Question #4 -Does Christian unity involve all Christian denominations?

   Don't get upset with me when I say, "NO and YES!"
On the one hand, because the essence of the Christian unity referred
to by Paul in Ephesians 4:3 is spiritual and already exists among ALL
those who have received the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father,
and is by virtue of His design PERSONAL, it cannot be, therefore,
primarily a unity of religious organizations.  This is the primary fallacy,
however well intended, of the ecumenical movement's preoccupation
with organizational or structural unity, as though that were the REAL
prize.  Furthermore, such emphasis tends to maximize the importance
of organizational membership and loyalty while minimizing the personal
and experiential essence of what it means to be a Christian.  As a 
result, we see the anomaly of some church leaders advocating the
merger of denominations, not on the basis of a shared belief, but on
the basis that they no longer believe the distinctives which gave their
denomination identity.  And sadly, there are even SOME who have
abandoned faith in the God of the Bible and the Jesus of the Bible
for their own new age or new theology version.  Thirty years ago, I
read a report re. a survey taken at a meeting of the National Council
of Churches.  It asked basic questions of the Christian faith, like:
Do you believe in a personal God? ...heaven and hell? ...life after
death? ...that Jesus is divine? ...that Jesus was born of a virgin?
...that Jesus literally performed miracles? ...that Jesus physically
arose from the dead? ...that Jesus is coming back again?  I was
appalled to see that approximately one third did not even believe
these basic truths of the Christian faith!  What were they even doing
in places of leadership in historic Christian denominations, all of which
require some assent to a creed or statement of faith that includes
most or all of the above?  Did they cross their fingers every time the
creed was recited? THERE CAN BE NO CHRISTIAN UNITY
AMONG THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS!
You may sing the same hymns and recite the same liturgy and occupy
the same room for an hour each week, but those who do not even
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God ...the Jesus
of Scripture, are not included in Jesus' prayer for the oneness of 
"all who believe in Me through their (the Apostle's) word..."(John 
17:20,21).  Furthermore, THERE CAN BE NO CHRISTIAN UNITY
AMONG THOSE WHO ARE NOT BORN AGAIN!  Jesus made this
requirement, not me, "You MUST be born again!" (John 3:7)  Is it
possible to "go through the motions" of "becoming a Christian" and
"joining church" without ever truly believing, truly repenting of sin,
truly acknowledging Jesus' Lordship in your life?  The answer is so
obvious that it hardly bears reapeating!  But this is at the very root
of the reason Christian unity can never be a unity of all Christian
denominations and their memberships.  There is one church group
I know of that takes this matter so seriously that they do not even
have (and preach against having) an official church membership!
They don't want to be guilty of giving people false assurance.  That
may be a little extreme, but such a policy might eliminate some of
the sectarian structural barriers to Christian fellowship.
   On the other hand, yes, Christian unity does involve all Christian
denominations and un-denominations in this sense:  there is only one
flock of God, but many folds; and God's sheep are scattered all over
the hills and valleys of sectarianism.  I grew up in a non-denominational
Bible-believing group which espoused the ideal of being Christians
only, without claiming to be the only Christians.  Yet, for all practical
purposes, there was the general assumption that there were only a 
few sheep out there among the various denominations who simply
hadn't received enough light to leave and be a part of us... but if they
were truly sincere, they surely would in time!  The Lord caused my
path to intersect with several persons and groups which profoundly
changed my perception of the Body of Christ.  First was a Bible
teacher whose own walk with God brought him to renounce his
sectarian position and vow to never again be a champion for any
sect or party less than the Body of Christ.  I was introduced to a 
men's organization whose members evidenced such a zeal for Christ
and love of Christ and all Christians that I became convinced that
there were more than just a "few" sheep outside our fold.  Meeting
and praying with believers from many different church backgrounds
at an interdenominational prayer camp peeled even more layers of
sectarian cataracts from my eyes. Then an opportunity came to 
represent an interdenominational mission smuggling Bibles and
other assistance to believers in communist countries.  That ministry
took me into hundreds of churches across a broad spectrum, and
gave me the opportunity to meet members of God's Forever Family
that I never even suspected existed before. 
   Now I'm inclined to believe there are true children of the Heavenly
Father in all Christian denominations, even among Roman Catholics!
(THAT ONE God had to do something very revealing before I could
see!)  What percentage in each group only God knows for
sure those that are truly His; but even as "the Spirit bears witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God", in like manner
methinks the Spirit bears witness with our spirit when we are 
brothers and sisters in the family of God, if we can get rid of the
sectarian prejudicial din that makes the voice of the Spirit hard to
hear.  But since my judgment is NOT infallible, I am faced with a
choice:  to err on the side of leaving some out whom God has included,
or to err on the side of including some whom God has excluded.  I have
decided as a matter of principle, if there is any uncertainty, to err on
the side of grace.  If I call someone a brother who in fact is not my 
brother in Christ, then he is still my brother in Adam.  But if I shun
someone who is my brother in Christ, I have not only wounded him
but also the heart of my (and His) Heavenly Father.  God being my
helper, I will receive all whom He receives.  
   Is there any place for emphasis on structural and organizational
unity?
Yes, I believe there is, as long as it does not become the be all and
end all.  The goal of structural and organizational unity can be very
practically focused on specific projects.  Today I was reading the
August issue of the BGEA Team In Action, reporting "Unprecedented
spiritual unity among churches paved the way for this evangelistic
outreach." (referring to The [Ottawa, Can] Billy Graham National
Capital Region Mission in June which drew an attendance of 106,000,
and 9,165 decisions).  Organizational unity for the purpose of fulfilling
Christ's mandate to His followers is a heaven-blessed goal.  
Organizational unity for the sake of consolidating human power and
influence may even subvert the goals of the kingdom of heaven.  
So our focus first and foremost must be to stay in unity with the Father,
not to pursue unity for its sake alone.
Yours because we're HIS,
Tom
temackey.jn17.21@...


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