Work during the week—but leave weekends for worship and recreation.
| posted 1/30/2009
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"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Many see the existence of denominations as a blot against the church's witness to unity. Others say that, actually, denominations were created with quite the opposite intent—to make unity in the church possible. Here are some reasons for denominations, based on what was articulated by Independents at the Westminster Assembly of 1542—49:
- Considering the human inability always to see the truth clearly, differences of opinion about the outward form of the church are inevitable.
- Even though these differences do not involve fundamentals of the faith, they are not matters of indifference.
- Since no church has a final and full grasp of divine truth, the true church of Christ can never be fully represented by any single ecclesiastical structure.
- The mere fact of separation does not of itself constitute schism. It is possible to be divided at many points and still be united in Christ.
A sample from the best-selling Quest Study Bible. Copyright Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. www.Zondervan.com. To order, click here.
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