Gain Your Brother

Dear Brethren,

The time is coming very soon when each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give an account of our lives to Him. We will have some hard questions to answer. During this time of the scattering of the greater Church of God, many of us have seen the barriers of division go up between brethren. Some say, I am of Flurry; and I am of Living; and I am of United; and I am of so-and-so. When we make these distinctions, does not Christ tell us we are yet carnal?

When the same contentions infected the early Church of God, Paul wrote: "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." Paul corrected them for their partisan behavior. "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:10-13) 

In the exact same way that the early Church was carnal, we, today, cannot hear spiritual things because of our non-spiritual carnality. "...For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) 

Everyone who is led by the Spirit of God is a child of God, and a member of the One Body of Christ. How does a Christian become a part of the Lord's Body? True Christians enter the Body of Christ at their baptism. Since our unity with the Father and the Son begins at baptism, then so does our unity with one another. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body ... and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13) And yet we find that brother will not speak to brother, or even return a phone call in some instances. 

How is Godly love so misunderstood that some would suggest that brethren in other fellowships are to be disregarded? That's wrong! Godly love is just the opposite! The answer is, if we hold our brother in contempt, whatever his current fellowship, our salvation is in jeopardy. "For as we have many members in one body. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." (Romans 12:4-5)

"If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even that tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:46-48) God calls for reconciliation of brothers.

This might just be the biggest test for the Church of God right now. How can we eliminate an attitude of contempt, and grow to love our brothers and sisters, no matter which fellowship they find themselves in at the moment? Remember, when entering the Kingdom of God, we all will stand together with Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives. We will be one wife to Christ, one family of God. We need to be working toward this end.

We must learn to pray diligently for others - especially those brethren in the Church - whether the person is a brother in our fellowship, or a sister in another fellowship, we must learn to pray for that person. In learning to pray for others, we learn to love them. Their problems become our problems, and we come to see the individual, struggling in life with his own problems, as a person who needs God's mercy as much as we do. When we pray for their success, we learn to truly love and cherish them. We begin to become a little like our loving Father.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matt 5:43-45) 

Some of our more challenging prayers involve those who have hurt us personally. Jesus said that full reconciliation with every individual may not be possible at this time - but they are not to be casually dismissed. He gave us the process for dealing with offenders, concluding that every attempt at reconciliation must be made. The entire congregation was to be involved in the decision to reject a person with whom reconciliation was not possible. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." (Matthew 18:15-17)

The Body of Christ is a spiritual community that exists in unity and oneness. The Body of Christ is not divided. God has only one Family. Whenever an individual or group of people reject other brethren of the Church of God, and refuse to communicate with, and fellowship with other brethren, they critically violate the integrity of Christ’s Body. It is the responsibility of each and every Christian to maintain and heal any breach that exists in the unity of the Body. 

Christ taught that reconciliation has a higher priority than even church attendance. "I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:.. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift". (Matthew 5:22-24) If my brother or sister has something against me, I must take the initiative to bring about a reconciliation. It goes without saying then, that if I have something against my brother or sister, I must be the one to heal the breach. 

Christ insists on unity and oneness among His people. There must be reconciliation between individuals, and reconciliation between larger groups, as well. Some groups today do not teach and practice the ministry of reconciliation as God commands us, and as Jesus gave us example. "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2Corinthians 5:18,19)

A problem with individuals, and with church groups, is that they make excuses for not doing what God so clearly requires of His people. This is a serious matter - we, and they, are being held accountable. As we saw in Matthew 5 above, "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." - there must be a just cause for reconciliation not to take place. Are we ready to say that such a one with whom we are not speaking is not converted? Not a brother in Christ? Church organizations and individuals are treating God's clear instructions too lightly.

The "ministry of reconciliation," falls to each and every one of us - the entire Body of Christ - so that we may learn to be like Jesus Christ. "Speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:16)

Addressing division within the Church, Paul shows that, not only our healing, but our very salvation depends on our truly caring for one another. Scripture does not allow for Christians to co-exist without properly relating to one another. It is clear that for us to have a right relationship with God, it is first necessary to "get right" with others. Jesus tells us that, as Christians, our priority must be to reconcile, not only with God, but also with one another. 

It is very clear what God's intent is - that people learn to live, to love, to work, to associate, etc., together. God wants us to learn how to live with one another now, so that we will know how to live with Him eternally. We cannot hate, despise, or reject any of the saints, as that behavior defines "not" discerning the Lord's body. We are obligated to extend our realm of fellowship to include all who have the earnest of God's Holy Spirit. Paul characterized our self examination as properly "discerning the Lord's body." Brethren, do we understand the full extent of this Scripture?

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Sermon:

"Gain Your Brother"