Social commentators frequently remind us of a paradox of our age.
Alongside the integration and cohesion of globalisation, there has been an accompanying and more troubling trend – the rise of nationalism and tribalism. Fracture lines are seen across nations, communities and eth-nicities. As Christians we joyfully affirm the counter-cultural unity which the gospel brings. But often we do not see this working as it should. A pastor was once asked if he had an active congregation. ‘Oh yes’, he replied. ‘Half of them are working with me, and half of them working against me’.
Banner headline
From its earliest days Keswick’s banner headline has been ‘All one in Christ Jesus’, often found strung across tents in the Caribbean or placed on pulpits in Japan. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he was specially concerned to help them understand this. ‘You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people’ (Ephesians 2.19). As members of God’s family we have intimate access to him, but we are also reconciled to one another. Through Christ, Jew and Gentile are brought together as fellow citizens under God’s rule, united as God’s children in one family. This is as radical today as it was then. Paul declared that ‘there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all’ (Colossians 3.11). All of the previous divisions are part of the old humanity. As Paul tells the Galatian believers, ‘you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3.28).
Transcending denominations
Keswick began determined to be interdenominational, and it was F. B. Meyer who did most in Keswick’s early decades to help to transcend denominational boundaries. This wider vision was taken up by others, and the movement has contributed significantly to trans-denominational and transnational evangelical unity.
But we should be careful not to be complacent. Having a banner ‘All one in Christ Jesus’ is commendable, but what really matters is expressing that unity in and across our churches. We all know there is much to be done, especially in helping one another to live by a biblical ‘doctrine of difference’ such as we find in Romans 14.1–15.13.
3 priorities
We might summarise this around three priorities:
Solidarity: we belong to Christ. In Paul’s teaching about the weak and the strong, he is at pains to underline that each person is ‘in Christ’. He urges them to accept one another on the basis of their common life (Romans 14.1 and 15.7). They are fellow believers for whom Christ gave everything – ‘Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died’ (14.15). And he presses the point of solidarity still further by underlining that we are each accountable to the Lord (14.10), so we should not look down on other Christians who think differently (14.3). Together, we belong to Christ the Lord.
Harmony: we belong to one another. It is sobering that Paul’s list of the sins of the flesh in Galatians 5.19-21 is heavily weighted towards the divisive sins found within the Christian church. By contrast, in Romans 14 Paul urges us not to destroy one another but to build one another up. He appeals for harmony (14.19), and his stress is on committed effort, just as he wrote to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4.3). You belong to one another and must give your energies to ‘learning to agree’ (Philippians 4.2), sharing Christ’s humble attitude, ‘who did not please himself’ (Romans 15.3).
Priority: be clear about what matters. Paul saw this as essential. ‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14.17). The real priority is that the gospel should be embodied and proclaimed, that we who herald the message of reconciliation with God should demonstrate that through our reconciliation with one another. This is the only way in which our life and mission will have any credibility.
How much heartache and distraction could be avoided in our local churches if we were committed to these priorities. Let’s pray with Paul that ‘the God who gives endurance and encouragement will give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one heart and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 15.5,6).
