Doctrinal/moral essentials (absolutes) versus doctrinal/moral non-essentials (non-absolutes).
"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." Galatians 1:6-7
Too often, Christians are divided over issues that are not doctrinal absolutes, or things essential to our salvation, and this does not tell well of our profession to be followers of the same Lord.
Doctrinal absolutes are the doctrines upon which our faith is founded and which we must not disagree on. These include the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the deity of Jesus Christ, the complete humanity of Jesus Christ, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are to be unified in these essentials, as any deviation from these will be a deviation from the Christian faith. We cannot hold a contrary view on any of these and be Christians.
Doctrinal non-essentials will include anything that is not included in the list of essentials. For example, how do we pray; the place of women in ministry; Christian dressing, and many other such things.
Moral absolutes include those moral issues that are specifically spoken about in scripture. For example, in 1 Corinthians 6 the apostle Paul told the Corinthian brethren, "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God". These are moral absolutes that a person cannot practice and claim to be a Christian. The emphasis is on PRACTICE.
On the other hand, moral non-absolutes will include things that are not specifically forbidden by the scriptures. These will include things like the taking of alcohol, smoking, what not to eat, like food offered to idols, etc. In all of these non-essentials, we must maintain tolerance and diversity. But in all things, we must be unified in love. Love is what unifies us, even when we don't agree regarding the non-essentials.A
