The Problem with Superficial Unity

Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
– Psalm 122:7-8, NKJV –

Any peace we enjoy with our unbelieving neighbors is pointless if we do not have peace within the walls of the church. When brothers dwell in unity it is a good and pleasant gift from the Lord (Psalm 133:1). But when they live in strive and conflict, it is a miserable and bitter thing.

Sometimes Christians sacrifice peace with their fellow believers in order to achieve peace with the world. They compromise morality so that the world will approve. They soften the Word of God in order to win favor with the popular and powerful. They surrender sound doctrine in order to appease the godless beliefs of the day. In so doing they create division and conflict in the body of Christ.

Sometimes Christians sacrifice peace with their fellow believers because they want their way in the church no matter what, and not about critical matters of faith and doctrine, but about styles, opinions, and superficial concerns. The apostle Paul warns us about such conflict. “If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” (Galatians 5:15, NKJV)

It is a glorious gift from the Lord when we have peace “within” our walls. Conflict with the outside world, when it arises from our love for Jesus Christ, is not a concern at all. But peace within our churches and Christian communities is a precious thing. It is worth striving to protect. It is worth sacrificing to maintain. It is worth praying for God to provide. We should praise the Lord when He gives such peace within.

1. 1. Pray to value peace within your Christian relationships far above peace in your relationships in the world. Try to live at peace in the world, but refuse to sacrifice your peace with fellow believers in order to achieve it.
   2. Praise God for peace within your church and Christian relationships. It is a gift from God. It requires the grace of God. Strive to preserve it.

In the video below, John Muckridge, President and CEO of the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, opens up John 17:17 to explain why true Christian unity must be based on the Word of God.