Handling Denominational or theological divisions within the Christian faith

“My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one—
I in them and you in me—
so that they may be brought to complete unity.
Then the world will know that you sent me
and have loved them even as you have loved me."  
(John 17:20-23)

There are thousands of Denominations and divisions among those who claim the name "Christian."  Surely this is proof that the Christian faith has failed, particularly in light of Jesus' prayer for unity among His followers in John 17, right?

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Over the centuries, spiritual immaturity and outright sinfulness among believers have given rise to divisions which are unhelpful and unnecessary.  However—and here is where I think passionate believers seeking John 17-unity often err—the attempt to distance ourselves from those who are distancing themselves from other believers only ends up creating new divisions!

But denominations in and of themselves are not necessarily sinful or a mark of disunity.  For instance, John Wesley sought renewal among Christians in the Church of England and even a trans-denominational unity with other believers from different traditions—Moravians, Calvinists, even Catholics!  But soon after his death, those he influenced became their own denomination—Methodists.  The same can be said for Baptists, Pentecostals and every other group of Christians in history after the first century.  Even churches in the first century were recognized as groups within the larger overall body of Christ (i.e. “to the church that meets in your home” [Philemon 1:2]).

Some Christians, such as the late Chinese Pastor, Watchman Nee, have proposed limiting one church per city/town/area as the solution.  But separating by geographical location does not guarantee unity among Christians.  The New Testament churches in Pergamum or Thyatira or Colossae or Jerusalem had slightly different practices when it came to gathering together, the language used, the setting, and teaching emphases.  And while Jesus and His Apostles addressed these in their Epistles and Revelation, the only criticism we find is when believers used those differences as means of dividing and/or spiritually ranking themselves and other congregations according to pride or preference.  When they reject a message from Paul because they “follow Cephas”, or when they reject the teachings of Peter because they “follow Apollos” they are condemned for it and called to repent (1Corinthians 1:12-13).

However, when the church is seen from its eternal perspective through the Apocalyptic vision Jesus gave to John (aka. the book of Revelation), the differences are celebrated rather than condemned.  All cultures, all races, all peoples are seen for what they truly are—one body of faithful believers.  

Here is the most insidious thing about divisiveness: it can never be overcome by frontal assault or attempts to do away with it!  Such attempts only create more divisions!  The reason there are 30,000+ Denominations of Christianity is in no small part because groups of believers have looked at other groups of believers and decided for whatever reason that those other believers are not truly following Jesus and have forsaken the true Church (be it through different theological conclusions, different worship practices, or different leadership models).  These believers then say “Denominations are not God’s desire for His people (which is true), therefore we are going to separate ourselves from all denominations to maintain the purity of the Body!”  But what does this result in?  That’s right—a new denomination!  The problem then multiplies exponentially with each new generation of believers.

It seems, however, that what we see in Scripture—particularly Jesus’ rebuke of His disciples for attempting to stop the work of others who were not of their circle: (Luke 9:50)—is that the only way to achieve the unity that Jesus desires for His people is to keep our focus on the core message of the Gospel and embrace as brothers and sisters all others who do the same—even if they refuse to do the same for us!--while also being open to "in-house" dialog, debate or even passionate argumentation in a spirit of truth and love and humility.

Some believers will see in their study of Scripture, for instance, that the best form of church leadership is that of a body of deacons.  Others will see the best form as that of a Bishop and Elders.  As a result, someone who believes the former will seek to belong to the body of Christ through a community that is led by deacons; the latter, by one led by Elders under a Bishop.  (Still others will note that often in the New Testament these terms are used somewhat interchangeably and that there is not one universal pattern for all congregations to follow, due to their different needs and availability of leaders.)

This can have two results—one that pleases Satan and one that pleases God.  The one that pleases Satan is when these two congregations of the one Body of Christ do not recognize one another as true members of Christ’s body…or if they recognize that they are Christians, they hold them to be “second class” believers.  This has been, and sadly still is, the approach taken by many within the Body today.  The other is for each congregation to see the other as another part of the Body of Christ with a different way of operating and/or carrying out the Great Commission.  Thus, the congregations do not violate their consciences in what they believe Scripture to be teaching on the issue, but they also do not let these different conclusions destroy the unity that Jesus so passionately prayed for in John 17.  This, one can argue, is how unity among believers can be achieved without forcing uniformity among believers.  

In short, the way to overcome Denominations and the divisions they’ve produced is by refusing to play their divisive game—rather they will be overcome by ignoring them as anything other than historical traditions that various believers have arrived at out of a sincere desire to honor God and follow His Word…even if we ourselves do not agree with their conclusions.  

Thus, one can worship in pure conscience in a congregation that is seeking to be led by the Spirit, following Jesus, and living out God’s word, regardless as to whether or not one agrees with the way they’ve interpreted the Bible’s teachings on things like eschatology, the role of free will vs. God’s sovereignty in salvation, or the length of the days of creation in Genesis 1-2.  One can worship as part of that community, yet one can also bring his or her differences to the table and discuss them in an attempt to arrive at the truth.  In congregations that are serious about Jesus’ high priestly prayer for unity, such differences of interpretation are engaged, discussed and honored as the believer’s current view of Biblical truth.  In congregations that do not please God when it comes to unity, such differences are suppressed, attacked and/or used as grounds for expulsion or disfellowshipping.

By refusing to divide the Body of Christ and the fellowship maintained through the Holy Spirit, theological, worship or logistical differences can remain (and continue to be discussed, challenged and learned from), but denominational or cult-of-personality divisions can be overcome by becoming irrelevant, ultimately.

The lie which the enemy gets many of us to believe is that the only way to honor God is to separate when there is disagreement.  But Jesus’ teachings on the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), His admonition to the Disciples to not be against others who follow Him who are not of their circle (Luke 9:49-50), and Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus about unity being found only as we are “in Christ/Him/Jesus/the Lord” (the most dominant phrase in the entire letter!) forcefully teach us that we should seek unity among believers of all backgrounds and practices, while at the same time lovingly challenging them when we believe them to be wrong (and allowing them to do the same with us!).  Yet in doing so, we must strive to recognize the presence of the Spirit in their lives as they earnestly seek to follow Jesus and live out the true Gospel*.

The only other options if we choose to not do this are Denominational divisiveness on one end and "Lone Ranger" anti-community divisiveness on the other. 

But as is so often the case, truth is somewhere in the middle.

* There is such a thing as the true Gospel, and there are times when Christians are called to not associate with those claiming to follow it, but distorting or perverting its message.  False teachings are a reality in the Church and have been for 2,000 years--as have cults and aberrant sects claiming to be Christian.  This is will be the subject of a future article however, as it requires more space than the present article allows.