1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 (NASB)
While the most common accusation against those who are considered in the “discernment ministry” is that their expositions cause disunity amongst the brethren, the call from the Word of God is not unity at all costs, but unity within the Body of Christ in the Spirit in the bond of peace. The key to having unity among Christians is not that all claim to be Christians, but that the Holy Spirit bestows oneness within all true believers through which He creates a bond of peace that is godly love for one another.
12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Colossians 3:12-14 (NASB)
In our “Christian” environment today there seems to be little of this going on. I have seen this type of close intimate love within churches of which I was a part. However, I have also seen and been part of some disagreements with many professing Christians that seemed to be on the verge of escalating into fights to the death. What is wrong? Why does this happen? There are the obvious cases of people calling themselves Christian who are in the throes of apostasy. When we deal with these we must be discerning and stand on the truth from God’s Word while relying on the Holy Spirit to sustain and guide us. However, many of our “battles” seem to be over silly doctrinal differences that have very little, if any, value to the body of Christ right now. Those of us who are truly His must take a higher road.