One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism

At the constituency meeting

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A couple of weeks ago, Heather and I and a few members of our church went to the Haskell Hall to take part in the constituency meetings to elect the new president, Secretary and Chief financial officer and a couple of committees that will help steer the church for the next 4 years.

Having been to other meetings like this, I was quite impressed by the efficiency and evident unity amongst the members present. A sure sign that members were keeping their eyes on Jesus and not on each other. Ballarat members came forward to speak.

It is so encouraging to see people working together for the cause of God. Thats why I wanted to talk about the problem of disunity, how it can be started and sustained and why it is so important to be centred in Christ Jesus to avoid its fall out. In light of todays baptism and our own presence in the church, we should always bear in mind our relationship with Christ that holds us in the centre of faith. Being close to Jesus prevents us from meandering to the fringes of faith where we start labelling people differently from how we regard ourselves.

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Lets go back over the scripture reading and a few other verses to see how human nature tends to place us in the assumed right place at the detriment of others by assigning them to some other place.

Consider the scripture reading John 21:20–23 “Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned back on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee? Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, that he should not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?”

It seems relatively clear that Jesus is reminding Peter, that what Peter needs to remember is to follow Jesus not be so concerned about the other disciple and what the Lord might have in store for John. Not to be worried about the other but that all of those that profess the name of Jesus, need to have their focus and attention on Jesus.

John 10:16 “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.” This short verse indicates that although there may be other followers of Jesus elsewhere and we might conjecture where that might. Such as in other christian denominations, like the Samaritans of his day or other spiritualities that have proliferated throughout history or of no obvious sprituality. Jesus has followers elsewhere and he wants to bring them into his special fold under his direct care. We should not be so concerned as to where they are now and make assumptions about them but be focused on how Jesus will draw them. It should be apparent from the verse that Jesus has a special place where all of his followers regardless of where they might currently find themsleves will be eventually. The proximity to Jesus is more important than the religous or non-religous location people find themselves in. Again re-emphasising that attention needs to be paid to Jesus by the believer and let’s not let our minds wander as to what might happen to others. Your closeness to Jesus will produce an attractive life which will help lead others to Jesus side.

Joshua 5:13–15 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”

The challenge in this case for Joshua becomes not whether he is apparently on the right side. Which he believed himself to be, as part of the newly fledged nation of Israel, but whether he would now relinquish his authority in the presence of one much greater than himself. It now mattered not that he was either on the side of one or other nation but rather that he was ready to move towards the captain of Gods army and submit to Him. Again Joshua’s closeness and focus on what Adventists believe to be the pre-incarnate Christ was to be Joshuas victory. Later in the book of Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We see Joshua holding true to his submission to God, having his whole household remaining faithful in following God rather than belonging to another group. For Joshua and His household it mattered not that he held a position as leader of the Israelite nation for a season, but more that he always stayed close to his God.

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Ephesians 4:4–8 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men.”

With such emphasis on the unity of the body of believers it becomes bewildering and worse than that, a rebellion to find ourselves where we are in modern times with such a plethora of different Christian churches and movements. Thank God that He can still work with our stubborn natures.

Yet even though many of us recognise this intellectually, we have our hearts to contend with. Those hearts of ours want to take us to where we feel most comfortable and that is dangerous. Because it is from that place and not where Jesus is , that we start looking across the room to the others and making unfortunate assumptions and aspersions.

Whether we speak about the church or make comment concerning people outside of the body of believers, there are a number of similar factors that create division amongst people. They can be approximately divided into these categories.

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Fear and Mistrust

Oppressive forces often exploit fear—fear of the “other,” fear of scarcity, fear of change or FOMO. Once mistrust seeps into relationships, people hesitate to unite, even when they share the same interests or values.

Misinformation and Manipulation

Throughout history, division has been fueled by lies, propaganda, and half-truths. Narratives are twisted to set groups against each other—often along lines of race, class, politics, or belief. The goal is to redirect anger away from the true source of oppression and toward fellow people.

Self-Interest Over Common Good

Human nature, when unchecked, often drifts toward self-preservation and gain. If individuals or groups prioritize “what benefits me” instead of “what strengthens us,” unity is fractured.

Cultural, Political, or Religious Tribalism

Differences in background or belief need not divide, but when identity becomes weaponized, it’s easy for communities to see each other as enemies rather than allies. This is the soil in which “divide and conquer” strategies thrive.

Weariness and Distraction

Even when people know the importance of unity, exhaustion, busyness, and distraction (whether through work, entertainment, or survival struggles) can make it difficult to stay focused on a higher cause. An oppressed people drained of energy are less likely to resist together.

The Age-Old Tactic of Divide and Conquer

Rulers, empires, and oppressive systems have always known this truth: a united people is nearly impossible to control. Division isn’t just accidental—it is often deliberately cultivated by those who fear being overthrown.

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The modern equivalent

Today the modern equivalent of this principal of divide and conquer can be viewed in the Algorithim that Social media uses. In a book entitled Divide and conquer, Jaochim Lelle writes about how the social media groups are effectively using algorithims to serapticiously polarise people. And that is anyone, inclusive of those in the church. Lelle posits that divide-and-conquer has shifted from military and political strategy into media and social spheres, and social media algorithms are one of its modern engines. The algorithms tend to favour content that stimulates strong reactions (anger, outrage, fear) because that drives engagement, clicks, shares, and ultimately ad revenue. This incentivizes polarization.  We have seen this more recently in discussions about Israel and Palestine and the Christian nationalist movement.

The Bible tells us that Love is the supreme and victorious influence that governs all life throughout the cosmos. Love has the opposite effect to that of the unconverted human heart and the manipulative effects of a social media algorithim. Love unites and strengthens the bonds between people. It overcomes petty jealosies and differences. Love does not boast so as to place itself above another but humbles itself instead. Love sacrifices rather than struggling for power and control. Love is Jesus Christ manifest in the flesh. Therefore, as we join together in love as one unified body of believers today, to celebrate the committment made by Tariro, we signal that whilst remaining close to Jesus we can without reservation join with heaven in celebrating that Jesus has found another son to add to the family. Close to Jesus we exercise a balanced and compassionate life without the need for labels and holding onto differences, looking more to the common good. Close to Jesus we learn what it means to truly love and celebrate that a sinner has been found and can rest safe within the fold of Jesus. Tariro as you come forward in a moment to go through your vows please remember that regardless of how others may view you, make a request of Jesus, to keep you close by his side and from that place of faith exercise your spiritual liberty and spiritual gifts to help others become disciple makers for Jesus. Blessings.