"YOUR BROTHER, NO QUESTIONS ASKED" 

A recent letter from Cecil Hook of New Braunfels, Tx., who writes frequently for this journal, concluded with these engaging words, "Your brother, no questions asked." Knowing the kind of questions Cecil can ask, it is just as well that our fraternal relationship does not depend on my ability to provide the right answers to his questions. He was telling me that he accepted me as is, that he had no test for me to take. That I limp along as a faltering disciple of Jesus is enough for him. He loves and accepts me unconditionally. I don't have to be good and I don't have to be right. That I am his brother, a child of the same Father, is enough for him.

In my search of ways to capture in few words the essence of unity and the meaning of brotherhood I have not been able to do better than the way Cecil put it. Let us print them on our signs and proclaim them to our communities: We accept you as you are, no questions asked!

People who have been rejected by other churches because they are divorced would be accepted as is, no questions asked.

People who have been driven from other churches for being "in error" on this or that doctrinal point would be accepted as they are, no questions asked, for we are all "in error" on some things.

People of unsavory reputation, whether because of dope, crime, or prostitution, would be received on the basis of the love and mercy of God, no questions asked.

People who are poor, unwanted, unemployed, and unclean would be accepted as is, no questions asked.

This means that we would have but one "test," if it could be called a test, and this is commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord, or an interest in the claims of Jesus as Lord.

It is not our mission to lay down tests and issue examinations. It is not our business to sit in judgment on people's lives. It is not our concern how many times they've been married or whether they have ever taken bankruptcy. We do not have to meddle in their private lives. We are to be their servants for Jesus' sake, and we are to witness of the mercy of God and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not to be dispensers of the law but ministers of the gospel. We are to be the Body of Christ upon earth that welcomes the oppressed and the weary and not some private club where only the cultured and the affluent feel comfortable.

No questions asked, only a way of life to be shared. That's not bad. That puts us in company with the primitive community of Christians that had but one concern, sharing the common life in Christ. That by the way is what fellowship means: sharing life in Christ together.

Jesus told that great story of the wayward son who at last made his way home, broken and disgraced, only to be received by a forgiving and loving father. And he told the story to show us how God loves. The father was too busy showing mercy to ask questions.

The Pharisees may have expected Jesus to conduct an inquisition when they brought an adulterous woman to him. But Jesus had no interest in either asking questions or passing judgment. He shared with her God's forgiveness.

This is our task as Christ's church. To concern ourselves with love, mercy, and forgiveness does not mean that we take people's sins lightly or that we in anyway approve of the way they are living. Nor does it mean that we are not to preach repentance. It only means that when lost and suffering humanity look our way they should see the grace of God. It is, after all, the goodness of God (that people see in us) that leads them to repentance, according to Rom. 2:4.

Needless to say that there are yet many among us who are not as open as Cecil Hook, who will accept even me, no questions asked. If I draw only from information that has come through recent phone calls, there is the instance in a Nevada church of a sister who was withdrawn from because she worked in a casino. The church rescinded its decision when her lawyer wrote and kindly requested that they consider her rights as a person, only vaguely alluding to possible court action. In the same city four sisters in a Church of Christ were required to make confession for speaking up in a Bible class. One wonders how a sister can even make a confession if she cannot speak at all. Another brother called to tell how he suddenly became persona non grata, including having his class taken from him, when he failed to answer some doctrinal questions in the right way. It is not uncommon for Christian Church folk to relate how they were beautifully accepted in a Church of Christ until some questions were asked and it became known that the church they came from has instrumental music. Sometimes people are rejected because they are too friendly with "liberals" or because they dare to visit a "denominational church."

Some churches go so far as to draw up a list of questions for those who would be teachers. I will forever admire J. W, Roberts of ACU, who is now deceased, for writing in the Firm Foundation that such a practice is creedal and sectarian and should be abandoned. But the classic response came from a sister in Dyersburg, Tn., who, when she was confronted with such a questionnaire, asked What grade do I have to make to pass?

The one test that we should each give ourselves is, what would Jesus do? Or better still, what has he already done for us? If he came into this world to question all of us and to judge us on our answers, then we have no hope. If we have to be good or perfect or right, then there was no reason for him to die on the Cross. This "test" lies behind the principle of acceptance that Paul gives in Rom. 15:7: "Receive one another as Christ has received you, to the glory of God." That says it all, and that is the only "test" we need.

How did Christ receive you? Was it not on the basis of love, mercy, and grace? That is how we are to receive others. And when we do that, the apostle assures us, it is to the glory of God. If we accept people only when they agree with us, it is to our vain glory and not the glory of God.

When we love and accept each other as sisters and brothers, no questions asked, it glorifies God, Rom. 15:7 is telling us. That is because we do it out of our love for God rather than the love of some party. —the Editor