Humans have a natural tendency to emphasize what makes us different from others. We like to stand out as unique in certain ways, and (ironically) we like to gather with other people who share those interests or beliefs and “be different” than everyone else along with them. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just something we all do.
Unfortunately, though, when that tendency carries over to the church, we can become dangerously off balance. The 66 books of the Bible provide dozens, if not hundreds, of people and ideas and commandments that we can talk about, so why does our focus so often come back to what makes us different? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an article on instrumental music vs. a capella worship shared on my Facebook and Twitter feeds over the last six months. Consider how many times you’ve heard baptism mentioned in sermons over the years. I’m not saying that we’re wrong to teach those things – far from it, in fact. But an inordinate focus on the doctrines that make us different from the denominational world isn’t healthy.
Paul emphasized the importance of preaching “the whole counsel of God” in his work (Acts 20:27) and I believe most preachers, teachers, and writers agree with that and attempt to practice it, but that doesn’t mean we’re always properly balanced. To be fair, it’s not just that our focus is drawn in that direction in producing the content, but the readers help perpetuate it by sharing, liking, and retweeting those links about what make us different more than articles on most other topics. What happens when we over-emphasize our “different” doctrines?
First, we place an emphasis on works. The Gospel is not about our rightness, it’s about His righteousness. We pat ourselves on the back for getting it right, when getting it right is simply our duty in responding to His love. And, as we emphasize the self-importance of our right works, we see the negative consequences of, say, an over-emphasis on baptism. When we place a call to baptism at the end of every sermon yet don’t spend the same amount of time talking about counting the cost and realizing the gravity of the commitment, baptism can become the goal in place of true conversion. It’s why we see young people get baptized only to drift away shortly after. It’s why our 2013 survey of those who left the church revealed dozens who knew all about the doctrines that make the church unique and left because they didn’t feel a sense of God’s grace and love.
Second, we look down on others. I admit that there are plenty of people who know better and have made the conscious choice to embrace false doctrine. But what about all of the people who don’t really know any better? No, their ignorance won’t be excused, but we shouldn’t treat them as enemies or people who care less than we do. We should remember that sharing an article telling them why they are wrong isn’t really going to accomplish anything, but out of the dozens of times I’ve seen folks share articles about the instrument or baptism, generally speaking the tone has been (lovingly) directed at those who disagree, telling them “you need to read this.” Articles help us reason with people who agree with us, giving us an opportunity to try and improve ourselves and our understanding of the Word together. What articles rarely do is talk someone who is directly opposed to us out of an opinion they’ve held for years. It’s just not that easy. We have to meet people on common ground and work with them from there rather than standing on our high ground where we’ve gotten it right and telling them that they’re wrong.
Third, the real point is completely missed. When we overemphasize hand-picked doctrines, we draw attention away from Christ and His work. When people think of us, they should be thinking of people who are wholly dedicated to Christ and who have been completely transformed by His saving power. Instead, we help them think of us by what makes us different. The irony is that nothing makes us more different than the separation from sin offered by Christ’s blood, and yet we focus on the immediately outwardly visible things people see when they walk through our doors.
The Bible’s overwhelming message is our sinfulness contrasted with God’s love, holiness, power, and glory, and that’s where our preaching, teaching, and writing need to be aimed. Yes, how we worship and how we receive the cleansing power of Christ’s blood are critical parts of that, but they aren’t everything. If people leave our buildings knowing why we don’t use instruments or why we baptize but not why God loves them despite their sin or the peace He offers them in their struggles in life, we’ve failed them. If our Facebook friends and Twitter followers see us share article after article on the church’s “different” doctrines but not on the hope, joy, and love of the Gospel or how our own lives are being transformed by it, they’re not going to understand the depth of the gospel call. Let’s be balanced in what we preach, teach, write, and share. Let’s make sure people are seeing the whole message and not just what makes us “different.”
By Jack Wilkie