It is sad, but indeed true, that "Children of the same mother do not always agree" and that "Children of the same God do not always agree." The history of our world affirms these facts beyond dispute. It happens between members of the same race, members of the same church, and members of the same family. Cain disagreed with his brother Abel and slew him (Gen. 4:8). And even Aaron and Miriam disagreed with their brother Moses (Ex. 12:1-16). But the Bible clearly shows such disagreements are not God's will.
The Bible says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Cor. 1:10). God wants us to believe and teach the same things; He does not want disagreement and confusion to exist among His people. But thank you for pointing out the fact that this problem nevertheless does exist. You are absolutely right.
So, what can we do about the problem? How can we cooperate with God's directive in 1 Corinthians 1:10? How can we help to fulfill the prayer of our Saviour that we "all may be one," united in belief and practice (John 17:21)? The primary barrier to unity is the love of self. In order for Christians to become united with each other, they must become united with Christ; they must be converted. But then what? After two people have both repented of their sin, died to self, and surrendered their lives to Christ, what can they do next in order to resolve any differences between them in their beliefs? Gerry had a good suggestion; He said, "If we follow biblical directives, we will arrive at the truth."
Just as the Bible affirms what you said DrD in your above statement, it also affirms what Gerry said. From Genesis to Revelation we find that all of God's people in the Bible held the same beliefs about 1) what happens when a man dies, 2) how Christ will return, 3) what will happen to the lost, and other Bible truths. In fact, it is the consistency of belief among God's people in the Bible that enables God's people today to discover and have confidence in those very same beliefs. If God's faithful of old had disagreed on what constituted truth, the Bible would then have become a worthless mix of confusion, and our condition would be hopeless with no reliable guidebook to follow, and no way to be delivered from error and ruin. But we can be thankful that this is not the case, and that our Bible is consistent in all that it teaches.
Now, I don't know if this is a Chinese proverb or not, but if it isn't, it certainly should be: If two people travel down the same road, they will reach the same destination. And if they both follow the same principles of study, they will arrive at the same conclusion. Mathematics teachers know this concept is true, for if it wasn't, then math students would always come up with different answers and the teacher would not be able to correct them, and no one would know for certain which was the right answer or which was the wrong one. What a terrible condition our world would be in indeed if there were no reliable principles to follow for arriving at the truth about anything! And surely, if God has preserved such principles for us to be certain about math conclusions, He has also provided principles for finding truth in the Bible.
To reach the right conclusion in math we must follow the right rules of study, and to reach the right Bible conclusions we likewise need to follow right rules of study. We may not always be conscious of the rules we are using when studying Scripture, just as we may not be aware of all the rules of science that are operating when we ride a bike. But the right rules (or principles) are still there, and must be if the right result or conclusion is to be reached. It is helpful to become aware of what these right principles of study are so we can be faithful and consistent in following them.
I appreciate the author of this topic for offering this discussion because I believe it is important. I hold Bible study seminars teaching how to apply sound principles of study to find Bible unity and resolve conflicts in opposing beliefs. Our early Advent pioneers came from different religious backgrounds with different beliefs from one another, but by applying these principles they were able to become united in belief and practice, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church came into existence as a result.
Thank you for the discussion here on this topic. It was important to our church at the beginning, and it will no doubt be important for our church here at the end, when forces are at work to divide and confuse our brethren on every hand. Thanks again for this vitally significant and helpful issue.
[This message has been edited by Dennis Crabbe (edited June 23, 2001).]
