Can we agree to disagree?

Doctrine is IMPORTANT.

Theology is CRITICAL.

Our ability to comprehend God's truth... FLAWED at best.

There are a small number of essentials that we must have correct in order to be called among Kingdom of Heaven.

1. There is ONE true God: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2. HE is eternally existent in the Godhead which is comprised of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (There may be various ways of attempting to understand through our limited comprehension the relationship of these three to one another but we must accept and affirm that ALL three are ONE GOD.)

3. Mankind is inherently flawed and sinful (yes even those cute little "innocent babies and toddlers") and thereby unable to achieve the perfect standard of justice and righteousness that God's perfection demands.

4. Due to to our fallen nature, Christ entered the world and became FULLY man, in order to live a perfect sinless life and provide a perfect sacrifice for the remission of sins for all who follow Him.

5. The ONLY way to the Father is through CHRIST... Salvation comes by GRACE through FAITH in God.

6. Works do not save us but are the necessary mark of sincere belief. Those who follow God will REPENT and God will sanctify us through His Spirit, resulting in a new creation nad obedience to Him.

7. Scripture is the inspired and infallible written word of God and is authoritative for the believer to know and trust the Gospel and God's purpose for our existence.

That pretty much sums it up.

There are a LOT of other areas of faith and life that are important and we should discuss them. Scripture says iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another -- This happens through respectful dialogue. However, there is room for disagreement.

Paul and Peter didn't always agree on EVERYTHING. That alone should tell us that while we must agree on the essentials there is room for debate on many topics.

It doesn't mean truth is subjective or that someone isn't right or wrong. It simply means none of us have a perfect conception of the truth and we're all on a journey of learning and growing in our faith. With scripture as our guide, God has given us liberty to work through many of those things in our own time and ability. Additionally, when we embrace the truth of scripture we realize the power found in the counsel of sincere brothers and sisters in the faith, and the wisdom available to us from our elders.

There is a reason scripture emphasizes GRACE so heavily... We can't be saved even by our own understanding of God and His expectations. So we must seek out salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING knowing it is only by the grace of God that any of us can escape His wrath and fulfill our true purpose in this life, to honor and worship God with our entire lives.

I pray this message finds you well and that you will be encouraged to press into God more passionately, lean into healthy debate and conversation about the truth with other sincere believers, and to depend on God to reveal with He will when he will.

God bless you all!