Should
Doctrine Divide Us?
Guest Article Written by Will Jacobs
The
New Testament is clear: Christians should not be divided (Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor.
1:10; 12:25; Tit. 3:10). It was Jesus Himself who prayed, “. . . that they may
all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be
in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Yet,
it doesn’t take long for one to notice the numerous denominations in our very
own country. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia by Barrett, Kurian,
Johnson there are 33,000+ “Christian denominations” in 238 total countries!
These staggering numbers somehow do not seem to match up with Jesus’ high
priestly prayer.
What
is it that seems to be the dividing line between all of these various
denominational groups? What seems to be the uniting
factor is that each of these denominations maintains the bare essential
elements of the Gospel. That is, each group believes that Jesus Christ lived,
died, was buried, and rose again (1 Cor.15). This is what in fact sets
“Christianity” apart from all other religious groups. However, there are
obviously differences among these Christian denominations as seen in the above
stat. The question is, what are they?
While
there may be other areas of differences among these various denominations I
believe a main contributing factor involves the teachings from the Bible that
are extend from the main message of the Gospel. In theological terminology we
call these “doctrines” (I’m using doctrines here in the broad sense meaning all
the teachings of the Bible). While all Christian denominations maintain the
core beliefs of the Gospel found in 1 Cor 15, not all denominations are in
agreement concerning all doctrines taught in Scripture. I believe it is here we
begin to divide.
For
example, there are some churches who maintain that the doctrine of baptism is
an essential element for one to be saved. However, others propose that baptism
is merely an outward declaration of one’s faith done after becoming a
Christian. The only prerequisite for
salvation, they maintain, is faith alone. Likewise, there are some who believe
that the doctrine of eternal security is taught from the pages of Scripture
while others hold to the belief that one can forfeit their salvation by returning
to the sin of unbelief. These are just a couple of major disagreements among
many others found in differing denominations. One could look at the beliefs of
the second coming of Christ, the Trinity, the Lord’s Supper, church polity,
predestination, and others to find similar disagreements.
The
question then arises: should all Christians agree on every doctrinal issue
mentioned in Scripture or are these open to opinion? In other words, is the Gospel the only thing all Christians
must agree on? These questions are not easy to answer. There are two
observations I would make in considering this issue. First, what actually is
the content of the Gospel? For many, the Gospel is stated concisely in 1 Cor 15:
Jesus lived, died, was buried, and rose again. This is essentially the Gospel
or good news of Christianity. But is this all
that the Gospel entails? In Rom 1:15 the apostle Paul tells the Christians at
Rome that he is, “. . . eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in
Rome.” If the Gospel is merely the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus,
why did Paul need to preach it again to people who had already heard it? I have
heard others refer to the Gospel as the things one must believe in order to be
saved. That is, salvific teachings in Scripture are what unite us, and the rest
is open to opinion. This brings me to my second observation. If the only things
in Scripture that are “essential” for unity are salvific elements, then what do
we do with all of the other teachings in Scripture? Are the teachings of church
polity, eschatology, predestination, even ethical issues like homosexuality up
for grabs? If it is only salvific elements of Scripture that we must be united
on, then the answer is yes, everything else is of opinion.
But
how do we respond to the heavy emphasis put on sound doctrine found in the New
Testament? The following passages seem to place a high emphasis on sound
doctrine. “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions
and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid
them” (Rom. 16:17). “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by
the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by
craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:14). “If anyone teaches a different
doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and
the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and
understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for
quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the
truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim 6:3-5). “He must
hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give
instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Tit.
1:9). “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1).
While
most, if not all Christian denominations, affirm the basic elements of the
Gospel found in 1 Cor 15, certain doctrinal beliefs keep us from sharing common
ground. Although the belief in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus
creates a shared agreement across denominational lines, certain doctrinal
beliefs keep us from total agreement. But, what exactly does the apostle Paul
mean when he tells the Corinthians that, “. . . all of you agree, and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and
the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10)? The question still stands: are the essential
elements of the Gospel all that we
must agree on or must all Christians agree on every doctrinal issue as well? I
like the idea of the former while feel compelled to the latter.