thoughtiness

Looking at the condition of mainline Protestantism, I imagine the tongue-lashing we could earn from the apostle Paul. Many letters have the underlying theme of unity, being like-minded (meaning all having the mind of Christ), bound up in the common life of one another as we are inextricaply joined by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on each of us. So at what point do we divide? What is peripheral and what is non-negotiable? And what if negotiating the peripheral issues ends up jeopardizing the non-negotiables? I'm being vague here, and purposefully so. The question is not, in the end, one of deciding what we think about specific issues. There will always be another issue to argue and divide over. It's a question of what one must believe in order to be saved, and of what the natural consequences of that believe ought to be for one's life. What does faith in Jesus Christ and confidence in salvation through his blood necessarily imply where beliefs about the authority of scripture, the human condition, and morality are concerned? Is it worth fighting tooth and nail over things that are not essential for salvation? And to what extent ought we to risk division for the sake of protecting what we believe to be True, albeit not essential? Is a particular belief about a non-essential necessarily indicative of wrong faith leading to condemnation? And if we cannot even agree about what the essentials are then how can we really talk about any of this constructively anyway. Thank God it is not in our hands ultimately, but we do have to make decisions in this life about how we will live in a way that brings glory and honor to our God. I have answered many of these questions in my own mind, but living in the tensions and paradoxes of the Christian life mean constantly revisiting them and evaluating the answers, lest they become my own iron-clad rules rather than God's gracious leading. Grace, Truth, Humility, and Love.