Should Catholics and Protestants be Friends?

I know that a lot of people don’t like the idea of Catholics and Protestants hanging out with each other. Apparently, there’s supposed to be a huge fight between us. But the rift doesn’t end there. Even between different denominations there is a battle raging. Baptists don’t like Methodist; Methodist don’t like Anglicans and so on, and so on.

But what does the Bible say about all this?

Ephesians 4:1-6 says:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

When it all comes down to it: here is the question we must ask each other: Do you believe that Yeshua is the Christ? Do you serve God? Is the Holy Spirit living in you?

It’s easy to get caught up in different interpretations, but we don’t have time for dissension. There isn’t time for strife. There’s an African proverb that states: “Two men in a burning hut don’t have time to argue.” Church: THE HUT IS ON FIRE! And when I refer to the hut, I’m speaking metaphorically of the world. The world is dying. People are dying around us.

Christians don’t have time to argue about whether a passage means this or that. When we allow disunity in the body through scriptural confusion, we are allowing the enemy in – God is not the author of confusion or chaos.

I understand that the word ‘ecumenical’ raises red flags because sometimes this means that non-Christian doctrines are in a “Christian” church. I understand. I care about sound doctrine – and I think that every believer should often pray, “God if there is any doctrine in my life that is NOT sound, expose and remove it.” If you ask, God will remove false teaching from your life.

With that said, let’s not spend precious time fighting brothers and sisters in the faith. Let’s walk in love and focus more effort on reaching the lost.