Why do I say that?.. surely if we are all in unity as the Bible speaks of then all is OK right? Well, what if the person, entity or organisation you are attempting to be in union with, or that is attempting to be in ‘union’ with you, has underneath it’s white and cordial veneer of wanting ‘oneness’ (whatever that means and sounds rather new-age to me for my liking – a oneness which a lot of the ‘unity’ proponents are hoping to usher in) no such desire at all, and in fact, what they are really requiring of you or your church is for you or it to come under them, and their teachings without actually bending towards you in any other way than in word only?
Who would do such a thing?
The answer to that is just about every organisation, entity, and person in history! We all try to coerce people into our way of life, our lifestyle, our thinking – our doctrines WITHOUT changing ourselves. On a personal level this makes us feel better to know we are not alone in our beliefs or lifestyle be they wrong or right – a sort or insurance policy in numbers we can pull out when we meet God with a kind or; “well everyone else thought it was right too so it’s not my fault” kind of scenario which of course will never wash with God. On an organisational level coercion into some statement of faith or creed is sometimes done because the organisation needs to retain control over it’s members, and may be done with good motives or for manipulative, power based reasons.
This is the danger I believe in denominations and churches having ‘infallible’ ‘Catechisms’ – they can never do anything wrong, or learn anything new, and by their own ‘infalibleness’ are telling us all they they never made any mistakes in the past, and can at best only apologise for the mistakes of certain ‘people’ within to cover their own faults – unless of course they really are infallible?
Free to ask questions – but not to create division among brethren
Never be frightened to ask questions about something that you think is wrong – but don’t be decisive or try to show how wise and learned you are – you might realise you were dead wrong in six months and God has a way with humbling people like that (I know, I’ve been there). Remember, the Bible says in no uncertain terms that man’s heart is wicked and his heart meditates on doing evil all the day long. This trait does not disappear suddenly when these men (and women) become part of an organisation – they carry it with them into that organisation and if the people – the congregation are not careful to elect good elders, and divide power in such a way that one man or woman can not gain total control of the whole entity – the whole ship risks running aground on the rocks of sin and false teaching.
The burden though also relies on the people not to dismiss out of hand any new understanding but weigh it carefully against scripture to the best of their knowledge. So unless your pastor really is God on earth, if they are genuine and seek your best interests as many many diligently do, you are always still at liberty to ask them and others legitimate questions and encouraged to do so by scripture, to edify and build each other up as iron sharpens iron, as well as practically helping your brothers and sisters (and people outside the church so that they might see your good works and be saved) elders and pastors who are people too and need our encouragement like everyone else to continue their often hard and thankless work.
What is REAL Unity?
Whether any man, or man-made entity, organisation or self ordained ministry or ‘church’ can be beyond fault as several claim, you will have to decide. Keep in mind what Jesus said the church actually was; it is not made with human hands and made up of living stones. According to him the real church is made up of people and is not any one organisation. Do your own research here as I could be wrong. And on that note – that is what I believe ‘unity’ really is; real Unity the ability for brethren to be and stay together with some different understandings on certain points of doctrine in The Bible – but able to stay together, learn together, and forgive and live in peace with one another – not become some kind of pantheistic ‘oneness’ or worse, burn each other as heretics for having slightly different understandings and light on any matter. We must attempt to bring each other up.
Don’t not throw away your brain & be deluded!
The above view of unity – the one where we are all learning together what truth is and not casting ourselves as mini know-all Gods as many pastors and preachers or churches do (many don’t thankfully), is a whole universe away from believing totally and obviously manufactured and fabricated nonsense, things often given gold plaques inscribed with the church’s official ‘seal of approval’ such as people making pilgrimages to trees that never die or need watering (then found to have hidden hoses attached – yes for real!), pictures that cry (with the same) and complex, purposely confusing and mysterious doctrines and amalgamated pagan religions from thousands of years ago designed to keep us in an unhealthy awe, separated from God, and lead us away from the simple and plain truth of Jesus and into the deceitful webs of men, that some individuals, churches and denominations tout in order to gain wealth and retain power over people who cannot be bothered (in The Bible laziness is one of the worst sins and here we see why, as too lazy to seek truth is not good enough!) to search for the hidden treasure in The Bible – the real truth with guidance from The holy Spirit.
Can men be forgiven for believing this stuff?.. and can God be called unjust for sending more of the same to intelligent adults that embrace it without thinking? This is not the true story of the burning bush – or the real miracles that Jesus did in the midst of hundreds of men that were willing to die for something they actually saw. This is what God calls ‘strong delusion’ – and He sends strong delusion to those who love not the truth according to The Bible!
Note; it does not say; “He sends strong delusion to those that did not understand a certain doctrines but who were diligently seeking truth” – that would be exceedingly unfair, and God is perfectly just. Many will die for something that may turn out to be a lie – but no one will die for something they know to be false – therefore we can conclude the disciples died for something they were eye-witnesses too and knew to be true.
Treasure is always hidden – or it would not be treasure – you must seek!
No – all He requires is that you love TRUTH – not necessarily know ALL TRUTH – whether you are currently unsure about some teaching does not matter at all as long as you are seeking truth earnestly and not trying to bend it to fit your lifestyle. He wants seekers of truth and to those via His spirit He will impart all truth – how exciting! But we must be on guard not to embrace obvious lies because they suit our lifestyle, or appear to save our hides from persecution, or they sound nice and comforting. The truth will often get you killed and in times gone by, and times coming upon us it will once again!
Division of power
This was in fact how the US Constitution – that marvel and genius of invention was created and crafted so that too much power could never fall into the wrong hands. You see until Jesus comes again to reign we as mere men should never take full control of an entity – and at the very least we must all be accountable to someone – a person – not just God as God requires us to work with others and works through His people. This is the very reason why He had men write The Bible from all walks of life from different parts of history all write with one accord – to prove that the prophecies and teachings in it were inspired by His Holy Spirit!
If you are in any doubt about this division of power being necessary where men are concerned – God himself divided up the power base in Babylon to save the people from their own foolish devices and desires – saving them from themselves!
There is a difference between unity & following blindly
Just before Jesus left us he warned us over and over that many would come in his name and not to be deceived by smooth doctrines and teaching of men that were only too happy to make merchandise out of you. Do not trust every spirit. Check what the denominations say in detail. We do not have to agree on every point of doctrine since The Bible clearly says; “we all see through a glass darkly” but… you MUST check a denomination’s own teaching about them self and what they fundamentally believe in their own books before you sign on the dotted line – something which does not appear in scripture but which may sometimes be appropriate to help the pastor.
If everyone follows after something – you can bet it’s not the truth!
Whilst this does not always have to apply, it is applicable to most ideologies. Someone once said; “The road is narrow and few there are that find it. Most people are on the broad road that leads to destruction” and unfortunately and however painful it is to think about, most of us – according to The Bible – even many in churches are on the broad road, and when you see hoards of people following some doctrine – it’s normally because they gain some comfort from it – not because it’s the truth!
We all – Christians (myself included) and non-Christians want comfort peace and security – familiar words to Bible readers! There is nothing comfortable about real Christianity and for many years since the last war where we have had much peace, the liberalism has crept in as it always does, the arts taken over and new philosophies abound. We have been able to forget what carrying your cross really means but this will not last for much longer. As soon we will see that most of those seeking ‘unity’ with us are actually only seeking to dominate us. Will we wake up too late is the question?
I love God, Christ, The Bible. art, painting, playing music, improvising music, guitar (first instrument), drumming (not very good at it:), and anything musical or art related. Quick note – my articles are usually spun off in minutes so forgive any errors – hopefully you get the essence of the article and I’ll pick up mistakes later. If you want to write of 101ChristianMagazine and inspire and edify Christians with articles on faith, general news, hobbies or anything that interests you email me at: epgb101@gmail.com:)
