Written by Audrey Mack

Keeping peace and unity in the church is essential! Some people believe it is not good or even possible to have a unified church, but Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Unity is conducive to the power, anointing, and blessings of God, and we see this in the book of Acts. In Acts 2, members of the early church were together in one accord, and they saw many miracles, signs, and wonders as a result. But what is true unity?

According to the book of Acts, true unity is built upon the fear of the Lord. For example, the Apostle Peter spoke before thousands of people without any fear of man in him. Despite being arrested and beaten, he was bold, and that emboldened the church. They were unified in fear of the Lord, but what is fear of the Lord? Proverbs 8:13 says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

As I’ve traveled from church to church, I have seen an upsetting trend that I call a false sense of unity. Many pastors are afraid to address certain topics from the pulpit because they don’t want to offend people—they want to keep “unity” in the church. That sounds noble and good, but what kind of unity does that foster? It is not built upon fear of the Lord. It’s a unity that is based on compromise.

This is not love, nor is it unity. If pastors are afraid to address certain issues, is that because of the fear of man? Are you afraid to offend people? Some Christians praise the name of Jesus but have no problem casting their vote for politicians who promote things that the Bible is against. This is hypocrisy. Jesus said that hypocrisy is like leaven: even a little bit will spread and take over (Gal. 5:9). By not speaking the truth, pastors are rejecting the truth for their congregations rather than allowing their people to accept or reject the truth themselves.

Truth will offend people, but it’s better than being lied to. If we want to see revival in the church, there needs to be a shift. Right now, there is a lot that looks and sounds godly but that denies life. As Christians, we must love truth, righteousness, and godliness more than whatever the world tells us is morally correct. It’s not about political parties; it’s about truth. It’s about what the Bible says. Let us stand for the truth of the Bible, in fear of the Lord, for true unity in the church!