This side of heaven, we see through a glass dimly. It’s just reality. We’re not going to agree on everything. And so we’ll have some different traditions, different churches, different denominations. But I think there’s a way to still love each other when we share the orthodox evangelical faith together without setting aside those differences. We can still have unity of faith while still being passionate about the truth.

Maintain Unity

Whenever we talk about doctrine—and Christians really get into theology—we can run into the potential problem of really sharp disagreements. I think that’s one reason that people pull back from theology or don’t even want to go there in the first place—“This doctrinal precision is just going to divide us.” It’s not an easy question because while everything that the Scripture says is important, and I hope everything in this book is important and worth knowing, it is true that some doctrines are of primary importance and some might be secondary or tertiary.

1. We can be passionate about doctrine even if others disagree with us.

Actually, theologians of the past gave a lot of formal attention to this. They called it the fundamental articles. I have a short chapter in the book on this. They gave a lot of thought to how we understand the fundamental articles of the faith. Maybe it’s slightly disappointing that nobody said, “Here are the ten doctrines of all,” but there is basic unanimity on doctrines that touch on the person and work of Christ, that touch on the Trinity, that have to do with our salvation—doctrines that if we denied them, no longer will people be saved, or you’re presenting a false gospel.