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CloseThe apostle Paul says something to the Romans that distinguishes our unity as Christians from the various kinds of unity being sought after and achieved throughout the world: “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 ESV). The entire human...
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? … Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? – 2 Corinthians 6:14–15 – The unity of the church depends upon the purity of the church. It cannot be a mix of believers and unbelievers. The true church is composed of those...
Sinners sin against each other, even in the body of Christ. Sometimes we wrong others. Other times, we are wronged. What we do next is critical to the unity of the church. Unity does not depend on the absence of sin but on the presence of reconciling grace. The preservation of unity depends on humble repentance and joyful forgiveness. Don’t be surprised when people hurt...
The ultimate aim of our unity as Christians is the glory of God. That is, to worship, honor, and exalt Him with one voice. Listen to how Paul closes his letter to the Romans: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father...
Love one another; as I have loved you. – John 13:34 – Christians, you also are to love one another not because of the gain that you get from one another but because of the good you can do for one another. I once heard a minister grumble about the Baptist denomination. He said, “I do not know what the denomination ever did for me.”...
Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.” (2 Timothy 2:23) Beliefs about God are personal but not private. Christians are to share what we believe with nonbelievers and to talk about our faith with other believers. Yet talking about religion is notoriously divisive, so how do we share our convictions without causing unnecessary conflict? The Puritan pastor and peacemaker Jeremiah Burroughs offers...
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren – 1 John 3:14 NKJV The assurance of our salvation is a precious gift from the Lord, to know that we truly belong to Him. Evidence of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ is one of these assurances. A sincere, spiritual love for one another affirms our profession...
He who restrains his words has knowledge. – Proverbs 17:27 NASB – Today we can instantly inform the world about whatever we happen to be thinking. But the Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs wisely offers three cautions why hastily sharing our opinions can cause unnecessary conflict and division between believers. Other people may misunderstand our thoughts and motives and therefore misjudge us and perhaps take inappropriate action to...
Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4 NKJV – In his letter to a suffering saint, John Newton conveyed a precious truth of Scripture that few of us come to fully appreciate in this lifetime....
“Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” – Ephesians 4:16 – I know some brothers who would make splendid people if everyone else were dead, for they are very loving and friendly toward themselves. They would be just the sort of folk to become hermits—shut them up in a cave with a bucket of water and a loaf of bread, and all their virtues...
Among the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart … Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, and why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, and stayed by his inlets. – Judges 5:15–17 – When the Lord called His people to fight against the king of Canaan, several tribes refused to come. Their interests lay elsewhere. The tribe of Reuben considered helping the other tribes but...
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. – 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 – The one God exists eternally as three distinct persons: the Father,...
As I have loved you … love one another. (John 13:34) Not long after washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus said to them: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Though God had always commanded His people to love one another, Jesus set a new standard. He sacrificed His life for the eternal good...
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9 – The Lord Jesus Christ begins His Sermon on the Mount by outlining the anatomy of a truly blessed soul. He defines real spiritual health. He does not speak as the world speaks, because the blessedness He offers does not fit the world’s pattern. His kingdom is not of this world...
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:24–25 Our Lord’s return often feels distant, but in reality He could come at anytime. His Day approaches closer every...
Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. – Romans 14:19 – Peace does not happen by accident. We must pursue the things that make for peace. Human beings naturally quarrel and manipulate to get what they want. However, it takes effort to resist our impulses, rest in the gospel of peace, and pursue...
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:28 Throughout church history we have struggled to embrace the truth of this verse. All of us are one in Christ Jesus, which means ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender mean nothing when standing before God. All of...
You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? – 1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT Followers of Jesus Christ are not to live like people of the world. We are not to live in envy, strife, and division. These vices belong to worldly people, not to...
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. (Romans 15:1 NLT) The strength Paul refers to is a strength of faith, the firm conviction that Jesus Christ paid for sin, fulfilled the Law, and set us free to enjoy the gifts of God for His glory. The conscience of those who...
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10, NKJV) Someday these words will be sung in honor of Jesus...
“Believers have a duty of affectionate, sincere, genuine love in all things towards one another; a love compared to that of Christ for the church.” ~ John Owen* The modern mind finds these kinds of statements quite offensive. Christians tend to find them offensive as well. How dare anyone tell them who to love, and how much! We do not like our affections being commanded....
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3) Let us ask ourselves, “Do we have the unity of the Spirit?” No one can have it except those who have the Spirit, and the Spirit only dwells in born again, believing souls. By virtue of having the Spirit, every believer is in unity with every other spiritual person, and...
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:18) Some people like to fight. No matter what we do, they won’t live at peace with us. They hate our convictions. They are alienated by our love for God. They hate our gospel and our devotion to Jesus Christ. We find ourselves feeling like the psalmist when he...
Let us be constantly thankful to the Lord for His marvelous patience toward us. If He was quick-tempered, or unwilling to bear with our folly and sin until the day of our salvation, then we would have been separated and lost from Him forever. Whatever delay the Lord exhibits in His return may be explained by His patience. His longsuffering character is the reason...
Our Father in Heaven – Matthew 6:9 – Suppose two people were to meet here tonight who did not know each other. As they begin to talk to one another, one says, “My father’s name is So-and-so,” and the other looks at him and says, “Where does he live?” “He lives in this house in this city.” “Does he? Why, that is my father, too!”...
“Peace be with you.” (John 20:19 NKJV) The Lord Jesus Christ offers peace to His disciples three times in a single passage (John 20:19-26). Before His death and resurrection, Jesus promised them peace, not the fleeting peace offered by the world—a shallow peace from easy circumstances—but a solid peace that only comes through Him. It is the peace that flows from reconciliation with God (John...
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. – James 4:1-2, NKJV – The reason we fight and quarrel is not very mysterious. Neither is the reason for disunity in our relationships and the church as a whole. Scripture makes the cause plain as day....
As I have loved you … love one another. (John 13:34) Not long after washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus said to them: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Though God had always commanded His people to love one another, Jesus set a new standard. He sacrificed His life for the eternal good...
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. – 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 – The one God exists eternally as three distinct persons: the Father,...
God is the origin of Christian unity, not man. This must be the case because the terms of entrance into union with one another is the regeneration of the soul through union with Christ, and only God can bring about this supernatural work. Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last...
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. – Revelation 21:3 – The glorious outcome of the gospel of Jesus Christ is God dwelling with His people in perfect fellowship for the ages to come. This is a distinctively Christian hope. The sin...
Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. – 1 John 3:17–18 – Christians confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts God raised...
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:18) Some people like to fight. No matter what we do, they won’t live at peace with us. They hate our convictions. They are alienated by our love for God. They hate our gospel and our devotion to Jesus Christ. We find ourselves feeling like the psalmist when he...
A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. – Proverbs 6:12–15 – Some people sow discord like farmers sow seed. They plot and scheme....
[That we] may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Unity with Christ is essential to the life of His church. People sometimes lose a foot or a leg or an arm or an eye or an ear. It is remarkable how a person can continue to exist after they have lost several of their limbs, but they cannot...
The Bible speaks ill of those who meddle: He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own / Is like one who takes a dog by the ears. (Proverbs 26:17) We hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. (2 Thessalonians 3:10–11) They learn to be idle, wandering about from house to...
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” – Romans 14:5 – Christians have a terrible tendency to exaggerate minor differences, as though every difference in religion were a differing religion. This all-or-nothing attitude is divisive and rejects the legitimate distinctions that can and should exist between our Lord’s disciples. Though Christ’s troops...
He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears. (Proverbs 26:17) Though helping to resolve conflict between fellow believers is an act of love, meddling in disputes is not. Inserting yourself into a conflict that isn’t yours is about as helpful as grabbing a pit bull by the ears. It will not...
Aim for restoration. – 2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV – Consider the goals you set for yourself in life. Maybe you have educational or career goals. Perhaps you want to save a certain amount of money by a certain time or have a certain amount in your retirement fund by a certain year. It could be that you’re trying to lose a specific amount of weight or...
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:23–24 – Religious people tend to believe that religious rituals are what God desires. Jesus disagrees. Going through the motions of devotion is...
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace – Ephesians 4:3 – Let us cultivate everything that would tend toward unity. Are any sick? Let us care for them. Are any suffering? Let us weep with them. Do we know people who are less loved than others? Then let us have more love for them in order to make up this...
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” – Ephesians 4:3 – Any church that lifts up its head on high and boasts over other churches has violated the unity of the Spirit. If other churches reply, “One is our Master, and we are all brothers,” they do not violate the unity of the Spirit, for they simply claim their rights...
Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. – 1 Corinthians 3:7 – When Christian leaders compete with one another, or when their followers compare them against one another, disunity results. Proudly boasting of what God accomplishes through us is divisive, and it arrogantly diverts glory to us that belongs to God alone. He alone plants churches and causes...
I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 11:19 – The sinful heart we received at our birth was a heart of stone, hardened to God, unwilling to obey His Word. The unity we shared with the human race was a...
Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. – Matthew 5:22 – Being angry with someone is not necessarily wrong, provided our anger arises for righteous reasons and is handled in a righteous way. More often than not we are angry for selfish reasons. Being angry with a brother or sister “without a cause” is sinful and places us...
“Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,” says the Lord. – Zechariah 8:16–17 – When all we care about is winning arguments, we end up speaking all kinds...
“Who are you to judge another’s servant?” – Romans 14:4–5 – To obey God, we must not only follow our own consciences but also love and respect those whose convictions differ from our own. In the gray areas of the Christian life, we should focus on obeying what Christ commands us to do, not on what He may be commanding others to do. We will answer...
I and My Father are one. – John 10:30 – From eternity past there has been unity. It existed in God before the creation of the world. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always been one. They exist in harmony. When Jesus says, “I and My Father are one,” He refers to the unity He enjoys and has always enjoyed...
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. – Isaiah 26:3 – The key to a peaceful life is a peaceful heart. We cannot dwell in peace with others if we are loaded down with anxiety and stress. Our minds will be too occupied with personal comfort and preservation to love other people. Unrest on the inside...
As I have loved you … love one another. (John 13:34) Not long after washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus said to them: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Though God had always commanded His people to love one another, Jesus set a new standard. He sacrificed His life for the eternal good...
Finally, brothers, rejoice. – 2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV – In closing his second epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul offers a few final words of exhortation. He begins these words with an affectionate address, “brothers,” and then a call to joy. Though his words in the letter were heavy and challenging, he wants them to know that they’re family. He speaks to them as a brother speaks....
“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” – Ephesians 4:3 – The unity of the Spirit should be kept, dear friends, because Satan is so busy to spoil it. He knows that the greatest glory of Christ will spring from the unity of His church. “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in...
“I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself” – Romans 14:14 – Some Christians pride themselves on being strict and stern. Their idea of righteousness is having rigid requirements that must be precisely followed. They pride themselves on their uncompromising standards, not caring that their harsh legalism is divisive. As Jeremiah Burroughs warns: “Rigid, harsh, sour spirits are...
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” – Genesis 4:6-7, NKJV – Though Cain never admits being angry, the Lord sees it. The Lord names...
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. – Romans 1:11-12, NKJV – The apostle longed to see the Christians in Rome for a marvelous reason: “that I may impart to you some spiritual gift.” He...
“Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father” – 1 Timothy 5:1 – Disrespecting respected people is divisive. When we demean those whom others esteem, we offend people who then defend their leader, often by attacking us. So how should we differ with notable figures without creating conflict? Jeremiah Burroughs offers six pieces of advice. Our first response should be to humbly and...
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? – Matthew 7:3 – When conflict enters our relationships, we can be tempted to blame everyone and everything else. The sins of others seem perfectly clear to us—the tone of their voices, the errors in their logic, their selfishness and faulty memory—and their offenses stand out....
By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom. – Proverbs 13:10 – Perhaps the single greatest cause of strife in the body of Christ is pride. Not only does pride repel people and create division in our relationships, but it gives birth to countless other sins that also create division. Pride moves us to say hurtful things. Pride hardens our hearts to correction. It makes...
They sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” – Revelation 5:9 – When we appear before God in glory, we will sing a new song in perfect harmony without disruption. There will be no division....
The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. – Acts 4:32 – In the early church there was a pattern of voluntary generosity among the disciples of Jesus Christ brought about by the Holy Spirit out of love for one...
To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. – Luke 7:47 – Jesus was dining at a Pharisee’s house when a sinful woman came and washed His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and then anointed them with fragrant oil. The Pharisee was upset. If Jesus were truly a prophet, then surely He would know the woman’s character and forbid her to...
Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. – 1 Peter 4:1–2 – An army of ants can accomplish great things together...
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. – 2 Corinthians 5:19 – The work of reconciliation is not a small, peripheral aspect of God’s plan of salvation. Reconciliation is central to it. From the moment sin entered the world, God was carrying out His plan to atone for our sin...
Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. – John 10:16 – Christians are united to one another because of their common unity with the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We are one flock because we belong to Him. Our unity must be founded upon...
Let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. – Romans 14:13 – Passing judgment on other Christians is easy. Supporting their freedom in Christ is hard. Yet this is what the Lord requires. Some Christians feel free to wear jeans or shorts to church services. Others feel free to eat...
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. – Romans 13:13 – When the Lord redeemed us from sin and death, He called us out of the darkness into the light (1 Peter 2:9). God shined on our hearts and gave us spiritual eyes to see His glory (2 Corinthians 4:6)....
Our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 3:20 – Citizens from the same country have a passport and an allegiance in common, especially when competing against rival nations. During the Olympic games we witness the enthusiasm and joy of people united under their nation’s flag, representing their homeland in seeking a prize. How much...
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. – Philippians 2:5–7 – Pride is the main source of conflict, which makes humility essential for unity. Only...
Our Father in Heaven – Matthew 6:9 – Suppose two people were to meet here tonight who did not know each other. As they begin to talk to one another, one says, “My father’s name is So-and-so,” and the other looks at him and says, “Where does he live?” “He lives in this house in this city.” “Does he? Why, that is my father, too!”...
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. – James 4:1-2, NKJV – The reason we fight and quarrel is not very mysterious. Neither is the reason for disunity in our relationships and the church as a whole. Scripture makes the cause plain as day....
What is an exegetical guide and how do I use it? The word “exegesis” means “interpretation.” An “exegetical guide” is a Bible study and teaching tool that leads users into the correct interpretation and teaching of Scripture. So for select key passages revealing God’s will for Christian unity, we provide these detailed guides. These detailed guides introduce the passage, compare the original Hebrew or Greek...
As Christians, we’re called to relate to each other with love. In this video Robert Pavlich, CEO of Adult & Teen Challenge Ohio Valley, opens up Colossians chapter 3 to point out why this is and how it should affect our actions.
That they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. – John 17:22-23 – We have nearly arrived at the great merry-making season of the year. On Christmas day we shall find all...
In case you’ve missed it, with all the hubbub of the last few months, we want to invite you to explore our website! And, since you’re here, we thought we’d take this opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to you. The Be United in Christ Outreach Ministry was created by more than fifty individuals in ten states, united by a desire to see God’s will for Christian...
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17). Soon after Solomon died, Israel divided into a northern kingdom ruled by Jeroboam and a southern kingdom ruled by Rehoboam. Fearing he would lose his people’s allegiance if they kept returning to the temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam made two gold idols for his subjects to worship and instituted a new priesthood to keep them...
Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out. (Proverbs 17:14 NLT) It takes courage and humility to let someone else have the last word in the midst of a disagreement. We want to get the last word in—to have the final say. We should exercise self-control and refrain instead. Such courage, humility, and self-control are necessary for the...
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 In his sermon titled the Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis observes the significant shift in the understanding of virtue during modern times. “If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you...
The ultimate aim of our unity as Christians is the glory of God. That is, to worship, honor, and exalt Him with one voice. Listen to how Paul closes his letter to the Romans: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the...
He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears. (Proverbs 26:17) Though helping to resolve conflict between fellow believers is an act of love, meddling in disputes is not. Inserting yourself into a conflict that isn’t yours is about as helpful as grabbing a pit bull by the ears. It will not...