(Posted by Nick)
“Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”
- Acts 15:37-41
It seems inevitable that Christians will disagree this side of heaven – yet doctrinal diversity is not something we value per se. We are urged on in the knowledge that unity is the goal, that Christ will bring about. Tongue-in-cheek, Roger Nicole once wrote to a theological adversary:
“I do find comfort in the thought that although you may oppose Calvinism on this earth, you will be a Calvinist when you get to heaven.”
On Sunday we looked at a key passage, Romans 14, on the topic of Christians in disagreement. How do you disagree well? You can listen to the talk here.
If you want to do some further thinking on the topic, I have written an extended paper on the topic around the old saying ‘In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity’. It reflects on the language we use in disagreements – terms like ‘gospel issues’ ‘clear / unclear’ ‘primary-seconday’ and ‘adiaphora’ (things indifferent) and tries to connect them to the gospel and the Scriptures.
Let’s be thankful that Jesus promises to finish the job of bringing us to complete unity – and anticipate that now by the way we relate to each other as brothers and sisters.