Right now, we find ourselves separated one from another in the midst of a Great Pandemic, the likes of which is unparalleled in modern history. And in an effort to stave off the spread of the disease, we have been ordered to practice "social distancing"--a phrase that's common enough now, but never even heard of only two or three months ago. The separation has perhaps contributed to holding back the disease, but it has also borne unintended fruit--like a funeral that ordinarily would have been attended by many friends and family, but up until just recently, in which only less than ten could attend, and even then they would have to stay six feet apart from each another. There's not a whole lot of comfort found in "air hugs"! Or, like the couple in which the husband suffers a heart attack, but they are separated one from the other before they even get to the Emergency Room. Instead, she has to wait at home by the phone, where she is later told he has been sent to another hospital's Intensive Care Unit, and then the next day has surgery. But throughout the whole situation, neither is unable to offer the other comfort. And aside from many other similar anecdotes, the fact is we have outspent every generation before us, at an unimaginable rate, with nothing to show for it! We have crippled our economy all in an effort to maintain social distancing; to be separated one from another for what we thought was a greater good. As a society, we chose this.
We have made choices for separation long before that as well. How is that? Because, at some point in our life, each one of us has chosen to commit sin--and that separates us from God! Isa 59:1,2 "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear."
And we thought it was for our good as well; we thought there was some benefit--some gratification that we would get out of it, whether from the rush of pleasure or artificial love found in sexual immorality; the promise of forgetfulness in drugs and alcohol; or an overbearing pride in what we or our children have done; or whatever... it was all driven by our own desires, our own lust--and it may have given temporary pleasure, but resulted in ultimate harm: Jas 1:14,15 "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."
Thankfully, God provided a way out; a plan for forgiveness: the way of salvation--through Christ. Jesus died as a sacrifice in our place. We receive this gift, not by earning it, but through an obedient faith: Rom 6:3,4 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."
What's sad, though, is that we often choose to separate here as well. We, who should be united as brethren in Christ, choose to separate from one another into denominations. The truth is that division is sinful, 1 Cor 1:11-13 "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
Christ should unite, not divide us: Jn 17:20,21 "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."
Why are we divided? Again, we may think it is for good reason--but ultimately, it is not. Some choose their own opinions rather than the word of God; some may rationalize based on emotion rather than listening to the reason of scripture. And that is in spite of the fact that, in that very same prayer we read a moment ago, Jesus said of his apostles, Jn 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
We can and should unite on God's word, rather than man's creeds or traditions! We should unite on things such as the question of who really is the head of the church? Is it Jesus Christ, as we are told in Eph 1:22,23 (He is "head over all things to the church"); or is it the Catholic Pope, who is advocating things that are in opposition to God's word, like evolution, or the perversion of homosexuality?
We should unite by recognizing that baptism is an integral part of salvation rather than a sign of salvation, because we read in 1 Pet 3:21 "...baptism now saves you–not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..."
We should be able to unite recognizing that Jesus is the creator of everything, and not just a god (spelled with a little g), or a created being himself; because the scriptures teach, Jn 1:3 "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."
It seems odd that some feel denominationalism is a good thing; they would say, "You can find what church is the best fit for you!" Yet, they never consider that it's really not all about us, and where we feel most comfortable; rather, we are to be born again through the word of God (1 Pet 1:22,23) and be useful wherever it is that God should place us! Maybe you would serve God better in a place where you aren't so comfortable! And it may not occur to these folks that the word denomination implies one out of many, when in fact there was only one church Jesus built, Mt 16:16 ("I will build my church"). Division is not necessarily the blessing that these folks seem to think it is.
When I say that we are divided for no good reason, I mean that we need not be divided; but the fact is that division is inevitable when men value their own opinions and traditions over God's word. It is simply not possible for truth to unite with error!
Yet another area in which we choose separation or division is in how we work together as brethren. Unity is a blessing: Psa 133:1 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!"
Unity is a beautiful thing when we are united in God's word and God's ways. But sometimes we may choose to unite in a way that is unknown to, or in opposition to, God's word. For instance, several congregations may choose to unite to perform a work that isn't a part of the work of the local church at all, like supporting Lipscomb University, or a local food bank. There is no authority for that in scripture: neither of those are a legitimate work of the local church, much less a work in which church's should unite.
Or there may be something that is a legitimate function of the local church, such as providing for needy saints--like widows (and we see an example in Acts 6; 1 Tim 5:3). Several congregations may choose to expand their efforts, and unite under the oversight of an institutional board a different eldership, not their own; but what we find in scripture is that churches were self-ruling--there were to be elders in every church, Acts 14:23; and that eldership is to shepherd those among them, 1 Pet 5:2.
Why would folks do this? I heard an ad on the radio some time ago that suggested that some denominational churches were, "doing together what can't be done alone." These folks would say that there are some things that the local church just can't do alone. But let me assure you: if God expects us to do something, it most certainly can be done, and in the way that God directs in His word. That doesn't mean that churches can never to co-operate with one another, but that they need to do it in the ways the Bible directs! We ought never to be "uniting" in ways that seem good to us, but that are foreign to scripture. When folks do that kind of thing they divide, rather than unite. And it isn't necessary. Often these that are involved in this error don't understand the very real concerns their "anti" or non-institutional brethren have; it may never have occurred to them to question their practices. But that doesn't change the nature of the error. These human institutions have no foundation in scripture; and again, we can't unite on error.
We are separated from God if we are not his children; and often separated from each other along denominational lines, even if we suppose that we call Him Father; and often separated by human institutions when we truly do call on his name--all of these are choices that we make, and are terrible separations--but none of these are what I would suggest is the Great Separation.
As long as we live, we have the opportunity to correct those other separations; and we can and should, as long as we do it in accord with the word of God. But there will come a time when we no longer have a choice in the matter of separation: Mt 25:31-33 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
He went on to say, Mt 25:34,41,46 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ...Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ...These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The social distancing that some have found so annoying; so distracting, is nothing compared to what we will find in Hell. Hell is a place of eternal separation, not just a few weeks or even years; it is a place of outer darkness. Three times it is recorded that Jesus spoke of the outer darkness, and each time he associates it with weeping and gnashing of teeth. One time, he said it was for the unbelieving, Mt 8:12; a second, for the unprepared, Mt 22:13; and a third time, for the unproductive, Mt 25:30. Read them in context, and see for yourself! It isn't a place with your buddies; it is a place alone, and in agony!
We may think of Hell as a place for the really evil; but me, I'm a good person--I don't belong there! But Hell isn't a place simply for the outwardly, overtly wicked. It is a place for the really nice guy that didn't get around to obeying the gospel: Paul spoke of a day when, 2 Thess 1:7-9 "...the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power..." That is what Jesus was describing by outer darkness!
And it's also for those who really thought they were serving God--but, sadly, not in ways He directed, Mt 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"
Believing you are saved doesn't make you saved any more than believing you are Napoleon makes you Napoleon; calling yourself a Christian doesn't make you one any more than calling yourself a police officer makes you a police officer; and worshiping with a local church of Christ doesn't make you a member of His blood-bought church any more than living in America makes you a citizen of the United States.
The question is: have you been baptized into Christ? Gal 3:26,27 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." If you want to be clothed in Christ, you need to be baptized into Christ!
And secondly, do you work and worship with your brethren in accord with scripture? Again, it is the one who does the will of the Father in heaven that will enter, not the one who does what he thinks is a good idea, Mt 7:21.
Your soul hangs in the balance--and there can be nothing more precious to you than that, Mt 16:26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Don't find yourself on the wrong side, during that Great Separation!
