Philippians 2:1-2“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
So far in this series on pursuing truth, I’ve talked about why need objective truth, why we can’t trust or follow our hearts, and practical ways to fight for and pursue truth actively in our lives. I want to end this series today by talking about the need to pursue truth with other believers. Unity among the church based on the foundational truths of our Christian faith is something that the New Testament has a lot to say about. I believe revisiting that vision of unity based on truth can help us grow individually in our boldness for proclaiming truth in our lives.
I started this post with the opening verses of Philippians 2. Most know this chapter as pointing to the humble example of Jesus Christ, but the first several verses are Paul exhorting the Philippian believers to be united in their faith in Christ. In Ephesians 4, Paul makes a very similar exhortation to the believers at the church in Ephesus:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.Ephesians 4:4-6
And again, in 1 Corinthians, Paul makes the same kind of exhortation:
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10
The church was born into a world that rejected objective truth. Monotheism (the belief in one god), was not the popular belief system in the Roman Empire when Christianity began. Paul and all the other early church members faced the high possibility of rejection and persecution for their Christian faith, and many suffered in the footsteps of Christ while standing firm on biblical truth. As we start this new year, we should ask ourselves, “Will I listen to Paul’s exhortations?” If Paul had to talk about the importance of unity to several different churches from many different backgrounds in the New Testament days, we need to hear this message of seeking unity in our current “global society” too.
If you are a Christian, I want to challenge you to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ this year to stand firm on the foundation of Jesus Christ. I also want to challenge you to seek to prioritize the Body of Christ around you in order to work towards unity in the faith. The following are just a few of the steps we can take to encourage one another to pursue truth, so that the world around us sees more of Christ in us.
First, we must keep preaching the gospel to each other. The gospel is not just the Good News for those choosing to put their faith in Jesus Christ for the first time. The gospel is the Good news that we need to remind ourselves of daily, so that we stay rooted in who we are and what our purpose is. If you are saved, you are now a child of God and your purpose is to become more and more like Christ. It’s one of our privileges to get to remind each other of those truths.
In A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent, there is a section about “Loving My Brothers and Sisters” as a reason to rehearse the gospel daily to ourselves. He says:
“…I realize that the greatest gift I can give to my fellow-Christians is the gospel itself. Indeed, I love my fellow-Christians not simply because of the gospel, but I love them best when I am loving them with the gospel! And I do this not merely by speaking gospel words to them, but also by living before them and generously relating to them in a gospel manner.”From A Gospel Primer, by Milton Vincent, pg. 22
By keeping the gospel at the center of our conversations with other believers, we will become more confident and equipped to share how the Good News affects every area of our life, and it is the main motivation for growing in more biblically sound truth. When we love God more because of our increased understanding and awareness of the gospel, that will propel us to being more bold in sharing with others and in speaking up about the objective truth the gospel stands on.
Second, I think we need to challenge each other more. You may think, “Wait, isn’t that the opposite of pursuing unity?” However, Paul’s exhortations to the believers in Philippi, Ephesus, and Corinth were just that… challenges to the churches he was writing to! He was challenging them to live and think differently than the world around them. Instead of thinking of themselves first, Paul emphatically urged his brothers and sisters to be humble like Christ and put others before themselves. That idea was countercultural then, and it’s very countercultural now.
It is a privilege and duty given to us by Christ to care about and confront our fellow believers when we see areas they need to grow in or submit to the Lord. The author of Hebrews said it this way:
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.Hebrews 3:12-14
To be different from the world we can’t just let our brothers and sisters react, communicate, or cope with issues the way the world does. We are called to exhort them in love to obey the truth. I chose to use the word “challenge” mainly because it is more commonly used in our everyday language than “exhort,” plus we often fall into the fear of confronting someone or the lie that all confrontation is bad. We must get used to asking hard questions and pushing for real answers when we see issues or areas of concern or sin in our fellow believers’ lives. To preserve the unity of our faith, we must prioritize knowing what God’s Word says, and we should be helping each other seek to obey it.
Third, we should prioritize our local church relationships. I know there are dozens of churches in almost every town, and even more when you live in a big city. I know that not all churches hold the same doctrinal beliefs as one another. I know many local churches that claim to be the Body of Christ are refusing to stand on the whole objective truth of the Bible. But please, my friend, don’t let those facts get in the way of you seeking out a local body of believers that you can join and be committed to. Jesus Christ established the Church for His purposes, and local church contexts are what that immediately started to look like from the book of Acts on.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…All the believers were together and had everything in common…Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.Acts 2:42-47
The purpose of the church is to proclaim the truths of scripture so that Christ’s kingdom will spread here on earth. It is the authority that Christ established to help separate the true believers from the false. We cannot claim to be a Christian and not unite ourselves with a local body of believers.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.1 Peter 2:9
So my challenge to you for this new year is to make sure you are prioritizing your membership in a local church. Prioritize your relationships with other believers. Seek to be an encouragement to the other Christians in your life. Rather than work relationships or friendships outside the church, make sure to first make time to be with and serve your brothers and sisters in Christ. I truly believe the New Testament call to be unified in our faith is one of the best ways we can grow in pursuing objective, biblical truth, and making sure we are striving to be bold in sharing that truth.
I know this topic was pretty broad and definitely not exhaustive, but it was something on my heart and mind a lot in 2023. I really felt challenged to prioritize pursuing God’s truth in my life, and I wanted to share that with others. I pray this series has been both an encouragement and exhortation to all who’ve read or listened, and I look forward to continuing to share what God teaches me on this platform for the rest of 2024. Thank you for taking the time to listen or read, and please share with anyone who you think might enjoy this too. Happy New Year’s!
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