Not being a social scientist or a social or cultural historian, I cannot speak with any scientific, research-based authority on what I am about to address. But I do enjoy reading history and cultural/religious trends, and have lived over fifty years immersed in the evangelical subculture of Christianity. There is so much to learn from what Christians did in the past, the decisions they made, the thinking behind their decisions, and the long-term consequences of those decisions. So how did the people of God handle their disagreements in the past? And how can this help us be wise and godly in dealing with the massive disagreements among Christians today.

So what disagreements do I have in mind? In my lifetime, I have seen the debates rage along the whole gamut of Christian thought and action. When I came to Christ in 1972, the religious wars had moved from the fundamentalist/liberal schism of the early twentieth century to the struggle over inerrancy. Then the focus turned to eschatology and the end times. Disagreements over the charismatic gifts peaked, and eventually morphed into the signs-and-wonders and third-wave movements. We can’t forget the heated arguments over gender roles in the church, which continue to this present day, mostly settled now in each church and denomination embracing their own considered view.

Of course, there is the ever-present friction over musical styles in the church. Some churches still argue over what instruments are allowed for worship and what is the acceptable and appropriate mode of dress or modesty. Other arguments have to do with whether to play tunes originating in churches or movements that embrace theological error (not to mention older versus more contemporary styles—with most everyone insisting on their own desires).

In the past, we argued over whether alcoholic wine was permissible in moderation and whether Christians should go to movie theaters (which became moot once it became acceptable for Christians to own a VCR). Younger Christians today think those debates were silly, but what about more recent online diatribes over yoga pants? Yes, today’s topics may be different than those of back in the day (like marijuana use, sex before marriage, etc.), but they generate the same amount of heat.

The issues that cause the most significant division today, even among evangelical churches, have to do with social justice and government overreach (at least in North America). The intensity is so great that if the two primary sides of these issues lived in geographically separate areas, we could have a civil war on our hands—it happened once before, and it could happen again. Both the racial issue and central government overreach as opposed to states’ rights were central issues leading up to the U.S. Civil War, even among Christians.

Then there are the self-righteous individuals who cast themselves as being above and better than all “those Christians” who should just chill out. “Let’s quit fighting, stop judging, and just show the love of Christ.” But they are essentially judging everyone else for judging.

Why bring all this up? There will always be disagreements among Christians. In the end, God may settle the truth on all these things with His definitive judgment and give us His correct interpretation for all these issues. Each of us may be found in some cases to be on the right side of an issue and on the wrong side of another (with God as the judge).

However, we must remember, we who have placed our faith and trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross, who have been saved by grace through faith, are all part of one family with God as our father. Just as Jesus was not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb. 2:11), we had better stop despising those with whom we disagree (even while we hold to our convictions). Why? Because when get worked up over other believers’ opinions, we are expending energy that is needed for the real, and far more significant battle:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. (2 Cor. 10:3–6)

Yes, doctrine and theology are important. Music is important. What we believe about gender roles, and the charismatic gifts, and racial justice, and the role of Christians in government, and all the other issues—underneath it all is a spiritual war going on. Our fellow Christians are not the enemy! They may be wrong, we may be wrong, I may be wrong—but we believers are family, brothers and sisters for whom Christ shed His precious blood. We are redeemed; we have been made new creatures in Christ. We are all forgiven for our sins, past, present, and future.

Lord, thank You for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that our disagreements would give opportunity to show love for one another that will astound the world.