The Unity of the Church
Dr. Donald Barnhouse stated that a watch company and heart surgeon provided him with the most unique insight on unity. Both allowed him to listen to tape recordings. The sound of the fine watch magnified 100 times showed its mechanical perfection with the smooth click-click-click. The tape recordings of an athlete’s healthy heart sounded more like glub-dub – glub-dub – glub-dub.
Jesus Christ founded a church that had heart – glub-dub – glub-dub – glub-dub. Men founded click-click-click – the mechanized church – the one that’s seeker friendly and not cross deadly. Several hundred years after the church was established, the Constantinople headquarters of click-click got in an argument with headquarters in Rome about who should be the most important. The side issues were the godhead, Christology, and the interpretation of certain Latin words. However, when you have a big fight you never tell the real reason for it – especially in church matters.
Dr. Barnhouse said, “Nobody is going to say, ‘I don’t like the way he runs it and I want to run it.’” How true! What they do is try to pick out some false doctrine – real or imagined – in the other. Most divisions in the church are founded on low lying hypocrisy. Constantinople wanted to run the show. Rome said the doctrine was click-click-click. Constantinople said, “Oh, no! It’s glick-click-glick-click.” Sounds about the same after it gets started. Both sides had missed the heartbeat of Acts 2 – glub-dub, glub-dub, glub-dub. True unity never changes.
Later came Martin Luther with justification by faith as virtually his sole message. Click-clack – click-clack – click-clack. Then came Calvin with the Lord’s Supper as a memorial. Clack-click – clack-click – clack-click. I don’t care what clackety-click or clickety-clack you belong to – the sound of one church, one true Apostolic church of the New Testament is glub-dub, glub-dub, glub-dub. I do believe if any man truly believes Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and that he is born again according to the Acts of the Apostles, that I should fellowship with him. He might not belong to the same organization I do. He may not say Shibboleth like I do – but if He believes Apostolic truth I may not be separated from him because I don’t like him personally.
Dr. Barnhouse went on to say, “I cannot separate from my brother because I think he has some queer doctrine. Some of my most beautiful and unique interpretation of the scriptures may be considered queer by some other people and I definitely consider that many members are all fouled up in their theology and they think I’m all fouled up in my theology. I think it perhaps more than they think it.”
If you don’t believe that’s true, go to a good prophecy conference. Get in a good discussion about lifestyle standards. I’ve often said some men say they are standing for truth when they are really standing for their interpretation of the truth. We have fought each other over dead issues while the living perish. A man’s love for God can be measured by the love he has for the man he loves the least.
One writer said, “Some will tell you you have no right to associate with anybody who associates with anybody who associates with those with whom I do not associate.” If you try to love everybody that’s born again unfortunately you’ll find some Christians who will kick you in the face for it. But second degree separation is a sin.
Someone quotes, “Come out from among them. Be ye separate.” I am just not going to let any of you get away with applying that phrase to the church. That order to “come out and be separate” referred to the temple of Venus and Jupiter – where they poured out libations to the demon gods – where one temple in Corinth owned more than 10,000 prostitutes. Yes, come out from among them and be ye separate. That doesn’t mean I separate from you because you believe a woman ought to wear a hat and I don’t.
Another pungent illustration is found in the words of Jesus. “Ye are the salt of the earth…” Dr. Barnhouse showed that if salt (sodium chloride) could be separated chemically both sodium and chloride are deadly poison. Yet, sodium chloride in the form of salt is necessary to life. Christianity is composed of two deadly poisons. Separate they kill; together they are life. The two poisons are theology and ethics. You must never separate them. If you do, you can end up with a bad attitude and/or a bitter spirit.
I know men who are as faithful about the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the atonement – as anybody could be. But you can’t trust them as far as you can throw a church. They have no ethics. I’ve heard it said, “He’s as honest as the day is long…but you better watch him when the sun goes down.” He may be theologically correct but he doesn’t have integrity. It’s also possible to have zeal without knowledge. Sodium without chloride – ethics without theology. Together they bring unity and are a savor to the world.
No, I don’t want to end up with less brothers and sisters than God has sons and daughters. I can love and accept someone without agreeing with everything they say. We must learn to celebrate our diversity. Our unity is around the infallible word of God and the articles of faith of our church. Beyond that, let’s give one another plenty of latitude.
The only prayer Jesus ever prayed that we can answer is when He said, “That they may be one as we are one….”
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