by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
We cannot understand the bible alike ...
but Jesus prayed for unity (Jn. 17:23), and the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to make it one of their central themes (1 Cor. 1:10, Eph. 4:1-16, Phil. 1:27).
To discard doctrinal unity as impossible shows a lack of faith in the power of God (Rom. 1:16).
There are only two ways that unity can be attained within a religious organization: (1) the members conform themselves to God's word, or (2) they conform themselves to the shifting directives of man-made doctrines.
Those who give up on the first approach toward unity default to the second. Evidence of this includes the presence of man-made councils, conferences and other organizations to govern, and the loss of local church autonomy.
God's way requires that every member of His church acquire the knowledge and understanding of His word so that we do not have to depend upon men to attain unity. Hebrews 8:7-13 shows that this was God's will when he designed the New Testament in all of its simplicity (2 Cor. 11:3).
The belief that we cannot understand the bible alike can only create total disregard for the bible and enslavement to the teachings of man (Jn. 8:32). Abandoning this fable, let us "study to show ourselves approved ..." (2 Tim. 2:15).