IS THE CHURCH INFALLIBLE?

By David J. Riggs

The seven short epistles to seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation reveal the relationship the church sustains to Christ (See Rev. chapters 2 and 3; see especially 2:1-5, 12-14, 18-20; 3:1-3, 14-15). Those verses plainly reveal that when a church continues in Christ's word, it keeps its identity as His church, but when it fails to abide in His word, it is not longer regarded as His church. Also, they reveal that Christ did not establish His church as one that could never fall into error, because some of those churches went into error. Someone might say that the passages in Revelation referred to the various parishes or congregations rather than the whole church. It is true that the verses were speaking of local churches; nevertheless, the same principle that applied to them relates to the whole church. The Lord does not have a rule for one congregation which is not equally applicable to all. If one church is rejected for embracing error, all others who likewise embrace error are rejected.

Many times during the Old Testament period, the whole Israelite nation left the truth. Jeremiah the prophet recorded that false prophets and priests had turned the people from the truth and none were right (Jer. 5:31; 6:13; 8:10; 13:25; 14:14; 23:32). Isaiah said, "And judgment is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far off: because truth hath fallen down in the street, and equity could not come in. And truth hath been forgotten..." (Isa. 59:14-15). Time and time again the whole Israelite nation left the truth and followed error--Judges 2:10-12; Psalm 14:2-3; 53:2-3; Micah 7:2 etc. Some generations, however, abandoned error and turned back to the word of God. A good example is when the book of the Lord was found in the temple and reforms were made (2 Kings 22 & 23).

The Old Testament examples of the people of God falling away reveal the proper relationship the church sustains with Christ because the New Testament writers declared that those things serve as warnings for us. 1 Cor. 10:11 says, "Now all these things happened to them as a type, and they were written for our correction, upon whom the final age of the world has come." (See 1 Cor. 10:1-12; Rom. 15:4). If God's chosen people under the Old Testament went into error, and the inspired writers declared that those things were written as a type to admonish us, it necessarily follows that God's people under the New Testament can go into error. This shows conclusively that the church is not infallible.

The relationship that the church sustains with Christ is the same as that of the individual Christians. As long as the individual abides in the word of the Lord, he will never perish and no outside forces can remove him from the Lord's favor. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. And I give them everlasting life; and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:27-28). Did Jesus mean "once saved, always saved?" No, He meant that no outside forces can remove one from Him; however, it still remains that one can remove himself by not abiding in His word. Likewise, there are no outside forces that can destroy the church, e.g., "a kingdom that cannot be shaken" (Heb. 12:28), but it can cause itself to be rejected by embracing error. As long as the church is abiding in the word of Christ there are no outside forces that can destroy it, but when it is overtaken by error, by its own actions it loses its identity as His church.