Highs and Lows (No. 1)

An issue that I am passionate about is church unity, and no, I'm not necessarily talking about denominationalism or the manner in which different churches treat one another - I'm talking about the unity that ought to exist between the members of a local church. Paul urged the brethren in Corinth to "speak the same thing" and to be "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). Likewise, the Christians who comprised the church in Ephesus were commanded to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), and the Philippian saints were encouraged to be "like-minded" (Phil. 2:2).

So, yes, denomationalism is wrong, but division within the local church is also wrong. And in light of the fact that churches are autonomous, it is regrettable that some Christians are adamant in their opposition to denominationalism and yet completely apathetic when it comes to promoting unity within the local church of which they are a member. We must make it a point to deepen the bonds of fellowship and unity within our own church.

There are many hindrances to unity that should be addressed, and conversely, there are many things that we can do to foster a greater sense of unity. For example, it is vital that we have appropriate expectations of our brethren. What I mean is that we shouldn't think too highly of our brethren, nor should we think too little of them. Dangerous side-effects are associated with either extreme.

We should all think highly of our brethren by looking upon them with fondness and affection. We ought to love fellow saints to such a degree that we're willing to die for one another (1 John 4:14-16). Paul tells us to honor our brethren (Rom. 12:10) and to hold their needs in high esteem (Phil. 2:3). However, it is possible to think TOO highly of our brethren, and the consequences of such "undue exaltation" are dire:

• All of us have sinned (1 John 1:10) and none of us are without faults and imperfections. Yet when we esteem a fellow Christian too highly, we tend to overlook or minimize their weaknesses. I'm not saying that we should be hasty to criticize others - certainly, patience and compassion should be employed as we deal with one another - but if someone is doing something that is wrong, we must be (1) willing to recognize it as wrong, and (2) willing to tell that Christian that they are wrong. I am reminded of the parent who is never willing to admit that their child has made a mistake; blinded by an obvious parental bias, they always rush to their child's defense. As Christians, we cannot think SO highly of another Christian that we are blind to their shortcomings and sins.
• There are some Christians who think so highly of a preacher that they embrace everything the preacher says as "the gospel truth." Hopefully, the preacher is preaching the gospel (2 Timothy 4:2). As a preacher myself, I can tell you that my aim is to preach just what the Bible teaches - nothing more and nothing less! At the same time, preachers are fallible, and even the best and most experienced preachers in the land occasionally say something that they shouldn't. Whether it's a "slip of the tongue" or actual error, every preacher has had at least one moment where someone has had to take him aside after services and inform him of his error. And yet some Christians view their preacher so highly that they accept everything he says no matter what, whether it's biblical or not.
• Finally, there is the problem of sectarianism. We see an example of this in 1 Corinthians 1:12: "Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ." The members of the church of Christ in Corinth were thinking too highly of different preachers. Some sided with Paul, while others sided with Peter or Apollos. As the context indicates, these allegiances led to strife and competition. There are churches even today who are dealing with this very problem - the members of a church might be divided based upon who they like best. The preacher? One of the elders? Maybe it's a Bible class teacher? Either way, instead of an environment of peace and unity, there is an environment of competition, bitterness and gossip. Often, churches split when such a mindset prevails.

Again, we must think highly of our brethren, but not too highly.

Likewise, we can think too little of our brethren. It's true that none of us are sinless, and yes, we all have our faults and shortcomes...and yes, we live in a world of sin and there are so many things trying to pull us away from God (Galatians 5:17), but it is important that we don't sell one another short. The consequences of thinking too little of our brethren are also dire:

• We tend to lessen the seriousness of sin. We all do it, right? What's the big deal when a fellow Christian acts in a sinful manner? We're fallible. We're human. Right? Paul responds, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2).
• We believe that certain brethren are unable to handle certain temptations, or that they will be unable to handle our rebuke. Instead of gently pointing out one's sin (so that they might do better in the future and thus draw closer to God), we feel the need to pamper and pet them. I am reminded of the situation in Corinth where they tolerated the wayward brother who was committing fornication with his father's wife (1 Corinthians 5). For whatever reason, they chose not to confront that brother, and Paul rebuked them for it.
• There are no expectations of GROWTH and spiritual maturity. Notice the following statement in Hebrews 5:12: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God: and you have come to need milk and not solid food..." Each of us ought to be growing. As the years go by, we should know more and more about God's word. Our ability to overcome certain temptations should be greater. The weaknesses and shortcomes we once had should not afflict us as severely (although new challenges will arise). And yet there are churches where the members do not have these expectations of one another. As a result, there are churches full of weak Christians - which will lead to other problems in the future.

If we can have a balanced view of our brethren - not to think too highly or too little of one another - it will be so much easier to maintain unity and peace in the local church. In my next article, I'd like to address the problem of having unreasonably high expectations of our brethren...