Declaration of Dependence

For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. --Proverbs 3:12

To be placed into the midst of a Christian congregation and under the care of a Christian pastor is explicitly to be a dependent and to admit it publicly, for it is incompatible with the Christian Faith to assert independence except an independence from all that is wrong and evil. This fact does not sit well with the rest of the world.

Christ builds His church by incorporating souls into His body through His teaching and sacraments. No one may join the church by his own independent decisions any more than one may cause himself to be born. This, too, does not sit well with the rest of the world.

The Christian church is coterminous with the body of Christ and therefore dependent upon Him alone for all things. The parts of the body are dependent. They do not seek their own way, but they live and abide in concord with the whole body.

To the extent any Christian is given to “do his own thing,” it is inimical to the essence of the Church. This may happen while under the care of the body of Christ, yet the body of Christ reacts not with rejection or revulsion, but with ongoing teaching and patience. Were the body of Christ not to care for its members and exert discipline, it would not be the body of Christ.

That is not to say it is impossible for a member to reject the body altogether, as happens with those who fall away. There are many who do, just as there are many who gleefully assert their independence while mocking those who are incorporated into the church and are dependent upon Christ for all things.

It remains for all Christians to be freer than those who claim independence for themselves. How so? They are free from the fear of death. They are free from superstition. They are free from idolizing everything the rest of the world worships. They are free from demonizing the good things of creation and may use them in service to themselves and others. They are free to suffer for doing good without despairing.

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