Hey, I made it the rest of the way with no C.S. Lewis quotes! Well, we’ll see if I can make it through the conclusion here …
A few thoughts to pull it all together. Don’t skip this one, it’s important.
The divisiveness of the modern Church is a bad testimony to the world, and even to the Body of Christ herself. Not all division is inherently bad; to think division is always bad is a danger in and of itself. The problem is not the division per se, but the reasons behind the divisions. Those can compromise our testimony to the world more than we understand, even those of us who get severely pissed off about it, to use some crude language.
Not that I care what the world thinks of the Church, ultimately. I care way more what God thinks of the Church. Jesus said, “They didn’t receive me, and they won’t receive you,” so I’m not looking for some grand favor with the world. In fact, persecution is promised, and if the world loves you, you got a problem. It is supposed to hate you. But for the sake of God, can they please hate us for the right reasons?
Let’s look at the top reasons why many churches, doctrinally, divide. In a rough order, we have ideas of eternal security (whether or not you can lose your salvation), free will vs. predestination, the gifts of the Holy Spirit (the validity and practice of them), and leadership structure (pastoral dictatorship, council of elders, none at all, etc.). These are the main four. We also get issues over baptism (usually doctrines about but also practices of), communion, liturgy, holiness, and covenantal theology.
Of all of these doctrines, the only ones explicitly stated in the Bible as an issue would be holiness, number 2 on my list, and possibly liturgy, when it morphs into legalism, as it often does.
Of the rest of them, nowhere does the Bible teach that fellowship is to be denied, or that there should be some division, because of them.
Please do not misunderstand me. I’m not saying these doctrines or theologies have no place or even that they are unimportant. Some of them are very important, but the doctrines themselves aren’t worthy of dividing over, and for those that do, making “vain arguments”, they are the ones the Bible rebukes and takes an offense to.
To bring a little balance here, it is actually how you teach these doctrines and put them into practice that ends up being the problem. I’ll take the first one, eternal security, as touchy as that might be, to give an example. Let’s say you have two people: Bob believes you can lose your salvation and Jim believes you cannot. If Bob uses his doctrine, that you can lose your salvation, to direct people by warning to live a righteous life by obeying Christ and the Holy Spirit, leading them, in effect, to their need of Jesus, we have no problem. And if Jim, as he teaches his doctrine that you cannot lose your salvation, teaches it in such a way as to empower believers to realize the grace they have been given, not in their own merit, to obey Christ through the Holy Spirit and leading them to their need of Jesus, we have no problem.
But if Bob teaches that you can lose your salvation in such a way as to cause undue fear, as if to sin once is to lose your whole salvation, and therefore places heavy burdens and a legalistic mentality upon others, then we have a problem. If Jim teaches that through eternal security, you can now live as you like without consequence and freely, then we have a problem. Because in these instances, Bob’s really getting into legalism, #3 on my list, and Jim is getting into grace to sin, #2 on my list. And if you really get to talk to them, they probably have some issue with #1, as well.
See the point? In actuality, I know many Calvinists who would never argue that our salvation was to now do whatever we want to do and sin at will. I know many who believe you can lose your salvation, but would never suppose or even teach that meant that one infraction sends you back to hell.
And I could give similar examples on every other one of the four major doctrines I listed a few paragraphs before.
To recap the list of what the apostles taught were worthy of sharp, strong rebuke and dividing over: A humanist and wrong view of Christ, grace is given now to sin, legalism (or the ability to be saved through external means and ceremony), unnecessary divisiveness, using godliness for personal material or monetary gain, denying the judgment at the return of Christ, and abusing leadership over the Body of Christ.
Many of these are not only widespread in modern Western Christianity, but they are seen as fine and a part of Christianity themselves. They deserve to be rebuked, and strongly, first of all in ourselves but also in the Body of Christ at large. And in some instances, especially in the extreme, we are to refuse fellowship over them.
But mostly what the world sees is the shrugging of our shoulders over the seven I mentioned, if not justifying some of them, and a Christianity that finds other things way more important than they ought to be. The result is that the world hates a Church that is carnal and doesn’t love one another instead of a Church full of the Spirit and righteousness and love for one another.
There is a positive to these seven, as well. To look at these seven, you also see, in a positive sense, what we are to teach on: the supremacy of Christ, the righteous and holy conduct of the believer, the freedom from ceremonial obligation and religious symbol, the unity of the brethren in love, contentment in this life with basic provision, looking forward to the return and judgment of Christ, and leadership based on self-sacrifice, service, and edification to the whole Body unto Christ alone.
If you concentrate on those, you’re worthy of fellowship, according to the Bible and in my book, too. And in my opinion, if you teach on those seven alone, you’ll raise up a people that will turn the world upside down.
Does the Bible teach other things? Absolutely. And I have strong convictions on many of them, and I’m willing to sit and talk with you late in the night, as brothers, about them over a drink or coffee (preferably coffee if I’m staying up late). But I will not call you a heretic over it, or consider you unworthy of fellowship, and would rebuke others if they do.
Peace.
great series man. Call it, the Real Seven Deadly Sins if you will. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was extremely enlightening to me, not necessarily from a “huh, i never knew” perspective, but more that it really pulled together and gave clearer definitions to a lot of ideas and thoughts I’ve had over the years. Awesome stuff man.
also, there’s nothing wrong with CS Lewis quotes!!!!