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💭 Consider this: Are there non-essential matters where you may be insisting on your own preference at the expense of another believer’s conscience?

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We are living in a very selfish world — a world that will teach you how to be number one, how to be first, how to win over others and not lose out to others. So we constantly rush to be first in the queue. We want to be on top.

When we stand on the expressway and watch the number of accidents, what is the cause of most accidents? It is the attitude of the people. “Get out of my way. I want to move forward.” At times we do see people who give way to us. It comes like a surprise, like a bonus, and we sort of get a strange feeling. Why? Because we are living in a world that is selfish. So receiving kindness and generosity is a strange thing. Dear friend, are we selfish or selfless? As Christians, we ought to be more and more like Christ, who is selfless. So are we becoming more and more like the world, or are we becoming more and more like Christ?

Our Lord Jesus Christ lived a selfless life. He was the Almighty God, yet He willingly came into this world to be born in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn. Even when He was still a child, King Herod already sought to kill Him. When Philip first told Nathanael about the Lord Jesus, he said, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And what did Nathanael say? “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” When Jesus exposed the sins of the Pharisees and scribes, they hated Him with great hostility and wanted to kill Him. When He drove out evil spirits and restored those who had been demon-possessed, the leaders accused Him of working through the power of the devil. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there was a great crowd mocking Him, saying, “Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself.” “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mocked Him, saying, “If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” Even the two thieves were mocking Him. Can you imagine our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was without sin, hanging on the cross, soaked in His own blood, and yet, in such great agony, the people were mocking Him? Even if they did not believe Him, why mock a man in such great agony? This was the height of human cruelty.

So here Paul was simply quoting Psalm 69:9: “The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” It was a Messianic Psalm in the Old Testament. If there was ever an example of a person who was willing to bear even the worst abuses in order to please God for the benefit of others, it was Jesus Christ. Have you ever asked what would happen to us if Jesus had pleased Himself instead of coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins? Where would we be if Jesus had put His own interests first? All of us would be condemned to eternal damnation. But yet He endured the cross and despised the shame, all because He loves us. He wants to save us.

If you were asked this question, “What would you do if you knew that you had only 24 hours more to live?”, what would you do? Perhaps you would be lamenting over the things that you have done wrongly or failed to do. Or you would gather your children around your bed to give them your last words or spend those special moments with your loved ones. Or you would settle your remaining assets so your children would not fight over them when you are gone. And the list goes on and on. But what better example can we have than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ knew that the cross was before Him. That final moment had come, and soon He would have to leave His beloved disciples behind. What did He do in those last moments? Firstly, He spent those moments teaching His disciples in words and in actions in the upper room. Remember, He washed the feet of the disciples. He spent the remainder of His time in prayer and communion with God the Father. And what is most amazing is that He repeatedly prayed for what He considered to be of great importance to the disciples and subsequently to the church — that they might be one. He prayed for unity.

It was recorded for us at least three times in John chapter 17. Verse 11 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.” Verse 20 says, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” Verse 21 says, “That they all may be one.” Verse 23 says, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Many people always think that the apostolic churches were perfect and free from disunity and other issues. But that was not the case. In evangelism, they had great success in reaching out to the world. But in unity and many other areas they failed miserably. The church at Galatia was attacked by legalism. The church at Corinth was troubled by divisions that arose over doctrines and matters pertaining to immorality. They even had one of their church members who had a sexual relationship with his mother, most likely his stepmother. The church at Pergamos was being divided and compromised because Christians married unbelievers. The church at Laodicea was rebuked by the Lord for being lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. Perhaps some were hot, some were cold, or initially they were hot but subsequently grew cold. This has always been the case with Christian churches throughout the ages.

Dear friend, take a moment and think of the number of reasons why people leave the church. Oftentimes it is because of personal differences. “I do not like certain people.” Jealousy. Envy. Certain words were spoken. Pride. Anger. Unhappiness. Bitterness. Things were not done my way. You can find a thousand reasons. Now consider this. Just hours before our Lord Jesus went to the cross, what did He pray for? Unity. Oneness in the church of Jesus Christ. That we may be one. That the world may see that in spite of our differences, we worship the same living and true God, and we are all united in Christ.

A third characteristic that we must take note of as we receive one another as Christ has received us is our submission to God's Word. We must have a guide, and this guide to unite us is the Bible. Verse 4 says, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” “For whatsoever things were written aforetime” was obviously referring to the Old Testament. They were written for the people of old times, but they were also recorded for our instruction as God's people in this present age.

Some people say that the Old Testament is irrelevant, old-fashioned, outdated, and that there is nothing we can learn from it. That is not true. Which one of us has not been encouraged by the faith of Abraham, the zeal of Moses, and the righteousness of Joseph? Which one of us has not been encouraged by the story of Daniel in the lions' den? Which one of us has not been blessed by the selflessness of Jonathan, who willingly gave up his throne for David when he realised that it was God's will for his beloved friend to be king? None of the saints of old was perfect. And we have oftentimes learned valuable lessons from God's rebuke, chastisement, and discipline, and how we have seen God's mercy and grace shown upon them. Wonderful lessons for us to learn.

The Bible, in its entirety, including the Old Testament, is profitable for our lives. Just as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” That we may be complete, mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So as we learn from the Holy Scriptures, through patience and comfort, we will find hope.

By sharp contrast, you will not find real hope in this world. An old Presbyterian minister once said, “You won't find any hope in the daily newspaper. You won't find any hope in modern literature. Look at any view of this world and see if you can find any hope. There is none whatsoever.” It is dark and gloomy as you look into this world today. The only place you can find real hope is in the Word of God, the Bible.

We receive one another in Christ, and our Christian unity must always be based on our submission to God's Word. There are certain unities that we must never participate in because they contradict the Holy Scriptures — sinful unity and ecumenical unity. Christians must never compromise with sin when it comes to unity.

Ecumenism is a movement to unite the Protestant churches with the Roman Catholic Church and ultimately to unite all the religions of the world. In 1994, evangelicals and Catholics came together to sign a document known as Evangelicals and Catholics Together, or ECT. In the document they said: “We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”

All who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour believe these statements. So using these statements they said, “Look, evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ.” Therefore, they got prominent figures representing Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church to sign that document declaring that we are united as brothers and sisters in Christ.

But what about our differences? While they swept all the differences under the carpet, we believe in salvation by faith alone. They believe that faith plus good works can save. We believe in Scripture alone. They believe in the Bible plus extra-biblical books, namely the Apocrypha. We believe in Christ alone. They believe in Mary and the other saints. We believe in grace alone. They believe in human merit as well.

We must never participate in this kind of ecumenical unity. And one more unity we must not engage in is being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Christians must never be united with unbelievers in marriage. So when we receive one another in Christ, it must be according to the Holy Scriptures.

IV. Our Goal To Glorify God

And lastly, our goal in unity is to glorify God.

Look at verses 5 and 6: “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is interesting to note that when you and I live for Christ and not for ourselves, this will bring a unity that will glorify God. We talk about evangelism, leading souls to Christ. We talk about going into the mission fields. But if we are disunited, we cannot do all these things to glorify God. The ultimate purpose of receiving one another, the ultimate purpose of Christian unity, is not to please other believers or ourselves, but to please the Lord. We are to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.

We may be of different races, cultures, languages, educational backgrounds, with different talents and spiritual gifts. But we are one family in Christ Jesus. We must be like a choir with differing parts, such as those who sing alto, bass, tenor, and soprano. But together they produce a beautiful and harmonious piece of music with one choir master leading them.

Can you imagine how boring Beethoven's Ninth Symphony would be if it were performed by one hundred violins? That was not the music the composer had intended when he put the notes on the score almost two centuries ago. He called for a variety of instruments, each producing a special and unique sound. He called for strings, brass, percussion, and even the human voice to perform this masterpiece. He carefully crafted a specific part for each instrument. They started and stopped at different times. Some played a couple of notes, others more notes. They played different parts in different patterns. Nonetheless, they played with one accord.

What about us Christians? The church is like an orchestra, if we may put it this way. We are created by the Almighty God with all our differences and, in spite of our differences, to serve Him. Every one of us has a part to play. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God.

Allow me to end by asking these questions. If it is not for the glory of God, why do you think there would be brothers and sisters who willingly spend hours and hours cooking and preparing dishes for refreshments, and then be subjected to the critiques of insensitive people? If it is not for the glory of God, do you think there will be people who want to serve and then be criticised for the things they do? If it is not for the glory of God, do you think there would be pastors, preachers, and ministers who stand on the pulpit before you week after week and then be subjected to sermon tasters? Most certainly not. Everything we do, we do it for the glory of God.

We receive one another as Christ has received us. There will always be difficult people in the church. It is inevitable. Some people cannot even get along with themselves, let alone with others. But we are called to bear with them in love and patience. The world will not do this. But you and I are different. We are all children of God. We have been bought by the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And we have Him as our ultimate example to follow.

A lot of people come to church waiting for others to receive them instead of reaching out to others. A story was told of two strangers who attended the same church on Sunday. No one spoke to them. One of the men said, “I will give this church one more chance. If nobody speaks to me next Sunday, I will never come back again.”

The other man said to himself, “I don't like this no-speaking church. If no one speaks to me next Sunday, I will reach out and speak to someone.”

The following Sunday, the usher happened to seat both of these men, one in front of the other. As usual, after the service, no one greeted them. The first man rose up to walk out of the church, never to return again. The second man turned, reached out his hand, and said, “Good morning, sir. I'm glad to see you. Let me introduce myself.”

Which of these two men are you? The man who always waits for someone to reach out to you, or the one who will reach out to others and warm their hearts?

I pray that we will be like the second man. Let all of us remember this: to regard others better than ourselves. Let us follow the example of Christ. Be selfless, not selfish. Let our unity be in line with the Holy Scriptures, and let our unity be for the glory of God. May the Lord help us to apply this truth to our lives.