Kevin L. Smith says all of the passages in the Bible that deal with how Christians treat “one another” are important passages.
He said churches often tend to prioritize two of the three things that are weighty in the Christian life — the need to contend for the faith and the desire to live a godly life — and ignore the third: the command to strive for love and unity.
“I don’t think many Christians believe unity and loving one another is worthy of the same kind of energy,” said Smith, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. “We need to do a better job of forbearing with one another. The things we fall out over, the things we break relationships over, the things we will question someone’s Christianity over are horrible.”
Striving for unity brings God glory, he said.
“We are united in Christ in the most fundamental truths of life,” Smith said during his sermon to the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference, held virtually Nov. 16. “Right now Christians are all divided over politics. The politics don’t matter if the church is powerless.”
The conference — an all-virtual, cost-free conference that you can watch from your home or office at your own pace — is still available at albaptistpc.com/virtual-conference.
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