Why Religious Division And Confusion Exists

While division is usually viewed as a negative characteristic, in religion it is deemed by many people to be acceptable. We find different religious bodies wearing various names, engaging in different practices, and preaching varying messages. The idea that each denominational group is a part of the church as a whole is embraced. Also, the idea that each denominational body is a road we can choose to reach heaven has an appeal.

The New Testament emphasizes the importance and need for unity. The apostle Paul declared, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (I Corinthians 1:10) The unity that is described here is not an agreement or willingness to “agree to disagree” on matters considered nonessential, while embracing a set of core beliefs. Consider also the prayer for unity, that Jesus prayed just before going to the cross, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20 & 21).

Unity in religion cannot be a reality when doctrinal statements of men, the positions of religious bodies, church manuals, and tradition are viewed as holding any kind of authority. We must agree that we are only going to follow the Scriptures. In the first century, when some Christians were turning away from the message that had been delivered to them by an apostle, they were exhorted by this apostle, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).

Respecting the authority of the Scriptures will not produce various religious groups and practices. The apostle Paul stressed, “And what ever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). The phrase, “in the name of the Lord,” literally means “by His authority.” Every belief and practice must be authorized if it is to have the Lord’s blessing. An application of this principle is the reason that instrumental music in worship is sinful. Simply put, there is no authority for instrumental music. We are only authorized to sing. If we fail to respect the authority of the Scriptures, we are going beyond the will of the Lord. The apostle John warned, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (II John 9).. Properly understood, in light of the context of the New Testament, the “doctrine of Christ” is referring to the entirety of the New Testament. We must strictly stay with the perfect pattern of the Scriptures. The New Testament is God’s final revelation for mankind. As Jude described the New Testament, it is “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

The teachings of men have produced false formulas for religious unity. Faithfully contending for the Lord’s standard of unity is not “horribly divisive,” as one person recently suggested. May God help us to teach with greater zeal the Lord’s plan for unity.