____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ April 4, 1993 ____________________________________________________ A Need For Unity by Tom Edwards I once heard of a woman who after having attended four different neighborhood churches, quit going to any of them. Each of these were located on the corner of the same intersection. For a while she had gone to the one, but then thought she'd give the others a try. This she did; but to her dismay, they each taught such conflicting doctrines that she became bewildered by the religious confusion and simply gave up in her quest to seek the truth. How many others have been turned off to religion because of all the obvious lack of unity in the religious world--not to mention the compounding of this problem by those TV evangelists and others who have thrown such a bad light on the church by their ungodly lives and false teachings. Friend, don't become discouraged in your search for truth. The false teachers and other charlatans will all have to stand before God one day, but don't allow their corruption to drive you away from God and His true church that has been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18,19). Be honest with yourself, with others, and especially with God; and give His word a thorough investigation. Today, we must proclaim the Lord's desire that His people dwell in peace and unity--a desire that has been manifest in not only Jesus' prayer for such (John 17:20,21), but also in His very death itself (Eph. 2:14-18). For it is through this unity that the church can make a better impact upon the world, as it shines with the light of Christ and clearly illumines the way of salvation to all lost souls who have been helplessly groping about on dark roads of sin. It is a unity that is a oneness in love, faith, and hope; as well as one which is founded upon the belief in the ``one body'' (the church), the ``one Spirit,'' the ``one Lord,'' the ``one baptism,'' and the ``one God and Father'' who is over us all (Eph. 4:4-6). To give thanks for the diversity in denominationalism as if, through it, it is the Lord's way of giving a smorgasbord of religion--that allows each one to pick the church of one's choice--is contrary to the Scriptures. First of all, ''...God is not the author of confusion'' (1 Cor. 14:33); and that is just what we have in the religious world. Secondly, as already mentioned, the Lord's prayer and His death were for unity--not for divergent beliefs and practices (Jn. 17:20,21). To attempt to justify denominationalism with its opposing doctrines is to be at odds with the Savior who said, ''...I will build My church....''--singular (Matt. 16:18). Does not this also express the unity that is to exist among God's people today? Regardless of the many congregations that make up that one church, they should each be a reflection of God's design in their worship and in their service as they follow the blueprint of His word. Though man has the free will to believe and to live as he chooses, not all choices are those which will ultimately lead to heaven. As Joshua said to those of his day, ``And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'' (Josh. 24:15). If we want to be saved in the last day, then now is the time we must ``reason together'' with the Lord (Isa. 1:18) and choose wisely. If we have allowed the opinions of the majority to be our standard for religious matters, we might not, in actuality, be siding with God. Man often says, ``Join the church of your choice,'' but where is one passage in the Bible that would affirm this? We must take heed to Christ's warning that ''...Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up.'' If we were to look at the context of this verse, we would see that Jesus is not talking about His Father's care for a literal garden; but rather it has application toward those who would invalidate the word of God for the sake of man-made creeds, as the scribes and the Pharisees had also been doing. In showing His rebuke of these, the Lord declares, ``But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men'' (Matt. 15:9). Obviously, if we want to be pleasing to God and worship and serve Him acceptably, it must be on the basis of His word and not on man-made doctrines or on well-meant intentions; and this is one of the reasons why the Lord has given His word, so that one will not only know how to become a Christian, but also how to continue living as one. Unfortunately, not all had learned this right away. For instance, the Corinthians were beginning to divide by having a party spirit in which various groups of them were exalting certain men and following after them. Some had claimed to be of Paul; others, of Apollos; some, of Cephas; and others, of Christ (1 Cor. 1:11-13). Paul's admonition concerning this factionalism is seen in 1 Corinthians 1:10: ``Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.'' True unity cements the church with strength. It was G. P. Morris who made the often quoted statement that ``United we stand, divided we fall.'' As we see in this verse, our unity must be based on an agreement of God's word--and not a ``unity in diversity,'' as some have taught. When it comes to spiritual matters, we are to strive to be of ``the same mind'' (Phil. 2:2). A good start toward this in the religious world would be to first eliminate all human creeds that have for so long distinguished one denomination from another, and get back to the old restoration cry to have a ``book, chapter, and verse'' from the New Testament for all that we believe and practice in our relationship with God. The Scriptures show that Jesus is the ``Savior of the body'' (Eph. 5:23); and in this passage, ``the body'' has reference to the church (cf. Eph. 1:22, 23; 4:4). I mention this to emphasize the importance of being in that one body. Though it is not the church that is the Savior, still one must be in that church if one wants to be saved. In Acts 2:47, the verse shows that God ``added to the church daily'' those who were being saved. In the context, it pertained to those who had ``gladly received'' His word (v. 41); and part of doing such also involved not only their belief and repentance, but also their baptism in water ``for the remission'' of their sins (v. 38). Unity in spiritual matters is God's plan for His people. Let us each strive to be a part of that unity by learning more, through the guidance of His divine word, of what the Lord wants our beliefs and practices to be. As Jesus interceded in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal, He prayed, ``I do not ask in behalf of these alone (the apostles, TTE), but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me'' (John 17:20,21). ___________________________________________ DEAR GOD... by E. Roberts Dear God, as I begin this day Let me turn my thought to you, And ask your help in guiding me In everything I say and do. Give me courage to face life's trials And not from troubles run, Let me keep this thought in mind Thy will, not mine, be done. And if some wish I do not get, Though I have prayed to Thee, Help me believe and understand, You know what's best for me. I've failed you many times, I know, But when tonight I rest, I hope that I can kneel and say, Dear God, I've tried my best ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________