![]() In fact, demanding it may even be harmful. But in matters that are “merely” important or unimportant, unanimity is no longer necessary. These are the matters that distinguish church from church and denomination from denomination. A church cannot thrive when half the members are convinced that the miraculous gifts are still in operation and are set on practicing them in worship while the other half are convinced those gifts have ceased and that it would be sinful to attempt to practice them in worship. There is little room for varying convictions on who ought to be baptized and on whether worship services will include time for prophetic utterances, at least when it comes to the formal doctrine and practice of a church. ![]() ![]() There is no room for different opinions or varying convictions related to the divinity of Jesus Christ or his virgin birth. Again, most disunity in the local church sneaks in at the levels of the important and unimportant, not the essential or the urgent.įor matters that are essential and urgent, unity requires unanimity. While a person may cause disunity in a church because she has become convinced of exclusive psalmody and is convinced God forbids instrumentation in worship (another urgent issue), it’s more likely she will cause disunity because she dislikes the specific forms of instrumentation a church chooses to use, a distinctly non-urgent issue. While a member of a church will occasionally cause disunity because his convictions on baptism have changed from paedobaptist to credobaptist (an urgent issue), it is more common that he will cause disunity over a peripheral, non-urgent matter such as whether the church should baptize children who profess faith or whether it should wait until they are young adults. This stands to reason since churches usually form around the levels of the essential and urgent so that those who deny the essentials of the faith cannot be part of any legitimate church and those who disagree over the urgent matters typically join different churches in the first place. The great majority of disunity with any local church takes place at the level of the important and the unimportant. For more on this breakdown see Finding the Right Hills To Die On.) (That’s not to say they are objectively unimportant they are unimportant when it comes to unity. And some doctrines are unimportant to gospel witness and community and have no business being the basis for any division. Some doctrines are important to Christian theology, but not to the degree that local churches need to divide over them. Some doctrines are urgent to the practice and health of the local church and therefore tend to mark distinctions between different churches and denominations. Some doctrines are essential to the gospel and mark the difference between believers and unbelievers. I’m sure you know that while every Christian doctrine matters, not every Christian doctrine matters in the same way and to the same degree. I have often wondered if unanimity is the enemy of Christian unity. I have often wondered if we demand unanimity where unity would be not only sufficient but also superior. I have often wondered if much of our division stems from a confusion between unity and unanimity. Where the gospel is best protected and displayed in unity we seem to believe the gospel is best protected and displayed in division. Where we ought to be quick to unite and slow to divide, it seems we are often slow to unite and quick to divide. ![]() There are often disagreements among Christians, many of them very serious and very heated. But a look at the average local church shows that this is not necessarily the case. Sponsor Show Your Support Become a Patron
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