"...There is not a situation in Christ's church in the whole wide world that cannot be dealt with by the Word of God. There is nothing else to deal with it. What other authority or means have we for dealing with evils but God's Word? That Word, if we ransack it from cover to cover, has the very word for our situation. I am amazed at the ineptitude not only of individuals, but of whole schools of thought, and even denominations, in respect of evils which beset and bedevil their work. I have been saying to some for years that the way to deal with the evil of certain secret societies which have sapped the vitals of Christian denominations for years with their subtle, but ridiculous evils, is to bring them out into the open. What the Christian church needs in so many situations is great rows! The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles is not afraid of disturbance. Sometimes it is necessary.
I know that that will shock many, and they will dismiss what I am saying out of hand because it appears to them blantantly unchristian. I have seen many causes of strife which cannot be dealt with but by prayer; but major evils, radical departures from biblical orthodoxy, deep corruption, bitter feuds, and adamant worldliness may not be dealt with by prayer without action. Trace the course of our Lord's three years' ministry and you will see that in the end He brought everything out into the open, the climax of which is seen in the Gospel according to Matthew from chapter 21 onwards, especially chapters 23 and 24. If anyone every used the Word of God as a hammer to break the rock in pieces, or as wildfire to set the straw, or as we say in Scotland, the heather on fire, it was Jesus."
Letters of William Still, April 1970
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