Christian Unity - A Futile Hope?

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

John 17:20-26

I have stated before that there are basic foundations upon which the church was founded. Those basic foundations are summed up quite nicely in the Nicene and Apostle's Creed. Christ's Church is built upon this foundation. Disagreement with these foundations is disagreement with the Gospel - which is disagreement with God's Word - which is disagreement with God.

But, beyond those foundations, Christian demoninations have found their strength in setting up their own rules.

On Mount Sinai, God laid down the Law. The Talmud. Pharisees, so afraid of violating the Law, built a wall around the Law called the Mishnah. God said, "Don't cook a baby goat in the milk of its mother." The Mishnah says, "Don't eat milk and goat meat, 'cuz you might accidentally use the milk of the mother." Modern Orthodox Jews won't eat cheeseburgers because they don't know the source of the meat and the milk. The cheese might be from the milk of the mother of the burger.

The Mishnah is also the source of some of the Pharisees' complaints about Jesus. God said, "Honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy." The Pharisees said, "If we don't do anything on the Sabbath, it will be holy. Nobody is allowed to do any work on the Sabbath. That way they will keep it holy." When Jesus walked through a grain field and popped the kernels to eat, He was violating the rule of the Mishnah - which was written by men who didn't think God had gone far enough in His Law.

In Christianity, unfortunately, we have some Pharisees of our own. They are the 'hard-liners' in demoninations. They believe their additions to the foundations are the only thing that is right. Some are fanatical about methods of worship. Some are fanatical about no meat on Fridays. Some are fanatical about instrumental music. And, if you disagree with their interpretation of these non-Divine additions to the foundations, you are damned.

I am driven to attempt to re-unite Christ's Holy Church. That cannot be done by just me. It requires all Christians to put aside their doctrine and traditions that were invented by people and step back to the Bible. My own tradition, the Church of Christ, claims to have done that. And, in many ways, they have. But some are rabidly fighting to maintain some things that are not foundational. For example, instrumental music. I have been told that, since God punished Nadab and Abihu for doing something they were commanded not to do, God will also punish me for doing something I was not commanded to do in worship.

Huh?

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,[ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Romans 10:8-13

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10

"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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

John 3:16-21

What do these passages say to us? Believe and you are saved. You are not saved by being dunked - though you are commanded to. You are not saved by helping others - though you are commanded to. You are not saved by singing praises - though you are commanded to. Don't believe and you are condemned. You are not condemned for not being dunked. You are not condemned for not helping others. You are not condemned for not singing praises, even if you have a piano, guitar or other musical instrument accompanying you.

My friends, we are called to fight a huge battle. The battle we must fight is against those outside our faith. We are called to bring as many with us as we can. Why, then, do we feel we must fight amongst ourselves over petty matters that only serve to shatter us? When accused of driving out demons by the king of demons, Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."

Matthew 12:25

Well, Satan took note of that and has been using it in Jesus' Kingdom ever since.

Satan is dividing the church and conquering it from within. As a splintered force, we are easy to defeat. A defeated army will have problems gaining new members. We are all seen as hypocrites when we fight amongst ourselves like this. Who is guarding the outer flank? We are all so busy fighting each other, we are perilously exposed to the real danger.

Still, though, when I try to speak with people about divisiveness, all I hear is, "I'm right. Agree with me and we will be unified." Am I that blind that I can't see what is so important about pre- and post-millenialism? Am I so stupid that I can't see the importance of grape juice vs. wine in the cup? Am I so crazy that I can't understand the implications of using musical instruments in corporate worship?

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead and buried.
On the third day He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven where he sits at God's right hand. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Universal Church, the forgiveness of sins and the life everlasting.

That's it. That's my statement of faith. I don't know if Hell is a flame that burns sinners forever or until they're consumed. I don't know if Jesus' millenial reign will be before or after the tribulation. I will not say anything beyond that creed is necessary for salvation. Nor should any demonination.

Yes, there are guidelines laid down for worship. Yes, there are rules we should follow in life. No, they are not the difference between Heaven and Hell, and no, I don't think anybody in the church should consider them worth splintering the body.