Today the world’s population stands at more than seven billion people. According to a study1 conducted in 2012, about 32% of the world’s population are adherents to the Christian faith, 23% to Islam, 16% to Hinduism and 15% are non-religious/agnostic/secularistic or atheists. These percentages have not changed significantly in the past five years. Yet, even within each religion, various sects exist that give evidence to how much disunity exists. For instance, Christianity is split into two major groups: Catholicism and Protestantism, the latter being divided into innumerable sects with various conflicting creeds and beliefs.
The Mission
In recent years, calls for unity and a setting aside of theological differences have become more and more prominent, not only in Christian circles but other religions as well. Efforts to unite all peoples of the world under one common brotherhood based on shared common values and mutual respect have indeed reached advanced levels. However, in order to achieve this form of unity as propounded by most world political and religious leaders, concessions have to be made by all parties. The year 2017 saw the world celebrate 500 years of the Protestant Reformation. Sadly, however, this also signified the end of reformation as several Evangelical leaders joined hands with Catholic leaders in calling for an end to the protest, setting aside of differences and seeking unity of all. In fact, according to a report, “after 500 years, reformation-era divisions have lost much of their potency”; in other words, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between Catholicism and Protestantism today than it did in the 16th century when the reformation began! Should we celebrate this as the dawning of a new era of love, unity and enlightenment in which denominations do not matter anymore? What should characterize the unity of God’s people and ultimately that of the entire human population? Is such a unity even possible? How can it be fostered? What differences are we to set aside?
In order to find answers to all these questions and, possibly, a solution to the disunity that exists, we must first know its cause. Perhaps we can find a clue by considering what most religious leaders have been referring to in their calls for unity. Most prominently, unity has been urged on the basis of love: “Let us all love one another and forget our differences. Let us all come together and stand as one in the fight against common problems that threaten humanity’s survival.” From such utterances, it appears the secret to unity is love; love which would banish differences between individuals, societies and religious groups, in favour of a common cause. However, a question that begs consideration is: Why is it then so difficult for everyone to just love one another and forget their differences in light of humanity’s common problems? Many definitions and synonyms of the word love can be found in common English dictionaries. Generally, love is defined as a “strong feeling of affection” towards something or someone. Its synonyms include fondness, attachment, intimacy, unselfishness, etc. If this is what love is, why is it too difficult for everyone to just love others regardless of religious affiliation, and hence get the whole world united? It is because the Bible definition of love, is rarely thought of—it says God is love. According to Scripture, he who does not love, does not know God (1 John 4:8, 16); in other words, he who does not know the character of God, does not know what true love means. Yes, you got it right—true love, which means that there is a false type of love which is not based on God’s character, a type of love that does not border on God’s principles and government. The Apostle Paul states that love is the fulfilling of the law—God’s law (Romans 13:10), and in his first letter to the Corinthians, he gives characteristics of a love born of God (1 Corinthians 13: 1–13).
The Problem
If in order to be united, we must love one another, and in order to love one another, we must know God and His character which is revealed in His law and exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ. How possible then is it for us to achieve the unity championed by most religious and political leaders while God and His law are put out of the picture? The answer lies in the understanding of our human nature and the human mind. The Bible tells us that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14. How is it so? “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6. So, the natural man referred to is one with a carnal mind and the death talked about here does not only refer to death as we commonly know it—breath departing from one’s body—but signifies death of all life’s forces and its relationships. When man’s mind became carnal by adopting that of Satan’s (Genesis 3:1–7), his relationship with God died—he ran away from God instead of towards God (Genesis 3:10); his relationship with his fellow human beings died—Adam blamed Eve as the cause of his problems (Genesis 3:12); and his relationship with nature and its creatures died—the ground was cursed (Genesis 3:17). Why does a carnal mind lead to death of life and its relationships? “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. Clearly here we see that the only way to have life and peace in our world is to have a spiritual mind, a mind that is in harmony and submissive to the law of God. Man’s hatred towards his fellow human beings is as a result of his hatred towards God’s law. His failed relationships with his fellow human beings is a clear indication of man’s failed relationship with God. I will repeat that, but put it another way: if you fail to get along with your fellow human beings, it is a clear indication that you, or they, are failing to get along with God. So, there is the problem! Now let us find the solution.
Let us rewind a little bit, we have learned that the only way to have “life and peace” in our world is to have a spiritual mind—a mind that is subject to God’s law. But, as it turns out, we are carnal! That means that our dreams of peace and security are false and our hopes of a united world are disillusioned as long as we have carnal minds. James 4:4 tells us, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” How does one become an enemy of God? “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” Colossians 1:21. The enmity that exists between God and man lies in the mind. As stated before, this enmity developed when man adopted Satan’s mind of rebellion against God’s government and His law. In Genesis 3:1–7 we learn that after Eve began to see matters as Satan would have her see, she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise”, hence “she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (verse 6). This change of mindset is what made man an enemy of God, because, from that moment onwards, he would no longer be submissive to God’s will but Satan’s will. This is why it is easier to obey Satan while claiming to love God and disobey God while claiming to hate Satan. Without any divine intervention, it was impossible for man to wrest himself from the grasp of the serpent under whose dominion he had fallen. Recall that man was originally given dominion over all the earth and was to rule as a vicegerent of God (Genesis 1:26–27), but when he became friends with Satan by adopting his mind, Satan stole that dominion and man became his willing captive. This
is why Satan is referred to as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and prince of this world (John 14:30).
The Solution
To restore this lost relationship and thereby restore man to his primeval glory, God decided to execute His plan for man’s redemption, a plan long thought of before man’s creation. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. Satan had succeeded in making man an enemy of God by making his mind rebellious against God and His law. In his Satan-born mind, man looked upon God as a ruthless and selfish tyrant whose law was a yoke of bondage that restricted his freedom. Man became a friend of Satan indeed—a friend of the world and an enemy of God. In His plan, God was to restore His friendship with man by revealing His true character to him. This was to be achieved through His Son—the seed, and His Church—the woman. By healing this broken relationship, God was to restore all other relationships—man to man and man to nature (Romans 8:18–22). This was one of the reasons Jesus came to earth—to reveal God’s character, that God is love. While it is true that by His death and sacrifice on the cross, Christ paid the penalty of transgression, it is also true that He did more than that! If it was merely an issue of paying for transgressions, yes we would have been forgiven but still remain enemies of God! Why? Because our minds would still be the same. Remember that our enmity with God does not lie externally but internally in our minds. It is not about offering sacrifices to appease an offended God but about transforming our minds to form a friendship with God. How did Jesus do that? He demonstrated God’s love to us and the nature of His law. In Isaiah 42:21 it is written of Him: “He will magnify the law, and make it honourable,” and in Matthew 5:17 he declares, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” By demonstrating God’s love for humanity (John 3:16), Christ set in motion impulses that would change man’s perception of God’s character and His law. This is why He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die” (John 12:32–33). By His death on the cross, Jesus shows that God is not selfish and that His law is a law of love meant only to protect the best interests of His creatures, just like any earthly government has a constitution and law of the land that safeguards the interests of its citizens. The Apostle Paul adds and says, “Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Romans 2:4. It is not the promise of heaven or fear of hell but an appreciation of God’s love for us that leads us to view sin with the abhorrence it deserves and ultimately leads us to repentance. John says, “We love Him, because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19
The Church as part of the Solution
When Christ completed His mission on earth, He committed the work of reconciling men to God, to His church on earth. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:19–20
“The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 9
If this is the mission of God’s church—to reconcile man to God by displaying God’s love and glory to the world, would such a mission be accomplished under the calls for unity we are faced with today? How appalling it is that many Christian denominations of today think that Christianity is all about going to heaven and living happily thereafter, forgetting and ignoring the fact that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven because of their rebellious minds against God’s law and government. And, do we hope to enter heaven while our minds are in no different state than Satan’s? Our change of environment from earth to heaven would not benefit us as long as our minds are the same. Heaven would not be the serene and lovely place we believe it to be—it is so because there is no sin, there is no carnal mind there! If you were to be taken to heaven today, you would still be thinking the same way you think right now and would still love the things you do right now. Which means that if you do not enjoy a worship atmosphere, the songs of heaven would be annoying to you. This is why God has given us probationary time on earth to prepare our minds for the society of heaven—minds that would be submissive to God’s will revealed in His law, to develop characters that would be in harmony with God’s character. To be ready for heaven, we must have heaven in our hearts. Strange as it may sound, many denominations of today have failed to reach God’s standard and have instead lowered Him to their level and have come to view God as a very merciful God who does not care about what you eat, dress, see, hear, how you worship etc. but only cares about your heart—blatantly allowing their members to live a lie and have false hopes—forgetting that character is a quality of the soul that reveals itself in conduct and there is surely no way God would not care about what we believe and practice.
In light of these facts, how important then it is that every Christian denomination purporting to be God’s church indeed be “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), a place where God’s law, not human tradition and opinion, is the foundation of all doctrine and motivation for all actions and policies. So if, in order to be united, we must set aside our denominational differences and be united by our common belief in a deity, regardless of what we call that deity, would that still fulfil God’s plan of redemption for man? Some people have issued arguments that it does not matter which church you belong to as long as you love. Is it possible to love without regard to God’s law? Can you separate God from His law? According to what we have learned in this article so far, the answer is no! That is exactly what the Bible calls a false love—all such love that excludes God is actually selfishness.
How about denominations then—does it matter which one a person belongs to? This question often leads to endless discussions and requires a lengthy article, but here is a simple case study—the apostle Paul. Recall that before the birth of Christianity, there was only one group of people on earth who knew God and His law—the Jewish church. This is the church that God formed with the calling of Abraham and used it to be a blessing to humanity by revealing His will and salvation through it (Genesis 12:1–3). It was to this church that Saul (who later used his Greek name, Paul) belonged. Saul was a Jew “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee. . . touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Philippians 3:5–6. When the Jewish church rejected Christ, the Prince of life, God took away their privilege of being God’s church and gave it to the Christian church, which initially was constituted by former adherents to the Jewish faith—mostly Jews. Jesus Himself had said He had other sheep outside of His flock whom He would call such that there would be one shepherd and one flock (John 10:16). At His ascension, Jesus left two groups of believers in God—Jews and Christians. In his zeal for God, Saul persecuted Christians, thinking that they were just deluded enthusiasts who were causing nothing but confusion in the land (Acts 8:3). On one occasion, he obtained consent letters from the High Priest to go and arrest all Christians residing in Damascus (Acts 9:1). While on this journey, Jesus appeared to him (verses 3–5). Trembling and astonished, Saul asked, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (verse 6). Saul (Paul) had heard about Jesus but now wanted to know Him more and understand God’s will for his life. Jesus did not begin to explain everything about Himself and His mission to Saul—no, that was the work committed to the church! But, oops! Saul’s church never taught such things; as a matter of fact, no one was allowed to speak of Jesus in Saul’s Church (Acts 4:18). So Jesus directed him to the Christian church in Damascus (Acts 9:6). That is where he received instruction in the life and mission of Christ, where he got baptized. What would have happened if Saul decided to remain in the Jewish church? Would he have gained the knowledge that he did? Would he have been allowed to teach and practice the truth he had just received? The answer is no! This is why we read in Acts 2:47: “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Notice that the Bible says, God added to the church such as should be saved. This means that all those who were willing to reconcile themselves with God and be finally saved, God added them to the Christian church, not the Jewish
church. From the Christian church, they were to receive the knowledge of God necessary for their transformation and salvation—such knowledge they would not obtain from the Jewish faith because it was neither taught nor practiced. Jesus Himself, in His prayer for His disciples said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. To know God and know Him aright is life eternal. This is why God is careful that His church must teach nothing but the truth as it is in Jesus, lest people be misled and get lost by a knowledge that does not lead to salvation. Isaiah 4:1 speaks of churches in the last days that would only use the name of Jesus, but have their own doctrines and self-righteousness not founded on obedience to God’s commandments! So I ask again: does it matter which denomination one belongs to? If it does, should all denominations unite only on the basis that they all believe in one God?
The Mission Impossible
In the times of the early Christian church, both the Jewish church and Christians faced perceived common threats, for example, possible persecution from the Romans, wars, famines and pestilences, as Jesus had foretold His disciples in Matthew 24. Should the Christians and Jews have set aside their doctrinal differences in view of such common threats? What impact then would such a unity have had on the mission of the Church of Christ? Under such a unity, it would have meant that no group should seek to convert adherents from another group under the same agreement, which would have meant no Jews would be persuaded by any Christian to convert to Christianity, with the understanding that all worship the same God. Indeed, they did worship the same God—Yahweh; they both upheld the Scriptures (Old Testament at that time) as their rule of faith; they both had a common origin and also a desire for redemption; but one fundamental difference between them was that while one group accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the other did not. As a matter of fact, the Jews persecuted Christians and demanded that Christians should denounce Jesus as an impostor for the sake of peace so that the Romans do not come and take over their city, Jerusalem! (John 11:50). Similarly, while all religions believe in some deity, while all Christian denominations believe in God, there exist fundamental differences which, if set aside in favour of the common belief in God and in light of impending danger, would lead to loss of souls for God’s Kingdom. Clearly we can see that there can be no other platform of unity for God’s people than the truth. Any other basis of unity would lead to serious compromise that would undermine the mission of the church and give people a false sense of salvation in sin rather than from sin. While we promote unity and peace, while we champion togetherness and setting aside of differences, let it be a setting aside of personal pride and selfishness instead of setting aside of God’s law and doctrines that lead to man’s salvation.
Unity of all can only be achieved when all men know God and value life and view matters as He does, when God’s law is upheld as the standard for all human beings, and this can only be achieved when our minds are transformed by the renewing grace of Christ. We cannot seek to unite man with man without first uniting man with God. Any such attempts would prove futile and possibly lead to more turmoil and persecution. To this end, God has set His church on earth to reveal His love to lost humanity and uplift Jesus and His law as the way to life and peace. Unity without God is indeed a mission impossible!
“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, 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:” Philippians 2:1–5
Mukelabai Mukelabai,
Sweden
1 “The Global Religious Landscape”. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research center. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2018.