Walls Fall Down by Dudley Rutherford

Author:Dudley Rutherford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

In John 17, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed for Himself and for His disciples. Afterward, He prayed for believers “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (v. 21, emphasis added). This means that when believers are bonded together in love, unity, and like-mindedness, people who don’t believe in the gospel will look at us and understand that God sent Jesus Christ into the world. That is a very powerful cause and effect. If taken seriously by Christians, it would lead the entire world to salvation. Being in a culture of like-minded people not only benefits us in our personal battles, but it also benefits in the bigger picture of God’s plan. He wants the world to come to know Christ (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).

Unity is such a powerful force that it can sometimes result in unfavorable consequences as well. It reminds me of the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, which occurred during a time when the whole world had a common language. The descendants of Noah disobeyed God’s command in Genesis 9:1 to fill the entire earth; instead they banded together and traveled eastward (Gen. 11:2).6 One day, they decided to build a great tower that would reach the heavens. The Lord saw this and said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other” (Gen. 11:6–7). So God scattered the people and confused their language, and the people stopped building the great Tower of Babel.

People who are of one heart, mind, and accord are a force to be reckoned with. When believers are united, our witness increases in effectiveness and others take notice. In Acts 2:42–47, we see how the Holy Spirit was unleashed upon believers like a rushing wind and emboldened them to preach the gospel with passion. Those who accepted the good news devoted themselves to preaching the Word and to prayer. Verse 44 tells us, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” They sold their possessions and gave to anyone as he or she had need. They ate together in one another’s homes with sincere and happy hearts, and they praised God. Then we see the ultimate result of their unity in verse 47: “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

The extraordinary harmony exhibited by the early church caught the attention of unbelievers. As a result, thousands of people accepted the gospel. And you know what? It’s 100 percent possible for contemporary Christians to be as unified and effective as these early believers. We simply need to remember we have strength in our numbers and come together in love, passion, and commitment.

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