Evangelical Unity: An Appeal

Questions and Answers

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say the question of church unity is so urgent for evangelicals in particular?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the New Testament gives such prominence to the doctrine of the Church that no Christian can rightly ignore the question of its unity. He adds that the rise of the ecumenical movement has created a genuinely new situation, one he says has no parallel since the Protestant Reformation, in which the major denominations are willing to reconsider their entire position. For evangelicals, who claim to take Scripture with full authority, he says this makes the moment especially critical, since silence or inaction now carries lasting consequences.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the chief failure of evangelicals on this question?

He says evangelicals have been more concerned with maintaining the integrity of their own denominations than anyone else within those denominations, and that their historic posture toward church unity has been almost entirely negative, marked by objection and delay rather than positive proposal. He also notes that evangelicals have rarely discussed the doctrine of the Church itself, preferring instead to organize around movements and societies, which he says has left them exposed to the charge that they care only for personal evangelism and not for the Church.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones define the true nature of the Christian Church?

He rejects the idea that the Church consists of a confessional document, a set of articles, or a paper constitution. Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists that a church must consist of living people, specifically those who hold to sound doctrine, who have been born again, and who give evidence of new life. He points to Acts 2:42 as a pattern for the Church's essential marks: the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, and the breaking of bread, arguing that true doctrine, rightly administered sacraments, and church discipline together define the visible Church.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "the sin of schism," and why does he apply it to evangelicals?

Drawing on Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians, he defines schism as division among members of the true Church over matters not significant enough to justify separation. He argues this charge can only be leveled against people who already agree on essential doctrine, since those who reject the essentials of the faith are not, by his definition, within the Church to begin with. On that basis, he contends that evangelicals, who share agreement on the fundamentals of the gospel yet remain scattered across denominations and often more closely bound to those who deny those fundamentals, are the ones most guilty of this sin.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones ultimately appeal to evangelicals to do?

He calls evangelicals to move beyond an accidental, inherited loyalty to their denomination of birth and to consider coming together as churches united around shared doctrine, in visible and working fellowship rather than occasional association. He frames this not as a call to debate but as a call to obedience, acknowledging that it carries real cost for ministers and their families, yet insisting that evangelicals, as the historic guardians of the faith, are called to face that cost as the reformers and martyrs before them did.