Throughout history, great debates have raged over theological issues within the faith. These are important because we do want to have a clear understanding of our faith, at least to the extent possible given what God has revealed to us. And of course, we want to honor God with our minds, and this seeking process is one way we can do that.
In these cases, it’s common for people to choose a position on issues for themselves, and often to use that understanding to guide their choice in denomination, church, and perhaps even with whom they associate.
Whenever we do this, however, we are basically passing judgment on another Godly, highly educated Christian, often a leader. I sometimes think to myself: “Who am I to correct that person?” Even though it’s an easy thing to develop strong opinions about complex issues, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to be correct, and if it’s not that easy, then perhaps we need to be careful.
This is especially true in view of some truths that are held by virtually all Christians – that unity of the brethren is important (John 17:21 and many others), that love is to be preeminent (1 Cor 13:1-3), that evangelism is important (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, and many others), and that we should be exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
If we agree on the importance of these weighty matters, perhaps it would be better if we always made sure to compare our theological disagreements against them to make sure we don’t get our priorities wrong. In fact, it seems that not doing so would result in the error that Jesus described:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Matthew 23:23
This seems especially clear for the many debates that result from difficulties in finding correct interpretations of Biblical texts, where subtle matters of language and culture may determine the correct meaning. There is an increased chance of being wrong in such cases, and even though pride and hubris may lead to feeling certain, humility should lead us to be more charitable, in line with the weightier matters.
In particular, if we feel certain about a passage but other knowledgeable and sincere Christians view it differently, then it seems best not to develop rigid and exclusive rules and procedures that are imposed widely. We may let such beliefs guide our own behavior, but should do so in a way that doesn’t legalistically bind others and prevent weightier matters from being expressed.
Of course, we always need to guard against heresy and other truly dangerous false beliefs, but history shows that we are much more diligent about that than we are in safeguarding things like love and unity. It’s the recognition of this history that makes me wonder if we need some change.
Exploring Antioch 