Perhaps the most ignored commandment is for us to have unity. Jesus prayed for our unity (John 17:20-21). Paul   admonished us to preserve our unity (Ephesians 4:3). The psalmist declared how good unity is (Psalm 133:1).        Division in the body of Christ is no different than drunkenness, fornication, theft, and murder. All of these, including division, are sinful according to God’s Word.

Oddly enough it has been our brotherhood that is often guilty of openly accepting and participating this sin. Many in our brotherhood seem to believe the restoration movement was based in sectarianism which is described as “excessive attachment to a particular sect to the exclusion of others.”

Why that is odd is men like Alexander Campbell spoke boldly and often about their hatred of sectarianism. Campbell himself once branded “such exclusiveness” as “the offspring of hell.”

Around the end of the 19^th century things began to change in our brotherhood. What began as a movement, as Campbell also put it, to “esteem you and love you, as I do every man, of whatever name, who believes sincerely that Jesus is the Messiah, and hopes in his salvation,” somehow devolved.

By the turn of the century men like Daniel Sommer had placed themselves as the “watchdogs” of the brotherhood. When issues like instruments and para-church organizations arose they not only sought   division but gloried in it. When this division finally came to pass Sommer actually rejoiced saying, “The Church of Christ will be entirely separated from the Christian Church. Hallelujah!

Unfortunately, over the generations there have been many more people in our brotherhood who have rejoiced in separating our brotherhood into some sort of exclusivity that was never intended at the beginning of the restoration movement.

Thankfully, many in our generation have begun to do their best to reverse that trend by embracing grace and understanding that this allows us to be “Christians only” but not “the only” Christians.

Let’s pray as Jesus our Lord did that unity may prevail!