"Show Us The Right Way"
In rebuttal to the scriptural objections to the kind of cooperative projects which are being contended for and being promoted among us, a few brethren will give what they think is a rich and powerful argument for their operations by saying, "If what we are doing is wrong, then show us the right way." The idea is, if we cannot show what is right, then we have no right to say that what is being done is wrong. But those who share this idea under review apply it only to the things that they want to justify; they will not apply it to other things as we shall see.
Revelation 20 does not teach premillennialism, but do we know exactly what the passage does teach? We may or may not know what is taught in Revelation 20, but we do know that it does not teach premillennialism. Will our brethren who think that we have no right to say that a thing is wrong unless we can show the right way apply their idea to Revelation 20? Since then our knowledge that Revelation 20 does not teach premillennialism is not dependent upon our ability to show the right teaching of the passage, by what token of reasoning can brethren justify some of their practices on the ground that if we do not know what is right, how can we know what is wrong?
I Corinthians 15:29 does not teach that saints here on earth are to be baptized for people who have already passed from the scenes of this present world. The Mormons teach this but the idea contradicts plain teaching of other scriptures. Are we compelled to point out the right teaching of I Corinthians 16:29 before we have any right to say what it does not teach? We may or may not know the exact teaching of the passage, but if we did not, we could still know that it does not teach anything that violates God's teaching in other scriptures.
One sees a person walking down the street. He does not know who it is but he can know who it is not. He could say that it is not John Doe or Mary Doe without having to say who it is. According to some of our brethren's reasoning, however, we would be compelled to say who the person is before we could say who it is not. When we see and hear such reasoning, it is not any wonder that some things are being defended by brethren for which there is no scripture.
While it has been proved that we are under no obligation to show the right way in order to prove that something that is being done is wrong, we believe that the New Testament does furnish us a pattern as to how the church is to preach the gospel, edify the saints, and take care of those who are in need. If there is no pattern for preaching the gospel, then again we ask: What is wrong with the Missionary Society? As to taking care of those who are in need, individuals and congregations are to do this work, but nowhere do the scriptures authorize the church to build and maintain benevolent institutions through which to do that work anymore than do the scriptures authorize the church to establish a missionary society through which to preach the gospel.
When all brethren will be determined to practice what the scriptures authorize in matters of preaching and benevolence they will know the right way and they will also know that whatever violates scriptural principle is wrong.