Unity in the Body of Christ is one of the indications to the world of Christ’s reality and divine love for them. “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me” (John 17:23 KJV). As important as unity is, Christians need to be even more careful about the teachings or “principles of the doctrine of [concerning] Christ” (Hebrews 6:1), because “whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of [concerning] Christ, hath not God” (2John 1:9). Since “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1Corinthians 5:5-6; Galatians 5:9), once those in our Christian fellowship adamantly maintain doctrines about Christ contrary to the truth, either they depart from our fellowship or you depart from them. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2John 1:10-11).
For instance, if in your attempt for ecumenical unity and cooperation, you found one of the church participants, such as the Roman Catholic Church, teaching Mary as “Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate,” i.e., “Mary’s singular and unique sharing with her Son in the saving work of Redemption for the human family,” then you must reject your association with that church. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The purity of your devotion to Christ requires you to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2Corinthians 6:17). If our actions represent our devotion to Christ, then we are defending Christ, not just words, teachings, or doctrines about Christ. Father, cause our devotion to You to be greater than our attempt to prove the correctness of our doctrine or the incorrectness of anyone else. Preserve Your people in loving obedience and cast out the bondwoman who would draw us back to Babylon. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Christian Unity
Divide and Conquer
Condition of the Church: Divided we stand. The enemy of Jehovah has plotted against the Almighty since Lucifer’s original rebellion to divide Yahweh’s allies, isolate them, destroy them, and prevent Yahweh from later promoting a kingdom building plan to restore Eden. The satan has employed every craft to conquer the Church, but especially division. Sadly, unity has often become a byword for compromise and betrayal of the Truth, but from the beginning, it was not so. The Church has lost sight of the Truth: This earthly kingdom is only a picture of the True Union Yahweh desires with His people. “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV). The satan cannot ultimately defeat the Almighty, but he can forestall God’s judgment. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1Corinthians 1:10). Only God’s Spirit can unify His fractured body. LORD, teach us to depend upon Your Spirit for all things and cease to divide between secular and sacred. Show us how to give You preeminence in all things, especially where our intellectual prejudice thinks we know better. Humble us. Teach us. And, Lord Jesus, do come quickly. Amen and amen.
Baptism: The Icing on the Cake
Other than the Lord’s Supper (known also as Communion or the Eucharist), Baptism is the other significant ordinance commanded by Christ, and historically much debated by the Church. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [‘make disciples of all nations,’ NIV], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19 KJV). To clarify, we are to make disciples of all nations and baptize them. No single explanation on baptism will satisfy all religious traditions; but, for conscience sake, can anyone gain entry into the Body of Christ, while defying the command, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38)? To be clear, no one or no thing saves except Jesus. Even if baptism is considered as a condition of salvation, baptism is more than a personal decision, but the outward approval of those who do the baptizing that the recipient has indeed fulfilled the terms for salvation, i.e., we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit by (1) turning to Jesus and BELIEVING on Him to save us from our sins (Acts 16:31), (2) turning away from our sins by REPENTING of them entirely (Acts 2:38), (3) FORSAKING or be willing to forsake everything for Jesus (Luke 18:22), and (4) CONFESSING Jesus is now the Lord or boss of our life (Romans 10:9). LORD, may Your body of believing, practicing disciples find our agreement in Christ about baptism “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Amen and amen.
Christian Unity
“Can we all get along?” was Rodney King’s emotional plea at the height of the 1992 Los Angeles rioting. Good question for the Church nearly 2,000 years after Jesus ascended back to Heaven. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (John 17:20-21 KJV). Our unity in Christ persuades the world for Jesus, but our disunity will push them away. Remember the supernatural unity of the Original Church, where “all that believed were together, and had all things common” (Acts 2:42 KJV). May Christ who unites us be greater than the differences that divide us.
Women’s Role in the Church – Part 5
Head Coverings – 1Corinthians 11:1-16
Introduction
I wrote this to exercise my own thinking on 1Corinthians 11:1-16, and you have my admiration, if you attempt to read this.
Regardless of the position one takes on Gender Roles and the Women’s Role in the Church, 1Corinthians 11:1-16 is a difficult passage to understand or agree upon. Charitably, we should respect the position of anyone attempting to explain the passage, who loves the Church of Jesus Christ, and desires to explain and interpret the passage, with the desired goal “that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2Timothy 3:17 NIV).
Continue readingChristian Liberty – Part 2
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13 KJV).
The natural tendency of anyone liberated from the necessity of keeping a list of rules to get to heaven is the extreme of “I have the right to do anything” without regard to anyone. When I was a much younger man registering to vote for the first time, I remember listening to a congressman’s campaign speech explaining the limitations of our rights as citizens. He said, “My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins.” In other words, the militancy of demanding our rights — always a popular theme both from the pulpit and the public platform — must take into account something more than ourselves — namely, our neighbor. Jesus addressed this very concept with an expert in the OT Jewish Law, who asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25 NIV). Jesus asked him to respond to his own question. The expert said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself” (10:27 NIV). “You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live” (10:28 NIV), in other words, you will “inherit eternal life” (10:25 NIV). But, as the all knowing Messiah, Jesus knew the OT mindset of His interrogator. He knew no one would actually keep the Law by force of will by their own choosing. And, this not even accounting for the need for forgiveness for our untold failures of not keeping that Law. Unsurprisingly, Jesus’ attacker “wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29 NIV). The Parable of the Good Samaritan was Jesus’ response. A traveler on his way to Jerusalem was attacked, stripped, beaten, and left “half dead” (10:30 NIV). A priest, and later, a Levite simply “passed by on the other side” of the road (10:31,32 NIV). But, a Samaritan, who was despised by the Jews, “took pity on him” (10:33 NIV) and “took care of him” (10:34 NIV). Remember, Samaritans traditionally returned that hatred to the Jews. Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (10:36 NIV). The expert correctly replied, “The one who had mercy on him” (10:37 NIV), to which Jesus responded, “Go and do likewise” (10:37 NIV). Jesus was saying, “You say you ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18 NIV), but you really only ‘love those who love you’ (Luke 6:32 NIV), and not this Samaritan. This expert in the OT Law was being reminded of our unending necessity to love our neighbor.
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We Need A Miracle 