How do Christians stay united when issues divide?

In Romans 15, Paul calls believers to bear with one another and pursue unity. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt applies that to a divided, perplexing age — and how a church can hold together when the world is pulling apart.

Questions this sermon answers:

1. What divides churches? Secondary disputes and the pressures of a contentious culture. Paul knew believers can fracture over such things if they are not careful.

2. What does Paul call for? Patience and like-mindedness — the strong bearing with the weak, all for the building up of one another.

3. How is this possible? By looking to Christ together. The "God of patience and comfort" enables His people to be of one mind and receive one another.

"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus." — Romans 15:5 (NKJV)

Speaker: In Romans 15, Paul calls believers to bear with one another and pursue unity. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt applies that to a divided, perplexing age — and how a church can hold together when the world is pulling apart.

One day, there were two brothers.

One day, there were two brothers, and they're out in their backyard,

and they're laying down in the grass.

And as they lay down, they look up, and they see the clouds.

Now, as kids are prone to do, they looked at the clouds,

and in the clouds, they began to detect certain objects and shapes and the like.

And one of these brothers, he looks at a cloud, and he says,

you know what? That looks just like my bicycle.

That looks just like my bike.

Now, the other brother had a slightly different perspective in which he was lying.

And he looks up and he says, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong. He says, that's a dinosaur. That's

my favorite dinosaur. That's the T-Rex up there in the sky. Now, for a little while, the kids sat

there and argued about this. One child saw it a certain way, the other child saw it a different

way, and they debated and they talked about the nuances of what they saw and the like, and they

didn't come to agreement. Well, just then, their younger sister came along. The younger sister came

along and wanted to see what the boys were doing, so she plopped down and looked up, and the boys

thought, aha, we have someone who can solve this, who can resolve this quandary, who can tell us

what this thing is. And so the brothers, they make their case. They say, all right, is this,

is it a bike or is it a dinosaur in the clouds? And little girl heard a burrow frown a little bit

as she looked and she stared and she said, neither, neither. She says, no, you see, it looks,

it looks just like my cabbage patch doll. Those of you, again, who are from the 80s know that

reference the point is that when you take different people who have different

perspectives and different backgrounds and different levels of maturity and a

slightly different angle and the like they can come to wildly different

conclusions about a given matter whether it's a cloud or it's something more

important people can come to different understandings and different opinions on

what they're seeing on what they're looking about whether it's in the clouds

or whether it's a topical issue in the world around us people bring to that

issue their own experiences their own presuppositions their own preconceptions

they look at something and they make a determination. They conclude based on what

they see that something is A or B or C or what have you. And then, then whatever they've concluded,

whatever determination they've made about the world around them or an issue and the like,

whatever they've concluded, they then tend to express that conclusion with great dogmatism,

very stridently, very sternly, very confidently. How often in the world around you have you

detected, people who have very strong views about things that are inherently difficult to understand,

hard to parse, or debatable at the least. People will look at something, they'll take their

presuppositions, they'll take their context, the angle of view they have of a given matter, and

they'll come to determination, and then they will pound the table, so to speak, and say, it is so.

It is so. Again, they'll say so with such great dogmatism. Now, there are times when that's

valuable. There are times when you want people to be dogmatic, bold, confident, sure of themselves

and what they are saying. There are times when you absolutely want that and we absolutely need

it in the world around us. If you go to a movie theater and you're sitting there in the movies

and all of a sudden someone shouts fire because there's legitimately a fire breaking out in the

theater threatening everyone that's there, man alive, you are grateful that this man stood up

and yelled fire. You're grateful that he looked at something, he identified it, and he told everyone

what he saw. And he did so confidently, he did so boldly, as a means to warn and extol and encourage

and exhort others to take appropriate action. There's times when you want that. There's times

when we need that. There's times when that can save our lives, when someone is dogmatic about

something that they believe to be true. But at the same time, imagine you're in the movie

and someone, they're watching this movie and they determine that they don't like the movie very much

and they stand up and they start booing. They start to boo the movie or they start complaining

about the movie, how terrible movie it is. They start identifying all the things they see wrong

in the movie loud for everyone to hear. Well, is that something you want? Well, probably not so

much. And the reason, the reason why, at least the logical philosophical reason why you don't want

that is because when an individual identified the fire that was threatening to burn down the theater,

that was an objectively true statement. The fire was objectively there. Everyone could see it. It

was a legitimate threat to everyone present. That was an objectively true statement. But when you

watch a movie or you taste a bite of popcorn or what have you, your opinions on the popcorn and

the movie. These things are subjective. These things are subjective. They're not objectively

true. They're subjective in the eyes of he or she who sees it. Now, here's the thing. you and I

might sort of understand that distinction, but how rarely in our community discussions, be them

online or in person, how rarely do we properly employ an understanding of that which is objective

in that which is subjective? How often do we inflate our subjective views to the point that

they match up with objective truth? How often do we do that? Well, my sense is we do it often.

My sense is that that's what's happening in the world around us. That's what's happening in the

media. That's happening in main streets. It's happening just about everywhere you look.

People are looking at something, maybe talking about an issue that they never thought about,

you know, more than six, seven, eight months ago. And everyone's become a subject matter expert.

And everyone, no matter what your viewpoint is, has a viewpoint that they hold strongly and over

against their neighbor. And it's not a problem to have a viewpoint. Viewpoints are good. We're

supposed to use our reason to discern things and come to conclusions. That's good. But we can be so

graceless, so tactless when we share that view that it reflects poorly on our Christian witness.

We can be graceless and not even know it.

We can ostracize people.

We can villainize people.

Not even be aware that that's what we have done.

And here's the thing.

When that happens, that's bad for society, undoubtedly.

It's bad for society to have one side, one view, one opinion, what have you,

yelling and berating the other side.

That's bad when it happens in the social fabric around us.

But it's absolute poison when it happens in the church.

It's absolute arsenic when it happens within the body of faith.

See, there's nothing wrong about having principles.

I hope you have them.

It's good to have principles.

It's good to take a stand for that which is true.

But how you do so matters.

How you do so matters.

Now, in the book of Romans, that's what we're seeing.

In today's reading, in Romans 15, that's what we're seeing.

Paul is writing to Adonais.

He's writing to some knowledgeable individuals who know something about theology and what they're

talking about. And to some of them, he's indicating that there has been a gracelessness in the way in

which they have been caring for their weaker brethren, those who don't know as much, those

who are new to the faith. He's saying there isn't the unity that there ought to be because some are

holding their viewpoints, even if they're the right viewpoints to hold, they're holding it in

an improper way or they're holding it in such a way that it becomes a battering ram against those

who are newer to the faith, those who are weaker in the faith, those who are less sanctified in

the faith. And so he's going to remind the early church that such behavior, when it occurs,

is not becoming the follower of Christ. Specifically, he's going to say this. He's

going to say, we who are strong in the Christian faith are called to patiently bear with the

scruples, and we'll talk about that, the scruples of the weak. What does that look like? What does

it look like in practice? Let's consider that. I'm going to read verses 1 and 2, then we'll just

work our way through the balance of the text. Verses 1 and 2. We then who are strong, we then

who are strong ought to bear with the scruples, which could mean weaknesses or failings, the

scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for his own

good, leading to his edification. Sometimes we get so bent around the axle and being right,

so bent around the axle in convincing others that we're both right and smart that again we become a

battering ram we're in it for ourselves we're in a conversation we're in a debate we're in a facebook

chat what have you we're in these things to be proven right or to demonstrate how smart we are

and the like and we care not for the people we're interacting with and that's wrong what we see here

in Romans 15 is this that we're called to be conscious of the other person even if they are

wrong conscious of them as especially if they're a brother and sister in the faith and look for

their edification. I don't know about you, but did you ever have a teacher in high school that

just yelled at the students, a teacher no one liked? Did you learn as much in that class as

you may have learned in a class where the teacher genuinely cared for the students? Probably not.

We learn more, we respect more, we take in more when the voice that we're hearing it from

is more gracious. And that's what we see here in verses 1 and 2. Now in the chapters leading up to

today's reading. In chapters 12 through 14, if you were to go back in the book of Romans, the book of

Romans, as you're probably already aware, if there's ever a systematic presentation of the Gospel, if

there was ever one book of the Bible you could hand someone and say, this is a concise summary of the

Gospel, what we believe, why we believe it, and the like, you'd give people the book of Romans. It's a

systematic presentation, or it could be seen as a systematic presentation of the Gospel. Now for the

first bulk of the book of Romans, Paul's expressing indicative truth. He's saying this is what we

believe and this is why. But then the last part of the book of Romans, he moves into the imperative

and he says this is what you should do about it. And especially in chapters 12 through 16,

He's talking to believers and he's saying this is something that should inform your interaction

with others. He's giving truth in the indicative and then he's saying through the imperative this

is what you're supposed to do with it and how you're supposed to relate to one another now as

Paul wrapped up chapter 14 he was talking about the Old Testament food laws and some people were

putting stumbling blocks before others because they didn't understand the relationship the old

covenant the new covenant and the like and he looks to the mature saints and he says you're

putting a stumbling block before your weaker brethren they understand this differently and

they might well understand it wrong but that's no reason no excuse for you to cause them to stumble

because of your gracelessness because you're not nice there's no reason to do that there's no reason

to do that and it's not benefiting them and it's not benefiting the church he says there's a

stumbling block that's being laid and it's not even so much what you believe it's how you're

professing that belief how you're sharing it it's the interaction that you're having not so much

the underlying issue itself you know spoiler alert when people first come to faith they don't have

it all figured out when people first come to the faith they don't have it all figured out and it's

going to take them a while in fact none of us has it all figured out all of us are on the road to

glory so to speak all of us are learning and growing and developing and being more sanctified

and the like and I hope you're more sanctified now than you were a year ago five years ago ten

years ago and so forth with that said back when you were young or immature in the faith aren't

you glad that someone was patient with you well in a sense Paul's implying to the believers he's

writing to that being harsh or judgmental or graceless in their approach is not is not what's

called for rather what's called for is patience and being long-suffering forbearing even with

those that are both wrong and adamantly wrong and there are some folks who are that way so Paul knew

that the road of sanctification, it takes time, that people develop and progress, that the Spirit

doesn't just, there isn't a snapping of the finger where everyone gets it and everyone immediately

acts perfectly. There's growth and development. And as people are growing, especially if they're

weaker than you, so to speak, that you should be patient as they do so, as they develop.

Now, as you look back, as you look back and you think, all right, when was I saved? For some of

us, we remember that pretty well. Some of us, maybe it wasn't even that long ago. For others,

maybe it occurred when we were a child and we're unfamiliar. We can't say, well, it was June 4th

at such and such time. Whatever the case, whatever the case, since the time when you were saved,

presuming that you are, since the time that you were saved, isn't it wonderful to know that in

spite of the multitude of sins you've had since that time, if it happened when you were a kid,

man alive, the mountain of sin and iniquity that you've had since that time, isn't it good

to know that God has been patient with us through it. You know, He doesn't have to be,

and we don't deserve it. Of course, that's what grace is. Grace and mercy and charity

and forbearance, that's what it is. It's what's given to someone that doesn't deserve it.

If you're honest, if you're introspective, God has really done that with you. I know He's done

it with me I've told my wife she'll tell you I only want three words on my tombstone hopefully

that's a ways off but I want three words God is patient I told her you don't even have to put my

name on it you don't even have to identify me but you put God is patient and the reason why is

because there in the ground lies the proof the fact that this man got to 40 some odd years or

30 some odd years plus, is proof that God is patient. If you're honest, God has been patient

with you. Because that is so, because we know that to be true, how much more so if a holy and just

and a righteous God has been patient with us as we continually mess up, how much more should we

continue to be patient with our fellow man, with our fellow sinners, with fellow beggars looking

for bread. How much more should we be patient? And what a crime

it is when we're not. What a crime it is when we're

not. When we take all that God has given us and we

fail to reflect it. Just because we don't like

someone or they're saying something we don't agree with. How inappropriate

it is to fail to reflect the glory of God. God

is patient. God is patient. He has valued our sanctification. He's

value to our edification, our growth and development, and so we should value it in others.

Okay, let's look at verses three and four. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it

is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. For whatever things were written

before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures,

might have hope. You know, across the years, if you think of Jesus, he's the Holy One, the Lamb of

God, the Perfect One. And he's on a throne, and he comes down, and he's born in a manger, and he goes

to a cross, and he lives, breathes, sweats, and dies among people like you and I. And then, as he did

so, with his perfect, righteous, holiness, justice, and his great theology, he's incredibly patient

with those in his midst when they didn't get it.

How often did he teach his disciples?

Gathered around his feet.

They learned at the feet of God himself.

Every word, every syllable that he said was holy and inspired.

It was all perfect.

And they heard it all.

And I'm sure they nodded their head and did all of it.

But then they went out.

Peter, Mark, Matthew, John, men like this, they went out.

What did they do?

Well oftentimes they lived in ways that did not match up with what Jesus had said you remember

the time Jesus encounters two of his disciples and what are they doing they're arguing do you

remember what they were arguing about they were arguing about which one of them was the greatest

which one of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven here you have Jesus who comes

down from a throne to the manger to the cross you have this Jesus who has shown utmost humility

washing feet taking care of the strangers sitting with the tax collectors and the like doing all

this showing utmost humility and then after he teaches and demonstrates what that humility is

like he comes across his disciples and the one thing they're arguing about is which one is going

to be greater in the kingdom of God as I said at the nine o'clock service if ever there's a time

for a divine face palm that's it but instead he showed them grace he showed them grace continual

He continued to teach, he continued to train, he continued to edify, he continued to equip, in spite of their errors.

Now, Peter, he did much worse than that.

You remember Peter, one moment, he's talking to Jesus, and he's saying,

oh, Jesus, I'm with you to the end. I'm your man.

Right until death will I go.

Well, then what happens? Well, then, 24 hours, what does he do?

He denies that same Jesus three times.

And remember at that moment they did so

not only did the rooster crow but Jesus looked at him

but what was in that look

was it disdain, hatred, intolerance, anger

what was in it was love and forbearance

and patience

because here's the thing, Jesus knew

that Peter for as weak as he was in that moment

when he valued his own skin more than he valued his Messiah

Jesus knew that that moment wasn't the sum total of that man's existence and he knew that there

would be better days ahead better days for him yet to come and sure enough Peter he grew in his

faith he grew in his understanding even after Jesus had ascended Peter continued to develop

and grow as a believer to the point that years later he would willingly die as a martyr history

suggests that He was crucified upside down.

He would willingly die as a martyr.

He had the courage and the strength and the fortitude

and things that He maybe didn't have years earlier.

And Jesus, God, was patient with Him

during the course of that sanctification and development.

Now I do, before we move on to verses 5 and 6,

I want to point out something, a theological point

that we need to linger on, verses 3 and 4.

If someone was to sin against you and you were to forgive them maybe someone sins against you a lot

maybe it's a child maybe if someone's sinning against you a lot you could say as you're patient

as you forbear as you're long-suffering you could say I'm bearing with you I'm bearing your

sinfulness so to speak well in one sense Jesus bears with our sinfulness in the sense of being

patient that's true but Jesus goes beyond that in a way that only he could Jesus not only bears

with us in the sense of being patient as we develop, but Jesus literally, literally bore our

sins on Calvary. You might bear with the sinfulness of someone who's wronged you,

but Jesus went another step, a step far further. He not only was patient with folks, but he took

those very sins upon himself. He took those sins upon himself. The reproaches of those who

reproached, you fell on me.

On Calvary, it wasn't just Peter's sin that Jesus shrugged

His shoulders and said, I forgive you. He paid the debt for that sin. Do you see the

difference? Jesus paid the debt for

Peter's grievous sin, and he did it willingly.

And he did it lovingly. Man, that's a Savior

that we can love in return. A Savior who in

spite of what we've done, in spite of what he knows you will yet do, still loves you, still loves me.

That's a God we can serve. That's a God we can worship. That's a God that we can rejoice to

have this morning. All right, let's look at verses 5 and 6. Verse 5, now may the God of patience and

comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another. This is what Peter has been building

towards for really a couple chapters. Now may the God of patience and comfort, now may the God who

has demonstrated his patience every second of every day in your life, now may the God of patience

and comfort grant you to do the same thing, to be like-minded towards one another, towards each

other, according to Christ Jesus, that you may be with one mind, that you may with one mind and with

one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder, is there someone in your

life who's really trying your patience? Is there someone or someones in your life because of the

way that they're living, the way they're acting, the things they say, the things they believe?

It's really just hard to be around them. It's really trying your patience. Is there someone

in your life that you're struggling to deal with? Is there someone in your life that you're not

dealing well with, perhaps because of the views that they hold? Is there someone in your life

that you're failing to show grace to? Is there someone in your life whose view of masks, viruses,

politics, politicians, differs from your own in such a way that a wedge has been created?

Is that possible, and is that occurring in the context of the community of faith?

Remember, as we said before, it's a bad thing when this sort of stuff happens in the world around us, in society.

It's outright poison when graceless wedges separate believers.

You see, no one is saying that we ought not have principles.

We ought.

We ought to have principles and they ought to be derived in the book.

And we ought to be willing to stand for them.

And we ought to be willing to contend for what we hold to be true.

We ought to have principles.

We ought to exemplify principles.

We ought to share principles.

And yet, it is appropriate to do so with grace and with patience with the many folks who won't agree with you.

When Jesus taught others, every time he looked at people,

He was looking at people who didn't see life through his eyes.

Every time, every setting, every crowd,

whether he's sitting with sinners and tax collectors over a meal

or feeding thousands on the hillside,

every time he looked out, he was looking at people

who didn't see things the exact way that he did.

And he could have because he's God and he was theologically right and sound

and righteous and the like, and just, he could have dealt with them as such.

And yet, every single time, he demonstrated grace and patience with those who weren't there yet in their thinking.

He demonstrated love and charity and forbearance and mercy.

It is so difficult to look around the greater church and not see a reflection of those attributes.

Again, it's a good thing to have principles.

I hope we hold to them.

I hope you stand for what you believe for.

But I hope you stand in such a way

is that you model Christlikeness.

You model grace.

You model patience.

You know, what you say is important.

How you say it is also important.

Occasionally, when you say it

needs a great deal of thought as well.

All right, let me share.

As we look to wrap up the next few minutes here,

let me share a few principles from Scripture

on how we can be more patient or how we can be biblically patient with those in the world around

us. Three principles from Scripture that if they were applied to the greater church in the world

around us, I think that the world would benefit from. First of all, we need to recognize this.

First principle is this. We need to realize that none of us has a monopoly on truth.

None of us has a monopoly on truth or wisdom. There are things you believe, even things you

might believe strongly about politics or viruses or whatever. There are things you might believe,

and a lot of what you believe you may be right about, but you're not right about everything.

A day might come when you will all be surprised at how much we weren't right about, and yet how

much we were so adamant about. Because we should know, if we're introspective in the least, that

we're not 100% right, we should be graceful and humble, graceful and humble, knowing that there's

areas where others need to teach us, where others need to edify us. You know, others might be wrong

about their views on masks and viruses and politics and politicians and anything else that

might come up on our radar in 2020. Others might well have a different view of yours and others

might well be wrong. And yet there's things in your worldview that aren't fully rounded either.

And because of that, and because you would expect people to be graceful to you as you learn and grow

and develop, so should we be graceful to others. You know, the fact that any of us lived past our

teenage years tells me that someone somewhere was patient with us. Now, the second point is it's

important not to confuse patience with tolerance because they are not the same thing. See, I may be

patient with my children when they mess up. I may be patient with my children when they sin,

and yet, I do not necessarily tolerate it.

I do not endorse it.

I do not accept it.

I may be patient, and yet, because I'm a loving father, I will remind my children what is true.

And I will continue to return them to the mean of Scripture.

That does not mean I lack patience or grace, I hope.

But it does mean that I don't tolerate that which I shouldn't.

As we said before, principles are important.

You need to stand.

You need to stand on God's Word.

But those principles can be shared in such a way,

shared in such a way that doesn't break down into a million pieces,

the one you're sharing it with, especially if it's a child.

And we're all children, so to speak.

So we all need people to be gentle with us.

So again, the second point here is we don't confuse patience with tolerance.

Thirdly, and our final point is this, sanctification.

Sanctification, remember, that's the process by which we go from point A to point B,

by which we get cleaned of our sin,

by which we become something better tomorrow than we were today.

Sanctification, it takes time.

Those of us who have been parents

know what it's like to have to be patient

for a long period of time on certain issues.

Sanctification takes time.

You can't expect someone to hear something that you say,

even if it's well-founded, propositional truth,

and immediately get with the program.

Part of the reason why is because we don't all see things the same way

and we don't all act the same way.

There's something called the noetic effect of sin.

The simple explanation is this.

Our brains are fogged by sinfulness.

Our fallen nature causes our cognition not to operate as it ought to.

And for some, it might be more dramatic than others.

Whatever the case is, we don't all perceive things the exact same way

in the exact same time frame.

We don't all get from A to B at the same speed.

And Paul looked at those in Romans 15, who had already got a rounded view of theology,

who knew the Old Covenant and New Covenant, made these distinctions.

Well, that's good that they did so, and yet others, it just takes time.

And Paul's saying, give them the time.

Be diligent, be loving, explain things, and then explain it again, if that's what it takes.

Now, let me add, our third point was that sanctification takes time.

Let me add a nuance here, and it's an important nuance.

If you're trying to share Christ-like principles with someone whose heart has not been changed through Christ, it's going to be a long road.

If you're trying to express, convey, teach biblical Christ-like principles, if you're trying to teach the Gospel as an example to one whose heart is unregenerate, whose heart is unchanged, who has not been born again,

no matter what you say, no matter how convincing you say it, no matter how often you say it, it will not have the impact that you desire until such time as God acts, as God opens a heart.

Remember, we've said this before.

One of the great confusions in 20th and 21st century Christendom is the idea that when you're born again, that's the moment you made a decision and wrote your name on the back of the Bible.

That's not a biblical definition of being born again.

Being born again is God's sovereign volitional act by which he reaches into a heart of stone and converts it to a heart of flesh.

It's his act by which he sends the Spirit to indwell a man, to convert a man, a woman, to change a heart.

And it's only then, once a heart has been changed, once one has been born again, once one has a new nature,

that one is then enabled and persuaded to come to things of Christ.

If your heart is dead, if you are spiritually flatlining,

you can do no more than someone who is physically dead in a grave out down the road.

You can sit out of the graveyard all day long looking for men to move,

looking for someone to jump up.

You won't see it.

Why?

Because they can't.

The same is true spiritually unless God quickens a man, changes a heart.

That's the doctrine of regeneration.

If it's new to you, it's not new to the book.

It's not new to Scripture.

This is the doctrine of regeneration this is what it means to be born again and if someone that

you're ministering to someone you're teaching someone that you're trying to lead into increasingly

biblical principles lead with regards to the Gospel if God doesn't change their heart again

it's going to be a while if ever and so as you're patient and as you continue to teach as you

continue to do so you should also pray for those you disagree with especially if they're

unsaved. Pray for those, that God would save them because that's often the tonic that they need in

order to see the very viewpoint you wish they'd see. Don't forget to yoke prayer to your interactions

with folks. Sometimes we just type up something on Facebook or what have you and send it off

thinking that alone is going to accomplish some good end. I'm not sure that it does.

Prayer, however, can accomplish anything. So yoke what we're doing into prayer and also yoke

anything we're trying to express to any to anybody whether it's about mass viruses politics goodness

knows what horrors might be in the year to come whatever you're trying to share or interact or

teach or lead or instruct yoke it to the Gospel be willing to share the Gospel especially those

who are unsaved because that again that is a necessary cornerstone of the building

of knowledge and you're looking to create all right let me close with this final exhortation

this morning, in the days ahead, in the weeks ahead,

the months ahead, God forbid the years ahead, there may

be even more contention in the public sphere

than there has been in recent days. There may be. I hope there's

not. I hope there's not. And yet, there may be.

Things may be more difficult in the public sphere, more difficult in the social

fabric, more difficult in the community around it.

If that's so, what the world's really going to need, gracious Christians.

Christians that will stand on principle, that will declare truth,

but will do so with a Christ-likeness that prompts others to want to hear them.

In the context of our ministry outside these doors, we are to be increasingly gracious.

And inside these doors, we are also to be gracious.

I am thankful to serve in a church where there is a great sense of peace and purity.

Where there's great fellowship, sweet fellowship even, among the saints, among the believers.

I am grateful for what we have.

But not everyone has it.

And it can be lost if we forget these principles.

If we forget that peace and purity has contention also on patience with one another, forbearance.

Whatever may come, whenever it may occur, God's calling on you and I as Christians

is that we'd be increasingly patient with one another and with others

just as Christ has been patient with us.

Let's pray.