One of the supposed evidences against Christianity is that we just can’t seem to get along. We seem to always be arguing (fighting) amongst ourselves. “You’re telling me that Christianity is the true religion, but you Christians can’t even agree on what true Christianity is!” says the skeptic. Another may say, “If your God is a God of love, why can’t you all get along?” Is it wrong then for Christians to argue? Not necessarily.
Christians should have love for one another. We love love because God is love and we love God. But God is more than love, God is also truth (John 14:6; 16:13) and so is His word (John 17:17). Christians “fight” with one another because we care about truth. If we believed that there was no absolute truth, or that we each can determine our own truth, there would be no reason to argue about which doctrines are true and which ones are not. Christians believe in truth.
Christians are also human (don’t look so shocked!), and no human has perfect knowledge. Likewise, every Christian will have some error in their beliefs. The Bible, of course, has no errors, but there can certainly be errors in our understanding of the Bible.
This is why we fight: we are highly concerned with truth, and none of us knows it perfectly. In eternity, we will no longer have errors in our thinking, but until then, we fight. That’s not always a bad thing (though, of course, it can be).
Good things that can happen when Christians fight:
1. Your errors get corrected. If you were wrong about something, would you want to know it? I know our prideful nature often has trouble admitting when we are wrong, but hopefully as we grow in Christ we will be more concerned about what is true than we will be about winning an argument. So how do you know if your beliefs are in error or not? You might respond that your beliefs are based on the inerrant word of God. Great! I like to think that mine are too. But how do you know if your views are the views that are the most consistent with the whole Bible? How do you know if your views aren’t based on misinterpretation of certain Bible verse? Some doctrines that seem correct might not seem so correct after someone confronts you with a more accurate view (Prov. 18:17).
So having your views confronted or “attacked” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Getting into an argument with another Christian and being proven wrong might sting a bit, but in the long run it can be a good thing.
2. The Church’s doctrine gets stronger. By “the Church” I’m referring to all Christians, in all places, at all times. We see throughout church history that when there are fights in the Church, doctrine usually get stronger. The Reformation was a grand fight over things like the authority of Scripture, the doctrine of salvation, etc. The Reformers had to thoroughly study the Scriptures in order to refute the false teachings of the Popes. When the Church thoroughly studies the Bible, its doctrine gets stronger. Likewise, Christianity came out of the Reformation much stronger than before.
Even today when Christians argue over doctrine, doctrine gets stronger (assuming that at least one side is arguing from the Scriptures). Even if the two opposing sides remain in disagreement, there can still be some positive effects. For instance, let’s say that my view and my friend’s view are in disagreement. Both of us will have passages from the Bible to back up our views. I will have my favorite verses, and he will have his. He may bring up verses that I have not considered. When he does, I can’t ignore those verses. I have to incorporate them into my view. The more verses I incorporate into my view, the more biblical my view becomes. Even if I don’t give up my view, I may give up certain aspects of my view that are shown to be in error. The more errors are removed from my views, the more biblical my views get.
3. Doctrine divides. I do realize that not all divisions over doctrinal matters are good, but some can be! Though God does desire unity amongst Christians, that unity should never come at the expense of the truth. The Bible warns us that false doctrine and false teachers can spring up within the church (Acts 20:30; 1 John 2:18-19; Rev 2:20; etc.). Unfortunately, many who claim the name of Christ will accept these false teachings (2 Tim. 4:3-4; 2 Pet. 2:1-2; etc.). When this happens, division must happen as well.
Again, going back to the Reformation, when Martin Luther was speaking out against the unbiblical practices of the Roman Catholic Church, he was accused of causing division. He replied that it was the “most delightful spectacle” to see division popping up over the word of God. He then quoted Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34, “Think not that I have come to bring peace, but rather, I’ve come to bring a sword.”.
As long as there are false teachings within the ranks of those who call themselves Christians, it will be necessary to fight over doctrine. And, as long as there are fights over doctrine, there will be divisions between those who heed God’s word and those who only pretend to (Matt. 7:21-23; Luke 6:46; etc.).
None of this is to say that we should divide over every issue. While no doctrine is unimportant, some are certainly more important than others. We shouldn’t be dividing over minor issues. But when the central tenets of Christianity are being denied, it’s time to fight!
How to fight:
The way Christians fight is different than the way the world does. So, when you fight, remember to fight with:
– Grace. Compared to God you are complete and total idiot. Not only that, but you are also a wretched sinner. And yet, God is still gracious to you. Shouldn’t you have a little grace toward your fellow wretched, sinful, idiots?
– Humility. Be humble because you don’t know everything. If you did, we would call you God. Because we don’t know everything, we should be willing to at least consider opposing views. Not that we should accept every view that comes down the pike, but humble people have a “teachable spirit”, and all Christians ought to be humble.
If you are anything like me, you may be skeptical of new ideas. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Christians are not called to be gullible. But, if it can be shown by a thorough study of God’s word, comparing Scripture with Scripture, evaluating the argument against the whole of Scripture — if it can be shown that my views are wrong, I need to be humble enough to give up that view.
– Patience. The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals truth to us. If we know any truth, it’s not because we figured it out, it’s because God revealed it to us (Luke 10:22; 1 Cor. 2:10-14). Because any truth that we may know has been given to us by God, we have no reason to boast (1 Cor. 4:7). We therefore have every reason to be patient with our brothers and sisters who disagree with us. Remember that before God revealed a certain truth to you, you were just as ignorant of that truth as they are now. Also keep in mind that God reveals different truths to different people at different times. God may reveal something to one Christian soon after their conversion, but He may reveal that same truth to another Christian decades after that person becomes a Christian. Remember, none of us have arrived, we are all works in progress.
– The goal of winning your brother. Matthew 18:15-17 deals with disputes that happen between Christians. Verse 15 gives us the ideal scenario: If your brother is at fault, go to him one-on-one, and if he heeds you, you have won your brother. There are times when disputes need to go public (v. 17), but you should first seek to ‘win’ your brother, and that is best done one-on-one.
When we engage one another in debate, our goal at the start shouldn’t be simply to win an argument. Assuming that you are correct and your brother is in error, the goal should be to have your brother give up his error and start believing the truth. Correcting a brother one-on-one is usually the best way to do that.
Of course, if a fellow Christian has gone public with their error and is leading others astray, there may be a need for public rebuking. Even then it would be best to go to that person first. If the roles were reversed and you were the one in error, wouldn’t you rather be shown your error privately, as opposed to having it posted all over the internet?
Ultimately, in our arguing, debating, and “fighting”, our primary goal should be to glorify God. Wimpy Christianity does not glorify God. The type of Christianity that wants to leave out some truths so as to not offend others doesn’t glorify God. Nor does Christianity that is so thin-skinned that it sees anyone who would try to correct them as being “mean”.
However, arrogant Christianity doesn’t glorify God either. It’s not arrogant to believe that some things are true and some things are false. It is arrogant, however, to think that you can never be wrong. True Christianity is passionately concerned with truth, so much so that we will die for it. Christians also need to be concerned with loving each other. So let the fighting continue, just make sure that you are fighting like a Christian.