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Unite in God's eternal love and holiness for all believers who have faith in the blood of Jesus for the remission of our sins in repentance; loving, forgiving, and accepting all who so believe as our equal sisters and brothers in Christ. ChristianUnity is for uniting all Christians, including Protestants, Catholics, Baptists, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Anglicans, Methodists, Church of Christ, Charismatics, Brethren, Lutherans, Assembly of God, Disciples of Christ, Fundamentalists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Reformed, Denominationalists, Non-denominationalists, Independents, home churches, etc., of every nation, race, and color ...simply all Christians who invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, believing to repentance in Jesus of the Bible, and at the same time, forgiving, loving, and accepting all other such believers as our equal sisters and brothers together in Christ. ChristianUnity is for spiritually uniting in love, forgiveness, and holiness, with all who believe to repentance in Jesus of the Bible, including believers in all Christian worship groups, all of which groups already agree also in the Triune God, in which Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one Spirit of God. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7 AV) “God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 AV) “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2:8-10 AV) All of these things, the authority of the Bible as God's word to us all, the fact of the existence of the Triune God, brotherly love, forgiveness, repentance from sins, and the requirement for holiness of behavior, have all, historically, been part of all truly Christian denominations, non-denominations, and worship groups, in some cases, for many centuries. In the ChristianUnity email group, we simply stress the fact of all Christian faiths, not just our own group or denomination, as including believers who are our equal brothers and sisters in Christ, and we thus unite in what we already agree in, which is essentially our unity in the "good news", gospel message of what Jesus did on the cross for all of us who believe it so. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 AV) Among all believers, regardless of which denomination or group we belong to, we're all equal to each other and to Jesus in deemed righteousness, and we're all equal to each other and to Jesus in the Father's love for us all, simply because we all have faith in Christ for our redemption from our sins as the free gift of God's grace. Here's our equality in righteousness, as with Jesus: “Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” (Romans 3:22 AV) Here's our equality in God's love for us, as for Jesus: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:23 AV) Because we're all equal in God's love for us all, it only makes sense that we learn to love one another equally, too, regardless of which denomination or group the other belongs to, and that we love all the way Jesus showed us to love, by laying down our lives in this world for all believers, not just those in our own Christian worship group or denomination. “Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16 AV) ChristianUnity is therefore committed to uniting believers of varying backgrounds and affiliations, through revelation of the word of God about the subject of Christian unity, through constructive discussion, building relationships, and exchanging resources. The group seeks to build bridges between Christians and churches, without compromising faith or doctrine. We believe that Christian unity involves all who believe to repentance in the Bible’s account of the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus to pay for our sins, which we recognize in one another by holiness, mutual forgiveness, and agape brotherly love. “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:10 AV) We therefore seek unity in the word (the Bible), name, and blood of Jesus, while bearing the fruit of the Spirit for one another in Christ. “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:16 AV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26 AV) The first kind of unity we seek is in the spiritual unity of love for all our brethren in Christ, which is the new commandment of Jesus. Here's the Spirit of fervent love for all believers, in which Spirit we unite, and in whom our unity is spiritual: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1 Peter 1:22-23 AV) We believe that all Christians have the unity of the Spirit of Christ who is in us all, and that by uniting in love for all believers, in obedience to the new commandment of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will lead us together into all truth. Here's the Spirit in all believers in Jesus: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9 AV) Here's the new commandment of Jesus: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35 AV) Here's the Spirit guiding us into all truth: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13 AV) Here's the One who is all Truth, into whom the Spirit guides us to unite: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 AV) Some free online books about this kind of Christian unity are in the process of being continually edited and expanded by the moderator of this email list, and many comments and Biblical revelations made by other list members have been included in these online books. Thus these online books represent the cumulative thoughts of many Christians from this list, developed as a work of the Holy Spirit in Christian unity among us all on this email list, believing together, praying together, and studying the word of God about Christian unity together, since around the year 1997. These online books about Christian unity are made freely available for the world to read about our unity in the gospel message of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and for all believers to freely read, too, in order to learn about this kind of Christian unity in the gospel, and to help spread the word. If you'd like to read a formal statement of our beliefs, a statement that was developed with input from a cross-section of our list members, including Catholic, Lutheran, Assembly of God, Church of Christ, and others, including some who live in communal Christian faith groups, we have a statement we've developed together here on the list. You might find it quite interesting to see a formal statment we could all agree in. You can read it at this link: The email list is fully moderated; so bickering and hateful opposition against Christian unity are seldom tolerated. Conversation is encouraged about any good, Christian subject, especially Christian unity, and most especially as revealed and verified in God’s word. You are welcome on this list to comment, to contribute and share with us the truth which the Holy Spirit has shown you in the scripture, or just listen in and learn along with the rest of us, as you may see fit. Oh, sweet Heavenly Father, in our dear Lord Jesus' holy name, unite us. Amen. | ||||
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Recent News:
Requesting Prayer for Christian Persecution in EritreaRequesting Prayer for Christian Persecution in Eritrea Eritrea is a small, African country, 50% Muslim, 45% Christian, on the Red Sea near Sudan and Saudi Arabia, where Christians suffer great persecution. Please pray that Christian unity will be a real and lasting fruit of this persecution, as described in this moving article from Journal Chretien. World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) Special to ASSIST News Service AUSTRALIA — In May 2002 some 20,000 Protestant Christians found themselves in churches that had become illegal when the Eritrean government banned all Christian churches other than the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Mekane Yesus (Evangelical Lutheran) denominations. Initially the Orthodox Church supported the repression. However, during 2004, youths and then priests from the Orthodox Church’s Medhane Alem renewal movement started to get arrested. The Patriarch protested, so the government intensified its attacks on the Orthodox Church. In August 2005, to counter the Orthodox Church’s growing opposition, the Eritrean government deposed Patriarch Abune Antonios and put him under house arrest. To get more control over the church the government appointed Yeftehe Dimetros as church administrator. On 5 December 2006 it then ruled that all tithes collected through the Orthodox Church be deposited in a government account from which it would control church finances and pay priests. The government will also set a quota for priests and any ’extra’ priests are to present for military service. Aid organisations are also targeted. On 4 December 2006, nine Samaritan’s Purse aid workers were arrested a month after the organisation had been ordered to leave the country. On 4 January 2007 military commanders at the national Sawa Military Centre conducted what they termed a ’random check-up on the activities of Christian extremists’ among teenage student conscripts. Some 250 Bibles, the personal property of Christian students, were confiscated and burnt. Thirty-five Christian teenage conscripts were then singled out for deterrent ’severe punishment’ which included torture as routine. Today more than 2,000 Eritrean Christians are incarcerated in appalling conditions for their faith. On 15 February 2007 Magos Solomon Semere (30) died in the Adi-Nefase Military Confinement facility just outside Assab. Compass Direct reports that his death was ’due to physical torture and persistent pneumonia, for which he was forbidden proper medical treatment’. Semere (when 23) had been arrested in August 2000 and served 18 months for his evangelism. Three months after his release in July 2002 Semere, just engaged to be married, was re-arrested for worshipping in a banned Protestant fellowship. During his four-and-a-half-year imprisonment Semere was refused permission to see his fiancee. When he became seriously ill he was told he would get medical treatment only if he renounced his faith. Having already endured extreme hardship and extensive torture Semere elected to persevere and go to his Lord rather than renounce him. Semere is the third Christian to die in custody due to torture since October 2006. In 2001 the government imprisoned all its opposition and closed all private media. Eritreans risk their lives and liberty to leak this information so we can pray and advocate for them. On 23 February Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki met with a European Union delegation. The president indicated that Eritrea needs support in its efforts to ensure security of food supplies and to develop infrastructure. He said his government would welcome any party that wishes to assist Eritrea ’without strings attached’. According to Eritrea’s Ministry of Information the European Commission delegation expressed readiness to co-operate. PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR - * the courageous Eritrean Christians, human rights and democracy advocates who risk their lives to give us this information about the persecution of the Church in Eritrea. * the courageous Eritrean Christians continuing to meet for prayer, Bible study, teaching, worship and fellowship ; may God protect and preserve them. ’Keep me as the apple of your eye ; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.’ (Psalm 17:8,9) * revival to keep spreading through the Orthodox Church, and that Christian unity will be a real and lasting fruit of this persecution. * God to intervene in the political situation in Eritrea by : working through European influences ; delivering judgment and removing evil forces (Psalm 17:10-14) ; delivering grace and revealing his salvation to those in authority (Galatians 1:23). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||