Saturday, October 13, 2007

UNITY

These are quotes about Unity in the Body of Christ.How much Unity is in your Chruch?

Puritan John Trapp
"Unity without verity [truth] is no better than conspiracy" (cited in The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations, p. 304).


A.W. Tozer
"The constantly recurring question must be: What shall we unite with and from what shall we separate? The question of coexistence does not enter here, but the question of union and fellowship does. The wheat grows in the same field as the tares, but shall the two cross-pollinate? The sheep graze near the goats, but shall they seek to interbreed? The unjust and the just enjoy the same rain and sunshine, but shall they forget their deep moral differences and intermarry? ... The Spirit-illuminated church will have none of this" (The Best of A.W. Tozer, p. 72).


C.H. Spurgeon
"On all hands we hear cries for unity in this and unity in that; but in our mind the main need of this age is not compromise but conscientiousness, 'First pure, then peaceable.' It is easy to cry 'A confederacy,' but that union that is not based on the truth of God is rather a conspiracy than a communion. Charity by all means: but honesty also. Love of course, but love to God as well as love to men, and love of truth as well as love of union. It is exceedingly difficult in these times to preserve one's fidelity before God and one's fraternity among men. Should not the former be preferred to the latter if both cannot be maintained? We think so" (The Sword and Trowel, April 1887, p. 196, as cited in C.H. Spurgeon and the Modern Church, by R.J. Sheehan, p. 22).


J.N. Darby
"Separation from evil is the necessary first principle of communion with Him ... Separation from evil is His principle of unity" (Separation of Evil: God's Principle of Unity, as cited in Biblical Separation, by Ernest Pickering, p. 116).


J. Gresham Machen
"Again, men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end ... It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of the truth" (What Is Christianity, as cited in Biblical Separation, by Ernest Pickering, p. 97).


John Whitcomb Jr.
"Diversity and division is infinitely more precious than a satanic unity. The problem God's people are facing today: Satan wants unity in what? -- in error. God would infinitely prefer division because of truth. Do you know what Jesus said in Matthew 10? He said, 'I have come not to bring peace, not to bring unity, but to bring division, to set a son against his father, a daughter against her mother, so that people within their own households will be enemies of each other.' That is what Jesus said he came to do ... God's smashing of satanic ecumenical unity was an incredible blessing [Genesis 11: the Tower of Babel] ... The potential for satanic depravity is infinite, as long as what continues? -- a unity in error -- organized blasphemy. Measure this friends. Grasp it. Satan will, in his brief hour, at the end of this world, be given his opportunity to demonstrate what total unity is like in the human race, when every person will have a mark on the forehead or right hand, and will walk lockstep under incredible blasphemy ...

"You say, 'We want unity.' Oh, really? What kind of unity? 'We want all the churches to get together.' Oh, really? You mean in error, in confusion, in heresy? That is, dear friends, the ecumenical movement of our hour, in which all the great denominations and all the great church leaders are becoming more and more unified. In what? -- in compromise and theological error; and this is the ultimate horror" (from Human Races, a message delivered at Indian Hills Community Church, Lincoln, Nebraska, Fall of 1984).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen! For if we are united to man first we cannot be united to Christ. Union with Christ will always be the insistance of the Christian. "First pure then peace" Spurgeon sums it up well!

Sis. Julie said...

There needs to be unity within the local church....but not necessarily between churches. We should not yoke up with those that teach wrong doctrine. You have named some of my favorites in this post.

mark pierson said...

Great post, Cristina!

Please consider using this one at BC - after your husband's excellent post has been up for 24 hours.

Mike Ratliff said...

Great post Cristina! Unity for unity's sake which is not based on truth is what has got the church in our age into the morass of compromise that is pulling it down into the pit. Please keep posting the truth my sister!

In Christ

Mike Ratliff

jazzycat said...

Good post. Truth on major doctrines should trump anything.

Baptist Girl said...

Thank you all, Unity is so important in the Body of Christ.

Cristina