So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
This week we jump over the gospel accounts of what happened when Jesus came, died and rose to listen to the pharisee turned apostle through the correcting hand of Jesus. A lengthy theological writing, covering at greater length, and in a more serene tone, the same themes the writer had dealt with in the Letter to the Galatians. It may date from A.D. 57 or 58. The book is officially called Romans, written by Paul and it’s set up in four parts that detail the simple facts:
All Humanity needs to be rescued because of sin
We can’t rescue ourselves, even when we know the steps to being rescued
Only God through his perfection has rescued us through the acts of Jesus along with our belief in this is the key to success
Finally, God rescues us to create a diverse family of faith-based followers to be a blessing to the rest of humanity
All of which leads us to the inevitable question of how? How can we serve in loving unity and avoid the human traps associated within our nature?
The simple answer is we can’t, in and of, ourselves. However, with the power of the Holy Spirit all things are possible. Paul anticipates the issue so he offers a glimpse in chapter 16 on how to best move forward. If you have a bible, please open it to Romans chapter 16, beginning in verse 17:
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
By any definition, division and unity are the exact opposite. Unity is best defined by its inherent virtues, balance, alliance, coherence. Thus, even within a strict dictionary definition, the term “unity” connotes a superior reference of existence, while division always connotes a lower form.
To avoid the lower form of human nature, we must,
steer clear of people who create dis-unity. (v17)
We all know people are divisive.. They are the ones always looking to the negative. They are filled with pride, selfishness and self centeredness. They are the ones whose pride is evident in their speech and actions.
Be wary of those who tell you to live contrary to Jesus. (V17)
They are the people who lack knowledge but act like they don’t. They don’t read the bible, stay connected to a group or believe they know enough. They espouse culturally relevant phrases that sound good but have no scriptural basis.
Be alert to the signs. (v18)
These are the people who look to always get something out of every interaction. They are the people we all sense have an ulterior motive but their words sound so altruistic. However, they only help when they get a personal payoff. It’s always about their time, money, reputation and stuff. All their relationships are transactional and getting ahead for themselves.
To be a unifier, we Christians express unity through our unified love, purpose, and mission.
Paul’s words in verse 19 gave me pause this week. The word “everyone” reminds us of the connection we have. We are in this together and are unified by our common understanding of seven ideas:
The inspiration and authority of Scripture; We believe in the bible.
the Trinity; We believe in the mystery of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit all existing as one essence.
the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ; We believe Jesus was fully God and fully man.
His substitutionary death on the cross; We believe God came to earth as Jesus for us. He came to suffer, die and rise again as the cure for all our sins. It is through His action we have forgiveness and the ability to place our hope in a life eternal.
His bodily resurrection; We believe Jesus rose from the dead. It wasn’t a mirage or a spiritual presence or a ghost.
His bodily second coming; We believe He is coming again to Judge everyone.
and salvation by grace through faith alone, apart from works. We believe He has done everything necessary for us to be freed from the sins of the past, present and future and as a result, we will be in heaven.
While there are other aspects of a life of faith that are important, these are the ones that hold us together.
I don’t think I will ever forget a softball season years ago when the “bad news bears” of bolingbrook men's “B” league softball who went from winning one game the previous year to winning the league. While it was nice not to lose every game, it was life changing to feel the camaraderie of accomplishing a goal with a team. It was at that moment I understood what a former professional superbowl winning offensive lineman said when asked what he missed about not playing. He said, “The hardest part of retiring was not having a group of men all striving towards a single goal.”
Jesus shares this same kind of unity with the Father. He details it in (John 17:21): “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, …” Jesus and the Father are eternally one in their shared nature as God. When we are born again and become children of God, we share in the divine nature (John 1:12-13; 2 Pet. 1:4). So in this sense, Jesus’ prayer was answered on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came on all believers, uniting them in the one body of Christ. Since then, all who believe in Christ share a new life in Him (1 Cor. 12:13): “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
This is the same unity of the Spirit that Paul talks about in a future letter to the Ephesians. There he writes:
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:1-6)
It is a fact we are appointed to be diligent to preserve unity in the core understanding of what the good news is all about. By doing so, Christian Unity becomes the quintessential witness that allows us to move towards the goal of giving everyone the opportunity to know Jesus before He returns again.
It’s an idea expressed with urgency by Paul. An urgency he probably gleaned from the originals who walked with Jesus and were seated at that final passover meal.
Creative: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans or https://youtu.be/0SVTl4Xa5fY?si=Wpy_eLXMYLdOy6FK Begin at 6:58
References: Quest Bible Overviews p:, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wiersbe) p.565-566,
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-91-understanding-christian-unity-john-1720-23
