On Being Reformed - Commitment #8: “Be diligent in preserving and pursuing unity and peace within this local church.”

Throughout this series, we have seen that Christ has called His Church to live together as one body. We have seen that Scripture is our ultimate authority, that holiness is our calling, that we are to faithfully gather and fellowship with one another, that we are to sacrificially support the work of the church, lovingly pursue one another when sin occurs, and submit to the elders Christ has appointed to shepherd us. Now, as we come to our final Membership Covenant commitment, we arrive at something that brings many of these things together: “Be diligent in preserving and pursuing unity and peace within this local church.”

The first thing we need to understand is that Christian unity is not something that we create. It is something that Christ has already created among His people. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:3–6 that we are to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, because there is one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all.” Our unity is therefore grounded in something much greater than having similar personalities, interests, backgrounds, or preferences. We have been united together because we have been united to Christ. This is why Paul does not tell us to create unity, but to maintain it. Christ has made us one, and we have a responsibility to preserve what He has established.

But how do we do that? Paul also gives us the answer. He tells us that we are to walk “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). It is interesting to notice that many of these qualities have nothing to do with getting our own way. Unity requires humility. It requires gentleness. It requires patience. And it requires that we bear with one another in love. This is important because every church is made up of sinners who are still being sanctified. There will be times when we disagree with one another. There will be times when someone frustrates us, disappoints us, or even hurts us. There will be times when the church makes a decision that we personally don’t agree with. Christian unity does not mean these things will never happen, but that when they do, we respond differently because we belong to Christ.

Knowing this allows us to see that one of the greatest enemies of church unity is not disagreement itself, but our pride. When we believe that our preferences should prevail, our opinions must be heard and followed, because our way of doing things is the best, we are making ourselves more important than the body of Christ. Paul gives us the opposite attitude in Philippians 2:3–4, where he commands us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility to count others more significant than ourselves and to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

This means that preserving unity will at times require us to humbly lay aside our preferences for the good of the church. Not every disagreement is a doctrinal matter. Not every preference is a biblical principle. Not every offence is a crisis. And not every difference requires us to choose sides. This also means that pursuing peace is more than simply avoiding conflict. Romans 14:19 says, “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Peace is something we actively pursue. If there is tension between two brothers or sisters, biblical peace does not tell us to simply avoid each other and hope the problem disappears. Instead, we seek reconciliation.

Often this will require having a difficult conversation. Other times it means admitting that we were wrong. And sometimes it means asking for forgiveness, or extending forgiveness to someone who has hurt us. All while we patiently bear with our brother or sister who is still growing in Christ. Colossians 3:12–15 gives us a beautiful picture of this. Paul tells Christians to “put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Our willingness to forgive one another is rooted in the forgiveness we ourselves have received through Christ.

A healthy church is therefore not a church where nobody ever sins against anyone else. A healthy church is a church where the gospel teaches sinners how to respond when we do. But we must always be careful that our pursuit of unity does not compromise truth. Biblical unity is not unity at any cost. We established at the beginning of this series that Scripture is our ultimate authority, which is the foundation of all we do. We are called to be united in Christ and in His truth, not united around our personal preferences. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:15 that we are to speak “the truth in love.” Truth without love can become harsh and divisive, while love without truth becomes empty and unfaithful. The church needs both.

This is also why we must guard ourselves against things that unnecessarily create division within the body. Gossip, slander, bitterness, factions, criticizing others, assuming the worst about others' motives, and turning personal preferences into matters of biblical principle can all damage the unity of Christ's Church. Paul gives a serious warning in Titus 3:10 about a person who persists in causing division after being warned. Because of how much Christ loves His Church, division within is not a small matter. We should therefore be slow to speak, quick to listen, eager to forgive, and careful not to become a source of unnecessary conflict.

At the same time, we must never turn the pursuit of peace into a reason to ignore sin. We have already seen in our sixth commitment that biblical love will at times require us to lovingly confront a brother or sister who is living in sin. The goal of such confrontation is not to win an argument or punish someone, but to restore them. True peace cannot be built upon unrepentant sin or the avoidance of difficult conversations. Biblical peace is ultimately reconciliation with God and with one another.

And this matters because our unity is a part of our witness to the world. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The world should be able to look at Christ's Church and see something different: people from different backgrounds, personalities, preferences, and experiences who have been brought together by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we forgive one another, bear with one another, serve one another, pursue reconciliation, and lay aside our own interests for the good of the body, our unity is on display, showing the transforming power of the Gospel. We are a witness to the world that Jesus really does reconcile sinners. And He does this, not only to God, but to each other as well.

And this brings us back to why we made this Membership Covenant in the first place. We did not covenant together merely to attend the same church. We committed ourselves to help one another faithfully live as the people of God. Our commitment to preserve unity and pursue peace is therefore a commitment to love Christ by loving His Church.

My prayer is that Knox Baptist Church would become more and more known as a church united in truth, rich in love, quick to forgive, pursuing reconciliation, and eager to preserve the unity that Christ has given us. May we never allow pride, preferences, bitterness, or unnecessary division to damage what Christ has purchased with His blood. And may we remember that our unity is ultimately not about us. It is about Christ.

Gracious Father, give us humble hearts, gentle spirits, patient attitudes, and a deep love for one another, so that we might faithfully preserve the unity of His Church, pursue peace within this local body, and display the beauty of Christ to a watching world. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor Steven Larson