Unity and the True Church

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged. Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you. I want to begin actually by Just asking a few questions. Why is it that there are some doctrines in the church in our faith?

That we tend to ignore. Why is it that there are certain doctrines that don't get a lot of attention by Christians? Why is it that we cherish some doctrines and we speak little of others doctrines like?

Salvation and grace and mercy and love and lordship. These are doctrines that we say yes and amen to but there are doctrines that we often pay very little attention to. They're also very important to God.

Now maybe there's a variety of reasons for that. Perhaps it's that we we love the primary doctrines and we think we focus all of our time on that praise God. If you don't believe in the primary doctrines, you're not a Christian if you don't believe in the virgin birth.

You don't believe that God is triune if you don't believe that Christ died and rose from the dead. You are not a Christian. So if you're gonna focus your time on any set of doctrines the primary ones are a good one.

But that doesn't mean that the secondary doctrines are not important. It doesn't mean that the implications of the gospel are not important. Maybe it is that we have limited time. So we triage, you know.

Like you go into a hospital, right and you've got a broken toe on a blocked airway if they start working on your toe. Before they work on your airway, you're going to go crazy with the limited breath you have left.

Sometimes we triage sometimes we say this doctrines more important than that one. I need to spend more time on that. Perhaps it's because we like simple doctrines because they're easier to understand.

Amen. Eschatology is one that's really really hard. The the book of Ezekiel very hard if you look at it. Most people don't read Ezekiel as much. Because it's hard we prefer simple. We like things that are easy enough for a baby to dip its toes in and deep enough to drown the deepest scholar.

Those are good things. Perhaps it's because we don't like controversy. We don't like controversial doctrines. We don't like things. It's gonna ruffle feathers at the dinner table things like Calvinism gender sexuality Baptism in time all those we don't want to take a stand on some doctrines because that may alienate someone else.

But what if I told you that there is a doctrine in the Bible that's easy to understand you don't need a seminary degree to grab hold of it a Child in the room is gonna listen to this and be able to understand this.

It's a doctrine that actually will bless you. It will bring you more joy. It will bring you less Complexity less conflict in your life. It will make you happy. It will make the church itself flourish it will cause Jesus's kingdom to advance.

It will cost you. You have to put an energy effort and participation into but it'll give you a hundredfold more than you've given in participation to it. Wouldn't you want to know what that doctrine was if I told you all of that?

What if I told you that this doctrine if you ignore it? Well has is probably the reason that every bad thing in the church that's ever happened to you is the result of this. Every person who's gossiped about you every person that's broken fellowship with you.

Every pastor that's ever abused you is because of this doctrine. So if you ignore it, you've got untold misery. If you embrace it It actually will bring healing and life to not only you but to everybody around you.

It's a doctrine that will protect you and Buffett you and minister to you and. That doctrine is not tithing. It's important, but it's not that one. It's not liturgy. It's important, but it's not that one.

It's not music preference. It's not whether or not we have kids in service. It's not sermon length. I've heard the feedback you want longer sermons. I get it, but that's not what we're doing today. The doctrine that I'm talking about is unity in the church.

Unity.

There are a few things that are more of a blessing to a church than unity and there are a few things that are more terrifying to Satan than a church that has unity with each other. A Church that has unity will be strong relationally spiritually missionally theologically.

They will be doing what God has called them to do. They will be healthy in A church that's not will be tripping over themselves failing broken. Not accomplishing the mission that God's given her. Now I want to be honest.

Most churches.

Could grow in this area our church can grow in this area. There's a lot of opportunities that The devil and the enemy and our flesh in the world are trying to make inroads into the church. Ever since we began this church We decided that we wanted to be all about the Word of God.

We put a target on our back in a spiritual warfare sense. There have been stories that I could tell you where Satan has tried to attack the unity of this church. Why? Because it's that important. Unity is central to the life and health of a church if you attack that and you undermine that the church collapses and What better way for Satan to snuff out a lampstand in this part of the country where we don't have enough already.

Unity is critical. So what we're gonna do today was we're just gonna talk about a few things. When I say that it generally means a lot of things but they're all important. So We're gonna tell them out where unity came from we're gonna talk about why unity can be ours in Christ and We're gonna talk about why we have to fight like crazy.

To have it let's pray Lord Jesus. We need unity in the church like we need oxygen in our lungs. We need unity in the church. Like plants need sunshine. Lord, I pray That you would help not just our church but the church.

To be a church that has unity in Christ Lord. I pray that it would not be a false kind of unity. That you can get at the Moose Lodge or the Elks Club or whatever else you want to go to Lord. I pray that it wouldn't be just a sort of shallow veneer of camaraderie Lord.

I pray that it would be deep gospel unity. That comes to this church it comes to the churches of this region and We're ultimately it's the reason why the world looks at us and says they must love Christ.

Lord we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Where does unity come from. That's the first thing we need to understand was unity created. Or did unity exist even before the stars were in motion?

You see.

What we see from the Bible is that for eternity? God Father Son and Holy Spirit has been in fellowship in this Intratriune relationship where there's been perfect unity forever before time itself. Began before space itself was in motion before atoms were colliding with one another in the second law of thermodynamics.

We're ruining everything before all of that unity existed with God. God is perfectly in Unity in the relationships that he has with Father Son and Holy Spirit. He is a God of unity like it says in the Bible.

God is love. God is also in union with himself. That's why God can say let us make man in our image because there's no division in the Godhead everything they do has unity. So why Jesus could say I and the Father are one.

If you've seen me you've seen the father. I only do what the father tells me to because Christ and God are in perfect unity. That's why Israel declares here. Oh Israel the Lord our God is one. Because unity is central to the fabric of God and who he is and Because God is that and because he made us to be in his image.

Then God made us with the intention that we would have deep satisfying unity with him vertically and With the other people who are around us horizontally. Jesus even prays for this in John 17 21. He says I don't ask for these only for Peter for James for John for he's saying.

But also for those who believe in me through their word. That they may all be one just as you father are in me and I am in you. That they that's by extension all of us may be in us. So that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus prayed for our unity. The whole New Testament actually is a story about how God is bringing a broken Discorded disunified people into union with him. That's why we baptize in one name Father Son of the Holy Spirit.

That's why we have communion with one bread. That's why we have one Lord one faith one baptism. Ephesians 4 or 5 and 6 God made us to care about unity both vertically and horizontally. But as we know The boat didn't get very far out of the harbor in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 did it because in Genesis 3.

What is Satan doing there? Satan yes, he's coming to to destroy things to steal to kill and destroy. But what's he doing? He's attacking their unity. He comes to man and woman a united front made to be one.

And he divides them so that man is fighting woman woman is fighting man. He divides their marriage. That's the first thing that he does. Satan's mo his modus operandi is to divide things and then conquer smaller pockets.

That's what he does right there in the very beginning. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that our first parents this is question 13. Link for children. Don't say it out loud. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning against God.

So in that moment they sinned against God there their unity with God fell now they're dead in their trespasses their souls die and Disunity and chaos and disorder come upon the soul of man and.

If.

You haven't read the Old Testament past Genesis 3. You'll realize that disunity when you read it that disunity is now come to us in the way that we relate to one another. We lost fellowship with God. We also lost our ability to even get along with each other.

If you don't believe that. Look at the the couple that's getting ready to get married and how how beautifully Simplistic their thoughts about what married life will be and then four days later in the Bahamas.

They're at each other's throats. Disunity has come into every facet of our existence. That's why arguments shaming stonewalling domestic disputes infertility infidelity. Marital rape discord pride and you name all kinds of sins that have come into the marriage alone.

Because Satan is dividing people and they are now at each other's throats instead of being partners they're now enemies. And every marriage. Unless you're a liar. Has walked through a phase where you did not believe that your spouse Had your best interest at heart and that she was your enemy or he was your enemy.

We've all been there because that is what Satan does. Satan divided man not only from his wife, but also from his environment. That's why thorns and thistles immediately disorder disunity chaos are coming up out of the ground.

Because now he's now divided from his land. Isn't it funny man was made out of the dirt. So they have an inherent connection and then when sin comes in now the earth hates him. Thorns and thistles are attacking him.

Tidal waves and hurricanes are now attacking him. It's like kudzu in southern, Georgia. If you know what that is, maybe a better analogy up here would be like mold that grows in the dark. Like leaven that leavens an entire lump.

Disunity when it infected humanity it began spreading like wildfire to every facet. We see it in the nation's that spread to the way that nations relate with one another. Look at Genesis 11 the Tower of Babel.

They had a unified purpose in sin and then look at what happened disunity this order. Every single nation now is being confused and being spread out to the ends of the earth and their rebellion. You look at slavery in Egypt and the disunity that was between the nations.

You look at the wars and all of the fighting that happens. You look at the nations that were that were. Bowing their knee to idle. Disunity discord and chaos have come upon man. That's why you'll often hear me say.

And maybe I don't even say it enough. But if you're a Christian you will either have Christ or chaos. If you're a Christian you either have Christ or chaos. You either bow the knee to Christ. Or you will accept the disunity discord and chaos that will come.

Because we live in a world that is broken. The entire Old Testament story is an unbroken narrative of how sin brings disunity to everything and.

Breaks everything.

Now the New Testament is the story of how the new Adam Christ comes and he heals everything, but he doesn't heal everything right away. He has healed the divide between us and God that vertical disunity is gone in Jesus Christ.

Amen. But the disunity that we have among one another. The things that are still broken in our life the discord the disfellowship the disunity the chaos still. Sometimes attacks even us as Christians.

We should expect that because Christ hasn't fully sanctified and fully purified the world of disorder. That the New Testament probably has some things to say about the topic and it does. It says that disunity is three things.

You don't have to write these down. But disunity causes destruction in the church. Disunity is dangerous for you and Disunity is disgusting to God and I use that word on purpose. It's a strong word, but I use it on purpose.

Disunity is destructive to the church now. We can't cite all of these references. This is gonna be a thick enough sermon as it is, but I'm gonna I'm gonna sort of describe examples of disunity in the church.

Do you remember the disciples? They were arguing about who was gonna be the greatest in the kingdom. That one of their mothers comes up and says hey, will you let them sit at your right hand in your kingdom?

They're now grappling with the sort of sinful Disunity and what you'll notice in that passage in Luke is it says that all the disciples were angry at them and arguing about it. This is Jesus's disciples his right-hand men and now they're devolving into disunity.

You look at Acts chapter 6 the Hebrew the Hebraic Jews were at the throats of the Hellenistic Jews because the Hellenistic Jews were saying you're not taking care of my widows and the Hebraic Jews were saying.

So what? There was disunity in the church so much so that the Apostles had to address it. You think about the disunity that was even in Paul's life. Paul and Barnabas have this massive fallout where they're arguing with each other on on John mark and whether he's gonna go with them and they divide and Go separate paths for years.

We find out later that Paul receives mark again and that restoration and reconciliation comes, but it's years. It's over a decade.

We.

See in Philippians 4 chapter 2 these two women Yodia and Syntyche. They are at each other's throats. They're arguing about something. We don't know Paul doesn't tell us but we know that it's a significant enough division That he had to write an entire book about it.

Now.

Philippians has all these wonderful beautiful themes about joy and. And about living a life that's in a manner worthy of the gospel. Why do you think Paul is buffeting all of that truth right there in the beginning because in Philippians 4 when he says ladies.

Your names have been written in the book of life. You're my co-labor in the gospel. Live your life in a manner worthy of that instead of this this tiff that you have. Because it's gonna destroy the church.

It's gonna break relationships. It's gonna cause church splits and fissures and divisions. The ministry the mission is too important. For a church to allow division to cripple it and to cause it to fall into disrepute.

Pastor Derek has preached through the book of Corinthians. He talked about a book that is all about divisions. One group was saying Paul's my guy. One group was saying no. No, I like a Paulist. One group is saying you have to wear head coverings.

The other group was saying no don't infringe upon my liberty. One group of saying the rich can eat communion the poor can't. The whole book of Corinthians is about disunity and disorder that has come upon a church and Paul is he wrote two books.

Actually scholars believe he wrote four books, but the Holy Spirit decided we only needed two of them. They were broken over this issue. The book of Galatians. They were divided over theology. The book of 3rd John.

They had a bad elder which brought a lot of division into their church. The book of Jude has wolves coming in and trying to to shipwreck the church. Philemon and Onesimus is a divide between a owner and his slave.

The seven churches of Revelation are all struggling with some sort of division. Except one. It's hung over the New Testament. Division is destructive to the Church of Christ. It's inescapable that if a church accepts division they will devolve into disrepute and Disrepair and they will fail in the mission that God has given them and like Revelation says he will snuff out their lampstand.

The fastest way to kill a church is to let disunity and division and disorder reign. It's to allow Satan back in and To reject what Christ has done to bring unity and order. That's the first thing disunity is Destructive to the church.

It's also dangerous for believers. Now I'm gonna go for an Old Testament example first. Do you remember the rebellion of Korah? Korah made a division between him and Moses. And what does God do? He opens the earth and swallows him whole.

It was dangerous for him and his ilk to be in disunity. God killed them. Look in the New Testament. The New Testament. We often think the Old Testament has more Events in it than the then the Old Testament.

Or the New Testament as is more peaceful Maybe than the Old Testament. Look at the church at Corinth. Paul literally says this is why many of you are weak and ill and some of you have died. Because they've let disunity into the church.

Now you may say no. No, no. No, the reason that they were dying is because they were mistaking communion. But I would point out that the reason they were mistaking communion is because they had an elitist.

Mentality.

The rich people were looking down their nose at the poor people. There was a classism that was going on that was saying we're good enough to take the table you're not. And Christ hates that so much that he killed some of them in that church.

That's right from the scripture. Which gets us to our third point disunity is disgusting to God. Let me read you probably the clearest passage in the Bible on this topic what God feels about disunity.

It's Proverbs 6 16 through 19. There are six things that the Lord hates. Seven that are an abomination to him haughty eyes a lying tongue a hand that sheds innocent blood. A Heart that devises wicked plans.

Feet that make haste to run to evil. A false witness who breathes breathes lies. And the one who sows discord or disunity among the brethren. That last one is really important. The one who sows disunity in the church.

God says that he hates. How many times have we been in churches that have struggled with disunity? And this verse is not read as. A loving warning to the person who is causing disunity. Stop, please. God hates this.

How often do we live in disunity instead of bringing the scriptures to bear? God says that he hates those who cause disunity in the church. You think about examples of this gossip. God hates that Slander.

God hates that lying false accusations. God hates that spreading lies and falsehoods about believers without without truth behind it. God hates that. Lurking in emails and text messages hiding in backroom corners and sofa slander sessions.

God hates that. Now, let me be very clear. I'm not talking about dividing over heresy. There is no unity when it comes to someone who has who believes in heresy. There's no unity between this church and Bethel Church in California, which is one that we've talked about before.

There's no unity between this church and Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. There's no unity between this church and Joel Osteen's Church. Those are people who have so thoroughly misrepresented the gospel and God's Word.

There is no unity there. I'm not talking about that. We divide with wolves. A faithful shepherd does not pet a wolf. He shoots a wolf. We have to know that. It's dangerous to pet wolves. It's dangerous to the church.

But with that with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we don't shoot them. We don't divide with them. We don't hurt them and we don't cause disunity among them. I am all for Iron sharpening iron. I'm all for having a theological conversation that's spirited.

Any theological conversation I get into I get spirited. I love it. I am of the same caliber of person who's watched every episode of Star Trek 18 times except my thing is theology. I've never watched Star Trek.

I don't know anything about it, but I know I'm like that. It's okay for iron to sharpen iron. It's not okay to take a sharpened piece of iron and stab your brother in the back and a stamp your sister in the back.

It's not okay a little leaven leavens the entire lump a little slander. Has been the death of a hundred thousand churches. It's because disunity is damaging to the church. It's dangerous to us who participate in it and it's disgusting to a holy God.

Now that's the negative. That's the dis unity. We can't stop there we've talked about what that is and I hope to God That it's evident that we must avoid that like the plague, but we also have to now move into what the positive is.

Unity, what is unity?

Why do we have unity? Why can we know for sure that we have unity? Why do we strive for unity Ephesians 4? It says be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond and peace. Why does the Bible tell us that we must be diligent to preserve the unity that we must do these things why?

Why does it say in Romans 12 10 that we must be devoted to one another and brotherly love. 1st Corinthians 12 25 that we strive? So there be no division in the body and so that the members may have the same care for one another.

Why does it in Colossians 3 12 say that you have been chosen by God Holy and Beloved put on a heart of compassion and kindness? And humility and gentleness and patience bearing with one another in forgiving one another whoever has a complaint against anyone.

Just as the Lord gave forgave you you should forgive them. Why does the Bible repeatedly and there's there's many many many verses that we could have referenced. Why does it say that we must not let this unity fester?

Why does it say one of the most? This is right up there with judge. That verse is one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible, why does the Bible say that if your brother sins against you. That you must hide and and fester and and live in bitter.

It doesn't say that. It says if your brother sins against you go and show him his fault in private if he listens to you. You've won your brother. If he doesn't listen to you take it to one or more. So that with the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed if he refuses to listen then tell it to the elders and if he refuses to listen tell it to the church and Then if he refuses treat him as a Gentile and tax collector.

What why is the Bible saying that we must be very very very careful four and five steps deep before we divide because 1st John 4 20 says if Someone says that I love God and hates his brother. He is a liar.

For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love the God whom he has not seen. You see how important this is? If we say we love God, but we hate our brother or we bring disunity and division.

We've made ourself out to be a liar. The truth of God is not in us. This goes down to the level of our faith. The man or woman who has true faith Does not allow these sorts of things to fester. This is how important it is.

And in fact, it's very central to the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel is that Jesus Christ came to people who were Addicted to confusion and disorder and he died with our disunity poured out on top of him.

He was disfellowshipped from God. He was God turned his face away from Christ. He took our disunity upon himself why so that you and I could have union with Christ. He traded in our disorder for order.

He traded our disunity for Union. Jesus at his cross. Took our shame took our guilt took our pain took our tendencies to harass and slander and accuse which are all attributes of Satan. He took those from us.

And he gave us his Holy Spirit to bring us peace. He brought us his Holy Spirit so that the church Could be the best and clearest picture of unity on earth. I was thinking about this this week. Did you know that you and I have more in common With a believer in Kathmandu Nepal Than we do with our own mother or father if they're not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have more in common With a believer who lived 500 years ago in a time period. Let's say Imperial China. We have nothing at all culturally socially politically connected, but yet we have more in common with them Than we do with an unbeliever regardless of our feelings.

Regardless of how our experience has dictated the people who are to your left and to your right in this room Have more in common with you than your own children if they're not in the Lord. You look to your left and your right this is the family God adopted you into.

Thank you Paul for looking to the left and the right. Yes, I Said to look to the left and right. Thank you for that. His blood is better Than even the biological blood or genealogical blood of our family.

He's brought us into a family. Do we think about the church like that? Do we think about the members of the church as they're my family? Because I guarantee you if we did When people leave it would hurt when people.

When people participate in disunity It would cause angst and pain. It would cause us To go to our brother or go to our sister and say why did you do this? Why are you living in the darkness? Why are you participating in this?

This is this is wicked. I'm not telling you that because I I have anything over him telling you because I love you. Do we consider our church family? Family. Paul says in First Corinthians 12 13 for by one spirit.

We were all baptized into one body whether Jew or Greek. Whether slave or free we were made to drink of one Spirit. The first thing I would say to us as a church We have several layers of unity among each other.

The first one is we have a spiritual unity in the fact that we have the Holy Spirit of God the same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead. If you were a believer in this room lives in you. I have more in common with you Than anyone else on earth.

There's a spiritual unity between you and I because of the Spirit of God. We also have material unity. Look at what it says in Colossians 3 11. There is no distinction none between Jew and Greek. Circumcised and uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave or free.

Christ is all in all. So I don't care if you're in this room and you are black or white red or yellow if you have brown eyes or blue Eyes, I don't care if you're male or female. I don't care if you're happy or sad.

I don't care if you're thin or round.

If you're in Christ.

We have unity. Intrinsic to our nature because of the Holy Spirit of God. All of our distinctions are like wrapping paper. Do you know what I mean? I Could give the same gift to ten people and wrap it in different wrapping paper in it and at the end of the day.

It's the same gift. It's the same thing on the inside. Even though the wrapping paper might look a little different. That's what you and our our wrapping paper looks a little different. My wrapping paper is looking a little more salt and pepper these days.

But what's inside? Me and you if you're in Christ is the same. It goes down even deeper than our bones. It goes down even deeper than the subatomic particles that are held together by. You can ask Rob.

He's he's the guy that would know the answer to that. Whatever it is that holds them together though. It goes deeper than that if someone is a Christian.

We must.

Love them and Treat them with kindness. Not because they deserve it. We didn't earn anything. The Spirit of God came into us as a gift. We love and care and bear one another's burdens not because we're all pleasurable people.

Christ didn't save. Christ didn't save the best people. He saved us. We have our days. We have our ways. You catch me on the wrong morning. I'm not a morning person. I Get to church. I Need to wake up a little bit.

Is what I'm saying. But we love each other not because of us. We love each other because of what Christ has done on the cross and what God has done in pouring out his Spirit in each And every single one of us.

And you want to talk about what a sin against the Holy Spirit is. Slander your brother slander your sister in Christ and You'll find out. What why Paul is so gravely serious about this is why some of them were sick and some of them died.

This is so important. The third thing we have spiritual unity. We have material unity. We also have relational unity. Ephesians 425 says that we're all members of one another. Philippians 1 27 says that we are to live our lives worthy of this gospel.

We have a unified mission. 2nd Corinthians 13 11 says brethren rejoice be made complete be comforted be like-minded. Live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. He's saying if you have unity if you're like-minded.

Then you will experience the peace of God. Is that why so many churches who are not in unity don't experience peace. Is that the reason so many churches that are addicted to gossip have no love that they're cold.

It says.

That being like-minded in Christ and then the God of love and peace will be with you. It doesn't say do whatever you want. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Their consequences to disunity and.

Then there are consequences to a commitment to unity. We get something better than we could ever imagine if we are in unity. We also have a klesia logical unity. It's just a big word. That means we have church unity.

Acts 2 1 says when the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place. They had unity of location. Acts 2 42 says they were continually devoting themselves to the Apostles teaching to fellowship and to breaking of bread.

So we have unity of place. We have unity of substance. We have the same teaching from the Bible. We have the same fellowship. We're all in the Holy Spirit of God. We have the same table because that's the table that Christ died and told us to take so we have unity even in what we do on a Sunday morning.

Acts 2 46 day by day continuing with one mind in the temple. So they had ongoing unity. It's not a unity that ebbs and flows. It's a unity that is constantly true if we're in Christ the church has Unity intrinsic to its own nature that will lead to its flourishing.

We also have sacramental unity. It's not only because we have spiritual material unity ecclesiological unity. We also sacramental unity. Look at what Ephesians 4 4 through 6 says about our baptism. There's one body and one spirit.

Just as you were also called in one hope of your calling one Lord one faith. One baptism one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. This is not a doctrine that only has one verse to substantiate it.

We have unity in our baptism. We have unity and communion first. Corinthians 10 16 through 17. It's not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ. It's not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ since there's one bread we who are many are made one.

Every facet of our faith is Bound together with unity every facet of it. We may have small doctrinal differences. We may in a spirit of charity and spiritedness. Talk about those doctrines. But if we are Christians We have the very Holy Spirit of God inside of us and there's unity that surpasses even our distinctives.

That leads us to the next one. We have a Catholic unity. I'm not talking about Roman Catholic. I'm talking about we have a big Church Catholic. We're all under the same Christ. Jesus says in John 10 16 I have other sheep which are not of this fold and I must bring them in also and they will hear my voice and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.