Unity of the Faith

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³ I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Jesus of Nazareth (John 17)

Jesus prayed that those of us who believe in Him would be united. He prayed that we would be one with each other and one with Him and His Father, just as He and His Father are one. What would be the result of this unity? While unity itself is a wonderful thing, Jesus indicated that the unity of believers would be a powerful witness to the world to the truth of the gospel!

Think of it. Jesus didn’t say powerful preaching or polished theology or beautiful buildings or clever marketing would cause others to believe; He said that our unity would be the proof needed to others that Jesus really is who He claimed to be.

How He must weep when He looks down on us with our many divisions!

Wouldn’t it be nice if those who call themselves believers pretty much believed the same thing so that the world would have a true idea of the gospel of Jesus?

Some of our disagreements are honest enough. We read the Bible and have different interpretations. Perhaps you have wondered why God didn’t make the Bible clearer on some of the more disputed subjects. I have two thoughts about that. First, I think God has made the really vital truths of the faith very clear. (So, when things aren’t as clear, maybe they are not as vital.) Second, I have wondered if perhaps there was a reason God didn’t make some of these less important things crystal clear: He wanted to see if we would take seriously His prayer and desire for unity. (Obviously, a lot of us are failing!) When people disagree on lesser issues but still love each other and care for each other in a magnificent manner, it is indeed a powerful witness to the world. But when we act like the rest of the world, finding reasons to divide rather than reasons to come together, why should they think we are any different because of our so-called beliefs?

Let’s be clear, however, on one thing. Our unity cannot simply be with everyone who claims faith in Jesus. Our unity must have at its center authentic faith in Jesus. After all, the passage in John 17 speaks of unity that results in believing that Jesus was truly sent by God the Father. To achieve that, we must have a consensus of what it is essential to the faith and what is not. I have in my mind what those things are. What about you? It would be great to have some of you post your thoughts so that we could begin to dialogue on these things. So I will not say a lot about those things in this post.

I will say a couple of things, though. I am not of the opinion that this unity precludes the idea of having denominations. In fact, I think that in today’s world different denominations can actually help us achieve unity rather than highlight differences. How so?

Let me give you one example. I have brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations who have authentic faith in Jesus—that is, they believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and that through Jesus we can find forgiveness of sin and power for living. But they also hold to something I am convinced is unbiblical: the so-called baptism of infants. However, the ones I am thinking of do not believe baptism saves (neither do I, of course). The truth is, I would have a hard time being a member of a church that baptized infants. Why? Every time an infant was baptized, it would bother me, because even though baptism is a symbol, it is both an important symbol and a commanded symbol. Much of the symbolism would be lost without a believer’s baptism by immersion that shows the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. I would want to say each time it was practiced: “We should only baptize believers. Let’s have a dedication service for parents and their children.”

Having different denominations allows us to practice our understanding of such things in our own way in our own churches but cooperate and unify on the essential matters. At one time, denominations seemed to be in competition with each other. More and more, we realize we are not in competition with each other but with the evil one. So, we can cooperate and join hands in global concerns but practice our own distinctives in our local churches. What kinds of cooperation am I talking about? The coming together of denominations for a Billy Graham crusade is one example. More “generic” conferences like Promise Keepers events would be others. At work, believers can join hands to witness to those who are not yet believers without fussing about what church is “right” about certain matters than can be discussed later. You get the picture.

You may wonder what got me on this subject. I am sure it needs to be addressed anyway, since it is so important to Jesus, but I have noticed among our Baptist brethren that we easily get distracted by things that divide rather than things that unite. Again, we certainly need to agree on the essentials, but it amazing to me how we tend to make enemies out of those who don’t see everything eye to eye. Some quick examples may help you understand my concerns. First was the election of the SBC president this past summer. Even though he seems wonderfully solid, some who did not agree with his “bigger tent” approach groused that he wasn’t “conservative” enough, though he stated his agreement with the “resurgence” of the last few decades. Second has been the fuss over the alcohol issue. While Baptists have been historically teetotalers (and I personally follow that for my own life), some have rightly said that the Bible absolutely forbids drunkenness but does not by mandate forbid all drinking totally. Since no Baptist is advocating the sin of drunkenness, why can’t we agree to disagree on this? While we can show why it is wise to be teetotalers, we need to be careful about confusing a biblical mandate with what we consider a valid application of biblical principles. Third is the matter of women serving as part of the deacon body, which has been controversial among Baptists. As I have told our congregation, there is not enough biblical information in the original Greek to make a definitive interpretation—I could write you a Bible study both for and against the idea. Fourth, some people judge the possibility of unity based on someone’s view of the second coming of Jesus, though it is difficult to be dogmatic on these things, in my view, when you are seeking to interpret the vivid figurative language found in the book of Revelation. Finally, extra-biblical restrictions have been placed on international missionary candidates over the practice of a “private prayer language.” Obviously, Jesus didn’t consider any of these topics crucial enough to divide over, or He would have made them more clear. When we have division and strife over such things, rather than the essentials, we are the cause of the prayer of Jesus going unanswered!

I could go on, but I think that’s enough. In balance, let me say that the New Testament has many admonitions to defend the true faith, and there are several examples of doing just that, so I am not talking about unity at all costs. Unity must come from commitment to the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, another time I will share my own list of the essentials—it will be shorter rather than longer—but what about you? What do you consider the essentials that we must agree upon for unity? Think about it—and share them if you would like.

Let’s be the answer to Jesus’ prayer—let’s be unified in Him!