In Essentials, Unity

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” PHILIPPIANS 2:3-4

 

PONDER THIS

Some members of a church stay home when there are fellowship events and say, “I just want preaching, praying, and singing.” When there is a special music presentation, some people say, “Praise God, that was wonderful.” Others say, “Don’t you know we’re in church? Save your applause for the theater. Now that was unto God. You don’t need to applaud some man, some woman, some performance.” Who is right and who is wrong? May I suggest to you neither is right and neither is wrong. It’s just a matter of preference.

Don’t look down your nose at somebody else and don’t criticize. We’re never going to please everybody, and if we keep arguing over incidentals, we’re going to divide until there’s nobody left standing.

Jesus is the One who should unite us. He died and rose and revived that He might be Lord of the living and the dead. The unity in a church is not in the organization, not in the music, and not in the preaching; it is in Jesus Christ our Lord. In essentials, we must have unity. That will require you to let some things go, let some things not be so big as you have made them, and listen to someone else. We can’t go on insisting on our own way. We are to be united.

Do you feel united with your church family? Why or why not? How can you be united to your church family?

When have you insisted on your own way in church? How did that affect your unity with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Meet up with someone in your church this week, seeking to draw nearer in unity.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Not Arguing Over the Color of the Carpet

“Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”

ROMANS 14:19-21

 

PONDER THIS

So many times, we lose unity over incidentals. The Jews thought it was all right to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. They also had come out of Judaism and had special high holy days. The Gentiles had not observed these high holy days since they didn’t mean anything to them. Their experiences were so different. Their cultural lens was completely foreign to each other. But Paul said it’s not a matter of diet, it’s not a matter of days, it is a matter of devotion. Jesus is Lord. We can disagree over incidentals, but we must stay united over one thing: Jesus is Lord.

When somebody receives Jesus Christ as Lord, we receive them, and we don’t divide over incidentals. Because He is Lord, we don’t have to insist on our opinion when the carpet color is chosen. Because He is Lord, we don’t have to divide on trivial things because we have unity in Him.

What are some of the insignificant things over which you have divided with other Christians? What happened?

How unified do you feel with your church community? How can you pursue unity with others in your church now?

PRACTICE THIS

Take one step toward pursuing unity with another believer today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers