Introduction

Regularly in the life of the church we have to stop, pause and think about who we are, what we are doing, and why. For example, I have heard of a number of CEO's of large companies who got lost in the process of making it to the top, some losing their families through divorce along the way. They took stock, inventoried their lives and changed careers. They left the big time and opted for a simpler life that had an emphasis on family and friends; they opted for more meaning rather than more bucks. These CEO's may in the end be still self-seeking, but in their actions they had a family and friends emphasis that was not controlled by the almighty dollar.

Communion has this quality about it in the life of the church. It is a time to stop, pause, and think about who we are, what we are doing and why. It is a time to take stock and inventory our lives. And like the CEO's who opted for a family and friends emphasis, the church must do this regularly. But different from the CEO's, our look at family and friends has a distinct center. We are not controlled by looking to the almighty dollar either, but we are controlled by looking to the Almighty, our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. Therefore we can say this: communion is a family gathering, a co-union, in which we pause and take stock, but we do so remembering our one Lord. Remembering Him is the center of this family gathering, this communion, this co-union memorial.

Two recent events in the church factor into this family, co-union, gathering here today. We have just had our annual budget meeting, where we look back and look ahead, and I have just past my three year mark here as your pastor. These events cause us to take stock.

I am particularly caused to reflect on a factor that brought me here to be your pastor. Before the vote, one question that was asked of me was, "why, why are you interested in coming to pastor us here at SCC?" I remember who it was that asked that question. My answer was that I felt a sense of love among you and toward me in the time of getting to know you, even before any thought entered my mind about pastoring here. Later, when you presented me with the request that I consider the idea of being your pastor, my first thought was a prayer that I return your love. The only way I know how to do that, as a pastor, is to work hard for you in prayer and the ministry of the word. That is why my last words to you before the vote were: "I am willing to come and teach you, if you are willing to learn from me." Now three years down the road, I can repeat these words with a heart filled with joy before the Lord: "I am willing to teach you, I trust that you are willing to learn from me."

I like to think of these three years as "a bed of roses" with sweetness, sweet aromas, beauty and texture. I have been deeply blessed. And I long for you with earnest desire. I long to share my blessings with you. However, I have learned that when God blesses a minister of the gospel, it is for the blessing of the church, but the blessing is not one for one. Every blessing I receive is not duplicated in the blessing of others in an exact blessing for blessing.

One could get discouraged with this fact. So we must ask, "why is this the case?" Amidst the various answers that might be given, I think one stands out: Our one Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Church and He manifests His love for each of us according to our varying needs, in stages, and in process. We are all at different places in His nurturing and sanctifying of us over time, over our lives, within the large picture of human history as a whole. Our sanctification, our being made holy, being made in His image, is a process that is much larger than this Lord's day, this week, these three years. We are all different; our lives are lived in different contexts throughout the week; our perspectives vary; we have differences of culture and worldview perspective even within our little flock.

So I would like to speak to that fact today. I want to speak to the fact of differences between us, between you and me, between this person and that person. I want to center this message around the fact of doctrinal differences that exist among us, and I want to do so remembering our one Lord Jesus.

1A. Our focus in the light of differences

Just to get the ball rolling, let me ask this question: should it surprise us to discover that we have doctrinal differences within our local body of Christians? Of course, differences are not all bad. On the other hand, differences are not all good either. This is probably the area where most of the thorns surface in the bed of roses. To me it is still a bed of roses, with the beauty and sweetness that can only be given by our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, our one Lord. When you get near a rose bush, there are times when you are particularly aware of the thorns. It is not just when you see them but when you feel them. At the moment you have one of those thorns sticking in your finger, you might forget that those roses are the awesome creation of the Lord Jesus.

In the body of Christ, we often inflict pain on one another and we recoil from pain, don't we? But we must take stock and remember who we are, what we are doing, and why. And we must do this remembering our one Lord, and with Him remembering our one Father and our one Holy Spirit. We must do this not to become one. We must do this because we are already one. Note the focus. The communion loaf reminds us of the Lord Jesus and of the fact that we, being many in Him, are therefore one loaf. We are one in Him. Jesus came into the world and endured the cross with the joy before Him (Heb. 12:1-3) and we are that joy; He came "that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). He did His work so that He might sing praises in the midst of His redeemed family, in the midst of the congregation (Heb. 2:12). Recall that He sang a hymn with the disciples immediately after instituting this memorial meal (Matt. 26:30). Isn't it a marvel that Jesus sings in our midst? That is one reason why I love to sing in church: because the Lord Jesus sings amidst His family. This is an awesome thought; this is an awesome place ("how sweet and awesome is the place, with Christ within the doors").

One of the important things about singing in church is that this is the time when we anticipate the great choir in glory. Here with "one voice, and heart, and soul, we sing, O Lord, we sing, thy redeeming grace." He sings in our midst. And He is pleased that we do this now on our way. We put thoughts in the heart, and praises on the lips together with sound from string and vocal chord: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and praise….to Him who sits on the throne of the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Rev. 5:12-13). We cannot just say that we must sing it. He is our focus, regardless of the differences, regardless of how many of us there may be: there is one loaf, we are one in Him.

2A. Our conduct in face of differences

Remember the final words: love one another as I have loved you,  and by your love you show yourselves to be my disciples (Jn. 13:34-35). Discipleship learning is a key in the love He requires of us. Along with going to Christ and taking His yoke of law and commandment on our shoulders, is the basic commitment to learning: Come, learn and submit to me as your prophet, priest and king (Matt. 11:28-30). So we must inquire as to how we love as disciples of our loving Lord. How do we love as learners? This is especially practical and acute when it comes to the age old fact of differences within the body of Christ. This is historical, world wide, and local, affecting our body here today. It is understandable; we are all in different stages of growth in the Lord. We are all on the way, on a journey of sanctification, of being made holy, and the journey is not yet complete. It will not be complete till we reach glory. On the way, we look to His truth, His word is truth and it is sanctifying truth.

Note that the very word that we may have great differences over is the sanctifying word of the Holy Spirit and it is truth. Therefore, the duty should be quite easy to identify. It is our duty to help each other learn that word in such a way that we show ourselves to be His disciples: we must learn, work at differences, accept the reality of differences, and there show ourselves His learners, by our love for one another right then and there, right here and now.

The real problem is not our differences per se, that one Christian holds to this and another to that. The real problem is how we handle our differences. The real test is a test of Christian virtue. Differences test our love in detail and over time. They call out, they cry out, for the development of godly virtues. So, how do we love given the differences we have between us, despite them, in the face of them? One way is to cultivate open-minded humility. I like to refer to open minded humble pie as pie that we can eat without getting sick; this is healthy humble pie, health inducing humble pie. This pie has many ingredients. For example, if we are humble we will have a critical self-awareness where we acknowledge that we are sinners and that sin gets in the way when differences surface. We say, "sin is my problem, I tend to wear a mask when I look in the mirror." Our thinking will be seasoned by an element of distrust, of ourselves. We will exercise charity and avoid arrogance, pride, and a leveling spirit (destructive criticism will be avoided if we are trying to build up one another).

Then instead of being mean or stiff arming those who differ with us, we will be open minded which has at least four ingredients. 1 ) We will compare our view with the other view to get understanding. 2) Comparing alone does not make us open unless we compare looking for the good. Openness includes comparison with empathy. 3) But to be open we must make such comparison again and again over much time, remembering the Lord of the church is working out His purposes like the slow grinding millstone; His work is slow but exceedingly fine. 4) Finally we must have an objective posture about us where we emphasize reasons more than conclusions, and we discuss those reasons calmly and reasonably with one another.

This is simply saying that our goal is, first and foremost, to show ourselves discipleship learners of the Lord Jesus by how we do this in relation to each other. We will not judge motives. We will not keep record of wrongs, keeping a long list of things for which we will not forgive.

We will practice loving principles in our speaking of the truth to one another. We will argue of course. Recall the quote: "people quarrel when they do not know how to argue." Arguing is godly. It means to discuss, dialogue, try to learn definitions, get information, find all the good we can. We will not quarrel. Look at the elaboration of quarrelling in 2 Timothy 2:25 where it includes three things: 1) it means to be unkind in thought word or deed, 2) it means also to be unskilled, unlearned, and uninformed, but dogmatic and instructing others anyway, and 3) it means to be malicious, quarreling in our hearts with others, even if we are silent with our lips. As Jesus taught us, fulfilling the commands of God and the specific command of love is deeply a matter of heart and attitude.

Love functions in the context of learning. Learning as a Christian is, first of all, a matter of heart and attitude. "If you are willing to grasp and obey then you shall know." (If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own, John 7:17, NIV). There is an important principle here. Willingness to embrace and obey the truth is a key attitude in the learning process. Biblical learning is much, much more than information gathering; it is not simply academic. It is a nurture on the word of God for dear life. It is going to the Lord with the prayer, "Lord, teach me new and wonderful things out of your law." It is saying, "Lord in this difference or that help me to see things better, help me to learn, and show me where I am wrong so I can correct, change, love, and live for you, but whatever else help me to love."

Love will follow biblical order will it not, even if differences get out of hand and we are offended? We will go to the person in private and talk it out when we perceive some offence or sin (Matt. 18). But first we will carefully judge ourselves, for we know that we will be judged with the same judgment we judge others. We will deal with telephone poles in our own eyes before we deal with specks of sawdust in other people's eyes. It may take so long on our own eyes that we won't have time to meddle in the specks in other people's eyes. We will exercise the love that covers a multitude of sins before we address someone about their wrongs.

What do you do if you have difference with the pastor? I can outline some general principles. 1) You need to follow biblical order; doing all things decently and in order must pervade all we do as a learning community, 2) Remember the importance of the means of grace, of attendance to preaching and teaching. Regularity is critical to any diet or you will be "out of the loop" so to speak. 3) Prayerful attending to the word with a learners heart is basic. Attitude is 99% of the work. 4) You have work to do as a listener. It is a labor in the word for you as it is a labor for the pastor. It is work with a capital L. 5) There is a due submission called for that should season our attitudes toward the preaching, teaching and nurturing. How does due submission look in a practical way? Listen to Paul (1 Thess. 5:12-13).

Jesus said He would build His church. That He is doing as risen Lord, and He is here present with us today. He established the church as the pillar and ground of the truth, to hold it forth in preaching, teaching, and witness. He established the means of preachers and ministers. Thus, submitting to them is a matter of submission to Him. There is a spirit, a tone and attitude in these verses on submission, and at the center is the feeding and nurturing the flock of God so that in their lives they may do the work of ministry (Heb. 13:7-8; 17). Remember that the ministers of the church are all who belong to the Lord Jesus as His family (Eph. 4:12).

Will differences between us ever be removed? Yes, when we get to glory. So how do we handle them now on the way? Consider them as tests of grace as we work. But face them always with hope (2 Tim. 2:25). In different stages, outlooks, personalities, genders, cultures, and tares among the wheat, we afflict pain on one another. We must not be surprised by that fact. But must keep our eyes on the Lord. If  we over accent our differences, always stressing them, we are like Peter looking at the water, and we sink. Fix your eyes on Him and you will not grow weary. Remember in our struggle with one another, with differences, with sins against each other, that we are to endure them, and we have not resisted unto blood as our Lord did. So for His sake we must be disciples, learners, facing differences, showing all that we belong to Him by our love for one another.

3A. Needed perspectives with respect to differences

1) They are allowed by our one Lord. Differences exist in the church and have thoughout her history. You may know of Wesley and Whitefield, Augustine and Pelagius, Calvin verses Arminius. So we ask, "Why does the Lord allow this to surface in the history of his family?" Asking this question like this causes us to note that He allows it. This fact should immediately caution us in how we deal with differences. It should help us avoid getting mad at each other, and it should aid us in avoiding discouragement and even despair. This does not lead us to conclude that the Lord has a low view of truth. Why not? Because He is truth and He sanctifies His people by the truth; the Bible is truth, each of its 66 parts is truth. There is no relativism regarding truth with God; He knows the truth but waits. He teaches us in stages.

2) He allows differences for a purpose. Why the differences on truth, on the sacred writings of the Holy Spirit? A key answer is to teach us patience and many other lessons on the way of our pilgrimage journey. Differences cause friction; they rub us wrong. Remember your bicycling days and the noise you would hear every time the tire made its circle; it would rub the fender or fender brace until a bald spot would appear and even cause serious damage to the tire. So here is the rub: doctrinal difference. But the Lord intends to make us strong by it not flatten us. He is cultivating graces and virtues in us by these things; he desires that we maintain a "brothers and sisters" posture in it all. We may not all have good connotations from our human families, and our flesh and blood brothers and sisters, but there is a new family, the Christian family made up of brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ, who purchased us all with His own blood. We are to consider one another as brothers and sisters despite our differences, even if these are deeply felt and cherished.

We all cherish different beliefs; some are more important than others in the big picture, but all doctrines of the Bible are important. Disagreeing over future events like the 1000 years of Revelation 20 is not the same as disagreeing over the substitutionary atonement of Christ.

How do we deal then with differences in a manner pleasing to the Lord, who allows us to go through such struggles? Well, we often say, "we must agree to disagree." I am sure by this that we mean that we ought not be disagreeable in how we disagree. It does not mean that there is no truth in the issues we differ over. It does mean that we recognize that He has brought us together as one family under one Lord and He allows these differences for the purpose of trying our faith, which is more precious than silver and gold.

He wants us to learn to exercise charity. For example, we do this in how we read our common confession and constitution. It should be obvious to us all that though we all subscribe to the confession, we do not read every line in exactly the same way. Being charitable helps us accept this fact. Charity helps us accept new members for surely we do not expect new comers to have all of their theological ducks lined up perfectly. Surely we do not think we have all of our own lined up perfectly. The differences test our graces. He allows them for a sanctifying purpose in process over time. He is our one Lord.

Consider these example questions that test us as pastor and flock.                                                                                                        

                              Do you want me to be honest and forthright as a pastor?

Do you want me to be able to sleep at night with a clear conscience before God from deep within my heart as I labor to preach truth?

In calling me to this ministry, do you want me to study hard and do my best to do my work according to what Scripture requires?

Scripture says that the pastor is to refute that which contradicts sound doctrine. Do you want me to work hard at doing that?

Do you want me to study to show myself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed as I discover sound doctrine and compare it with unsound doctrine?

Scripture says pastors should proclaim the whole counsel of God. Do you want me to do that, even though I do not understand Scripture perfectly, and even though this will involve reproof, rebuke, encouragement, and instruction? Should I do that still?

Do you want me to be honest with you and before God and do my best to put a balanced diet of the word on the table before you when you come to Sunday Bible Study and worship?

Do you want me to teach you and are you willing to learn from me?

All of these questions have to be asked right in the middle of all our differences don't they? Again, sometimes the family terms of father, brother, and sister remind us of how fallen the human family is. Nonetheless, we must consider ourselves brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ and under one Lord, one Father, and one Holy Spirit. This is one way that we remember the Lord Jesus in the communion memorial! When we remember Him as our one Lord, then we must see ourselves as one family: by union with Christ, we being many are one loaf.

Do you remember my use of the sunglasses illustration and seeing everything blue tinted or red tinted? Think of it this way, what happens if you put on your faultfinding sunglasses as you observe someone's life and hear them speak, especially if you are aware of differences? The answer is obvious, isn't it? You will find fault. And they won't have to be manufactured; they are there in us all to be "found" by any who look hard enough for them. But in this scenario what will love do? It will cover a multitude of sins. It is not faultfinding, fault uncovering. Love covers faults and it covers multitudes of them. Does this mean that Christians are people who sweep everything under the rug and who therefore never communicate or come to terms with difficulties and problems? Not at all because they are called to reprove, rebuke, and correct. It just means that they cover all they can and they reprove, rebuke, and correct with all manner of patience and longsuffering. We have to look for the good in others like we look for the good in their differing views.

Here is a scenario for you. Let's say that I encourage you to show brotherly and sisterly love. When you hear this from me what might you do? You might tend to ponder how I as your pastor should improve in this area; you might want to say to yourself: "Interesting you should mention this, you can sure improve in brotherly love yourself." But here is what we must not do. We must not each be thinking only about the other guy and how the other guy can do better. In the finger pointing example, we need to point three fingers at ourselves for every one that we point at others (maybe it should be 30 at self).

Discouragement

Perhaps you wonder how I experience the problem of differences as a pastor-teacher trying to teach. Maybe you wonder if I get discouraged as your pastor. Of course the answer is yes. I get discouraged. I have had many discouragements over these past three years. But let me tell you that the encouragements far outweigh the discouragements. They outweigh them so much that the discouragements are like a drop in a bucket. I admit that sometimes the drops are like lead. I don't mean they are bullets but simply that they can be very heavy. But in the whole picture, as I serve our risen Lord Jesus, they are just drops in a bucket. It is my delight in life to serve you because the Lord blesses me, refreshes me, comforts me again and again and again. I am richly blessed as I serve you in this church. As I have said before, I pray that I won't be the only one blessed but that God will richly bless you through my labors in the word of God as I put meals before you week after week.

Our differences insure that we are not all going to like the same things. When I was growing up, my mother put Hungarian food before me, and I sadly admit that I used to turn my nose up at her cooking when she "went Hungarian." But you know what? Now I like all Hungarian dishes, and I wish my Mom could go into the kitchen today and make me some stuffed cabbage, and place it before me. I would then say to her, "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate your cooking." My hope is that you, the church family, will appreciate my cooking. But most of all I hope that you will benefit from it by the blessing of the Holy Spirit. My continual prayer is that the Lord will use me, however He sees fit, and that He will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him better, that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened by His gracious working in our midst (Eph. 1:17-18).

All that I have said today relates to the fact that we being many are one because there is only one loaf. By all of these things, we are caused to remember our one Lord Jesus.