Lesson 8
Unity

Study Compiled by Kevin L. Ziegler, Evangelist
at South Side Church of Christ, Danville, IL 61832
southside.restorationplea.com

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• Be diligent to PRESERVE the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

• PRESERVE (From Strongs)

• a watch

• Used 75 times and translated: keep 57, reserve 8, observe 4, watch 2, preserve 2, keeper 1, hold fast 1

• to attend to carefully, take care of

• to keep, one in the state in which he is

• to observe

• to reserve: to undergo something

• By walking in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called

• By walking in all humility and gentleness, with patience

• By showing tolerance for one another in love

• Seven Pillars of Unity

• One body

• One Spirit

• One hope of your calling

• One Lord

• One faith

• One baptism

• One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all

"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

• So that the world may believe that You sent Me

• So that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

Unity from "What the Church Needs Today are Restorers, Not Conformers" - Kevin Ziegler, Evangelist - Delivered at Men's Fellowship at Laughlintown Church of Christ, Laughlintown, PA, on June 11, 1994

The church needs restorers and not conformers when it comes to Unity.

Too many in the Restoration Movement are saying that it is time to claim the ecumenical spirit of the day and seek unity with other believers, and they say that this unity should be based on the Lordship of Jesus Christ, not on doctrine. In other words, let's unite with the denominational world -- hold joint services, do things together, etc. Why not? They (the denominations) believe that Jesus is Lord and isn't that enough? So they haven't been immersed for the forgiveness of their sins -- we're all in this together anyway. Most of those seeking denominational unity claim that the Restoration Movement was a mistake.

This type of thinking was the basis of the book, Stone-Campbell Movement (Leroy Garrett, College Press Publishing, c1981), later reviewed by Dr. Roger Chambers: "The Stone-Campbell program was to have been a unity movement from within existing denominations; it betrayed the Declaration and Address when it allowed itself to become a restoration movement from outside". (Restoring Movement to the Restoration Movement, workshop by Dr. Roger Chambers, Oak Hill Christian Men's Clinic, 1986)

The Restoration fathers, true, started out with a vision of mild reform. When Thomas Campbell wrote the Declaration and Address, he thought that the Protestant churches were already united on matters of faith, and divided on only matters of opinion. But the commitment to the authority of the Scriptures gradually forced the Restorationists to acknowledge that division, as a matter of fact, involved matters of faith as well as matters of opinion. Reformation became restoration; the movement became a revolution. The authority of the Bible, including doctrine, still forbids ecumenism! A unity that sets aside doctrine is not the answer to the prayer of Jesus; it is the rejection of His authority!

I was at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky in July of 1989 where this idea was given a standing ovation at one of the main sessions. This is what was said from the pulpit:

"Now I have some doctrinal disagreements with Billy Graham, Charles Swindoll, James Dobson and Charles Colsen. Don't tell them, I'm sure they would be crushed (laughter). But I also believe that those are some of the giants of the faith right now, and I'm going to spend eternity with them, and I'd like to get to know them here on earth (applause). And I don't pretend to speak for our movement or anybody but myself, but I would like to say to Bill and Gloria Gaither, to Buddy Greene, Sandy Patti, and Steve Green, and R.C. Sproul and a host of you in here who claim the Lordship of Jesus Christ: 'You are my brother and my sister, come take me by the hand and together lets work till Jesus comes'." (standing ovation)

"Growing in Holiness" by Robert L. Russell, 1989 North American Christian Convention Christian Audio Tapes. 

Russell, who writes a weekly column for the Lookout, wrote in his December 12, 1993, article: "But I've determined that if a believer acknowledges Jesus as Lord and lives a righteous life and loves the brothers and sisters, he passes the three tests of fellowship that are outlined in the first letter of John, and so is my brother or sister in Christ".

Men, if you believe that this type of thinking is limited to the North American Christian Convention and the brotherhood journals, you are mistaken. At Bolivar, I read and pass along church newsletters to the elders, and I suggest you do it in your churches. In these newsletters, we find churches of Christ/Christian churches promoting "community-wide" services (especially around Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas), having pulpit exchanges with denominational preachers, canceling services for a special evening in a denominational church, and "shaking in" someone immersed for the right reasons or not! I can somewhat understand why God says that lukewarmness makes him sick. It turns my stomach just thinking about it! It is time that we are restorers, not conformers in regard to unity.

In restoring the church we should not try to gain unity with churches of the denominational world just for the sake of unity, disregarding the foundational principles of the Bible. The interdenominational thought says "it doesn't matter what someone believes, just as long as they believe". The Bible simply does not teach that! We must be convinced of the Bible message. If someone can be saved without being immersed, then let's stop demanding people to be immersed.  And if the partaking of the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day is just our opinion, then let's stop serving it! But if these and other foundational doctrines of the Bible are true, we must be bold and preach them! The Bible is our only source of absolute truth -- not the Campbells, not the evangelist, not the elders, not ourselves, but the Word of God! To be true to the Restoration plea, we cannot make the Bible say what we want it to say. We must take it for what it says! Be bold and stand firm for the restoration plea and keep it alive to further the kingdom of God!