Does the lack of unity and integrity in the ministry affect the people to whom we are reaching out? Is this a problem only due to egos or is there some other reason for this?<\/p>\n\t
“For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?<\/em>” (I Corinthians 14:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In the above quote, Paul was referring to messages that are not understandable; in particular, trying to teach the gospel in a language that isn’t understood by the audience. Yet, a similar problem occurs when multiple people teach different things. Hearing opposing views on the Bible can make it difficult to sort out the truth from the falsehood.<\/p>\n
Some people want unity so badly that they are willing to overlook falsehoods just so they can say they get along with other people. The problem is that God has not given multiple messages.<\/p>\n
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:6-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is only one faith given by God.<\/p>\n
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:1-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Unity can only come by teaching the one doctrine of God because there is only one God, but many men who have many ideas.<\/p>\n
False teaching is a fact of life in this world. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world<\/em>” (I John 4:1). The hearer of the gospel has as much responsibility as the preacher of the gospel to make sure that what he is being taught is the message of God. This is why the Bereans were praised. “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so<\/em>” (Acts 17:11). You have a mind and a Bible; use them to sort out the truth from the lies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Does the lack of unity and integrity in the ministry affect the people to whom we are reaching out? Is this a problem only due to egos or is there some other reason for this? Answer: “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?” (I Corinthians 14:8). In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[478,552,536,456],"class_list":["post-24513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-false-teachers","tag-integrity","tag-preaching","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-need-for-distinctive-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":0},"title":"The Need for Distinctive Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Deason Biblical Insights, September 2014 In the shadow of the cross, Jesus prayed, \"I do not ask on behalf of these alone (the apostles - jhd), but for those also who believe in Me through their word (me and you - jhd); that they may all be one;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32798,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-teaching-and-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":1},"title":"False Teaching and Fellowship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Frank Jamerson Sentry Magazine, December 2000 The issue of false teaching and fellowship is not a new one. The following is approximately two pages from an eleven-page article, published in January 1975, that I commend for your consideration. \"All of us must accept the fact that we have fellowship (live\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-use-your-material-to-help-teach-a-preacher-who-has-gone-astray\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":2},"title":"Can I use your material to help teach a preacher who has gone astray?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: It is evident from the materials on your website that you are truly a congregation of the Lord's church. I came upon your site while attempting to find well-defined information to refute the \"unity\" movement today. Unfortunately, my former congregation in Florida is planning a merger with a local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87145,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-unity-look-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":3},"title":"What does unity look like?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Jeffrey, I'm struggling a bit with what unity really means in light of scripture, and I'd appreciate your guidance. From my study, I understand unity to involve being \"of the same mind and judgment\" as in I\u00a0Corinthians 1:10-11, and having the humility and love described in Philippians 2:1-5.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54383,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-important-in-a-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":4},"title":"What Is Important in a Church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 14:1-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I remember visiting a large congregation many years ago. They had asked me to do some web site work for them. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While I was amazed at the size of the group, what struck me most were some of the comments the elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87993,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-causes-churches-of-christ-to-split\/","url_meta":{"origin":24513,"position":5},"title":"What Causes Churches of Christ to Split?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dylan Stewart via\u00a0The Good News of God This article is not intended to address the reasons for all religious divisions, such as denominationalism. This article aims to specifically address the reasons why divisions exist within churches of Christ and why many local congregations split. This is by no means\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}