1. Free to Change
2. Freedom and Responsibility
3. My Kind of People
4. "Come Out And Be Separate"
5. Private Intepretation
6. A "Monkey-Wrench" Scripture
7. The Truth That Frees
8. Literary Devices
9. Fear of God
10. A Love Story
11. The Three Trees In Eden
12. Imputed Righteousness
13. Different Essentials For Different People
14. God's Sons In All Ages
15. Looking To Lust
16. Divorce Her!
17. "While Her Husband Is Alive"
18. "They Won't Let Me Preach!"
19. God's Perplexing Prophets
20. Religous Titles
21. Who Sinned?
22. "I'll Join Your Church"
23. The Church As The Route To Heaven
24. One Hundred Years Old
25. Can Our Churches Unite?
26. Can The Cause Of Sickness Be The Cure?
27. When Life Begins
28. Abortion: Law Or Principle?
29. Human Chattel
30. The Hope of Israel
31. The Great Temptation of Jesus
32. The Rich Man And Lazarus
33. My Hermeneutic
34. Is Immersion Proved By Example?
35. Who Gets The Credit?
36. Hook's Points
37. Heresy
38. I Am A Debtor

Other Books at Freedom's Ring

It is unlikely that you ever have heard a preacher declare that he is against unity. All plead for unity. Each of us claims to be proclaiming that message which will produce that desired state. Even in the process of dividing, both parties to the division will strongly declare that they are striving for unity. It is like two countries fighting a war to bring about peace.

We have demonstrated convincingly that we are using the wrong methods to produce that much desired condition. Is there an effective method yet to be discovered and tried? Or, has one group of us been using the proper method all along which puts all others to blame for our splintered condition?

Is it possible for the churches of the Restoration Movement heritage to unite and, if they did, would they then be the exclusive, one, true church? If we can work out the divisive problems between these churches that are the nearest kin and have the most in common, then perhaps we can start working on the wider denominational problems.

We in the Church of Christ and Christian Church generally agree that, because each member was baptized into Christ, we were all added by the Lord to his one body. That is the unity accomplished by the Spirit, for "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Cor. 12:13). So, we are united by the Lord in his universal church before we choose to go our separate ways in local groups which distinguish themselves from other disciples and wear identifying names. We denominate ourselves while admitting that we are in the Lord's body. The Lord adds us to the universal church which is not the Church of Christ or Christian Church, but we choose to serve in these distinctive groups to which the Lord did not add us. Thus, our problem begins. We become judgmental of others whom the Lord has added and we serve dissociated from them. We fail to maintain the unity which the Lord created, considering many issues to be of greater importance than the unity which Jesus prayed for and died to create! We consider our opinions and convictions to be of higher priority than God's will that we be one.

Division is more of an individual problem than a group problem. Our church groups cannot unite. If elders in the Church of Christ and Christian Church have authority over their congregations, they might choose to unite their corporate groups by working out some plan of unity. But elders have no such authority over the individual or group that would enable them to deliver their flocks. There is no national or universal structure to accomplish such a thing. And such a union would not necessarily include all who have been baptized into Christ.

There is no Scriptural teaching or precedent from which we can conclude that one congregation can extend fellowship to another church or withdrew fellowship from another group. We have made convenient classifications for congregational rejection: classes, charismatic claims, premillennialism, congregational cooperation, instrumental music, individual cups, etc. Such labels are not fitting in Christ's church or in our vocabulary.

The unity of the Spirit is not in an organic structure. That unity is in the individuals in Christ who compose his congregation, or assembly, of the saved. That universal assembly of the firstborn ones is not given a name to identify it. Whether we agree to wear Christian Church or Church of Christ as a name is not an issue. One of the names is as non-scriptural as the other since the Lord gave us no name but his under which to rally.

Since we are saying that corporate groups have neither the authority nor the structure to unite, the question comes: "Can individuals unite?" Can they? Not really. The Lord and the Spirit have already done it for us!

As individuals, we can alienate ourselves from other believers by a judgmental and sectarian attitude, but we cannot really divide the church so that there are two churches of the Lord's people or two half-churches. The Scriptures do not speak of the possibility of the church being divided, as we express it commonly, for the church is essentially one. Individual alienations, though condemned, still do not put us in separate bodies. We are one! We must recognize that and work on the rejection and alienation within the church. Since alienation is an individual matter, reconciliation also is individual. You and I must erase our causes for rejecting and alienating so that we accept those who are in Christ individually. We must turn the judging and removing of candlesticks back to our Judge.

The Exit From Unity

We have tried repeatedly and disastrously to enter the door of reconciliation by conformity of doctrinal belief and practice. At the outset, this makes us become judgmental of others so that our convictions become the standard that all others must conform to in order to be united. That is the door of legal entanglements, constant wranglings over issues of varying dimensions, and division when there is disagreement. That is the exit from unity, not the entrance to it.

There is always disagreement. There is not conformity of belief in the least corporate group. Where love and acceptance prevail, diverse beliefs are no threat. Traditionally, we are drawn into our separate groups, not because we love, but because of agreeable doctrinal stance. Then, when one of the group fails to continue in agreement doctrinally, we find it harder to love that person. Thus, unity based on doctrinal agreement minimizes love! But love, rather than doctrinal conformity, is the essential element to keep us united in the one body. "Forbearing one another in love" is necessary for maintaining the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:1-3). If there were no differences, there would be nothing to forbear!

All must believe and obey the gospel in order to be in Christ, but those in him will always have different understanding about other doctrinal and practical matters such as circumcision, days, and meats. Paul would allow no alienation over these. In his epistles, Paul called for correction and reform, but he never advocated that the loyal disciples separate to start a pure church. "Come out and be separate," related to idolators, not brothers in Christ. There were flagrant cases where persons were to be marked, but such life-or-death convictions as circumcision ("Except you be circumcised, you cannot be saved." Acts 15:1) were not allowed as grounds for alienation regardless of which way a person believed or practiced. Convictions about days and meats (Some call these opinions; but what is the difference in an opinion and a conviction?) were not allowed as cause for judging one another. Conformity of conviction, or opinion, is not demanded, but acceptance of one another is demanded. We are permitted neither to condemn the one on our left nor to disdain the one on our right.

Conceding To The Weak Brothers

Some anti-instrumentalists say that if the instrumentalists are sincere about unity, they should be willing to give up the instruments for the sake of unity. They should concede to the weak (?) brother. These contenders reinforce this by reminding that instrumentalists generally admit that instrumental accompaniment is not necessary in worship. That may sound like a good point until the anti-instrumentalist is called upon to make the same kind of concessions for the sake of unity. He admits that Bible classes, women teachers, individual communion glasses, congregational cooperation, kitchens in church buildings, and paid congregational ministers are not necessary in serving the Lord. Is he willing to give all those things up for the sake of unity? To dismiss this by saying that only a small number of radicals hold those positions is to speak disdainfully of brothers and sisters for whom Jesus died. When the shoe is on the other foot, it is very uncomfortable and, if worn long enough, produces blisters and callouses. Just how serious is the proponent of that argument?

If each group conceded to everyone who held a more conservative position, the church, even if united, would be tied down by every imaginable scruple. We would be put under a yoke too grievous to be borne. The vegetarian can accuse the meat eater of forcing division in the church, but he finds himself to be the meat eater on other matters of conviction. God would not permit the scruples, or convictions, concerning circumcision, days, and meats to be bound on all. A believer could hold either view and practice on them but he could not bind his convictions on others. He would be guilty of forcing division by his condemnation of the liberty of others. The person who exercises his liberty is not divisive because he does not reject and condemn those who do not conform to his beliefs. The unity is maintained by mutual love, respect, and acceptance rather than by the binding of convictions and demanding conformity.

Getting people into a non-instrumental congregation wearing the revered name Church of Christ does not make unity. As one who spent a career in ministry in such groups, I must confess sadly that I have never known a group that conformed in belief or that went more than a very few years without serious disunity within the congregation. There is constant disagreement and alienation. If the Lord had conformity in mind when he prayed for unity, then we have failed him most miserably and are without hope.

We have failed in our efforts for unity because the message that we proclaim intended to promote unity is, by its very nature, divisive! Legalism demands conformity. Every point of belief and practice becomes a life-or-death issue, and it brings more death than life. Every person, according to the legal approach, must know, understand, and do everything taught in the New Testament Scriptures. That demands perfection which has little need for grace.

We have clearly and amply demonstrated that the demand for unity through conformity is not the right door to unity. Our emphasis on lawful correctness, instead of serving as the entrance to unity, has proven to be the exit from the unity that the Lord creates in his one body. With each little scruple being given monumental significance, our efforts demanding conformity have continued to divide.

Unity Without Compromise

When each of us was accepted by the Lord and added to his saved group, that acceptance was not based upon our full understanding of all teachings and practical correctness. We were accepted upon our belief in, and obedience to, the gospel. Our unity is threatened and disrupted when we begin to ask, "Who is lawfully correct?", and we begin to judge each other. Sectarianism and exclusiveness are natural consequences. When we reject others whom Christ has accepted, we become sectarian in spirit and practice.

When we begin to resolve our alienation on an individual basis, things begin to clear up, even though there are no easy and simplistic solutions. When a disciple begins to love and accept all whom the Lord accepted and added, then the walls of separation begin to crumble. That does not mean that the person has compromised his or her convictions. The uncircumcised need not be circumcised nor must the circumcised disavow his circumcision. The vegetarian is not compelled to eat meat, nor is the meat eater to become a vegetarian. Those who observe days are not called upon to stop it, nor must others begin to keep holy days. The persons who use only one cup in communion are not required to begin using individual cups, nor are all required to use only one cup. The anti-instrumentalist need not violate his conscience by singing with accompaniment, and the instrumentalists need not sing only a cappella. Those who practice congregational cooperation need not discontinue the practice and those who do not cooperate congregationally need not begin the practice. Those who designate themselves as Christian Church need not change their signs and letter-heads to read Church of Christ, and visa-versa.

On an individual basis, we must refuse any longer to judge others along party lines in recognition of sectarian fences. We can visit with those from whom we have been separated and let them know that we are sorry for our alienating attitude, that we no longer sit as their judges, that we are happy to know that they are fellow servants of our Lord, and that we want to encourage them, support them, and cooperate with them in promoting the cause of Christ. Yes, we can continue to invite discussion of the matters of disagreement, but that discussion will be on an accepting basis rather than an adversary basis.

When the individual attitudes are changed, then the walls of separation in the corporate structures will begin to disappear. Praise the Lord, those walls are already falling! The Spirit is working great change among our people. I am optimistic that, because of the leavening action of this present generation, the disciples of the Twenty-first Century may be spared the disastrous disunity that has characterized the Restoration Movement churches of the Twentieth Century.

No, the Christian Church and the Church of Christ cannot unite because they are already in the one body. But individual attitudes can be changed that will resolve the alienation and dissolve the walls of difference in separate factions. As you proclaim unity and pray for it, please let this mind be in you.