March 3, 2008 - "Unity and Sound Doctrine"

On Sunday morning we saw in Ephesians 4 that there are five commitments needed to cultivate and demonstrate peace and unity in the body of Christ. I want to expand on thoughts regarding the second one, commitment to sound doctrine (see verses 4, 5, 14 and 15).

Last year doctrinal controversy erupted in our church, causing much pain and loss in our fellowship. So should we just step around doctrinal questions for the sake of unity and peace? No! The apostle Paul would say, “Absolutely not!” “Without sound doctrinal teaching, the body of Christ will dissolve into a myriad of personal opinions on issues that God Himself has defined in His Word” (The Powerful Witness of Unity, March 2, 2008).

But God’s Word calls us to deal with doctrine humbly, gently, patiently, and lovingly, as we eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:2-4). Such a God-given disposition of humility is the attitude necessary as priorities of doctrine are discussed and decided upon.

Humility, but not wishy washiness… We must “beware of a modern mistake here. Humble does not mean wishy washy when it comes to truth…It is a great mistake to confuse humility with uncertainty. But many today do confuse them. They think that the only humble demeanor is the uncertain, vague, iffy demeanor.”

“Is that what Paul meant? The only way to preserve the unity of the Spirit is to be vague and uncertain in your grasp of truth? He didn’t seem to be that way…G.K. Chesterton put his finger on the problem…in a little book called Orthodoxy:

“What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled on the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason.”

“The humility that leads to unity is not uncertainty and doubt and vagueness and confusion. It is the demeanor that says: I am not the center; truth is the center and I submit to the truth and go where it leads. I am not king; God is King. My will is not the law; God’s Word is the law. I don’t tell God how many faiths (beliefs) are acceptable to Him; He tells me. I don’t define the foundation of the unity of the Spirit; God does.”

(Sermon by J. Piper, Nov. 8, 1992)

Therefore, let us humbly pursue God-honoring peace and unity in the Spirit, committed to sound doctrine.