I would say is that particularly with the Exclusive Brethren, there was the idea that they had seen a lot of truth, so that put them in a superior position, a position by which they could judge others. The attitude of judging results in creating factious leaders.
With Nee and Lee, it wasn't necessarily that they set out to judge anyone. It was more of an issue where they could look at others and claim that since other groups didn't "see" what they supposedly saw, there was reason to not associate with so many other groups. The issue of the ground of locality was Lee's main justification for separating from others.
I'm afraid that LC leaders are in a position where they see themselves as being more important than they really are, after all they are leaders of "the Lord's Recovery". So with that kind of attitude, they are in the prime position to judge others. When someone speaks up, speaks their mind or protests something, now that person is "rebelling" against churches that represent God's move on earth. The attitude of superiority becomes justification for anything and everything.