| Author | Message | ||
| 8thday Registered user Username: 8thday Post Number: 956 Registered: 11-2007  |
I'm really struggling with this concept right now. I know they are necessary - but how detailed do they really need to be? I like to say my list core beliefs I will not compromise about Christ and the gospel is a fairly short, simple statement. But is it enough in a body of believers who will be attacked by all kinds of different false teachings and misaligned agendas? (the misguided agenda thing to me is even harder to fight than the false teaching... because people claim to have all the right truth, they are just on their own bandwagon, not God's.) I have a young friend who's father used to teach in a seminary but has been kicked out of 4 churches. His personal doctrinal statement is 12 pages long. Now he doesn't attend any church anywhere. Is our zeal for "truth" supposed to drive us away from each other?? I see it happen over and over and over. At what point can we leave the peripheral issues alone and stop letting them be dividing lines between believers in fellowship? Does anyone know where that line SHOULD be? I can put up with many minor things I perceive as "errors" if I know a person's heart is totally dedicated to Jesus Christ and his gospel. At what point does a heresy become a "damnable heresy?" I know there may not be answers to this... Just struggling to know where the balance is between Spirit & Truth. | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 4932 Registered: 9-2006  |
I think if it leads people away from Christ and his salvation for all, then that person has entered into a damnable heresy, doctrinally speaking. Such as Adventism. Generally speaking. | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2028 Registered: 8-2004  |
River, check your email. | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2029 Registered: 8-2004 |
8thday, I know the struggle! I don't have a clear answer, but I think there is something to the idea that when we walk in the Spirit we will be brought into fellowship with others who are led by the Spirit. It may not be as we expect (probably won't be, in fact), but it will be a 'God thing' and everything He does is good! | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 9938 Registered: 12-2003  |
Sondra, I've struggled with this question also. River's right—generally speaking! I've come to believe that a doctrinal statement needs to include orthodox views of the Trinity, the three Persons of the Trinity, the cross and Christ's completed, substitutionary atonement, the inerrancy of Scripture and its role as our sole rule of faith and practice, the nature of death and the reality of hell and the resurrection, and Christ's return. Some things, like baptism and the rapture, I would not divide over although they might personally be important enough to determine local church membership. I like how Gary Inrig handled the non-negotiables in his FAF Weekend talk about finding a church in 2007. You can hear his talk here: http://lifeassuranceministries.org/faf2007/GaryInrig2007.mp3 I like Trinity church's doctrinal statement here: http://trinityonline.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?section=&name=believe I might not include the "premillennial" part in my statement if I were writing it...but on the whole, I think it covers the basics. I might not be quite as detailed in some of the points if I were writing it, but I do think it covers the essentials of the faith. Just my input... Colleen | ||
| 8thday Registered user Username: 8thday Post Number: 958 Registered: 11-2007 |
Thank you for the resources Colleen! I will definitely look at those! | ||
| Doc Registered user Username: Doc Post Number: 413 Registered: 2-2003  |
Helovesme2 - great comment! After being a Christian for 30 years, I have come to realise that God very rarely does things in the way I expect him to. But he always does things in some way when I need him to. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 9939 Registered: 12-2003 |
Mary and Doc, I agree. Colleen |
