Good morning. This morning's sermon will be different than usual. If you are a guest with us this morning, I want you to know that we normally preach verse by verse expositions through a book, the regular practice of our church.
We are presently working our way through Paul's letter to the Romans, where we just concluded chapter 11.
This morning, I want us to think together, though, about Christian unity as we have some news to announce to our membership, which I will share with you in just a bit.
So a little break from Romans for an important matter. We will look at a number of texts today.
So, and again, I don't love preaching. It doesn't start with a text and isn't text driven.
But from time to time, it's important and necessary for us to do otherwise.
But I'd like for us to begin in Romans chapter 15. So if you could join me there. Romans chapter 15, verses 5 and 6.
We will exposit this text at length. So this is not your Romans 15, 5 and 6 sermon.
We read,
It's the very reason we get up in the morning that Christ would be known in our lives, amongst our families, our co-workers, and to the very ends of the earth.
We want the praise of Christ to be sung amongst all peoples.
And so we go to all the various places that God sends us.
And Paul here is saying he hopes that the Roman Christ followers and you and I would be given grace for Christian unity so that the Lord Jesus Christ would receive glory.
Not the only way he receives glory, but Paul here says that it is a way, and I would contend an important way, that he receives glory.
But we don't always agree, do we?
Sometimes we have personal conflict, and the Bible is replete with commands and instruction for how we are to set aside our preferences, bear with one another, with compassion, and reconcile.
I think this is a church that does that very well.
Sometimes we have convictional differences.
Faithful Christians haven't always seen eye to eye on everything.
If you're paying attention at all, you're very aware of this.
Differences in understanding about what the Bible teaches.
This has always been true.
It's been an ancient part of the church to find disagreement amongst one another.
It is true amongst us.
We don't all see eye to eye on everything.
We don't all agree on all things, and this creates some genuine challenges for unity.
It would be much easier if we agreed on everything all the time, but this is also impossible.
Our disagreements certainly create the need to ask that God would be gracious to us,
that we might live in the type of harmony that exalts Jesus Christ.
So, how are we to be agreeable while disagreeing?
How do we disagree with charity, an old word for love, for one another?
And we do so by employing, employing well, the practice of theological triage.
I know that many of you may already be tired of me talking about this, but I think it's really important,
so I'm just going to keep doing so.
Triage is the process of assigning urgency or importance to a matter.
If a bus that is full of people were in an accident, and that number was brought into an emergency room,
those patients would be ranked for treatment from most severe need to least severe need.
This is emergency room triage.
This can, and I argue, should also be done theologically.
If you believe that the Bible teaches a doctrine,
and a well-meaning Christian brother or sister disagrees with your view,
what are you to do?
How important, or perhaps unimportant, is said disagreement?
Theological triage helps us to determine this.
We need to be able to think in this way and to do so regularly and quickly.
Now, at this point, I want to be clear.
The term theological triage was coined, as far as I can tell, by Al Mohler,
the current president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
So it's a recent term.
However, the concept can be seen historically in the creation of confessions and creeds,
Christians carefully pinning doctrinal standards for the sake of agreement,
and, more importantly, as I will show you this morning in the Bible.
So, as a modern practice under that term,
it's also a very ancient practice that starts in the Scripture itself.
So I want to lay out for you this idea of theological triage.
Again, some of you are familiar with it, but some of you may not be.
Theological triage divides doctrinal issues into four different categories.
They're not creatively named.
They're primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, or first, second, third, and fourth order doctrines.
To explain them to you, I'm going to take them out of order
because I think it helps our understanding of them.
So the first I want to address is the fourth,
the fourth order doctrinal category or quaternary doctrines.
And these are things that are just unimportant.
Have a view and an opinion, but it really doesn't matter.
And we don't come up with these very often because we're sensible people
and we have a lot going on,
and so we don't tend to muse about things like this.
So my common example for this one is their life on other planets.
And I've been asked this question by typically young men
because they have too much time on their hands.
And I'll tell you that my answer to them is,
I don't know and I don't care.
It's unimportant.
Interesting to think about, but it doesn't really matter.
The second I want to talk about is third order doctrine
or tertiary doctrine.
These are things that are not unimportant.
They are, in fact, important,
but they're important for the individual.
There's commands in the Bible that we have to have some mind toward.
What do we think this teaches
and how am I going to practice it in my life?
And you may find that you could differ from someone else
that you have regular fellowship with,
and that be okay.
I think this area of our lives is a place in which we serve each other so well
because we ought to hold it importantly
and perhaps make a case to other Christians.
How do we grow in maturity
if we assume everything we believe the Bible teaches on the surface is right?
Well, no.
There's things that we grow in and we need to be taught in
and we need to be pressing one another on.
So some examples of people who disagree about alcohol as an example.
There are people who are teetoters,
think we should never ever drink alcohol,
and there are people who think it's okay in moderation to drink alcohol.
What kind of TV or movies you might consume?
There are some clear, off-limit types of things to consume,
but some people may have a problem with a particular TV show
and somebody else may not have a problem with that show.
Schooling choices is a hot one these days.
Is it okay to send your children to public school
or off to private or homeschool?
These are important conversations for us to be having.
Our family, homeschools.
I would give you a theological foundation for why we do that.
I would also give you lots of practical application.
The way my wife and I think,
it leads us to the conclusion that we ought to school our children at home.
But you might see things differently,
and this isn't a reason for me to put you in an unfaithful category.
We're all growing and we're all learning
and we're all doing the best we can.
So, to find this in the scripture,
you can turn back just a page to Romans chapter 14.
I just want to show you an example of it.
There's a number of places that Paul speaks to this.
But here you can see very clearly, beginning in verse 1,
as for the one who is weak in faith,
welcome him,
but not to quarrel over opinions.
Welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
One person believes he may eat anything,
while the weak person eats only vegetables.
This had to do with some Jewish customs.
Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains,
and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats,
for God has welcomed him.
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?
It is before his own master that he stands or falls,
and he will be upheld,
for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One person esteems one day as better than another,
while another esteems all days alike.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The one who observes the day,
observes it in honor of the Lord.
The one who eats,
eats in honor of the Lord,
since he gives thanks to God.
While the one who abstains,
abstains in honor of the Lord,
and gives thanks to God.
So, different cultural issues,
when Paul is writing this,
but all the same,
tertiary types of things.
Look at the way he's pressing at,
you could go on to read the rest of chapter 14,
and the beginning of 15.
He's pressing at unity and harmony,
right,
for the sake of exalting Christ
on these types of matters.
So, those are tertiary types of doctrines.
It seems to me that most of the conflict
in local churches
is when people take tertiary doctrines,
and they promote them to secondary,
or in many cases,
into primary position.
You can't possibly be a Christian
if you don't see this thing
the way I see this thing,
and it's very dangerous,
and we must be careful.
So, let me go back up to the top
and talk briefly about
first order doctrines,
or primary doctrines.
These are the doctrines that are important
for Christian unity.
These are the doctrines
that must be believed
in order for somebody
to be in Christ.
These are the most important doctrines.
When we talk about
the clarity of Scripture,
these are the doctrines
that we would say
the Bible is abundantly clear
on these things.
Examples,
and there are a lot of examples here,
but the deity of Jesus Christ.
We cannot dismiss
that Jesus Christ was, in fact, God,
because if he wasn't God,
then he was a liar and a lunatic,
and we should reject
everything that he said.
He was, in fact,
God incarnate.
You must believe in the deity
of Jesus Christ
to be a believer.
Justification by grace
through faith
in Christ alone.
We've just walked
through some difficult chapters
in Paul's exhortation
to the Romans.
We believe as a church
in sovereign election,
but wherever you fall in this,
in the minutia of this,
you need to believe
that we're saved by grace
through faith in Christ.
That's as far as
the fisticuffs go for me.
If you can affirm
that you needed God
to save you
and that God will keep you
to the end,
then you and I
can be great friends
because we're in Christ.
These first order things
are the things
that we're meant
to fight for
and to die for.
This is the stuff
that needs to stay central
to what we do together.
It's extremely important
that we get this correct.
It grieves me
to watch Christians
across our nation,
mostly happening online,
just be ripped apart
by things that are secondary
or tertiary
when we agree
on these first order
and most important things.
The enemy is so very pleased
to find us infighting
about less important stuff.
Not remembering
that we agree
on the most important stuff.
Those doctrines
that push back
the darkness
of this world
because souls are saved
by the truth
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
We need to help each other
to do this.
I inevitably
am going to become
distracted by something
at some time
and you are welcome
to remind me
about the stuff
I'm supposed to be
fighting and dying for.
Don't let me fight
and die for something
that's not this important.
This is the stuff
that we live and die for.
Very interestingly,
during our members gathering
earlier,
Ernie actually read this text.
I'm just going to read
a little bit
from the book of Jude.
This is verse 3 and 4.
There he says,
Beloved,
although I was very eager
to write to you
about our common salvation,
I found it necessary
to write appealing to you
to contend for the faith
that was once for all
delivered to the saints.
Right?
I think this is what
he's talking about.
Primary doctrine.
To contend for the faith
that was once for all
delivered to the saints.
Here's why I think that.
Verse 4 says,
For certain people
have crept in unnoticed
who long ago
were designated
for this condemnation.
Ungodly people
who pervert the grace
of our God
into sensuality.
They were cheap grace
gospel people.
They were saying,
if you just claim
the name of Christ,
you can live however
you want to
and deny our only
Master and Lord,
Jesus Christ.
Right?
In this day,
Jude is saying
to these Christians,
you have got
to bring people
back to justification
by grace
through faith
in Christ
and help them
to see that
that faith
is a faith
that will work.
So,
let's contend
well together
and I think
we do this
well.
Primary
doctrine.
And then lastly,
we have
second order
or secondary
doctrine.
And this is
a little more
difficult.
I don't have
a scripture
reference for you.
The one thing
that comes to mind
for me
is the division
between Barnabas
and Paul
when they had
taken Mark
with them
who's a relative
we think
of Barnabas
and Mark
abandoned them
because he was
fearful.
And when they
got ready
to take another
journey,
Paul refused
to take Mark
with them
and Barnabas
really wanted
Mark to go
and so there
arose amongst
them
what Luke
calls a sharp
disagreement.
And I take
that to mean
it wasn't
friendly.
It probably
wasn't the
way they
should have
disagreed.
But all the
same,
they go
separate ways.
Barnabas
takes John
Mark with
him.
Paul goes
another way.
I think the
thing we see
that's wonderful,
the redemptive
thing,
as we see
later on,
Paul is
back in
ministry with
Barnabas
as well as
with Mark.
There's been
some restoration
that has
happened in
that case.
So there's
an issue
at hand
that causes
them still
to be
faithful to
Christ.
They still
go on
mission to
spread the
good news.
First order
primary doctrine
stayed intact,
but they went
separate ways
because they
weren't sure
how they
should go.
So maybe
we see it
there.
This category
are things
that are
important for
church or
perhaps ministry
fellowship.
Those things
that we ought
to agree
on to
remain
institutionally
together.
These doctrines
are going
to define
our practice
and possibly
define what
we think
is or
isn't
sin.
It would be
important to
locate ourselves
on certain
issues.
Some examples.
What is a
church's view
on divorce
and or
remarriage?
Why does
that matter?
Because we
collectively,
we're a
congregational
church, we
believe in
church
discipline.
Well, what
are we going
to call
sin in
these matters?
It's
important that
we think
about this
together.
Another example
is whether or
not a church
believes in
the regulative
principle.
that is to
say, if we
see something
commanded in
the Bible
for us to
do when
we're gathered
together, we
should do
that without
fail.
And if we
don't see it
commanded, then
we shouldn't
do that.
So on a
Sunday morning
when our
church gathers
together, you
will not see
interpretive
dancing.
We don't
find this in
the scripture.
Don't give me
some example of
David.
We don't find
it commanded
to the church
to do this
thing in the
Bible.
And so we're
not going to
do that
thing together
when we
gather.
This is the
regulative
principle.
We should
agree on
that.
You may
find that
you don't
and you
may want
to go to
a church
where
interpretive
dancing
happens on
a Sunday
morning.
As a little
aside, Martin
Lloyd-Jones,
when he was
hired, the
church that he
preached his
life at, was
known for
their pageantry.
They put on
plays on
Sunday mornings.
And his
first Sunday
there, he
dragged the
pulpit, it
was movable
like this
one, but
he dragged
the wooden
pulpit across
the stage.
You can
just imagine
in the room
hearing a
wooden pulpit
being dragged
across a
wooden stage.
He dragged
it to the
center.
He took
out a
hammer and
nails out
of his
pocket and
he hammered
the pulpit
to the center
of the stage
there in that
church building.
He was a
regulative
principle guy
and he said
the preaching
of God's
word is going
to be central
to what we
do together
as a church
and they
never put on
another pageant
there.
Again, another
good and
classic example
is a church's
view on
baptism.
What do
you believe
but what do
we believe
together as
it concerns
baptism?
We find
denominational
differences over
this with
brothers that
we celebrate,
rejoice with,
we're so happy
and thankful to
be gospel
partners with
them but
we are not
serving in
a church
with them
because we
hold a
different view
on this
issue.
Which brings
me to my
aforementioned
announcement.
Ty Brunette
is a faithful
brother.
He is in
full agreement
with the
church on
primary doctrine.
He has been
serving us
well, although
briefly, but
well as an
elder here.
But he has
come to find
himself disagreeing
with us on
the secondary
doctrine of
baptism.
Now he
didn't go
looking for a
different conviction
on it.
He stumbled
across it in
his study and
has become
convinced of
a different
position.
Now we,
as a church
in total, I
mean, are
credo-baptists
which means that
we believe that
the only proper
recipients of
baptism are
individuals who
have made
credible
professions of
faith in
Christ.
It's the
careful work
that we do
as Baptists.
We want to
be able to,
with the
fallible
confidence that
we have, say
yes, we
believe that
this person
is in fact
in the
faith.
They make
a profession
of that
faith in
being baptized.
We affirm
that in
baptizing them.
This is the
credo-baptist
position.
And I want to
be clear, it's
done poorly
in a lot of
places, but we
try to do it
well in the
life of our
church.
Ty has come
to
paedo-baptist
convictions.
Before I say
anything further
about paedo-baptism,
I just want to
say there's a
lot of
paedo-baptists
that are
terrible and
heretical.
Ty is not
affiliating with
any of that.
So if
paedo-baptist,
infant-baptist
pops into your
head and you
think immediately
of baptismal
regeneration,
that's not
Ty.
If you think of
the Catholics,
that's not
Ty.
This is good,
faithful,
gospel-believing
paedo-baptism
that Ty is
holding.
And paedo-baptism
means that he,
along with many
others,
believe that
baptism should
be applied to
individuals who
have made
credible professions
of faith in
Christ and
also to their
children.
So you may
know this as
infant baptism.
In our circle,
most commonly,
we see that
Presbyterians
practice this
form of
baptism.
We have
worked together
over the past
months to
sort this
disagreement
through.
We're not
going to get
into the weeds
this morning
of the
difference in
the views.
I can tell
you that it
sharpened me.
I hope that
it served
Ty through
the process.
This is the
first time I've
had to really
engage the
topic with a
person who I
love dearly
sitting across
from me,
getting frustrated
with them and
then having to
apologize immediately
for being
frustrated.
with them.
I told him in
the process,
I'm becoming
more a Baptist
because of this
conversation.
And he said,
and you'll
appreciate,
amen.
He said,
good,
good.
I can assure
you that Ty
cares to honor
the Lord as
he seeks to
be faithful to
the Bible and
his conscience
concerning it.
This is a
Bible conviction
that he's come
to.
I am so proud
of the way that
he has handled
himself as he
has disagreed.
He's just at
every step
been so careful,
so generous
and kind.
He hasn't
picked it up as
an agenda and
gone raging
around the
church trying to
convince other
people of it.
He started with
me.
He spoke with
our elders.
He's just done
a great job of
explaining where
he is on his
position.
There is,
by God's
great grace,
harmony amongst
your church's
leadership.
I'm glad for
that.
I'm so thankful
that God has
worked in us.
I think,
thinking clearly,
how should we
feel about this?
How should we
act according
to it?
And I hope we'll
set an example
for you all.
That said,
Ty has stepped
down from his
role as an
elder.
Ty is
confessional as
we are.
He believes that
it's important for
us to say what we
believe the Bible
says, and he
sees that we
ought to be in
agreement on this
particular matter.
It's secondary.
It's not tertiary.
It's a secondary
matter.
So he has stepped
down as an elder.
He's going to be
seeking what the
Lord has for him
next.
He's going to
remain employed
with us as a
pastoral assistant
through the end
of July, and he's
looking for what
he'll do after
that.
And so, while
rightly we'll be
sad to say
goodbye to him,
and Cheyenne
and to their
children, we
don't have to be
sad all at once.
So, this is not
your last day to
see the brunettes.
We can say
goodbye over a
bit of time, and
we'll be sure to
do so well before
they part from
us.
So, see in this
example how
theological
triage serves
us, right?
Ty is not
apostate, right?
Ty is not a
Christian just
because he
doesn't agree
with us on
baptism.
He's a
Christian brother,
and we need
to have no
doubt of
this.
Ty does, though,
find himself
disagreeing in a
matter that
causes him and
his family to
need to seek
fellowship elsewhere
where their
conscience can be
clear, where they
can practice the
way they believe
God would have
them practice,
right?
We may think it
irregular for them
to do that, but
they don't, and
so that's okay that
they would find
themselves in a
Presbyterian
context.
It is okay for
us not to see
eye to eye on
this matter and
therefore to
maintain unity.
So, thinking
about this, right,
where do we
place this?
And here we
find it's
actionable.
Most of our
disagreements
within a church
are in that
tertiary category
and require no
action at all.
Certainly, if we
have primary
disagreements,
then we're
going to go to
the mattresses
over that,
right?
So, let me
conclude with
some encouragements
for you.
I just want to
encourage you,
love on Ty and
Cheyenne to the
max over these
next three months.
It's really
tempting, I find
this in myself,
to withdraw from
people we will
say farewell to.
I love their
children and it's
tempting to not
love their kids so
much, right?
To not get all
the hugs that I
possibly can from
them.
But let's not do
this, right?
Let's push back
against that
temptation for
their good and
for ours, right?
Let's wring every
bit of wonderful
we can out of it
over the next
three months.
Additionally, let's
join in praying for
wisdom for the
brunettes as they
discern their next
steps.
There's not a
clear and obvious
place at this
moment for them
and so they need
to be careful.
We want to help
them in that
process to send
them well to
wherever it is the
Lord may be
calling them to
go.
So that's the
first encouragement
to you.
Secondly, wrestle
with varied views
on baptism.
I want you to
hear me say that.
I'm a committed
credo-baptist,
right?
We're not
Baptists because
of denominational
affiliation because
it's the kind of
church I grew up
in.
I'm Baptist by
conviction.
As a church,
it's my
understanding that
we're Baptist by
conviction, but I
want to encourage
you to wrestle
with it.
You need to
know what you
believe on the
matter.
Just don't go
along to get
along, but
understand the
doctrines.
It's important to
think about these
things.
Now to help you
with this, I'm
going to hold a
class that each
you see them, how
they're arrived at
from the scripture.
So we would have
done it sooner than
that, but I didn't
want to do it on
Mother's Day and I
wasn't ready to do it
today.
So it's going to
be on May 19th.
So join me if you
will.
I really encourage
that.
At least somebody
from your family
with your Bible
open and we'll
consider it together.
I've got all kinds
of plans for a
whiteboard.
Just be ready for
it.
I also want to
encourage you not
to bombard Ty.
I know that he is
willing to explain
his position, but
consider that this
may not be the best
way for him to
spend his last three
months with us,
taking meeting
after meeting
after meeting to
sit down and
explain paedo
baptism to you.
Maybe hang on.
We'll have a class
and if you have
follow-up questions,
you're welcome to
probably ask him,
not me.
I'm going to give
you all the
information I know
about it at that
class.
But yeah, maybe
just don't bombard
him with questions.
Just love on him a
bunch and Cheyenne
as well.
Third encouragement,
think long and
deep about Christian
unity.
Seeing this as an
example for us to
grow as individuals
and to grow as a
church.
How can you be
agreeable while
disagreeing?
How can we
collectively be
agreeable while
disagreeing?
Make theological
triage a part of
your regular
thinking process.
Whether you ever
call it theological
triage or not,
I don't care.
But that you're
thinking in your
mind, how important
is this particular
doctrine?
What doctrines are
of highest order?
What truths would
you be willing to
die for?
And are they in
fact worth dying
for?
And do you spend
the majority of
your time thinking
about trying to
sort out all the
little minutiae
particulars, right?
Bouncing around on
YouTube to see what
so-and-so says about
such and such a thing.
Be sure that you're
standing on the
right hill at the
end.
Let me ask, have
you caused disunity
over beliefs that
should not have
caused disunity?
Whether in this
church or perhaps
another, perhaps one
that you have left
behind and maybe
you need to call
somebody up and
issue an apology
and look for
reconciliation because
you were ugly about
a thing that did not
require it.
So those are some
encouragements to
you.
I pray that our
church will walk
this out well
because it matters.
The fact that we
are in harmony with
one another, even
as we disagree,
exalts the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Let's pray.