So Where is Doctrine in Unity?

This question is of great importance. 

If I say doctrine is not significant relative to our unity then:

• What do we talk about?
• What do we join hands in?
• What do we live for?
• Where is to be our focus together?
• What distinguishes us from the world? 
• Where do we go for comfort in the dark times?
• What is going to be the light by which we place each step in our walk? 
• What is going to govern our choices, and
• How will we know what is right when we do not feel it? 

            I do believe that doctrine is significant in our unity.  How though and to what degree do I let doctrine direct me in my choice of who I will fellowship with, serve with, hurt with and walk and be seen with as Christians?

            Is it right for me to take doctrine and look for the "smallest common denominator of doctrine" on which I agree and bring together a group that is united with me and let that be our driving element of unity?  Maybe that denominator would be, you name it, tongues, baptism, eschatology (end times), or maybe even security of the believer or election or the will of man.  Whatever we come to as our smallest common denominator of doctrine will define our circle of unity.  That may even be our "denomination" and we would name it by that smallest common denominator.

         Let's say we believe in grace and we call our church Grace Church, because that is who we are.  Anyone who believes in grace is therefore going to converge with us on this doctrinal statement and be in our church.  Am I saying I do not believe in grace?  You know me and you know my heart and that I absolutely believe in grace as my only hope.  Do I want though what that doctrine to govern my circle of fellowship?  Maybe so!!  It depends I think on a bigger question.  That question I believe is are we united in our commitment to the pursuit, or the attaining of, the truth of God?  Could a person, a Christian, be at a point in their maturing that they do not even know what I mean by "grace," yet they do believe in truth and have an honest desire to know truth. Real truth.

Example: 
       I had a gentleman call me today.  Let's call him Fred No-Name because he may be in our group in the near future.  Fred told me that his church was closing their doors and he and his wife were looking for a new church home.  He just wanted to ask a pastor of the church a few questions.  I told him great, fire away.  Not so surprising was his first question.  He said, "Are you folks one of these churches that believe once a person is saved that they cannot be lost again, or are you one of these churches that believe a person can backslide?"  I could tell from the question that Fred was confused. 
       Fred really had a bigger question about what does it really mean to be saved?  So I told him that we believe God saves people.  That we are born in a sinful state in which we have no hope, and only God can help us.  That we cannot change ourselves.  Even though we are sinful and God is holy, God came to this earth as Jesus the Son and paid the price for our sinfulness through His blood.  If we have faith in this sacrifice for our sin that God will give us new life. We will be born again, and become children of God. 
         I told Him that even though we find that people fail us, that God never does.  He is our Father and our salvation was and is always in His hands.  He has promised us as His children that He will keep us to the end. Will we fail Him? Yes, but just has our salvation was not based on our acts of trying to change ourselves, so is our relationship with God still not based on our performance, but on His faithfulness.  Fred asked me, "So what happens when we sin?  What do we do?"  I told him that we do what is natural for a Christian.  We fall under conviction from the Holy Spirit's presence in our life and we repent.  We see our sin from God's perspective and we desire not to live in that sin. We ask for His forgiveness, not for salvation but for fellowship, and the blood of Christ is applied.  Christ not only died for our past sins but also for our present and future sins.  He told me, "I have never really been taught these things and would love to be in a church that would help me and my wife."  Fred, I believe, is born again.  Why?  Because of his desire to "attain to the unity of the faith."  A great time of fellowship.  Not based on our being unified on doctrine, but unified on the process of attaining together to a unity of faith based on God's truth.

      I came across a statement from the church led by John Piper, Bethlehem Baptist Church, that I believe is absolutely maybe the best summation on this thing called unity.  This is part of their Elders Statement of Faith.  It reads as follows:

  “We believe that the cause of unity in the church is best served, not by finding the lowest common denominator of doctrine, around which all can gather, but by elevating the value of truth, stating the doctrinal parameters of church or school or mission or ministry, seeking the unity that comes from the truth, and then demonstrating to the world how Christians can love each other across boundaries rather than by removing boundaries”


         This is a great statement about how unity is to be "maintained/preserved/kept," as expressed in Ephesians 4:3, and how it is also to be attained as we commit together to the pursuit of truth.  I especially like their commitment to elevating the value of truth in lieu of finding the "lowest common denominator of doctrine around which all can gather." Also, I think it is a high calling to be committed to a unity that comes from the truth and results in Christians loving "each other across boundaries rather than by removing boundaries."


         This week in class we will continue our discussion of Eph. 4.  Especially the question of how does Unity of faith, which is to be attained, differ from Unity of Spirit, which is to be maintained?

In Christ,
Rick