“…the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.”  (Acts 15)

“But [H]e turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind [M]e, Satan…”  (Matthew 16)

“I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.”  (Galatians 2)

 

The personal pronouns above do not distinguish anyone. I did that because so often when persons get into arguments, they are not themselves or not their right selves. Things can explode quick and very fast.  There can be outside devilish influences at work as well. However, this is not the type of disagreement we are writing about (DV). We are writing (DV) about theo- LOGICAL arguments. We are not writing of contentious debates to puff ourselves up and to leave a brother vanguished. This is not Christ-ian love, no where near Christ-ian love. It’s not even on the same planet with Christ-ian love.

*In the first (1st) Scripture quote it is Paul and Barnabas departing from one another.
*In the second quote we hear our Lord rebuking Peter for trying to talk Christ out of doing the Father’s will. (This is what Christ meant by hating others and loving Him).
*The third (3rd) quote is Paul standing in Peter’s face and rebuking him for placating to the Jewish spies and turning on the Gentile Christ-ians.

In the world and with the worldlings, relationships are not built upon a solid rock, but sinking sand. One only needs to look at the divorce statistics to see that disagreements kill marriages. Businesses are more committed to other businesses than men and women are to each other in the bonds of marriage. Today it seems that married couples have divorce in the back of the brain. If things don’t go their way, even before they are married, divorce is in the head. That is the world. That is not us. That is not Christ-ian.

Shallow persons and those with an inferiority complex and those who are not stabalized or steadfast in their own beliefs cannot abide any criticism or questioning of their shakey and un-assured faith. These are the weaker brethren Paul spoke of and we need to be careful with these babes in Christ.

Let me be clear: the babes in Christ can be very aged. But we still must treat them well. On the other hand, if one is a professional weaker brother or a legalist, one may handle them as one would handle a maturing believer, in other words, one can rattle them. One could be like Priscilla and Aquila. This Christ-ian married couple helped Apollos learn a more perfect way in Christ-ianity. This couple also put their necks on the line for the sake of the faith, so said Paul.

When brethren, that are likeminded and have had their hearts knitted together in love, disagree on theological points, it is not the end of a friendship.  Feelings are not hurt. No one takestheir Bible and runs home to the wife. The disagreement is a sparring sessions between loving BLOOD-bought brothers. It is Iron sharpening iron. This is the beauty of a brotherly love with Christ’s Binding Blood as the foundation.

George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers were great friends and brothers in Christ. However, Whitefield was a staunch Calvinist (I am one (1) also) and the Wesley brothers were not. There were letters written and published for public reading concerning their vehement disagreement. Their was no Love lost. John Wesley preached the funeral of his brother by Blood, Whitefield.

Martyn Lloyd Jones and G. Campbell Morgan were co-pastors in their Church. Lloyd Jones was a staunch Calvinist and G. Campbell Morgan was not. When Morgan died, he left the church to Lloyd jones.  Lloyd Jones and A.W. Tozer sat together in a church preparing to speak and Tozer and Lloyd Jones agreed that though they have differences, they got to the same stage. Lloyd Jones would not sit on a stage with Billy Graham because there were priests from the catholic stage show on the set. There were no hard feelings between Graham and Lloyd Jones. Do you see, there can be disagreements between brethren but no love lost.

Could you imagine Calvin and Luther in a room together?  Methinks they would not get along, there would be no serendipity. But they would fight to the death for one another. Luther was known to use colorful words, Calvin was more of a composed theologian. Luther would be in a t-shirt and Calvin in a suit and tie. These two (2) could not be more different, but they would have died for and with each other over the Gospel and the imputed Righteousness of Christ, their Lord.

I am convinced Peter and Paul were not soft and gooey with one (1) another. I’m not saying they were unfriendly to one (1) another but i doubt very much that the two (2) of them would have been a good team. I have a brother by the Blood and I love him dearly, but I have not seen him in a decade. He has been gifted with a good mind. This brother loves to use big words and he likes to debate theological issues with others. This brother is a 24/7 debater and I do not want to use energy to keep with him. He knows this and he knows I know this. Do I have a single hard feeling towards this brother, God forbid. I loved him when I met him, I love him now, and i will love him in eternity. In any situation I would have his back and I trust he would have mine.

I have disagreements with other pastors on secondary issues. I can be labeled a Calvinist, another pastor friend of mine says he has no use for Calvin. Am I offended? Should I take my Bible and run a way? Of course not. I do not offend him and he doth not offend me.  I love this man dearly. I think he is wrong on theological issues and he thinks I am wrong on those same issues. There is no love lost in this variance of beliefs. This man is beloved by me and i am, I think, beloved by him.

I have certain convictions: I cannot call God’s Son by His Name without His Title of Lord. A brother and pastor thinks i am wrong. There is no love lost. I also have a personal conviction about clothing. I cannot, with a pure conscience, wear a shirt with another persons name or logo on it.  I am bought with a price…I advertise for Christ Alone. To advertise for another person would be a breach of covenant…………to my mind.  I do not, and I thank God, I do not judge others who do not share my convictions.

To Summarize:  Christ-ian brethren CAN disagree and still love AND LIKE each other.