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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Unity: Why Some Don't Have It
In the family, a neighborhood, a nation, a business, unity is such a precious thing. But so often it is never quite attained. Sought after, but not always realized. But why? Is it an impossible goal? Or, are men and women unwilling to pay the price and do what it takes to produce it?
What about the church? This is an area in which the absence of unity is so apparent and so tragic. Why is unity so rare today?
Some Don’t Want Unity
We have discussed “pluralism” before, and this mindset has taken control of modern philosophy. Many today do not want unity, and in fact, some even think the idea of unity is dangerous. Others suggest that the best unity exists when we are most divided. Strange? But that is what some are advocating today.
We agree that people of diverse background, race and religion can unite on many things. A very diverse company of individuals built our land, but even in this country, some kinds of diversity are not acceptable. Racism, treason, pedophilia and bigamy are forms of diverse thought, but are unacceptable.
If the church really wants unity, it is well within her grasp, but only when all of us respect what the Bible says about unity: “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment,” 1 Corinthians 1:10. It’s possible, but we must want it
No Respect for God’s Standard
The years leading up to World War II saw many treaties signed by men and nations whose ethics and honor were based on differing standards. Germany’s 1939 non-aggression pact with Russia was made with the full knowledge that neither nation trusted the other. Historians say that over a million Russians died as a result of that pact. Why? Because neither nation was guided by an objective standard of truth.
For years this congregation has been characterized by unity. If we want to continue that unity, we must all continue to respect and live in harmony with God’s Word. What I like must be in harmony with what God “likes.” But when each person’s wishes become his authority, we can expect to see alienation and division.
Opinions Elevated Above Law
Is it not an oversimplification to say that when the Bible tells us what, when, why and how to accomplish a certain matter, God’s authority demands that we do it and do it God’s way. In fact, the Bible says that is exactly what we must do: “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him,” Colossians 3:16-17.
Are men’s opinions ever allowed? Yes, when God does not specify the way a matter should be performed, man is authorized to use any expedient way that does not violate other biblical principles. For example: We are commanded to take the Gospel to the world, Mark 16:15-16. But the “how” of doing this is not specified, thereby giving us the right to use whatever means is affordable and most effective. But even then, the expediency must first be lawful.
The Cost of Unity is High
We realize that anything of value will carry a price, often a high price. So it is with unity. The very fact that unity is not high on the priority lists of many today will elevate the costs involved in attaining it. Plus, we must also realize that there is a price that is too high. That is the situation when God’s truth would have to be ignored or compromised. [See Ephesians 5:11, 2 John 1:9-11, Matthew 7:15f.] Therefore we must take care to seek unity, but only on the basis of truth.
Here is what unity will cost:
- Our willingness to set our opinions aside when necessary. Not God’s truth, but our opinions, our preferences. As long as we require others to accept our opinions, unity will be very hard to achieve.
- We must be willing to cooperate with others, being long-suffering with them in achieving the goal of unity. This is both a logical and a biblical principle. See Colossians 3:12-15.
- We will all need to maintain a constant respect for God’s authority, willingly submitting to it. No genuine unity can exist without that.
- When disagreements arise, as they surely will, unity demands that we continue to show an abundant love for one another, John 13:34-35.
- We will always need to be alert for indications that we may be drifting away from God’s way, the standard, Hebrews 2:1-3. David wrote: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore,” Psalm 133.
God commands it. It a reachable and wonderful goal. Let us continue on that path to harmony.
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“If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand,”
“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?”
“It is not in numbers, but in unity that our strength lies,”
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"Born Again" - What Does It Mean?
(Part 2 of 3 parts)
Born of the Spirit What does it mean to be born of the Spirit? Natural birth is not a result of the efforts of the baby. Rather, it is a result of the efforts of the mother and father as they cooperate with God’s laws. Likewise, a person does not become a child of God by his own efforts. He is born through the creative activity of God’s Spirit.
Many people consider baptism a human work. They are honestly convinced that baptism can have no connection with salvation because the Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9. The fallacy is in the belief that baptism is a work of man. Baptism is not a work of man. Man’s submission to baptism is simply an expression of his faith that God will create him anew through the activity of His Spirit in baptism as He has promised: “You were buried with him [Christ] in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead,” Col. 2:12.
If baptism is a work of man the Bible contradicts itself. For, as we’ve already seen, the Bible teaches we can’t save ourselves by our works – but also states clearly, “Baptism…now saves you,” 1 Peter 3:21. Is the Bible contradictory? Of course not. Baptism is not a work of human righteousness. Rather, it’s an expression of man’s faith that God will give him a new life through the Spirit at the point of baptism.
Baptism is the time of the second birth; the time when a person is born again. It is the time when we are “washed…sanctified… justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God,” 1 Corinthians 6:11. One who is born of the water and the Spirit can emerge from that experience confidently declaring: “he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration [regeneration means ‘new birth’], and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life,” Titus 3:5-7.
How does the Holy Spirit accomplish this new birth – this spiritual renewal? Does He do it by “hitting” the person with strong feelings of inner spiritual assurance? Or, does He “reveal” Himself to that person through a sudden, miraculous display of power? No, not according to Peter. He says, “You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God,” 1 Peter 1:23.
Well, how does that happen? Since the second chapter of Acts gives the account of the first instance of the gospel being preached, let’s look there for the answer. Under guidance of the Holy Spirit, Peter preached the good news of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven. He told his audience that God had made this crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus both Lord and Christ. This message produced faith in the hearts of those who heard – faith that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Savior. That was good news. But it was also frightening. It brought a stabbing realization to these people that they were responsible for Jesus’ death. In anguish they cried: “Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’…And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” And a few sentences later the passage says, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved,” Acts 2:37-41,47.
This is a Bible illustration of how people are born of water and the Spirit, through the living and abiding Word of God. They hear and believe the good news that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification. As an expression of that faith, they repent of their sins, confess Jesus as Lord, and are baptized into Christ. Raised from baptism they begin that new life produced by the Spirit through the Word of God. This is what it is to be born of water and the Spirit – what it is to be a “born again” Christian.
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