Disagree or Disagreeable?

When does disagreements make us disagreeable? I’ve had conversations with many people of different political, theological, and social opinions from mine, and we were able to rationally, and with civility, discuss our differences. Sadly, I’ve also been in some heated discussions that were nearly arguments (or some say they were). There was a vast difference in the finished results of those conversations. One, the amicable one, left me feeling satisfied that each side was able to make their point, the other, the heated/arguing one, left me sickened, speaking past one another, only hearing anger, disagreement, and frustration, not hearing the issues or where we stood. The heated discussions always seemed so pointless, not only in the topic at the heart of the debate, but in the relationship that was damaged by piercing words.

In the Church today, there are certain issues, which are threating to tear apart the very fabric of our fellowships. To clarify, we must not compromise on certain issues, without which we are not Christian. Some of these are; salvation by grace thru faith, in the finished works of Christ, His resurrection, the Bible as God’s Word, and such. There are many others we could add to the list, but we don’t need to list all of them, for the purpose of this article. No, this article is about some issues, though extremely important in the attitude, belief, and thoughts on, are not issues which should separate us, as followers of Christ. These issues are of extreme importance on how you stand. I would even go so far as to say, churches (individual congregations or even denominations) can take a stand on these differences. My point here, is the individual, you and I, as people, how we interact with each other. Two issues stand out to me, and I will try to see if a middle ground or a place of common decency can be found, and if I accomplish that, well, I’ll have done what hasn’t happened in two thousand years of the church…total fellowship.

So my first divisive issue is the Reformed/Non-Reformed divide. I’m lumping all forms of Calvinism and Reform Theology into the same category, for the purposes of this article. I’m also lumping, Arminianism, Molinism (as I get deeper into Molinism, I find myself within this camp), and much of the non-Reform persuasions (and you may not label yourself-but you’re in this group). There seems to be great contentions amongst believers on the theological issue of election and predestination. As you are probably aware, Reformed/Calvinist brethren believe God elected certain individuals for salvation, passing over others. They view God’s grace as the means by which someone is saved, apart from any work of the individual. Other persuasions see God’s grace, thru faith, as the means of salvation, too, but see free will (not a technical term just the idea of it) as a part of the equation, and there is a wide disagreement in the other camp how much ‘free-will’ is involved or how free it truly is.

The issue is this, we who call ourselves believers; followers of Christ-i.e. Christians, should be able to fellowship in our salvation and not divide in how we got there. I find my Reform brothers’ (and sisters, of course) high regard for God’s sovereignty and God’s Word, grounds we can agree on. AS we celebrate the diversity of the Body of Christ, we can debate its roots, creation, and means by which we are placed there, but let us not divide Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:13 (NLT) “Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!” Paul’s words seem to ring so true in the Church today. Jesus addressed this issue with His disciples, words of advice missing in the church today, Luke 9:49-50 (NLT) “John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” 50 But Jesus said, ‘Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.’“ Oh that we would see our differences in the light of our shared faith in Christ.

The other issue, threating to tear apart the fabric of the Church, is the same sex attraction/gay marriage/homosexuality issue. I know there are many who feel that ‘homosexuals’ can’t be saved. I’m sorry, my Bible teaches that anyone that has trusted Christ for their salvation is a brother/sister in Christ. Interesting, many will cite 1 Corinthians 6:9 as proof that homosexuals will not inherit eternal life, yet leaving covetous people alone. Covetousness is desiring something that isn’t yours, or is someone else’s. If you ever wanted someone’s car, their church, their job-you’ve coveted. Paul said covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5), which is as bad as it gets, yet we harp not on the covetousness that is prevalent in the church, and I would argue much more than homosexuality.

A dialogue with those who disagree with us is needed. I’ve begun reaching out to those in the gay community, both outside and inside the Church, in hopes of bridging the gap (or chasm) that divides us. I see no argument from their side that makes me endorses homosexuality as okay. I have studied many of the arguments from different interpretations than the traditional, might I say, historical, understanding of the homosexual issue and find their arguments very lacking. I am certain the Bible is clear about homosexual activity is a sin, but so is lying, lusting, and covetousness. In other words, we are pushing away many that struggle with real issues of sexuality that society is not helping us with and we are bearing our torches and pitch forks, ready to burn them like modern day witches.

I’m not sure where the common ground is on this issue. I’m also not sure where the battle line should be drawn, if at all. I want to reach out to them, the hurting members of our society, hurt by sin, darkness, and disrespect. Is not Christ’s lesson to us, one of acceptance, not of sin-or attitude-but of the person? Did not Jesus find a woman, breaking every social norm, taboo, and stereotype to offer her life changing water? Can we not also find in our dogma, a way to reach out to those standing by the well?

God Bless