MOV: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 belivers 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 cofesses 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 evanelism we
could not insist on a truth of God's Word that would offend any brother
evengelical. 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, 1Tim.
6:3-5, 2Tim. 2:14, 2John 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 SCRITPTURES 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..." (2Tim.
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" (2Tim. 2:15, 1Pet. 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" (2Pet.
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
