Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Paul's great desire for the saints was unity in the faith of Christ (1Cor. 1:10). Where believers are one in Christ, Satan has no place to work. Jesus' last prayer for those who believed in him was that they would be united in the faith (Jn. 17). Every man of God who has ever been sent by God has also longed for the saints to be united in the faith because those godly men had experienced the beauty, liberty, and power that is in God's truth. They knew God's truth would heal the divided body of Christ, and they wanted to see that happen.On the other hand, some men who claim to be sent from God are officially satisfied with the divisions that afflict the saints. One of the first things I was taught in the seminary I attended was that it is a very bad thing for everybody to believe the same doctrine. When I mentioned this in my sermon long ago, Uncle Joe spoke up and said, "It is a bad thing, if it's false doctrine." I guess he had a point. If everybody believed the same wrong doctrine, that would be pretty bad. But Paul and Jesus and other true men of God were speaking of truth, not error.
In a morning chapel program at Oral Roberts University in the fall of 1977, an elder in the Methodist faith was speaking to the students. In an adamant and defiant tone, the foolish man said, "If God were to come down out of heaven and get rid of denominations today, we'd start them back up tomorrow!" He was scoffing at the idea that divisions are evil. He would have agreed with my professor that it is a bad thing for everyone to believe alike.
The reason that Jesus and Paul and other true men of God longed for God's family to have no divisions is that they themselves had fellowship with God. They desired unity among the children of God because God, their Father, wanted it. They knew the truth, and they wanted all others to know it. They were that much like God. The reason that my seminary professor and the Methodist elder spoke highly of division is that their hearts were divided against God. They approved of division among God's saints because Satan, their father, approved of it. They did not know the truth, and so, doctrinal unity did not seem to them to be particularly desirable. They were that much like the devil.
When a man defends division within the body of Christ, he is not speaking on God's behalf. Any time that a man defends sin or any of its effects on the saints, it can only be because there is secret sin living in him. God's men do not talk that way. They exhort God's precious children to embrace holiness and truth, together. They know that Jesus is coming back for a congregation "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." He would be ashamed to present the saints in their present condition to his Father. That may be why he has not yet returned.
Unity among the saints is the will of God. If Jesus prayed for it, then it must be God's will. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, believe that unity is attainable in this life, and pray for it as Jesus our Lord did. It can happen for us! Satan fears the day when God's children are made one in Christ. But that day will never come so long as Christian ministers are telling the saints that it can't happen in this life, or that God doesn't much care whether it happens or not.
Many have said to God's people that it doesn't matter what doctrine we believe. But the only people who ever say that are those who do not know the truth. When a man tells God's people that it doesn't matter what they believe, he is confessing that what he believes is worthless. Go somewhere else. He has nothing worthwhile to say to anyone about God.
And know this, too. Jesus' prayer that his people be made one will never be answered as long as they remain within the religion of Christianity. Perfect harmony will never be known by God's people inside the white-washed walls of the Christian religion. We must come out if we hope to ever be united. The children of God who truly love God and His family are going to come out of Christianity so that they can be made one. The children of God who refuse His call to come out, preferring the honors and praise of men rather than the honor and praise of God, will suffer great loss. It is the heart-melting love of God that moves Him to call to us all, "Come out of her, My people, that ye partake not of her sins and receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18). He wants to make us one, and He wants that with all His heart!
To remain inside Christianity, the Mother of all Divisions, is sin. Thankfully, our heavenly Father is patient and good to us all. Sometimes, it takes us a long time to understand what He is saying to His children. But as soon as you understand what He is saying, obey His voice! Ask Him to let you know whether or not He wants you to come out of Christianity and be made one with all His children. Ask Him to help you to understand His voice and to give you the courage to obey it. Outside the walls of Christianity are the answers to a thousand of the prayers and hopes of God's children. Outside the walls is Jesus, waiting for you to come.