What brings unity among brethren?

Exactly

 

I suppose if we are talking about anecdotal one-offs, then OK. In general, doctrine causes Christians to separate into groups.

 

I posted Wesley’s words where he said he believes in water baptism for salvation. YOU got all worked up.

What Do YOU believe ? Do YOU believe like Wesley ?

Tell us what is the Gospel ?
Tell us what washes away sin ?

Tell us if there is any difference between you and Wesley’s belief ?

 

Oooooh....oooooh....ooooooh! I know the answer to this!

One of my favorite songs tells it like it is...Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Being "in Christ" positionally brings only justification
Being "in Christ" symbolically refers to baptism and the Lord's Supper
Being "in Christ" metaphorically refers to membership in the metaphorical body of Christ - the congregation where doctrinal unity exists and must exist for the congregation to continue to exist
Being "in Christ" purposefully refers to election before the world
Being "in Christ" experientially brings practical

 

Sincerety should not be confused with unity and when both parties disagree with each other that is not unity.

 

Willis,
Calm yourself.

Exactly;
Praise God for His Son's sacrifice, because without it, we ( like Israel ) would all be undone ( Isaiah 1:8, Romans 9:29 ).

 

It's something else...the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person.

The Bible teaches that sound doctrine is given to instruct the body ( Titus 2:1-10 ).
In and of itself, I don't believe that it brings unity...but rather, that it is a mark of fidelity and of God's presence among a group of professing believers.

Doctrine divides...

It divides the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the children of God from the children of the Devil ( Matthew 10:24-29 ).
It is developed from the rightly-divided word of God, not from the words of men.
False doctrine is developed from the twisted, wrongly-divided words of God, combined with the Scriptural misunderstandings of men.

However, there is something deeper to be considered, than simply the differences among professing believers:

1) False doctrine comes from the Devil ( 1 Timothy 4:1 ) and it has a purpose ( 1 Corinthians 11:19 ) and an effect; It also takes advantage of the believer's weakness as a babe ( Ephesians 4:14 ), but in the end, it cannot prevail ( John 8:47, John 10:27 ).
The remedy is to immerse one's self in the word of the Saviour ( 2 Timothy 2:15-16, 1 Peter 2:1-2 ), and gain the understanding that comes from both it, and the Holy Spirit's guidance ( 1 John 2:20-27 ).

2) The spiritual realm works through people.
God's people have the Holy Ghost within them ( Romans 8:9-11 ), and He works through them ( Philippians 2:13 ) to accomplish what is needed in the body ( Ephesians 4:11-16 ).
Satan's children have their own spirit ( Ephesians 2:2 ), and it guides them to wreak spiritual havoc wherever they can...false teachers come from among us, and are deceived into believing that what they are teaching is the truth ( Matthew 7:15-20, Luke 6:43-45, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Peter 2, Jude 1:3-4 ); Believers shall know them by their fruits ( Galatians 5:19-23 ).

" For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. " ( Ephesians 6:12 )

False teachers are what Satan uses in his attempts to divide the body of Christ, plain and simple.



True unity exists in the presence of truth, and the absence of division...
Unfortunately, with Satan's successes down through the centuries, I don't believe that true unity can exist in the visible body of ( outwardly ) professing believers in the world today.
It is a statistical impossibility, given the circumstances, for the whole ( outwardly professing ) body of Christ to ever reach agreement on anything, permanently.

Why?

False teachers, tares, false doctrines, etc. literally infest visible churches everywhere, from my perspective.
That independent small groups come together in unity in the truth, is testament to the power of God, not the work of men.

Yes, doctrine divides.
No, unity is not dependent on the capriciousness of men and their teachings, nor the power of men and their efforts to unify.
Denominations are the result of Satan's work through his children...and outwardly they are "of men."
The differences come from Satan's work, not God's work.


In the end, only God's people will ever agree on the truth, because only God's people know it ( 1 John 2:20-21 ).

 

You were all upset about the Wesley quote I posed and went on a tirade .....why don’t you clear up the confusion YOU started. .

What brings unity among brethren?

 

I did not start any confusion as you incorrectly allege. I was not upset about the Wesley quote. Pointing out the likely source of Wesley's language is not suggesting that I was upset. You keep jumping to incorrect, wrong opinions that you do not prove to be true. Your incorrect allegations against me may suggest a tirade on your part.

 

So out of the clear blue YOU jump up and down about a quote from a water salvationists I posted.

And now you are avoiding clearing things up about YOUR beliefs....wow.

What brings unity among brethren?

 

Forever Settled, when someone is unwilling to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ; the Gospel; how they define Jesus to be, in their own words, using the Bible to demonstrate evidence of their faith to even prove that he is a Christian, raises red flags.

Are we not supposed to give a reason for the hope that is within us? Are we not supposed to give an answer to someone that asks us what we believe? Is it not scriptural to "try the spirits" to determine if they are of God or not? Is everyone that "calls himself a brother," truly a "Brother"? Or one that is a "Teacher" a true teacher or a false teacher to stir up contentions, division, and strife? Did Jesus Christ not come to set a division between Believers and unbelievers?

 

You continue to make incorrect allegations that you do not prove to be true. You are the one who may be trying to confuse by your own incorrect allegations. There is nothing to clear up about my Bible-believing, fundamentalist, independent Baptist beliefs.

 

I have already made my profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not my responsibility to support a poster violating his word to follow forum rules as he improperly tries to question the salvation of professed believers.

 

All readers can look back and see.... you all of a sudden with no previous conversation in this thread.....posted in a tizz about the water salvationists quote.

Why did that set you off like that ? What are we to think ? You appeared to be defending the quote.

Now you fail to clearify Your beliefs . People can look back and see my quote of Wesley struck a nerve with you .water for salvation Hmmm.