Text: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Petty Conflicts Source of unnecessary strife between faithful Christians Different than matters of sin, error, matters of personal judgment, and rumors/gossip (though this sometimes goes along with these conflicts) These petty conflicts could be caused by any number of things — we’ll notice a few in this lesson First, Some Things [...]

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:6-7 How are brethren to handle differences in matters of personal judgment? Is it Truly a Matter of Judgment? First must determine if the issue under consideration is truly a matter of judgment or if it is a matter of sin instead This determination is made only by an unbiased examination of [...]

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:6-7 Rumors and Gossip Gossip isn’t necessarily referring to things that aren’t true — it’s repeating things that don’t need to be said that bring harm to someone The Scriptures condemn the work of a talebearer (Leviticus 19:16; Romans 1:29) Engaged in by those who have not found a more profitable use [...]

Text: Romans 14 What We Must Understand As We Begin: Controversy: Does Romans 14 allow ongoing fellowship with those in sin/error? We can understand this (Ephesians 3:4) Scripture does not contradict itself (John 10:35) What Does This Chapter Teach & What Does It Not Teach? Don’t judge others’ opinions by your opinions. NOT: Don’t judge. (v. [...]

Misunderstanding Grace Leads to Error More sin leads to more grace (Romans 6:1-2) Grace is a license to sin (Jude 4) With the grace-unity movement, grace is the basis for unity What is Grace? God’s gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8) The gospel is the message of God’s grace (Acts 20:24) Grace is not without works [...]

Two-fold plea Unity – give up denominations Go back to the Bible – forsake the creeds/traditions of men This is the call we find in the New Testament, not just by Restoration preachers. Unity – John 17:20-21; Ephesians 4:3-6 NT only rule of faith and practice – 1 Peter 4:11; Galatians 1:6-9 These go together [...]

What is Fellowship? – partnership, participation; working together in spiritual matters The Basis for Fellowship – 1 John 1:5-7 Being too Loose in our Fellowship – 2 John 9-11 Being too Restrictive in our Fellowship – 3 John 9-10

Text: Psalm 133:1 God desires unity – John 17:20-21; 1 Corinthians 1:10 Proper type of unity – Ephesians 4:4-6; 5:11 Threats to unity in the local church Sin – 1 Corinthians 5 Error – Romans 16:17 Pride – Acts 20:29-30 Grudges – Ephesians 4:25-27 Human loyalty – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 God’s Desire for Unity – John 17:20-21; Ephesians 4:3-6 God’s Contempt for Division – Titus 3:10; Galatians 5:20 The Danger of Following Men – Romans 3:23; Matthew 7:15 We Must be of Christ – 1 Corinthians 4:6

Text: Genesis 11:1-9 Unity & harmony mean nothing if we’re not working for God’s purpose – John 17:20-21; 2 John 9-11 What seems good to us may not be good – Proverbs 14:12; Isaiah 55:8-9 We will never reach God/heaven through our own means – John 14:6;Matthew 7:21-23 There are no bounds to apostasy – [...]