Threats and Hindrances to Unity Introduction Read Ephesians 4:3 6. For several years, an awareness of threats to the unity within our fellowship has been a real concern for me. Earlier this year, the Spirit of the Lord led me to begin studying hindrances to unity in the body in particular, unity at the Lighthouse. In the process, I sort of backed into a study of unity, and with that increasing understanding came an increasing awareness of the seriousness of the attack on unity. Lighthouse, this is a really big deal! (One teacher called disunity the greatest threat to the survival of the church.) So, what is unity in the body of Christ? First, it is the result of the work of the cross. The Lord Jesus died to secure it. Ephesians 2:14 says that through the cross, He broke down every wall that divides or isolates people. The cross restores the disruptive, isolating power of sin, and makes unity possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. God constructs the unity. It s organic, a spiritual unity based on a new creation. It s a work of God through the lives of individual believers that s lived out in the context of community the local church. Read v.v. 4 6. The foundation for our unity is what believers across the world, and at the Lighthouse, share in Christ ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE hope, ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father. One. That said, unity is diverse, not uniform. The parts of the body do not look alike and do not function alike, but all are important actually, all are essential. Look around there are no clones in the room. We re a pretty diverse group. Turn to Romans 12. Read v.v. 4 5....we are many parts of one body and we all belong to each other. I Corinthians 12:18 21 states the same truth. The first-century church, and Paul in particular, suffered for it the truth that all are equal at the cross and all are welcome in the kingdom of God. The result was a diverse, but unified community of believers unheard of in the Roman world. God produces the unity and we are commanded to preserve, or keep it, binding ourselves together in peace. We can nurture unity, or we can hinder it. The church is called to live and work together in unity. I Corinthians 3:16: Don t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you. Philippians 2:2 says, Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose. That s unity. It seems hard to overstate the importance of unity. Matthew 12:25 says, Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. The Greek word for ruined has a meaning, stripped of its treasure, and the phrase will not stand describes collapse. I have to believe THAT is the enemy s desire for every local fellowship and for the Lighthouse. Disunity is a great threat to the Lighthouse!
Since the body is made up of individual believers, we are the object of the attack on unity, mainly through appeals to our sinful natures, what the older translations call the flesh. Galatians 5:17 says this, The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. Here are eight hindrances to unity at the Lighthouse and to the church worldwide. We ll go through these quickly, in no particular order, except for the first. 1. Lack of Humility After 11 masterful chapters telling the Roman church what to believe, chapters 12 16 are devoted to teaching how to live, both as individuals and as a church body. Humility is like a thread running through these five chapters. In Romans 12:3 is the instruction for each believer to have an honest evaluation of themselves, neither self debasing or self exalting, but especially warning us not to think more highly of ourselves than we should. The Greek word is hyperphroneo, describing an over-the-top opinion of oneself. Instructions about humility continue in numerous verses over the next four chapters 12:9 10; 13:7; 14:13, 19 20; 15:1 2, 5 7. Others include Ephesians 4:1 4; and 5:21. James 3:13. It seems that humility is the opposite of pride, and our sinful nature really loves itself. The battle for humility is surely among the most difficult. This one was placed first because it seems that a lack of humility drives all the rest. 2. Selfish Ambition James 3:14 16 warns that jealousy and selfish ambition are earthly, unspiritual and demonic, producing disorder and every kind of evil. Pride drives selfish ambition. Godly ambition, in verse 17, is a totally different matter pure, peace loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good deeds. It s not hard to understand which preserves unity. 3. Pride or Debasement Over Spiritual Gifts Read I Corinthians 12:15 27. This passage contains a detailed description of the value of all the members, and all the gifts in the body. It warns believers to neither exalt themselves if their gifts are prominent, nor to debase themselves if their gifts seem to be obscure. God values them equally because in His sovereignty and wisdom, he builds believers, and the church, perfectly (Ephesians 4:17). This is an easy thing to do. As a young man in the revival at Beverly Hills Baptist Church in the 70s, I struggled for a time with jealousy toward the many talented musicians and singers. It wasn t their fault, but I wanted their gifts rather than the ones God had given me because of the prominence they 2
were given. My gifts didn t seem very important, though the Scripture clearly says the opposite. It s also just as easy to exalt ourselves over highly visual or dramatic giftings for example, the prophetic. Both attitudes are dangerous and a hindrance to unity. 4. Criticism and Judgment The New Testament warns believers, and the church, not to judge each other. Just one reference is in James 4. Read James 4:11 12. The Greek word in verse 12 is krino. This word has several meanings, including the idea of examining or evaluating something, or someone, and deciding to approve or condemn to pass judgment. Our sinful nature loves to assume this authority, but the Scripture is clear that God is the only judge. The flesh loves to do this to appoint itself prosecutor, judge, and executioner. Doesn t it? But, beloved, the Scripture is very clear don t do it! Just DON T do it. David Guzik s commentary on these verses says we cannot be right with God and wrong with our brothers. So does 1 John. Assuming so, neither can we be unified with those we judge. (David Guzik s Commentary on the Bible is available online through StudyLight.org.) 5. Lack of Godly, Loving Confrontation It seems that conflicts and hurts between believers will continue to occur this side of Heaven, but it also seems that believers want to talk ABOUT the one who offended them rather than talking TO that believer. Satan is identified as the accuser of the believers. My guess is that we are not to help him out. Matthew 18:15 17 is pretty clear: privately meet with the believer and talk to them about the offenses in loving humility (Galatians 6:1). It seems much strife could be avoided if believers would just talk. Read Matthew 5:23. Wow! Presenting your sacrifice at the altar is a picture of worship. The Lord Jesus says to first restore the relationship, then worship. In his conclusion to the Philippians, Paul wrote to two women in the church: And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia (ee-oo-daa) and Syntyche (cin-ta-che). Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. The word for plead is parakaléo to urge, to admonish, to beg, to plead. Lighthouse, I love you all. If any of us are aware of something between us and another believer, if there is any strife, like Paul I am begging us all: for the sake of unity, fix it! Please. 6. Christian Consumerism I Corinthians 12:18 says But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. Since this is true, the idea that believers become consumers who shop around for the church that appeals to their list of desires is unscriptural, and is a hindrance to unity. 3
When conflicts and other problems occur, as they likely will, the Christian consumer complains to whoever will listen, or practices a passive aggressive response such as withholding tithes, or leaves for greener pastures rather than working for resolution and unity. The Christian consumer does not understand that God places them in a local church body, where they are to align with the mission, vision and leaders of the church, to grow and become effective ministers, individually and collectively (Ephesians 4:1 16; Colossians 3:12 17). They are to remain until He moves them, if He ever does. Christian consumerism is a huge problem for the American church. Lighthouse, let s be careful about this attitude. 7. Levels of Doctrine All Christians must believe certain truths and align with those in order to be redeemed to be a Christian. I Corinthians 15:3 4 describes them as things of first importance. Those are the truths about which there is no compromise if someone does not believe those thing, he or she is not a Christian. Beyond these beliefs, however, are many other beliefs and practices that are important, but are not essential for salvation. These beliefs, such as church government, eschatology, forms of worship, style of dress, healing, and the prophetic should not be a test of fellowship among believers. Look at our statement of what we believe. Some are things of first importance and some are not. One my best friends is Chris Millet. His family s firm prints virtually everything I design and we have worked together for more than 20 years. Chris is a committed believer, like most of his family, and comes from a particular denominational background that is different from mine. Nevertheless, Chris and I have enjoyed a rich fellowship together for many years and I greatly enjoy our conversations. We agree on the things of first importance as we talk about what God is doing in our lives and the lives of our families, and in our home churches. Chris has spoken into my life on many occasions and I see in his life the fruit of a Spirit-filled believer. Let me be clear about this: I am not suggesting compromise, but only a few things should be a test of fellowship. The others should not disturb the unity among believers. Let s be careful about this, too. 8. Reluctance or Refusal to Receive Correction Proverbs contains more than a dozen warnings about an unwillingness to receive correction. For example, Proverbs 12:1 says, To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. Proverbs 3:11 12, My child, don t reject the Lord s discipline, and don t be upset when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Sometimes that correction comes directly through the Scriptures, but often it s through another believer. Those dozen verses in Proverbs confronted me: Am I willing to receive correction or instruction from any believer at the Lighthouse? 4
Put another way, the question is: Do I have a teachable spirit? That is, do I have a willingness to learn from others. This is not a small thing. The Scriptures instruct us to have humble hearts, to consider others as more important than us. So, while I can certainly receive correction from Pastor Dan, or from the elders and deacons, can I receive correction from the young adults, even the youth group? If not, then I have a problem that hinders the unity of the church. Trusted prophetic voices, including our own Stephanie Tate, have spoken about a unifying of generations within the church. Theresa Phillips wrote on The Elijah List that the Lord spoke to her: Theresa, the new young eagles are coming forth... You will begin to see the youth of the church arise. These young will want to just hang out with the leaders who have gone on before them. Let them. Take them under your wing... I am sending the youth to grow up with healthy spiritual mothers and fathers. (Theresa Phillips posting, Releasing the Prophetic Eagles, appeared online on The Elijah List.) This is beginning to happen across the body of Christ and at the Lighthouse, and it will result in an exponential increase in effective ministry. But, to happen in its fullness will require unity. Conclusion To wrap things up, let s go back to Ephesians 4. Read Ephesians 4:3 again. There are many threats to the unity of the believers. How do we preserve, guard, hold fast, and keep the unity? Read Ephesians 4:1 2, 22 24, 31. That kind of life one filled with the character of the Lord Jesus preserves and nurtures unity. The New Testament is filled with verses like these calling us to a life of increasing maturity the kind of life that nurtures and preserves unity. So, what will we do, Lighthouse? Will we will submit to the transforming work of the Spirit? I believe that we will, and if so, the Lighthouse will receive a glorious promise: Read Ephesians 4:12 16. Wow!... measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ, healthy and growing and full of love. I am persuaded we are making good progress. Let s become a church like that! Amen? (Thank you.) Note As always, I want to recognize and honor the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, and also acknowledge the instruction received from the contributors to online study resources such as StudyLight.org and Bible.org. DSH 05-17-14 5