Unity in the Faith (Pt 2)

God calls believers to unity. Unity, as I wrote in an earlier blog, is not uniformity. We are not the same, but we are one in Christ. One of the guiding principles of the church I am currently serving is Unity in the faith. That raises the question: Why in the faith? Why not unity in purpose? Why not unity in diversity? Why not unity in love? Those are all good statements. To understand why unity in the faith is our guiding principle, we must first answer the question: What is the faith?

Acts 6:7 says, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” In Acts 13:8 a man of political rank was interested in learning more about Christianity. Elymas the magician sought to turn him “away from the faith.” In Acts 14:22 Paul and Barnabas were “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.” In Acts 16:5 “The churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”

The Faith is that body of beliefs that define Christianity. To be in the Faith means, to be a Christian, a believer. In 1 Corinthians 16:13 Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to “stand firm in the faith.” Faith is the foundation of what it means to be a Christian. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace through faith. Faith is foundational.

When a person comes to Christ we do not tell them, “If you want God to forgive you, accept you, and save you, then you must agree to obey him perfectly by keeping these laws.” We do not say, “You must go through these rituals.” We say with the Apostle Paul, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). That is the foundation of Christianity, and as such, it is what unifies us.

Should we be unified in purpose? Certainly! As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to a unified mission of making disciples in all the world. Should we be unified in diversity? Absolutely! It is our diversity that gives us strength. The Spirit of God works through a diversity of gifts in the body. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12:4). It is in that diversity of gifting that the church is strengthened, edified, and built up. Should we be unified in love? Of course! Jesus prayed for unity in John 17, “. . . I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (Jn 17:23). Jesus taught his disciples in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Of course we should be unified in love. But purpose, diversity, and love are all built on something more foundational. The faith.

Not all churches have great diversity. Not all churches are clear on their purpose. Not all churches love each other well. But it is the unifying truth of the faith that brings them together and prompts them to work toward unity in the other areas of community life. So, what is the faith? Paul clarified it for the Corinthians like this:

[1] Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, [2] and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

[3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [9] For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (1 Cor 15:1-11).

Despite our differences in maturity, despite our differences of background, color, language, or family, despite our differences in political persuasion, despite our differences in worship preferences, even despite our differences in location, it is that faith that unites us as believers in Jesus Christ. Why unity in the faith? Because the faith is foundational. It is time that we stop dividing over these things when God calls us to unity in the faith.