The Unity Thread

[bbyrd009]

Fellowship and spiritual harmony is very different from doctrinal harmony.
I don't have to agree with you to have peace with you or fellowship with you in a good attitude.

amen, but that is bc you are at peace; you get along with everyone! me too.

but i would direct you to the Good News Cafe, .com or whatever it was. Anyone remember it?
don't get me wrong, i am all for reform in the way we oracle at each other v dialectic reasoning,
but peace kills a forum, strange as that sounds at first

 

[Godssrvr]

The wise will always be confident in what they believe about the scripture , yet they will still keep and open heart for the Lord to continually speak and reveal more through some chapter or scripture.

Let me assure you that I am always open to the direction of the Holy Spirit. But, as it pertains to the gospel of salvation, He already has shown me truth, and I will never second guess what I know beyond any shadow of a doubt God has shown me. So if I seem "unaccepting" of what someone else is teaching concerning salvation, it isn't that I don't accept them personally, but I don't accept what they are trying to teach me, which has mostly been attempted without scripture references at all and just opinion in this forum.

Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 

[bbyrd009]

They stubbornly believe that how "they" interpret scripture is right therefore what they say and quote is final proof.

and thank God for them. See how they are revealed by interpreting Rhema, even to the separating of joints from marrow

 

[bbyrd009]

It is always possible to find some fellowship among believers on a forum. But it will always be 'some'. This is why it is so important to have a local church you attend. That is the place where you will experience a complete fellowship. The forums cannot take the place of that. I'm sure there are web sites set up for just friendly discussion with no debate or arguing allowed. But neither do they replace a local fellowship.

you make some decent points here, even if i have a different definition of Church. Those sites are dead imo

My point is this, don't get discouraged over the fighting and arguing that takes place on a forum. It is important things that are being fought over. There are heresies and mistaken views that need to be addressed. There is false teaching that needs to be addressed. It won't happen peacefully.

amen; after all, what false prophet could accept forgiveness anyway, right

 

[bbyrd009]

pleased to meet you; hope you guessed my name

 

[bbyrd009]

Truth =
something i can't stand hearing, and can't refute Scripturally

basically whatever burns me up,
although that can be hard to see in the moment

 

[amadeus]

Bending on both sides is required for two people with opposing doctrines to become friends. Love or charity is what we are talking about, but everyone still wants to be right and is unwilling to bend enough to seriously listen and so the fight begins all over again. If you did not already read these verses with understanding read them again now:

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.z" I Cor 13:4-7

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." I Cor 13:13

 

[brakelite]

The divisions in the church are a fascinating subject. The apostle Paul railed against the divisions in the church of his time, those who favored a certain evangelist over another. They, in respect of persons, considered themselves simply through their identification with a certain individual, more 'advanced' or more 'Christian' than others. Today, we don't have Apollos or Paul, we have Calvin, Luther, Arminius, John MacArthur, the Pope and countless others. We were even arguing over Billy Graham!
Yet Paul admonishes us to preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
So raising matters of doctrine and Biblical truth is not only encouraged by Paul but in context of the divisions he reprimanded the church over above, not to be done in a context of denomination, but as suggested here...
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions (according to respecting of persons)and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

So those among us who cause division on the basis of denominational or personality should be avoided...while at the same time encouraging good healthy discussion over Biblical truth and doctrine.
Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
I believe true doctrine can be recognized because even coming from us it will come with a power the holy Spirit will contribute if we are willing to set aside our denominational biases (both for and against). We don't need to add our own 'power' through demeaning and insulting put-downs and suggestions that others' intelligence or commitment to Christ is somehow diminished because they cannot see things our way.
Love ya'll.

 

[Godssrvr]

Bending on both sides is required for two people with opposing doctrines to become friends

Christians are not to compromise on the truth of the gospel. We are directed by scripture to "shake the dust" (Matthew 10:14)....."mark and avoid" (Romans 16:17-18). Following this direction makes us obedient to the Word of God. It has nothing to do with not having love for others.

 

[amadeus]

Christians are not to compromise on the truth of the gospel. We are directed by scripture to "shake the dust" (Matthew 10:14)....."mark and avoid" (Romans 16:17-18). Following this direction makes us obedient to the Word of God. It has nothing to do with not having love for others.

No one is talking about compromising the truth. When two people are both saying they are believers either one or both of them may be wrong. This happens, I believe, because one or both of them has in their walk with God quenched the Holy Spirit.

My point is that a heated argument to prove you are right and the other guy is wrong is not the answer. In that case even if your doctrine is right and the other guy's is wrong, you may also have lost because of manifesting the wrong attitude. God alone gives any real increase. God does not force feed people His truth and neither should we. If a person really won't listen to a reasonable explanation of your belief, then that is the time to back away and leave it God's hands.

 

[Godssrvr]

When two people are both saying they are believers either one or both of them may be wrong

If I am one of these two people, and they are teaching keeping the law to be justified, that person is not a believer! I will try to show the truth, but I will never compromise the truth in order to "become friends" as you said earlier. There won't be a "heated argument" because I will give them the truth of the gospel by scripture, but when it becomes obvious they have no intention of hearing truth, I'm done. I'm not here to be their friend but to share the gospel. God said I was not to associate myself with them, but to "mark and avoid".

 

[amadeus]

If I am one of these two people, and they are teaching keeping the law to be justified, that person is not a believer! I will try to show the truth, but I will never compromise the truth in order to "become friends" as you said earlier. There won't be a "heated argument" because I will give them the truth of the gospel by scripture, but when it becomes obvious they have no intention of hearing truth, I'm done. I'm not here to be their friend but to share the gospel. God said I was not to associate myself with them, but to "mark and avoid".

No argument on my part. This thread, I believe, is about unifying in Spirit even if we still have differences. No one here has suggested compromise, which is one of man's ways.

 

[aspen]

The thing is, there are so many different denominations and belief systems out there, just under the umbrella of Christianity, that it's hard to find two people that completely agree on everything, even in the same local church. But the things that truly matter, we all are going to agree on, and that's what binds us together. We can still love each other and hope for each other's victories and success, even in our disagreements. We have an enemy who wants to take us out, and it shouldn't be each other.

I think our agreement is love. Doctrine should be the method of working out our salvation, which is perfecting our love of God and neighbor.

Agreeing on doctrine is not equivillant to loving

Shunning people or persecuting people for disagreeing on doctrine seems antichrist to me.

If personal salvation is rooted in doctrinal purity, we are lost

 

[Helen]

that is kind of the point, yes; you cannot artificially manufacture peace among brethren, it has to be within. Your friend Job is welcome in my home, iow, but what do you think he might have to say about coming down for a little visit? lol
so i agree with you, but imo get comfy in the furnace, and just don't be offendable, and then you won't be offended

Yes, well said, and I agree.
So, it sound once again the we are back to "choice" again.
I can choose to be at peace with someone...even though it may not be reciprocal right...then I maintain peace.

As for fearing Armaggedon....So many times I have said to people.." Bring it on...time to roll up the carpet. " But I admit, when my kids were young I wasn't quite so ho-hum.

 

[Helen]

but peace kills a forum, strange as that sounds at first

I greatly disagree.
Stressful arguing , contention and rudeness kills a forum.

People think that strong disagreements give a forum spice...this is a lie.
Discussions , even intense ones, are what builds a forum.
People who are mature can disagree even strongly without bad or hurt feelings.
We each have some good experiences that we have been through....that we can each learn from. But Mark, humility is the issue, so many are so proud, they think that they know everything and , I have not met too many on this site that are willing to learn from someone else. Too much pride.

I have learned some new things from ScottA, 101G, FHII, H.Richards, yourself, and others too...I've seen some things shared here that I have not considered before. I've also read things that make me more solid in what I DO believe....because I have some things turn my stomach.
( and some stuff totally "off the wall" too . )

So no...harmony and peace in disagreement does and can happen, I was on a site once where it happened daily. This site did not "die" it kept us together.
Peace does not mean there cannot be any disagreement and good fast moving threads. Been there, done that. @amadeus was on the same site..we had good times...not perfect, but disagreements with respect = peace.

I've never seen so much name-calling as I have on this site. I hate that.
And I can't say that I myself haven't got frustrated and done it too.

 

[Helen]

Christians are not to compromise on the truth of the gospel. We are directed by scripture to "shake the dust" (Matthew 10:14)....."mark and avoid" (Romans 16:17-18). Following this direction makes us obedient to the Word of God. It has nothing to do with not having love for others.

It doesn't seem like you have picked up on the spirit of this thread!
No one is talking about compromising truth. We are not talking about perfect doctrine...we are talking about being able to disagree with a good attitude.
It sounds like you may fall into the group who would choose to keep on pushing 'your' own beliefs and willing to alienate someone because they believe a scripture is saying something differently than you believe.

I hope I am misunderstanding your post.
Reread @amadeus and @aspen s posts...they 'get it', and they understand what the heart of the OP is all about. = unity of spirit, not unity of doctrine.

Bless you...H

 

[Godssrvr]

Bending on both sides is required for two people with opposing doctrines to become friends

In my mind, this statement was suggesting compromise. Doctrine concerning salvation cannot be bent, or compromised.

 

[Godssrvr]

It sounds like you may fall into the group who would choose to keep on pushing 'your' own beliefs and willing to alienate someone because they believe a scripture is saying something differently than you believe.

When concerning the gospel (which I have specified in my comments), this is exactly what we are instructed to do! We are to stand for the truth of the gospel and "avoid" those who teach a false gospel. I do understand what this thread is about, which is exactly why I felt it necessary to bring this point to the table for consideration. Do we follow the Word of God in this or not?

 

[bbyrd009]

then I maintain peace.

well, it's just an opinion; i would def agree that not feeding a troll, and maybe 5 minutes out of a day specifically for encouraging astute observations or something would also produce fruit prolly

 

[bbyrd009]

I greatly disagree.
Stressful arguing , contention and rudeness kills a forum.

ha, you'd think so, huh? might make for more rapid turnover

Discussions , even intense ones, are what builds a forum.
People who are mature can disagree even strongly without bad or hurt feelings.

well, i gotta agree, but we are talking about like, i dunno, Canadians or something lol

was on the same site..we had good times...not perfect, but disagreements with respect = peace.

but it is no longer up though? i mean, see? Btw what was the name of the site? i wanna go look (in Wayback Machine iow)