Confessing Christ and the Danger of Division

Confessing Christ and the Danger of Division

To confess Christ is to love Him, to love His Word, and to love His people. True confession always walks hand in hand with humility and unity. But it is possible to speak boldly of Christ while at the same time denying Him in practice—by sowing unnecessary division in His body, the church.

Some insist that to be faithful to Christ one must hold to a very narrow view of Scripture—such as KJV-Onlyism, or the claim that God’s Word is only perfectly preserved in the Textus Receptus in a single, flawless form. While the love for Scripture behind such convictions is sincere, this position is not what Christ or His apostles require of us. Scripture itself never teaches that God’s Word is bound to one translation, one edition, or one text family. Instead, we are told: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

The mark of true discipleship is not clinging to one edition of the Bible, but loving Christ and His people. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). If our defense of the Bible turns into a weapon that cuts the body of Christ, we have misunderstood both the Bible and the Savior it reveals.

To divide Christ’s church over a translation or a particular printed edition of Greek or Hebrew is to act contrary to the very Christ we claim to confess. To love Him is to build up His body, not fracture it. To confess Him is to proclaim His saving work, not add man-made requirements to His Word.

So let us hold fast to the inspired Scriptures with reverence, but let us also hold fast to one another in love. Christ is not honored by schisms dressed up as zeal. He is honored when His people confess Him with lips and lives marked by both truth and love.