Part 1- Aren’t we supposed to be united?

Why does it seem like everything in the world demands unity except religion? Unity is defined as a state of being joined as a whole. It is also referred to as oneness. Other words that are interchangeable with the word unity are, harmony, agreement, accord, cohesion and many more. In the Bible, unity is referred to as like-minded, of one accord, all speaking the same thing, and simply just being one. 

In our careers and workplaces, we must “be a team player” or we won’t have a job for very long. I am a teacher and I teach reading intervention to kindergarten through 5th grade students. I work together with another lady in this position and we are like-minded in our purpose, which is to serve our children to the best of our abilities. We share all our materials and ideas. We do our lesson plans together. We respect each other as educators. There is no jealousy or competition between us. We just simply work to serve our children by building relationships with each child, working to instill confidence in each of them, and helping each of them improve in their reading skills. We also work closely with an interventionist assistant with whom we share everything. She also is united in purpose with us. It is the best working environment I could ask for. In the bigger picture, we work together with the classroom teachers to help them as well. Could we be an effective reading intervention team if we were not like-minded? In sports, division between players is not tolerated. There are five players on the court in a basketball game. Just imagine if three of the players were performing the coach’s game plan, but the other two were just doing whatever they wanted to do and paid no attention to the coach. This would be a disaster on the court. What about in a marriage? Do both husband and wife need to be on the same page about finances? What about disciplining the children? The answer is yes!! If husband and wife are divided on how money should be spent, then this causes friction between them. If they are divided on how to raise their children, then this not only causes friction between them, but it causes confusion for the children. So if unity is so important in all of these situations, then it must be important in religious matters and in the church. 

Is unity important to God/Christ? What does God/Christ say about unity? Jesus spoke of unity shortly before his arrest in John 17:20-21. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” God and Jesus are one. Jesus performed the will of God because He was one with God. Their purpose was the same, to save mankind from sin. Jesus humbled Himself to perform that will of God by coming to earth to carry out God’s plan of salvation for all of us. Jesus told the Pharisees when He was accused of casting out a demon by Beelzebub that “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25) If we who are in His kingdom, His church, are going to be like Him, then shouldn’t we all be one in Him? Of one accord? Like-minded?

And if we are all to be one in Christ, doesn’t this unity need to be based strictly on God’s word and not man’s opinion? I’ve heard people in the religious world say that everyone interprets the Bible differently, but this is not what the Bible teaches. No one says this about any other book that has ever been written. I can’t take a math book and come up with my own system of mathematics/numbers that is different from everyone else’s. I can’t say that two plus two isn’t four anymore just because I don’t want it to be. Math is math. The Bible is no different my friends. The Bible is the Bible. We either believe every word of it or we believe none of it. We either follow all of it or none of it. And the things that the religious world today differs on, are things that simply can only be interpreted one way. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)  2 Timothy 3:16-17 is such a powerful scripture because it completely authenticates the scriptures as being inspired and complete, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” If the scriptures are so perfect, then how can they be interpreted all these different ways? God is perfect, therefore His word is perfect. Notice this says “all scripture” not “the scriptures we want to follow”. It also says that scripture is “profitable for doctrine”, singular, not doctrines, plural. We should only have one doctrine according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17. And all scripture is given for the purpose of the man (person) of God to be complete and able to perform every good work. God’s word is not of any private interpretation. (2 Peter 1:20) I feel that I would be showing disrespect for God’s word if I say that it can be interpreted in all these different ways. Why would God want that for His creation? He doesn’t want all of us disagreeing. He wants us to study and find the whole truth. He wants all of us to go back to Acts 2 and study what happened then, when the church was first established. What were they told to do to be saved? He wants us to study all Paul’s epistles that He wrote to the early congregations of the Lord’s church to see how things pertaining to worship and the church were conducted, so that we can follow that same pattern of worship as closely as we possibly can in our assemblies today. He wants us to go back and study the old testament and see God’s personality and how He dealt with the children of Israel when they did not follow Him. Do we think He has changed? Friends, He is unchanging. (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) Jesus is unchanging. (Hebrews 13:8) God’s word is unchanging. John 1:1-2 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Now let’s look at John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” These verses plainly say that God, Jesus and the Word, which is the Bible, are one and the same. This is why the Bible has stood the test of time. Throughout history, people have tried to destroy it, prove it to be false, and change the meaning of it, but God will not allow His word to pass away. (1 Peter 2:25, Matthew 24:35) God’s word is the only pure truth we have in this life. (John 17:17) Proverbs 30:5 says this so beautifully, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” Why would the most important book in the history of the world be allowed to be interpreted any way man wants to interpret it? 

This leads me to try and answer a difficult question. Why is there division in religion? What has caused it? The cause is really simple. It’s the “why” that is difficult for me to understand. Someone simply decided to go away from the original pattern. The original pattern being the church that was established on Pentecost in Acts 2. That was the beginning. Then men wanted to put their own ideas into the church and this caused division. It’s still happening to this day. Someone simply decides to go away from what the Bible says on a subject. It can be any subject. Here are just a few subjects folks in the religious world are divided on:

What is baptism? Is it sprinkling infants, pouring water on a person’s head, or is it fully immersing someone in water? Is baptism essential for salvation? Are we saved before or after we are baptized? When and how often are we to take the Lord’s supper? What kind of music should be included in the worship? What day of the week do we assemble for worship? Whose name should the church wear? What does the Bible say about divorce and remarriage? Is drinking alcohol something a Christian should engage in? What does the Bible say about modesty? Are alternative lifestyles biblical? Is it ok to live together outside of marriage? Is it really necessary to attend all the Bible study and worship services? Are there spiritual gifts in this day and age, such as speaking in tongues, miracles, prophesying, etc?

These are only a few things that people disagree on and there are many more. Personally, all I can say about all of these questions is this, I never want to try to guess what God is ok with or not ok with. God tells us what he wants us to do in his word, either by command or by showing us an example or a pattern. I also never want to think that just because it makes me feel good that God is ok with it also. Oh have I been guilty of this in my past, guilty of trying to justify sin. Nor do I ever want to twist the scriptures to make them mean what I want them to mean to suit my particular lifestyle or someone in my family’s or friend’s lifestyle. Again, guilty! It’s easy to get caught up in the world and become accepting of man’s ideas of right/wrong and acceptable/unacceptable instead of using God’s word to determine these things. This happens if we allow ourselves to be more influenced by the world than by God’s word. I have been there. I know how easily this can happen. So my advice from experience is this, start spending more time with God each day. Keep yourself grounded in Him. I promise you that the more time you spend in God’s word, the more time you will want to spend in it. The desire for His Word grows. It becomes such a joy if you put your heart into it. It will become nourishment that you want and need daily. You will look forward to getting into God’s word each day and you will look forward to worship and Bible study services with your brothers and sisters in Christ all the more because you have been in the Word daily. It doesn’t matter how much time you spend in God’s word each day. Obviously, everyone has more time some days than others. But whatever the time you have, it will be quality time with God. What matters is you are in it, you are focused, and you are letting it guide every step you take. 

Now obviously, I am not going to address all the above questions that people are not unified on in this post. Each one of those questions would have to be a post all its own. However, I ask you to get into God’s word yourself, with an honest heart, and search for yourself. Go search those subjects that I listed above and see where the Bible stands on them, honestly and with an open heart. When you go to your assembly on Sunday, look into God’s word and see if what you are doing was being done in the first century church. That church should be our pattern. Listen and discern what you are being told to see if it is actually the truth, the whole truth of the gospel. If you aren’t in the habit of attending an assembly for worship, please find one that lines up with God’s word. If you need help with this, please reach out. I can help you or I can put you in contact with someone who can help you. With only love in my heart, I ask you not to just assume what God wants or take a person’s point of view without truly testing it to see if it is scriptural. Humans have no authority to add to or take away from God’s word.

Can we add what we want and take away what we don’t want from God’s word? The Bible is very clear on adding to and taking away from God’s word. In Deuteronomy 4:2 God says, “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”Also, Revelation 22:18-19 plainly says, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” So the old and new testaments both have scriptures condemning adding to and taking away from God’s word. What else do we need? Not adding to and taking away from God’s word must be super important because it is some of the last inspired verses we have in God’s word. It is a stern warning and it’s scary to me. Why take chances? Friends, I’m going to end with that question for this week.

 I will post part 2 of “Be Like-minded” next week. Please come back and read the rest next week. This started out as one post and turned into two once I got into it. This subject has weighed on my heart for a really long time. I write all my posts out of love for others in all walks of life. Hope everyone has a wonderful Lord’s Day and a wonderful week! Thank you for reading!

1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done with love.”

Friends, here is God’s plan of salvation for anyone who needs to hear it:

• We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 
• Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 
• Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 
• Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 
• Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)
• Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)