Let the Walls Come Down!

Let the Walls Come Down!
John Petrilli

Erected immediately after World War II, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of the ultimate dividing line of distrust between ideologies and nations. It tore apart families, friends, and even churches within the same denomination. All that changed the day U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued this challenge to the Soviet Union at a public address given at the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In 1989 that wall came down, and life returned to normal for the people of Berlin. It was a day of huge celebration for everyone, especially those whose lives had been turned upside-down by the imposing structure.

Just imagine the kind of celebration that would break out around the world if the Church tore down the walls which have divided it for centuries. While God’s Word clearly directs us to separate from heretical teaching and practice (1 Cor. 11:18-19; 2 Cor. 6:17-18), it also calls believers to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted divisions among themselves (1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 16:17). We are free to hold to our doctrinal distinctives, but never to allow them to drive a wedge between ourselves and our fellow believers in Christ. Christ’s High Priestly Prayer reveals how a diverse Church can and should walk in unity and love.

CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELONG TO THE SAME SAVIOUR. John 17: 1-3

In essence, fellowship (Greek word is “koinonia”) for Christians consists of sharing our common relationship to Jesus Christ. John 17 contains the most detailed and extensive recorded prayer of Jesus. In it He reveals His heart’s desire for the Church, and, boiled down to one word, it’s UNITY. This prayer opens with the subject of eternal life, stating that to have a relationship with Him is to possess eternal life. If two believers have nothing else in common other than their trust in Christ as Savior, they’re still family and can enjoy fellowship together. The apostle John says it this way: “We proclaim to you the eternal life which has appeared to us … we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1: 2-3)

When We Major On the Majors, We Promote the Unity of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:3-6).
A statement by Augustine, one of the great Church Fathers, has helped me keep perspective here. “In the essentials, Unity; In the non-essentials, Liberty; In all things, Charity.”
So what are the essentials? Glad you asked! Paul outlines them for us in Eph 4: “Make every effort to maintain the Unity of the Spirit in 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 us all.” These are the “majors” we need to major on when fellowshipping across church and denominational lines. We should never succumb to doctrinal compromise in these fundamental areas. But we should likewise not go beyond them in determining who we will fellowship or serve with.

When We Major On the Minors, We Thwart God’s Design For Unity. One day the disciples displayed an exclusive, sectarian attitude by requesting permission from Jesus to stop a man who was exorcising demons who didn’t belong to the twelve (Luke 9:49-50). He told the disciples not to stop the guy, affirming that whoever didn’t oppose their message and mission was actually working alongside them! Jesus response was a rebuke to their attitude, and serves the same purpose for those of us today who would look down our noses at ministries or individuals who don’t believe everything exactly the way we do.

When We Focus on the Cross of Jesus Christ, We Preserve the Unity of the Body. (1 Cor.1:10-13, 17). Division in the church is nothing new. It reared its ugly head early on. In 1 Cor. 3 we see the Corinthian believers dividing over which leader to follow. You might call these three camps the first three “denominations”. There were the “Paul-ites” who liked Paul; the “Apollo-ites” who preferred Apollos’ teaching style; and the ultra-spiritual “Christ-ites”, who were too far advanced for a simple man to lead them. Paul confronts this divisive attitude head on, and points them back to the Cross. It was the Cross of Jesus Christ that saved them and kept them, not Paul or Apollos or anyone else for that matter. We must guard against dividing over this doctrine, or that radio teacher, or this particular teaching. If it’s not an essential doctrine of the faith, it’s not a point over which to part company. When we exercise Scriptural discernment and spiritual discipline, God will give us the wisdom to see what’s really important and what’s not. And when we do find points of difference, it’s best to agree to disagree, then focus on that one key point of agreement, the Saving Cross of our L.J.C.

CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THE SAME WORD OF GOD. John 17: 6-8, 17

Included in Jesus’ prayer is a reference to the relationship his first disciples had to His Word.
He states that they accepted His Word, trusted His Word, and were purified by His Word.
The acid test of genuine discipleship has always revolved around the relationship between the believer and God’s Word. Jesus placed the highest premium on this relationship when He stated that, “If you keep on obeying My word, then you are truly My disciples.” (John 8:31) Again, “Whoever does the will of God (as revealed in the Word of God), he is my brother and my sister.” (Mark 3:35) True members of God‘s Family are known by their love for and obedience to the Word of God. Even when we don’t happen to agree on every point of doctrine or practice, we can still enjoy fellowship based on our mutual respect for and adherence to the Word of God.

CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME MISSION. John 17:8-28

A unified team wins championships. A unified company wins the competition for new business. A unified nation wins on the battlefield. And a unified Church wins the battle for souls. Jesus makes an unmistakable connection between the unity of His Church and the evangelization of the world. As His unified Body displays God’s irresistible love, people will be swept into the Kingdom. A unified front sends a clear and convincing message. A unified Church lends credibility to its claims that the gospel of Christ has the power to heal socially as well as spiritually. Knowing this, Jesus prays for the unity of the Church so that the consequential evangelization of the world will inevitably follow.

Just before ascending to Heaven, Christ left us explicit directions on what he wanted us to engage in. He told us to preach the Gospel to every person in every nation in every generation. Picture for a moment a single church or denomination attempting to accomplish this huge task. It’s easy to see how impossible that would be. But now, take all the Bible-believing ministries around the world, put them together, and we have a much more manageable task indeed! The point is this … no one group or church, or mission board, or denomination can get this job done. The Great Commission was given to the Church at large because it requires the contribution of ALL believers everywhere! In His prayer Jesus says that He has sent us, the Church, into the world to get a job done. No matter what fellowship we belong to, or what doctrinal persuasion we hold to, we have the same mission as every other believer: to share the gospel with as many people you can, in as many ways you can, in as many places you can. When it comes to Our Mission, we’re all on the same team.

CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME DESTINY. John 17: 24-26

As Christ nears the conclusion of His prayer, He turns to the topic of heaven. Someone has quipped that there won’t be any Baptists or Pentecostals or [fill in the denomination blank] in Heaven. Only blood-bought children of God. While our interpretations of Biblical truth may be precious to us now, there’s coming a day when, as Paul puts it, we shall have perfect knowledge. We’ll discover that on some points we were right on, while on others we missed it
pretty badly. No one has a corner on the truth because we’re all imperfect and see things through a glass darkly. But someday our spiritual vision will be corrected so that it’s 20/20.
It seems the better part of wisdom to allow for disagreement on some points, and reserve final judgment to a time when we see things with perfect clarity.

Our Common Destiny is to Be With Jesus. In vs. 24a Jesus prays for the Church to be reunited with Him in Heaven. In John 14:2-3 Christ assures us that He’s preparing for that reunion day by building a celestial palace for us. No matter what we may disagree on or how strong that disagreement may be, we’re all going to end up in the same place. It’ll all come out right in the end, so why not begin enjoying the ride right now?

Our Common Destiny is to Worship the Glorified Christ. In vs. 24 b Jesus mentions His desire to have us behold His glory. If you love to praise and worship the Lord now, you’re going to just love heaven. It’s a place of perpetual praise. Upon arriving there we’ll discover that the worship team is a congregation of conglomeration, including folks of every color, nationality, and language. This sounds like a very tall order for Heaven’s choir director, but because they’re all redeemed, they’re able to blend together into the most incredible worship music the universe has ever known. The apostle John previews this event for us in chapter 5 of his Revelation: “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood from every TRIBE and LANGUAGE, and PEOPLE, and NATION!” There it is again at the close of God’s Word, perfect unity in the midst of incredible diversity.

In reading this article perhaps the Lord has spoken to you about a wall you’ve allowed to stand between yourself and another Christian or group. We all have them to one degree or another. But the Gospel is all about removing walls, not erecting them. For the sake of God’s kingdom, ask Him to help you tear down that wall. It’s time to let the walls come down!