Seeking Unity
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What is the biggest issue that has plagued the Church since its beginning?
What is the biggest issue that has plagued the Church since its beginning?
— — Disagreement — —
In Acts 15:36-41 — Paul disagreed with Barnabas …
In Gal 2:11-13 — Paul talks about his disagreement with Peter…
In Luke 22:24-30 — the disciples argued …
In Mark 10:35-41 — the disciples were mad at John and James…
— and that is just a few examples…
Fast forward just a few years — the Catholic Church…
— split over political disagreement and pride… (Orthodox & Roman Catholic)
— the Church of England…
— the Protestant Reformation…
— literally every church today… (almost every one of them formed because this group disagreed with that group… )
— I can name 3 that planted right here in Bonham in the last 2 years!
In the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s, Atheists argued: “Why should I believe you (the Church)? You can’t even agree with yourselves!”
And sadly, it was a valid question…
Look at what Jesus prayed in John 17:20-23
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Does our history sound like… or look like… the unity Christ prayed for?
NO!!!
Why????
— We seem to always be more concerned with our own ideas… our own methods… our own theologies…
Christ came to build one Church!
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Yet… we divide ourselves over disagreements… man-made doctrines… worldly ideologies… politics!
That’s NOT how it should be!
Disagreement is a plague on the Church!
Listen to what Pastor Elaine Briefmann says about her experience:
“Some days I really need someone to simply be excited that I know God and believe in Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide me…
Sadly, over the years it seems so many are eager to…
challenge my FB posts…
rip on a bumper sticker’s contents…
draw lines in the sand…
correct my grammar…
say I exaggerate…
and it’s all a distraction from the point!
I would love to have someone be excited that I am saved!
That we get to spend eternity together… and hang out with Jesus…
and hear the angels for ourselves… and see God… and live!
When I got saved it was like a secret… Kinda…
No one looked me in the eye and congratulated me…
Or, welcomed me into the family…
It’s just the way things were back then… I guess…
So now… I just want to celebrate our faith!
Be around others who are amazed by God…
Stunned by Jesus… who is alive!
and very happy!”
We don’t do that enough do we? Instead of celebrating… we seem to desire more to disagree and attempt to “force” other Christians (and non-believers) to adhere to our point of view…
Is that how it should be?!?
NO!!!!
We are meant to unite in Love… to celebrate our place in Christ… and to enjoy the community He has created…
So… What do we do about it?!
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
“Therefore” >> “because of what we just talked about”…
— We are called to be “transformed in our way of thinking...”
— to “show love to everyone...”
— to “Let Christian Love be without hypocrisy,…”
— to “ hate what is of no value to Christian Love, and cling to God.” — Rom. 12:9, emphasis mine
— Because… We WILL give an account to God for what we do with the Love He has given us…
“Therefore…” (14:13)
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
Paul still says the answer is Love!
Authentic Christianity puts Love ABOVE Disagreements!
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.
16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.
Paul is dealing with disagreements over “doctrine”…
The immediate debate was over dietary standards… “clean vs unclean”… Mosaic Law vs Christian Freedoms… BUT…
Paul’s thoughts here apply universally!
Look at:
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Paul says: “It’s not about food… It’s about Holiness! It’s about Peace… Joy… Love!!”
— “So, stop fighting and arguing… stop condemning and judging each other…”
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
Do you see what Paul is saying?
— Love… our salvation… trumps disagreements...
— Love trumps “being right”…
— Love trumps our personal opinions!
This is a completely radical idea!
Paul says: “Even if you believe you are right, if your actions cause a spiritually ‘weaker’ (less mature) brother or sister to stumble in his or her faith, you are to stop!”
You see… It’s not about you!
Rebecca Von Noord says: “Paul calls us to not judge others. That’s easy enough within our communities, with people we WANT to have over for dinner. [But] What happens when those in our communities don’t value (or devalue) the things we value (or devalue)?”
How do we act then? How do we act when “they” don’t agree with us?
When “they” “got it all wrong”?
When “they” aren’t “our type of people”?
You see… That’s where we usually fail… isn’t it?
I want you to see something here:
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
Let me ask you: “Who are the ‘strong’?” “Who are the ‘weak’?”
Who defines who is “mature” and who is a “baby Christian”?
How do you know which one you are?
The truth is — There is something more important in the Kingdom than “being right”… That is Love!!!
Holman — “When a Christian insists on his or her rights to the detriment of another Christian, that person is no longer acting in Love.”
In Mt 15:16-20, Jesus says:
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.
17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
— When we demand “our way”… adherence to “our ideals”… we are corrupting ourselves.
Which is exactly what Paul has been talking about… Look what he tells us
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, (in light of…) I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
— By —
“Let Christian Love be without hypocrisy, hate what is of no value to Christian Love, and cling to God.” — Rom. 12:9, emphasis mine
— and —
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Paul says: “It’s not about you! It’s about them!!! It’s about the relationship Christ created for us!”
Paul takes the “focus of responsibility” off of the weaker believer, and places it on the stronger…
BUT… again I ask you: “How do you know which you are?”
It’s Not About You!!!
(everyone repeat that)
Authentic Christianity is marked by Love for others.
A Love that places others above our need to be first…
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Several years ago a missionary told a story about Laos and Vietnam…
Before the national boundaries were set, the kings of both countries ran into a problem… How would they know who to tax on the border?
They met to discuss the issue… here’s what they realized:
— Laotians ate short-grained rice, built their houses on stilts, and decorated with Indian style serpents…
— Vietnamese ate long-grained rice, built on the ground, and decorated with Chinese style dragons…
Problem solved!
Taxation would be determined according to whose values they exhibited…
— — —
What do the characteristics you display say about you?
We should be “unified in Love”…
We should be “lov[ing] our neighbor as ourselves” by placing their needs above ours… by celebrating with them… by walking beside them…
We should be “unified” in our salvation…
But… we aren’t are we?
— “Peanuts example” —
Romans B. Unity Evidences Love (14:13–23)
The famed creator of the “Peanuts” cartoon strip once had the easygoing Charlie Brown sprawled out watching television when Lucy storms in, demanding he change the channel. When Charlie Brown asks meekly what gives her the right to make him change the channel, she responds, “These five fingers!” shoving her clenched fist in front of his nose. After changing the channel, Charlie Brown is seen walking out of the room, holding up his open hand and saying to his fingers, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
What would happen if the Church stopped arguing with itself and got unified?!
Christian Love is shown best when we are unified.
Yet… The Church constantly struggles with unity, doesn’t it?
We divide over… politics… socio-political “hot topics” (LGBTQ, Racism, Abortion,…)… We even divide over “doctrine”…
Both sides of any of these issues insist that they are right! That the others have to adhere to their ideas… to their language… to their values…
The result is more and more division!
There is a meme that has recently popped up on FB… It says, “I didn’t care about your sexual preference until you started cramming it down my throat!”
Many of us share that sentiment, don’t we?
Aren’t we doing the same thing when we demand that “they” (whoever “they” may be) “see things our way”?
Regardless of the topic… if “they” are seeking to find and follow Christ… we should be celebrating with them… walking with them in Love… and allowing them to discover the Truth along side us!
Look what Paul says:
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
And… We have no way of knowing in any given situation whether we are the stronger or weaker…
So… Paul says, “We MUST err on the side of Grace!”
But wait a minute Pastor… “Does that mean that we just “accept” everything? That we just turn a’ blind eye’ to sin?”
After all, Paul says in 14:22…
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
Does that mean that it’s not “sin” if we “approve” it?
— NO! —
Paul already answered that question:
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Paul’s point is this: “Stop arguing about non-essential things and focus on what is essential.”
What are essential things?
— John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
— When Jesus was asked “What is the greatest commandment?” Or… “What is essential?”
Jesus answered:
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The “essentials” are those things necessary for salvation.
— Which is to “put your complete and total trust in God...”
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
(explain)
It’s ALL about FAITH!
Too often we get caught up in arguments about…
— predestination…
— “once saved always saved”
— What is sin?
— LGBT, Racism, socio-political idealogies…
— even… how to live in holiness...
When ALL that matters is Faith!
Look what Paul said in 14:22
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
It’s not about being right… It’s not about perfection… It’s not about combatting sin…
It’s about Faith!
It’s about Holiness!
— and Holiness is all about “Faithfully Following Christ!”
Jesus said, “I am the way…”
It’s about people meeting and faithfully following Him!
Our responsibility is — to the best of our ability — ensure that “they” get the chance!!!!
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
We need to learn to Love people and to celebrate their salvation with them!
We need to learn to celebrate our own salvation again!
We have been saved BY GRACE… THROUGH FAITH!!!
But it’s not about us anymore!
Authentic Christianity seeks Unity through placing Love above Disagreement.
and striving to walk in Holiness WITH each other!