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Christian Unity · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
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.
0:16
We are presently working our way through Paul's letter to the Romans, where we just concluded chapter 11.
0:22
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.
0:34
So a little break from Romans for an important matter. We will look at a number of texts today.
0:41
So, and again, I don't love preaching. It doesn't start with a text and isn't text driven.
0:47
But from time to time, it's important and necessary for us to do otherwise.
0:52
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.
1:12
We will exposit this text at length. So this is not your Romans 15, 5 and 6 sermon.
1:18
We read,
2:18
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.
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We want the praise of Christ to be sung amongst all peoples.
2:32
And so we go to all the various places that God sends us.
2:38
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.
2:50
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.
3:01
But we don't always agree, do we?
3:05
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.
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I think this is a church that does that very well.
3:24
Sometimes we have convictional differences.
3:29
Faithful Christians haven't always seen eye to eye on everything.
3:33
If you're paying attention at all, you're very aware of this.
3:37
Differences in understanding about what the Bible teaches.
3:42
This has always been true.
3:45
It's been an ancient part of the church to find disagreement amongst one another.
3:53
It is true amongst us.
3:55
We don't all see eye to eye on everything.
3:58
We don't all agree on all things, and this creates some genuine challenges for unity.
4:06
It would be much easier if we agreed on everything all the time, but this is also impossible.
4:13
Our disagreements certainly create the need to ask that God would be gracious to us,
4:19
that we might live in the type of harmony that exalts Jesus Christ.
4:25
So, how are we to be agreeable while disagreeing?
4:32
How do we disagree with charity, an old word for love, for one another?
4:38
And we do so by employing, employing well, the practice of theological triage.
4:46
I know that many of you may already be tired of me talking about this, but I think it's really important,
4:51
so I'm just going to keep doing so.
4:54
Triage is the process of assigning urgency or importance to a matter.
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If a bus that is full of people were in an accident, and that number was brought into an emergency room,
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those patients would be ranked for treatment from most severe need to least severe need.
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This is emergency room triage.
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This can, and I argue, should also be done theologically.
5:25
If you believe that the Bible teaches a doctrine,
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and a well-meaning Christian brother or sister disagrees with your view,
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what are you to do?
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How important, or perhaps unimportant, is said disagreement?
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Theological triage helps us to determine this.
5:46
We need to be able to think in this way and to do so regularly and quickly.
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Now, at this point, I want to be clear.
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The term theological triage was coined, as far as I can tell, by Al Mohler,
6:00
the current president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
6:03
So it's a recent term.
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However, the concept can be seen historically in the creation of confessions and creeds,
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Christians carefully pinning doctrinal standards for the sake of agreement,
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and, more importantly, as I will show you this morning in the Bible.
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So, as a modern practice under that term,
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it's also a very ancient practice that starts in the Scripture itself.
6:34
So I want to lay out for you this idea of theological triage.
6:38
Again, some of you are familiar with it, but some of you may not be.
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Theological triage divides doctrinal issues into four different categories.
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They're not creatively named.
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They're primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, or first, second, third, and fourth order doctrines.
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To explain them to you, I'm going to take them out of order
7:02
because I think it helps our understanding of them.
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So the first I want to address is the fourth,
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the fourth order doctrinal category or quaternary doctrines.
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And these are things that are just unimportant.
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Have a view and an opinion, but it really doesn't matter.
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And we don't come up with these very often because we're sensible people
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and we have a lot going on,
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and so we don't tend to muse about things like this.
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So my common example for this one is their life on other planets.
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And I've been asked this question by typically young men
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because they have too much time on their hands.
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And I'll tell you that my answer to them is,
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I don't know and I don't care.
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It's unimportant.
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Interesting to think about, but it doesn't really matter.
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The second I want to talk about is third order doctrine
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or tertiary doctrine.
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These are things that are not unimportant.
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They are, in fact, important,
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but they're important for the individual.
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There's commands in the Bible that we have to have some mind toward.
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What do we think this teaches
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and how am I going to practice it in my life?
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And you may find that you could differ from someone else
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that you have regular fellowship with,
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and that be okay.
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I think this area of our lives is a place in which we serve each other so well
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because we ought to hold it importantly
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and perhaps make a case to other Christians.
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How do we grow in maturity
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if we assume everything we believe the Bible teaches on the surface is right?
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Well, no.
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There's things that we grow in and we need to be taught in
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and we need to be pressing one another on.
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So some examples of people who disagree about alcohol as an example.
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There are people who are teetoters,
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think we should never ever drink alcohol,
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and there are people who think it's okay in moderation to drink alcohol.
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What kind of TV or movies you might consume?
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There are some clear, off-limit types of things to consume,
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but some people may have a problem with a particular TV show
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and somebody else may not have a problem with that show.
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Schooling choices is a hot one these days.
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Is it okay to send your children to public school
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or off to private or homeschool?
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These are important conversations for us to be having.
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Our family, homeschools.
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I would give you a theological foundation for why we do that.
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I would also give you lots of practical application.
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The way my wife and I think,
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it leads us to the conclusion that we ought to school our children at home.
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But you might see things differently,
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and this isn't a reason for me to put you in an unfaithful category.
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We're all growing and we're all learning
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and we're all doing the best we can.
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So, to find this in the scripture,
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you can turn back just a page to Romans chapter 14.
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I just want to show you an example of it.
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There's a number of places that Paul speaks to this.
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But here you can see very clearly, beginning in verse 1,
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as for the one who is weak in faith,
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welcome him,
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but not to quarrel over opinions.
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Welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
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One person believes he may eat anything,
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while the weak person eats only vegetables.
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This had to do with some Jewish customs.
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Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains,
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and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats,
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for God has welcomed him.
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Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?
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It is before his own master that he stands or falls,
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and he will be upheld,
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for the Lord is able to make him stand.
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One person esteems one day as better than another,
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while another esteems all days alike.
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Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
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The one who observes the day,
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observes it in honor of the Lord.
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The one who eats,
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eats in honor of the Lord,
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since he gives thanks to God.
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While the one who abstains,
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abstains in honor of the Lord,
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and gives thanks to God.
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So, different cultural issues,
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when Paul is writing this,
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but all the same,
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tertiary types of things.
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Look at the way he's pressing at,
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you could go on to read the rest of chapter 14,
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and the beginning of 15.
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He's pressing at unity and harmony,
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right,
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for the sake of exalting Christ
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on these types of matters.
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So, those are tertiary types of doctrines.
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It seems to me that most of the conflict
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in local churches
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is when people take tertiary doctrines,
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and they promote them to secondary,
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or in many cases,
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into primary position.
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You can't possibly be a Christian
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if you don't see this thing
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the way I see this thing,
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and it's very dangerous,
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and we must be careful.
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So, let me go back up to the top
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and talk briefly about
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first order doctrines,
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or primary doctrines.
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These are the doctrines that are important
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for Christian unity.
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These are the doctrines
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that must be believed
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in order for somebody
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to be in Christ.
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These are the most important doctrines.
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When we talk about
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the clarity of Scripture,
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these are the doctrines
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that we would say
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the Bible is abundantly clear
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on these things.
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Examples,
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and there are a lot of examples here,
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but the deity of Jesus Christ.
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We cannot dismiss
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that Jesus Christ was, in fact, God,
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because if he wasn't God,
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then he was a liar and a lunatic,
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and we should reject
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everything that he said.
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He was, in fact,
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God incarnate.
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You must believe in the deity
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of Jesus Christ
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to be a believer.
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Justification by grace
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through faith
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in Christ alone.
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We've just walked
13:19
through some difficult chapters
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in Paul's exhortation
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to the Romans.
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We believe as a church
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in sovereign election,
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but wherever you fall in this,
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in the minutia of this,
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you need to believe
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that we're saved by grace
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through faith in Christ.
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That's as far as
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the fisticuffs go for me.
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If you can affirm
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that you needed God
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to save you
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and that God will keep you
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to the end,
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then you and I
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can be great friends
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because we're in Christ.
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These first order things
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are the things
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that we're meant
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to fight for
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and to die for.
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This is the stuff
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that needs to stay central
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to what we do together.
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It's extremely important
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that we get this correct.
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It grieves me
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to watch Christians
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across our nation,
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mostly happening online,
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just be ripped apart
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by things that are secondary
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or tertiary
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when we agree
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on these first order
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and most important things.
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The enemy is so very pleased
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to find us infighting
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about less important stuff.
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Not remembering
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that we agree
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on the most important stuff.
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Those doctrines
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that push back
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the darkness
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of this world
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because souls are saved
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by the truth
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of the gospel
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of Jesus Christ.
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We need to help each other
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to do this.
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I inevitably
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am going to become
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distracted by something
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at some time
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and you are welcome
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to remind me
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about the stuff
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I'm supposed to be
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fighting and dying for.
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Don't let me fight
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and die for something
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that's not this important.
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This is the stuff
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that we live and die for.
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Very interestingly,
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during our members gathering
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earlier,
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Ernie actually read this text.
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I'm just going to read
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a little bit
15:11
from the book of Jude.
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This is verse 3 and 4.
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There he says,
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Beloved,
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although I was very eager
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to write to you
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about our common salvation,
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I found it necessary
15:22
to write appealing to you
15:23
to contend for the faith
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that was once for all
15:27
delivered to the saints.
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Right?
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I think this is what
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he's talking about.
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Primary doctrine.
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To contend for the faith
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that was once for all
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delivered to the saints.
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Here's why I think that.
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Verse 4 says,
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For certain people
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have crept in unnoticed
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who long ago
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were designated
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for this condemnation.
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Ungodly people
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who pervert the grace
15:50
of our God
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into sensuality.
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They were cheap grace
15:54
gospel people.
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They were saying,
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if you just claim
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the name of Christ,
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you can live however
15:57
you want to
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and deny our only
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Master and Lord,
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Jesus Christ.
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Right?
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In this day,
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Jude is saying
16:05
to these Christians,
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you have got
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to bring people
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back to justification
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by grace
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through faith
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in Christ
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and help them
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to see that
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that faith
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is a faith
16:13
that will work.
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So,
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let's contend
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well together
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and I think
16:19
we do this
16:20
well.
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Primary
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doctrine.
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And then lastly,
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we have
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second order
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or secondary
16:30
doctrine.
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And this is
16:33
a little more
16:33
difficult.
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I don't have
16:34
a scripture
16:35
reference for you.
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The one thing
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that comes to mind
16:38
for me
16:38
is the division
16:39
between Barnabas
16:40
and Paul
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when they had
16:42
taken Mark
16:43
with them
16:44
who's a relative
16:45
we think
16:45
of Barnabas
16:46
and Mark
16:47
abandoned them
16:47
because he was
16:48
fearful.
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And when they
16:50
got ready
16:50
to take another
16:51
journey,
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Paul refused
16:53
to take Mark
16:54
with them
16:54
and Barnabas
16:55
really wanted
16:56
Mark to go
16:56
and so there
16:57
arose amongst
16:58
them
16:58
what Luke
17:00
calls a sharp
17:01
disagreement.
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And I take
17:03
that to mean
17:03
it wasn't
17:04
friendly.
17:05
It probably
17:05
wasn't the
17:05
way they
17:06
should have
17:07
disagreed.
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But all the
17:09
same,
17:09
they go
17:10
separate ways.
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Barnabas
17:11
takes John
17:12
Mark with
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him.
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Paul goes
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another way.
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I think the
17:16
thing we see
17:17
that's wonderful,
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the redemptive
17:18
thing,
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as we see
17:19
later on,
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Paul is
17:21
back in
17:22
ministry with
17:23
Barnabas
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as well as
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with Mark.
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There's been
17:26
some restoration
17:27
that has
17:28
happened in
17:29
that case.
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So there's
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an issue
17:31
at hand
17:31
that causes
17:32
them still
17:33
to be
17:33
faithful to
17:33
Christ.
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They still
17:34
go on
17:34
mission to
17:35
spread the
17:36
good news.
17:37
First order
17:38
primary doctrine
17:39
stayed intact,
17:39
but they went
17:40
separate ways
17:41
because they
17:42
weren't sure
17:42
how they
17:44
should go.
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So maybe
17:46
we see it
17:47
there.
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This category
17:49
are things
17:50
that are
17:51
important for
17:52
church or
17:53
perhaps ministry
17:55
fellowship.
17:57
Those things
17:57
that we ought
17:58
to agree
17:59
on to
18:00
remain
18:01
institutionally
18:02
together.
18:04
These doctrines
18:05
are going
18:06
to define
18:06
our practice
18:08
and possibly
18:10
define what
18:11
we think
18:11
is or
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isn't
18:13
sin.
18:14
It would be
18:14
important to
18:15
locate ourselves
18:16
on certain
18:18
issues.
18:19
Some examples.
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What is a
18:22
church's view
18:23
on divorce
18:24
and or
18:26
remarriage?
18:27
Why does
18:28
that matter?
18:29
Because we
18:29
collectively,
18:31
we're a
18:31
congregational
18:32
church, we
18:32
believe in
18:33
church
18:33
discipline.
18:34
Well, what
18:34
are we going
18:34
to call
18:35
sin in
18:36
these matters?
18:36
It's
18:36
important that
18:37
we think
18:38
about this
18:39
together.
18:42
Another example
18:43
is whether or
18:43
not a church
18:44
believes in
18:44
the regulative
18:46
principle.
18:46
that is to
18:48
say, if we
18:49
see something
18:49
commanded in
18:50
the Bible
18:50
for us to
18:51
do when
18:51
we're gathered
18:52
together, we
18:52
should do
18:53
that without
18:55
fail.
18:55
And if we
18:56
don't see it
18:57
commanded, then
18:58
we shouldn't
18:59
do that.
19:01
So on a
19:02
Sunday morning
19:02
when our
19:02
church gathers
19:03
together, you
19:04
will not see
19:05
interpretive
19:05
dancing.
19:07
We don't
19:08
find this in
19:08
the scripture.
19:09
Don't give me
19:10
some example of
19:10
David.
19:11
We don't find
19:12
it commanded
19:12
to the church
19:13
to do this
19:14
thing in the
19:14
Bible.
19:15
And so we're
19:15
not going to
19:16
do that
19:17
thing together
19:17
when we
19:18
gather.
19:19
This is the
19:19
regulative
19:20
principle.
19:21
We should
19:21
agree on
19:22
that.
19:23
You may
19:23
find that
19:24
you don't
19:24
and you
19:24
may want
19:25
to go to
19:25
a church
19:25
where
19:25
interpretive
19:26
dancing
19:27
happens on
19:28
a Sunday
19:28
morning.
19:29
As a little
19:30
aside, Martin
19:31
Lloyd-Jones,
19:32
when he was
19:32
hired, the
19:34
church that he
19:34
preached his
19:35
life at, was
19:36
known for
19:37
their pageantry.
19:38
They put on
19:39
plays on
19:39
Sunday mornings.
19:41
And his
19:41
first Sunday
19:42
there, he
19:43
dragged the
19:44
pulpit, it
19:45
was movable
19:46
like this
19:46
one, but
19:47
he dragged
19:48
the wooden
19:48
pulpit across
19:49
the stage.
19:49
You can
19:49
just imagine
19:50
in the room
19:51
hearing a
19:51
wooden pulpit
19:52
being dragged
19:52
across a
19:53
wooden stage.
19:54
He dragged
19:55
it to the
19:55
center.
19:56
He took
19:56
out a
19:57
hammer and
19:57
nails out
19:58
of his
19:58
pocket and
19:59
he hammered
20:00
the pulpit
20:00
to the center
20:01
of the stage
20:02
there in that
20:03
church building.
20:04
He was a
20:05
regulative
20:05
principle guy
20:06
and he said
20:07
the preaching
20:07
of God's
20:08
word is going
20:08
to be central
20:08
to what we
20:09
do together
20:09
as a church
20:11
and they
20:11
never put on
20:12
another pageant
20:13
there.
20:14
Again, another
20:16
good and
20:17
classic example
20:18
is a church's
20:20
view on
20:21
baptism.
20:22
What do
20:23
you believe
20:24
but what do
20:24
we believe
20:25
together as
20:27
it concerns
20:28
baptism?
20:29
We find
20:31
denominational
20:31
differences over
20:32
this with
20:33
brothers that
20:33
we celebrate,
20:35
rejoice with,
20:36
we're so happy
20:37
and thankful to
20:38
be gospel
20:38
partners with
20:39
them but
20:40
we are not
20:40
serving in
20:41
a church
20:42
with them
20:42
because we
20:43
hold a
20:43
different view
20:44
on this
20:46
issue.
20:48
Which brings
20:49
me to my
20:50
aforementioned
20:50
announcement.
20:53
Ty Brunette
20:54
is a faithful
20:55
brother.
20:56
He is in
20:57
full agreement
20:58
with the
20:58
church on
20:59
primary doctrine.
21:01
He has been
21:01
serving us
21:02
well, although
21:02
briefly, but
21:03
well as an
21:05
elder here.
21:06
But he has
21:06
come to find
21:07
himself disagreeing
21:08
with us on
21:09
the secondary
21:10
doctrine of
21:12
baptism.
21:13
Now he
21:13
didn't go
21:14
looking for a
21:15
different conviction
21:16
on it.
21:17
He stumbled
21:18
across it in
21:19
his study and
21:20
has become
21:21
convinced of
21:22
a different
21:22
position.
21:24
Now we,
21:26
as a church
21:26
in total, I
21:27
mean, are
21:28
credo-baptists
21:29
which means that
21:30
we believe that
21:30
the only proper
21:31
recipients of
21:32
baptism are
21:34
individuals who
21:35
have made
21:36
credible
21:36
professions of
21:37
faith in
21:38
Christ.
21:39
It's the
21:39
careful work
21:40
that we do
21:40
as Baptists.
21:41
We want to
21:41
be able to,
21:42
with the
21:43
fallible
21:43
confidence that
21:44
we have, say
21:45
yes, we
21:46
believe that
21:47
this person
21:47
is in fact
21:48
in the
21:49
faith.
21:49
They make
21:50
a profession
21:50
of that
21:51
faith in
21:51
being baptized.
21:52
We affirm
21:53
that in
21:54
baptizing them.
21:55
This is the
21:56
credo-baptist
21:57
position.
21:58
And I want to
21:59
be clear, it's
21:59
done poorly
22:00
in a lot of
22:00
places, but we
22:01
try to do it
22:01
well in the
22:02
life of our
22:03
church.
22:05
Ty has come
22:06
to
22:06
paedo-baptist
22:08
convictions.
22:09
Before I say
22:10
anything further
22:10
about paedo-baptism,
22:11
I just want to
22:11
say there's a
22:12
lot of
22:12
paedo-baptists
22:13
that are
22:13
terrible and
22:14
heretical.
22:16
Ty is not
22:16
affiliating with
22:17
any of that.
22:18
So if
22:19
paedo-baptist,
22:20
infant-baptist
22:21
pops into your
22:21
head and you
22:22
think immediately
22:23
of baptismal
22:25
regeneration,
22:26
that's not
22:27
Ty.
22:27
If you think of
22:28
the Catholics,
22:29
that's not
22:30
Ty.
22:30
This is good,
22:31
faithful,
22:32
gospel-believing
22:33
paedo-baptism
22:35
that Ty is
22:35
holding.
22:37
And paedo-baptism
22:37
means that he,
22:39
along with many
22:39
others,
22:40
believe that
22:41
baptism should
22:41
be applied to
22:42
individuals who
22:43
have made
22:44
credible professions
22:44
of faith in
22:45
Christ and
22:46
also to their
22:48
children.
22:49
So you may
22:49
know this as
22:51
infant baptism.
22:52
In our circle,
22:54
most commonly,
22:55
we see that
22:55
Presbyterians
22:56
practice this
22:58
form of
22:59
baptism.
22:59
We have
23:01
worked together
23:02
over the past
23:03
months to
23:03
sort this
23:04
disagreement
23:05
through.
23:06
We're not
23:07
going to get
23:07
into the weeds
23:07
this morning
23:08
of the
23:08
difference in
23:09
the views.
23:11
I can tell
23:11
you that it
23:12
sharpened me.
23:13
I hope that
23:14
it served
23:14
Ty through
23:15
the process.
23:17
This is the
23:18
first time I've
23:18
had to really
23:19
engage the
23:20
topic with a
23:21
person who I
23:22
love dearly
23:23
sitting across
23:23
from me,
23:25
getting frustrated
23:26
with them and
23:27
then having to
23:27
apologize immediately
23:28
for being
23:28
frustrated.
23:29
with them.
23:31
I told him in
23:31
the process,
23:32
I'm becoming
23:32
more a Baptist
23:33
because of this
23:34
conversation.
23:35
And he said,
23:36
and you'll
23:37
appreciate,
23:38
amen.
23:38
He said,
23:39
good,
23:39
good.
23:41
I can assure
23:42
you that Ty
23:42
cares to honor
23:43
the Lord as
23:44
he seeks to
23:45
be faithful to
23:46
the Bible and
23:47
his conscience
23:48
concerning it.
23:50
This is a
23:51
Bible conviction
23:52
that he's come
23:54
to.
23:55
I am so proud
23:57
of the way that
23:57
he has handled
23:58
himself as he
23:59
has disagreed.
24:00
He's just at
24:01
every step
24:02
been so careful,
24:03
so generous
24:05
and kind.
24:06
He hasn't
24:07
picked it up as
24:07
an agenda and
24:08
gone raging
24:09
around the
24:09
church trying to
24:10
convince other
24:11
people of it.
24:12
He started with
24:13
me.
24:13
He spoke with
24:14
our elders.
24:15
He's just done
24:16
a great job of
24:17
explaining where
24:19
he is on his
24:21
position.
24:23
There is,
24:24
by God's
24:24
great grace,
24:26
harmony amongst
24:27
your church's
24:28
leadership.
24:29
I'm glad for
24:30
that.
24:30
I'm so thankful
24:31
that God has
24:32
worked in us.
24:34
I think,
24:34
thinking clearly,
24:36
how should we
24:36
feel about this?
24:37
How should we
24:37
act according
24:39
to it?
24:40
And I hope we'll
24:41
set an example
24:42
for you all.
24:44
That said,
24:45
Ty has stepped
24:46
down from his
24:46
role as an
24:47
elder.
24:48
Ty is
24:49
confessional as
24:50
we are.
24:51
He believes that
24:51
it's important for
24:52
us to say what we
24:53
believe the Bible
24:54
says, and he
24:56
sees that we
24:57
ought to be in
24:58
agreement on this
24:59
particular matter.
25:00
It's secondary.
25:01
It's not tertiary.
25:02
It's a secondary
25:03
matter.
25:04
So he has stepped
25:05
down as an elder.
25:07
He's going to be
25:07
seeking what the
25:08
Lord has for him
25:09
next.
25:11
He's going to
25:11
remain employed
25:12
with us as a
25:13
pastoral assistant
25:14
through the end
25:15
of July, and he's
25:16
looking for what
25:17
he'll do after
25:19
that.
25:19
And so, while
25:20
rightly we'll be
25:22
sad to say
25:23
goodbye to him,
25:23
and Cheyenne
25:25
and to their
25:25
children, we
25:26
don't have to be
25:26
sad all at once.
25:28
So, this is not
25:28
your last day to
25:30
see the brunettes.
25:32
We can say
25:33
goodbye over a
25:34
bit of time, and
25:35
we'll be sure to
25:36
do so well before
25:37
they part from
25:38
us.
25:40
So, see in this
25:41
example how
25:43
theological
25:44
triage serves
25:46
us, right?
25:48
Ty is not
25:48
apostate, right?
25:49
Ty is not a
25:50
Christian just
25:50
because he
25:51
doesn't agree
25:51
with us on
25:52
baptism.
25:53
He's a
25:54
Christian brother,
25:55
and we need
25:56
to have no
25:56
doubt of
25:57
this.
25:59
Ty does, though,
26:00
find himself
26:00
disagreeing in a
26:01
matter that
26:02
causes him and
26:02
his family to
26:03
need to seek
26:04
fellowship elsewhere
26:05
where their
26:06
conscience can be
26:07
clear, where they
26:08
can practice the
26:09
way they believe
26:10
God would have
26:11
them practice,
26:13
right?
26:13
We may think it
26:14
irregular for them
26:15
to do that, but
26:16
they don't, and
26:17
so that's okay that
26:18
they would find
26:19
themselves in a
26:21
Presbyterian
26:21
context.
26:23
It is okay for
26:25
us not to see
26:25
eye to eye on
26:26
this matter and
26:27
therefore to
26:29
maintain unity.
26:31
So, thinking
26:31
about this, right,
26:32
where do we
26:33
place this?
26:34
And here we
26:35
find it's
26:35
actionable.
26:37
Most of our
26:37
disagreements
26:38
within a church
26:39
are in that
26:40
tertiary category
26:41
and require no
26:42
action at all.
26:45
Certainly, if we
26:45
have primary
26:46
disagreements,
26:47
then we're
26:48
going to go to
26:48
the mattresses
26:49
over that,
26:50
right?
26:52
So, let me
26:52
conclude with
26:53
some encouragements
26:55
for you.
26:57
I just want to
26:57
encourage you,
26:58
love on Ty and
26:59
Cheyenne to the
27:00
max over these
27:02
next three months.
27:03
It's really
27:04
tempting, I find
27:05
this in myself,
27:06
to withdraw from
27:07
people we will
27:07
say farewell to.
27:10
I love their
27:11
children and it's
27:12
tempting to not
27:13
love their kids so
27:13
much, right?
27:14
To not get all
27:15
the hugs that I
27:16
possibly can from
27:17
them.
27:19
But let's not do
27:19
this, right?
27:20
Let's push back
27:21
against that
27:22
temptation for
27:23
their good and
27:24
for ours, right?
27:25
Let's wring every
27:26
bit of wonderful
27:28
we can out of it
27:30
over the next
27:30
three months.
27:32
Additionally, let's
27:34
join in praying for
27:35
wisdom for the
27:36
brunettes as they
27:36
discern their next
27:37
steps.
27:38
There's not a
27:38
clear and obvious
27:39
place at this
27:41
moment for them
27:41
and so they need
27:42
to be careful.
27:44
We want to help
27:44
them in that
27:45
process to send
27:46
them well to
27:48
wherever it is the
27:48
Lord may be
27:49
calling them to
27:50
go.
27:51
So that's the
27:51
first encouragement
27:52
to you.
27:54
Secondly, wrestle
27:56
with varied views
27:58
on baptism.
28:00
I want you to
28:00
hear me say that.
28:01
I'm a committed
28:02
credo-baptist,
28:03
right?
28:03
We're not
28:04
Baptists because
28:05
of denominational
28:06
affiliation because
28:07
it's the kind of
28:08
church I grew up
28:09
in.
28:09
I'm Baptist by
28:10
conviction.
28:11
As a church,
28:12
it's my
28:13
understanding that
28:13
we're Baptist by
28:14
conviction, but I
28:15
want to encourage
28:16
you to wrestle
28:17
with it.
28:18
You need to
28:19
know what you
28:20
believe on the
28:21
matter.
28:22
Just don't go
28:23
along to get
28:23
along, but
28:24
understand the
28:25
doctrines.
28:26
It's important to
28:27
think about these
28:28
things.
28:29
Now to help you
28:30
with this, I'm
28:30
going to hold a
28:31
class that each
28:31
you see them, how
28:32
they're arrived at
28:33
from the scripture.
28:35
So we would have
28:37
done it sooner than
28:37
that, but I didn't
28:38
want to do it on
28:38
Mother's Day and I
28:40
wasn't ready to do it
28:40
today.
28:41
So it's going to
28:41
be on May 19th.
28:44
So join me if you
28:45
will.
28:46
I really encourage
28:47
that.
28:47
At least somebody
28:47
from your family
28:48
with your Bible
28:49
open and we'll
28:50
consider it together.
28:52
I've got all kinds
28:54
of plans for a
28:54
whiteboard.
28:55
Just be ready for
28:56
it.
28:57
I also want to
28:58
encourage you not
28:59
to bombard Ty.
29:01
I know that he is
29:02
willing to explain
29:03
his position, but
29:05
consider that this
29:05
may not be the best
29:07
way for him to
29:07
spend his last three
29:08
months with us,
29:09
taking meeting
29:10
after meeting
29:10
after meeting to
29:11
sit down and
29:12
explain paedo
29:13
baptism to you.
29:14
Maybe hang on.
29:15
We'll have a class
29:16
and if you have
29:17
follow-up questions,
29:18
you're welcome to
29:18
probably ask him,
29:20
not me.
29:20
I'm going to give
29:21
you all the
29:21
information I know
29:22
about it at that
29:23
class.
29:24
But yeah, maybe
29:25
just don't bombard
29:25
him with questions.
29:27
Just love on him a
29:28
bunch and Cheyenne
29:29
as well.
29:31
Third encouragement,
29:33
think long and
29:34
deep about Christian
29:35
unity.
29:37
Seeing this as an
29:38
example for us to
29:39
grow as individuals
29:40
and to grow as a
29:41
church.
29:42
How can you be
29:44
agreeable while
29:46
disagreeing?
29:47
How can we
29:48
collectively be
29:49
agreeable while
29:50
disagreeing?
29:52
Make theological
29:53
triage a part of
29:55
your regular
29:56
thinking process.
29:57
Whether you ever
29:58
call it theological
29:59
triage or not,
30:00
I don't care.
30:01
But that you're
30:02
thinking in your
30:02
mind, how important
30:04
is this particular
30:06
doctrine?
30:07
doctrine?
30:08
What doctrines are
30:09
of highest order?
30:12
What truths would
30:13
you be willing to
30:14
die for?
30:14
And are they in
30:15
fact worth dying
30:16
for?
30:17
And do you spend
30:17
the majority of
30:18
your time thinking
30:20
about trying to
30:21
sort out all the
30:22
little minutiae
30:22
particulars, right?
30:24
Bouncing around on
30:26
YouTube to see what
30:27
so-and-so says about
30:28
such and such a thing.
30:31
Be sure that you're
30:32
standing on the
30:33
right hill at the
30:35
end.
30:37
Let me ask, have
30:38
you caused disunity
30:39
over beliefs that
30:41
should not have
30:42
caused disunity?
30:44
Whether in this
30:45
church or perhaps
30:46
another, perhaps one
30:47
that you have left
30:48
behind and maybe
30:50
you need to call
30:51
somebody up and
30:52
issue an apology
30:53
and look for
30:54
reconciliation because
30:56
you were ugly about
30:57
a thing that did not
30:58
require it.
30:59
So those are some
31:02
encouragements to
31:02
you.
31:03
I pray that our
31:04
church will walk
31:05
this out well
31:06
because it matters.
31:08
The fact that we
31:09
are in harmony with
31:10
one another, even
31:11
as we disagree,
31:13
exalts the Lord
31:15
Jesus Christ.
31:17
Let's pray.