A newly converted christian told me something the other day that resonated strongly with me. He said, “When I was first baptised, I thought all my problems would be over. It turned out quite the opposite.” I likewise realised much more poignantly my responsibility towards God after I had committed my life to his service by being baptised. We don’t become perfect people by being baptised, we will still make mistakes.

So why does Jesus tell us:

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." MATTHEW 5:48

I believe Jesus is telling us always to strive towards being perfect. We should not excuse our faults, arguing they are inevitable, but rather humble ourselves to mend broken relationships, make our way straight with the Lord, and live peaceably with everyone.

"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." LUKE 13:24

We also have to realise that even if the principles of the church are ever so well tied to scripture, that church is still made of imperfect people, who will make mistakes. If you start searching for a perfect church, you will never stop wandering, and never humble yourself to the authority of others, which every christian needs.

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." PROVERBS 27:17

People who have made a difficult journey to join an anabaptist church may have a similar feeling to the brother I mentioned earlier; “surely now that we are members of a good and biblical church, all my problems must be over now?” I think we who come from the world in Europe are especially prone to this thinking because we have already struggled to some degree with local churches - perhaps lutheran, evangelical, reformed or catholic. Think of the difference between how Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and George Blaurock approached the need to follow Scripture.

At first, Martin Luther sought to reform the catholic church, and although the catholic church changed in some ways because of the reformation, he still found it necessary to break free from the undue authority exerted over “lay-people” by the “priesthood”, who were commonly known at the time to be at least as wicked as everybody else. (see, for example, the depiction in Jan van Eyck’s 1440 The Last Judgement of monks tumbling into hell)

Huldrych Zwingli was initially quite welcoming to the reformers who came to Switzerland in the 1520’s to discuss the forming of a new and more biblically sound church than they had known before. However, when it became apparent he would have to give up the worldly power he had, he chose, like Luther, to support and pursue the death penalty for anabaptists.

George Blaurock was different; being the only one in this list willing to not just live by faith, but die by it also. A student of Zwingli at first, he lived through the same period of upheaval and religious discussions in Zürich. However, on January 5 1527, just after his friend Felix Manz was drowned for the “heresy” of anabaptism by the protestant reformers, he was severely beaten and driven from the city. He remained uncompromising about the Word of God and brought many people to faith through preaching in Tirol until his own martyrdom in Chiusa, Italy (at the time; Klausen, Germany) on the 6th of September 1529.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." JOHN 12:24

What makes modern day anabaptist churches different from those that persecuted our forebears is not an entire lack of sin, which no no group of people can claim, nor

"Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD." I SAMUEL 2:12

Speak directly

Matthew 18:15-17 is one of those passages so frequently referenced in anabaptist churches, it has become a verb; to “Matthew 18 the situation” means to attempt to defuse the situation by going directly to those in conflict in the church. There are three steps, each one only to be used when the previous have failed:

"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." MATTHEW 18:15

Verse 15 tells us also to keep the matter private at first. It is often the case that you don’t realise the hurt you have caused, so this verse helps to keep

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." PROVERBS 10:12 "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." MATTHEW 18:16 "And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." MATTHEW 18:17

Instruct and reprove

Scripture also requires us to be open to reproof from the church and ready to receive instruction.

"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." LUKE 17:3

Do not delay

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison." MATTHEW 5:25

Follow through to the end

It is of no use to continue to “warn” a member of the church who has repeatedly ignored previous reproof.

"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." PROVERBS 29:1