Fidelity to the Truths vs Maintaining Christian Unity in the Church
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A perfect example that illustrates a balanced demonstration of the fidelity of the church and the unity of the body of Christ
Think for example of John Bunyan. He is a perfect illustration of this. You know John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Propress ( I hope many of you are familiar with that book and all of you will read it at some point or another); John Bunyan was sufficiently willing to stand up for his convictions based as they were on the word of God that he was imprisoned for them for a number of years. But do you know that in regard to what we might call today his denominational convictions, you can search Bunyan's writings - three large volumes -- and you will not be able to tell what Church John Bunyan belonged to.
He admits once, only once, that he belonged to the Anabaptist party; but the sharpest theological controversy of his time, of his ministry, of his life was with other Baptist pastors because he refused to make one's position on Baptism a test of fellowship or fitness for the Lord's Supper.
John Bunyan was a champion of the truth so much that he went to prison in defence of it. But he was also a great champion of the unity of the body of Christ.
Concluding Remarks
A hero of mine is Tomas Boston, the Pastor and theologian of a Scottish church in the early 18th Century; and here is what he said of his father, a covenanter who was imprisoned for his loyalty to what he took to be the teaching of the word of God, "My father was very tenacious of what he judged to be truth; while at the same time, he could love, honour and esteem his brethren who differed from him and very freely hold communion with them.
If we are to be such Christians ourselves, it will help to make sure that we don't confine ourselves to a narrow stream of Christian tradition, helping us to think that only this group of Christians, only this Christian tradition is right and valuable and true, but be allowed to be reminded again and again that God has his holy ones and very fruitful servants and ministers of his word in other places that in our own church.
We often quote this statement, "In necessary things, unity; in non-necessary things, liberty; in all things, charity". We weren't the first to say that. As long ago as Gregory the first, an evangelical man even though he is called the first Pope, in the 2nd Century, we have this, "The holy Church corrects certain things with favour, it will not stand for the gospel to be tempered with or the word of God to be disbelieved. She corrects certain things with favour, she tolerates other things with meekness, she clothes her eyes and still others and bears them with reflective attention."
Our best men have always thought the same way in the Protestant church. Here is Rabbi Duncan (John Duncan) once again whom I have already talked about several times. I don't think you can improve on what he said. Regardless of your religious denomination, you can all make a similar list and put them in a similar order. John Duncan said of himself, a minister of a Scottish free church, a devoutly Presbyterian and Calvinist Church, "I am first a Christian. I am next a Catholic (what that means is that I belong to the one holy catholic [or universal] Church, I am then a Calvinist; I am fourth a Paedobaptist, and I am fifth a Presbyterian." And he said, "I cannot reverse that order.
Now, what does that mean for you? Your world is like mine. You have other Christians around you with other convictions and sometimes they are strange convictions. Things you realize from the teaching of the word of God really are wrong and not right.
You have in Uganda many different denominations. You have Baptists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians and no doubt many others. You disagree with some of them in regard to this and with some others of them in regard to that; but they are Christians, your brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are fellow members of the same body of Christ of which you are members. And they soon will be with you in heaven enjoying the life of perfect love and perfect joy and perfect unity.
What Uganda needs or the Church of God in Uganda needs is not leaders who love the truth of God and are willing to fight for it, or leaders who love the unity of Christ's body and are willing to make a sacrifice on behalf of that unity as Paul did. Uganda needs its leaders to be both at the same time: lovers of truth, and lovers of the oneness of all of God's people in the same Lord Jesus Christ in whom we trust. We tend to do the one or the other. The word of God teaches us to do both with a vengeance. Amen.
Page 6 ⇦ Previous
A perfect example that illustrates a balanced demonstration of the fidelity of the church and the unity of the body of Christ
Think for example of John Bunyan. He is a perfect illustration of this. You know John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Propress ( I hope many of you are familiar with that book and all of you will read it at some point or another); John Bunyan was sufficiently willing to stand up for his convictions based as they were on the word of God that he was imprisoned for them for a number of years. But do you know that in regard to what we might call today his denominational convictions, you can search Bunyan's writings - three large volumes -- and you will not be able to tell what Church John Bunyan belonged to.
He admits once, only once, that he belonged to the Anabaptist party; but the sharpest theological controversy of his time, of his ministry, of his life was with other Baptist pastors because he refused to make one's position on Baptism a test of fellowship or fitness for the Lord's Supper.
John Bunyan was a champion of the truth so much that he went to prison in defence of it. But he was also a great champion of the unity of the body of Christ.
Concluding Remarks
A hero of mine is Tomas Boston, the Pastor and theologian of a Scottish church in the early 18th Century; and here is what he said of his father, a covenanter who was imprisoned for his loyalty to what he took to be the teaching of the word of God, "My father was very tenacious of what he judged to be truth; while at the same time, he could love, honour and esteem his brethren who differed from him and very freely hold communion with them.
If we are to be such Christians ourselves, it will help to make sure that we don't confine ourselves to a narrow stream of Christian tradition, helping us to think that only this group of Christians, only this Christian tradition is right and valuable and true, but be allowed to be reminded again and again that God has his holy ones and very fruitful servants and ministers of his word in other places that in our own church.
We often quote this statement, "In necessary things, unity; in non-necessary things, liberty; in all things, charity". We weren't the first to say that. As long ago as Gregory the first, an evangelical man even though he is called the first Pope, in the 2nd Century, we have this, "The holy Church corrects certain things with favour, it will not stand for the gospel to be tempered with or the word of God to be disbelieved. She corrects certain things with favour, she tolerates other things with meekness, she clothes her eyes and still others and bears them with reflective attention."
Our best men have always thought the same way in the Protestant church. Here is Rabbi Duncan (John Duncan) once again whom I have already talked about several times. I don't think you can improve on what he said. Regardless of your religious denomination, you can all make a similar list and put them in a similar order. John Duncan said of himself, a minister of a Scottish free church, a devoutly Presbyterian and Calvinist Church, "I am first a Christian. I am next a Catholic (what that means is that I belong to the one holy catholic [or universal] Church, I am then a Calvinist; I am fourth a Paedobaptist, and I am fifth a Presbyterian." And he said, "I cannot reverse that order.
Now, what does that mean for you? Your world is like mine. You have other Christians around you with other convictions and sometimes they are strange convictions. Things you realize from the teaching of the word of God really are wrong and not right.
You have in Uganda many different denominations. You have Baptists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians and no doubt many others. You disagree with some of them in regard to this and with some others of them in regard to that; but they are Christians, your brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are fellow members of the same body of Christ of which you are members. And they soon will be with you in heaven enjoying the life of perfect love and perfect joy and perfect unity.
What Uganda needs or the Church of God in Uganda needs is not leaders who love the truth of God and are willing to fight for it, or leaders who love the unity of Christ's body and are willing to make a sacrifice on behalf of that unity as Paul did. Uganda needs its leaders to be both at the same time: lovers of truth, and lovers of the oneness of all of God's people in the same Lord Jesus Christ in whom we trust. We tend to do the one or the other. The word of God teaches us to do both with a vengeance. Amen.
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