What happens when you take people from different geographical regions, religious traditions, languages and cultures and tell them they are now “one in Christ” – the family of faith…? As anyone who has ever sat in a church committee meeting will tell you, the answer is: arguments!
Since there has been church, there has been church division – differing theological views, ethical disputes, controversies about the allocation of power and leadership and so on… The question is whether such divisions are best solved by separation (you take you “church” and go one way, I will go the other) or toleration (I completely disagree with some of your positions, but will stay in relationship with you, even if that relationship involves a lot of arguing). To put it in contemporary terms: How much fighting means it’s time for divorce? And what does separation mean when God has declared us to be one?
In this episode we examine the early church’s struggles for unity and Paul’s instruction to those who imagine it would be better to divide than to argue.
This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), June 29, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!
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