Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Essentials and Non-essentials of Faith

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me. Romans 15:1-3

Galatians 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 8:1-9; Romans 14:1-4 

Doctrinal absolutes are the doctrines upon which our faith is founded, and of which we cannot disagree on. These include things like 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, Christ's sinless nature, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are to be unified in these essentials, as deviation from any of these will be a deviation from the faith that saves. We cannot hold a contrary view on any of these and reasonably expect to have a part in the kingdom of God. 

Moral absolutes, in its part, include those moral issues that are specifically spoken about in scripture. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 enumerates some of them. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. 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. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." What this means is that you cannot practice any of these as a lifestyle, and hope to inherit the kingdom of God. In this sense, they are moral absolutes of the kingdom of God. 

On the other hand, 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 non-absolutes will include things like the taking of alcohol, smoking, what to eat and what not to eat, 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. The acrimony over many non-essentials of faith can be avoided if these truths are taken to heart. 

Toni