DIS-unity

I have been thinking a lot about Church Unity lately. I have been watching some debate on facebook between members of my church movement. (We don’t call ourselves a denomination!) It hurts my heart when the Church Universal or the local church publicly debates, especially on social media. Yes, we can have debates, as a matter of fact we SHOULD have debates to make sure we do not slip into false teaching. There is a place and a time and a method to properly debate theology, to debate the meaning of God’s word. Paul and Barnabas were in the center of such a debate in the early church! 

“When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:4-5)

Paul and Barnabas were coming to Jerusalem because there was a debate about whether the Gentiles need to be circumcised. Really, this was just a symptom of a larger debate. This sect of Pharisees were falling back into their old habits of claiming salvation through works. They were saying we have to DO this and DO that in order to be saved. 

But, they did not hold this debate in the public square. They did not debate in front of all the unbelievers and the new converts. They did not do it in a place where those who rejected Christ would laugh at them and say SEE that is why I am not a believer. They debated amongst themselves and that is good and healthy and beneficial for the body of Christ. 

I love how they debated. Barnabas, Paul, Peter, and James, key leaders in the early church spoke AFTER they had a fierce discussion. 

“So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them…” (Acts 15:6-7a)

Oh, that we would learn from the wisdom of our church fathers. But this type of disunity is not just occurring within the church. It often happens within families. There are times the entire private life of a family is played out on Facebook. There are times a community is torn apart because of a squabble between neighbors. Sometimes an entire nation is destroyed because we don’t know how to properly debate our differences. 

“And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.” (Romans 16:17-18)

Yep, it makes me sad. Lord, forgive us!