| With the passage of a "health care reform" bill in the U.S. House of Representatives over the weekend, many are calling on the Senate to join them. President Clinton
is quoted as asking the Senators to "set aside their differences and
pass (the) legislation" (LA Times).
I have no doubt how those Senators who have misgivings about the bill
will respond. They have definite problems with a major component of the
bill and cannot ethically vote for something they consider wrong.
Set Aside Your Differences?
This same statement is frequently made in the church. We
long for unity with all who
profess belief in Jesus as the Christ, and
are told we need to ignore differences so that unity
can be realized.
But we cannot sanction some of the actions and policies of many
religious
folks. Even within the "Churches of Christ" umbrella, there
are differences from congregation
to congregation. Many of those
differences do not matter at all and it does behoove us to set aside those
differences and work together as brothers. But there are some major
doctrinal
issues that cannot be ignored and thus prevent that
fellowship.
If a church (meaning, in this instance, one local
group of believers) is to have integrity, it must be consistent in its
beliefs. This is impossible if it is attempting to have fellowship with
others who have conflicting doctrine. What has God ordained for the
leadership of the church? How is one saved from the damning effects of
sin? How does the church respond to society when told that
a sin is
actually an acceptable lifestyle? These and other questions show
whether a congregation
is in submission to God's direct revelation.
If
you agree that unity is desired by God, it is vital that you work to
that end. But not by setting aside differences. Rather we must work out
differences. This requires that we set aside prejudices that prevent an
honest look at differing viewpoints. It requires establishing a
standard by which those viewpoints will be evaluated. I suggest the
scriptures, God's direct revelation, the Bible, as that standard.
If we can build our religious lives on a common standard, we will find the unity that God intended to bless us with all along. |