04 (The Doctrine of Nonaccumulation) STOP . . . CONSIDER!

Perhaps after reading the definition of this doctrine in chapter 2, you are ready to throw this book aside and reject it as a bunch of nonsense. “Of course I don’t believe such a doctrine,” you might be thinking. “I’ve never heard it taught in my church, so it must be just another new heresy coming down the pike. I’ll take my stand against this doctrine just as I would against any other false doctrine.” Or perhaps you have taken a quick mental inventory of what it would cost you personally to accept this doctrine as true. And you’ve decided that it would be easier to reject this doctrine as false from the outset than to risk investigating it further. But before you throw this book down in disgust, please consider what it has cost other people to reject a doctrine before they have given it a fair hearing. Consider some of the beliefs you espouse that others do not. You believe, for instance, that the only way to God is through a man named Jesus of Nazareth. To someone else, however, this view may seem egotistical and narrow-minded. Yet what is the cost to that person if he throws the idea away without examining the evidence for it? Or, maybe you could look at some of the finer points of your Christian faith. Perhaps you believe in the doctrine of nonresistance, and that a Christian cannot take part in war if he is to be obedient to Jesus. Consider, however, how hard it would be for your patriotic neighbor to accept this idea. He has been taught all his life about the importance of patriotism and that God expects us to support and defend our country. Consider especially how hard this would be for him to accept if he is actually in the military himself, and has only a few years left until he can receive full retirement benefits. Yet what is the cost to him if he rejects this doctrine on that basis? Or, if you have accepted Jesus’ teaching against divorce and remarriage, you would rightly conclude that anyone who wants to join your church would also need to accept this doctrine as true. Yet think of what this would mean to someone who is actually in a divorce and remarriage situation. (It’s no wonder that in today’s society most Christians reject this idea as being too radical.) Yet what is the cost to those who do reject it? Consider also the story of the rich young ruler. This man once stood at a crossroads similar to the one you may be standing at now. In the end, he rejected the command of Jesus to “sell and give.” I don’t know what all his reasoning was. Perhaps he thought that this really wasn’t God who was giving this command. Perhaps he thought that he would eventually find some less costly way to obtain eternal life. Perhaps he even recognized that he was giving up his opportunity for salvation, but decided it was worth it if he could keep his riches. (For further discussion on this story, please read the chapter in this book entitled “The Real Mistake of the Rich Young Ruler.”) Whatever his reasoning was, it caused him to reject the very Son of God. And how much did this rejection really cost him in the long run? Finally, consider whether there is any real danger in reading on. Suppose you come away from this book convinced that the doctrine of nonaccumulation is a true doctrine. If so, it is a gift to you from One Whose love for you is infinite! It has been given for your benefit, not for your harm. Is that anything to be afraid of? If, on the other hand, this doctrine does not stand the test of Scripture, you can just reject it and go on with your life. I therefore urge you to continue reading this book to the end. Not to get a message from a mere human such as me, but rather to consider whether God Himself has a message for you, a message that you may never have considered before. If nothing else, at least read the Scriptures contained in this book (we at least have to recognize that they come from God). I would guess that some of the verses mentioned in this book are verses that you never even realized were in the Bible. (At least that’s how it was for me with these verses.) And we certainly can’t say we’ve given honest consideration to this doctrine unless we’ve looked at all the Scriptures that pertain to it.