BEING OF THE SAME MIND TOWARD ONE ANOTHER

It was stated in previous blogs that practicing the “one anothers” found in the New Testament results in a healthy, vibrant church.

Romans chapters twelve through fifteen contain one-quarter of the “one anothers” which believers are expected by the Lord Jesus Christ to practice.

The bedrock truth for practicing the New Testament “one anothers” is this statement of fact (reality): believers are members of one another (Romans 12:5).  Each believer is to contribute to the well-being of Christ’s Body, the Church.  The church is interdependent and interconnected.

This month’s blog focuses on Romans 12:16, “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation (NASB, 1997).”

The Apostle Paul is calling for unity in the church of Rome.  He desires for them to be a singular body free from discrimination towards one another.  He calls for the elimination of arrogance which fuels discrimination, strife, and division.

Church unity is only achievable when believers align their thoughts, attitudes, and actions with the truths of Scripture.

To fully comprehend Paul’s call for church unity, it is crucial to grasp the historical and cultural context of that era when Paul penned the letter, approximately two thousand years ago.

Ancient Roman society was deeply rooted in social classes and hierarchy. The social class individuals were born into determined their identity and self-perception of themselves and others. Individuals born into high classes were never to associate or socialize with those of lower classes. Furthermore, people of higher classes would never serve those of lower classes.

Arrogance and self-conceit (superiority) is usually part and parcel of practicing class hierarchy.

Arrogance and self-conceit can also occur when a person considers their nationality or lineage to be superior to another's.  This was true of Jesus’ day.  Jews, the descendants of Abraham, considered themselves superior to Samaritans and Gentiles.  The Jews would not associate, socialize, or serve them.  People of Roman descent also thought themselves better than Jews.

The mindset of superior classes and nationalities, arrogance and self-conceit, was present in the church of Rome.  It was marked by strife and division.

The Apostle Paul sought to bring together this divided church, to assist them in being of the same mind toward one another.  His tool was the Bible’s teaching about salvation.  The Gospel’s message eliminates arrogance, self-conceit, discrimination, and superiority of classes and people, strife and division.

Out of the first eleven chapters in Romans dedicated to imparting the truths of salvation, four profound ideas heal the divide.

1. Every human being, whether Jew or Gentile, is a sinner and has fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 1-3).

2. Justification is by grace alone, God’s gift apart from works (Romans 3, 4).  This  applies to nationality and social class.

3. Justification is accompanied by sanctification.  God frees the sinner from sins such as arrogance and class hierarchy, enabling him to love another person rightly (Romans 5-8).

4. Israel will never cease to be part of God’s eternal plan; God has set them aside for a period of time to focus on Gentiles and the church.  The church has not replaced Israel (Romans 9-11).  (This tenet of Dispensationalism, and Dispensationalism as a whole eliminates anti-semitism.)

   
   

Unfortunately, worldly thinking with respect to social classes and the arrogance it fosters still exists today in both society and some local churches.  Sadly, many churches have cliques, strife, and division because they are think worldly, sometimes practicing it unknowingly.

How do you perceive yourself in relation to others? Perhaps it’s not rooted in your social class, but rather in your appearance or knowledge of the Bible. Could you be arrogant and superior to others simply because you don’t participate in certain activities they do? What about possessions or the amount thereof?

A healthy and vibrant church is an unified church. Unity arises from believers having the same mindset towards each other, founded solely on Biblical truth, especially salvation.