| |
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1).
Our Lord Jesus prayed that His disciples
would practice unity so that the world
might be convicted by His gospel. This great
principle guided our forefathers in the American
Restoration Movement. Great men and women of
faith were used powerfully by God to plead for followers
of Christ to unite around His lordship and
the Scriptures. This is our heritage in Christian
churches and churches of Christ. We are blessed to
be heirs and stewards of
such a plea.
Sadly, though, our history
has not always been
as inspiring as our legacy.
We must come to grips
with the truth that a factious
and divisive spirit has
too often been present among us. We must confess
this evil, repent of it, and return to our roots as a
unity movement—not just because it is our historical
heritage, but also because it is the prayer of our
Lord!
We Want . . .
Many readers of CHRISTIAN STANDARD are aware that
I, a minister of an a cappella church of Christ in
Texas, expressed a desire last summer at the NACC
on behalf of thousands of a cappella brethren to end
the years of isolation we have known with our
brethren in instrumental churches of Christ and
Christian churches. I am so grateful to Bob Russell
and the NACC leadership for granting me such a
forum.
I am even more grateful for the incredibly supportive
feedback I have received from brethren “on
both sides of the piano” for my plea. There is no
doubt in my mind that God is doing a great work in
our fellowships to bring down walls and build
bridges. He is leading us “back to the future.” He is
preparing our movement to be all it can be by reminding
us of what we once were. Hallelujah!
I know, though, that it will take more than a few
public pleas, magazine editorials, and symbolic
events to turn things around. It will take strong, biblical
teaching, and intentional, visionary leadership.
It will take the mind of Christ, which we must pursue
with all diligence. Let me suggest three thoughts
that will help us get there.
We Must . . .
First, we must rediscover a passion for the
biblical doctrine of the unity of all believers.
The intention that followers of Christ live in unity
permeates the pages of the
New Testament. Of
course, nothing makes
that more clear than
Jesus’ own prayer in John
17. Then there are clear
teachings such as 1
Corinthians 12:13: “For we
were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.” Or
consider Philippians 2:2: “Make my joy complete by
being like-minded, having the same love, being one
in spirit and purpose.” Ephesians 4:3 says, “Make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through
the bond of peace.” And Paul adds this blessing in
Romans 15:5, 6: “May the God who gives endurance
and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among
yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with
one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
No serious student of the New Testament could
deny the clear call of God’s Word to value the unity
of the Spirit—a unity created by God to be cherished
and protected. Yet, sadly, we have often chosen to divide
or fight over many issues that do not rest on
nearly as solid a biblical foundation as the doctrine
of the unity of all believers. (And some of our issues
aren’t even mentioned in the Scriptures!)
We are a people who plead, “Let’s go back to the
Bible.” On the matter of unity, we need to take our
own medicine. Let us rediscover anew the clear biblical
emphasis on unity in the biblical text. Unity is
sound doctrine!
Second, we must balance our commitment to
truth with an admission of our need for grace.
One of our strengths as a movement has been our
commitment to Scripture. We all want to preach the
truth. The problem is that our understandings of
different truths are not always identical. How can
we practice unity and preach truth without compromising
our commitment to both?
That’s a tough one, but I have a couple of suggestions
that might be helpful. One is to affirm the fact
that there already is great agreement among most
believers on the truly core issues of our faith. This is
certainly true among all believers in the American
Restoration Movement. We all affirm the deity of
Christ, the historical veracity of his birth, death, and
resurrection, the sufficiency of his atonement, and
the sureness of his return. We also affirm the infallibility
of the Scriptures, the necessity of baptism, the
beauty of the church, and more. The truths we affirm
are so much greater and more important than
our areas of difference.
Another helpful thought—one that requires humility
on everyone’s part—is to acknowledge that
none of us has a perfect understanding of the Christian
faith. We all must surrender
to its mysteries. For
example, while I study
God’s Word to the best of
my ability, I have no doubt
that some of my conclusions
are erroneous. I do
not mean for them to be. If
I saw my error, I would
change.
But here’s the interesting thing about human nature—
while I am blind to my own error, I have an
amazing capacity to see yours quite clearly. How do I
do this? I do it by comparing what you think to what
I believe. My brothers and sisters—it is exactly this
kind of arrogance that we must confess and discard.
Unity does not demand that we surrender our
commitment to truth. It demands that we surrender
our devotion to pride. We must humble ourselves
and affirm again that our relationship to God is based
on His amazing grace, not on our theological or
moral perfection. We are saved by Christ, not correctness!
Isn’t this one reason we go back to His table on
the first day of every week? The more time we spend
at His cross, the less cross we will be with each other.
Finally, for real unity to exist among us as it
should, we must recognize who the real enemy
is. My foe is not another committed believer in
Christ who holds a view unlike my own. Our common
foe is the evil one, the lord of darkness, and all
the hosts he commands.
Do you remember the time Jesus’ disciples opposed
a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name because
he was not of their party? Jesus responded to
their sectarian spirit with this command: “Do not
stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name
can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
for whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:39,
40).
We need to bow before these strong words of the
Lord. When I see someone opposing the works of
the devil in a way that brings glory to Christ, that
person will get my affirmation, not my opposition.
While acknowledging that he might not see everything
the same way I do, I will celebrate the fact that
he is firing at the same enemy I’m opposing. And I
will affirm God’s right to use whomever He chooses
for His kingdom purposes.
God does not need our
permission to use those
who disagree with us. He
needs our submission to
what He’s doing wherever
He’s doing it. And He
needs our commitment to
unity. After all, the Father’s
will to reach a fractured world is greatly hindered
by a divided church.
I believe God can use our movement again to
sound the call for the unity for which Jesus prayed. I
am committed to seeing reconciliation and reunion
among a cappella and instrumental churches in this
wonderful fellowship. It is our legacy. It can be our
new history. It will always be Jesus’ desire.
Let’s go back to the future!
Rick Atchley is the preaching minister with Richland Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas. This article first appeared in the Christian Standard on April 18, 2004. It is reproduced here with permission from Rick Atchley.
|
|
