The church must be united around the Gospel. There can exist healthy debate and discussion on other issues, but the foundation is the Gospel and the Gospel alone. When I preach I never expect everyone to fully agree with me on secondary issues. My only requirement for the listener (if they are a professing Christian) is that they agree with me on Gospel truth, and doctrines that necessarily flow from a correct understanding of the Gospel. A pastor who demands more is not following the inspired words of the Apostle Peter who instructed pastors to not participate in "lording it over those allotted to your charge" (I Pet. 1:3).
Through the years I have been aquainted with many people in "fundamental circles". In fact, some of my best friends from college still attend fundamentalist churches.The college I went to was composed of a board and administration who were staunch fundamentalists. If you are not familiar with this small sect of the evangelical world suffice it to say that they do not (for the most part) effectively or intentionally distinguish between what might be called "primary" and "secondary" truths. Either you agree with them on essentially everything, or you have no part with them. Essentially every issue seems to be worth "fighting over". As a result, most of their churches are quite small. In the area I went to college (Tampa, Fl), there were probably 20 or more independent, fundamentalist churches that the school approved for the students as possible churches to attend. There existed one particular church that was unofficially on the "bubble"- teetering between the categories of "approved" or "not approved". At least that is what circulated among the student body every Fall. One Spring the Christian music group Jars of Clay came to Tampa. Roughly 100 students (including myself) attended their concert. When the school found out about this they called a meeting with all of us. For about 45 minutes different members of the administration told us that listening to "Christian Rock" was a serious spiritual issue. Now it is true that we violated the student handbook by attending the concert. However, this meeting was not focused on that. It was clearly being made an issue of spirituality- our attendance to an evil "Christian Rock" concert was a violation of Scripture (I know it sounds ridiculous, but that is what they argued). Well, the "bubble" church was responsible for sending their youth group. Not a problem right? Wrong! This particular church endorsed the concert, and because many of the students at my college attended this church and some worked in the Youth Group they also attended the concert. I don't care what your musical tastes are (I listen to all types personally), but does it not make sense to attend a church outing such as this if you like Christian rock music?
Too make a long story short, I will never forget the faces of the students walking out of that meeting. Some of the students actually thought they had violated Scripture. I immediately tried to convince these weary hearted souls that they did not violate Scripture. At that moment I realized that there were many issues of secondary importance- whatever that means practically. Most of us were kids who had great relationships with the professors and administration. Most of us were some sort of leaders on campus. Most of us had school spirit. In fact, one of my best friends who was in attendance earned the "School spirit" award our Senior year. Many of us played a particular sport for the school. None of that mattered, though. According to the school we had violated a Scriptural principle- "thou shalt not attend rock concerts". Now, I am not endorsing all Christian rock. I don't care for much of it. My problems with some Christian rock centers around shallow lyrics and what is "not said", rather than a musical style or what "is said". Nevertheless, you cannot honestly argue from Scripture against all of it. And furthermore, even if in some strange world you could, it should not be considered a "primary issue".
Well, to get to my point.......... After that incident, I chose the "bubble" church as my church to attend. I became highly involved in the Junior and Senior High Youth Groups and became good friends with the Pastor. I ended up having an expository training class with two other students under his tutelage. I chose this church not primarily to make a point to the administration, although I will not lie- that was part of my decision. My primary decision to become a member of this church was based on the fact that it was the only "approved" church that centered its ministry on the Gospel. In other words, they saw the difference between "primary" and "secondary" issues. None of the other churches seemed to do that. Although, there were undoubtedly some who did better than others. I know that my story is extreme, but the principle the story conveys is not extreme. The question naturally becomes, "Is all truth primary in regard to church fellowship?" I think the Gospel is primary.
The link to the blog post below is written by the best friend of my former pastor of the "bubble" church. The writer's name is Phil Johnson. He is one of the most popular Christian bloggers among Reformed folk. He is also executive director of Grace to You (John MacArthur's ministry). Johnson addresses the issue of "primary" and "secondary" truths. The post contains wise words. Let me know what you think.
Here is the link:
Love in Truth,
Pastor Andy
p.s. I apologize for typos and bad English on this post--its kind of difficult to type in this cast thing.
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