How to Weigh Doctrines for Christian Unity [Video]

Last month a group of Protestant theologians met in California to discuss the Future of Protestantism. While summaries and follow-ups of the event can be found elsewhere, the concern for visible Christian unity raises all sorts of questions about the seriousness of doctrinal, liturgical, and practical disagreements. Such questions usually center around which doctrines we regard as “essential” or “necessary.” However, over the years, I’ve been dissatisfied with that sort of flat analysis, because it doesn’t grapple with the complexity of divisions within the body.

Ephesians 4 tells us that Christian unity is something that we ought to maintain (4:3) and something that we ought to attain (4:13). It is both a given and a goal, something we possess and must protect, and something we lack and must pursue. The unity we must pursue is closely linked to maturity, to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” The passage also says that one of the signs of immaturity is being tossed by the winds of doctrine. Therefore, I’d like to suggest that part of growing up into maturity as an individual, as a congregation, as an institution, and, Lord willing, as a universal church is the ability to make distinctions when it comes to doctrinal disagreements. All truths are important, but not all truths are equally important. Some are “of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). There are weightier matters of the law (Matt. 23:23). And therefore, we ought to grow in our ability to weigh doctrines and practices rightly so that we preserve and pursue our unity in Christ. What follows is my attempt to introduce the types of distinctions we should look for when evaluating our divisions.

We ought to be able to distinguish between different types of essential doctrines (I’m grateful to Daniel Wallace for first introducing me to these categories). These distinctions focus on the weightiness of the doctrine itself. Keep reading

See also
The Future of Protestantism Full Roundup [Video]

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