Paul urges agreement, and no divisions, in the Corinthian church. The people are quarreling about who to follow. Paul, Apollos, Peter? Is it any different today? Luther, Wesley, Calvin? (Or IV, Cru or Navs?)
I think we should be grateful for these individuals, and groups. They have reminded us of truths, principles, attitudes, and practices that were forgotten. God's family is better for all of them. But they did not die for our sins. We are not save by agreeing with their teachings, and putting faith, and trust, in them.
It is Christ, and the gospel, that saves, and transforms, us. It is holding onto one truth as the most important, that divides God's family, and dishonors Christ, and the gospel, before the world.
Jesus says that if we love one another, we demonstrate to the world that we follow him. How we live in community, and how we live our lives individually, testifies to the reality of Christ, the cross, the resurrection, and salvation by faith, as much as preaching the gospel. (Which we should be doing also.) Hypocrisy is one of the charges hurled at God's family. And it is the main reason, many people reject the gospel.
This is especially tricky nowadays. Not only are there groups of Christians, who stress different parts of God's truth, but there are different groups of Christians, who reject different parts of God's truth. And there are groups, who call themselves Christian, but reject the cross, the resurrection, the grace of the gospel, and the divinity of Christ.
I am certain that God wants his family to love, and be united, with his family. All parts of it. I am not sure how that works with quasi Christian groups, or pseudo Christian groups. But doing a good job of loving, and demonstrating unity, across lines of genuine Christins would at least be a good place to start.
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