Jasmine 0 books view quotes. May 12, PM. Lauren books view quotes. May 07, PM. Marva 62 books view quotes. Kay 60 books view quotes. Mar 24, AM. Rindy books view quotes. Mar 22, AM. Sarah books view quotes. Mar 09, AM. Walter 2, books view quotes. Feb 27, PM. Dan Mackay books view quotes. Anastasia books view quotes. Jan 02, PM. Holle books view quotes.
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Baher 86 books view quotes. Apr 12, AM. Ken 0 books view quotes. Mar 30, AM. Brian books view quotes. Not all Christians get along with each other. We are still too territorial and tribal. We have not yet exhausted our options in interdenominational cooperation. Jesus expected something better of us.
The modern ecumenical movement had its roots in a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland in It was initiated to promote a unified message of the gospel of Jesus Christ in foreign countries. A cooperative effort, it was thought, would be less confusing than every church marketing its own particular brand of Christianity. It was an admirable evangelical ideal. As the, now, year-old movement morphed into the World Council of Churches, its theological emphasis shifted more toward social action, humanitarian relief, and justice issues.
While these are important dimensions of the Christian faith, evangelicals fear the adoption of liberal theology resulted in the neglect of the missional proclamation of the gospel.
To protect the church from becoming merely another social agency, many groups of evangelicals withdrew from, or refused to join, the WCC. For some denominations the whole movement was an apocalyptic sign of the end times. But neither can we lock ourselves up in very small groups with maximal agreement on doctrine and morals, and then separate from others and refuse to acknowledge as Christians those who do not embrace all our distinctives.
The multiplication of small groups who pride themselves on purity but who denounce and despise those who fall short of that standard does nothing to express the truth of "the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" for which Christ died.
The love we must have for all of Christ's disciples has no expression in this path. Where, then, is the more excellent way? As we have observed above, the unity that we have is by the Spirit of Christ baptizing us into Christ and into His body, the church 1 Cor.
Our expression of that unity must therefore be a unity of the truth "as the truth is in Jesus" Eph. Ultimately, that will be all the truth that is in Jesus, but our unity with Jesus does not wait until that perfection is achieved. Salvation comes to us by faith in Christ, so there must be a defining core of truth that is ours in faith, sufficient to unite us to Christ even if not yet complete in all its detail. Defining this core precisely might prove to be as difficult as living out the whole truth faithfully, but it will surely include that God, the creator of heaven and earth against whom we have all sinned, was in Christ, reconciling to Himself all who believe in Him, not counting their sins against them, but forgiving them through the redemption that is found in the sinless life and atoning death of Christ and received by faith alone, calling for obedience to Christ as Lord under the authority of His Word in the Holy Scriptures.
Where Christ is truly preached, there is the gospel; and where the gospel is truly believed, there is the church. Yet as we have seen, the church that is in Jesus is a diverse church.
This diversity among Christians is due to our lack of conformity to Christ. He has chosen to sanctify us gradually in this world. As the progress we make in sanctification varies both in doctrine and in practice, there will always be a need in this world for those who are united in Christ to live in love with one another while dealing with differences.
Sometimes these differences result in the formation of different churches and denominations in order to maintain a good conscience toward God. But such divisions need not be a defeat of unity among us, so long as we do not permit them to destroy our love and welcome for one another in Christ. Some divisions are of practical necessity anyway, for not all Christians in the world can meet together at the same time in the same place. Many distinct gatherings of Christians spread throughout the world can actually serve the purposes of God, by sprinkling us among the lost to shine the light of Christ.
This takes us back to our opening quotation — In essentials unity, non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. We all long for unity, but what are the non-negotiables of the Christian faith that when violated would force separation? These essentials, along with a belief and supreme confidence in the Bible as the Word of God, have formed the core of historic Christian doctrine. Where there is a denial of these core doctrinal elements, there can be no cooperation. If there is anything we should be rallying around which can serve as a basis for our unity, it is these foundational biblical truths.
What about non-essentials? What would be a doctrinal issue where two Christians or churches may differ on but liberty should be granted? No one wins when all our energies are being poured into non-essentials that separate instead of essentials that should unite us. Charity is always the goal and aim of Christians 1 Corinthians
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