Unity of the Spirit Leads to Unity of the Faith

I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. - (John 17:23 NASB)

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ... until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. - (Ephesians 4:3, 13 NASB)

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. - (Colossians 3:14 NASB)

In my pursuit of 'pure doctrine' I've been wrestling with the tenets of Reformed Theology and those of the Wesleyan school of thought (which I favor). I am amazed that God has chosen to use such broken vessels as Martin Luther (who advocated shipping all the Jews back to Palestine and recommended execution of the Anabaptists) and John Calvin (who advocated torture and execution as acceptable means of 'evangelism'. Why should I trust myself to Biblical interpretations from men whose lives in no way resembled that of the Christ whom they claimed to have been disciples of?

Of course I'm not eager to have my own life put under the microscope!

Anyway, I see that there is a tension between 'right doctrine', which is definitely essential, and which the Scriptures themselves admonish us to guard with diligence, and pursuit of unity in the bond of peace whereby we are told by Jesus himself that we will be identified as genuinely His disciples. So, even though I consider Calvin's views heretical (and question whether with his advocacy of forced conversions he will even attain to life eternal), I may not be able so easily to write off those who adhere to his teachings.

I'm reading 'Revival' by Winkey Pratney. Last night I read a wonderful exchange between the imminent 18th century preacher Charles Simeon and John Wesley which I think speaks eloquently to my struggle:


**********************************************************************************
Simeon - Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers.  But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions.  Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?

Wesley - Yes, I do indeed.

Simeon - And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?

Wesley - Yes, solely through Christ.

Simeon - But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?

Wesley - No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.

Simeon - Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?

Wesley - No.

Simeon - What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?

Wesley - Yes, altogether.

Simeon - And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?

Wesley - Yes, I have no hope but in Him.

Simeon - Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things where in we agree. (Moule, 79ff.)
**********************************************************************************