Essentials Unity, Non-essentials Charity
Many of you have heard the saying, "Essentials, unity; non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." I think this is a great saying because we must recognize that there are numerous essential and non-essential doctrines in the Christian faith. But I think that this saying is even more important when we consider Jesus' prayer for His disciples in John 17:23, "...that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." For Jesus this issue of unity among his followers was far more important than them just getting along. Notice that the unity of believers is to have evangelistic implications, Jesus prays, "...so that the world may know that You (the Father) sent Me..." I was stunned to read recently that there are currently around 38,000 'denominations' in the United States! While I realize that many denominations have come about because of the range of non-essential issues, ...