Essentials and Nonessentials
By Rick Shrader
Most things in life could be categorized into
essential or nonessential, depending on the priorities at hand.
The basic necessities of life are essential if we want to stay alive.
Food is essential to life but ice cream may be a nonessential when your
budget is on a shoe string. Many of the things that an affluent
society feels are essential would be nonessential in a third world
country ravished by poverty and starvation. There are many
areas of life, however, where these designations are inadequate.
Which areas of disciplining our children are nonessential? Which
areas of loving God are nonessential? If we are never to tell a
lie, which truths are essential to profess and which are nonessential?
Since there are only so many hours in the day, we may be forced to set some
things aside due to limited time, and do the things we think are more
important. Even in ministry we often have to choose between the thing that
seems most important and the thing that can wait until later. It’s not so much
that something is nonessential as it is non-urgent or of a lesser priority. Our
busy lives have caused us to make these choices and to categorize things in this
manner. In some areas, however, these kinds of choices are very detrimental.
The
one area in which I think the term “nonessential” has not served us well is with
the Scripture itself. In many ways we have unwittingly made parts of the Bible
nonessential to us, and have therefore relegated them to non-use and
non-interest. The Liberals of a century ago divided the Bible up into parts
that were historically verifiable and parts that were not. The Neo-orthodox
theologians divided the Bible up into areas that were God’s Word and parts that
were not. New Evangelicals divided the Bible up into parts that were inspired
and parts that were not inspired, and some Evangelicals have divided the Bible
into parts that are inerrant and parts that are not. In all of these, the
result was a pick-and-choose Bible. Those parts that were difficult, or seemed
to lack integrity, or seemed culturally out of place, were easily set aside in
favor of more important passages.
It
seems that Fundamentalists and conservative Evangelicals now have their own
terms of “essential and nonessential.” They do not at all say that some parts
are uninspired or may contain error. They believe that the Bible is inspired in
every part and in every word. But the growing tendency is to leave some parts
alone when those parts may hinder our present objectives; objectives that men
have deemed as “essential” above others which are “nonessential.” If the
objective is unity among brethren, those doctrines that divide us are
nonessential, at least for a while. If the objective is to please visitors in
our churches, practicing those things that would make them uncomfortable become
nonessential, at least until the objective is accomplished.
So-called “vision statements” have not helped. Many times these statements are
the objectives of what certain people want, not what is the whole counsel of
God. But if we can say that it comes from God, who is going to contradict us?
If God gives every Christian leader his own separate vision of what he is
supposed to be doing, it will take precedence over those Scriptures that seem to
contradict it. After all, God wouldn’t tell us something contradictory would
He?
In
the end, though Fundamentalists and Evangelicals would shudder to think so, we
have come to the same practical results as the Liberals, Neo-orthodox and
New-Evangelicals: some parts of the Bible do not have to be obeyed, at least
not for the time being. Conservatives, however, have done this not by maligning
the Scripture itself but by constructing a hierarchy of priorities based on our
own modern-day objectives. Everyone is searching for the irreducible minimum of
doctrine with an unlimited diversity of ministry. We think we are retaining our
belief in the Bible as God’s Word, but in practicality we are less bound to its
tenets than ever before. This is a kind of biblical minimalism which leads to
contradictory results.
Salvation as minimal.
Reducing the biblical priority to the
salvation of lost souls has been the common denominator of most ecumenicalism.
Immediately the heart strings are tugged upon to think of the souls that would
be saved if we would just drop those things that divide us and unite with those
who could broaden our horizons (think of the audacity we have to say this about
God’s Word!). The unspoken (and sometimes spoken!) rule is, “You may speak of
salvation freely, but you may not speak of any other doctrine that would be
offensive or objectionable to anyone in our midst.” The real question that is
not being asked is whether, in the end, more souls would have been saved by
doing it God’s way, even though at the time it seemed like the new methods were
working better. But we cannot know what was on the road we chose not to take.
Theology as minimal.
Obviously, as seen in the first point,
doctrine and theology are set aside as divisive and territorial. If there is
any disagreement over doctrine, surely we cannot be dogmatic about it! Who are
we to insist on our interpretation? Therefore, it can be placed on the back
burner while we get on with the important things of unity, vision,
methodologies, and “real ministry.” The current argument is often heard that
theology is too deductive anyway. Surely nothing that arrives at conclusions in
this old fashioned manner is without bias. Systematic theology is just that,
they say, a systematized list of proof texts that are to be crammed down the
throat of unsuspecting students or congregants. Now, it seems to me that even
inductive study has to, sometime, make deductive statements called conclusions.
And if these conclusions from inductive Bible study can be verbally given in
complete sentences, is this not “Systematic” Theology? And would it not be
right to at least list those passages where the study was made? I would have a
hard time believing that such pundits have done more inductive study of the
Bible than Augustus Strong or Charles Hodge or even John Calvin, all of whom
finalized their study in Systematic Theologies.
Ministry as minimal.
This is the great essential that is
ruling out all the nonessentials. If we can justify our methodology by showing
some results to some objectives, then all objections are cast aside. I thought
we were done with the nickels and noses routines of a generation ago, but we are
more involved in it today than ever. If bringing the world’s music, manners,
decorum, pluralisms, soliloquies, etc. (rather than give-aways, buses, circuses,
rodeos, etc., of a generation ago) to the platform of our meeting houses brings
in large crowds, then the validity of those things may not be questioned. If in
addition, many individuals pray prayers that they are asked to pray, then who
can question the use of such “essentials” and how dare anyone object by bringing
up contradictory “nonessentials?”
So what is our alternative? Are churches to
continue in relative anonymity with small crowds and methodologies that are of
no interest to this generation? Maybe! That is, if we have done all that the
Word of God asks, and yet results are not evident, then rejoice for your reward
is great in heaven! Would we be the only people in the age of grace to
experience such results? On the other hand, perhaps our local churches have
become unnecessarily discouraged due to the often malignant accusations of the
“successful” churches. Perhaps our singing of good songs has become
unnecessarily heavy-hearted and we have wrongly hung our harps on the willows!
Perhaps we have become unnecessarily weary of contending for all the counsel of
God when so many seem to fare better contending for just some. No! Let us
rather rejoice for the grace, mercy and peace that come only from God. Let us
continue to practice a biblical “maximalism” of all of God’s truths, and let us
do it with joy and rejoicing! Our songs will be better, our sermons will be
more inspiring, our children will be more challenged to godly living and
service. Let us be doing these things:
Preaching all the details of our doctrine.
All scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16); Till
heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till
all be fulfilled
(Matt. 5:18); Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let
none of his words
fall to the ground (1 Sam. 3:19); Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).
We could continue the Biblical admonitions for paragraphs. It is clear,
however, that no portion of God’s Word is more or less important than another.
That is why Jude’s desire is so crucial, that we contend for THE faith
which was once delivered
unto the saints (Jude 3).
If we are grown men and have put away childish
things, we will be able to sit and listen to one another even with our
disagreements. The best conversations among friends are the ones where iron
sharpens iron.
Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children,
but in understanding be men (1 Cor. 14:20).
Only with children should we have to limit conversations to predigested and
easily palatable subjects. We sell ourselves and our people far short if we
think we must do that!
Practicing all the details of our faith.
Let us put to rest the timid and shy
stealth tactics of practicing only what we think the world wants to see and
hear. It is time that we quit being ashamed of who we are in Christ and display
our faith to a lost world.
That the communication of
thy faith may become effectual
by the acknowledging of every good thing
which is in you in Christ
Jesus (Phle. 6); But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking
in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but
by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God (2 Cor. 4:4);
Sound speech, that cannot be condemned;
that he that is of a contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say
of you (Tit. 2:8).
We are either going to be shamed by the world
or ashamed of our faith. But we cannot have it both ways. The best thing that
can happen to a lost person is to see God’s dedicated saints doing what only
saints can do—worshiping God
in reverence and godly
fear: For our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-20).
Lost people must first come to repentance, to
the place of utter helplessness before a holy God, to the place of death to
self, before they can be ready to receive the gift of life from the Son of God.
Who are we to hinder that process by soothing their consciences?
Pursuing all the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus.
If we have seemed languid and dreary in
our services, and have been sometimes negligent in our evangelism, and have been
afraid and ashamed of the very faith which we possess, it is our own fault, not
the fault of our faith. We are the ones that need to turn back around to our
faith and stop trying to turn the faith around to where we have gone. We need
to wean ourselves away from the world’s applause, and again desire to be
pleasing to the Holy Spirit; to be people who
are of full age, even those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil
(Heb. 5:14). How long has it been since
our churches would have rejoiced to hear the apostle write to us:
We are bound to thank God
always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith growth
exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth
(2 Thes. 1:3)? When was the last time
our people rejoiced in heart and song
to the acknowledgement of
the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:2-3)?
The power has not gone out of the gospel, nor
left the congregations of God’s people. We still have the Holy Spirit in our
hearts and the Word of God in our hands and we can be filled with the Spirit and
cleansed by the Word. It is not in seeking for the things that please men, but
in joying and reveling again in the things of God.
How firm
a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid
for your faith in His excellent Word;
What
more can He say than to you He hath said,
You who
unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
The soul
that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
“I will
not, I will not, desert to its foes;”
That
soul though all hell should endeavor to shake
“I’ll
never, no never, no never forsake!”
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