Things that Divide
October 7, 2019
A couple of Saturdays ago, Molly and I went to Oklahoma University football game against Texas Tech. I’ve been an OU fan since the days of Billy Sims (1978 Heisman trophy winner), and have always wanted to see a game there. Among a sea of rabid OU sat a lone Texas Tech Red Raiders fan. He was not shy about his fandom! Every time, TT did something good, (which was rare), he stood up and faced the fans behind him and flashed the TT “Guns up” sign and blew kisses to the crowd. He was heckled mercilessly because his team was down by 30 points or so. But he was funny. He left in the middle of the third quarter to a chorus of boos and jeers.
In a related story, I was walking on my usual route the other morning, wearing an old OU T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. A guy coming in the other direction was wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt. He said, “We’ll see you in two weeks.” He was referring to the UT/OU game known as the Red River rivalry, which is played in Dallas during the Texas State Fair every year. A little further on my walk, another guy passed me and seeing my shirt, gave me the UT hook ‘em horns sign, forefinger and index finger extended. I was not quick enough to return the horns down sign before he blew past me!
All of this got me to thinking about the things that divide us. You can’t be a Red Sox fans AND a Yankees fan. You can’t be a Giants fan AND a Cowboys fan. You can’t be an OU football AND a UT football fan. These are hated rivals of each other. A fan has to choose. I respect the UT fans for giving me a jab on their way past for their team. We both know OU is going to give UT a beating this Saturday J. I respect the guns up Texas Tech fan for being willing to stand alone against a mob of 76,000 OU fans. It was all in fun. He knew Texas Tech had no chance to win, and everyone had a good laugh.
Sometimes though, the things that divide us are much for serious than rooting for our favorite team. You don’t need me to tell you how divided our country is right now over so many political and social issues. Every day, we read something new in the headlines about what Trump did, and what his enemies did, or the battles over abortion, immigration, health care, gun control, etc. My purpose today is not to address social and political issues, but to address the issues that divide Christians.
I had the opportunity to teach from 1 Peter 1 in Sunday School this past week. Peter addressed deep theological issues including election, foreknowledge, and predestination in the first two verses! As I taught, I thought about how easy it would be for us to divide over these issues. Christians hold different opinions on these weighty matters. I was thankful that even if the people in our class had different opinions on these theological points, there was no tension in the class. We can be brothers and sisters in Christ and have differences of opinion on certain questions.
On the other hand, I believe that there are non-negotiables in the Christian faith. For example, evangelical Christians believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. It is God’s spoken word and is therefore infallible and authoritative. From it, we understand that Jesus is eternally God. He is not a created being. He was born of a virgin. He was sinless in His humanity, and was therefore worthy to die in our place, an acceptable sacrifice to God the Father to pay the price that we owe for our sins. He was resurrected in bodily form. He ascended to the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. There is no way to get to heaven apart from faith in Jesus.
These beliefs are currently under attack both from outside the church and inside the church. We expect the external challenges. People outside the church will say that there is no God, or that the Bible is not God’s word, or that all roads lead to heaven. But increasingly, the challenge is internal. People who call themselves Christian are jettisoning these non-negotiables of the Christian faith. I don’t believe that it’s possible to be Christian without firmly holding to these essentials. For example, if the eternality and deity of Jesus are watered down; if Jesus did not die for our sins or was not resurrected; if He’s not coming again, then you no longer have Christianity. There are times when Christians have to stand against the mob, even when the mob consists of nominal Christians, if they deny the basic tenets of Christianity. It’s hard to do, but it was hard for Jesus to go to the cross for our sins too. Peter was preparing his audience in 1 Peter for the suffering that would come for holding onto these truths. We should be prepared for the same.
There are also times when we can agree to disagree. We should not divide over minor differences in theology and practice. May God give us wisdom to know the difference, grace to live in harmony when possible, and strength to stand alone when necessary.
