God's Kind of "Unity"

1800

1800’s

“In former days, the argument used against reformation was the necessity of maintaining unity. The argument went something like this: ‘You must bear with this ceremony and that dogma, no matter how anti-Christian and unholy it is. You must endeavor ‘to keep the spirit of unity and the bond of peace.’ That is what the old serpent said in those early days. And the argument continued like this: ‘The church is one, and woe to those who create division! It does not matter that Mary is set up in the place of Christ, that images are worshipped, that rotten rags are adored, and that pardons of every kind of crime are bought and sold. It does not matter that the so-called church has become an abomination and a nuisance on the face of the earth. Still, you must keep “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” You must lie down, restrain the testimony of the Spirit of God within you, keep His truth under a bushel, and let the lie prevail.’

“…The following things are evil: 1) restraining the witness of the Spirit of God within us, 2) concealing any truth that we have learned by the revelation of God, and 3) holding back from testifying for God’s truth against sin and folly of man’s inventions. This is sin of the blackest hue.

“We dare not commit the sin of quenching the Holy Spirit (1Thes. 5:19) even if we are trying to promote unity. The unity of the Spirit never requires any support of sin. This unity is maintained, not by suppressing truth, but by publishing it abroad…. In order to create lasting, spiritual peace, the concord of evil must be broken, and the unity of darkness must be dashed to pieces. I pray that God will always preserve us from a unity in which truth is considered valueless, in which principle gives way to policy, in which the masculine virtues of the Christian hero are supplemented by an effeminate, fake love. May the Lord deliver us from indifference to His Word and will….

“There is a unity that is seldom broken: the unity of devils, who, under the service of their evil master, never disagree and quarrel. From this terrible unity keep us, O God of heaven!….

“May God perpetually send some prophet who will cry aloud to the world: ‘Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand’ (Isa. 28:18). May there always be found some men, though they are as rough as Amos, or as stern as Haggai, who will denounce again and again all league with error and all compromise with sin. May they declare that these evil alliances and compromises are abhorred by God.

“We must destroy every union that is not based on truth before we can enjoy the unity of the Spirit. We must first sweep away these tottering walls of untempered mortar—these tottering fences of man’s building—before there can be room to lay the strong stones of Jerusalem’s walls. It is these walls that will bring lasting prosperity.”

—CSpurgeon