A commitment to love Jesus Christ above all things and to sacrifice all of our mini-agendas for His sake (Eph. 4:1, 15-16; Matt. 22:37; Gal. 2:20)
A commitment to sound doctrine, which never sacrifices the truth, but always prioritizes it in a spirit of grace (Eph. 4:4-6, 13, 15, 16; 3:15)
A commitment to develop Christ-like character, especially humility and submission (Eph. 4:2; Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:3-4; 1 Pet. 3:8)
Illustration: Two individuals who strongly opposed each other’s view later end up arguing in favor of the other person’s view. When our focus moves from self to service of others, this is a sign that we are growing in our Christ-like character.
A commitment to respect and pursue God-given diversity and accept one another as Christ has accepted us (Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Col. 3:11; Rom. 15:7)
Illustration: Unity is not the same as uniformity. The church at its best should be like an orchestra, with many different instruments blending together under one conductor to play complementary parts in one glorious composition.
A commitment to strive earnestly and prayerfully to pursue peace, resolve conflict, and preserve relationships despite personal differences (Eph. 4:3; Prov. 19:11; Luke 6:27-28; Rom. 12:18; Gal. 6:1)
You can hear the message on this HERE.
-based on The Peacemaker” by Ken Sande. Text taken from New Peace Networks (newpeace.net)