Political change cannot provide solutions for society's deepest need: in the wake of the General Election it is time for Christians to unite to transform our nation...

The result of the 2015 General Election has meant relief for some and grief for others, but surprise for nearly all. One prediction came true: the SNP landslide. Will Scotland seek a further referendum on independence? Nicola Sturgeon says no, but if she does not gain what she wants at Westminster, will she change her mind? Will English and Scottish politicians spend the next five years butting heads? Will the Union collapse?

Division is rife

Division is rife in our nation: politically between Scotland and England, economically between north and south and the haves and have-nots, and socially between black and white, male and female.

Greed and selfishness breed unhealthy competition and division. Those who cannot compete go under and growing numbers find themselves in a poverty trap. We blame the government for our social ills, but no government can solve them all. Only the gospel can change the selfishness in human hearts that causes division and suffering. Only the compassion of the Saviour can reach the depths of broken lives and only a revival can transform society.

The Wesleyan revival of the 18th century transformed areas of society that no politician could reach. Yet our national church did not champion their preaching but closed its pulpits to them, so that the Wesley brothers and their friend George Whitefield began to preach out of doors to the poor. Opposition to the revival continued in the Anglican Church and so Methodism as a separate denomination was born. Sadly, part of the legacy of the revival was division in the Church. The opportunity for a revival uniting people across class and political divides as one Body of believers was lost.

If we are to see revival in our nation, we must seek unity so that we do not limit the work of the Holy Spirit by our divisions."

A divided nation needs a united Church

Let true believers of every denomination unite under the manifesto of Jesus from Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

Cardinal Vincent Nicholls, leader of the Catholic Church in Britain, has pointed out that when Christians are persecuted, their persecutors do not ask what denomination they belong to or what, for example, is their theology of the Holy Spirit. They just see the people of the Cross. In the same way, the beggars Mother Teresa helped were unlikely to have questioned her orthodoxy: they simply saw her devotion to Christ.

The needs of our society cry out for Christians of all denominations to work together, sharing skills and resources, rather than insisting on promoting the work of our own churches and organisations, which leads to duplication of effort and inefficient use of assets.

That does not mean compromising core beliefs but discerning who are our real gospel partners: we must jealously guard the faith handed down to us by the apostles, and prioritise the saving work of the gospel at the centre of all mission and social action, otherwise we lose our distinctiveness (Matt 5:13).

Seeking unity does not mean compromising on core beliefs. It means discerning real partners in Christ and prioritising the saving work of the gospel."

How do we discern who our gospel partners are?

Christian unity must be based on our position "in Christ" (Gal 3:28), proceeding from his saving work and the ongoing work of his Spirit conforming us to his image (Rom 8:29).

The hallmark of true believers of every denomination is spiritual new birth (John 3:3), through which we become part of the Body of Christ:

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. (Eph 4:4-6)

Ephesians 4 also speaks of our "unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God", which grows as we are equipped and edified by the five-fold ministry (v11-13). This implies that our unity is built on the Word of God. May we work towards local leaders meeting together for study and prayer so that unity for ministry in our neighbourhoods is strong in both word and Spirit?

Bound together in love

Jesus did not say that our distinctiveness lies in identical doctrinal positions on all points, but in the love we have for one another (John 13:35). It is time for us to unite in love, to "put on love, which binds all virtues together in perfect unity" (Col 3:14) and to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3).

So let this "one body" work in unity across denominational boundaries to "bind up the broken-hearted" and "release the captives" (Isa 61). May we agree to disagree about our differences on matters of secondary importance and lift Jesus higher in our nation through servant-hearted gospel witness and social intervention?

Prophecy Today UK would love to hear about local initiatives involving believers from different churches and denominations working together. Please get in touch via our Contact page.