God desires for us to live at peace with everyone, to live in harmony and unity. Unity is the soul of fellowship, it’s the essence of the life God intends for us. Unity does not mean a life with no disagreements or conflict it means trying to live a life with as little of them as possible.
KEY VERSE
“Let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony and the growth of our fellowship together.” Romans 14:19 PH
God desires for the church in particular to live in harmony and unity. There is nothing more valuable to God on earth than His church. It is our responsibility to protect the unity of the church we must make every effort through the bond of peace to keep the unity (Ephesians 4:3).
How do we protect the unity of the church?
FOCUS ON WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON
When we focus on our differences we end up divided. God created our differences so we should enjoy them rather than let them divide us.
We share the same salvation, life purposes and future. We have a shared goal and it should be our focus. Our love for God should bring us together.
We must stay focused on what matters most – learning to love others as Christ has loved us and fulfilling the purposes God has set out for us and for the church. If we concentrate on loving each other and fulfilling His purposes harmony should be the result.
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV
BE REALISTIC IN YOUR EXPECTATIONS
We cannot wish for an ideal church while criticising the real one, it’s immature. But we also cannot settle without striving for the ideal, that’s complacency. Maturity is living with the tension.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 NIV
Other people will let us down but we can’t walk out on them because they are family. Despite the hurt we may experience we need to stay in the church and work it out. Reconciliation will lead to stronger character and deeper fellowship.
Leaving the church at the first sign of disappointment is immature. No church is perfect they all have their problems and weaknesses. It can be good for us to be disappointed with the church because it destroys the idea of a perfect church. Once we admit no one is perfect and we all need grace real community can begin.
ENCOURAGEMENT OVER CRITICISM
“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat.” Romans 14:10 NIV
God wants us to speak in a way that builds others up, He wants us to encourage and support others (Ephesians 4:29).
Criticism is costly, it can lead to division and when we judge others we lose our fellowship with God, expose our pride and insecurity and harm the unity of the church.
It’s the devil’s job to blame, complain and criticise. The devil is the accuser and when we blame, complain and criticise we do the devil’s work for him (Revelation 12:10).
REFUSE TO LISTEN TO GOSSIP
God despises gossip (Proverbs 16:28), it divides and destroys relationships. Gossip can make us turn against each other (Jude 1:19) even if we’re only listening. Listening to gossip is just as bad as speaking it. But if we refuse to listen to gossip it will die out. It is when we refuse to partake in gossip that peace is found and unity is kept.
A church without gossip is united.
PRACTICE GOD’S METHOD FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION
“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him – work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along with you so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, conform him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.” Matthew 18:15-17 MSG
God values relationships more than anything on earth. We need to learn how to resolve conflicts so we can protect the unity of the church.
Should conflict arise the first thing we need to do after talking to God is to arrange a meeting with the person we are in conflict with as soon as possible. Time only makes things worse. If that meeting doesn’t work out we need one or two witnesses to provide an unbiased view of the conflict to confirm the problem and help us to reconcile.
If that doesn’t work the conflict must be taken to the church. If after this there is still no reconciliation they will be no longer treated as part of God’s family and will be treated like an unbeliever. This is a last resort, throughout the process we hope for reconciliation but sometimes for the sake of protecting unity we have to let go.
SUPPORT YOUR PASTORS AND LEADERS
Our pastors and leaders play a huge role in protecting the unity of the church. They are often mediators of conflict and face choices that could provoke conflict too.
“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17 NIV
When we stand before God we are required to give an account of our life, of our obedience to God and of the spiritual leaders He has placed in our lives. We will have to speak on how well we followed them. They will also have to give an account so everything we do is surveyed and has consequence.
We protect the unity of the church and its fellowship when we honour those who serve us by leading. They need our support. They need our prayers, encouragement, love and appreciation (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
God blesses unified churches because they are living the way He intended. They may not be perfect but their hearts are in the right place because their focus is on God, they work towards fulfilling His purposes and learning how to love each other as He loves us.
A unified church knows protecting its unity is a priority.
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Wholeheartedly Faithul 
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