I really believe with all my heart that one of the great blessings and benefits. of a church that has clear doctrine. and clear teaching and handles the word of God accurately and precisely is that it gets a legacy of unity because the people think the same things, they render the same judgments, they agree. Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson.
What practical steps can you take to cultivate unity in your church, and why is it so important? Consider those questions with John MacArthur today on Grace to You as he continues his study titled The Pillars of Christian Character.
Now, to help introduce today's lesson on biblical unity, a much discussed topic in evangelicalism today, we asked John MacArthur a question that every church, every Christian organization, and every individual believer will wrestle with at some point or another. The question is typically phrased like this: How can followers of Christ pursue unity without compromising Biblical truth? And here were John's thoughts on that. Yeah, you've just answered the question in posing the question. When you say, How can followers of Christ pursue unity without compromising biblical truth?
The answer is by pursuing unity without compromising biblical truth. We cannot compromise biblical truth. We have unity of the faith. Unity in the truth. There can be no legitimate true unity If we set aside Doctrine.
And that's so often the call. You know, let's not be divisive, let's not separate people. Let's not be intolerant of people with other views. The unity that we have, the true unity that believers have. is unity in the truth.
It is believing the same things It is the fellowship of those who believe What scripture says and understand it. accurately and truly. There is no real unity apart from that. and that real unity does exist. You know, in John 17, when our Lord prayed, Father, I pray that they may be one.
He wasn't praying. for practical unity that we'd all get along. He was asking the father That in redeeming the believers, redeeming the saints, He would make them all one. And that prayer was answered. All who are in Christ are one with Him and one with each other.
That's what the apostles preached, and that's what they wrote. In the epistles of the New Testament. Our Lord prayed for unity, unity of life and truth. The prayer is answered. In the church.
The church is one. Obviously, we need to be practically united and love one another, but our unity is a unity of life based on truth. And John is going to unpack that truth today and show you how to be truly united with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
So follow along as he begins today's lesson from his study called The Pillars of Christian Character. Let's open our Bibles. To Ephesians chapter 4. We've talked about the fact that the life of the church Is made up of certain spiritual attitudes and spiritual motivations, spiritual graces that come from deep within. They're not external, they're internal.
They are attitudes produced by the Word of God through the agency of the Spirit of God in the heart of God's people. We've talked about faith. and obedience.
So essential. We've talked about humility. We've talked about love. And I guess, in some ways, when you've talked about those four, you have really dealt with the major issues. the major internal organs of the church.
can be summed up in those Four incredibly wonderful virtues. And everything else sort of builds on that. Let me bring you to the fifth in my list. Unity. Unity.
Now I know that unity is is not in itself a virtue. But I'm talking about the pursuit of it. devotion to it. Unity is not in itself an attitude, it is not in itself a motivation, but the pursuit of it is. The desire to protect it is, and that is what we're referring to.
If there is anything that Devastates A family It is internal discord. It's shattering. And a lot of things can produce it. Pride. Self-centeredness, selfishness.
Sin anger, bitterness, and on and on the list goes. There are all kinds of sins that destroy unity in a family. or in a marriage. or in a business relationship, or in a friendship. or in any environment.
And of course, in the church, this is as well a very grave concern. and should be a concern for all of us, but certainly for leadership. Nothing is More frightening to me, I don't suppose, in the life of the church than division. The world needs to see the manifestation of the real unity. But it is not a unity.
that has no regard for truth. It is a unity built around the truth. It is not a unity without regard to sin. It is a unity built around Holiness. There are a couple of passages that sort of talk about the practical aspect of this.
Look with me at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Chapter 1. And just some practical ways that this is expressed. 1 Corinthians 1.10. This couldn't be more clear, by the way.
Now I exhort you, brethren, By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That you all agree. Did you know that it's a command to do that? That's right. That you all agree.
literally in the Greek that you all speak the same thing. That you don't have disagreements. That there be no Schisms. Fractures, divisions among you. But you be made complete.
That literally means whole. Unbroken. In the same mind. and in the same judgment.
Now that verse is so loaded. First of all, there's a negative approach. No divisions. And then the positive all agree. Have the same mind and the same judgment.
You know what that means? It means you ought to think the same way. It means that you are so unified in how you think. You are so trained biblically. You are so sensitive to the Spirit of God as He reveals Himself through the pages of Holy Scripture.
You have been so well taught in sound doctrine. You are so committed to that. and you are living godly and holy lives so that you literally think the same way and render the same judgment on the matters that confront you. No divisions. Some people think that to split the church is a virtue.
It's not. It's not. And some people might think, well, I'm right. That's not the point. The point is the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
Have you found the path of peace to keep peace? The unity. You should all agree. There should be no divisions. You ought to be made complete, thinking the same and rendering the same judgments.
Now, let me tell you something, folks. The only environment in which that could ever happen is in an environment where people all understand the Word of God. It's the only place it can happen. where you don't teach the scripture with precision. and care, there's no way people are going to think the same.
There's no way they're going to make the same judgment on issues. And I really believe with all my heart that one of the great blessings and benefits. Of a church that has clear doctrine and clear teaching and handles the word of God accurately and precisely is that it gets a legacy of unity. Because the people think the same things. They render the same judgments.
They agree. There might be a bit of a struggle here and there as to the wisdom necessary to make the application of the truth. But certainly you want to start with the truth. Any kind of unity. Where you have violent disagreement and just keep your mouth shut.
is no true unity. I guess in some ways it would be better than starting a war, unless you have to admonish a heretic or confront a sinner. Look at chapter 3. 1 Corinthians. Paul says Aye, brethren.
could not speak to you as to spiritual. Man. But as to carnal, fleshly, Fleshy. As to babes in Christ. I have to talk to you as immature.
fleshy people. I can't talk to you as spiritual men. I gave you milk to drink. Not solid food. What does that mean?
There aren't milk doctrines in the Bible and meat doctrines. I heard somebody say that one time. There are milk doctrines and meat doctrines. No. No, there are not.
There are doctrines. There are truths. And there's a milk understanding and a meat understanding. I can speak to you about The fact that Jesus Christ died in your place on the cross. And for some of you, You understand that only in the milk sense.
You're new. You're a babe. And you only understand that in the simplest sense. To others of you, When I talk about The doctrine of substitutionary atonement you plunge down and maybe don't come up for weeks. Because there are such profound depths to the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.
Paul says, I can't talk to you about The depths. I have to talk to you. like babies. I have to give you the milk and not the solid food because you're not able to receive it. Indeed, here's the proof.
You're not able because you're still fleshly. And what is the manifestation of that? There is jealousy. and there is strife or fighting among you. Are you not fleshly?
Are you not walking like mere men? Let me tell you, one of the things that contributes most directly to discord in the church is people with a shallow understanding of scripture. That's why I say again. The legacy Of solid food, of an understanding of some of the depth of the Word of God is the unity of the faith. And everyone understanding the same, believing the same, having the same mind, making the same judgments, there's no ground for substantial foundational disagreement.
Quite the contrary. to take a reductionist mentality. and say we want to throw doctrine out so we can get together. is the antithesis of this. And that is to sweep heresy under the rug and think that it's.
not something to be considered and to sweep sin. Under the rug, as if it had no negative effect, as if the all-compelling thing was to just accept everybody, whatever they might believe. or however they might behave, nothing could be more dishonoring to our Lord. Where there's jealousy and strife, you're fleshly. and you're walking just like mere men.
And here he uses the illustration of this identification with personality.
Some saying, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos. I mean, you just identify around some personality. But wherever you have this kind of discord The Lord is dishonored. The church is severely crippled and blessing is forfeited. And it comes from shallowness.
And it comes from sin. If this great effort to create some kind of evangelical ecumenism. were properly directed. If the people who are trying to orchestrate this knew what they were doing, They would understand that the path to one mind and one judgment and agreement. and real unity.
is the path of sound doctrine. That's how you get there. And that's where it all begins. And the path of holiness. If I find that you err according to Scripture, I must confront the error.
And if you don't repent of that error, I can't let you be a part of the fellowship. Why? Because your error will eat like gangrene. And as a result of it, some people might make shipwreck, or if we brought it into the vernacular, plane wreck of the faith. I can't expose my congregation to that.
And if I Don't confront your sin. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. And that doesn't produce unity, it destroys it. Look at Philippians chapter 1. Philippians 1.27.
Just in case one verse isn't enough, I'll give you two that say the same thing. Paul writing to the Philippians says, Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
So that whether I come and see you, or remain absent. I mean, whether you're under my direct scrutiny or not. I want to hear of you. That you're standing firm in one spirit. With one mind.
Striving together. For what? The faith. of the gospel. What is that?
Christian doctrine. The faith, objective, not subjective faith, objective, the faith, the content of the revealed gospel. You're standing together for the faith, for the truth. I want to see you standing firm in one spirit. That's one soul, one attitude.
One mind, again, thinking the same things. Believing the same things. striving together. For the faith. As Jude calls it, the once-for-all delivered to the saints faith.
The content of biblical truth. And I say it again. I look at this. This movement toward unity. And it is passionately convinced.
That if there is going to be any achieving of unity in evangelicalism, we've got to make sure doctrine doesn't get in the way. Absolutely opposite. The proper path. Striving together. for the faith.
Do we understand the faith? Do we really understand it? Do we grasp its Great realities. When we do, When the church does, there will be the expression of that uniform commitment to the truth. in the life of that church in visible demonstration.
of spiritual unity. That has a lot of implications. A lot of them. Unity in its Visible expression. has all kinds of implications.
Look. Add one more passage. Romans 15. And see again this same emphasis. Verse 5.
May the God who gives perseverance And encouragement? Grant you to be of the same mind. With one another according to Christ Jesus. See the The established measure is Christ Jesus. The faith, the gospel, Christ Jesus, the truth.
And there it is again, the same mind. May I hasten to say to you That the outworking of our organic, our spiritually organic unity, the outworking of our real spiritual unity, the outworking of the life of God in our souls. The way that expresses ourselves starts with the mind. 1 Corinthians 1.10, the word mind was used. Philippians 1.27, the word mind was used, sometimes translated soul.
Here again, Romans 15, 5, the word mind is used. Christianity is a cognitive faith. We're not trying to induce some kind of emotional Hysteria, or some kind of emotional sentimentalism that causes people to just sort of melt together. Under the mass hypnosis. What we're trying to do is to express a unity around common understanding of revealed truth.
So that we have the same mind. And you can only do that when you understand truth in the same way. You know, I could I could spend my whole life. trying to get a whole group of people all united. And never accomplish it if I didn't have a common standard.
It's like tozers. 4,000 piano illustration. He said if you had 4,000 pianos and try to tune them to each other, You couldn't do it. If you had one tuning fork, you could tune them all to that. and the one tuning fork to which all of your lives are tuned.
Is The truth The faith of the gospel, and when you're all tuned to that, you're all tuned to each other. We may discuss how that fleshes itself out, as I said in the application of wisdom, but the common reality is ours. You will not achieve biblical unity apart from sound doctrine and apart from godliness. Holiness. And they're dealing with sin.
Then, when you are of the same mind, verse 6, with one accord, you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I guess what I really want to say to you is that whatever you do, you pursue unity. Because if we all understand the same truth, then there's really no substantial difference. If that truth has been violated by sin, It must be confronted and dealt with. But it might be that the reason you're at odds is because you don't understand the truth.
I'm always amazed to see People take issue with the pastors and elders of the church. And so many times it's because They don't understand. the sound doctrine on which they act. They don't understand the underlying depth of conviction. They need instruction.
And that needs to be done graciously. and lovingly And tenderly They need to be instructed so they can come to the knowledge. of the truth. And sometimes it's because of sinful Misrepresentations. Sinful Lies.
Envy, jealousies. Who knows what? But Pursuing the preservation of unity. will put you down the path of peace. And you'll be one who seeks peace.
And that means you'll seek to know the doctrinal issues at stake. And the matters of sin, whether they be in someone else's life or your own. Colossians 3. What does that path of peace look like? How do you pursue that?
How do you stay on that track? to be a peacemaker. Verse 12.
So is those who have been elect or chosen of God. Holy and beloved. Here's how to stay on the path of peace. Put on a heart of compassion. Kindness.
Humility. Gentleness. and patience. Bearing with one another. and forgiving each other.
Whoever has a complaint against anyone Just as the Lord forgave you, So also Should you? And beyond all these things, Put on what? Love. Love is the perfect bond of unity. The path of peace is a path of compassion.
Real Compassion. real tenderness and sensitivity of heart. toward everybody else. It's a path of kindness.
so that nothing unkind Has a place. It's a path of humility.
So that you are never the issue. It's a path of Gentleness. Patience. in which you bear With one another? In which you forgive each other.
Even those who specifically have a complaint against anyone. And your model is the Lord who forgave you. And I tell you, folks, this is something I pray for. frequently. Lord, preserve The peace of this church.
The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If you bring discord, you don't win, you lose, and so does the church. And the Lord is dishonored. Do everything you can. with all the diligence of your heart, to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
In the bond of peace, you do everything possible within your strength to maintain unity. to pursue peace. To show compassion and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience and bear with people and forgive people. And put on love. Unselfish, sacrificial service.
And that spiritual Unity. will become visible. And God will be glorified.
Well, let's bow in prayer. Father, such practical, straightforward. Truth. We thank you so much. For the wisdom.
which you ordained Which is bound up in your very nature and revealed in your word.
Sometimes, Lord. Those of us who have strong doctrine are accused of being divisive. Those of us who have convictions about the scripture are accused of being unloving. and bringing division. But Lord That's not our desire at all We want to preserve that true spiritual unity built on Truth and virtue.
Build on a right understanding of sound doctrine. and godly living. That true unity. Lord, we will not settle for a false substitute. that disregards your truth.
and your holy standard. Lord, call your church back to that. And may it know that that is the truest expression. but the spiritual unity. that does exist Through the Spirit.
And Lord, we do pray for this church. that you would keep us together. Loving one another. pursuing the path of peace. that you might not be dishonored.
And we pray that for congregations everywhere. that they may rally around the truth. and virtue. around the scripture and holiness. that you might be put on display.
To that end we pray for Christ's sake and His glory. Amen. You're listening to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. The title of John's current series, The Pillars of Christian Character.
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Now for the entire Grace TU staff. I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today. Keep in mind Grace TU television airs this Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378, or you can watch it online any time at gty. org.
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