As Christians, we need to know when to choose our battles wisely. In other words, know when the fight is worth it. Unfortunately, oftentimes that is a problem for Christian believers.
Richard Dawkins, perhaps the preeminent atheist in the world today, is known to say, “I do not have to battle with Christians, because Christians save their best battles for each other.” Unfortunately, Dawkins is spot on: Christians really do seem to save their best battles for each other. But what are those “battles,” anyway?
For starters, there are the various issues related to origins. That would be the topics found in the first chapters of Genesis: Things like the age of the earth (I have witnessed some massive battles between believers over that one), the degree evolution played in the creation account, and the extent of the Great Flood in Noah’s day (some say it was a global flood, others say it was a massive-but-localized flood, while others say it never really happened).
Then there are the issues related to the end-times. That would be the topics related to the book of Revelation. For instance, the rapture: Will it be pre-Tribulation, mid-Tribulation, post-Tribulation, or not at all? Believers love to squabble over end-times issues.
But then there’s everything between Genesis and Revelation! Is baptism for babies and infants, or just for professing believers? How do we think about the elements (bread and wine) in Communion or Eucharist? What about divine predestination versus human free will regarding salvation? Christians have been known to engage in some extremely nasty debates throughout the centuries on that topic. Or even the reality and nature of hell. Those are just a handful of topics that believers have been known to argue over.
The Apostle Peter, in his first letter to the Church, tells us that we need to always be ready to tell others why we believe what we believe: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” But then Peter ends the verse with this very wise admonition: “But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Many Christians are quick to do the former (argue their point), but sometimes reluctant to exercise the latter (“gentleness and respect”). However, we should always emphasize that last part.
Always keep in mind that “gentleness and respect” is what ultimately wins the day. A friend of mine, a retired physician who exemplifies “gentleness and respect,” is very quick to offer up this advice: “No one cares about what you know, until they first know that you care.” I doubt that this quote is original to him – it’s so good that surely someone thought of it centuries ago – but I’m going to give him full credit for it just the same. Rupertus Meldenius, a Lutheran theologian who lived from 1582-1651, said that, when it comes to theological differences, we need to always be quick to show charity. His exact quote (which sometimes is attributed to Saint Augustine) is as follows: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” I like that quote. A lot.
So, what are our “essentials,” anyway? Your list might look different from mine, of course (remember charity!), but I’m going with three points: (1) The Great Commission, which is evangelism or sharing one’s faith; (2) good works; (3) a few core doctrinal beliefs. Let’s start with the Great Commission.
Between his resurrection and ascension back into heaven, Jesus told his disciples to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). As believers, we need to make sure we share our faith with others. Our faith is too good not to do that.
My second core essential is, as mentioned, good works. Good works do not earn us salvation – we cannot do that, anyway – but rather we engage in good works out of gratitude to Jesus. In other words, we perform good works as part of our commitment to living out our faith in Christ and serving him. James, the earthly brother of Christ, wrote these words: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds… You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone… As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:18, 24, 26). Our faith is a witness to the world. Sometimes we evangelize best through our example.
Finally, I consider only a few Christian doctrines to be “essential.” Four, to be exact.
Belief #1: Jesus is both God and man. The Apostle John, writing under God’s illumination, wrote these incredible verses: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus is both God and man. 100% God, and 100% man. Not 50% God and 50% man, or some other numerical arrangement. Jesus is fully divine and fully human, at the same time.
Belief #2: The bodily resurrection of Christ is both a reality and the linchpin of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote, in perhaps the single greatest chapter in the New Testament, that “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14). If Christ was not bodily raised, Christians are wasting their time, and we can all sleep in on Sunday morning. But Christ was raised from the dead, and that makes all the difference in the world. (So, you better get up and go to church on Sunday morning!)
Belief #3: Salvation comes through Christ alone. The Apostle John recorded these words from Jesus himself: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), and Dr. Luke – a top-notch historian if ever there was one – wrote, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Salvation is found only in Christ, and this is a non-negotiable doctrine. However, this does not necessarily mean that those who never knew Christ or even accepted him in this life are destined to spend eternity apart from God. The Lord wants no one to be lost (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9), and I believe God will reach many people in the interface between life and death, at the “last moment.” (That would be a great topic for a later article.)
Belief #4: Salvation – ensuring that one will be with God for eternity after this life is over – is not at all complicated. The Apostle Paul, in his magnum opus, wrote that, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). That’s quite basic and to the point. Nothing needs to be added to it, and certainly nothing should be subtracted from it, either.
Then there are the debatable doctrines or “non-essentials” as Rupertus called them. Christians will likely fight over these. The doctrine of the Trinity could be one of these. For me personally, the triune nature of God is an essential. But, if someone said to me, “I have declared both in my heart and publicly that Jesus is Lord, and I believe that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, but I do not believe that God is triune in nature,” I would have to consider that person to be both saved and a Christian. I would recommend that he or she reexamine the doctrine of the Trinity, however.
The historicity of Adam and Eve would be another of my personal essentials that I would not insist that all other professing Christians hold to. I know professing believers who deny the historicity of Adam and Eve, and they are quite devout in their faith.
For me, this is an essential because, if Adam was merely symbolic, then Christ – the “Last Adam” – would have to be symbolic as well. That thought makes no sense to me. (Besides, there is ample evidence both genetically and anthropologically that mankind was intentionally created, not randomly evolved over eons of time. That might be another article for the future.)
As believers, both within denominations and across them, we need to avoid fighting over things that are peripheral (“non-essentials”). In fact, we need to quit fighting, period. I have heard of churches splitting over the choice of the new carpet color for the sanctuary. Madness!
Let me conclude with these words from the Apostle John that are not found in the New Testament. According to an early church tradition (perhaps relayed to us from the early church historian Eusebius or maybe even from an Early Church Father) John was in great demand as a speaker in the house churches of the late first century. Tradition states that his message was always the same: “Little children, learn to love one another.” One day a church leader said to John, “Brother, we have heard that message before. You were with the Lord for three years. Do you have anything else you can teach us?” To that John replied, “If you can learn to do that one thing, there is no other teaching that you need.” Amen.
Randy Hroziencik
Pastor, First Baptist Church (Kewanee, Illinois)
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
