God and His people are scandalized by unnecessary division. The gospel of Christ is, indeed, an instrument of division, separating the sincere from the insincere (see John 6). But the gospel is also intended to be the great unifier of those who believe, overcoming all obstacles as Christians submit to the will of God (see Eph. 2:11-22). Saints should be characterized by a spirit of oneness.
Jesus recognized the obvious link between unity and its apologetic value upon unbelievers when he prayed, “that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me” (Jn. 17: 21, ASV). The world was greatly impressed by the unity of Christ’s followers in the first century; it suggested the mutual recognition of a single authority. Hardly anyone is impressed these days as “Christendom” has been splintered into countless sects. And even among New Testament Christians, division and mistrust continue to weaken the gospel’s appeal to people who are searching for authoritative answers. “Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in …

Let each be fully convinced in his own mind (Romans 14:5). Nothing is more central to a healthy relationship with God than one’s personal conviction. Man’s personal faith comes from being introduced to The Faith, the sum of all divinely inspired scripture (Rom. 10:17). God has revealed His will so that we might understand and grow into what He would have us to be (2 Tim. 3:16-17). And preeminent among God’s plans for us is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
No man can “live by faith” (Rom. 1: 17) if that faith is not his own. No man will allow himself to be made over into the image of Christ until he is convinced of his need to change. No one can serve the Lord by echoing the beliefs of others. No family tradition, no “faith of our fathers” can make one right with his Creator. Only a personal conviction that places God above all other interests can justify one in the eyes of heaven. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
Each Christian …

Inherent in gospel teaching is the principle of justification by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:1). This glorious truth is set in opposition to justification by works of law—a hopeless proposition, inasmuch as it rests on human perfection (Gal. 3:8-11). Those who depend on their own works to save them have no hope of eternal salvation; no one’s works are perfect.
But over the centuries this great doctrine has been obscured, and finally perverted. As happens so often, controversy has arisen from men seeking to redefine biblical terms, and refusing to leave Bible language intact. Roman theologians were first to redefine faith as belief, bearing no real relationship to obedience. They stressed the necessity of obedience to such an extreme that religion became little more than the perfunctory law-keeping of Old Testament days. In response, men such as Martin Luther erred by accepting the Roman definition, then taking the opposite extreme: that belief is necessary, with very little emphasis on obedience. Luther wasn’t opposed to obedience, of course, but he denied that obedience had any real bearing on salvation. Luther pioneered the popular doctrine of justification on the basis of …