“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” – Augustine
So it turns out that it really wasn’t Augustine who said this; the earliest it is found is the 17th century (Augustine lived in the 4-5th century), in a little tract written by an “otherwise undistinguished German Lutheran theologian” – Rupertus Meldenius. (Source) Kind of a shame, when you think about it: Poor old Rupert, hardly remembered for anything, and even perhaps the greatest thing he ever DID say got credited to someone else! I am confident that, since Rupertus and Augustine are now comfortably with the Lord, they have shared a good chuckle over this and gotten over any ill feelings they might have had! There’s nothing like Heaven and the eternal presence of the Lord Himself to put all earthly would-be fame into perspective!
I want to take a moment to expand and perhaps clarify the point I tried to make this last Sunday. On the one hand, church should be different than “the world.” We are not just another social or fraternal organization. But on the other hand, the church is a human organization. Although the church’s Founder and Foundation is Christ (Matthew 16:16-18, 1 Corinthians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 10:3-4), it is nevertheless made up of people.
We expect, as humans, to not always agree. No two people think exactly alike in all things always. The church is no exception. But just as there are at least a certain few basics that you must adhere to in order to be considered an Elk, Moose or member of any other animal or non-animal-named organization, so there are some basics that draw the line between Christian and not-Christian.
This past Sunday, we covered the big three essential doctrines of Christianity: Incarnation, Atonement and Resurrection. Lest you think that “the essentials” include only doctrinal positions to which we mentally agree, let me add another of the “If…then…” passages of Scripture:
“…God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:5-7
So the Bible appears to teach that, along with certain doctrinal precepts, certain behavior is also “essential.” NOTE: I believe the Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by grace and that these certain “behaviors” will follow a genuine conversion (see for instance Galatians 5:22ff.).
Apart from the technical doctrinal issues, let’s take a moment to reflect on our essential behavior. Are we “walking in the light,” or do we even know what it means to “walk in the light?” If we are living lives that essentially are not different – other than our beliefs – since we were allegedly converted, can we say that we have been truly converted?
