Bring our strengths together
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6:1-2
Perfection? That would be nice, but pretty much unattainable. However, this word perfection in today’s scripture is a completeness or maturity in Christ Jesus and in our salvation, not to be confused with perfect behavior. The writer says let’s stop/leave behind the discussions (aka arguments) over the basic/beginning principles of Christ and let us grow up in the things of God. Interestingly enough, the things he calls basic, are things that the church (body of Christ) is still arguing over today. These are questions such as works for salvation, living by faith in God’s Word, baptisms, laying on of hands, and will the dead rise? These “discussions” are the reason we have so many different denominations in the world today. This was not the plan of God for the New Testament church. God never planned for divisions and denominations; in fact, He explicitly warned against them. This explains the weakness of the body of believers in the day we live in.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to watch the Holy Spirit bring denominations together in these last days? Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if God would empower each denomination to put aside their differences and focus instead on their strengths? What if we helped struggling congregations instead of watching them crash and burn because they are not of “our group?” What would happen if we began to realize that we all agree that Jesus is LORD and we live to reach out to the lost? We come together each week to praise and worship Him in spirit and in truth. I know exactly what would happen, we as believers would begin to work together to accomplish the things God wants to get done around the world, regardless of our differences. Think of it as compared to a marriage. When two people get married, they don’t agree on everything and they never will, but what they do agree on is what holds them together. The church would be an unstoppable force for the kingdom of heaven if we would begin to love one another! (John 15:17) Isn’t this truly what life as a Christian is all about?
Today I want to encourage all of us to take a step of growth and love our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Even the ones that belong to different denominations. Let’s take care of one another and look out for the good of those in our communities. Jesus does not want His body all divided up into pieces. He wants us to come together and begin to move in agreement with the plan of God.
Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 6:1-8
The Daily Dose 