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I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Dissension In The Church


There are certain doctrines that Christians, even sincere, will always disagree about and it should be that way for we are not to be contentious about every minor doctrine and learn to distinguish what the main thing is: the gospel. Augustine said, "In necessary things, unity; in unnecessary things, liberty; in all things charity." We should never abandon the essential and nonnegotiable truths of the faith but "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto us." Keep the main thing the main thing!

We are not to stay away from all controversies but godless ones, not godly ones. Some matters are not worth the adrenaline they stimulate or generate more heat than light! It is not always the right thing to do to remain congenial when truth is at stake. Remember, the church fathers did debate doctrines till they could concur on the truth and resolve them with creeds. Note: sectarian spirit is wrong and we should not say "I am of Paul, I am of Peter, I am of Jesus" and so forth. But remember, the spirit of the Reformation was: “I dissent, I disagree, I protest,” meaning we are not slaves to a church dogma but should search the Scriptures like Bereans to see whether those things are so. (Acts 17:11).

Don't major on minors and get sidetracked in gray areas that are a matter of personal conscience in which each should be convinced in his own mind while respecting matters of opinion. Heresy arises to prove whom God approves and who is in error and should be judged. We are to judge those within the church who are false teachers or wolves in sheep's clothing. Just because there may be disagreement among sincere believers is no reason to become neutral or refuse to take a stand as a bystander. “If you are not firm in your faith, you will not stand firm at all.” (Isaiah 7:9). “They refuse to stand for the truth.” (Jer. 9:3).

We have a right to our own opinion, just not our own facts! Also, we are to get convicted of the truth knowing that we hold opinions, but convictions hold us! Do you have any convictions you will die for? It was only certain orthodox doctrines that the church fathers fought for and defended and put into their creeds such as the deity of Christ, the resurrection, the inspiration of scripture, and the sinfulness of mankind. The whole point is that we should never become argumentative, divisive, judgmental, contentious, or prejudiced in our discussions.

No one has a monopoly on the truth and knows all the answers. Thankfully, we know the Answerer and have the Answer book, and if we can agree on that we have a basis of fellowship. Remember, our fellowship is based on a relationship with Jesus, not an agreement on a doctrine we cherish as a fetish as having a Bible-club mentality.

What is important is that we all agree that Jesus is Lord and have He is the Judge, not us. If we can balance and reference our teachings to the Word of God, that is important. Can you cite scripture to support it? Now, I do not mean we should be adept at proof-texting or even taking verses out of context but know that our doctrines need biblical support. Inexperienced students of the Word take verses out of context literally concerning their immediate context in the paragraph, book, and rest of scripture; also out of context socially and culturally, and even out of context theologically meaning they ignore the basic teaching of scripture as a whole to prove one far-fetched ideas or teaching.

Remember, "no scripture is of any private interpretation" meaning God is not going to give some gifted teacher the ability to see things that others don't. "The sum [entirety] of God's word is truth" meaning not in isolation or out of context. We must compare scripture with scripture and verse with parallel verses and let scripture be its own interpreter! We must strive for truth in interpretation and know what we believe; not knowing is a kind of unbelief!

In sum, just because believers don’t agree on some doctrines, doesn’t mean we should avoid those doctrines, or take stands on them, but understand that others may disagree and not always intend to dissuade them but “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and find commonality or common ground on which to fellowship. Soli Deo Gloria!

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