NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Paul also says a similar thing in Romans 2:2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. Well how are we supposed to do that when we live in such a divided world? Also, in the church. Yesterday I was sharing the gospel and a lady said she’s Russian Orthodox. I brought her back to the centrality of Christ. I said those labels won’t be there in heaven. We won’t see sections for Anglicans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, we’ll all be united in Christ. There are some who hate division and think we should all just get along but are united but not in Christ. Whilst I can love someone who may be a Muslim or a Mormon or a JW, or a Roman Catholic. We can’t stand with them for unity sake but we can stand with those in Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Colossians 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
1 Peter 3:8a Finally, all of you, be like-minded. It still sounds like an ideal that is far-fetched when we think differently. This is what I love about our teams of people who are out sharing the gospel. We come from all different backgrounds and ages etc. Some of us are more charismatic and some are more conservative. There are some who are Calvinists and some who are Arminian or others, some who have differing views on eschatology and there may even be some of those points where some are wrong. However, we can have unity when we centre on Jesus Christ and Him crucified; we’re Christians. We can truly love one another. There are times when a brother and sister will go off track into strange doctrine. To maintain unity, we do need to address heresy and issues in the body. We can speak the truth in love and the aim is for us to be united in Christ. Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! When we’re in true unity in Christ as brothers and sisters, we can see the gospel go forth. I truly pray in this hour of need for Christ that there be no divisions among us.