One Mind (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathise with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
1 Peter 3:8 NLT

“One-mindedness” in any group of people is an elusive quality very much in short supply. It seems in these days that everyone has an opinion about themselves and others, and they expect that opinion to be ratified and supported by everyone else. Those who don’t agree with their opinions find out that they are accused of being some sort of “-phobe” and cancelled from whatever forum or meeting place they frequent. And that often applies to Christians who adhere to Biblical views of morality and ethics. But Peter wasn’t writing to disparate groups of people, struggling in their own secular fogs. He was writing to those early Christians located in the Five Provinces in what is now modern Turkey. 

Being of “one mind” is important for a Christian fellowship. Imagine a football team that lacked a sense of unity, with each player intent on following their own strategy and game play. Chaos and ridicule would result and their future together would be in doubt. Just as in any team, sporting or otherwise, unity, one-mindedness, is an essential quality in Christian fellowships. The members must be of one mind when it comes to strategic fellowship decisions. One church I was in had a vision statement stencilled in big letters on the church wall. It was derived from a Bible verse, and there was no doubt as to why that particular fellowship of believers were there. In Romans 15:5-6, the Apostle Paul wrote, “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ“. Unity between believers leads to corporate praise and worship of God. And Paul emphasised that this is what believers must do. Of course, it goes without saying, that an act of corporate worship genuinely and lovingly focused on God will override any internal strife and discord.

Paul also used the analogy of the composition of a human being when he described the importance of unity in a church. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 he wrote, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ“. Referring to our own bodies he continued, “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20). So the picture emerges of a fellowship of believers made up of different people with different giftings, but all heading in the same direction and functioning together as they are united by their relationship with each other. They are of “one mind”. So we pilgrims must ask ourselves if we are one-minded with our fellow believers. If we find ourselves out of step and disagreeing with them then we need to sort out the issues with “a humble attitude”. A disfunctioning believer is a toxic influence in a church and something to be avoided at all costs, for Jesus’ sake.

Dear Father God. We know that through Jesus we are united. His saving grace brought us together, and we are truly thankful. Amen.

One Voice

Posted on by korgrocker

“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6 NLT

Oh Paul! How could you be so naïve! To think that Christians could ever live “in complete harmony” or “join together with one voice”. But Paul was communicating what the Holy Spirit told him to write. If it was up to our natural abilities, there would be no chance at all of any form of unity between Christians, no matter how limited. But there is a chance that with God encouraging us, we might get there. After all, there will come a time when all Christians will be in total togetherness. 

In terms of what unifies us believers, we have the Bible giving us guidance. So we could be forgiven for thinking that the issues clearly delineated in Scripture, such as Christ dying for our sins, must be something all Christians can agree on. This is a fundamental pillar of our faith. But then we get to other issues written in the Bible, such as what God has said about sexuality, and our unity very quickly falls apart. There is the liberal faction that chooses to impose modern societal thinking on Biblical doctrine, or cherry pick the bits that they want to believe in, discarding the rest. And then the traditionalists choose to believe 100% of everything that is written in the Bible, no matter if the truths there are inconvenient in the light of our “enlightened” age. Within some denominations this dichotomy can never be reconciled. And then, added to all this, there are areas in the Bible that seem open to interpretation, such as the Genesis story. Some believe in the literal 7-day creation event, whereas others suggest that a “day” might mean an “age”, of indeterminate time length. So faced with such a plethora of views and beliefs within the Christian faith, how can we be in complete harmony?

For me, the very inviolable essence of Christianity starts with the life and work of Jesus Christ. And that can only be found in the Bible, not in liturgies that have emerged over the past two thousand years or so. His status as the Son of God, His incarnation, sinless life, death and resurrection, and forgiveness of sins through Him, are all fundamental beliefs and any Christian who claims otherwise by emphasis or creed is walking a path away from the unity in the Spirit. 

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose“. Ephesians 4:3-6, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all“. And Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him“.

Romans 15:5-6 in the NKJV gives us a clue. “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (emphasis mine). The Christian movement of which I am a part publishes a Statement of Beliefs, towards which I am a passionate adherent. It is soundly Biblically based and completely sums up the pillars of our faith. There are other movements that believe the same. And so between us we are “like-minded” and living in harmony. We may worship in different churches but at any time we can come together in unity of faith and purpose. Can we be “like-minded” with those in denominations that believe differently? Possibly, but it depends. In my community there is a Christian family who believe that the works of the Holy Spirit died out with the first Apostles. But we both believe in God’s saving grace and all that He did through Jesus. We’re not in “complete harmony” but we can pray together and perhaps God working through His Spirit will square the circle one day.

Father God. Your church is being built and refined as a Bride for Your Son Jesus. It is exciting to be a part of it, and I pray for Your Spirit to lead and guide us in Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Harmony

Posted on by korgrocker

“So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.”
Romans 14:19 NLT

Harmony in the church? Whatever next! Whoever heard about such a thing! One thing I have concluded during my Christian life is that “harmony in the church” is an elusive thought or outcome, and something not supported by actions. But was Paul meaning just the local church or the global movement of Christians, regardless of race or denomination? 

Let us consider the global situation. There are so many denominations, each believing in something slightly different, that harmony between them seems non-existent. The word “harmony” implies something melodic, with a sound pleasing to our ears. Like playing a major chord on a guitar or piano. The opposite would be a discord, formed by random notes not related musically to each other. A musical harmony builds with complementary notes and develops into a richness that we enjoy and appreciate. To take this analogy into the church globally across all denominations, we find something different. We could be excused for thinking that each denomination within itself would be acting together in harmony. We would perhaps expect that the richness of different cultures would combine with a unity of belief to provide a harmony pleasing to watch and be a part of. Such a thought might be the case in the smaller denominations or independent fellowships, but those outside the traditional churches, the Anglicans for example, sadly observe strife and dissension over basic stuff like the authority of the Bible. The liberal wing want to absorb the ways of the world into the church against Scriptural teaching, whereas the traditional wing want to hold fast to what God said through His Word.

And that is within a denomination. Across the denominations there are even more examples of strife and dissension. For example, some denominations believe that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit died out with the early Apostles. Others believe that the Gifts are still here for the encouragement of Christian’s today. Some believe in speaking in tongues. Others don’t. Some believe in infant christenings, others believe in adult full immersion baptisms. Some believe that women should not be in a position of church leadership, others believe that they should. It is so sad that expediency sometimes trumps the Word of God, as expressed in the Bible.

Turning to the local church, the local expression of a group of like-minded Christians who meet together in their neighbourhood, harmony between them is essential. But again, strife can develop, and church splits occur from time to time. Division can occur due to differences of opinion between leaders, or sometimes doctrine. At other times disunity within a church is tolerated by keeping the two factions apart. I know of an Anglican church that holds two separate services on a Sunday morning – one for the more “charismatic” members, using the church hall, and the other for the traditionalists who use the original form of service, and which takes place in the main church building.

But whatever we believe, we need to remember what Jesus said to Peter. In Matthew 16:18, we read, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it”. The church of Jesus Christ will be built. It started with Peter and will continue throughout the ages until God calls time on this world. Another Scripture that we need to remember is in John 10:14-16, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd”. 

I’m sure Jesus isn’t fazed by all the mayhem that goes on in our churches and denominations. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He is there building His church. It may be full of imperfect people. It may lose its way every now and then. But one day, there will be a glorious coming together of Christians everywhere. We read in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”” Worship in Heaven will be amazing. There will be no more disunity and strife. The Heavenly harmonies will be nothing like we experience in this human life. At the end of the Bible we read, “He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). Worth an Amen?

Dear Lord. We look forward to the Heavenly harmonies that we will experience one day. But with our feet firmly planted on Planet earth we aim to live in harmony now with our fellow believers. Please help us! Amen.