The Savior’s Prayer for Unity or Personal Righteousness a Basis of Christian Unity

The Savior’s Prayer for Unity or Personal Righteousness a Basis of Christian Unity THE SAVIOUR’S PRAYER FOR UNITY
OR
PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS A BASIS OF
CHRISTIAN UNITY
By Trine Starnes

Talking about unity in the field of religious thought today may appear to some to be much like talking about peace in a war-torn world: men crying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). On every hand we hear men crying, “Unity, unity,” when there is no unity. But within the church of Christ things, ought not so to be, for Jesus taught that Christians are more than others, and that they should do more than others. They should not only talk about unity more than others, but do more about it than others, for they have the only key to its attainment. As brethren in Christ we continually make the plea for unity among the religions, of the world. We plead for denominationalism to be dissolved, and for all to unite in “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.” And certainly there can be no greater plea, unless it is the plea of this prayer of our Saviour, and that is for the church itself to be united. In the Savior’s prayer John seventeen there were two major objectives: an immediate and an ultimate objective. The immediate objective was: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them als.o which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one” (vs. 20, 21). The ultimate objective was: “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (v. 21). That earnest prayer was answered. In Acts 4:32 we read, “And the multitudes of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” The result of such unity was that great multitudes believed and turned to the Lord. Both objectives were realized in the Jerusalem church. Had that unity continued, no doubt the world would have long since been converted to Christ. But the evangelization and conversion of the world are contingent upon the unity for which Jesus, prayed. Something happened in the early church! Something intervened to frustrate that unity! The woeful influence that caused that primitive unity to collapse was personal unrighteousness. All strife and discord grow out of personal unrighteousness. Cain killed his, brother because of a personal jealousy and envy, which within itself was .sinful. The strife which arose betwen the herdsmen of Abraham’s cattle and those of Lot was because of a personal selfishness and covetousness on the part of Lot. That personal covetousness was sinful within itself. The division in the church at Corinth was the fruit of a personal carnality and childishness that had crept into the ranks, of a once united brotherhood. Some were walking as babes; they were fleshly. The division was the fruit of that personal unrighteousness. In view of these self-evident truths, my plea is that personal righteousness is the only basis of unity within the body of Christ. I want it to go down, deep into every heart, that I believe with all of my heart, that Jesus not only prayed that his disciples be one, but that he solved the problem of their oneness and unity by locating the fountain from which it flows; that fountain is personal righteousness Can it be possible that bitter waters could flow from such a sweet fountain?

Thomas Carlysle once said, * If you want a reform to go around the world, put it on two feet.” That is to say, make it a personal matter. When Luther was ready to reform the great ecclesiastical machine of Rome, he did not call a convention; he said, “The world is my parish.” That thought took itself on two feet and the world today is enjoying the fruit of that individual contribution. Jesus is the author of this principle, for he entrusted the gospel into the care of a very few men, and he had time to converse with the woman at the well. The industrial idea of our times is “mass production,” “specialized workmanship.” One man does nothing but attach front fenders, another puts on wheels. The result is more cars, but individuality and personality are destroyed. This narrows the horizon of the individual; this deadly monotony suffocates the individual character and initiative.

We are prone to allow this trend of things to infringe upon our personal element in the religion of Christ. One brother wanted Jesus to see about di-
viding the inheritance. Peter wanted to know what the Lord was going to do about John’s living until he returned. One mother wanted to know if one of her sons could s,it on the right hand and the other upon his left. All the apostles could be great, but which one would be the greatest was the bone of contention. If this spirit which appeared intermittently had been countenanced or approved by the Savior, division would have been inevitable. But to the contrary, when the disciples were scattered abroad, “They went everywhere preaching the word.” They were all doing the same thing; one was not tightening bolts,, and another putting on wheels. One was not concerned about another’s being greater or more prominent than he, or worshipping in a larger congregation. While they were scattered geographically, they were united spiritually; though separated in body, they were one in heart. They were personally and individually rightous. As a concrete suggestion as to personal righteousness, as a basis of Christian unity, I want to link the prayer of our Master with one of the pure and ever-flowing springs which he located as a source for this great fountain of personal righteousness. In Matthew 5:47 he said, “And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans the same?”

This, like all other expressions of Jesus, has deep and far-reaching meanings beyond any casual notice. The very meaning of this passage rises to all the heights of Christian excellencies, and crowns the dome with all for which our Savior prayed in John seventeen. The first principle word is “Salute.” Some of us have not yet learned how to salute our own brethren in the sense of this passage, much less the “others” implied by the adverb “only.” The word “salute” in this, verse means more than a mere recognition that we have, “met a man,” and recognized him as we passed by. This word carries with it the pledge of affection.

There are various salutations. There is a salutation of subjection and obedience; that is the greeting of a subject to his Lord and Master, and we owe that to Christ, for he is our king. There is a salutation of wantonness and temptation; that is the harlot’s salutation, and Christians are forbidden that. There is a salutation of dissimulation; that is the traitor’s greeting, such as Judas used, and we are forbidden that. “Let love be without dissimulation” (Romans 12:9). Then there is the salutation of tenderness and affection, the salutation of “Brotherly love,” and it must be the one enjoined in this passage. We are herein commanded to salute not only our friends, but our enemies as well. But if we have not yet learned the affectionate salutation for our brethren, how then can we pass on to others, that which we do not possess for ourselves? “If ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others,” Brethren, party esteem is nothing more than “withered fruit,” and it falls from the trees, of Sodom, rather than from the trees of Zion.

“If ye love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same?” Shall publicans be as godly as the Lord’s disciples? Shah the sons of men be equal to the sons of God? Shall the law of nature swell the bosoms of men to as high a tide as the law of grace and love?

Barabbas means “earth-born,” born of an earthly- father only. A Christian is one who is born from above, born of a heavenly father. Do we extend a salutation which justifies the Savior’s approbation and approval in the light of this text? If so, we will do more than others, who are not thus born from above. We do not have the peace for which our Re- demer prayed, becaus.e we are not personally righteous enough to have unity which brings peace. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Say what we please, read all the papers we choose, discuss all the ways and means we desire, call all the meetings, we will, we shall have to examine ourselves as to how we live and act, as well as to examine ourselves and “so let us eat.” Our part in the prayer of Jesus is to grow into and then “keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Brethren, we can never do this by inventing, permitting and provoking jealousies and enmities which s,nuff out the spirit of Christ. We can never, never do this by arraying one brother against another. Neither can we do this by carrying hearts full of hatred, malice, and slander.

Personal righteousness is the solution to our unity problems. It is the fountain-head, it is the source of unity. We cannot create unity by generating factions, we cannot make unity by digging gulfs and trenches to separate chief friends and brethren. We cannot do our individual part in fulfilling that for which Jesus prayed, by harboring sinful sentiments, holding personal animosities, and giving vent to unforgiving sentiments. Not only the prayer of Jesus,, but consistency itself demands our unity. In refuting the claims of psuedo-scientists and sketpics we say, “Scientists themselves are not agreed on this, speculation.” We array one scientist against another, and declare that science is a divided house. When we are confronted by the erroneous claims of a denomination, we do not fail to point out the number of separate branches in that denomination, we assert in vigorous terms,, “You are divided among yourselves.” We oppose union meetings, and one ground of opposition is, there is no real unity there. But, brethren, can we finish the chapter? Can we say, “We are united”? In our present lesson the soul-justifying Savior is condemning the self-justifying Scribes and Pharisees. Never did men make more boast in and of the law than did they, but seldom have men had less cause for doing so. They knew but little as, to the letter of the law, and less as to its spirit. They were better acquainted with the customs and traditions of nature than they were with the canons of Scripture. Jesus showed them that the righteous laws of God cannot connive at the unrighteous, lives of men; that God’s laws not only require truth and righteous lives without, but also within. Therefore, he taught that he that looketh on and lusteth after, and he that liv- eth with a woman unlawfully, are both adulterers. The rays of this bright sun shine on the secret chambers of the heart. Jesus taught that he is, a murderer whose heart holds hatred, though his hands may be free from violence. “Whoso hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). Thus the lusts of men may be predominant, when their lives are not inordinate; and their hands are free from crime; just as, guests may be in the house, though they do not look out through the windows.

Cicero complained of Homer, “That he taught the gods to live like men.” My friends, Jesus teaches men to live like God. The disciple of Christ is more than others, so Christ asks him to do more than others. A priest may walk by one side, and a Levite on the other; but the Good Samaritan represents Christ’s conception of what the ideal man should be. Therefore, he did more than others. What do we more than others? Personal righteousness is the fountain from which all peace and unity must flow.

It is lamentable that we should live so long in the world, and do so little for Christ; or that we should live so short a time in the world and do so much for Satan. Personal righteousness is the remedy for all our ills. Those who collect pearls from this, shore will leave as many behind as they carry away with them, and those who cast their bread upon these waters shall gather in abundance after many days.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalms 133:1). There are some things that are neither good nor pleasant; for example, envy and detraction. The mind of Christ excludes both of these. Personal righteousness forbids envy and detraction. To envy a brother by trying to put out the light of his sun, cannot make thine own shine with brighter luster. Would a man be rational who envied an ox of the pasture which only fits it for the slaughter? Would it be rational to envy a malefactor of the carriage which conveys him to his execution? We do not have less because others have more; neither do they have much because we have little. Another brother's place, station or rank in life is no more the cause of our want, than Leah’s fruitfulness was, the cause of Rachel’s barrenness. Personal righteousness will put away envy; and when envy is dethroned, peace and unity will once again prevail in the body of Christ. “What do we more than others?”

Brethren, is it a vision or a dream to see the church for which our Savior bled, reposing serenely in the “unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace”? Is it a vision or a dream to say that the time will come when brethren will settle their differences face to face, or in the presence of godly mediators, rather than clashing words and slander, either through pen, press or pulpit? Is it a vision or a dream to behold the brotherhood of Christ welded together in the “bond of perfectnes,s,” rather than isolated and severed by the frigid lusts of hatred, animosity and malice?

Some years ago on the rugged hillside of a small cemetery was a lonely mound in which rested the body of a little girl. A husband and wife, who had long been separated, met at the grave as father and mother. Their separation had been bitter, and that which was once true love had become hate. On opposite sides, of the cold grave they both stood motionless. Presently, their tear-dimmed eyes fell upon the little mound which held the broken link with which God had so graciously joined their hearts. As they knelt down and bowed their faces upon the cold ground covering the grave, they stretched forth their hands, each to the other, and in the midst of flooding tears that love which had once united them in the s,acred ties of marriage was renewed. The bitterness of the years was washed away in their flowing tears of sorrow; and hand in hand they marched away, beginning life’s struggle anew as in their former years, when love was master of their lives and the departed babe was fondled in her mother’s, arm. Can we not, brethren, when separated by misun-derstandings or sentiment, meet by faith beside the grave of Jesus, and there together pray, forgive and forget? Can we not, for the sake of unity, for the sake of this prayer of Jesus, for the sake of the body of Chris,t, there kneel in the solemn presence of God, then march away from that communion arm in arm and heart in heart, thus drawn together by that object of mutual affection, our Savior, who not only died to save us, but prayed that we might be one? May we always, through our own discipline of per-sonal righteousness, make our individual contribution to fulfilling the inspiring prayer of John seventeen. Let us read afresh and anew the beatitudes of Matthew five, then commit to memory the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and forget about how we may have unity, but just enjoy it for awhile.

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15).