all of you agree

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Division in the church is nothing new. In the city of Corinth, a church that was planted by the apostle Paul himself became split with quarrels. The main issues involved celebritizing past leaders as well as an unwillingness in the church to take action on immoral behavior. They were starstruck but not sin-sick. The result was shattering to the unity of the Body of Christ and this ultimately took the eyes of the members of the Corinthian church off Jesus and on people.

There were camps of disciples. Some claiming to follow Paul’s teaching… others liked Apollos. Still others claimed Peter or Cephas as their guru, and then there was this super-spiritual sanctimonious group that just said, “Ahem…. We follow Jesus.” It was all a big mess. Paul chides the church for this childish bragging and points out how all of them have got their eyes completely off the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:11-17). After chastising their childishness, Paul again points to the wisdom and power of God in the cross of Christ to refocus all of them away from their infighting divisions and to the unifying salvation found only in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-35).

Petty disagreements are always a problem among Christians. And today is no different. We still divide over Christian celebrity and consumeristic ceremonies. And some ministries place character on the back burner in order to attract consumer Christians. Then this becomes a temptation for all churches. But disciples are made not by showtime pageantry, fog and laser lights, and hipster motivational speakers. Disciples are made by individual commitment, clear gospel preaching, sound doctrine, accountable living, and honest connection in community with believers. It is anti-consumeristic to follow Jesus because He requires we deny self and load up a heavy cross on our backs. It is an inconvenient truth.

Oh that we would hear the call in our Lord Jesus Christ to agree together! Oh to end petty divisions over people and personal preferences so that the gospel brings us again into unity!