Drawing Lines
In a letter to Anglican church leaders (penned in 1945), C.S. Lews stated:
But I insist that wherever you draw the lines, bounding lines must exist, beyond which your doctrine will cease either to be Anglican or to be Christian: and I suggest also that the lines come a great deal sooner than many modern priests may think.
from God in the Dock
While Lewis is speaking of differences between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, I think his point is still valid and worthy of contemplation.
As Christians, it’s important to have at least a vague idea of where these lines exist. Regarding the further of these lines (doctrines which cease to be Christian), Paul says this in his letter to the Galatians:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:6-8
making it fairly clear that a gospel other than one of grace through Christ falls outside the line.
Regarding doctrines between Christian churches (i.e. those that are inside the line of Christianity but lie on opposite sides of secondary doctrinal lines), I often see one of the two scenarios among American believers:
- A believer has no grasp of their own church’s doctrine or that of surrounding churches. Their faith in Christ is real and fruitful, but their knowledge of basic doctrine is somewhat weak. There is a risk of being overly accepting of differing gospels (especially those that are not Christian).
- A Christian places the two lines so close that another believer or church with slight doctrinal differences are treated as unbelievers. Other churches are deemed “dangerous” and other believers are denied fellowship.
Obviously, the balance is in the middle. There’s no need to get consumed with defining your doctrinal line between churches–doing so can get you caught in a sort of theological sorites paradox. But it’s important to know what you believe, what your church believes, and what others believe. Once you do this, and realize that doctrinal differences are not necessarily gospel differences, you’ll experience better fellowhsip and more effective evangelism.
Some questions for discussion:
Are you familiar with your own church’s statement of faith?
How confident are you in being able to identify those doctrines which are not Christian?
Have you ever treated another believer like an unbeliever simply because they had differing doctrinal views?
Do you agree with Lewis’s opinion that “the lines comes sooner than many think“? Why or why not?
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