One in Christ

I was thinkin' the other day how well the wife and I got along spiritually. We both agree that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, that the Bible is the ultimate truth and God inspired. No if, ands, buts or maybes.

The only Church she attended as a young girl was Methodist. And I was raised Catholic.

There will be no argument in this house about what denomination is right and which one wrong. From what I can see there's good in all and some bad in all. We're dealin' with human beings here.

I read once about the wise uneducated Ben Franklin. He had a print shop don't ya know. Tryin' to drum up some business, he asked a Puritan maybe he should have some statements of doctrine printed up so's folks would know what they believed.

The ol' Puritan, bein' as wise as Ben sez, "We considered it but realized what if God in the future showed us we were wrong. That we should change some things. We need to be sensitive and humble to the spirit of God. Therefore the statement would look bad."

That's why revival is often necessary to bring God's people back to truth. It could be a good idea for all denominations to take a hard look at their doctrine.

I heard about a couple once who argued constantly about denominations. The wife belonged to one group, the husband another. She nagged him viciously that his was wrong and hers was right. The poor man's life became so miserable he finally took his life. How tragic.

The wife and I once attended a marriage retreat. Met a young couple there. One was raised Lutheran the other Catholic. Their parents feared if they married that one day the different doctrine would cause problems in their marriage. But true love figured it out. They agreed they would attend one's church one week and the other's the next. They found God Almighty is the same yesterday, today and forever.

All these denominations have kept God's people from interfellowship, dividing His body, keeping them from becoming fully mature in Christ.

The book of Ephesians doctrinal theme is unity of believers. Chapter 4 about sez it all: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit. Just as you were called to one hope when you were called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all...and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."

If everyone belonged to one denomination, it would be a disaster. Kinda like denominational idolatry. We are all different, and each group has something good to give to build others up, come together for the sake of the Gospel, and revival.

In John 17: 20-23 Jesus prays for unity of believers. It will happen either through persecution or peace.

They will know you are my disciples IF you love one another. John 13-35.