Unified to what end? -

Our efforts as Christians to have peace and unity among brothers and sisters in Christ ought always to be guided by God's Word. When unity works its way into a priority position above faithfulness to the Reformation's battle cry, Sola Scriptura, we've got trouble. Heads of households and heads of churches are right to be protectors; we are right to guard our flocks against the infiltration of wrong teaching. However, occasionally (and far too often), fathers and pastors elevate unity and protection above a faithful stewardship of the Word of God.

One church in particular comes to my mind. The leadership of a Baptist church ostracized several men who were beginning to embrace Presbyterian beliefs. To preserve unity, discussion of the distintive doctrines was denounced as destructive. A straw-man version of their beliefs was strongly opposed from the pulpit and in essence, the congregation was "protected" by implicitly being instructed not to study such matters.

The Roman Catholic church appealed to "unity" when Martin Luther introduced Scriptural teaching which threatened to disrupt the church through the Protestant Reformation. The leadership in those days appealed to "protection" when opposing the translation of the Bible into the common language. The motivating thought was, "If the people actually read and study God's Word for themselves, who knows what kind of havoc will occur."

As we pursue unity and as we endeavor to protect, let us come to the Word of God with a reverent spirit and a fervent drive to understand His intentions for us.