Posted on 04/17/2008 11:43:27 AM PDT by alpha-8-25-02
By Sam Crabtree July 6, 1999
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This is of course a trick question, though not tricky. Paul's instructions are plain that we are to pursue both unity and doctrine. Further, pursuing both at the same time will be one indication that growth is occurring. "...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men..." (Eph 4:13-14).
Some see doctrine as divisive, discordant, and disagreeable. Others see the avoidance of doctrinal clarity as the slippery slope to the church's undoing. So how can Christians grow in unity without compromising the church's foundations for unity, and yet simultaneously press for clarity in doctrine without becoming quarrelsome?
One way is by contending in love; that is, standing for truth in the face of error. "...but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ..." (Eph 4:15). People who grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ are the same ones becoming increasingly ready apologists for God's truth in order to graciously benefit God's people, balancing courageous firmness with tender love. One need not be a busybody nor a burdensome crank in order to correct someone for their sake. This is what Paul did in corresponding with the Galatians and Ephesians. He contended, but without being contentious. He fought the canker of seductive deception but not cantankerously. His was an attitude of pastoral contention, battling for doctrinal essentials but for the sake of the people in beholding God's glory. There is a holy tenacity that defends truth, even at great personal risk.
Such contending for truth is pivotal if the aim of evangelism and missions is worship. Worship presupposes knowledge. To worship God in truth is to approach him on the basis of his self-disclosure. To get a wrong answer to the question "What is God like?" is to go down a path of ignorance or superstition or idolatry. Because "deficient worship displeases God" [J.I. Packer, Knowing Christianity, p. 142], worship must be rigorously informed by revelation. "Untruth pollutes and disqualifies worship" [Bruce Leafblad, in a seminar on worship renewal at the 1999 BGC annual meeting]. There will be little unity in corporate worship if we sweep away precision in understanding just which God it is we are worshipping.
"The increasing abandonment of truth and moral absolutes in our culture, as militant diversity threatens all firm conviction, has dramatically influenced the evangelical mindset. The political spin doctors who specialize in deflecting attention away from truth onto feelings and relationships and styles have their counterpart in the evangelical tendency to avoid doctrinal disputes by casting issues in terms of demeanor and method rather than truth. Serious disagreements are covered over, while vague language and pragmatic concerns preserve hollow unity at the expense of theological substance and Biblical clarity and power." (John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory, p.24)
The way to keep the second commandment (love your neighbor as yourself) is not by abandoning the first commandment (love God without reserve). Clarity on important things (i.e., God) is a means to unity. People who cherish the same truths find themselves unified, seemingly without effort. That's why we throw ourselves into things like Sunday School, small group Bible study, Fighter Verse scripture memory, courses offered as part of The Bethlehem Institute, biblical preaching, and rigorous personal Bible meditation - for unity and doctrine... and maturity.
Desiring truth and love with you,
Sam Crabtree
Executive Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis
Answer . . .
YES!
In essentials, unity.
In nonessentials, charity.
In all things, love.
Doctrine unites those that agree with said doctrine.
As my pastor says he is very close friends with the Assembly of God pastor in town but our doctrines do not jive on some things. “So would I ask him to speak from our churches pulpit no and he would not ask me to speak from his.” “Are we both bound for Heaven? yep.”
I say all that to say God made us different. And we chose to worship Him in different ways and our doctrinal beliefs are different as well.
Love the Lord God with all your heart and your mind and
Love your neighbor as you would yourself
I was not doing that, I was only trying to make an important point. What we believe about the jesus we love is defined by our doctrine
My point is that the title of the thread is a false dilemma. "unity" or "doctrine"? Christ commands unity. God desires and expresses through Paul that all be saved and brought to knowledge of the truth. Period. "Unity or doctrine" is not a choice we get to make.
THAT is the same point I would like to make ... it is a hobson's choice. We express our faith /beliefs in our doctrine
What separates the Mormons and the JW’s from you?
I don't go door to door.
That is something we should be doing
Yeah, none of that silly bring a sword and make enemies within families junk for us.
This post needs a barf alert.
Doctrine is what the Bible teaches...it is not how I see God and Christ.
And what if unity IS my doctrine....
Does Mormon doctrine reflect the scriptural truth?
I am dealing with the word doctrine
There is true doctrine and false doctrine.
Not necessarily.
Civility? No, we can all discuss doctrine while remaining civil.
Doctrine matters because doctrine is simply another word for what a person believes.
And that matters.
We see it often here, on FRee Repbulic threads. A religious matter is posted to be discussed, and the subject gets hijacked by some doctrine-waving bigot whose only objective seems to be to attack people who believe differently, and thus prove himself more "worthy" than the poor sorry sods who set up the thread.. It's sick, really.
"Doctrine-waving bigot?" Your assessment sounds quite judgmental. Almost uncivil.
That's a shame. I was running low on After Shave! LOL
JUSSSSSST Teasin'!
You know....I don't think I would have the guts to go door to door....preachin'. The way some folks react to me here (on Free Republic) my life would at risk!
Mature christians desire TRUTH over APPROVAL.
BINGO.
I'd include the sacraments (acknowledging that you and I would disagree on how they should be rightly administered).
> Civility? No, we can all discuss doctrine while remaining civil.
Some folk can’t.
> “Doctrine-waving bigot?” Your assessment sounds quite judgmental. Almost uncivil.
Yup. A civil discussion on Doctrine is healthy and enjoyable. An uncivil one is an unpleasant experience — particularly if it is catalyzed by a doctrine-waving bigot. In such cases it is perfectly OK to be judgmental and respond in kind. But it isn’t pleasant, and I doubt that is what Christ intends for us to do.
oh you mean, “have you been saved?”
BLESS YOU,
I WAS BORN IN THE FLESH ROMAN CATHOLIC,READ MY PROFILE WHEN YOU CAN.
HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE NOTED MY ABSCENCE FROM THE MUDSLINGING THREADS,COMEPLETELY UN-CHRIST LIKE.
They preserve unity by upholding sound doctrine.
Please don’t shout. Thank you.
(The use of all capitalized letters signifies extreme emphasis. It also makes what you write difficult to read. For some reason — and I do not mean to suggest you fit into any of these categories but it I do mean to warn you that it might make you seem as if you do — it’s also associated with the barely literate or anti-American foreigners.)
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