Biblical Unity: Separated at Birth

It is a tragic irony that those who have come to the Word are so quickly turned away from the milk thereof by those who claim to be charged with their care and feeding. The newly converted are immediately force-fed the strange meats of denominational dogma and theological tripe on which they can never grow. They can only become puffed up in the knowledge that is used to separate them from their brethren at birth. Where these would desperately need to learn to trust Christ in all things they are taught instead to rely on their own philosophy and understanding and to mistrust any who fail to agree. In this secluded environment they can walk only in darkness, wisdom becomes hidden and error goes unchecked.

We need not sacrifice the Truth in order to secure our unity, to the contrary, the Truth shines through in the light of our unity and our folly becomes evident. Impatience, self-righteousness and idolatry can lead us to believe that our perception of the Truth should be evident to everyone or even that our perception is perfect or full. We should rather continue in love having faith in the hope that, in time, Christ the Truth will be fully revealed in us all.

Who is it then that we are united with? The answer is simply Jesus Christ and those who are His. We that are His are made manifest to others only by our love for one another.

Consider

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

(Luke 12:27-28 KJV)

Biblical Unity: The Need and the Cost

Our Lord and Savior paid the cost for our unity with own His life. While we would all agree that this cost is far beyond measure we must also agree that, more often than not, we show little regard for His purchase and quickly toss it aside if it would require any effort on our part at all. I can only suspect we have failed to realize the value and the absolute necessity of our unity in accomplishing our mission in the world today.

In the latter portion of John 17 beginning with vs. 17 Jesus asked the Father to sanctify those He had been given with the truth and in vs. 20 He extended that to all who would believe in Him through their word. Consider now the reason, importance and value of His request as He explains it in verses 21 through 23:

“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (NASB)

The very glory that was given Christ He has bestowed on us that we may be made perfect in unity so that the world might believe in Him. Now if there is any question at all as to how it is that the world will perceive this then consider this verse:

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35 NASB)

Jesus secured our unity through His submission to the will of the Father and it is only through our submission to Him that we will maintain it.

“so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.“ (Romans 12:5-18 NASB)

Biblical Unity: A “Mushy” Orthodoxy

Biblical unity is not founded on an agreement among men. We cannot enter into it by our own will. We can only enter into this union when we submit to God’s will and obey the Gospel command to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. We, who are then born of The Spirit and not by will of the flesh, are united in Christ only by and because of God’s great love. Biblical unity is founded on the love of God in Christ Jesus (John 17:23) and is only maintained by our love toward one another (Col. 3:12-3:14).

We cannot get the cart before the horse. Biblical unity is not determined by an agreement among men on orthodox doctrine but there will surely be no orthodoxy apart from biblical unity.

Biblical Unity Defined

The term “Biblical Unity” is ambiguous in itself, as is the term “Biblical Separation”. These terms should not be understood to imply that we should unite or separate over our various persuasions and perceptions concerning such things as which version, translation or even which interpretations of the Bible are valid. Biblical Unity, as used here, simply means the concept of unity presented in the Bible that should be evident in all versions, translations and interpretations.

Believers today have found unity in a number of ways. Too often our unity is founded on our common judgment against other believers or conversely in our agreement against any judgment at all. Many are unified in a particular custom and/or tradition while others unite only with those who condone none of that. While I concede that exceedingly strong bonds are formed in and around these concepts I would ask that each of you concede, not only that none of these concepts represent Biblical Unity, but also that these unions often serve to prevent it. Simply stated, any unity that may be achieved outside that which is prescribed in the scripture cannot be considered to be Biblical Unity as defined above.

A Web-Wide Celebration!

Today marks the Annual 39th Birthday Celebration of Dorsey Marshall, one of the true relics of the Church. In commemoration of the event Dorsest everywhere will make the annual pilgrimage to nowhere in particular where festivities will continue in honor of the founder of Dorseism. The celebration, marked by mirth, frivolity and the displaying of images of the iconic leader, is punctuated by periods of deep sleep called “naps” during which participants seem to work up an almost super-natural appetite.

No one is exactly certain of the events origin. Recent writings discovered on bathroom walls in Atlantic City would suggest that Dorsey [edited], though no further proof exist to corroborate these ancient writings. Willie Mayket, noted author of “Race to the Outhouse”, and famous illustrator Betty Doent have teamed up to produce an exhaustive biographical work detailing the life and times of Dorsey. The authors are seeking input from those who have known or been in contact with Dorsey over the years. Any relavent information and/or well wishes should be posted in the comments section of this article.

Biblical Unity

There’s recently been quite a bit of discussion concerning the concept of Biblical Separation on the blogs that I frequent. I’ve posted my thoughts on this topic before and anyone who knows me, knows that I consider separation, with extremely few exceptions, as nothing more than surrender to total failure. More often than not it is simply taking the easy way out at the expense of a brother or sister and the will of the Lord. Normally those who are studying separation are not those who are calling for it but rather those who are given no choice in the matter at all, sad indeed. Those seeking separation are most often those preoccupied with being right as opposed to doing right, even sadder still. They tend to use separation, or “excommunication”, like a whip in order to force and coerce a false allegiance and thereby avoid the time, effort and sacrifice required to develop disciples. That’s not sad, it’s evil. It is the way that seems right to men.

At this point I would much rather concentrate on the problem rather than continually deal with the consequence. Separate if you must but I intend to do all that I can to find a cure for this disease that leaves the Body of Christ torn and broken. I’m going to try and focus on what seems to be a more foreign concept in the Church today, Biblical Unity. I would appreciate everyone’s input, prayer and encouragement. I am very blessed to have several wise and well-trained believers that visit here and I want to urge each of you to take up this topic as well. Let’s devote just a little time to the study of doing right. We can always go back to arguing about who is right any time. ;-)

"I not only have all the answers, I am the only one with the right questions.”

“Pursuant to my perfect doctrines no disagreement will be tolerated”

Does your faith move your mountain?

Re-post from 03/21/07

For the better part of two years I have discussed and debated theology with those here that I am persuaded are not only my brethren in Christ, but also my better in intelligence, ability and training. I have been open and honest in all the things that I am confident in but until recently I never attempted to articulate my present understanding of what my dear friend Pastor Timothy referred to as “kc’s mountain of theology”. Now if after being exposed to a portion of that mountain you do not feel you can place any trust in it then let me assure you that makes at least two of us.

You see I’ve watched God’s word rain down on that mountain and wash it down to the foundation on more than one occasion. I have carried bucket after bucket up that hill only to find nothing at all to keep it in place. I’ve watched the mountain shift back and forth during the earthquakes of my studies and the tremors of our debates and so no, I don’t trust in my understanding but to be totally honest, I trust even less in yours and especially in your philosophy. The truth is that the only thing I have found unmovable in all of this is our knowledge of Christ Jesus, the Son of God. This is our foundation and it has never moved. This knowledge came not by reason of understanding or through any natural experience but by God’s grace alone. I have no doubt at all it cannot be shaken but by Him.

Still my beliefs are based on my reasoning and understanding of the teachings of Christ and the Apostles as related in the scripture and I trust yours are too. I listen hard to all you offer as you detail every aspect of your system and philosophy. I try hard to see if you really possess a better understanding of God and His grace on any point. I measure every word against the scripture and against my own experience and give you all of my questions and doubts for open rebuttal and refutation. I do not expect perfection from you, only openness and honesty and in that you have not disappointed. I can only offer the same.

Our discussions have left me fully convinced that there truly is a system of theology but even more they’ve convinced me that neither you nor I will comprehend it fully in this life. Once more I propose we pursue it together without fear of ridicule or reprisal. If you find that your faith leaves your mountain no longer being shaped by The Creator but has caused it instead to become a volcano only spewing hot lava and ash then I beg you please pray for the rain to quench the fire before it destroys all that is set before you.

First things Second

I need to apologize to many who I failed to acknowledge in previous post. Your kind thoughts and well wishes were greatly appreciated and have always meant so much to me. I have come to love you all as brethren and I am truly sorry I did not responded when you posted. I intended to but I failed and for that I ask your forgiveness.