Then, as we go down the list, we will come to issues like baptism, the role of women, eschatology, and others that, while important, might not warrant total separation. Without the basic foundation that such truths provide, there can be no spiritual relationship of any kind. At the top of that scale, we might put the inerrancy of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, justification by faith alone, Jesus as the only way to God, and other primary truths. That's why we need a sliding scale of biblical truths and principles that will determine to what degree we unite or separate. However, even before that, we have to ask, what doctrines are fundamental and nonnegotiable? Do we insist on complete agreement on every single truth before we have any kind of association with any Christian or church? If so, one will end up uniting only with oneself. As Christian unity is unity in the truth, we must ask what this Christian or church believes. There are four areas to consider when deciding the nature of a relationship with other Christians. Before we look at the different kinds of relationships and associations that may result from this, we need some criteria to help us decide which way to go. So, we begin with biblical balance, weighted somewhat toward unity, and then we start coming into contact with Christians, churches, and ministries about which we must make relationship decisions.
2 DEGREES OF SEPARATION HOW TO
We also have to decide how to relate to individual churches, denominations, or associations of churches (for example, the Presbyterian Church in America, Southern Baptist Convention, and so on), as well as Christian ministries such as Ligonier, The Gospel Coalition, and others. And it's not just our relationships with individual Christians to consider. We look for reasons to trust and unite before reasons to distrust and divide.Īs we do, we will make different decisions about the nature of our relationships with other Christians. God calls us to make unity our starting point, our instinct, our default.
That's why there are so many verses in the Bible that are weighted toward strengthening love and unity between Christians. Our innate, sinful default is separation. That makes sense because one of sin's great consequences has been to divide people from God and people from people. Having said that, the balance of Scripture suggests that the heavier weight is on the side of unity rather than division. Although we might prefer a simpler life, God calls us to walk this precarious tightrope carrying both weights on the ends of our pole. Others decide there is virtually nothing that justifies separation from anyone and unite in unholy alliance with anyone who says he is a Christian, no matter what he believes.īut both of these are unbiblical extremes that throw us off balance, tipping us into dangerous and damaging sin. They decide to separate from everyone who does not agree with them on everything, producing sinful schism and division in the body of Christ. "Unite!" and "Divide!" Complicated and challenging, isn't it? Wouldn't it be so much easier if we could just choose one or the other? Some do. On the one side is the biblical command to unite with professing Christians, while on the other is the biblical demand to separate-at times-from professing Christians. It's like walking a tightrope with heavy weights on each end of our pole.
One of the most difficult challenges to address in the Christian life is our relationships with other Christians.
0 kommentar(er)
