A Christian Survival Guide — How To Not Die On Every Theological Hill

The basic message of the Bible is that the God who created us—against whom we have rebelled and whose judgement we have justifiably earned—has not abandoned us to a lost eternity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, promises eternal life to all who repent of their sins before God and follow Him. Jesus' perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection grant believers forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. Because of our sin, we could never merit salvation on our own; we receive Christ by grace alone, through faith alone, and apart from works.

This is the ‘good news’ of the gospel and what the Apostle Paul called “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3). It’s a hill for every genuine Christian to die on. It's ground we must never concede or retreat from. However, if you’ve been a Christian for more than ten minutes, you’ll know there's a variety of hills and fortresses that many choose to die on and certainly not all of them meet Paul's "first importance" criteria.

This is why we need guidance.

Don’t get me wrong; the essential gospel is not the only hill you ought to die on. What is the gospel without a strong doctrine of Scripture? Or what is the gospel in which Jesus is not the incarnate, everlasting God? So, your range of convictions ought to expand beyond "Jesus died for my sins, and that’s all that matters."

The hills I have in mind are a dreaded list of "isms," and although they have plenty of shared ground, we gravitate towards the differences. They include, in no particular order, Calvinism, Arminianism, Dispensationalism, Pre-millennialism, Post-Millennialism, Amillennialism, among others.

To most, the battlefield becomes even more overwhelming when they consider the various "tribes" staking their identities into various hills. These are Presbyterian, Anglican, Brethren, Baptist, Reformed, Wesleyan, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and so on.

The typical Christian does not have the time or expertise to thoroughly decide what hills they ought to die on, avoid, or lay siege to. They are just trying to complete their "read the Bible in a year" plan.

So, we need a way of interpreting the noise.

Christians can easily fall into one or two default responses to the “isms” and “tribes” of the faith. The first is what I call the "shoulder shruggers." These people usually ignore the issues and avoid getting entangled in any theological dialogue. They have poorly formed opinions and aren't interested in truth-testing in the public arena. A second response lives in a category I’ll label the "warlords." These Christians, pumped with theological adrenaline, know exactly the hills where their flags fly and are all too willing to obliterate or disassociate with those who have settled elsewhere, even if they inhabit the same "tribe." It’s clear we need a better way forward than "shoulder shruggers" and "warlords".

Here's a solution: learn to be open-minded but not open-ended.

When I say open-ended, I mean someone who doesn't have any genuine convictions and will often try to accommodate a variety of incompatible views. At all costs, steer clear of this no-man's land. Don’t skip your homework; know what you believe and why. However, you should also avoid the polar extreme, which is guerrilla warfare against your spiritual kin in Christ.

How can we be open-minded?

#1 To be open-minded means self-awareness. You understand your personal limitations and shortcomings. You remind yourself of the catchphrase now and again: “I don’t know what I don’t know." You know the Scripture is infallible, but not you. It means you know what an echo chamber sounds like. And, when necessary, you swiftly kill your hobby horse.

#2 To be open-minded means you appreciate, as the poet John Donne said, that "no man is an island unto himself." Your context and tradition, especially in childhood, will form deep biases. The way out is to ask difficult and meaningful questions.

#3 To be open-minded means accepting that theological differences are a certainty for the pre-glorified church of Christ. We are all blinded by a variety of vices. Not one of us can read and interpret with the kind of logical consistency we suppose we do, no matter how well trained. We like to tell ourselves that the difficult passages are plain to us.

#4 To be open-minded means you adhere to the Romans 14 principle. Are you willing to see those on opposing hills as the weaker brother or sister in the faith? Won’t you therefore continue to build them up? Don’t revert to a "warlord" mentality. Have you developed a level of patience that allows you to discuss without dividing? To present an argument without arguing? Paul wrote, “But why do you judge your brother? Or also, why do you despise your brother? For you will all stand before the judgement seat of God.” (Rom. 14:10).

We now need some basic questions to determine whether we can remain open-minded to advocates of these "isms" and "tribes" without necessarily agreeing with them.

#1 Does this person exhibit Christ-like character? Is their life consistent with the fruits of the Spirit? (Gal. 5:22). Don’t be quick to dismiss those who possess the marks of a born-again life.

#2 How do they handle the Bible? Do they consistently justify their viewpoint using the Scriptures? Do they have the testimony of church history to support the view's plausibility and orthodoxy? If so, maybe offer the right hand of fellowship before the right boot. The Bible is complex, and it takes real skill to piece together a coherent position.

#3 Do they have any suspicious underlying motives? Are they selling something other than Christ crucified for sinners? (1 Cor. 2:2). If not, then it’s likely you have a brother or sister in the Lord.

#4 In what way do they speak about the essential gospel and Christ's person? Is their love for Christ apparent? Do they preach on Jesus’ cross with clarity? Do they talk about sin, the last judgement, Christ’s return, and the necessity of repentance and faith?

You have the liberty to attend a church that shares your theological convictions. We all do that. But keep in mind that Scripture only commands Christians to disassociate with those who claim to be disciples of Christ, but their immoral life proves otherwise (1 Cor. 5:11). And even then, the goal is always to win them to the Lord (Gal. 6:1).

So, we ought to be open-minded Christians, but not open-ended.

Work hard to develop convictions concerning different biblical topics like baptism, the Lord's supper, the nature of salvation, church government, eschatology, and so forth.

Just beware of what hills you choose to die on. Our Lord Jesus commands his church in this way: “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” (Jn. 13:35).