All week long I’ve had to remind myself that when God makes big moves we should expect big opposition. Sadly, I have had to spent a portion of my week (which was partly spent in Dallas) trying to put out fires that have started as a result of misinformation and God-defaming rumors. I guess I shouldn’t have been taken by surprise, but in my naivete, I was. So, I thought it might be a good idea to remind everybody of something I wrote in my forthcoming book Unfashionable, about the very nature and necessity of Christian unity.
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God intends his people to be a visual model of the gospel. He wants us to live our lives together in such a way that we demonstrate the good news of reconciliation before the watching world.
When new members join New City Church, they promise “to promote the unity, purity, and peace of the Church.” One of the quickest ways to break this vow is to gossip—to “chatter idly about others.” This seemingly innocent activity can cause a world of hurt. The corrective is found in the Ninth Commandment, as the Heidelberg Catechism explains:
God’s will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.
I’m convinced that most divisions in the church would never happen if we kept this one commandment. When we sin against our brother or sister, what we fail to realize is that, in Christ, we are united. A sin (such as slander) against any one of us is a sin against all of us. When we sin against a brother or sister, we sin against ourselves. It’s like shooting ourselves in the foot, only much worse.
We need to maintain the unity we have in Christ by ridding ourselves of “all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord.” Lacking love for the body (and for any individuals in the body) shows a lack of love for the Head of the body. If we love Christ, we will love one another. This is what inspired these lines of John Newton:
May we abide in union with each other and the Lord,
and possess in sweet communion joys which earth cannot afford.
In Chuck Colson’s book The Faith, he writes, “Reconciliation within the church requires a surrender of pride and a willingness to put God’s interests over our own interests. Peacemaking within the congregation should be a high priority.”
Francis Schaeffer once noted that bitter divisions among Christians give the world the justification they’re looking for to disbelieve the gospel. But when reconciliation, peacemaking, and unity are on display inside the church, that becomes a powerful witness to this fractured world. “Just as I have loved you,” Jesus commanded, “you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
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Brothers and sisters, please do what you can do put divisive rumors out and kindly rebuke those who are continuing to perpetuate them. As members we took a vow to guard “the unity, peace, and purity of the church.” Those who are being divisive and undiscerning are breaking their vows. And that is serious because it hurts the Body of Christ as a whole.
The world needs Churches that demonstrate wisdom, discernment, unity, and sacrifice. Let’s give them that kind of witness!
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