Essential Unity
We live in a world right now where every disagreement seems to be cause for division. Last week I said we would be looking at the quote from a German Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century, Rupertus Meldenius, who wrote:
In Essentials Unity,
In Non-Essentials Liberty,
In All Things Charity.
This week we will be looking at that first line; In Essentials Unity.
In a world that sees “Christian”
Some take it down to Catholics and Protestants
And you could break Catholic into East and West traditions
And you could break Protestant down into….well….See for yourself….
That is quite the list of opinions over doctrine. In fact that list is incredibly intimidating. So where do we begin to find unity? What are our essentials? Well, I would recommend reading the Book of Romans and The Small Catechism.
But really we have to start at one place, how we view the Scripture. The inerrant Word of God. And if asked to summarize that Word, if asked to produce a “readers digest” version we would look to the Apostle 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, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
If you needed more, you could always look to the Nicene Creed, or, for those questioning the divinity of Christ, the Athanasian Creed. You can find those here
But any church that confesses what was written there we will find common ground with. There may be other issues, but at the end of the day, they confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Or, going back to Romans 10:9
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
or Matthew 10:32
Jesus says – “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
Or 1 John 2:23
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
Does this mean we won’t have differences over sacramental practices, liturgical styles, dress, cultural styles, or a wide variety of other issues? Certainly not! But those are causes for disagreement, not division.
Does this mean some of the issues are not serious? Again, certainly not. Some of them, like decision theology, or real presence, or dedication vs infant baptism have serious theological ramifications. It deserves to be discussed…and we will….next week.
But it’s important to start from the Creeds and to remember that “Christ is Lord” covers every sin, at the very least according to Mark 9:39, it removes a potential enemy.
In Essentials Unity,
In Non-Essentials Liberty,
In All Things Charity.
-Pastor Dan