By Justin Bell, Minister, Second and Wallace Church of Christ-San Saba
The church of Christ does not teach division, but unity (Colossians 3:15).
Division is one of the most destructive forces against the church ever devised by our adversary. Just before our Lord would go to the cross, He prayed for unity “so that the world may believe” (John 17:21).
Religious division has created more atheists and agnostics than anything else in this country while at the same time it has become so common in our culture to have one small town, dozens of churches, and we all fight over which one you should attend. This was never God’s plan!
The will of our Lord has always been a unified body of believers that are simply called Christians (1 Corinthians 1:10-15). And those Christians together as a whole are called the church.
It’s interesting to note that the word “church” in the Greek language simply means “the called out” or “assembly.” The word “church” can be thought of as the “assembly of Christians.” There is no reference to any other type of Christian than just simply a Christian, and there is no reference to the church in the New Testament other than the Lord’s church.
Let’s turn to the New Testament to learn about the church that Jesus established (Ephesians 2:19-20). We recall that the church is described as the eternal purpose of God in Ephesians 3:9-11. Therefore, it is necessary that we are educated by God’s words about the Church and not merely by the ideas of men. The church was founded by Christ after His death (Acts 20:28) on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Jesus established one church (Ephesians 4:4) in which there is to be no divisions (1 Corinthians 1:10), and Christ Himself prayed for unity before the cross (John 17:21). When someone is baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), they become a Christian (Galatians 3:27) and are added to the one true church that Christ established (Acts 2:47).
Division in the religious world should not be something we simply shrug our shoulders at and say “That’s just the way it is.” But rather something that causes us to be pierced to the heart and cry out for unity (Ephesians 4:3) that can only be attained when we hold to the teachings of God’s word and do not go beyond it (2 John 9). Let’s stop calling ourselves Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, and Non-denominationalists. But simply call ourselves Christians only, wearing the name that was given to us by God (Isaiah 62:2; Acts 11:26; Romans 16:16) and worshiping together under one roof.