Debating On Non-essentials

A very good and timely encouragement, Greg!

Well said! In the essentials unity, non essentials liberty, but in all things charity!

I don't even believe that as believers we
should be debating on doctrine. We all
should be seeking the truth, and allowing
the Holy Spirit to teach us. It is the
holding to our own opinions that causes
strife and discord in the Body.

Every time Christians break fellowship
over a disagreement the enemy has
achieved his purpose. It is much better
for a Christian to take the high road
and drop the discussion even though he
might be right rather than risk a break
in fellowship. That doesn't mean that we
allow error to be spread that would cause
those that are weak in the faith to stumble.

"That doesn't mean that we
allow error to be spread that would cause
those that are weak in the faith to stumble."

I guess that begs the question as to when it is ok not to drop the discussion; i.e. which doctrinal points are worth going to the mat over.

No one can agree on what the "essentials" are. That itself, ironically, would trigger a HUGE debate.

Here is some food for thought. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Romans 3:11

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive
; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient. (2 Timothy 2:24)

The word strive in this verse means to war,
quarrel, dispute, or fight.

I Jude 1:3, the Word of God exhorts us to
"earnestly contend for the faith that was
once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1:3)

The word contend in this verse means to
struggle. There are false teachings that
bring error that could possibly cause a
brother to fall away from the faith. In the
early church there were some that were
turning the grace of God into
lasciviousness. Any teaching that perverts
the grace of God should be withstood.

However, there are many disagreements
within the church that are more a matter
of preference or opinion, and very often
both parties have some light on the subject
and we should not have a falling out and
get in strife on the non essentials of the
faith.

I once posted "Christians Do Not Quarrel About Doctrine" by Jacob Boehme. The mods eventually had to lock the thread because people started fighting about what Boehme really meant.

I have been in court all day. This is WAY better. 😊

I agree Tim.

I like to talk Bible, and doctrine, etc. because I find it interesting, and of course edifying. Generally I don't get to do that out in the real world, except on occasion. Most Christians just don't give a hoot, sad to say. So a forum like this is a good place to discuss various theological things.

I agree it shouldn't turn into nastiness like I have seen in the past, but lately things have been fairly tame around here.

TMK...but lately things have been fairly tame around here.

At the end of the day we're all in it for the same thing ( Christ being magnified) and are all compelled by the same thing (the love of the truth). Even in years past when there were intensely personal exchanges, they were immensely helpful to my growth as there was, before it became unprofitable, a wealth of wisdom being passed on. Not just head knowledge but actual real world experience of ordinary people who met truth and followed Him. While I'm not advocating any sort of carnal exchanges and have not only respect but a deep gratitude to the moderators for their attentiveness and patience, when we are all at differing levels of maturity and have differing cultural backgrounds it's almost inevitable that our rough edges are gonna get knocked off when we're in a rock tumbler, tho what comes out is smooth stones.
I mean this respectfully, SermonIndex has been instrumental in my growth in Christ and what's more His growth in me, yes even and especially the sometimes heated exchanges as they've served to keep me out of the ditches of disobedience and deception more than once in my walk.
Seems that this life with Christ is bound to get messy at times, but He abides faithfully to the end and Praise be unto God for that!
If His faithfulness toward us was exclusively based on our faithfulness toward Him,...none would stand a chance.
Btw didn't Paul and John Mark have an incident that took quite a while to be reconciled?
I believe that if we were all together in the same room for fellowship and prayer there'd be more love, respect and humility than most had ever previously experienced, kinda like it's supposed to be.

I like the balance you've spelled out here, JFW. I couldn't agree with you any more, what a great post! It's hard (for us all) to keep that balance, at least for myself. Of course I don't enjoy fighting and arguing either (except to get in a much-needed laugh!) but have always loved a healthy debate...that doesn't mean that makes it right or wrong; it's just part of my personality/preferences. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I've always had this thought that if Jesus or Paul or any assertive Biblical character lived on earth today, in our churches, we would think they're so intolerant the way they would hurt feelings and spare no punches...honestly, it can be uncomfortable to imagine myself in their shoes and having the guts to say what they said! ...Especially in love, in the Spirit.

That being said, I recognize the rules of this forum so I'm not going to debate this. :)

The purpose of any debate (discussion if you will) is to come to a knowledge of truth. Too often we debate in order to advance our own ideas and prove ourselves right and others wrong. But what fruit is there in that approach. I have had to seriously question some of the things I believe through discussions here on SI. I find that my perspective on the interpretation of many minor points of doctrine is constantly changing and, I hope, coming more into line with Biblical truth. But I am not there yet, nor will I ever totally arrive. I find the discussion helpful to me as it makes me take a closer look at doctrines. I have blind spots...plenty of them. I need other brothers to help me see those blind spots and to make me at least consider their perspectives. If we lose sight of this...well, we only have strife and debate rather than fruitful discussion.

Calvinism, Christian perfection, age of earth, bible versions. I could name another but I will forbear since it will get people riled.