To counterfeit the biblical teaching of unity, Satan seeks to confuse it with peaceful coexistence of truth and error. The technical name for this state of affairs is pluralism. Those who have embraced this mistaken view of pluralism think that unity is putting aside theological differences and pretending they don't exist or don't matter. Thus, in some of our churches, there are different Sabbath School classes to allow for different theologies. Pluralism in beliefs and the desire to get along with everyone is confused with true unity.

Proponents and supporters of this counterfeit unity (pluralism) sometimes employ Christ's parables of the wheat and tares, and of the sheep and goats to teach that the church has no business in separating the true from the false. To such, anyone who challenges conflicting or erroneous theologies in the church is “divisive” or “intolerant.”

Two brief comments are in order:

1. Coexistence is not the same as unity. It is true that in the church today, the wheat grows with the tares, the sheep and the goats coexist, and the farms of the just and the unjust lie side by side in the landscape. It is also true that the hour is coming when Christ Himself will divide the sheep from the goats and separate the tares from the wheat. But while a fruit of unity is harmony, co-existence is not the same as unity.

The question is not about coexistence, but of union and fellowship. The fact that the wheat grows in the same field with the tares does not mean the two should cross-pollinate. The fact that the sheep graze near the goats does not mean that the two should seek to interbreed. The unjust and the just enjoy the same rain and sunshine, but shall they forget their deep moral differences and intermarry? The prophet Amos asked: "Can two walk together except they be agreed" (Amos 3:3)?

2. Absence of conflict is not the same as unity. Counterfeit unity is popular because it argues that the absence of conflict is evidence of true unity. But this is not necessarily true. Sometimes, striving to uphold true unity, the unity founded on Christ's Word, inevitably results in conflict and persecution (2 Tim 3:12). We must not purchase unity at the expense of biblical fidelity. Loyalty to God and faithfulness to His truth are jewels more precious than gold or diamond. For these jewels men and women have suffered the loss of property, imprisonment and even death.

In the last days of the world's history, an attempt will be made to enforce this counterfeit unity. Different religions and churches will be united on falsehood, and demand all to follow the path of disobedience. But God's true followers will not embrace this type of unity. They will choose to separate themselves from the path of disobedience (Rev 13 & 14). As someone observed, when confused sheep start over a cliff the individual sheep can save himself only by separating from the flock. For perfect unity at such a time can only mean total destruction.

[For more on this subject, read author’s article on “True and Counterfeit Unity” found in a link under “Contemporary Issues”]