At the beginning, when these dissenting ones separated themselves from the state churches, they were branded as divisive. Because they held different opinions, they were labeled divisive ones. Actually, they were not the ones who were divisive. The state churches had become too broad; too many categories of people were included. In order for God’s children to follow Him, they had no choice but to separate themselves from these state churches.
We have to see that oneness is not based on tolerating sins but on judging sins. Today the oneness spoken of by some is based on tolerance of a certain sin. A sin is discovered, and one tolerates it and then another tolerates it. All those who tolerate such sins form a oneness based on tolerance. When everyone tolerates a sin, no one has any problem with anyone else. There are many things within the state churches which are not of God. A person may be touched by the Spirit in his conscience to reject such a sin, but others will not reject it. The one who rejects it then bears the name of a divisive one. Actually, the problem is not with the one who has seen something, but with the ones who have not seen anything.
If all of God’s children would rise up to exercise judgment, they would be one. The oneness among God’s children should not be based on their oversight. We must first be one with the Lord. If God’s children are careless in judging sin, they may have a oneness among themselves, but they have certainly lost their oneness with the Lord.
The history of Protestantism shows that God is continually raising up men here and there to seek His heart and to exercise judgment on sin. Others may not see what they see, or they may refuse to see. As a result, the ones who see something are branded as divisive through their obedience to God. If every child of God judged sin today and dealt with everything that is not of God, they would be one with one another and one with the Lord. Please bear in mind that the judgment of sin is the real foundation of our oneness.
Another phenomenon among Protestants is this cycle: A person is raised up during a certain generation. This person receives much grace and blessing from the Lord; much blessing is manifested in his generation. After his generation passes away, the second generation remains somewhat good. But by the end of the second generation, men begin to pay attention to other things. They begin to say, “We have received so much grace from the Lord; we should think of some means to preserve this grace. We should form an organization to carry on and maintain this grace.” By the second or third generation, organization comes in. Sometimes organization comes in even by the end of the first generation.
They believe that God is the Giver of grace, but they do not believe that God is also the Preserver of grace. They believe in God’s blessing, but they cannot believe in God’s continual blessing. As a result, human creeds, regulations, and ways and means are introduced in an effort to maintain the blessing. When the fountain is closed, the water in the pool dries up sooner or later; the water level no longer rises. By the third generation, the condition becomes quite dead, and everything reverts to the same condition as before, a condition which they originally came out of. Then God has to go to another person or to a few persons who will seek new vision, new blessing, new separation, and new grace. This will bring in another period of revival. This cycle repeats itself: blessing in the first generation, organization in the second generation, and degradation in the third generation.