Why Fight? The Great Divide

Written: December 28th, 2018

Oh, The Great Divide! The division between the body of Christ. There is a great divide within the church today over different doctrines and theology that has caused a great many issues within the Church. These doctrinal disputes have left many flustered and dismayed. It has also caused many to grow deep into pride and self-arrogance. Now by no means am I an expert on this subject but as a post-millennial having grown up in church it is something that I couldn’t help but notice

For many young adults and youth alike, these doctoral disputes have caused many to question the legitimacy of the Christian faith and has caused many to walk away from the church. This issue is far more serious then we care to admit and must be addressed. It is truly alarming to see how much disunity has resulted due to these disputes and disagreements.

I believe that there is a great importance to pursuing knowledge and doctrine. It feels as though in the modern evangelical church we have created a lot of passionate people with very little biblical knowledge of the one whom they worship. For many, not all, their theology goes no further than “Jesus forgave me of my sin.” Now this has created a very shallow culture without a deep thorough knowledge of the savior. Passionate people with no deep biblical knowledge are easily wavered and dismayed in their faith.If you yourself are reading this and you fall in that category, don’t worry and don’t be discouraged! It is okay, many people start there. It is the core of the Christian faith. Jesus died to forgive us of our sin. It’s why we have new life. The truth is when we have Jesus we have enough. I pray that this series of posts over the next year will help open your eyes to the broad world of theology and doctrine.

As aforementioned, I grew up in church but that mostly consisted of going because my parent forced me to. Half the time, heck, most of the time I just went because there were free snacks and I had friends there. I never paid much attention to what was being taught. Personally, because I heard it so many times, I practically knew all the answers to the Sunday school questions or the little devotionals that we would go through in youth group. I was always told that Jesus died for me and forgave me of my sins. But I never truly understood the significant truth behind that. It felt more like a happy Sunday treat than actual deep meaning truth. That’s the danger of not learning more about the gospel, of not pursuing knowledge or theology. We can forget the depth of truth in the gospel and settle for an ear-tickling Sunday treat.

Pursuing knowledge and understanding is very important! Learning and growing our knowledge of the gospel is crucial to our faith development. The importance of studying scripture and doctrine carries a serious amount weight.

In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes we can make however is when we study scripture or theology and view it only in a historical light. To look at it in the same light as we do our common education. That it is only historical words on a page or a message that a lot of old dead people wrote. But the truth is that the bible is the living word of God.

“7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew it. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. 13 These things also we proclaim, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” 1stCorinthian 2:7-13

When studying scripture, we should be pursuing Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirt to teach us the truth of scripture alongside our studies. As Paul says within 1stCorinthians (Paraphrased), what knows the depths of a man but the spirit of the man? So, who knows the depths of God but the Spirit of God? So that makes it clear! If we want to learn more about the truth in scripture we should probably do it with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Though theology is crucial, if we only view it in a historical light our knowledge is dry and based of human understanding. Now this may sound controversial. But, If you are pursuing doctrine and learn with solely man given knowledge than Jesus is nothing more than a historical figure. For some this is sadly enough. But it is false.

Jesus rose from the grave, thus making him alive again. Jesus is just as much alive today as he was then. His word is alive. Now if we believe that he has risen from the dead, and we believe that he is alive, then why would we want to learn about him as though he is still dead?

You see to me I don’t quite get it. How can we who proclaim the resurrection of Christ, go on to live and learn as though he is dead? Jesus is more than a historical figure. He is still alive therefore this should effect the way we learn and the way we study!

Once again, though doctrine is key, if it is rooted in earthly knowledge and not the spirit it is dry and dead. Truly pursuing Jesus will grow you in theology and doctrines. You can’t help but desire to know His ways. Love and the pursuit of Jesus is what makes our souls come alive and it is Christ himself, the Holy Spirit that helps us to understand scripture.

Now with all this talk about the importance of pursuing doctrine and so forth, let’s take a quick history lesson to start to talk about the doctrinal divide of the church today. Back in the day under the catholic church there were certain men who began to disagree with the pope and the acts of the catholic church. They demanded that people have direct access to scripture. Cue Martin Luther and the birth of the protestant church. Why is this important? Well because in this series we will tackle some of the bigger doctrinal disputes in the protestant church today.

Now cue the big division in the modern church. Denominations. Above those denominations, two main ideologies. Calvinism and Arminianism. For those not familiar with the terms, we will be diving into the biggest division between these ideologies and how though they are important, the focus should be Christ glorified.

Many stay away from these discussions because there are many arguments that result. But as mentioned before, this division in the church has resulted with many walking away from church. The church in no way, shape, or form has been called to argue and debate each other and waste time. We are called in unity, as the body of Christ, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is our purpose. It is why we are here.