In Non-Essentials, Unity?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

There is a saying that you’ve no doubt heard, which goes like this:

In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things charity.

The statement is often credited to Augustine. However, Augustine, while credited with it, most likely did not originate it. One site states that the saying was “first stated by the 17th-century Lutheran Rupertus Meldenius (a.k.a. Peter Meiderlin).” [1] Another site states, “In 1999,  H. J. M. Nellen found the quote in a 17th Century writing from the Marco Antonio de Dominis (d. 1624). [2]

Regardless of who said it originally, it’s an interesting meme and one I’d like to take a look at to see if it passes the muster, with respect to Scripture.

If you stop to consider the statement, one thing noticed immediately is that it sounds loving and therefore, because of that, what could possibly be wrong with it? In fact, much of society today is based on “feelz” so that what people feel is what determines truth for them. This has fast become the norm.

Let’s look at the whole of it. Whoever originally said it may have meant that within Christendom and specifically with reference to the teachings of Scripture, in those areas considered “essential,” there should be absolute unity. Of course, the person who originated that particular saying has a lot to do with what was meant by it too.

But let’s distill the major beliefs of Christianity down into the five fundamentals of the faith:

1. The Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8-9).
2. The Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27).
3. The Blood Atonement (Acts 20:28; Romans 3:25, 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12-14).
4. The Bodily Resurrection (Luke 24:36-46; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 15:14-15).
5. The inerrancy of the scriptures themselves (Psalms 12:6-7; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20).

The inference of course, is that the above five fundamentals are fully essential and there is no “wiggle” room for the Christian to come to a different conclusion. Jesus is either God or He is not God. To deny Jesus is God is to deny God Himself and the truth of Scripture.

The same can be said for the other four points: the virgin birth, the blood atonement, the bodily resurrection and the inerrancy of Scriptures. These are non-negotiable beliefs for the Christian.

However, part of the problem with these so-called “five fundamentals” of Christianity is the implication that the rest of what Jesus and the apostles taught (not to mention writers and prophets of the Old Testament), can be classified as “non-essentials.” This leaves a very wide range of topics that are labeled “non-essentials.” Implicitly then, Christians can disagree over them and still worship together and strive to have some sense of “unity” even with differences.

We can have all sorts of disagreements over things like these examples:

• style of music
• length of hair on men
• the sacraments themselves
• which Greek text or which English version of the Bible used
• the way people should dress in and outside of church
• baptism

So for instance, most styles of music used in a variety of churches, it is argued, are fine as long as it brings the lost into church where the Gospel can be presented. Further, it is argued, if we do not redesign church services, making the unchurched feel more comfortable, how will they ever hear the Gospel? Changes should include adopting casual dress codes, including lively, upbeat worship music, with electric guitar, bass and drums, the pastor eliminating the pulpit and he (or she!) dressing far more casually, while sitting on a stool near a music stand, etc.

If a Christian man has long hair today, does the Bible have anything to say about that? Is that a “non-essential” topic? Did Paul teach on it? If he did, did he present it as a command or a “suggestion”?

Today, we have women in pulpits, women as “apostles,” and “prophets.” What does the Bible say about these things? Is that an “essential” or “non-essential” doctrine or subject? Was it culturally based as some think or is it based on God’s created order?

What about infant baptism vs infant dedication? Essential or non?

Without going into great detail and ending up beating this subject to death, I have to wonder if this belief – In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things charity – has given rise to modern heresies that might not have gained a foothold if more Christians were willing to always go back to Scripture?

For instance, because of the belief that “in non-essentials, liberty,” we have groups like the Promise Keepers who have whittled tenets of Christianity down to simply two or three “essentials,” not even the five fundamentals noted above.

The Promise Keepers Ambassador booklet listed the following as examples of issues that must be ignored for the sake of unity: Eternal security, the gifts of the Spirit, baptism, Pretribulation or post-tribulation prophecy, sacraments or ordinances. [3]

What? Eternal security is considered by Promise Keepers to be a “non-essential” where people can disagree and still worship and fellowship together. How can that be tolerated? Either salvation is eternal or it is not. Is there a way to know for certain? Yes, by studying the Scriptures!

Folks, I fully realize that there are many divergent opinions about what the Bible says and no one person is likely right about all of what Scripture teaches, but our job as Christians is to do everything we can (through our dependence upon God’s Spirit), to understand not what we think the Bible teaches, but what it actually teaches. After all, we are studying God’s eternal Word and because of that, we should always strive to know what He means by what is stated therein. That never ends in this life, though certainly, some believe they have “arrived.”

In essence, because of the broad acceptance of the maxim regarding essentials and non-essentials, we have come to divide biblical doctrine into “majors” and “minors,” haven’t we? Because of this, it is espoused that all “majors” should be believed and accepted by all within Christendom, while the “minors” can be disagreed over but still allow Christians to come together in fellowship.

Honestly, isn’t the Bible to be the Christian’s sole authority for faith and practice? Where in Scripture does it state or imply that non-essential liberty can allow for doctrinal differences, as long as they are non-essentials (or, not the “majors”), of the faith? Where does the Bible teach about “non-essential” truths in the New Testament or the Old, for that matter?

Consider Israel of the Old Testament. How many prophets did God send to warn and instruct the leaders of Israel? How many times did God hold back His anger over the fact that Israelites compromised with pagan nations and ultimately brought judgment on themselves because of it?

All we have to do is spend some time reading Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others to know how often Israel compromised with people who did not believe as they were taught to believe, originally by Moses. I cannot help but wonder if many within Christendom have found themselves in the same boat because of a willingness to compromise where “minor” doctrines of Scripture are set aside so that fellowship can exist and continue?

Is this just reserved for Israel and not the Church? Not according to the opening chapters of Revelation, it isn’t? John spends some time writing down the very words of Jesus regarding the seven churches in Asia Minor. There were a number of things that Jesus complained about regarding several churches. The main problem seemed to be their willingness to compromise their faith.

In 1 Corinthians 11:2, Paul states, “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” (ESV)

He also speaks of “traditions” when he wrote to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. He meant the same thing in both epistles. The word “traditions” is referring to “inspired instructions,” ultimately, God’s Word. As an apostle, Paul had the authority to teach and teach he did. Writing the majority of the New Testament under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul was privileged to even reveal “mysteries” to us that had never been revealed before.

In the Corinthians passage above, he commends them for remembering “everything” and to “maintain the traditions” as he had previously taught them. He had just been dealing with the length of hair and the Lord’s Supper, so it is clear that these two things are not “minors” but ones that were very important to Paul, enough so that he felt the need to tell them what they might have been doing wrong.

I agree with some who have said that when God’s Word speaks on a particular matter, our liberty ends. We do not have “wiggle” room to set things aside no matter how “major” or “minor” that directive may appear to be.

Let me apply this to an issue today. I live in a state where our governor has said that he does not want to issue a mandate forcing people to wear masks. In fact, he has issued an EO that forbids government leaders in cities throughout this state to issue EOs that force people to wear masks. Because of that, when I am out and about, I do not need to wear a mask.

However, Walmart, has made it mandatory that all customers coming into any Walmart must wear masks. Costco already does this. I’m hearing other corporations are moving to that as well.

What is a Christian to do? We have some Christians who argue that we should absolutely wear masks because this is showing our love for our fellow human beings. Others argue that forcing people to wear masks is unconstitutional and those mandates should be ignored.

A corporation like Walmart can make whatever policy they want to make, as a business. What they cannot do is make a policy that ignores one segment of society in favor of another. For instance, if Walmart said all MEN must wear masks beginning this Monday, while all WOMEN are exempt, that would be against the law because it unfairly singles out one gender from another. But Walmart has not done that. They’ve made it a mandate for ALL people.

As a Christian, I can either choose to not shop at Walmart or continue shopping there but if I choose the latter, I will need to mask up. I still have freedom to choose. If I choose to ignore Walmart’s new policy and go into the store without a mask, I’m in the wrong. While Walmart has the authority to make rules for their own stores, it’s a bit different when politicians issue executive orders that take on the force of law. So when a governor issues an EO that says everyone must wear a mask when out in public, this is a questionable and not necessarily legitimate order.

What about wearing masks all the time even when there is no “rule” about masks? For instance, our church does not have a mandatory mask policy. They’ve also made it very clear that if people want to wear masks, they should feel free to do so. No one is going to make them feel out of place because of it. In that case, do I need to wear a mask for the benefit of someone else? No, but I will respect the fact that some feel more comfortable wearing a mask.

Are we striving for “unity” solely to have unity with others with whom we disagree? Paul knew that unity comes from agreement. He called Peter out for Peter’s failure to create unity in Acts 9 (cf. also Galatians 2). Of course, Paul as an apostle, was dealing with another apostle. We need to be extremely careful so that we do not become puffed up and sin.

With respect to anything we might label “non-essentials” of the faith, do these really exist, especially if Jesus was so careful to fulfill all aspects of the Law? I’d encourage all to search the Scriptures. God’s Word is either the final authority for all things pertaining to life and godliness or it is not.

[1] https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/in_essentials_unity.html#:~:text=%20In%20Essentials%20Unity%20%201%20We%20must,%E2%80%9Cnon-essentials%E2%80%9D%20tends%20to%20grow%20as%20time…%20More%20

[2] https://douglasbeaumont.com/2013/06/18/the-origin-of-in-essentials-unity/

[3] https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/in_essentials_unity.html#:~:text=%20In%20Essentials%20Unity%20%201%20We%20must,%E2%80%9Cnon-essentials%E2%80%9D%20tends%20to%20grow%20as%20time…%20More%20

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective