The willingness, and the ability to deal effectively with opposing views, is of great importance to the stability, and unity of the church, for throughout history, the church of Christ has suffered through schisms, which were often triggered by divergent viewpoints on matters of doctrine and practice, and even today, there are, and continue to be a lot of derivative organizations, splinter groups, off-shoot churches, and ministries, which have come about as the direct result of the inability to handle opposing views in a Christlike manner.
The doctrines of the Bible are given so that our faith may be guided in right paths, so it is important that unity isn’t purchased through compromise. Yet it’s a fact that even within our own borders, our personal opinions may not be in uniform harmony with what the Bible teaches, and thus, the question becomes, at what point do these differences warrant a split in the brotherhood of believers.
For example, some believe that The Holy Spirit is not the third Person of the God-head, and that the doctrine of the trinity is unscriptural. Others believe that women should be ordinated, whereas others may beg to differ. Again, the issue of dealing with the lgbtqrstuvwxyz community, is another point on which different views are held. And we can go on and on, to the role that diet plays in the Christian’s life, the validity and role of Ellen G. White’s writings, the issue of dress, the issue of music, etc.
One thing we must never forget is that satan is not bothered about what issue causes disunity, for if he can bring about a state of disaffection, using wrong ideas, he certainly will, but he is just as content to use right opinions, or interpretations to drive a dividing wedge in the community of believers. So, there are a few principles we should hold dear, as Christians, so that the differences which arise from time to time can hopefully be resolved, in the way Jesus would.
[1] The Spirit of God must be allowed to reign in our hearts supremely, so that God’s presence could be diffused throughout the body of believers. This first, and most important point is where all hope of unity must of necessity begin, for wherever God’s Spirit is absent, the prospect of true unity becomes wishful thinking. Let’s read:
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please
God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[2] Christians who are united in The Spirit, will also be willing to let Christ have the last word. In other words, whenever differences of belief arise, Biblical truths can be sought out to help in the resolution. It’s not so much about our personal opinion, as it is about what God has to say on the matter, because The Holy Ghost gives to Christians the willingness to surrender preconceived ideas, when they are not in line with the scriptures. Let’s read:
2nd Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
2nd Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
[3] The unity of the brotherhood in Christ should supersede any differences in understanding, except in cases where false doctrines are deliberately held on to tenaciously and are being disseminated to the other believers. In some instances we will not agree exactly, on every single point, but our love for one another will lead to a forbearance that overrides differences. In the days of Christ, many of the Jews held erroneous views of the Messiah and the nature of His kingdom. Many also held divergent views on the resurrection, while most of them were mired in salvation by works.
Yet, as far as Christ was concerned, this constituted no grounds for tearing the church apart, for every effort should be made to preserve the unity, while erroneous concepts are corrected in love. When the disciples faced the prospect of returning tithes and offerings to the synagogue, where, as Christ put it, a den of thieves was residing, He instructed them not to leave the church, but to return their dues to the treasury, and thus, make a difference. And so were all His other instructions, on matters with which He did not agree. Let’s read:
Matthew 17:24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their
works: for they say, and do not.
Thus, in His instruction to us through the apostle Paul, The Lord stresses unity, not merely uniformity, which leaves wiggle room for those who may not yet be in a state of mind to receive all of the sacred truths we have embraced, from the Bible. And there are some of us who may take longer than others to understand some of the central themes of scripture, as it pertains to salvation. Until such time, The Lord desires that we be united, be patient, and tolerant with those with whom we may disagree.
Especially in the remnant church, should the spirit of unity, and forbearance be manifested, for this is what Christ envisioned, and prayed for, as He was preparing for the last great conflict with the powers of darkness on the earth. It is true that unity cannot come at a price of compromise with error, but even when erroneous doctrines do surface, the way we deal with the erring one, decides to a great extent, whether we will foster longevity and stability of the church, or whether we will cultivate division, and anarchy.
In dealing with opposing views, God is much more interested in the godly manner in which the error is supposed to be handled, than who may or may not have a valid point. All of Christ’s disciples, including John the Baptist, had harbored incorrect views and interpretations concerning things that were actually written, and indeed, it took quite a while for Jesus to make the necessary corrections.
But in doing so, Christ tried to avoid division in His family of believers, esteeming the bond of unity, of far more value, than the corrections which needed to be made. In fact, anyone who claims to have a perfect understanding of everything in the Bible is a liar, plain and simple, for the path of the just is as a shining light, which shines more and more until the perfect day. In other words, the revelation of truth and the understanding of truth is progressive, and takes place at different speeds with each member. Let’s read:
[The Desire of Ages. pp 215>216] Like the Savior's disciples, John the Baptist did not understand the nature of Christ's kingdom. He expected Jesus to take the throne of David; and as time passed, and the Savior made no claim to kingly authority, John became perplexed and troubled. And now from his dungeon he watched for the Lion of the tribe of Judah to cast down the pride of the oppressor, and to deliver the poor and him that cried.
But Jesus seemed to content Himself with gathering disciples about Him, and healing and teaching the people. He was eating at the tables of the publicans, while every day the Roman yoke rested more heavily upon Israel. To the desert prophet all this seemed a mystery beyond his fathoming. There were hours when the whisperings of demons tortured his spirit, and the shadow of a terrible fear crept over him. Could it be that the long-hoped-for Deliverer had not yet appeared? Then what meant the message that he himself had been impelled to bear?
Thus, we enter the core of our study, in which we will observe a serious division arising amongst the newly minted body of believers. This division is of such intensity that it could threaten both the unity and sanity of the early Christian church, and which, if left unchecked, will be used by satan to split the church into different factions. It’s worthy of note that the issue at point is a “Right thing”, based on Scripture, but which can be used by the enemy of righteousness to suit his own goals. Let’s read:
Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Instead of signally dismissing the views held by the Pharisees, it will be much better for us to give due consideration to their concerns, for their belief was based on what is written. Similarly, when there are differences of belief, or conviction amongst us, we should be willing to give the opposing views a fair shake, with a humble frame of mind, knowing that we also may be harboring erroneous views.
The Star of this argument, and its resolution is none other but Christ, for as we observe how the matter is handled, we will see that everyone leaves from the negotiating table with a piece of the pie, while the core principle of unity is preserved. Only Christ can do this through His Spirit. If a Gentile believes that he should be free from the rite of circumcision, he is free to do so. However, if for some reason he wants to play it “safe”, according to what is written, he is also left free to follow his convictions.
But if, on the contrary, the Pharisees decide to cling to their custom, because it is written, they too are free to do so. The same thing goes for the issue of diets and foods in our community, for one believes that he should eat “Herbs”, whereas others may not be so convinced. Christ desires that we preserve the unity of the brotherhood, and allow everyone to be persuaded in his/ her own conscience, because part of the genius of Christianity, is that it allows us all to choose. Let’s read:
Acts 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren,
8 God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely.
23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner,
28 It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and
from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Question: What if there’s no resolution? If after the deliberations by the conference, and the back and forth between valid points, we still cannot come to a consensus, is the next step to form a church of our own, with members who are in agreement? And do the rest of members who are on the opposite side of the issue now become “Babylon”?
Answer: Look at Jesus, and at Martin Luther. We should never take it upon ourselves to sever our connections with the church, because of opposing views. Instead, if it comes to a boiling point, we are to wait until we are excommunicated, for in that way we will be following the instructions Christ gave to all Christians. Let’s read:
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Oxford University Press:
On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X issued the papal bull: (“It pleases the Roman Pontiff”), which excommunicated Martin Luther, a German theologian and monk who had been causing the Roman Catholic Church no end of trouble since 1517. With that, the Pope cast Luther out of the Catholic Church—and thereby helped spur the development of the Lutheran church and the Protestant Reformation.
The trouble had begun back on October 31, 1517, when Luther sent his 95 Theses, protesting several Church practices and doctrines, to the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg. By the next summer, Church authorities began to call Luther’s views heretical, though it took three years before Leo X moved formally against him. On June 15, 1520, he issued the bull stating that 41 sentences in Luther’s 95 Theses were heresy.
1st Corinthians 1:10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you"....
Paul is here hoping for the ideal situation, where all Christians can agree on the fundamental truths, and teachings of the Bible. However, history teaches us that this is not always the case, and because of this, the unity of the brotherhood should be preserved, even when it includes those with opposing views. So, we close with words of timely counsel, coming from the servant of The Lord. Let’s read:
[D.A pp 296] "The apostles differed widely in habits and disposition. These were brought together, with their different faults, all with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil; but in and through Christ they were to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit.
They would have their tests, their grievances, their differences of opinion; but while Christ was abiding in the heart, there could be no dissension. His love would lead to love for one another; the lessons of the Master would lead to the harmonizing of all differences, bringing the disciples into unity, till they would be of one mind and one judgment. Christ is the great center, and they would approach one another just in proportion as they approached the center"....
Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not, Neither give place to the devil.
God bless!