Do you absolutely love church politics? Are you eager to jump into hot theological debates? Do topics like Water Baptism (dunk or sprinkle), Speaking in Tongues, should women be preachers, etc etc get you hot and bothered? Or do you actively avoid controversial religious topics?
It’s my firm belief, that God is much more concerned with how we go about having such conversations, in genuine love and grace, than what side of the isle we are on. Allow me to explain:
Firstly, when we have such discussions on controversial, or unclear areas of theology, we need to ensure the conversation is with the right people and we have the right relationship with said people. We should have a solid relationship built on love and grace with other members of The Way whom we eat, worship, and live life with.
“So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”
1 Thessalonians 2:8 ESV
They should be mature in the faith, able to consume the meat and potatoes of Scripture, not just milk.
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,”
1 Corinthians 3:2 ESV
And they should be studied in the word, dutifully reading and meditating in scripture. For scripture is our measure. Not some blog, YouTube/TV preacher, or book. Scripture.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
When discussing these types of opinions, interpretations, and conflicts it’s important that they not be equated with salvation. As is the issue in Acts 15 and Galatians 5 on circumsion, it’s not not a requirement of salvation, though Jews are welcome to keep up appearances with the law if they wish. We must keep the main thing the main thing and not let the gospel get muddied by periphery conflicts, additional rules, gatekeeping and roadblocks to salvation.
Salvation is about a relationship with the Living Savior Jesus Christ, not about a list of rules.
“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Romans 3:28 ESV
The big point of the Gospel of Jesus is that God loved us so much, he created us in His glory, in His image, that we would live for His glory and reflect His righteous image. But we sinned. We all have succumbed to self-centeredness and fallen short of His Glory. But God Loves us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to take our punishment and pay our sins. Therefore re-opening a direct relationship between us as individuals, and Himself, with no need for intermediates, middle men, sacrifices, etc. He seeks your heart, directly, as you are, and wants you to spend time with Him to get to know Him, and be in relationship with Him eternally.
Jesus simplified our mission while we are here on earth, which establishes our core beliefs here at T&T:
- Love your God with all you have.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Go make disciples of all nations.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV
Matthew 28:19 ESV
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
So, anything beyond that, which is typically what divides denominations, churches, cultures, social groups, tribes, etc, is all secondary. Which means we are free to disagree, but we are not free to hate. Different opinions can and do coexist in the church. The conflict on curcumsism in Acts and Galatians being one of the hottest debates in the scripture, it’s covered in multiple books of the Bible. Unfortunately, disagreement sometimes breeds division and strife in the church. This occurs when people can’t agree to disagree and focus on the main thing. Paul, Peter and the others navigated their issues together in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, reconciled, united, and continued on. They did not branch off in separate denominations.
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion”.
1 Timothy 1:5-6 ESV
Our focus and priority should be on living like Jesus, loving others, and leading others to Him. If we instead focus on peripherary things, even though they may be good things, and flip our priorities around, we can, and likely will, hurt each other. Deep wounds exist in our Christian culture as a result of lost focus. Ask yourself this, before getting into a debate or heated discussion on a peripheral theological issue:
“Is it more important to be right, or to love?”
Sometimes, beating people over the head with with good book and into submission to your interpretation of a given scripture can overshadow our primary mission.
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
Romans 14:1-4 ESV
It’s not about winning the debate, but about winning souls. That only happens through love and grace. That love and grace is how others will know we are of The Way, that we are disciples of Christ.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35
Loving our neighbors is a commandment. Being right all the time is not, it’s not even possible to be begin with.
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
Romans 7:15 ESV
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:8 ESV
We are even cautioned against vain discussions and quarreling over such opinions and matters multiple times.
“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”
2 Timothy 2:14 ESV
To quote The Westminster Confession of Faith, which has been used for hundreds of years as a standard of doctrine:
“All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other that not only the learned but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them”
The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 1, section 7)
It can be important to be dogmatic, laying down principles as incontrovertibly true, on topics which are plainly and easily understood and learned, like salvation. However, if you’re talking to someone who doesn’t agree with you on a particular issue, then standing on your dogma does nothing for them. Zero. Instead, building relationships enable us to build bridges and reach those who are lost and encourage those who are weak. When discussing controversial, muddied, and unclear topics, we need to yield and use caution. For unity, humility, peace, love and grace in the church are mightily important to God.
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV
Step back from dogma, opinions, interpretations, etc. Stop, listen, and love them. Love is so much more important than being right. Just read 1 Corinthians 13 and you’ll see.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
As we venture into some tough controversial, contentious topics, as iron sharpens iron, sparks may fly. We may disagree. But at the end of the day, we must lead with love, grace, and friendship. We are all one, brothers and sisters, co-heirs with Christ, sons and daughters of God. We stand together, always.
“But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian [the law], for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:25-28 ESV
You don’t have to surrender and give up your beliefs and convictions, and neither do they, in order to love each other. Focus on building relationships, not roadblocks. We have great freedom in Christ and through His grace, it’s OK, to disagree, just remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Live like Jesus, Love everyone, Lead others to Him.
