I am a C.  I am a C-H. I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N. I have C-H-R-I-S-T in my H-E-A-R-T and I will L-I-V-E  E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y!

Did you sing along to that Sunday school classic? It’s a fun one, but who knew as a kid that Christians were actually so divided?

Generally, it has been understood that those doctrines which relate to the nature of God and salvation are essential. In other words, to call oneself a Christian, one must assent to these truths. Examples would include the inspiration of Scripture, Trinity, full deity and humanity of Jesus, atonement and resurrection, to name a few.

Everything else, however, while important, can be debated and even disagreed upon by Bible-believing Christians. A professor once explained it to me this way: Christians in every denomination should agree on essential doctrine. Christians will divide into denominations according to secondary doctrines and you will find believers holding different tertiary doctrines within the same church small group. 

On one hand these denominational distinctives make sense. As Christ-followers, we are called to be people who seek truth. On the other hand, I’ve come to see this division as, well, exactly that – divisive. Over my years in Christian ministry I have seen believers rhetorically throw stones at other brothers and sisters in Christ over doctrinal disagreements that had no bearing on salvation.

I think, in wanting to be faithful followers of Scripture, we can feel propelled to point out doctrinal errors as we see them in other denominations. The problem is that too often these discussions turn nasty. In fact, too often in doctrinal disputes, Christians are extremely un-Christlike. More than just painful, these spiritual squabbles are dangerous because they disintegrate our Christian witness.

It’s no secret that the world is divided. Maybe more now than ever with the recent years of tensions involving politics, pandemics and a plethora of public unrest. Things are broken. It shouldn’t surprise us if we know our Scripture (Gen 3, Rom 8), but the church should be different. It may never be perfect on this side of eternity, but it is definitely called to a higher standard. Especially when Paul writes this about the unity and maturity of the Body of Christ:

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).

One. Unified. Body.

So, why then have the trenches between denominations become so deep? Why is it acceptable to speak with disdain against our brothers and sisters in Christ? How can we tell the world that Jesus loves them when we don’t even love each other? I don’t think this is a new problem, but I do think it’s a worsening one.

So church, let’s have a family meeting. Said simply, the callous contempt between denominations has to stop. For example, as doctrinally different as a Calvinist and a Charismatic might be, believers in both churches are in Christ. Again, as much as an old earth and young earth creationist might disagree, they are wrong to question each other’s salvation over this issue. As individuals and as churches we are one with Christ if we accept and profess the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done to ransom this world. But it seems fewer and fewer people can actually hear the Good News over our family fights!

To be clear, I am not saying that doctrine doesn’t matter, or that we shouldn’t study Scripture and do our best to rightly handle it. If you know me, you know I love theology. I have studied it. I teach it. I care about it, and I always want to talk about it. I take seriously Paul’s encouragement to Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16). So I’m not advocating for ignoring doctrine, whether essential or secondary. There is a place for discussing and wrestling with Scripture, but these discussions should be wrapped in a humility that is born of love for Christ, his words and his church – his whole church.

I am constantly in a position where people ask me to recommend different teachers and books on a variety of topics. Recently, I’ve had an increasing number of interactions where, after reading or listening to a teacher I suggested, someone came back in surprise of my recommendation. The reason for their surprise was that they didn’t agree with the teacher 100% in all their theology. Despite the fact that they have a majority of shared belief, nothing less than perfect agreement was seemingly acceptable.

The teachers I suggested were Bible-believing, Jesus-loving, devoted Christians, but a difference in secondary doctrine was apparently enough to banish them from having anything meaningful to contribute in the world of Christendom. I find this growing trend of denominational isolation greatly concerning. Honestly, it has me flabbergasted, flummoxed and quite honestly fatigued.

Do we really have to agree on every doctrinal point in order to learn from someone or, even more, to worship with them? Is someone necessarily a heretic because he or she is in a different theological camp than where I pitch my doctrinal tent? I don’t think so, but I’ve heard this term used as a wide-sweeping label a lot recently. Friends, this takes denominational divisions to an entirely new, and disconcerting level. Disagreeing well is definitely difficult. Differing views on important topics carry with them tensions and passions. We are, however, called to many hard things as followers of Christ, and loving each other is certainly one of them (John 13:35).

To be clear, again, I am not talking about sin and salvation issues. Read my blogs and you’ll see that I believe there is a place for calling out wrong teaching on essential doctrines. Even Paul called out Peter over the issue of gentiles and justification by faith (Gal 2).

What I am attempting to belabor though, is the ensuing consequences of these arrogant heart motivations and the angry rhetoric causing such prideful encampments around secondary doctrinal issues. These bitter boundaries are creating doubt, derision and disunity within the family of Christ. They also damage, or even alienate, our gospel witness.

So, where do we go from here? In addition to the remedies for all sin which is true repentance and prayer, I would suggest a couple of things. First, get to know believers of other denominations. I grew up believing that my denomination had the sole market on the truth, but engaging with believers of other traditions has had an iron-sharpening-iron experience for me (Prov 27:17). In fact, studying Scripture with Christians from varying denominations has widened my understanding and pushed me to search Scripture to really know and understand it more thoroughly.

Second, read God’s Word more than you read your favorite theologian or Bible teacher. Sometimes we hold positions because we respect or engage well with a teacher with that theological perspective. This isn’t  necessarily wrong, but there’s an appropriate caution given to the Corinthian church when Paul addresses that some believers are following him and some are following Apollos or Cephas (1 Cor. 3). He reminds them that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). Let’s make sure we are not making the same mistake.

Finally, we will all most likely possess personal positions regarding Scripture’s teaching on secondary issues like baptism, women in ministry, or gifts of the spirit. We may even be strongly opinionated about lesser, tertiary doctrines like eschatology (the study of the end times) or spiritual warfare, but let’s strive to be Christ-like in our discussions with and treatment of one another. It is okay to disagree but it is never acceptable to demean or disparage.

After all, Jesus once said that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mat 12:25). Perhaps it is time to plaster some of these self-imposed cracks that run so deeply through his church. 

Since, if that classic kid’s song is correct, we will L-I-V-E  E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y not only with Christ, but also with each other.