“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”
Peter called on the Christians to whom he wrote to be “of one mind.” Does being of one mind mean that we have to agree about everything? This is a misunderstanding of what being of one mind means. Being of one mind does not mean that we walk in lockstep with each other, and that we Christians cannot think as individuals. Usually, if people are all of one mind in that way, it means that someone of great influence is in control of the group’s thinking. In a group of people, Christians included, individuals will have various opinions on any given subject. For Christians to be of one mind means that these ideas have been discussed and some consensus has been reached – hopefully brought about by the will of God. Any time a group of human beings meets, there will be differences of opinion on some subjects. Admit it, we will even sometimes disagree with ourselves. What does it mean for Christians to “be of one mind”? It means that for Christians to really be of one mind, we have to learn to disagree like Christians. How can we disagree like Christians? For one thing we have to have respect for our fellow Christians. It is difficult to have what we perceive to be the “right idea” supplanted by someone else, but a Christian is supposed to be able to humbly admit that another’s idea might be just as good or better than his or her own unless the idea is unchristian. Another thing is that if Christians have prayed as a group in order to come to God’s consensus, the Holy Spirit will reveal what the right idea, or the right course of action, should be. The “one mind” that we are to come to is the mind of Christ. The question that we need to ask, and seldom do, is what does Christ want us to do? We can be of one mind, because we can discuss different approaches and accept the right course, hopefully, without getting our egos involved in the decision. This is where the problem comes in. Many times we are not of one mind because someone has to have his or her own way all of the time. Many churches have what we call “matriarchs” and “patriarchs” who will tell you without hesitation that they have always run the church, meaning that they will do so until they die. The “one mind” becomes the one mind of which human being is running the church. Thus, church problems arise. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” This means that your church and mine belongs to Christ, not to a powerful group within the church. Paul wrote that Christ is the “head of the church.” This means that, after all is said and done, decisions for any particular church of any denomination will be determined by what Christ wants. This demands prayer, respect and humility on the part of Christians. What can help us “be of one mind”? In 1 Peter 3:8 Peter actually revealed the things that can help us to be of one mind. The first thing that he wrote about was that we should have compassion for each other. This means that we will be aware of the feelings of other people. If we have compassion for each other, we will not run roughshod over each other. The second thing that he wrote about is that we should “love as brothers.” If we love as brothers, we might disagree, but we will not “fall out” with each other. We might not accept our brother, or sister’s, idea, but we do accept and respect them. The third thing that he wrote was to be tenderhearted. This is the opposite of “hardhearted.” It is the same as being compassionate. It means that we are aware that our brother or sister in Christ has feelings and that we do not want to be offensive to him or her. The fourth thing that he wrote about was to “be courteous.” This should certainly be a virtue that Christians show for each other. Courtesy should extend to every area of the Christian’s life, wherever we are, especially in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about these things in your own Christian relationships. Bro. Joe
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“Only let your conduct be as it becomes the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.’
In Philippians 1:27 Paul encouraged the Philippian Church to live a life “worthy of the gospel.” He approached this theme from the standpoint of their relationship as ecclesia – gathering of God’s people – church, not just their individual behavior. Of course it is reasonable to assume that the church’s relationship depends upon the individual behavior of its members. As the representatives of Jesus in this world a church is to conduct itself so that the gospel will be promoted instead of shamed. How can we do this? We can “stand fast in one spirit.” This means that we are to take a stand for what is right and do it together – in one spirit. We can take a stand on every moral issue, but if we do not do it in one spirit, we will get nowhere with our witness. We need to ask ourselves if we are thinking in one spirit with fellow members of the churches of which we are members. Why would we deem some issues important and disagree about everything else. For example, why would we take a strong stand on a moral issue and then get into a feud over what color to paint the fellowship hall. No kidding! Churches have split over such issues as this. I heard of one church that split over whether to have metal offering plates or wooden ones. These decisions are made by individuals who divide into parties and commence to feud. The problem is that the wider community hears the feud so loudly that our stand on the greater issue is muted. We need to make up our minds that we will stand together on the large and small things in one spirit. We can be of “one mind.” Does this mean that we will walk in lockstep and never disagree about anything? As long as there is more than one person involved there will be disagreements of some kind. I have discovered that if there is never disagreement in a church some powerful person is calling all of the shots. Disagreements are inevitable in all human affairs, including the church. We just need to learn to disagree like Christians. What, then, does Paul mean by being of “one mind”? In Philippians 2:5 Paul wrote: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” The “one mind” is the mind of Christ. We are to be guided by the mind of Christ and to make our decisions based on what He wants. This is not always easy, but it is always necessary if we are to act like Christians in making decisions. In the verses following verse 5, Paul related how Jesus humbled Himself and did what He came to earth to do, i.e., die on the cross. If we are thinking like Christ, humbly, we will learn to disagree like Christians, and pray ourselves to “one mind.” Each of us will do and say what needs to be done to make it so. Before we “speak our minds” churches, we need to ask ourselves if we are thinking with the mind of Christ. We need to ask, “Would what I am about to say promote the gospel and enhance the welfare of the church?" We can “stand together for the faith of the gospel.” In one spirit and in one mind we are to strive to promote Christ and His gospel, and not our own opinions. Getting our way at any cost does not promote striving for “the faith of the gospel.” What is your church striving together for? What is the purpose and aim of your church? Is it about the “faith of the gospel” and growth of the kingdom of God? Think seriously about these things and for your part let your conduct be worthy of the gospel. Bro. Joe “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.”
In Romans 14-15, Paul deals with the differences that prevailed among the people who comprised the church in Rome. There was an odd assortment of people who came together to make up that church. There were Jews who had been converted to the Christian faith. There were out and out pagans who had been converted. Given the differences in paganism and Judaism, we can only imagine the difficulties that the church in Rome had. The differences there were even more complicated than the differences in paganism and Judaism. In Romans 14, Paul deals with the problem of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols and put up for sale in the meat market. Suffice it to say, there were myriad problems in the Roman church, centered in the ultimate cosmopolitan city of that day, and made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds. Paul had a simple solution for dealing with those problems: “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” The solution is found in these words, “just as Christ received us…” This was the solution to the problem of differences in backgrounds for the Roman church and for us. What does it mean? It means that we are to receive one another just as Christ received us – just as we were. Unless you are from Mars, you have heard, and probably sung, the hymn “Just as I Am.” The meaning of the hymn is that we come to Christ just as we are in order for Him to make us into what He wants us to be. As it was with the people in Rome, we come from different backgrounds into one church and we have to deal with those differences. Some were raised in the church and it has been the center of their lives all of their lives. Some have come to the church from, for lack of a better word, pagan backgrounds, and the church has had no bearing in their lives until they received Christ. The point is that when each of the church members were saved, they were saved just as they were. They were all sinners who appealed to God’s grace through faith in Christ to be saved. Just as Christ received us just as we are, we are to receive one another. There are probably people in your church with whom you are having difficulties. Probably one of the reasons for the difficulties is differences in backgrounds and outlooks on life. These differences can lead to a lot of complications in church life. For example, today one of the difficulties between Christians, particularly between younger and older members, is the kind of music that is used in worship. I grew up on “Holy, Holy, Holy,” for example, and I really love that old hymn. It has meant a lot to me and has taught me about the holiness of God over the years. However, there are others who have come into the church who are not at all familiar with the old hymns. We just need to remember that Christ received us all by faith in Him, regardless of what kind of music we prefer. We just need to rejoice that we all have Christ in common, who received us just as we were and who loves us all the same. Here is the bottom line on the subject of dealing with differences among church members – “to the glory of God.” The point is that all that we do as a church is to bring glory to God. Christ brought us all together in one church to bring glory to Him, not to ourselves, our forms of worship, or any other peripheral thing that we prefer. What is important is that through all that we do in church, all that we do in our daily lives and in our dealings with the world, that we seek to bring glory to Christ. Our differences are not more important than Christ’s glory. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves if we are bringing glory to Christ in our individual lives or in the life of our churches. If we are not, then we need to change the way we live and the way we deal with our differences. Incidentally, this means “you” and not just “them.” Just Saying! Bro. Joe “Do all things without murmurings (complaining) and disputings (arguing); that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in a dark world.”
I’ll just go ahead and admit that I do complain from time to time, and that I have to make myself not argue. For example, when I read some things on Face Book that I completely disagree with, I am sorely tempted to make a comment and point out how much I disagree with what they think. This is especially true when they make demeaning statements about Jesus. There are two things that I have to do in these cases: (1) consider the source, (2) know that my comment will not change them and will just get an argument started. I have mentioned in prior posts that I try not to argue, because it only runs up my blood pressure and makes me have to deal with unneeded anger. As to complaining, I must admit that from time to time I have to make myself not complain. I think one of my main problems about complaining has to do with my computer. It is so aggravating that it sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. There are times when I am trying to complete a thought and the thing will freeze up and not let me do anything until it decides to unfreeze. However, I must admit that no matter how much I complain, my computer goes on doing its own thing. If we will stop and think, this is true about almost all, if not all, of our complaints. Paul wrote this admonition to the Philippian Church not to make them feel better about themselves. He wrote it to remind them that to chronically complain and argue is a poor witness. This is especially true when this takes place in the fellowship of the church. We need to be careful about complaining about our churches among ourselves or in the public arena. It bothers me that church members complain about their churches in places where they gather in the secular world. This does not make people who are “unchurched” want be “churched.” They are probably thinking that they have enough problems in their lives without adding another one. This should not be thought about the Church of Jesus Christ, but it is if that is what we advertise. Often what we complain about has nothing to do with the kingdom of God, or the ongoing mission of Jesus Christ to this world. Paul pointed out that we are to “shine as lights in a dark world.” When we needlessly complain and argue, we extinguish the light of Christ in our lives. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14 and 16 that we “are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” We need to be careful not to say or do anything that will dim, or extinguish, the light of Christ in our lives. People should be able to hear what we say and see what we do and glorify God. Nobody knows anymore than I do how aggravating life can be, and how aggravating people can be. I just have to remind myself that I might be one of those aggravating people to somebody else. Let’s make a resolution that before we complain and argue, we will stop and think about what it will mean to the person, or people, to whom we are complaining and with whom we are arguing. I know that it’s not easy, but it is necessary if we are to “shine as lights in a dark world.” Bro. Joe “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.”
This is one of Jesus’ prayers for His disciples in His prayer in John 17. He says that we should be one as He and the Father are one. I believe that He meant that. I do not want to give the impression that I think we need one big super church. I don’t have a problem with denominations. I realize that some people do, but I don’t see any way out of it. I would definitely not want to be the pastor of the super church. But there are some ways that we can be one and cooperate together as a witness for Christ to the world. First, I think that we can be one in Christ. We can disagree about a lot of things, but we cannot disagree about Christ. The New Testament plainly teaches that the coming of Christ was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. The New Testament plainly teaches the virgin birth of Christ, as well as the fact that He never sinned. The New Testament plainly teaches that Christ was crucified on a Roman cross, buried in a Jewish tomb and arose on the third day. The way that we are saved is as Ephesians 2:8-9 explains: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” According to James, saving faith includes works. We are not saved by works but to work. When people try to change the witness and ministry of Christ, which some have tried to do, they are leading people astray. A lot of the New Testament was written because people were trying to change who and what Christ is. We are one in Christ, we just need to remember that. Second, I think that we can be one in love. In John 13:35 Jesus said: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” In John 15:12-13 Jesus said: “This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you. 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In 1 John 4:10-11 we read this: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11.Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Just as we can’t put denominational lines around Christ, we can’t put denominational lines around the command to love one another. It is not a suggestion but a command, and we need to work on it. Third, I think that we can be one in prayer. All who are believers in the finished work of Jesus Christ, should be willing to pray for each other and to pray with each other. I think that Billy Graham’s ministry proved that when Christian people want to serve the interests of Christ, we can come together and pray and see God do remarkable work among us. We need to pray for each other. I have found that I cannot fight with a person that I constantly pray for. The Christians who pray together do not spend as much time fussing as they do witnessing and ministering in the name of Jesus. If we are all busy doing that, we will not have time to fuss with each other. All that I have written above does not just apply to Christian denominations, they apply to individual Christians as well. They apply to all Christian churches. If we will see ourselves as one in Christ, love each other as Jesus commanded, and pray together, we will find that we can reach the world for Christ. People want to be with people who love each other and pray together. In these ways, we should all be one. I was saved a Baptist, live as a Baptist, and will die a Baptist, but that doesn’t mean that I am not one with all true believers in Jesus Christ. Bro. Joe “I beseech Euodias and I beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. 3. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.”
We sometimes think that we should return to things like they were in the early church, when people got along and merrily served the Lord. It wouldn’t hurt us to return to some early church practices, but we need to also be reminded that the early church was made up of human beings who had opinions and ideas that occasionally clashed. Philippians 4:2-3 is a case in point. Two powerful and influential women in the Philippian church were, evidently, having a major fuss about something. Whatever the problem between them was it probably did not have anything to do with the gospel, for Paul admonished them to “agree in the Lord.” Paul was suggesting, or demanding, that they put their personal difficulties aside and remember that they both served the Lord. When Paul wrote that they be of the “same mind in the Lord,” he did not necessarily mean that they could come to agreement on the problem, but that they put the problem aside for the sake of the Lord’s work. We need to learn this lesson in churches today. I think that it is impossible for any organization made up of human beings to be in total agreement about everything. Obviously, the church is no exception. I think that Paul is reminding these two ladies that they will just have to learn to disagree like Christians. What does it mean to “disagree like Christians”? It means that we realize that there is something, or someone, more important than our opinions on certain subjects. It also means that there is something, or someone, more important than our feelings about certain subjects. I have decided that the most important thing in a lot of Christian’s lives is their feelings, because if you hurt their feelings, they can just walk away from God’s work. Evidently, the work of the Philippian church was stalled because of the disagreement between these two powerful women. Euodias and Syntyche just needed to get themselves out of the way in order for the Lord’s work to continue. I don’t know what this disagreement was about, but it was hurting the work of the church. I would really hate to think that I was standing in the way of the progress of Christ’s kingdom because of my own stubbornness. Furthermore, it appears to me that others were joining in this disagreement. In other words, it appears that people were beginning to take sides. Some might have said, “I am on Euodias’ side. Come on let’s fight.” Paul reminded the Philippian believers that they were to “help those women who labored with me in the gospel.” If they really wanted to help these two women, they would not join them in their disagreement, but that they would encourage them to get over whatever it was that was causing the problem. This is a good lesson for us. Instead of saying “come let’s fight,” we should say that this fight is not as important as the work of the Lord. If something, or someone, is keeping your church from going forward in the work, you should lovingly, “speaking the truth in love,” remind him or her that the church’s work is more important than his or her opinions or their feelings. I think that a good old-fashioned prayer meeting with the people would be in order so that the real work of Christ’s church could get back on track. I guess that as long as the church is made up of human beings, and it will always be, there will be disagreements to sidetrack the work. But we shouldn’t settle for that. We should heed Paul’s admonition and help those men or women to be of the “same mind in the Lord.” Bro. Joe “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”
Peter called on the Christians to whom he wrote to be “of one mind.” Does being of one mind mean that we agree on everything? This is a misunderstanding of what being of one mind is. Being of one mind does not mean that we walk in lockstep with each other, and that we Christians cannot think as individuals. Usually, if people are all of one mind in that way, it means that someone of great influence is in control of the group’s thinking. In a group of people, Christians included, individuals will have various opinions on any given subject. For Christians to be of one mind means that these ideas have been discussed and some consensus has been reached – hopefully brought about by the will of God. This means that for Christians to really be of one mind, we have to learn to disagree like Christians. How can we disagree like Christians? For one thing we have to have respect for our fellow Christians. It is difficult to have what we perceive to be the “right idea” supplanted by someone else, but a Christian is supposed to be able to humbly admit that another’s idea might be just as good, or better, than his or her own. Another thing is that if Christians have prayed as a group in order to come to God’s consensus, the Holy Spirit will reveal what the right idea, or the right course of action, should be. The “one mind” that we are to come to is the mind of Christ. What does Christ want us to do? We can be of one mind, because we can discuss different approaches and accept the right course without getting our egos involved in the decision. This is where the problem comes in. Many times we are not of one mind because someone has to have his or her own way all of the time. Many churches have what we call “matriarchs” and “patriarchs” who will tell you without hesitation that they have always run the church, meaning that they will do so until they die. The “one mind” becomes the one mind of which human being is running the church. Thus, church problems arise. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” This means that your church and mine belongs to Christ, not to a powerful group within the church. Paul wrote that Christ is the “head of the church.” This means that, after all is said and done, decisions for any particular church of any denomination will be determined by what Christ wants.This demands prayer, respect and humility on the part of Christians. In 1 Peter 3:8 Peter actually revealed the things that can help us to be of mind. The first thing that he wrote about was that we should have compassion for each other. This means that we will be aware of the feelings of other people. If we have compassion for each other, we will not run roughshod over each other. The second thing that he wrote about is that we should “love as brothers.” If we love as brothers, we might disagree, but we will not “fall out” with each other. We might not accept our brother, or sister’s, idea, but we do accept and respect them. The third thing that he wrote was to be tenderhearted. This is the opposite of “hardhearted.” It is almost the same as being compassionate. It means that we are aware that our brother or sister in Christ has feelings and that we do not want to be offensive to him or her. The fourth thing that he wrote about was to “be courteous.” This should certainly be a virtue that Christians show for each other. Courtesy should extend to every area of the Christian’s life, wherever we are, especially in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about these things in your own Christian relationships. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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