Christian Fellowship When We Disagree
Christian community and unity is taught in God’s Word and is an expectation for all Christian believers, but what happens when we disagree on significant things? When we get together and find that we hold different views; perhaps we have different political leanings or convictions that do not mesh with one another. I believe that it is possible to share true fellowship even when we disagree, and my hope in this note is to share a pathway forward when we do not get along, based upon a helpful article that can be found here.
I am fascinated by Paul’s exhortation, “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3 ESV) Bearing with one another means at times “putting up” with one another. This requires patience, gentleness, and love. I think that this is essential to Christian community and it is inevitable that we will find things that we do not agree on when we enter into true fellowship with one another.
Philip Melanchthon, a student of the reformer Martin Luther, described a pathway forward when we do not agree. He famously wrote, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” I think unpacking this a bit might help us when we find areas of disagreement with one another. This is especially helpful after our study this past Sunday morning on John 17, where Jesus prayed for us to be unified as believers in Christ. To help understand koinonia fellowship, it is helpful to examine Melanchthon’s wonderful statement about unity, liberty and charity.
In Essentials, Unity
At Hope, we believe that God gives us a number of essential theological convictions that are non-negotiable. They are our core beliefs, and we believe that they are essential to understanding what it means to be a Christian.
1. The inspiration of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-16)
2. The Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Spirit (John 1:1,14; Colossians 2:9; Acts 5:3-5)
3. The Deity/Godhood of Christ (Colossians 2:9)
4. The virginal conception (virgin birth) of Jesus (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)
5. The literal, physical resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:14; Luke 24:38-39)
6. Salvation by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9)
These make up our Hope Church Statement of Faith (click here). If someone in our community is teaching something different from this as truth, they should be encouraged (Ephesians 4:25), and if necessary, graciously confronted (Galatians 1:6-10) in their teaching as it contradicts our core convictions. If you want to understand more about what we hold as our core beliefs, I would invite you to join our membership class next Saturday. Please click here for more information and to register.
In Non-Essentials, Liberty
Things not included in the core beliefs mentioned above and in our doctrinal statement may fall into the area of non-essentials. It is important to understand, however, that non-essential does not mean unimportant. Indeed, several so-called non-essentials are very, very important, but because they deal with areas not directly related to salvation or God’s identity, we approach them as having room for conviction.
I agree with Melanchthon when he challenged believers to give some Christian freedom to one another in these areas. Depending on the clarity of scriptural teaching on any given subject, believers should show humility and understanding to those holding different perspectives. Theologian Dr. Freddy Cardoza suggests three categories of non-essentials to guide our understanding of biblical fellowship. They are matters of conviction, matters of conscience, and matters of choice, and I quote the previously mentioned article directly here:
Matters of Conviction
Matters of conviction involve issues of moral or theological importance that the Bible addresses in what you believe to be clear or unmistakable ways. These would include issues like one’s position on the biblical mode of baptism, eternal security, and other matters of serious importance. Whereas these are not issues that are as foundational as, say, the validity of the resurrection, they are incredibly important. As such, though we should extend liberty to other Christians, we may sometimes have a sharp disagreement on issues such as these with professing believers who maintain alternative positions. Even the apostles had forceful discussions, so confrontation cannot always be avoided (Galatians 2).
Matters of Conscience
Matters of conscience involve those things either not specifically addressed in the Bible or that are not absolutely clear in scripture due to nuances of language, cultural considerations, or challenges of interpretation. These are issues about which, while important, even mature and devoted believers sometimes disagree. In New Testament times, circumcision (Galatians 5:1-4) and eating meat offered to idols (Galatians 2:11-16) were examples. Today’s conscience-related issues might include Bible version preference, the nature of the tithe in offerings, boundaries surrounding Sabbath days, the validity of certain spiritual gifts, social drinking positions, political affiliations, and so on. Because these are matters of conscience, believers should know, uphold, and discuss their positions on these issues, while patiently giving love and honor to those who differ with them (1 Corinthians 8; 1 Corinthians 10:29).
Matters of Choice
Matters of choice are those issues that fall outside of explicit biblical commands. These are things on which scripture appears silent and about which believers must exercise discretion and discernment. In this case, believers are dealing with preferential and permissible matters. These include both issues of no serious consequence and things that are minimal to moderately important but are not concerns that rise to the level of doctrine (Colossians 2:16-17). These include basic lifestyle decisions and personal issues of taste. Included in these matters of choice might be some selections of clothing, hygiene and grooming, personal appearance, Halloween participation, the role of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny in holiday celebrations, civic involvements, dietary choices, and various advocacy efforts. These are all things about which some believers have strong opinions, yet they remain matters of choice and, as such, they have been historically considered areas of Christian liberty.
In All Things, Charity
Charity is not a word we use very often these days and I doubt that it shows up too often in your day-to-day life in Northeast Ohio. Charity is an older way of describing the special type of love that Christians should have with one another that helps others know that we are God’s children (John 13:34-35). This shows up often in the many “one another” statements in scripture that focus on caring for, being kind to, and treating one another well. Passages like I quoted earlier in Ephesians 4:2-3 remind us that we need to be very intentional about how we love one another.
When we have disagreements in our church family, and in a particularly intense political season, I find it very helpful for us to remember to, “Major on the majors, minor on the minors,” and in all things exalt Christ together. This is a good path towards true, honest fellowship and how we can be unified in the body of Christ, understanding that we may not always agree in the body of Christ.
Expectantly,
Shawn
