“As thou has sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world… Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:18, 20-23).
The unity or oneness of the family of God is the purpose of the Lord’s prayer in John 17. Imagine, God in the flesh prayed that all Christians in all eras of time might have love for one another and be united in purpose, as a sign that the Father really sent the Son and that Christianity is genuine. No wonder Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
As fundamental Baptists, we often shy away from such texts on “oneness” because of their constant use by perpetrators of the one-world church. But should we discard the baby with the bath water simply because someone has misused the scriptural concept of unity? Never!
Not only do some fundamental Baptists break fellowship and judge other born-again believers who may belong to a different church or denomination, but many break fellowship and ostracize other members of the body of Christ within their own church or denomination because of misguided views on “secondary separation.”
Don’t misunderstand me. I am an independent, fundamental Baptist who believes and practices Romans 16:17 and II John 7-11. However, separation in these verses is based exclusively on the doctrine of Christ — His deity, virgin birth, blood atonement, bodily resurrection and return — NOT one’s personal standards or rules based on a misinterpretation of these texts. Scores of fundamental Christians have refused to cooperate with other brethren who hold to these Christological truths simply because they have refused to bow to man-made principles of separation. Furthermore, these super-separated fundamentalists have vilified and labeled their brethren as “pseudo fundamentalists” or “neo-evangelicals” while the world watches and mocks this brand of Christianity.
I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Paul E. Billheimer who said, “I believe personally that the main thing hindering the return of the Lord is the disunity of the Body. This is the greatest sin in the Church because it is the real cause of more souls being lost than any other sin. Born-again believers should be united on the basis of a common origin, a common Fatherhood, and a common relationship rather than a common opinion on non-essentials. We will never agree completely. It is my position that if we are born again, we’re members of the same family, and that is the basis of fellowship, love and union rather than agreement on the non-essentials.”
Lord Jesus, what did You say in Your compassionate prayer? You want us to be one in order that the world may believe that the Father truly sent You and that Christianity is real? Oh, if we could truly be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and manifest His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), then the “warriors” of the faith would beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks! Until such a time occurs, however, the world will laugh at the “fighting fundamentalists” within our ranks who use unethical tactics to malign, vilify and slander one another publicly. How sad!
In all honesty, sometimes I am reluctant to be identified as a fundamental Baptist preacher because I don’t want to be associated with the “super-separatist society.” Members of that group strictly judge others on the basis of their man-made rules and standards while often being lenient or even disobedient concerning clearly identifiable principles and precepts of the Word of God. I call that hypocrisy, and it has made me realize how true the following statement, taken from The Herald of His Coming, really is:
“Satan is a keen fighter against the Body as a whole. The main thing he is driving at on earth is to divide the Body. He is adept at divisive tactics. Under one cover or another, he aims to separate one member of the Body from another. He knows the tremendous power there is in unity. He knows so well the resistless power against his person when there is united prayer and united action coming from a united Body. He will do his utmost to kill that spirit of unity. So anything that divides the Body or splits up any group of Christ’s followers suits his purposes.”
When did you last exemplify the love of Christ to a brother or sister in the Lord who was of a different group – or even within your own, who may be of a different persuasion than you? Beloved, let us SHOW CHRIST’S LOVE — to manifest to an unbelieving world that we all are one, and that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Remember what Paul said in I Corinthians 13:1-3. In essence, no matter what I say, no matter what I believe, and no matter what I do, it is pointless if I don’t have love. May the love of Christ be seen in me!