A divided world …

Pastor Ken Fizer
Thurmont United Methodist Church

(8/1) … can never be healed by a divided church.

A divided world can never be healed by a divided church. It is sad that there are many people who think they cannot speak a good word for their church or denomination unless in the same breath they speak badly of another. The person who thinks that one can only defend one’s own ideals by damaging the conviction of others shows intolerance. The true Christian should be a builder of bridges; not barricades. We will never lead people to Christ by discrediting the faith of those who differ with us. There is enough fault-finding, intolerance, and bigotry in the world without the church joining the chorus.

For two thousand years, we have prayed together the Lord's Prayer. For over seventeen hundred years we have recited in unison the common confession of our Christian faith called the Apostle’s Creed. Together we believe in the atonement, the incarnation, the resurrection, and the second coming. We read the same Bible and we sing many of the same hymns. We all agree that "God is Spirit, and they that worship God must worship in spirit and in truth." Yet our ways of worshiping God vary.

My only concerns are those of John Wesley. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ do you know Jesus Christ and him crucified? Do you love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength? Do you love your neighbor as yourself?

We are called to practice what John Wesley called "The Catholic Spirit", catholic meaning universal. This is not an indifference to all opinions in which one is tossed back and forward with every new wind of doctrine. Instead, a person of a quote "Catholic Spirit" will get their hand to all those whose hearts are right with their heart.

St. Paul saw division happening in the early church. Each new convert brought into the Christian family had their own traditions, their own values, their own preferences. Sometimes the Apostle Paul had to play referee. Some other new believers were still attached to the Jewish laws.

Some were meat eaters, and some were vegetarian. Disagreements within the early church were many. And sometimes these disagreements became personal. People were passing judgment on others who did not follow the same customs that they did. The church was becoming divided. So, Paul felt obligated to say something about it. He wanted them to "cool it." The church was big enough for all kinds of options. The important thing is that their lives were to give glory to God.

The Bible affirms the oneness of all Christian believers. It is committed to keep the unity of spirit in the bond of peace. The church is not a man-made structure; it is a fellowship of the twice born. It is a group of people who live with a sense of our oneness in Christ we share together the assurances and hopes of our common faith.

Our emphasis should not be on division, but unity. Unity allows for diversity. A belief in the oneness of all Christian believers.

People are different, but human nature is one. We have unity with diversity.

So, it is in the Christian Church. We are one in Christ. It is so easy to exaggerate our differences and lose sight of our oneness. This constant emphasis upon the lack of oneness in the Christian Church loses sight of one fact no one can deny that there are vast areas of disagreement, but there is also a fundamental area of agreement. And the things in which Christians everywhere are in agreement are so much more significant, and permanent than the things in which there is disagreement.

For over two thousand years the Christian Church has been in the world, transforming its society and changing people.

Jesus expects believers to be bonded together through common faith in Him and for the unity of believers to be a witness to His Lordship. Jesus wants the world to look at His church and say, "See how they love one another!" Together in him, we can experience the full blessings of unity and grow together in Christ.

Christ came into the world to save people. That is why any picture of Christ’s final victory over the world can never be exclusive. The people who surround Christ’s throne will not be saying that their side has "won." They will be giving thanks for God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

The church is a community held together by grace – and grace has a name, and its name is Jesus Christ! Yet, our adversary is clever. Satan seeks division, knowing full well that a house divided against itself cannot stand. The Christian has no choice. If we want to be obedient disciples of Christ – we must seek unity. United we stand; divided we fall. In a word, Christian oneness is a witness. To the extent that those who confess Christ are united in love. The tragedy is history bears out the words of Christ – in reverse. We have come a long sad journey from the first century, when the pagans exclaimed, "See how the Christians love one another, "to the 21st century, when all over the world people dismiss us by saying, "see how these Christians hate one another." We simply have not given the world a corporate witness.

We must be a fellowship of people who live with a sense of oneness in Christ. I fear too much has been made of our differences. Our emphasis should not be on division, but on unity. Unity that allows for diversity.

I believe what the church needs is to bring a new oneness of mind and heart and return to that which lies at the center of our common faith. We must make more of the cross. While we have many statements of faith, we have only one gospel. We have many altars but only one lamb of God. We have many creeds but only one cross.

It is the cross which stands central in the faith of Christendom. John the Baptist pointed to it when he said, "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." St. Paul went up and down Asia minor proclaiming, "God forbid I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." St. John shares Jesus’ words that are the heart of the gospel, "for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son."

The early church was held together by keeping that cross central. What a strange and complex group it was. These early Christians represented different nationalities with different languages and different traditions. We read about the fickle Galatians; the wayward Romans; the warm-hearted Philippians; and the unpredictable Thessalonians.

And yet, all of these different groups with the different backgrounds were held together in one great fellowship because the cross of Christ remained central.

Our sense of oneness is always through the cross. Whenever the cross ceases to be central, Christianity becomes weak, and divided. Our way back to oneness is by kneeling again in confession before the cross. Our Lord must have anticipated our tendency to splinter-off into sects when he prayed John 17, "may they all become one as I and the Father are one." Jesus urged his disciples to break bread and share the cup together in remembrance of him.

We don't have to be afraid of differences in opinion within the church so long as the cross remains central. When Christians emphasized the cross, most of their disagreements will be resolved. The nearer we are to the cross, the nearer we are to one another. We do not hate people with whom we kneel before the cross of Christ. No one has a monopoly upon that cross. It's meant for all.

If you do not have a church community, we invite you to worship with us at Thurmont United Methodist Church. TUMC is an evangelical church with two worship celebrations on Sunday mornings and Sunday School for all ages. Whether you enjoy traditional hymns or contemporary worship music, you will find it at one of our Sunday morning celebrations. We celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion every Sunday. Our church is very Missions oriented. Each month we sent 10% of all gifts and tithes to missionaries and mission organizations.