The Lampost - A Week Of Fasting, Day 3

Acts 4:32–33 (ESV)

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

When I was in college, I lived in a house for Christians called the Lampost. The name of the house was based on Matthew 5:15–16.

The Lampost had been created a year or two before I came to school, as an alternative to the overwhelming Greek presence on campus. It was a wonderful environment, to be in the midst of true believers who encouraged one another to live faithfully for Christ in the middle of a culture that was anything but Christlike.

The Lampost was the hub of a vibrant Christian community on campus. The dozen or so of us guys living there were from diverse backgrounds, some having found Christ for the first time at college, and others, like me, who grew up in various denominations.There were Pentecostals, Methodists, Baptists, non-denominationals, Lutherans – Christians of every stripe, but we were one in Christ.

There was a constant stream of people, believers and unbelievers, gathering at the house from across the campus and from other nearby schools. In fact, I met my wife, Leslie, at the Lampost.

Just like in Acts, the brothers and sisters in our fellowship supported each other, prayed for each other, and even helped

each other out financially if we could – it really was

a miniature version of the unity described in Acts. Our unity in Christ strengthened us to be the light of Christ on campus – in our classes, in sports, in performance groups, in all
aspects of student life.

That, of course, is the great example of the early church: Their unity in Christ enabled them to preach the gospel effectively, and their unity in Christ was the result of the gospel. Their common purpose was to spread the gospel. The Christian community I experienced at school was just like that.

But then, in the name of unity, our Christian community was

ripped apart. For some in our fellowship, unity became the goal, rather than spreading the gospel, rather than being the light of Christ to the campus. They began living their faith inwardly, for themselves, instead of outwardly. 

They took the ideas of Christian accountability and  relationship to an unhealthy, unbiblical extreme, ironically excluding those of us who didn’t want to participate in the way they wanted us to.

To their credit, they were trying to follow the example of the early church, but they forgot that our faith is always lived in plain view, for the whole world to see, and in full fellowship with other believers. 

For instance, our house dinners became mandatory and
unlike in the past, they were closed to anyone but house members. All decisions had to be unanimous, even on non-spiritual matters. 

Previously, a spirit of hospitality and openness had prevailed at the Lampost, so I was shocked to learn that my fellow

brothers and sisters across the campus felt as though they needed an invitation to be a part of things. They’d been excluded from fellowship! 

It broke my heart. 

Likewise, nonbelievers noticed the same thing. We were no longer reaching people for Christ. Our light was under a basket.

The great irony in all of this is that our Christian fellowship was divided in the name of unity, in spite of several of us urging reconciliation – in spite of pleading our common cause in Christ. Even though we begged them to remain in fellowship with us, about half of the Lampost members split off to start their own house the next year, and very quickly the remaining vitality of Christian fellowship died across the whole campus. 

It was one of the most painful experiences of my life to watch Christians divide.

And that’s what happens when we take our eyes off of Christ.

We mistake our opinions for essential Biblical doctrine, and we begin to think everyone should agree with us. If they don’t, we become willing even to withhold our fellowship from other believers. My brothers in Christ withheld their fellowship because of a difference of opinion on a nonessential, and it had awful consequences.

That’s an important lesson as we consider unity at WBF. Our goal is not unity in itself. Our goal is to glorify Christ, to live our faith outwardly, to support each other so that we can be the light of Christ in our various walks of life. Our unity comes from focusing on Christ, not on unity, or on our opinions about things that aren’t essential to our faith.

When we look to Christ – not to our opinions – unity will come.

It’s easy for us to take our eyes off of Christ, because we’re sinners. So it behooves us to remember that the list of our faith’s essentials is really pretty short: Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and God gets all the glory.
But the list of nonessentials – really, they’re just our opinions – is terribly long. Because we’re human, we have a sinful talent in creating nonessentials.

So here’s the thing we all need to consider as we pray for unity in our fellowship: Why will God let us into heaven? Will it be because of our opinion on unity? Or on baptism? Or predestination/free will?  Or whether we like hymns or Skillet or Sovereign Grace or Hillsong or Chris Tomlin or Bill Gaither? Or whether we’re pre- or post-tribulation? Or, will God let us into heaven because of the blood that Christ shed for us and the faith He’s given us to believe that?

That’s our common purpose, to live and preach the gospel, because we’re all sinners washed clean by His blood. It’s in Him that we find unity.

Scott Ferrell

September 2013