United While Divided

By: Shawn Daniels

The trend of modern denominationalism is to classify the universal church as a union of all denominations. This has been brought about by a cooperative effort of church leaders to put aside ‘doctrine' and agree to disagree on what they consider to be ‘unimportant' differences. They teach that the Gospel is the death, burial and resurection of Jesus Christ and any one who accepts the gospel is united in Christ even though they disagree in how to follow the “doctrine” of Christ. They teach that there is a difference in the “gospel” of Jesus Christ and the “doctrine” of Jesus Christ.

What I intend to show is that the gospel is not a one time acceptance of the fact that Jesus lived, died, was buried and rose again but that the gospel is a way of life that is lived by following the “doctrine” of Jesus. The gospel and the doctrine of Jesus are the same thing.

If people are united it should be because they all accept and follow the “doctrine” of Christ and not because they “agree to disagree” on what Jesus teaches, making the acceptance of His death, burial and resurection the only important factor toward unity. The first thing we need to examine is the question , “is there a difference in the doctrine of Christ and the gospel of Christ?”

The word “doctrine” simply means “teaching or that which is taught.” This definition is from The New Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, word number 1322, page 144. Paul tells us in Rom 6:17-18, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (teaching) which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin , ye became the servants of righteousness.” Please notice , Paul explains that in obeying the doctrine (teaching) that was delivered to them they were freed from there sins. If a person is freed from their sins are they not saved?

We then read in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. ” Thayer says the word “gospel” means “ a reward for good tidings , ” word number 2098, page 257. Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, unabridged, second edition says that the word “tidings” means “news; information; intelligence.” From these definitions we can see how the word “gospel” has become commonly referred to as “ the good news .” One can also see how the word “gospel” could just as easily have become known as “the good information.” When a person imparts information to us do they not teach us? We see then that the “gospel of Christ,” “good news,” “good information,” is also “good teaching” from Jesus Christ. Please notice; Paul, in Romans 1:16-17, is telling us that the “gospel” (good: news, information, intelligence, teaching from Christ) brings us to the same place as the doctrine (teaching) of Christ does. It brings us to the salvation of Christ.

I go into much detail to make a point and the point is that the doctrine of Christ (which means teaching of Christ) and the Gospel of Christ (which is also the teaching of Christ) are the same thing and have the same function. That function is to lead a person to Christ for the salvation He offers.

From these verses we see that obeying the doctrine (teachings) of Christ has power to free us from sins, and the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. There is no difference in the degree of importance between ‘doctrine' and ‘gospel'. They are interchangeable. The doctrine of Christ is the gospel of Christ. There's no difference. The old saying, “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably a duck,” is true. Things equal to the same things are equal to each other!

Sometimes people go to 1Corinthians 15:1-4 to prove that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is only referring to the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. Lets take a look at these passages and see if this is true. 1Corinthians 15:1-4 says: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures… ” In speaking of the gospel Paul tells the Corinthians “ first of all ” about “ how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures… ” The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus were only the “first” parts of the Gospel that Paul had received and delivered to them. If there is a first part of something there is a last part and possibly some middle parts also. These verses do not prove that the gospel is only the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ but just the opposite; that the gospel is more than the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul, in Romans 1: 16-17 (The full quote from the Bible is above) concerning the gospel says: “ For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith . ” The kind of faith that one gets from hearing the gospel or good news is a faith that the “ just shall live by .” It is not a one-time experience but something you live by. If the “just “ people live by faith, I think it is a fair question to ask what is it they “live by” or do all their life? Notice, Paul also says that in the gospel you will find the “righteousness” that is revealed from God. The word “righteousness” here means “ integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting ,” per Thayer, number 1343, page number 149. Paul is telling us that those who hear, believe and live the gospel are those who are “just.” Those who are “just” are those who will live by the gospel doing the righteousness that is revealed in the gospel. The righteousness that the “just” will do is to have integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. The gospel of Jesus Christ tells us how to live our life, it is much more than just accepting that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. Thus 1John 3:7 says: “ Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. ”

Jesus said in John 14:23-24, “ If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.” Therefore if we keep not his doctrine (teachings, represented in John 14:23-24 as “words”) then we do not love him. If we don't love Jesus enough to keep His words or teachings then God will not love us, come unto us, nor make His abode with us. If God does not abide with us then there is absolutely nothing that we can be united on as far as an involvement with God in concerned. So gospel, doctrine, teaching or words of Jesus must play a great role in our unity. There is no unity unless there is unity in doctrine (teaching).

Can there be false doctrines? Of course, we see many warnings of other doctrines. Christ himself condemned the doctrines of the Nicolaitans in Revelations 2:15. Doctrines can be false, and seeing how only one is true, the doctrine (teaching) of Christ, then the rest are wrong.

Can we all believe alike? If you were to write a will to your children, would you not write it in a way that they would all understand exactly what your wishes were? How much more would God write in a way so we can all understand His wishes? Paul tells us that the knowledge of God can be understood in Eph 3:4, which says: “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).”

Peter tells us there are things that are hard to be understood in 2Pet 3:16 which says: “ As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction .” To “wrest,” according to Thayer, word number 4761, page 590, means: “ to twist, turn awry, to torture, put to the rack, metaphor: to pervert, of one who wrests or tortures language in a false sense.” Notices who God says are the ones who “wrest” (twist or pervert) the scriptures (which is the word or teachings of God) to their own destruction. It is those who are “unlearned” or “unstable.” Those who are “unlearned ,” but sincere, will change as they study the word of God and become more knowledgeable. Those who are “unstable ” are those who think and act to further their own wants or desires and not the desires of God. They don't mind doing something God's way as long as it benefits them; otherwise they twist the scriptures for their own benefit.

Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:20:21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” These holy men wrote what God wanted them to write. The scriptures were meant, by God, to be interpreted the same by all and not privately interpreted by each person. The scriptures were written with God's intent and man need in mind. The scriptures were not made to be interpreted based on mans intent and desires. God's intent and man's need are constant and always remain the same. Man's intent and desires change from man to man. This is why we have so much division in the religious world.

Unity is what we all want to achieve. It can be achieved. Not laying aside the teachings of Christ, but by laying aside our own teachings, and putting Christ's doctrine (teachings) in the forefront of our faith. If we will study the teachings of Jesus to increase our learning and make sure we do so with the right motive all men can understand the scriptures alike, as God intended. Second Timothy 2:15 says it this way: “ Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Let's pray for unity as Christ prayed for unity in John the seventeenth chapter. Notice verse 11, which says: “ And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are . ” We are to be one as God the father and Jesus are one. Do you believe that God the Father and God the Son are one because they agree in their teachings or that they agree to disagree? God and Jesus have unity because they agree in their doctrine or teachings and so should we!!! Those who want to have unity by agreeing to disagree are those who have given up on Jesus' plea: “ that they may be one, as we are. ”

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