Unity – Unity at the Cross

Abide in the Word

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Bible is the inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for Christians because it is the very Word of God breathed out for us. The Bible is not simply a collection of books written by human authors, but is a single story that originated from a Divine author. All 66 books of the Bible are perfectly interwoven to tell the story of Jesus Christ from beginning to end, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). God’s Word is perfect truth (John 17:17) and provides all that is needed for those who put their faith in Him. The infallibility and inerrancy of God’s Word is predicated by the sovereignty of God; the aspect of fallible humans used by God to physically write and compile the Bible must not degrade our view of it to a mere product of humans. The Word of God has existed from the beginning of time, as Jesus Christ existed in the beginning (John 1:1) and the Bible tells the story of Christ perfectly from beginning to end. A sovereign God operates beyond the human concept of time such that the complete contents of the Bible existed long before pen touched paper; Christ is ultimately the author and finisher of His free gift of grace to save humanity (Hebrews 12:2). The Holy Spirit moved through Moses, the prophets, the Gospel writers, and the apostolic authors of scripture to tell of the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the salvation of humanity (John 15:26, 2 Peter 1:21, John 5:39-47).

Christ in Every Verse of the Bible

Every single text of Scripture points to Jesus; He is the focus of every word of the Bible. Understanding this truth is vital to understanding the Bible as a whole. When we read the Bible and can clearly see Jesus in every text, the connections between the Old Testament and New Testament leap off the page such that we understand the importance of the Old Covenant. The fulfillment of every aspect of the Old Covenant was something no human being could ever do, but Jesus did for us as our substitute. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life to meet every requirement of the Law, yet willingly took on all of our punishment and guilt; in contrast, those who have faith in Jesus receive the favor, righteousness, and eternal life that we did nothing to earn. The Old Covenant was not simply thrown out when Jesus arrived as the Messiah, but was fulfilled by Jesus on our behalf so that we may be freed by God’s gift of grace in the New Covenant. Jesus becomes our one and only mediator in the New Covenant (1 Timothy 2:5) as the final prophet, the final priest, the final king, the final Adam, the final temple, the final sacrifice, and the final Israel; the Old Covenant was just a physical, earthly shadow of a perfect New Covenant that is a spiritual covenant of faith in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9-10).

Abiding in the Word

The Word is the living truth by which God speaks to us; the Word is alive and powerful as we read under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 4:12-13). The Bible is the ultimate and final source of truth (John 17:17). This is not to say we cannot read theological works from a variety of authors or operate under some church traditions, but they must always align with Scripture. We must never allow any earthy authority to rise to the level of Scripture, for Christ alone is the Head of His church. God’s Word alone is the truth that lives on forever where human authority fails (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 23-25).

We must abide in the Word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to what God is speaking to us. Reading the Bible deepens our relationship with Christ and furthers our sanctification such that we may live in obedience. Abiding in the Word gives us the wisdom and knowledge in any external situation we may face to give us perfect peace, love, joy, and hope. Additionally, we can pour out Christ’s love more effectively to others if we are familiar with His Word. Abide in the Word daily allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you to grow in your walk with Christ and live out the plan God has for your life to the fullest extent.

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)

Abide in the Spirit

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:13-26)

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit to guide us. As we abide in the Spirit and allow Him to guide us, we grow in our walk with Christ. Through our sanctification, we become more like Christ through guidance from the Holy Spirit. As we see in this passage from Galatians, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. How do we attain this fruit and embody these characteristics?

In my previous blog post, we examined how abiding in Christ produces fruit by Christ’s love flowing out through us. Likewise, abiding in the Holy Spirit allows us to take on this fruit of Christlike character. As we grow in sanctification, our character should increasingly resemble the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Since sanctification is the process by which we become more like Christ, the fruit we produce will be both Christlike character and Christlike actions. We attain both of these through our relationship with God.

As we examine our lives, can we say that we are producing more fruit than a few years ago? Can we say that we embody love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Christ offers this fruit only through a relationship with Him. If we attempt to earn favor with God through bearing fruit of our own effort, we end up with rotten fruit and struggle to attain the fruit of the Holy Spirit. A sign of rotten fruit is a feeling of obligation to perform the good work or follow a religious rule; fruit produced by Christ’s love flowing out from us will be performed in a way consistent with the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We will not feel obligated to perform or consider the action as some kind of burden we must endure to prove our devotion to God, but Christ’s love will move within us to make us want to bear fruit for His kingdom. Remember fruit is produced by abiding as a branch on the vine of Christ; when we seek to produce fruit through our own effort we are a branch growing from the vine of self. Abiding in Christ and walking with the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of Christlike character and actions.

Abide in Christ

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:4-9)

Abide in Christ. Jesus elaborates on the meaning of this sentence with the illustration of a branch and vine. As branches, we cannot possibly bear fruit by ourselves. We are worthless without being attached to the vine. Abiding in Christ is remaining stable in a relationship with Him. When we put our faith in Him and receive His gift of grace, we are attached as if a branch growing from a vine. The fruit we bear does not come from our own effort in any way, but in His love flowing out through us. Apart from Christ, our good works are absolutely meaningless. We obey God’s commands and bear fruit because we abide in Christ.

What are you abiding in? Are you abiding in Christ to further your sanctification and bear fruit? The order is critically important; growing closer to Christ enables us to bear more fruit, yet attempting to bear fruit through our own effort in hopes we grow closer to Christ leaves us with nothing. When we seek to achieve salvation on our own in any way, we are not abiding in Christ; we are abiding in ourselves. Likewise, when we are distant in our relationship with Christ due to abiding in earthly things, the quality and quantity of the fruit we bear is affected. If you have put your faith in Christ and are not bearing fruit, then it is time to allow yourself to be drawn closer to Him through prayer and abiding in His Word through reading scripture. Abiding in Christ is putting all of our faith in Him alone and not trying to earn our salvation by anything we could ever do; through an enduring relationship with Christ, His love flows out through us and we bear much fruit for His kingdom.

Unity Around the Gospel

The only true hope for unity among the Church is unity around the Gospel, never at the expense of truth. The Gospel will remain the same and always has been; a savior that died in our place and acts as our substitute for the judgement of our sins. Jesus lived a perfect life that only He was capable of yet took all of the punishment we deserved and accepted this punishment for every sin ever committed or will be committed by all of mankind. Therefore, we can achieve salvation through Jesus Christ alone, not by our own merits. Despite the long-standing agreements on all of these statements, the false gospels of legalism and antinomianism are prevalent in churches today. These are equal but opposite to each other, with the true gospel almost directly in the middle. When we call for unity of churches, it can only be around the true Gospel with legalism and antinomianism fiercely rejected.

What is Legalism?

The secular definition of legalism is “excessive adherence to law or formula.” The theological definition of legalism is “the conviction that law-keeping is the ground of our acceptance with God.” God used the law given to Israel to show that it is not possible for man to perfectly adhere to God’s laws; a Messiah is necessary because we can never live up to the perfection required by God to be deemed righteous. Only through faith in Christ can we be justified as righteous; any conditions or rules added to the formula would leave us as unrighteous before God because we could never fulfill any obligations by our own merit that would be worth anything to God. No matter how hard we worked to fulfill the law, we would fall far short and be rendered as guilty before God as those who did not try at all. Relying on our own merit cheapens the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us; claiming it was somehow not enough and that God requires more from us (Romans 11:6).

What is Antinomianism?

Antinomianism literally means “against the law” and is defined as “the belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians to obey.” The teaching of antinomianism basically amounts to the statement that since I have faith in Jesus I can live however I want. Th issue with this doctrine is if we have true faith in Jesus Christ, we would strive to live in obedience and continually grow closer to Him. We live in obedience because are are saved, not in order to be saved. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are repentant and die to our sin (Romans 6:1-2, 11, 15). We no longer live for ourselves and our own desires; we are living for Christ whom we have put our faith in.

What is the Gospel to Unite Around?

The Gospel is the good news that a savior has lived a perfect life yet sacrificed Himself and taken on the punishment we deserve for the forgiveness of our sins and for our salvation. This salvation is comprised of three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification is an act of God’s free grace whereby He pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of that sinner’s faith in Christ (Romans 10:9). Sanctification is the process by which Christians are set apart from the rest of the world and become more Christ-like (2 Peter 3:18). Glorification is God’s final removal from sin that makes us one in Christ that we may be resurrected into eternal life in glory before God (Colossians 3:4). We are justified the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and put our faith in Him, we are continually being sanctified as we grow closer to Him and grow in holiness through the work of the Holy Spirit, and we will one day be glorified as we are raised to eternal life.

Legalism is the addition of anything to justification. We cannot add anything of our own merit to justification because only through Christ as our substitute can the righteousness required by God be imputed to us. Antinomianism is the deletion of sanctification. It is impossible to have true faith and not have sanctification; justification and sanctification are inseparable yet distinct. The Gospel is exactly in the middle of these two; our works are not saving us yet they are the fruit borne from faith. We can confidently say that we are saved by faith alone and not by own merit and works (Ephesians 2:8-9) and yet this faith without works is dead (James 2:17-18). As Christians we must strive to have a fruitful faith, not in an effort to be saved, but out of obedience to the one who has saved us. The only unity that can exist must be around these truths of the Gospel.

A Future Rooted in Jesus

According to a 2022 report by The Pew Research Center, an estimated 64% of Americans identified as Christians and 30% of Americans identified as religiously unaffiliated in 2020. An alarming statistic was that an estimated 31% of people raised Christian became religiously unaffiliated between ages 15-29 and an additional 7% of people raised Christian became religiously unaffiliated later in life. A more encouraging statistic was that 21% of people raised religiously unaffiliated became Christian between ages 15-29. However, according to their models if these statistical trends continue then less than half of Americans (46%) will identify as Christians by 2070. These trends toward secularization do not have to define our future, but it is only through a united Church rooted in the Gospel that we can spread the redeeming love of Christ to reach the lost.

What Actually Unifies Us?

A phrase I often encounter when discussing unity is: “unity, but not at the expense of truth.” I completely affirm this notion, but the only absolute truth that exists is the Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17). “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). These verses show that unity around Jesus is unity around the truth of His Word alone, the scriptures that give the story of Jesus Christ from start to finish. This unity of the Church can only happen around the Word of God, because any doctrine or tradition that is of man is affected by our sinful nature and will lead to natural division. No matter the most minute detail, there will be disagreement amongst believers; even the early Church was rife with disagreements. Doctrine and traditions change over time; the Word of God will endure forever. That is not to say that denominational doctrine cannot have secondary importance to us, but it is only possible to build unity despite our secondary doctrines and traditions rather than around these doctrines and traditions.

A statement of unity for Christians was written by the early Church in the form of a creed and affirms the truths of our faith found in the Word of God. Research organizations, such as The Pew, often define Christian identity in slightly broader terms, but the term Christian as used throughout this blog refers to those who affirm the Nicene Creed (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestants are all united in this statement of beliefs).

“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son*; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic** and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

*Orthodox do not include “and the Son”

**catholic means universal in this context, and is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.

Stumbling Blocks of the Past

Human nature often causes us to reflect on past experiences with regret if we perceive them as negative in some way. In the case of changing religious beliefs, these feelings can cause us to take time away from Jesus to spend reflecting on our past beliefs. I often see people claiming to have left a particular denomination be the loudest to speak out in a negative way against it; it’s important not to harden our hearts against our past, but reflect on what God used that time to teach us. Leaving behind family and friends in our previous denomination or church can exasperate the issue; the desire to be “right” in our own eyes can outweigh the desire to spend each day growing closer to Jesus and spreading God’s Word. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The same applies when a friend or family member changes to a different denomination; do not allow your focus to be wasted on negative feelings toward them over newfound doctrinal differences, but remain focused on the unity in Christ you have with them. A future rooted in Jesus is only possible when we fix our eyes on Him and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.

A Look to the Future

A future rooted in Jesus requires His church to have eyes fixed on Him in unity. When we allow our focus to be primarily on denominational and traditional differences, we are not only harming our own walk as we harden our hearts toward other believers, but also affecting the witness of the Church to non-believers as they observe our division. An example of this unity can be seen with the popularity of The Chosen. Christians from all denominations and churches can come together and enjoy the show. While certainly not a replacement for reading the Bible, The Chosen allows you to experience the stories from the Gospel in a new way. The creator of The Chosen hosts Bible round tables each season with representatives including an Evangelical theology professor, Catholic priest or bishop, and a Messianic Jewish rabbi. This is a beautiful picture of followers of Jesus who do not agree on every doctrine or tradition coming together to spread the Gospel. The unity of the Church around the Gospel can shine a light into the dark world around us and hopefully reverse the rise of the religiously unaffiliated trend.

Unity at the Cross: The Call for Christian Unity Across Denominations and Churches

Jesus Christ calls His Church to pursue unity and strive to work together for the furtherance of His kingdom. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). The Church today exists with potential for division across the diverse denominations and churches it consists of; Christians often root their identity in their own theology over the Gospel. The Church Jesus founded is a spiritual church that is composed of all followers of Jesus and transcends the physical buildings in which we meet. We must strive for our identity to first be a follower of Jesus Christ and then be a member of a particular denomination or church at a much less focused level. When we view ourselves and all other Christians as followers of Christ first and foremost, we can find unity in the truths of the Gospel rather than division in tradition and secondary doctrine. A stumbling block for non-believers is often the disunity of the Church; we must be a light in the darkness and display love for one another as Christ loves us to be effective in witnessing to non-believers.

What is Unity?

Unity can be defined as “the state of being one; oneness.” What obstacles stand in the way of this oneness? These obstacles can be summed up in a single word which happens to be the antonym of unity: division. The division within the church can be attributed to two categories: organizational and personal. Organizational division refers to the theological differences that exist between specific denominations and churches. Understanding organizational division requires quite a bit of education on church history. Personal division refers to the lack of relationship or feeling of disdain that exists between one follower of Jesus and another follower of Jesus. This personal division is something each of us has the power to change ourselves to work toward personal unity. This personal unity does not imply complete theological or doctrinal agreement, but the unity as followers of Jesus Christ around the truth that He suffered and died for all of our sins and that only through Christ can we be redeemed and made righteous.

What does Unity look like?

I was personally afforded the opportunity to experience the power of unity in a Christian brotherhood I joined in college. The Christian brotherhood had 100+ members across a wide range of denominations; Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Catholic, and more. While theological differences existed between members, all of us came together for weekly worship and biblical study, outreach to the community, and mission to be a light on the university campus. While our weekly worship was held in a church during our chapter meetings, we had regular Worship Under the Stars events that were held on campus that were open to all and any person passing by could walk up and join. The unity exhibited when followers of Jesus Christ put aside personal doctrine and unite around the cross in worship is exceptionally powerful. I believe all followers of Christ are meant to live together in this unity, not at the expense of truth, but simply on the truth that is the Gospel and the love Jesus Christ has for each of us. This unity must be rooted in love for Christ and striving to love one another as Christ loves us.

What can I personally do to work toward Unity?

I believe an initial pivotal step toward unity is rooting our identities in being followers of Jesus Christ. When we identify ourselves to others, do we tell them we are Christian or a Follower of Jesus? Or do we immediately talk about the specific denomination or church we belong to? Is our ultimate goal to magnify Jesus Christ or magnify our denomination or church? When we focus on being a follower of Jesus first and foremost, we have instant commonality with all other followers of Jesus, regardless of where we go to church on Sundays.

The next step is developing relationship with other followers of Jesus. If we have the attitude of desiring relationship only with members of our denomination or church, it is quite easy to lose focus on the mission of the Church and develop disdain toward other Christians. Establish friendships with other Christians when opportunities arise or attend events and outreach opportunities offered to all Christians in your area. Discuss what Jesus has done in your life with them and listen to what He has done their lives. This is not to say that we should ignore differences in beliefs, but that they should be discussed in a loving way when they are brought up. This especially extends to public spaces, including social media, where non-believers can witness the discourse between Christians. Do not engage in heated theological disagreements or make disparaging remakes toward other Christians on social media for the world to see. This is not fruitful and only stands to cause personal division, not to mention make any non- believer think “thank goodness I’m not part of that mess.”

Unity at the Cross

The unity of followers of Jesus must be rooted in love for Jesus and love for each other. We must unite around Christ’s work on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation. When Christ returns, all who have faith in Christ will be standing together, redeemed and worshipping in His glory. “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28). Stand together with all others who are also waiting for Him; love one another as deeply as you can and strive to see the common purpose all followers of Christ have on this earth. Seek to move beyond the division of man-made doctrine and traditions to focus on the commonality all followers of Jesus Christ have in the Gospel. “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).