Unity and the Protestant Church

I said yesterday that Protestant denominations are not any different than the apostolic succession Rome is trying to enforce on us.

Unity is not agreement upon doctrines held by an organization and enforced upon its members.

Jesus said that our unity would let the world know that the Father sent him (Jn. 17:20-23). But he also said that our love for one another would let the world know that he sent us (Jn. 13:34-35).

Unity is only unity when it is manifested by love. Unity is not unity when it based on a doctrinal statement.

Every time someone drives by two churches with two different names and two different pastors sitting next door to one another or on the same intersection, they know that Christians aren’t united and can’t unite. It is a pronouncement to the world that this Jesus stuff is a bunch of bunk.

But, yeah, I understand. You’re busy. You’ve got your own life to live. Who cares if Christ’s name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of us?

It’s not your fault, anyway. What can you do about it? Why should it be your responsibility? You’re just doing what your parents did before you. Who can blame you?

What can you do about it?

I like the idea of opening our windows and shouting, "I’m as mad as heaven, and I’m not going to take it anymore."

At least figuratively.

About Paul Pavao

I am married, the father of six, and currently the grandfather of five. I teach, and I am always trying to learn to disciple others better than I have before. I believe God has gifted me to restore proper theological foundations to the Christian faith. In order to ensure that I do not become a heretic, I read the early church fathers from the second and third centuries. They were around when all the churches founded by the apostles were in unity. My philosophy for Bible reading is to understand each verse for exactly what it says in its local context. Only after accepting the verse for what it says do I compare it with other verses to develop my theology. If other verses seem to contradict a verse I just read, I will wait to say anything about those verses until I have an explanation that allows me to accept all the verses for what they say. This takes time, sometimes years, but eventually I have always been able to find something that does not require explaining verses away. The early church fathers have helped a lot with this. I argue and discuss these foundational doctrines with others to make sure my teaching really lines up with Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that the several missionaries and pastors that I know well and admire as holy men love the things I teach. I hope you will be encouraged too. I am indeed tearing up old foundations created by tradition in order to re-establish the foundations found in Scripture and lived on by the churches during their 300 years of unity.

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