Grady-They must challenge their congregations to embrace the whole body of Christ.
******But Grady doesn't understand that the Oneness Pentecostals are right: If theirs is the true god and the true gospel, then the rest of us are not part of the body of Christ. And the opposite is true, too.
Grady-When they do this, they will break the power of a vile religious spirit that has paralyzed the Oneness movement for decades.The devil thrives on division.
********It is actually the Church that thrives on division: division between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, holiness and impurity, justice and injustice, love and hatred. That is why Paul said that it is necessary that there be schisms among the church members, so that those who are approved of God may be CLEARLY seen (
1 Corinthians 11:19). The devil doesn't thrive on division. He thrives on ambiguity, on relativism, on obscuring the divisions between God and idols, between the true gospel and false gospels. Woe to those who call light darkness and darkness light (
Isaiah 5:20).
Grady-He has an uncanny way of using doctrines to split our ranks and turn us against each other. That way, when a common enemy like militant Islam comes along (psst! .it's coming), Christians will be so busy fighting each other we won't be able to join forces.
********This of course begs the question whether those who worship false gods and preach false gospels are Christians. I strongly suspect that many "Oneness believers" are just very confused (as are many Trinitarians, for that matter!) and in reality have a simple faith in Jesus Christ, and I would not take it upon myself to determine whether that faith is a "saving faith" or not. Ask them (or many lay Trinitarians) for a technical definition of God, and they're likely to give a quite confused answer. But ask, "Do you believe Jesus is God and man? Do you believe Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins and thus satisfied the Father's justice on your behalf? Do you believe God sent His Holy Spirit to give you new life in Christ?" and they'll probably answer "Yes" to all of those--and that implies that they really don't think Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit are just one Person. There are of course other issues related to the Oneness groups' legalistic "gospel." If I'm trust in Jesus PLUS my own good works to get me into Heaven, then I'm really not trusting in Jesus. Also, I would distinguish between laymen who are just accepting what they're being taught and don't really know any better, and clergy or teachers who know the Biblical arguments for the Trinity (or the non-legalistic gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone) and who persist in teaching the falsehood anyway. The latter are far more accountable than the former.
Grady-As we celebrate the Azusa Street centennial, my prayer is: "Father, make us one."
*********Unity without truth is illusory and worthless. My prayer is, "Father, Jesus said that He is the way, the TRUTH, and the life, and that no one comes to You but by Him. Please unite Your people in Him, in the TRUTH, and protect us from all falsehood."
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma and an award-winning journalist. Check out the new April issue of Charisma, a collector's edition that celebrates the Azusa Street Revival.