Pursue unanimity, not uniformity

There are times when our doctrinal disagreements can hinder more than help. There are some things that can be set aside for the sake of gospel work.

Just think about competing views on baptism for a moment. Some of us are convinced infant baptism is biblically acceptable; others believe that only those who have confessed faith for themselves should be. And this is important: only one position is right. One is absolutely correct. The other is completely, flat-out wrong.

But should our convictions on an issue like baptism (as important as it is) get in the way of our partnership in the gospel?

No.

I’m not saying we cannot debate, sometimes with great passion. Nor am I saying we can’t disagree strongly. But if we believe the same gospel—that, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)—can we not partner together?

One would hope so.

Now, without question there are some we absolutely cannot partner with—fundamentally because we believe a different gospel. Evangelicals cannot partner with Roman Catholics on gospel matters because we fundamentally disagree on how we are made righteous before God. Those who believe there will be judgment for unbelievers cannot partner in gospel work with universalists. Those holding to man’s depravity cannot partner in gospel work with those who deny the existence of sin.

But whether we are continuationist or cessationist, Baptist or Presbyterian, Christian celebrity or one who has embraced obscurity, if the essentials are in alignment,[1. As I suggest in Contend, those essentials are at a minimum, the nature and character of God; the gospel; and the Scriptures] we should be able to work together. We may not have uniformity, but we absolutely can and should have unanimity.

One can’t play Scrabble while his partner plays Candyland, after all.