The landscape of so-called Christianity in our country appears to be greatly divided. And while this might be lamentable in certain scenarios, it is my belief that it is absolutely necessary in many cases. We often hear people cry that we need more unity and less division. But so often these appeals come from those who have broken away from sound doctrine and church practice – And it is an attempt to shame the church for excluding them as a result. They might plead for unity, but really they are asking the rest of the church to compromise. They uphold “unity” as an end in itself – As if unity, at any cost, is the goal of the Christian life. But this is not the Scripture’s teaching. Instead, we are called to be unified in the truth! O, there may be unity in compromise, there may be unity in rebellion, but there is only one unity that Christ desires among His church. Christ desires that we would be collectively set-apart according to His Word. Just as Jesus prayed in Jn. 17:17 – “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Those who have been “sanctified” (or set-apart) according to the truth of the Word have a deep-seated unity. It is a unity that is based in a solid and unmoving foundation. Those who are striving to grow more and more in their knowledge and devotion to the truth will inevitably grow closer and closer to one-another. This is because their unity isn’t based primarily in their embrace of one-another, but rather in their mutual embrace of the truth. Their love and embrace for each other is a natural by-product of their shared love for the truth of Christ. They become inherently united to each other because they each have inherited this new nature that causes them to individually love the Lord, and subsequently all of His members. It is not a forced unity, it simply flows from the renewed hearts of the redeemed, and it is relished by them. Yes, they must strive to maintain that unity against their remaining fleshly tendencies toward pride and selfishness – But their unity in the truth holds them together. The truth works like a magnet that causes them to cling to each other on one side, and also collectively repels them from what is false. Thus, all those who have been sanctified and set-apart by the truth of the Word already have the most striking unity and love for one-another that the world simply cannot fathom.
But nowhere in the Bible will you find an instruction to set-aside the truth of the Word for the sake of continuing in unity. Look, we are either: 1) United as we are “set-apart” for the Word, or 2) We “set-aside” the Word to be united. Those who set-aside the Word to be united, are actually united against God. This has always been the course of fallen man. As Ps. 2:1-3 records – “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’” So then, it is a “vain thing” to “take counsel together” if it means we must “cast away” God’s proclamations in the Word. If anyone, walks away from the truth, whether in doctrine or practice, we who are spiritual ought to seek to restore them in love. But if they insist that it is not they who must repent, but that we ought to compromise to “maintain unity,” then we must recognize that it is not we who have the divisive spirit, but they who are unwilling to yield to the truth. And of such people we are warned in Titus 3:10-11 – “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”
Such separations are crucial to the integrity and health of the church. 1Cor. 11:19 declares – “For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” May we not be afraid of making clear distinctions where they must be made to uphold the truth. To compromise with those unwilling to submit to the truth of the Word is only to stand united against the Lord. May we then stand (divided if necessary) upon His Word, lest we fall united under the condemnation of those who reject the truth.
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