Title: "That They May Be One", preached May 19, 1996 by Jeffrey Lomicka at the Acton Christian Community Church

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Purpose: Encourage unity in the Church, discourage division and judgment, both within the congregation and across denominational lines. Be accepting of some differences. Understand that the disunity plays into Satan's desire to break up the church and keep it weak.

Reading: Philippians 2:1-8 (NIV)
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!
Points:

  1. God desires unity in all Christendom
  2. Unity is a spiritual battle, Satan works for division.
  3. Unity is obtainable
    Follow God's will not Satan's
    Place others before yourself
    What unites us is greater than what divides us

Text:
This is a story told by comedian Emo Phillips:

 I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
He said, "Like what?"
I said, "Well.. .are you religious or atheist?"
He said, "Religious."
I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"
He said, "Christian."
I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
He said, "Baptist!"
I said, "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
He said, "Baptist Church of God!"
I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!"
I said, "Me too! Are you reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
Then I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.

- - - - Stop here to pray - - - -

Introduction:

While Mr. Phillips story is a bit of exaggeration, it captures an attitude that appears far too often in the modern Christian. While we may not be throwing our brothers and sisters off the Tobin Bridge, the way we handle our disagreements can kill relationships and stop the cooperation that is badly needed in the Christian Church today. This problem is not new to the Church. For a score of centuries the people that make up the Body of Christ have argued, bickered, and taunted each other, fighting over doctrinal trivialities, theological opinions, personal differences, and a multitude of sins, resulting in split congregations, broken friendships, and the dreadful state of the Church today. J. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions (according to Time magazine, January 30, 1995), lists nearly 900 separate Christian denominations in the United States. Nine hundred divisions within the Christian church. Nearly all are started because somebody, or some group, was not accepted in their denomination, and so they split off to form their own.

The ink hadn't even dried on the New Testament before these problems began. The apostle Paul was probably the greatest evangelist who ever lived. His work had to address two major issues. The first was evangelism, getting people to believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through Jesus, and Jesus alone, you could attain eternal life in Heaven with God. The second, and possibly the more difficult, was keeping the churches he formed from self destructing from the inside out.

Transition to first point: God desires unity

Our reading today is from Paul's letter to the Philippians. This letter is, essentially, a quick note to thank the Church in Philippi for their generosity in supporting Paul, while he is under house arrest in Rome. However, this letter also contains a recurring theme of desiring unity in The Body. With this letter, Paul is asking the people in the Christian Church to be united with each other, because they are united in Christ Jesus.

That God desires Christians to be in unity is undeniable. Immediately prior to His arrest, Jesus prayed for the unity of the church. Recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 17, starting at verse 20 he says "I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the apostles] message, that all of them may  be one , Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Jesus sought unity in His church, calling for unity in order that the world would believe that he was sent by God the Father. Jesus knew how difficult it would be for the world to see the truth in the Gospel if the Christian community was split into factions that didn't get along with each other.

Pope John Paul II summarized this feeling in the May 25, 1995 encyclical letter to the Church where he writes, quoting the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, "Division openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News to every creature". The title of the letter is "That They May Be One", taken from the words of John 17:21.

This is why Paul is appealing for unity among the Philippians. He says in 2:21 "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." Because we are united in Christ, we should be united with one another.

Transition to second point: Satan desires division

To help us figure out what is behind all the division, listen again to what Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical letter: He said, first, that "Division openly contradicts the will of Christ", then he said it "provides a stumbling block to the world", and third it "inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News". Jesus Himself said, in his prayer in John 17, the He desired unity in the Church "So that the world may believe that you have sent me. "

Now who do you think would be motivated to contradict the will Christ, to make the church look bad in the eyes of the world, and interfere with spreading the Gospel? You don't have to be Lt. Colombo to figure this one out. The weakening of the Christian Church is Satan's agenda.

The Apostle Paul admits this in the verses that precede today's text. 1:29-30 "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have." This struggle is part of "The Battle". The battle that is fought, as Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

And where is the battleground? The battleground is right here [tap the chest], in our heart. Both Satan and God want to captivate our heart, and that is where the spiritual battle is taking place. Satan works on us, individually, in order to undermine God's purposes.

Bear with me, while I digress a moment:

I like to reduce my observations about the world to a few simple premises, and here are two of the most important. If I were writing the Bible, this would be the book of Jeff, chapter 1, verses 1 & 2:

"1 The one thing God desires most from us is that we choose to love Him and turn to Him of our own volition, without coercion, that is to say, of our own free will. 2 Conversely, what Satan desires most is to deny God of our love, and prevent us from choosing the way of the Lord."

God is the creator, the "Sovereign Lord". He could, if he chose to, eliminate all evil and force us to follow Him. However, because God values so highly our freely given love for Him, He allows Satan the freedom to tempt humanity with his collection of tricks, idols, and fleeting pleasures. At times God will protect the weak, but there comes a time when we're given all the facts, and have to choose. The choice isn't made just once either, but in all the little decisions we make as we go through our days.

God outlines His offer in the Bible. He shows His love for us, and demonstrates it by "the cross". He records for us the good things He values, and that in loving Him, we should value as well.

Satan is not so direct. He is not in possession of such virtues, so in order to "win" our hearts, he resorts to subterfuge, lies, and slander. He has to disguise the bad so that it looks good, and discredit the good so that it looks bad.

He works like a fox that is eying a herd of sheep. He stalks at the outer edges of the flock, looking for a straggler, one that is distracted. He preys on the weak, separating them from the protection of the herd, and going in for the kill.

This is why the March for Jesus is so important, and yet so difficult. Next Saturday, when the combined congregations of two or three hundred churches gather together, marching the streets of Boston, united in their praise for the Lord Jesus Christ, you know that a battle has been won for the Lord. Satan will work hard to keep the event as small as possible, and to create division in the efforts to organize such a strong showing of Christian unity. The March for Jesus tells the world that despite our differences, we are united in our love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you've been a part of the Christian Church for a while, I'm sure you've seen this pattern. Something good happens, something wonderful that advances the Kingdom of God, something that brings people close to Christ, and creates visible spiritual growth in people's lives, and this is immediately followed by calamity, tension, division, and all the good is erased. God cries. This happens because good Christian men and women are targeted, and don't recognize the source of their temptations soon enough to prevent themselves from being taken in.

When the temptation succeeds, the result is sin. And, of course, when those in the world sees sin in the Church, they cry "hypocrisy", which in their mind is the only unforgivable sin. The Church is then discredited, and weakened in fulfilling its task of bringing the Good News to world.

Transition to third point: Obtaining unity

This brings us back to chapter 2 of Philippians.

It's one thing to say "be unified", but actual unification is much harder. We need to be equipped with the means to counter Satan's attack, and protect ourselves from the temptations that will be thrown in our path.

The Apostle Paul has outlined here, in chapter 2, the means for operating in unity, even when we don't want to. Today's reading gives an example of a way that God created unity where there was once a great division.

Philippians 2:3&4 says"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The way of the Lord is one that does not give in to selfish pride, but is seeking instead the means to serve our brothers and sisters in the Church. Pride is a strong temptation, and our defense is to train ourselves to have an attitude that is like that of Christ. Paul goes on to use Jesus as our example: He says in verses 5-8

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!"

Lets take a closer look at this example:

Paul tells us that in order to be unified, our attitude must change. Jesus Christ did not set out to become God, Jesus Christ was God, and set out to become man. Jesus gave up everything about Himself that we consider glorious, and lowered himself to the mundaneness of humankind. He took on our flesh. He experienced the temptations that we experience. He laughed, he cried, he wrestled with the temptations that we wrestle with, and won. Out of this incarnation came the reconciliation, the reunification, of God with Man.

So, when Paul says your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, he is saying that we have to step down from our high position, and wrap ourselves in the flesh of the ones would become our adversaries. Place yourself in their position. What is their life like? What makes them weep? What makes them laugh? What do they fear? What temptations have they been subjected to, and what have they overcome? What sins of others have they had to endure? What sins of yours have they had to endure.

From Genesis to Malachi, the Bible chronicles man's repeated offenses to God. God's response to this offensive history was to become a man himself, and not a great king of a man, but a servant, a humble man who is recorded as washing the mess of the street from the feet of his apostles, all twelve of the apostles, even Judas, who betrayed him. John 13:5-12 records this washing of the apostles feet, and right there in verse 11, the Word reports that Jesus "knew who was going to betray him.", and this knowledge did not stop Jesus from being his servant, and washing the feet of Judas. That is the level of humility and servanthood that Paul calls on us to practice in the Christian church.

In our imperfect, sinful, fallen world, once you understand your brother, or your sister, you find that "who is right" and "who is wrong" does not matter nearly as much. There will always be enough wrong for everybody to take their fair share. We are each burdened with a lifetime of sin. Take stock of the whole situation, what unites you as well as what divides you. To quote again from the Pope's encyclical letter, he says "With regard to other Christians, to the great Christian family, he [referring now to Pope John 23rd] observed: 'What unites us is much greater than what divides us'". I will repeat again for emphasis "What unites us is much greater than what divides us", and what unites us is our common love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

It defies common sense that the Church should be so divided. Why is there so much disunity in the Christian Church? The Christian Community is wholly committed to serving a single master, God the Father; it shares a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is guided by the Holy Spirit. Why should there be division in a community where all have declared that the Word of God as written in the Holy Bible is the revealed word of God that contains spiritual truth?

We are going to disagree on many points of theology - yes, because of our imperfection, we will disagree to the point where we find we must worship separately. But I say there is no reason, no reason why Christians cannot gather and praise the Lord in a unified voice.

I go again to Paul's letter to the Philippians for an example: Chapter 1, verses 15-18: "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice."

Paul saw the importance of the unifying factor of the Word of God as supreme over the sins that separate us, and we should too.

So, I implore you today, when faced with the temptation to pick at the differences you have with your brother or your sister, to first consider what unites you, what you share in common, and to consider why you may be different. Ask the Lord for guidance, and yes, if the Lord allows it, engage in the conversation, make known that you disagree, for there is room for discussion and theological debate in the Christian church, but every step of the way, be like Christ, always treating your brother or sister as a friend, in humility, and with love and respect.

We need to be wary that the enemy is out there, and will be enticing us with the temptations that he knows we are most attracted to. In prayer, ask God to reveal to you where your own weaknesses are, so that you can be on your guard. Enlist the aid of your Christian family to help you to resist the temptations you are most susceptible to. Do not separate yourself from the flock, where you will be exposed and vulnerable to attack, but seek the protection of the flock, where we can look out for one another, under the watchful eye of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

We are  united in the spirit that is Christ Jesus. Paul, writing to the Romans, chapter 8 verse 38 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Amen.