The Necessity of Christian Unity: A Response to Kris Vallorton’s “is Unity Conformity?”
A friend recently asked me to listen to a podcast about Christian unity by Kris Vallorton. Vallorton asked, “Does it matter that we hold contradictory truths? Isn’t the important thing that we all have one Spirit?” Vallorton waxed poetically about how our differences unite to create a beautiful symphony. . Kris asserted “Conformity is not Unity”, saying that it is unnecessary for Christians to agree about doctrine because the Spirit that lives within us gives us unity, not doctrine. Vallorton believes that since the Spirit gives us diverse spiritual gifts, that the Holy Spirt is ok with division. But Kris missed a critical distinction. Diversity is not the same as division.
diversity of gifts is from the Holy Spirit, division is a sin.
The bible could not be more clear: we are called to no divisions in what we believe. Paul has strong words that condemns “dissension” as “works of the flesh,” warning that “those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). He said when we are divided, we are dividing Christ. He appeals to us, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to have no divisions.
The bible warns us against divisions, schism, and sectarianism, either by command, or by counter-example in many places. Matthew 12:25, 16:18, John 10:16, 17:20-23, Acts 4:32, Romans 13:13, 16:17, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 3:3-4, 10:17, 11:18-19, 12:12-27, 14:33, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 4:3-6, Philippians 1:27, 2:2-3, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, Titus 3:9-10, James 3:16, 2 Peter 2:1 -Dave Armstrong Paul wrote, “Let there be no division in the church. Rather be of one mind, united in thought and purpose”. In Galations 5, he lists dissension as a work of the flesh! The Holy Spirit does give us different gifts for how we function together in the body of Christ. So, Kris is spot on -there truly a glorious symphony in that diversity. If everyone had the same gifts we wouldn’t have that beautiful symphony.
Kris Vallorten said that the book of Ephesians says we don’t need to worry about doctrine. Dig deeper, Kris. Don’t settle for finding a verse that supports what you want to say. We all have done it. Let’s encourage each other to do better. Ephesians says there is One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. The book of Ephesians is filled with confirmation that the Church has the authority to teach doctrine. The book of Ephesians affirms that the Church has authority to correct and discipline believers. Ephesians assumes:
the authority of oral apostolic preaching and discipline (1:17; 4:7-15, 21; 6:19-20)
apostolic/Church has authority over lay believers (1:1; 3:4-5; 4:7-15)
apostolic succession (4:11-16)
• the Catholic view of the Church as one, holy, apostolic, and sacramental in nature (1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:2-3, 6, 10; 4:3-6)
-The Visible, Hierarchical, Apostolic Church
Jesus gave his authority to His apostles to teach, exhort and correct doctrine And scripture warns of false teachers
Scripture provides evidence that the early Christians recognized the apostles’ authority and followed both written and oral tradition. Paul wrote, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you” (1 Cor. 11:2). - Authority to Teach
To summarize, Christians have diversity in how we function in the body of Christ so our roles and gifts don’t have to conform to those around us.
But regarding what we believe we are to be conformed with no divisions, united in thought and purpose. There are many gifts. But only One Lord. One Faith. One baptism.
But, What about “in essentials, Unity, In non-essentials, charity’?
We’ve skirted around the issue of thousands of divisions in Christianity by saying that as long as we hold to a list of “essentials” that we can charitably agree to disagree on the rest. “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, charity” is a nice sounding platitude. But we have kidded ourselves for far too long. If you ask 10 churches what the essentials are you will get 10 different answers. Our collective list of “essentials’ don’t come anywhere close to matching. And our lists of “non-essentials” range from areas of true freedom to foundational tenets of the Faith like salvation, baptism, communion. Jesus breathed on his disciples and gave them his authority to speak for him and said, “whoever hears you, hears me”. and he commanded that disputes be taken to “the church”. Which church would that be when they all have different answers?.
The Church is One, not many. Jesus Christ is the King. Having a King means you’re not the king and I’m not the king. We don’t get to to religion on our terms. We do religion on His terms.
That’s what this blog is all about-Christianity on Christ’s terms. Will you join in the conversation?
For Further Reading! And Watching!
Denominations and Sectarianims: An Anti-biblical scandal
A Helpful Question for our Protestant Friends
Why You Can’t Have Jesus Without His Church
Watch: Why You Can’t Have Christ Without His Kingdom:
Where is the Magisterium In the Bible? Is the Church just a collection of believers?
Where is the Magisterium in the Bible? Was James or Peter the leader of the early Church?
