“And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other…”~ Acts 15:39
Years ago, as a young pastor, I was close to losing my spiritual sanity. The cause of my mental anguish was in attempting to cross all my “t’s” and dot the “i’s”. My library at that time consisted of close to two-thousand books and pamphlets. I found in my reading that good and godly men, both in the past and present, had multiple interpretations on a variety of texts. I thought to myself, if such men had such a wide array of beliefs, then how could someone like me be sure I had the truth?
It was while walking to-and-fro in the room that stored my books, and meditating on this baffling question that the Lord gave me peace; a peace that has lasted me these many long years. The answer to my agonizing and perplexing problem was actually a simple one. When mulling it over in my mind, I came to see that each of these men, who were evangelical and fundamental in their beliefs were all in agreement on the main points. That is, the historic cardinal doctrines of the Church.
The disagreement came on the sub-points. For example, each believed in Inspiration, the New Birth, the Second Coming, the Blood Atonement, and Bodily Resurrection. The difficulty came when breaking the main points down into sub-heads. It is then that the “communion of the saints” turns sadly into the “controversy of the saints.”
When confronted with such disagreements with a brother I believe the Lord would have us heed David’s words, “Deal gently with him for my sake.” If you don’t, you will find you have traded a humble heart for a hard one.
As John Newton says concerning those with whom we disagree, “In a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth now.”
Great, Dad. Thank you.