UNITY... AT WHAT PRICE?

by Keith Green

. Today there is much talk among Christians about the need for

unity. Wherever Christians gather you can hear someone saying, "If

only all the believers could get together and agree, then the world

would sit up and take notice! THEN the devil would be running scared!

Then there would be real revival!!" The whole ecumenical movement is

based on such a conclusion.

. I must admit the thought sounds wonderful - to have all those

different denominations (and "non"-denominations) in love and

fellowship with one another - that would be something, wouldn't it!

Ah... but don't hold your breath... IT CAN'T HAPPEN. There'll always be

a couple of real Christians around to spoil it!

. "What?!" You say, "How could REAL Christians spoil it? Wouldn't

THEY be the very ones who would be the most loving and ready to

unite?" Oh yes! True believers are full of love - love for God, love

for their brothers and sisters, love for souls - in fact, love would

be the VERY THING that would make them oppose a mass move of unity.

. "What?!" You say again, "Why that's the most absurd thing I've

ever heard! How could love keep them from wanting to get together

with everyone else who confesses to love God? You're not going to get

me to believe that people with such deep love wouldn't just LOVE to

see all the churches and professing Christians come together in unity?

Why, what could they love more than that??"

. Well, they love THE TRUTH! Yep, they're pretty attached to it -

those true believers can even seem right stubborn and ornery at times

- the way they stick to the truth.

UNITY - MAN'S WAY

. Some people have the craziest ideas! They want to try and do

what only God can do. "Let's play Holy Spirit!" That's what they

seem to be saying. They think that if they can just get everyone to

quit arguing about their different doctrinal beliefs, then unity is

right around the corner. "Let's just all try and fellowship and talk

about those things in the Bible we all can agree on."

. There's only one problem with that kind of thinking... isn't the

Bible ALL true? How can we just find the lowest common denominator to

which all Christians can agree to, and label the rest of the Bible

(God's Holy Word) "unessential for unity."

. In his book, Today's Gospel - Authentic or Synthetic?, Walter

Chantry looks into the reasons for the failures of modern evangelism

and foreign missions. In the introduction Mr. Chantry writes:

"Having accepted the theory that unity is all-important for world

evangelism, both the Church and the individual must lower their

estimate of the value of truth. In a large congress on evangelism we

could not insist on a truth of God's Word that would offend any

brother evangelical. After all, unity (among Christians) is more

essential than doctrinal preciseness.

. "It is for just this reason that the mission boards are hesitant

to answer the question, 'What is the gospel?' Thoroughly to answer

that would destroy the mission society, which is a federation of

churches who have differing answers to that question. To adopt the

position of one church would be to lose the support of five others.

The whole system built on unity and generality would crumble."

UNITY - GOD'S WAY

(Jesus' prayer in John 17)

. Many base their quest for true godly unity on an important

passage in the gospel of John. Here in chapter 17, Jesus is praying

for His disciples "that they all may be one..." (v.21). This verse

certainly shows that the Lord desires His followers to have unity and

truly "be one". But, in the very next verse (v.22), we see some key

words "...that they may be one EVEN AS WE ARE ONE."

. How are the Father and Son one? In every way! They have no

doctrinal disputes. They have no differing theologies. They do not

argue over the rapture. They completely agree... on EVERYTHING!

. But you might ask, "How can every Christian agree on doctrine?

If we wait for that, we'll NEVER have unity!" You're missing the

point. It's not knowing "doctrine" that's important, it's knowing

God.

Only through entering into an intimate, personal relationship

with the living God and leaving behind the doctrines and theologies

created by men and church tradition, can we ever hope to find the

unity Jesus prayed for: "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be

made perfect in one...Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast

given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory..."

(John 17:23-24).

. What does the word "theology" mean anyway? It means "the study

of God". Today, theological students do not study God, they study

about God. At best, they study the writings of men who themselves

have studied God. Why, they really ought to change the word theology

to theology-ology or "the study of the study of God!"

TRUE AND FALSE DIVISION

. How many times have you heard that somebody was "causing division

in the church?" Well, maybe they were supposed to! After all, there

are two things that cause division according to the Bible: truth and

error.

(I can just see now all the eyebrows raising.) Haven't you

heard the scripture, "Do you suppose I cam to grant peace on earth? I

tell you, no, rather division!" That's right! Jesus said that "from

now on five members in one household will be divided three against

two, and two against three" (Luke 12:51-52). He said that whole

families would be divided over Him. And there are many occasions in

the New Testament when whole assemblies of people were divided because

of Jesus (John 7:43, 9:16, 10:19, Acts 23:6-7). You must remember

people who love the truth will divide from people who love lies.

. Now the Bible does warn us about those who would enter into our

midst and cause divisions and factions (Matt. 12:25, Rom. 16:17, 1

Tim. 6:3-5, 2 Tim. 2:14, 2 John 10). And yes, it has always been the

devil's strategy to "divide and conquer." But these divisions are

obviously based on error, lies, and usually come from bitter and evil

motives (Titus 3:10).

. Division that comes from the proclaiming of the truth will

usually include some intense reaction and opposition, but it will also

produce good fruit and the advancement of God's kingdom (not to

mention the conversion of souls.)

. What bible story is there, Old Testament or New, where the doing

of righteousness or the preaching of the gospel does not divide men

and separate them into two very distinct categories: those who are

willing to turn and obey God, and those who actually turn on the

messenger, because he violently disturbs their false (and usually

religious) peace?

. And today, when there are so many who are professing religion, is

it any wonder that some of the deepest truths in the Bible -

repentance, faith, holiness, etc. - are also some of the greatest

objects of debate in the Church. It must be said that those who truly

want to know God's views on these great pillars of Christian doctrine,

will appear to be divisive - and rightly so, in an age when the great

gospel message of salvation can be reduced to such a sugar-coated,

bakery-item as, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your

life!"

WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY

. Those who believe that Christians should stop bickering about

their "pet doctrines" are right. Christians should not be

argumentative, "...and the Lord's bond-servant must not be

quarrelsome..." (2 Tim. 2:24). How many times have you heard stupid

arguments about prophecy? "But I just KNOW the 10th head on the

dragon in Revelation is Tahiti!" This kind of "division" is for the

birds.

. Yet there ARE scriptural commands to defend the truth. "Study to

show thyself approved...always being ready to make a defense to

everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you,

yet with gentleness and reverence" (2 Tim. 2:15, 1 Pet. 3:15). There

are times when we cannot just "be quiet" and let differences go

unchallenged, especially when these "differences" are major and

dangerous errors that can threaten the faith of those who are weaker

and innocently uninformed.

. The whole book of Galatians was written by Paul to counteract

some very heretical teachings that had crept into the Church. "I am

amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the

grace of Christ, for a different gospel...there are some who are

disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel...you foolish

Galatians, who has bewitched you...? Are you so foolish? Having

begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?...You

have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by

law; you have fallen from grace" (Gal. 1:6, 7, 3:1, 3, 5:4).

. Them are fightin' words! Don't you think Paul was accused of

causing division for such a strong rebuke? Yet that's just it...he

was trying to! Paul was drawing a very clear line and seemed to be

saying, "Those who believe they are saved by the Law, do not belong to

Christ!" And later Peter, in his second epistle, backs Paul up by

warning the Church about people misinterpreting some of Paul's

writings "...in which are some things hard to understand, which the

untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the

Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:16). There has always

been a need in God's church to strongly divide between truth and false

teaching.

WHAT GOD REALLY WANTS

. Man-made unity is not what God desires. He wants a holy people.

Many Christians believe that unity in itself will bring about a holy

revival. But unity cannot bring holiness, only holiness can bring

about true unity. For when God's people start seeking to live,

worship and pray according to the Holy Word of God, then God Himself

will answer Jesus' prayer and make those who seek Him, truly "one!"

THEN God will unite the hearts of those who love Him, and hate sin and

error, and He will truly shine forth from the midst of such a people -

the true people of God!

. "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring

them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one

flock with one Shepherd." - John 10:16

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