Contending For The Faith

"... And if someone asks you about your Christian hope, be ready to explain it," (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15).
"If you don't stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all" (Isaiah 7:9, HCSB).

"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.  for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2-3, NIV). 

"TELL ME YOUR CERTAINTIES; I HAVE ENOUGH DOUBTS OF MY OWN!" -JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE 

NB:  I'm focusing on the essential doctrines that make up orthodox Christianity, not keeping one's faith in them unto salvation, nor faith in faith as if faith saves, when only Christ saves--it's the object of the faith that matters.  The faith has been delineated in several creeds, but then again Christianity is not about believing a creed but knowing a Person.  

Augustine's dictum to be on the same page as much as possible in the Spirit is appropriate for a day of sects and dissension or contention in the church:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  That's why the church body shouldn't be ignorant of its teaching and have a working knowledge of the doctrines of the particular church and even a refresher course might help to keep these things focused and in mind--what they stand for as a church with a church mission and statement--"Without vision the people perish," (cf. Prov. 29:18, KJV).

Paul had already condemned sectarian spirit by rebuking the carnal Corinthians for taking up partisan politics in the church: "I am for Paul; I am for Peter; I am for Apollos; I am for Christ."  Nothing so divides a church like partisan politics, even government politics, because people have their own personal loyalties in these matters and some will die for them because they are invested in tribalism or that they only believe what their tribe tells them is true.  In other words, they've closed their minds and won't even listen to plain facts that might change their minds.  Socrates said that the first step to learning is to admit our ignorance; i.e., we cannot think we know it all or have a monopoly on the truth.

Now contending doesn't mean we are to be contentious!  When the Reformation happened, contention arose because the Catholics declared tradition to be of equal authority as Scripture; therefore, the split became permanent by this Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent in 1545-63.  There is dialogue called godly controversy which is essential, and ungodly controversy that generates more heat than light and isn't worth the adrenaline.  We must never forget that it's evil to sow discord among brethren and God hates it (cf. Proverbs 6:19).  If we cannot live in peace we ought to separate and not cause dissension, a work of the flesh.

We all have our pride and some people will never admit they're wrong, admitting all people have a basic need to be right, but their religious faith is especially vulnerable to this.  The cause of this chain of events may be church rivalry or a competitive spirit of when people tend to play the "let's compare" game (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12) and take sides, not realizing that all the members of the church body should be on the same side and even on the same page spiritually.

Paul said that he was engaged in declaring and affirming the gospel (cf. Phil 1:7), while Jude said he was contending for the faith or defending it (cf. Jude v. 3).  There are certain nonnegotiables that we cannot compromise in our faith that make it orthodox faith and there are doctrines that are gray areas and open to discussion. Some doctrines are essential to orthodox Christianity such as the inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Christ, and the Trinity.   We ought to fight for our convictions in the sense of being able to defend them and stand up for what we believe, declaring and showing our true Christian colors and not standing on the sidelines,  but we don't die for the doctrine of adult baptism where sincere believers disagree.  We don't just want a faith we can live with but one we will die for.

Instead, we understand there are honest quarrels in the faith and we must stick to our guns and not compromise but keep the main thing the main thing and remember what's essential and that we have much more in common than we disagree on:  we agree to disagree and carry on, going forward without being disagreeable, contentious, judgmental, or divisive: this may call a believer out of his comfort zone to serve where he disagrees with something but they must learn to do it love not because they on the same page on everything, for even mates or spouses don't agree on everything--we leave room for disagreement of opinion, noting that there's a place for opinion and then there's a place for church dogma or teaching.

There are gray areas per Romans 14:1: pick your battles!  We ought to be in a church that we feel we can serve in and be in basic harmony and union with its teachings, fellowship can only happen where there's an agreement to base it on.  Our fellowship ought to be based on the personhood or personage of Christ in the Spirit.

I have heard on good authority from Pastor Neil Johnson of my church that we ought to triage our spiritual disagreements.  It is inevitable to disagree and we must be prepared.  It is said that you hold opinions, but convictions hold you, and I know that we don't just want a faith we can live with but one we will die for.  If we have nothing worth dying for, what's the point?  That's like saying if you won't die for your convictions or integrity you may have none!  It is said that we must be willing to die for Christ and our confession in Him, but fight for the faith that is essential for its teachings, and discuss and leave options to agree or disagree on gray areas (cf. Romans 14:1) where we are open-minded and willing to keep the door open to talk without being dogmatic.  In other words, there's a time to build bridges and a time to erect walls!

Sometimes believers just come from different necks of the woods and need to get to know each other before they feel comfortable or at ease; but beware that we become too at ease in Zion that we become complacent and think we've "arrived," and don't need the body by becoming a solitary saint or spiritual Lone Ranger.  No one in the body is a rock or island that is completely independent of the rest--we all need each other on some dimension or level and we are meant to complement each other just like a spouse does.  When we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, we don't get sidetracked by issues anymore that don't matter in the grand scheme of things, but welcome the brother even if he errs and doesn't see the big picture or the whole truth as Priscilla and Aquilla took Apollos aside to straighten him out and teach him the Word of God more accurately (cf. Acts 18:25). 

They say that every challenge is an opportunity and every opportunity is a challenge!  But sometimes we fail to live up to the challenge and take the easy way out and fall short of the goal; we don't want any wasted opportunities to win over our brothers in Christ by gently leading them to a knowledge of the truth, perchance God grant them repentance (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25).  Today we have too much fanaticism and tribalism in the church whereas believers adhere to a "my-way-or-the-highway" mentality and are not willing to "cross the aisle" of church dogmatics to the point of being ultra sectarian or on the verge of being a cult where a church thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong because they have a monopoly on the truth: we must KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING!

Note that the Ephesian church had its doctrines orthodox but had left their first love!  If we do not have love, our doctrines matter little.   We must prioritize our doctrines and realize that God loves all believers, not just those who are of us: the only one who can say that if they are not with Him they are against Him is Jesus.  We ought to pick our battles and not fight over something that has little at stake or we have nothing to gain: some believers even quarrel about the meaning of words in Scripture (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4)!  The man of God must not quarrel! (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24).

For some people it's difficult to admit they are wrong and to be humbled because of spiritual pride; let's beware lest we also become victims of our own spiritual pride!   We must be willing to go in the direction of the facts and truth as revealed--in the Bible.  Of all people, I have no right to condemn a believer of another church because of disagreement because I have been there and done that in my spiritual journey to know the Lord: we are all on the road to the Celestial City and are at different stages of maturity and I can see how God opened my eyes a little at a time to more accurate teachings.

We must learn to doubt our doubts and keep the faith!     CAVEAT:  Dr. Harry Ironside said there should be caution, "Beware lest we mistake our prejudices for our convictions."  I see more of danger for those who don't know what they believe and are ill-prepared to defend their faith in the open marketplace of ideas or the public square and forum.  In sum, it's much better to be at peace with our brethren than to just be right or orthodox--orthopraxy or ethics matter too.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

What Is The Place Of Doctrine?

That is a loaded question since most people have a preconceived idea of what doctrine is. Doctrine is important; don't bail out theologically (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3). We all have a credo; we all have doctrines; some of us just don't have sound doctrine. Usually, they think of something dogmatic or doctrinaire or narrow-minded. They want to avoid doctrine. Actually, if we realize that all doctrine means is "teaching" then half the problem is solved. Who's against teaching?

Doctrine isn't just for intellectuals. You don't commit spiritual or intellectual suicide when you join a ministry or church. You are committing spiritual suicide if you ignore doctrine: It is a given and we are all theologians in a sense. We cannot avoid doctrine: "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine..." (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16). "Those who are wayward in spirit shall gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction [doctrine, as it were]" (cf. Isa. 29:14).

There is value in knowing the scoop, as it were, or being "clued in," because this gives us confidence and these two, according to Charles Swindoll, are like Siamese twins. Doctrine feeds the soul and is the spiritual bread that Christ referred to when He said, "You shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (cf. Matt. 4:4). Just because we are privy to some doctrine doesn't make us a cut above other Christians. " The mere presence of doctrine can leave us cold, even if it is sound doctrine." It is necessary for spiritual wellness but not sufficient.

We don't have the right to believe what we feel is right but must obey rules of hermeneutics and logic that apply to any other book as well. Avoiding controversy is un-Christlike because Christ didn't shy from controversy: "to avoid controversy is to avoid Christ" (see John Stott's book Christ the Controversialist) The early disciples were devoted to the apostles' doctrine or teaching. Remember, God wants us to be "mature in our understanding." Ignorance is not bliss! It is a childish faith that balks at learning Scripture in depth. The meat of the Word is for those who "have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (cf. Heb. 5:14).   Soli Deo Gloria!