What’s Worth Fighting For?

Written by Darren Hewer

Which differences among Christians really matter, and which ones don’t? A comedian named Emo Phillips tells this joke about religious differences among Christians:

I was walking across a bridge one day, and saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said “Stop! don’t do it!”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.
I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”
He said, “Like what?”
I said, “Are you religious or atheist?”
He said, “Religious.”
I said, “Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?”
“Christian.”
“Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?’
“Baptist Church of God!”
“Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God!”
“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”
He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.”
I said, ‘Die, heretic scum!’ and pushed him off.

Several lessons could be taken from this short dialogue, none the least of which is that even heresy should never be the catalyst to violence! (So just to be clear, the words “fighting for” in the title of this article refer to tolerant disagreement and resultant cordial argument, not literal fighting!)

The joke / social commentary above is supposed to demonstrate triviality of religious differences – making a mountain out of a molehill. But some religious differences actually do matter! The difference in the joke between the “Reformation of 1879” and “Reformation of 1915” is assumed to be a trivial one, but how do we make that distinction?

When can Christians have honest disagreements and yet still share fellowship together?

Everything that the Bible speaks about is true and relevant for our lives, as the apostle Paul said: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, TNIV)  However, you may be surprised to learn that Paul did not hold all of his beliefs at the same level of importance.

In his book Enjoying God (formerly titled What Christianity is All About) Dr Alan Kent Scholes describes three levels of belief: Convictions, Persuasions, and Opinions. The rest of this article is based on chapter 2 of this book. You can get your own copy of the book here from Campus Crusade’s store. (Dr. Scholes has been Campus Crusade staff for over 40 years and taught at the Campus Crusade International School of Theology.)

Convictions

On some issues, the apostle Paul was not willing to compromise. In his letter to Galatia, Paul explains how, “When Peter came to Antioch, I [Paul] opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.” (Galatians 2:11) The matter in question was the way Peter, who was  Jewish, separated himself from Gentile believers to eat his meals. Peter was also encouraging others to do so.

Paul explains that the reason he opposed this practice so strongly was because of his concern that “man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” (v16) Paul was concerned that Peter was leading people astray by giving the impression that we are somehow justified before God by observing the law rather than by faith alone.

Paul was willing to risk a public confrontation (“I opposed him to his face”) over this matter. He held it at a conviction level, and was unwilling to compromise. Thankfully Peter recanted of his error and was able to continue to enjoy fellowship with Paul and the other early apostles and disciples.

In this example, and many others elsewhere in his letters, Paul emphasizes that there are certain truths worth holding on to tightly. He was echoing Christ (Matthew 7:15-20, 24:19-11; Luke 6:43-45) as well as the other writers of scripture (ex 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1) about the importance of not straying from certain central truths.

Persuasions

However, Paul did not hold all of his beliefs so tenaciously. In Romans 14:5, he says: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Although Paul himself is fully persuaded on this issue, he allows others to differ with him. He is not ready to break fellowship over these issues.

You can explore Romans 14 on your own to see how Paul was willing to differ on issues he nevertheless felt strongly about. These issues could be called persuasions, because while your mind may be entirely persuaded on the issue based on evidence, another Christian may be persuaded differently, and that’s okay.

Opinions

There is still another category of belief in Paul’s letters. In 1 Corinthians 7:39-40 Paul says: “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.” The Greek word translated here as “judgment” refers to a person’s opinion, or advice.

Paul is here giving what he believes is wise counsel, yet he distinguishes it from a direct command. To demonstrate the difference, earlier in the same chapter, Paul prefaces one of his statements by saying “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord):” (v12, emphasis mine) This statement is of a different kind, and carries more importance and authority than merely Paul’s own personal opinion, which demonstrates the differences in how tightly he holds certain beliefs.

Telling the difference

Unfortunately not many conviction level beliefs are prefaced in the Bible with obvious statements like “I give this command.” How do we know whether a disagreement between Christians is a conviction level of belief (which is worth breaking fellowship over) or a persuasion or opinion level of belief (which is not)?

The strength with which a person holds a particular belief is not the determining factor. A person may feel very strongly about something, but that does not determine whether it is a conviction level of belief. I may feel very strongly that a preacher’s sermons should be a maximum of 30 minutes long, but that doesn’t make it a conviction level belief.

The determining factor is whether or not the issue is crucial to salvation. A conviction level belief is one where the central teachings of the gospel and most critical truths about God are distorted. As Scholes says in Enjoying God:

A conviction is a belief that is central to the Christian gospel itself. A good test to see if a belief should be classed as a conviction is to ask, “If I remove this belief from my system, could I still consistently believe the rest of the gospel?” If the answer is “yes” then that belief, no matter how firmly you believe it, or how strongly you feel about it, probably should be classed as a persuasion.

Examples

Conviction level beliefs include the Deity of Christ, salvation by grace alone through faith, and the infallibility of the Bible. Beliefs you hold at the conviction level should be subjects you understand fully. You should verify the truth of conviction level beliefs for yourself; if we are ever called upon to be persecuted for our beliefs (“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12) we should be quite sure which beliefs we are willing to suffer for and which ones we may willingly disagree about!

Persuasion level beliefs are not crucial for salvation, and although we may feel strongly about them and even argue about them among other believers, it is not necessary to break fellowship with those who differ. Examples of persuasion level beliefs might include the age of the universe, millennial views, and the role of speaking in tongues in the church.

Opinions level beliefs should be held even looser than persuasions, often because we simply lack the necessary information to be too sure of our beliefs about them, and other times because they represent subjective preferences. For example, what kind of worship music should your church play? What is appropriate and edifying for one congregation may not be for another.

Various creeds of the churches throughout the centuries have tried to define essential beliefs. C. S. Lewis in his popular book Mere Christianity attempted to do the same. One of the earliest creeds is known as the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
Was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell
On the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty
From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic [universal] church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

Note: The term “catholic” above means the entire church of God, not the Roman Catholic Church in particular.

Note too that conviction-level disagreements can also involve additions to the gospel. If a person believes the apostles creed, but also adds other unnecessary teachings to it which are not biblical and thus not God honoring, this also could be a conviction level error worthy of correction.

Speaking the truth in love

Although Christians should do all we can to worship God “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24) and thus seek to winsomely correct conviction-level error wherever it is found, we should also seek unity: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

So keep this in mind before starting a fight. Recognize that there are issues which are not so central that we must break fellowship with other believers, and have a spirit of charity when it comes to discussing such issues.

Dr. Scholes concludes his chapter in Enjoying God by saying:

I believe we all, as Christians, have a responsibility to distinguish between those central points about which the Bible is clear and nearly all Christians agree and those concepts which are peripheral or questionable. If we are going to love God with our minds as well as our hearts, if we are going to worship Him “in spirit and truth,” then we must have some way to sort out what is crucial to our Christian faith from what is helpful but secondary or even optional or questionable. I have personally found the convictions, persuasions, opinions paradigm gives me confidence that I am listening intently to those things God Himself deems most important without becoming overly distracted by peripheral issues.

This, I think, is wise advice for us all.

Related links:
The Resurrection – What one of the central, conviction level beliefs of your faith means to you today
Join our daily online chats – Discuss your faith and spiritual journey with others
Learn more about what you believe – Explore the central tenets of Christianity through our online interactive studies