“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel;” (Philippians 1:27, ASV)
In our country today we have a great amount of political disunity. We find that the separation between political ideologies of the two parties has moved to a point of near hostility. This was not always so. There was a time when our nation came first and political ideologies came second. It seems that the opposite is the case now. Moreover, it seems that the political ideologies of our two political parties is drifting further apart.
In this devotion, I am not seeking to take sides in this debate, though I personally take a biblically conservative view. No, the issue now is the division I see in our nation. It is frankly unhealthy. While it is normal to have civil dialogue over issues, our nation is moving from civility to often hostile and unbiblical opposition.
Paul wrote to the Philippians that their manner of life must be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The phrase “let your manner of life be” is translated from the Greek verb politeuomai. Strong defines this verb as a community, abstractly referring to citizenship (Strong G4176). As a community of believers and citizens of heaven, the believers at Philippi are to live in a particular way that includes standing firm in the faith with unity of heart and mind, staying focused on the mission the Lord gave the church.
Churches must understand this today. I have seen too many churches in my time of being in the faith split over things that are trivial disagreements, things that amount to nothing. However, the eternal consequences of the splits are severe. Church splits normally happen because parishioners are not maintaining the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Normally the factions that occur with the congregations have lost their focus on the commission the Lord has given the church. Rather than being united on mission, they are divided by personal wants and interests. The result is weakness in radiating the light of Jesus in a darkened world.
Churches need to maintain a Christlike demeanor. They must maintain an ability to engage in civil dialogue. They must be able to discern what the Lord desires for the church, resolve differences, and focus on the mission. Then the church will remain strong in propagating the gospel as the Lord commanded.
Renewing the Heart 