Should We All Get Together?

by Dennis W. Costella (1948-2011)
© FOUNDATION Magazine, January-February 2000

The prevailing cry for “Unity” today must be answered by the Bible-believing, obedient Christian

To consider what the Bible says about true, Christian unity is necessary for all who seek to honor the Lord and obey His Word, especially in a day when so many religious leaders are propagating much false teaching concerning unity. Is it God's will for all who "name the name of Christ," whether individuals, churches or denominations, to endeavor to unite under the banner of evangelism, Christian ministry or social reform? Is the ecumenical movement, which seeks to join together those from various backgrounds, traditions and theologies for common witness, a Biblical movement?
Such a consideration is important because the vast majority of those who bear the name "Christian" today claim without equivocation that it is indeed God's will for all Christians to come together in a common witness before the world. Believers are told to forget their denominational or, in other words, their doctrinal differences and join together in a public display of their "oneness in Christ. " Unity is now "politically correct, " and the old-fashioned, Bible-believing Fundamentalist who suggests otherwise is roundly scorned as an un-Christlike -and even dangerous-radical by the religious and non-religious alike.
Is the unity for which the ecumenists strive authored by the Holy Spirit and in accordance with the Word of God, or not? When considered in the light of Scripture, the movement to unite all denominations and any who "call Jesus 'Lord "' clearly contradicts God's Standards for both unity and purity. Unity at the expense of purity is a concept diametrically opposed to the Bible-based position of Fundamentalist Christians.
A Bible-believing Fundamentalist, in the historic definition of the term, is one who not only possesses a Spirit-wrought conviction about the inerrancy and the absolute authority of the Bible but also earnestly contends for that Faith once delivered to the saints. The Fundamentalist separates from any who deny, disregard or flagrantly disobey God's infallible Word. Heeding the doctrine of separation from error is essential for the believer who desires to be a clean vessel for the Lord's use (2 Timothy 2:15-2 1). A true Fundamentalist is rare, and sadly becoming more so with each passing day, but God demands a militant stand for the Faith from His allegiant servants and soldiers of Jesus Christ.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the National Council of Christian Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) are the more traditional proponents of visible unity among "all of God's children." But more recently, the Promise Keepers, the interfaith and interdenominational prayer movements, the ecumenical programs of the Roman Catholic Church, the Charismatic movement and most evangelical groups likewise parrot the need to tear down denominational and traditional walls and come together in unity. The old fashioned, Bible-believing Fundamentalist is becoming more and more a lone voice in saying, "Wait a minute! All churches and denominations joining together may sound good, but God's Word says that He only authors a unity based upon Truth." What a church or denomination believes concerning the Bible Itself, Its requirements for salvation, Its teachings concerning the church and its ministry in the world today and the accuracy of Its record from the creation in Genesis to the prophecies in the final book of Revelation DO MATTER. God's children cannot set aside and label these doctrines as of less importance so that all Christians can come together to "worship Jesus" or "pray for our country" or even to "evangelize the world."

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