Click here for our social pages!
  • Home
  • Blogs
    • PFP Articles
    • Book Reviews
    • iSharpen
    • Questions & Answers
    • Rubies (Women)
    • More Than A Title
    • Celebrate Life Month 2015
  • WMID?
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

iSharpen: Unity In a World of Division - Tony Clay

8/27/2014

Comments

 
Picture

So far in this blog series we have noted that God has not left us in the dark, not knowing who He is or how to please Him. He has left His will as an open book, ready for us to read and understand. Today let us look at His word to notice that He has left wide open for us, the means to have unity in a world of  division.

Wikipedia, which I would not consider to be significantly reliable would tell us there are over 41,000 "Christian Denominations." You might be saying the same thing I said when I read that; that is, there is no way! And although I wish it weren't the case, I don't have any proof that Wikipedia is incorrect in this matter. Despite what ever the exact number of churches may be, the fact of the matter is: If there is more than one that is too many! If there were two churches in the world that claimed to be Christian, that would be one too many. The reality of this matter is that God and Jesus intended for there to be one church, His church.

Jesus said on one occasion that, I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Mat. 16:18). That denies all speculation that might be made. In John 15, Jesus spoke concerning His disciples (what would be the church) that, I am the vine and ye are the branches. Did this mean that Jesus was the vine and the many branches were the different "Christian Denominations" in the world? No, certainly not because that would mean there was a contradiction with what Jesus said previously in Matthew 16. Additionally it would mean a contradiction between Jesus the Lord and Paul the apostle. Paul said in Eph. 4:4, There is one body. Consider also Paul's words in Eph. 1:22-23, And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Combining what Jesus said and what Paul said, knowing that the Bible is from God and contains no contradiction, but rather passages that complement, we have a complete thought. Jesus built His church, of which He is the head, which is His body. 

What a blessing it is to have God lay bare the things concerning His church. We don't have to worry about not understanding what the role of the church is in our lives, we don't have to worry about not understanding how to enter the church; He has left it open for us to view. Acts 2 teaches that the saved are added to the church (v. 47). In order to be added to that church we must be obedient to His word. We must hear the word (Romans 10:17), we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), we must confess that belief with our mouths (Romans 10:9-10), we must repent of sins (Acts 17:30), and we must be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27; Col 2:12; 1 Pet. 3:21).

We can have religious unity in a world of division because the conditions for salvation and addition to the church have remained the same since the time they were first preached. Our responsibility is to take what God has laid bare and open for us to know and to do it and teach it. May God bless us with unity in this world so that His work is done to the effect that He desires. To God be the glory!
Photo Credit: Google Images
Picture
Comments

    Subscribe to our mailing list


    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Advice
    Assurance
    Baptism
    Beginning
    Benevolence
    Bereavement
    Bible Study
    Book Review
    Bread Of Life
    Brethren
    Caring
    #CelebrateLife15
    Children
    Church Of Christ
    Church Of Christ
    Church Tools
    Conviction
    Denominationalism
    Depression
    Divorce
    Doctrinal Problems
    Doctrinal Problems
    Drug Use
    Endurance
    Ethics
    Evangelism
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Father
    Fellowship
    Foster Parenting
    Friendships
    Giving
    God
    Godlessness
    Godliness
    Goodness
    Gospel
    Grace
    Heart
    Homosexuality
    Infographics
    ISharpen
    Jesus
    Joy
    Judgment
    Kindness
    Links
    Long Suffering
    Long-Suffering
    Lord
    Love
    Marriage
    More Than A Title
    New
    New Birth
    Obedience
    Olympics
    Parables
    Parenting
    Peace
    Peeled
    PFP Articles
    Pornography
    Prayer
    Preachers
    Pride
    Psalms
    Questions & Answers
    Race
    Repect
    Restoration
    Revelation
    Righteousness
    Rubies (Women)
    Salvation
    Sanctification
    Servitude
    Singing
    Small Churches
    Tolerance
    Tract Review
    T-Shirt Campaigns
    Unity
    Unrighteousness
    Water
    Water Of Life
    Worship

    Archives

    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.