How the Protestant Reformation helped pull the rug out from under God’s desire for Christian unity – Audio sermon

The Protestant Reformation did many good things but also brought with it unintended consequences.

One of these was the way the reformers from 1517 forward overwhelmingly approached the faith – and the precedents they established set the tone and defined the faith for those that followed to this day.

Namely, many a Christian thinker has sought to delve into the spiritual work known as the Holy Bible with an intellect of the “carnal” mind. This carnal mind is the thoughts, biases, feelings and sensibilities of a person of the natural order, and not necessarily enlightened purely by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:20 says false teachings (heresies) are one of the “works of the flesh” – and this flesh is the earthly intellect sans God. Ironically this is against the true and Spirit-guided way of Christ even as it seeks to serve and learn of God.

The New Testament says of itself that it (and all spiritual truth) must be revealed in the faculty called the spirit which God imparts to all who are born again (1 Cor. 2:9-16). God will never tell person A that something is true and person B that the same thing is false – thereby creating strife and divisions.

But that myriad contradictory teachings have followed since Martin Luther and the number of Christians sects for the past 500 years has ballooned is a matter of historic fact.

Jesus in John 17:11, 20-23 declared three times over He desired all those who He gave His life for to be “one” and thus unified by the same Spirit. The apostles Paul and Peter wrote that we who name the name of Christ ought to be all united.

“Let there be no divisions among you,” said Paul. “I would that you be all of the same mind,” he also said. And he said the Christians were to endeavor to “keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”

If the Christians had remained “one” as the Lord said, then “the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” This speaks of a witness and a testimony.

The Lord and the apostles made it known that the single biggest proof that there is a God and Jesus is Lord was to be His people all united as the citizens of the kingdom under one banner.

Their radically changed lives, godly characters, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their midst would be strong evidence that God had His “own special people” in localities around the world. This was the stated goal of the apostles working under the direction and empowerment of the Lord, and the New Testament records early successes for this mission in the first century.

While there is no turning back the clock, the same God today remains calling those who want all of God to come to Him.

For those who have ears to hear, He is ready to meet us where we are and usher us into true spirituality if we obey, believe, and are ready to surrender and meet the conditions Jesus called for (See Lk 14:26-33, etc).

Jesus is returning soon. He wants His bride ready.

May the Lord bless you!