5/10/23
E pluribus unum: out of many, one. That’s the traditional motto of the US, and it envisions our country as a melting pot where a variety of peoples, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole. It’s a beautiful dream . . . but instead of melting, our country seems bent on smelting, the process of separating.
One of the great triumphs of the gospel is that the church is one family, regardless of background. Christian unity doesn’t get the attention it deserves, but when you think about all the divisions in the world today, can you think of a more important message?
We’ll see this summer that behind all the great doctrinal teaching in Romans, Paul is really writing about unity. Threats to unity inspired Paul to fire off the letter to the Galatians. Philippians may be a thank you note to the church at Philippi, but in it Paul stresses the importance of staying unified. He writes in 1:27, “I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel. . .” But wait! There’s more! In 2:2, he writes, “be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”
Yes, despite the urgency of “one spirit, striving side by side, one mind (he says that twice), same mind, the same love, being in full accord,” Christians have found all sorts of reasons to divide themselves.
Some reasons are, frankly, silly: I’ve known individual congregations split over the color of carpet. An Athens congregation split when the pastor’s daughter wore a swimsuit in a beauty contest. I know of a small religious group that split over the interpretation of one verse in Revelation. In the last 3 decades, more churches have split over the style of music than anything else.
Paul, writing to the most diverse collection of Christians that probably has ever existed this side of heaven, wrote: “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5–6).
Did you catch that? Harmony, together, with one voice – and for what purpose? To “glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Oh, and another thing . . . did you notice “in accordance with Christ Jesus”? What does Paul mean by this?
A person’s last words are important because they express what is weighing on that person’s heart. Before he goes out to be betrayed and crucified, what does Jesus pray for in his last prayer for his disciples? “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). One . . . that the world may believe.
If a church body is going to divide, it better be over something serious if it’s going to risk hindering or even defying the unity for which Jesus prayed.
I am thankful for the unity we enjoy at Christ Church. It’s a blessing (and just plain fun) as a Pastor to watch you all fellowship, whether it’s at a party or during the “reconciliation and love” (the seventh inning stretch) part of our morning service.
Do we agree on everything? I’m sure we don’t! We come from a variety of Christian traditions: Methodist, Church of God, Baptist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Seventh Day Adventist – there are probably others, but these are the main ones. And that means we bring a lot of different interpretations of the Bible to the table.
What keeps us unified? Four things:
1. Commitment to the essentials. Each week we stand and affirm our faith. I believe two of the most important words we can say are “I believe,” because what we believe determines how we live. I think the tenants of the Apostles’ Creed are the essential beliefs that bind us together.
2. Grace over non–essentials. The apostle Paul has an interesting reaction to different beliefs in the church in Rome about keeping holy days and eating certain foods: “Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds . . ” (Rom. 14:5-6). There’s a lot of grace in those words – more grace than I saw in many churches when I was growing up!
3. We have a commitment to studying the Bible. We (this includes me) approach the Bible as students, willing to learn what the Bible teaches, not blindly committed to a denomination or a human teacher.
4. Love. “Loving God . . . Loving Others” begins in the congregation, and I see that everytime we get together. It’s what I preached this past week – we share one heart, and we see that through our fellowship and in the way you share (the Greek word in koinonia) in the ministry. The reason you do it is love. As Paul writes in I Corinthians 13, “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
There’s so much more to say about Christian unity, but I’m out of space! More next week!
Blessings,
Pastor Terry