The Essentials: Enough to Keep us Busy

Why are there so many church denominations?

One of the main reasons is that some Christians like to bicker about non-essential doctrines. So much so, that they are willing to break fellowship over them.

Yet, typically, non-essential doctrines aren’t as clear as orthodox, essential doctrines. Some non-essential doctrines are downright murky and confusing. The fact that they can’t be completely pinned down a big reason they can’t be listed as essential.

Orthodox Christianity rallies around doctrinal points such as the deity of Christ, the reality of the resurrection, the inspiration of scripture and salvation by faith. These are the types of doctrines we can’t become squishy about.

Essential doctrines can be found threaded throughout our Bibles. In other words, these doctrines are confirmed by scripture over and over again. Which give us great confidence. That’s what helps us view them as essential. They are clear!

It’s important to know which doctrinal hills to die on. But, from what I’ve experienced, some people think every point of doctrine is worthy of embracing with the same level of conviction.

Sadly, this approach often breeds strife and disunity.

Have you noticed? Most church splits aren’t over the essentials. They’re typically a result of disagreement on lesser issues. Sometimes reasons for a church split can be utterly ridiculous.

Now, I have no problem with people looking through their Bibles in order to better understand things like prophecy, end times, exercise of spiritual gifts, or church leadership structures.

But when those issues move to the forefront and divide people, I think we’re missing the point. It would seem to me we have forgotten how the essentials of Christianity are meant to glue us together so we can work through non-essential issues with grace.

Unity in Jesus’ church is so important that Jesus prayed about it to His Father. Here’s how John recorded that prayer:

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-26 NIV)

Satan finds great joy in dividing Christians.

And one way he accomplishes this is tempting us into arguments about theological issues that ought not be classified as essential.

Many years ago, I was at a pastor’s conference of about 50,000 pastors. One of the speakers was speaking on the topic of unity, and he took us through a short exercise that made a profound point.

At first, he asked all the people in the domed stadium to shout out the denomination they represented. The result was an indistinguishable cacophony of noise.

Then, the speaker asked us to say the name of the Savior who rescued and redeemed us. All at the same moment, a single word filled the stadium: “Jesus!”

Too often we spend our time focusing on how we disagree with other believers.

I would suggest that we would do much better to focus on things we do agree on.

Sure, we can discuss different perspectives on scripture. But let’s be wary if our perspectives are so entrenched, they create divisions between us and other Jesus’ followers.

I’ve always thought that if our personal statement of faith is too lengthy, we ought to go back and make sure what we’ve listed are things that really matter.

My hunch is this: if we focus more on our commonality in Christ, we’ll likely have way less dissension and fewer divides.