All bible quotes not otherwise marked are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016)
There are a lot of disagreements in the Christian community and there always has been. If you remember the thirty years war was a religious war. Thirty years. That is longer than all the American wars combined depending on exactly when you say Vietnam started I suppose.
So when is it right to take an unbending stand, and when should you leave it alone. I got into a discussion about a Mormon food pantry online. I said I could not support the Mormons though I wouldn’t go out of my way to oppose a food pantry obviously. People got to eat. I wouldn’t though avoid condemning the Mormons as a Christian cult.
Now suppose it is the Methodists running the food pantry. They are orthodox Christians even though I have my theological debates with them on occasion. To me they are like cousins that I love but we live in different homes. Our parents set different rules for how we should live. Yet we are still related. We are still born into the body of Christ. So that is an important point.
1 Cor 12:13
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit
We are all baptized into one body. That body is not Central Baptist on Bath Ave nor is it United Methodist on Main Street. It’s all believers. We are all in the same body. We are all serving Christ and He is the head. He is sending out orders and we are following if we are faithful. I see faithfulness across denominations even when I believe some of their doctrines are wrong. Just as they see some of mine being wrong.
1 John 3:14
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
One of the ways we know we are saved is our love for our brothers and sisters. Our brethren. The usage here of brothers includes all believers. So if we believe that everyone born again is in the body of Christ which is the church, we must love them.
Colossians 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Jesus wants us to cooperate on many things but what about those things we disagree on. Well Jesus wants us to be faithful to the bible. So if we believe the bible says something we should be in a church that holds to that view. At least if it is something important.
I’ve discussed the various “tiers” of belief before. Some beliefs divide us to such a degree, we think most of those in opposition are in fact not saved. For example the Jehovah’s witnesses believe Satan is Jesus brother. That is denying Jesus divinity. That is a deal breaker.
Whereas if you think immersion or sprinkling is the way to baptize, we can agree and still be in cooperation. The same for women pastors, end times, church organization, etc.. These beliefs are things a church needs to decide and decide firmly but it’s not something we need to decide across all of Christendom. We can agree to disagree. We can believe the other side is born again and going to heaven even if wrong in their theological position.
There are also those views that do not even rise to the level of church disagreement. Some might even say a few on my list above meets that requirement. That could be true for many of you but probably not me. For example, many churches take no position on end times. They just say Jesus will return and that is it. You can hold whatever view you want about it. My church is dispensational and holds to a firm view. If you care about it, you wouldn’t hold a different view and attend my church.
But what about those who are not of the faith? How do we treat them. Well we treat them as lost people. That does not mean we treat them bad! We treat them good because we want them to be saved.
Let’s have some perspective. This is what God says about our righteousness.
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Is 64:6.
Those filthy rags are the tampons of ancient times. Realize that in the old testament a menstruating woman would make anyone who touched her ritually unclean. So it is like we are so unrighteous that our very nature makes us unclean in God’s eyes.
We should also realize that our fellow believers in Christ are struggling just like we are. Here is Paul.
Romans 7:18-20
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me
As Christians the world is beset by sin. Our nature is to sin. What are we to do? Sinners serve Satan, yet we expect them to do as God wishes? Do servants of Satan do as God wishes?
Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me
Until their eyes are opened who are they serving? Satan. Christians stop obsessing over secular matters. God will provide for your needs and He will end the evil running rampant on this earth. You will not. It will run rampant until Christ returns. And just before He arrives it will be at its worst.
Let’s circle back now. So when someone becomes a Christian, whose side are they on? Satan’s? No. They are God’s. They are one of us and thus on our side. Do not disdain or eschew an ally. I’m not saying go to the same church but this rivalry and hate between churches must stop. We must keep our eye on our mission. We have a mission you know and that mission is more important than fighting between churches.
I want to apologize for missing last week. A combination of intense busyness and COVID-19 got me down. I’ll try my best not to make a habit of it. I am recovering nicely though so I am thanking God for his continuing mercies.
Thank you for reading. There will be more God willing. I love you all. I pray God blesses your mission.