C.H. Spurgeon on Unity in the Body of Christ amongst different sects.

"Our Father." That then, includes those of God's children who differ from us in their doctrine. Ah! There are some that differ from us as wide as the poles; but yet they are God's children. Come, Mr. Bigot, do not kneel down, and say, "My Father," but "Our Father." "If you please, I cannot put in Mr. So-and-So, for I think he is a heretic." Put him in, sir; God has put him in, and you must put him in too, and say, "Our Father." Is it not remarkable how very much alike all God's people are upon their knees? Some time ago at a prayer-meeting I called upon two brothers in Christ to pray one after another, the one a Wesleyan and the other a strong Calvinist, and the Wesleyan prayed the most Calvinistic prayer of the two, I do believe - at least, I could not tell which was which. I listened to see if I could not discern some peculiarity even in their phraseology; but there was none. "Saints in prayer appear as one." (The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. IV, p. 390, Sept. 12, 1858

Now I hate High Churchism as my soul hates Satan; but I love George Herbert, although George Herbert is a desperately High Churchman. I hate his high Churchism, but I love George Herbert from my very soul, and I have a warm corner in my heart for every man who is like him. Let me find a man who loves my Lord Jesus Christ as George Herbert did, and I do not ask myself whether I shall love him or not; there is no room for question, for I cannot help myself; unless I can leave off loving Jesus Christ, I cannot cease loving those who love him. (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 12, p. 6)

Here is George Fox, the Quaker, a strange sort of body it is true, going about the world making much noise and stir; but I love the man with all my soul, because he had an awful respect for the presence of God and an intense love for everything spiritual. How is it that I cannot help loving George Herbert and George Fox, who are in some things complete opposites? Because they both loved the Master. I will defy you, if you have any love to Jesus Christ to pick or choose among his people; you may hate as much as you will the shells in which the pearls lie, and the dross with which the gold is mixed, but the true, the precious blood-bought gold, the true pearl, heaven-dyed, you must esteem. You must love a spiritual man find him wherever you may. Such love does exist among the people of God, and if anybody says it does not, I can only fear that the speaker is unfit to judge. If I come across a man in whom there is the Spirit of Christ, I must love him, and if I did not I should prove I was not in the unity at all. (ibid.)

What Protestant can refuse to love the holy Bernard? Was there ever a more consecrated servant of God or a dearer lover of Christ than he? Yet he was most sorrowfully in bondage to the superstitions of his age and of the Romish Church. (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 29, p. 192, March 25, 1883)

I believe there will be more in Heaven than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything, is to "have the pre-eminence", and I cannot conceive how He could have the pre-eminence if there are to be more in the dominions of Satan than in Paradise. (C. H. Spurgeon's Autobiography, Vol. 1, p. 171, in "A Defence Of Calvinism")

What is the reason why there are so many sects in the world? Surely it must be because we don't follow the guidance of the Spirit of God. If we followed the Word of God and the will of God in all things, we should be very much more alike than we are. I do not think that even then we should all run in the same groove, for the road to heaven may be sufficiently wide to have several different paths in it, and yet shall they all be in the same way and in the same road. (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 61, p. 514-515, Sept., 28, 1870, bold added)

If "Christ is all" to you, you are Christians; and I, for one, am ready to give you the right hand of brotherhood. I do not mind what place of worship you attend, or by what distinctive name you may call yourselves, we are brethren; and I think, therefore, that we should love one another. If, my friends, you cannot embrace all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter to what denomination they may belong, and cannot regard them as your brethren in the Lord, and as belonging to the universal Church, you have not hearts large enough to go to heaven. (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 61, p. 75, date preached unknown)

Although upon doctrines of grace our views differ from those avowed by Arminian Methodists, we have usually found that on the great evangelical truths we are in full agreement, and we have been comforted by the belief that Wesleyans were solid upon the central doctrines. (Sword and the Trowel, May, 1891)

Amen sister. God is so much bigger then the man-made castles of theology we sometimes make. May we be lovers of truth in no-matter what camp it falls.

God is so much bigger then the man-made castles of theology we sometimes make. May we be lovers of truth in no-matter what camp it falls.

Amen, I wrote a post the other day on exactly this. To quote:

"But in the blogging world I have found there to be so many critics. They know their theology inside out. They blog about it, arrange debates to debate about it, create forums exclusively for it, fellowship only with believers who hold to it, defend it wherever it is threatened with an opposing point of view and they fall out with their brothers and sisters over it. But when it comes to living it out they fall far short. They argue “We must defend truth!” But what is truth? Truth isn’t an it, Truth is a Person!

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John14:6

There is such a danger of putting our theology before God. Knowing our theology more intimately than the Lord and believing it is that theological interpretation that is the way, the truth and the life…the only way to the Father. But it is not the way. Jesus is the way! Can we love when we have more of a relationship with a point of view than with the Lord Himself?"

You'll need another kind of anchor out there, one that reaches all the way to God in the bottomless depths, and one that never snags on rocks. This is Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ only. And Jesus Christ a not a system of Calvinism or Arminianism or any other "ism", for "isms" are made of steel and get hung up on rocks. They'll hang you up and limit your voyage. They're connected to heavy chains. But Christ's chains are not heavy nor burdensome nor too short. They are weightless and reach all the way into eternity and are as strong and sure as the universe is vast. Learn of Christ, dear brethren, learn Who He is rather than the systems of man. Learn to depend on Him when the water gets too deep for the "ism" you've come to depend on, and you'll find the anchor weight He uses for your boat's stability is not the inflexible steel of an "ism", but the effortlessly transcending power of grace.

Paul, Your illustration really blessed me! I also love this part because having come through a season of being bound by an 'ism' I can relate to it!

Yes, I've discovered this to be true. It's almost as if He deliberately transcends mainline theology just to demonstrate how big His love is, and how unsearchable His ways are. The more I walk with the Lord, the more I understand that I really understand nothing.