Seeking Grace and Truth

In this post we continue our examination of John Coblentz’s writing, “Are Written Standards for the Church?” After Coblentz establishes that the spiritual life of a healthy church must be centered on a Person, Jesus Christ, and not on written regulations, he moves on to look at the dangers associated with over regulation. As we stated before, he believes that the New Testament record of life in the early church clearly establishes the legitimacy of the church addressing cultural issues…

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We have been examining the pamphlet authored by John Coblentz, “Are Written Standards for the Church?” The next section of the pamphlet is titled, “The Centrality of Christ”. In my estimation it is a key part of Coblentz’s examination of written standards in the church. Previously, he has established his belief that written regulations are a valid part of church life. Next he makes a strong case for a right perspective on written standards. What follows is a summary of…

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This post is a continuation of an examination of John Coblentz’s writing, “Are Written Standards for the Church.?” Next John Coblentz takes a deeper look at Acts 15. In this chapter we find the early church facing the challenge of teachers who insist that the Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised to be saved. Paul and Barnabas had some strong disputations with these teachers, but apparently couldn’t get the issue resolved. An agreement was made to go to Jerusalem and…

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In the next several posts I want to look at a pamphlet published in 1990 by Christian Light Publications. The author is John Coblentz. I have always highly respected John’s contributions to the Anabaptist community. The pamphlet is titled, “Are Written Standards for the Church?” Coblentz begins by noting that some new groups have formed (presumably speaking of the Anabaptist community) who have done away with written standards. He then asks these questions: “Is their position right? Do written standards…

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An Examination of the Writings of the Anabaptist/Brethren Community on Church Standards and Discipline. The first publication I wish to excerpt from is an essay that was published in The Sword and Trumpet magazine and later printed as a pamphlet. This pamphlet, “The Mennonite Rationale for Church Discipline, was a reprint of articles in the January, February and March issues of 1969. The author is Merle Ruth. The pamphlet begins with some questions: “Is it legitimate for a Christian congregation…

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I want to be honest with you about my perspective on the issues of church discipline, written standards and uniformity. I do not have definite answers to many questions that are raised. I have been wrestling with these questions for years. My desire is to respect history and tradition, but also to ultimately better understand more clearly God’s Word on the matter and to be able to make application in real life situations. On one end of the spectrum we…

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