When I first heard this truth about unity, it was immediately self-evident. It was corroborated by everything I had ever read in Scripture, and resonated vividly with my understanding of the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament writers. Yet this truth is sadly not often taught in the church, and for obvious reasons – it messes with our nice and neat notions of “who’s in and who’s out.”
The truth is this: upon the same basis that I was accepted into Christ, I must accept others as brothers and sisters in Christ. Duh. Anyone could have thought of that, right? Why didn’t I? Why isn’t this profound truth a little more well-considered in Christian circles?
We’ve long said that God adds to the church, not men. Whom God has added, let not man subtract.
It is self-evident, because it is expressed in personal terms that every believer who has ever felt the weight of sin lifted from their shoulders should be able to understand and relate to. If I was accepted into Christ based upon my repentence and confession of my faith in Christ, and subsequent immersion into Him, who am I to place some greater (or lesser) standard upon another believer to consider him a brother? Wouldn’t that be a lot like the servant who was forgiven of his debt by his master, but who ungraciously refused to forgive his fellow servant of his debt?
Whenever I place a requirement on another believer that God didn’t place on me when I was added to the Kingdom, it should sting my conscience. If God didn’t require me to have this opinion on the timing of the return of Jesus, or that opinion on the use of instruments in worship, then who in the world do I think I am to burden my brother with that precondition? We’ve long said that God adds to the church, not men. Whom God has added, let not man subtract.
Fortunately, we don’t have to just rely on good sense to reason this through. Paul did a great job of pointing this truth out to us, if we’ll only take note of it and recognize what he’s really saying:
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7 – NIV)
First, Paul writes to the Romans his prayer for them, that they be given a spirit of unity, and that they may with one heart and mouth glorify God. The result of that spirit of unity, then, is that they were to accept one another…just as Christ had already accepted them.
Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you. Wow. What a powerful, self-evident truth this is, when you really think about it.
Amen! Praise God more and more of our brethren are seeing this.