In Essentials, Unity

The pastor preached about "essentials." He wanted us to be sure that we're majoring on the "essentials" and not on the "non-essentials." I mulled over the term. What constitutes "essentials"? I said last week that doctrines of "TULIP" were not "essentials." By that I meant I can (and do) still fellowship with Arminians (partial or full) even though I think their version is wrong. So what are we talking about?

There are "cardinal" doctrines and "peripheral" doctrines. There are fundamental truths, without which we do not have a Christian faith, and there are other doctrines that don't affect salvation. A saying often (wrongly) attributed to Augustine says, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." What is the difference? Paul spoke of matters "of first importance" (1 Cor 15:3). There are certain beliefs that, if they are false, Christianity is false. These are the "essentials." Note, it's not whether you believe them; it's whether they are true. For instance, God claims to be the only God (Deut 6:4). Paul claims the death and resurrection of Christ are "of first importance" (1 Cor 15:3-7). He says, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (1 Cor 15:14). That's what I'm talking about. If it is not true that Christ rose from the dead, your salvation does not exist. That is, it doesn't matter if you believe it's true or not. Is it true? These are the things that must be true if Christianity is to be true. These and others. Christ is God (Php 2:6-11). Jesus was God incarnate -- God in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16). Salvation is by faith through grace apart from works (Eph 2:8-10). Jesus is the only way (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). The trustworthiness of Scripture (John 17:17; 1 Tim 3:16-17). These are essential truths without which Christ is of any value, faith is of any use, and salvation is available to anyone.

Scripture talks about other things. For instance, Paul says, "Whatever is not from faith is sin" (Rom 14:23). The principle of Christian Liberty allows for personal convictions regarding non-essential things. There is very little in eschatology that requires agreement in order to be saved. There is room for disagreement on some things. However, with a faithful adherence to Scripture and a willingness to abide by God's Word, much of these "gray areas" go away when we interpret Scripture with Scripture and let God be true though every man a liar.