Unity of the Church
Dear Brethren:
As all the different members of the human system unite to form the entire body,
and each performs its office in obedience to the intelligence that governs the
whole, so the members of the church of Christ should be united in one
symmetrical body, subject to the sanctified intelligence of the whole. The
advancement of the church is retarded by the wrong course of its members.
Uniting with the church, although an important and necessary act, does not make
one a Christian nor ensure salvation. We cannot secure a title to heaven by
having our names enrolled upon the church book while our hearts are alienated
from Christ. We should be His faithful representatives on earth, working in
unison with Him. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” We should keep in mind
this holy relationship and do nothing to bring dishonor upon our Father’s
cause. Our profession is an exalted one. As Sabbathkeeping Adventists we
profess to obey all God’s commandments and to be looking for the coming of our
Redeemer. A most solemn message of warning has been entrusted to God’s faithful
few. We should show by our words and works that we recognize the great
responsibility laid upon us. Our light should shine so clearly that others can
see that we glorify the Father in our daily lives; that we are connected with
heaven and are joint heirs with Jesus
Christ, that
when He shall appear in power and great glory, we shall be like Him.
We should all
feel our individual responsibility as members of the visible church and workers
in the vineyard of the Lord. We should not wait for our brethren, who are as
frail as ourselves, to help us along; for our precious Saviour has invited us
to join ourselves to Him and unite our weakness with His strength, our
ignorance with His wisdom, our unworthiness with His merit. None of us can
occupy a neutral position; our influence will tell for or against. We are
active agents for
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Christ or for
the enemy. We either gather with Jesus or scatter abroad. True conversion is a radical
change. The very drift of the mind and bent of the heart should be turned and
life become new again in Christ.God is leading out a people to stand in perfect
unity upon the platform of eternal truth. Christ gave Himself to the world that
He might “purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” This
refining process is designed to purge the church from all unrighteousness and
thespirit of discord and contention, that they may build up instead of tear down, and concentrate their
energies on the great work before them. God designs that His people should all
come into the unity of the faith. The prayer of the Christ just prior to His
crucifixion was that His disciples might be one, even as He was one with the
Father, that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him. This most
touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the ages, even to our day; for His
words were: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on Me through their word.” How earnestly should the professed followers
of Christ seek to answer this prayer in their lives. Many do not realize the
sacredness of church relationship and are loath to submit to restraint and
discipline. Their course of action shows that they exalt their own judgment above
that of the
united church, and they are not careful to guard themselves lest they encourage
a spirit of opposition to its voice. Those who hold responsible positions in
the church may have faults in common with other people and may err in their
decisions; but notwithstanding this, the church of Christ on earth has given to
them an authority that cannot be lightly esteemed. Christ, after His
resurrection, delegated power unto His church, saying: “Whosesoever sins ye
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are
retained.” Church relationship is not to be lightly canceled; yet when the path
of some professed followers of Christ is crossed, or when their voice has not
the controlling influence which they
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think it
deserves, they will threaten to leave the church. True, in leaving the church
they would themselves be the greatest sufferers; for in withdrawing beyond the
pale of its influence, they subject themselves to the full temptations of the
world.
Every believer
should be wholehearted in his attachment to the church. Its prosperity should
be his first interest, and unless he feels under sacred obligations to make his
connection with the church a benefit to it in preference to himself, it can do
far better without him. It is in the powerof all to do something for the cause of God. There are those who spend a large
amount for needless luxuries; they gratify their appetites, but feel it a great
tax to contribute means to sustain the church. They are willing to receive all
the benefit of its privileges, but prefer to leave others to pay the bills.
Those who really feel a deep interest in the advancement of the cause will not
hesitate to invest money in the enterprise whenever and wherever it is needed.
They should also feel it a solemn duty to illustratein their characters the
teachings of Christ, being at peace one with another
and moving in
perfect harmony as an undivided whole. They should defer
their individual
judgment to the judgment of the body of the church. Many live for themselves
alone. They look upon their lives with great complacency, flattering themselves
that they are blameless, when in fact they are doing nothing for God and are
living in direct opposition to His expressed word. The observance of external
forms will never meet the great want of the human soul. A profession of Christ
is not enough to enable one to stand the test of the day of judgment. There
should be a perfect trust in God, a childlike dependence upon His promises, and
an
entire
consecration to His will. God has always tried His people in the furnace of
affliction in order to prove them firm and true, and purge them from all
unrighteousness. After Abraham and his son had borne the severest test that
could be imposed upon them, God spoke through His angel unto Abraham: “Now I
know
that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
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son from Me.”
This great act of faith causes the character of Abraham to shine forth with
remarkable luster. It forcibly illustrates his perfect confidence in the Lord,
from whom he withheld nothing, not even his son by promise. There is nothing
too precious for us to give to Jesus. If we return to Him the talents of means
which He has entrusted to our keeping, He will give more into our hands. Every
effort we make for Christ will be rewarded by Him, and every duty we perform in
His name will minister to our own happiness. God surrendered His dearly beloved
Son to the agonies of the crucifixion, that all who believe on Him might become
one through the name of Jesus. When Christ made so great a sacrifice to save
men and bring them into unity with one another, even as He was
united with the
Father, what sacrifice is too great for His followers to make in order to preserve
that unity? If the world sees a perfect harmony existing in the church of God, it
will be a powerful evidence to them in favor of the Christian religion. Dissensions,
unhappy differences, and petty church trials dishonor our
Redeemer. All
these may be avoided if self is surrendered to God and the
followers of
Jesus obey the voice of the church. Unbelief suggests that individual
independence increases our importance, that it is weak to yield our own ideas
of what is right and proper to the verdict of the church; but to yield to such
feelings and views is unsafe and will bring us into anarchy and confusion.
Christ saw that unity and Christian fellowship were necessary to the cause of
God, therefore He enjoined it upon His disciples. And the history of
Christianity from that time until now proves conclusively that in union only is
there strength. Let individual judgment submit to the authority of the church. The
apostles felt the necessity of strict unity, and they labored earnestly to this
end. Paul exhorted his brethren in these words: “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; but
that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
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He also wrote to
his Philippian brethren: “If there be there fore any consolation in Christ, if
any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and
mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being
of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not
every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” To the Romans he wrote:
“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward
another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one
another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” “Be of the same mind
one toward
another. Mind
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be
not wise in your
own conceits.” Peter wrote to the churches scattered abroad: “Finally, be ye
all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful,
be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing:
but contrariwise
blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a
blessing.” And Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, says: “Finally,
brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in
peace;
and the God of
love and peace shall be with you.”
*****
REFERENCE
Testimonies for
the Church
Volume Four
Ellen G. White
1881
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