Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage (The Gospel Coalition)

by D.A. Carson

“There is no doctrine a fundamentalist won’t fight over, and no doctrine a liberal will fight over.”

Faithfulness to the gospel, therefore, requires more than one virtue. We must at times boldly contend and at other times gently probe. In one situation we must emphasize what is obvious, and in another we must explore what is nuanced.

As Martin Luther noted, “Softness and hardness . . . are the two main faults from which all the mistakes of pastors come.”

As he put it, some doctrines are “primary and immediate; such as the articles concerning the Trinity, Christ the Mediator, justification, etc.,” while others are “secondary and mediate,” and come into view only as a consequence of these primary doctrines.

The problem with making every error a heresy is that it “renders union more difficult.”

what marks a true church is “the pure ministry of the word and pure mode of celebrating the sacraments.” If a church possesses these marks, “we must not reject it so long as it retains them, even if it otherwise swarms with many faults.”

The church’s unity is foundational to her identity and mission.

He has one bride, and her unity is so important that, as Paul stipulates in Ephesians 2:14, it was among the intended aims of Jesus’s atoning death: “he . . . has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” In context, Paul is speaking of the union of Jews and Gentiles, but his point is certainly relevant to all expressions of unity in the body of Christ, including among various estranged Gentile groups. Note the words in his flesh. It was at the cost of Jesus’s death that we were reconciled to God and, in the same movement, reconciled with those reconciled to God. If we have peace with God, we have peace with each other. Our unity is so important that Jesus gave his blood for it.

“the unity of the Church is a manifestation of the perfection of the Godhead.”15

the unity of the church is essential to the mission of the church.

Pursuing the unity of the church does not mean that we should stop caring about theology. But it does mean that our love of theology should never exceed our love of real people, and therefore we must learn to love people amid our theological disagreements.

unless I can leave off loving Jesus Christ, I cannot cease loving those who love him. . . . I will defy you, if you have any love to Jesus Christ, to pick or choose among His people.

If we love Jesus, we must love those who belong to him.

The goal of our theology is “a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5); theological debate that is disconnected from this goal must be avoided. As Kevin DeYoung put it, drawing attention to these same passages, “We should steer clear of theological wrangling that is speculative (goes beyond Scripture), vain (more about being right than being helpful), endless (no real answer is possible or desired), and needless (mere semantics).”21

Even when the error we oppose is a deadly heresy, our aim must be to heal, not to disgrace.

Jesus alone is worthy of our ultimate commitment, and all other doctrines find their proper place in relation to him. As we return to Christ himself for our deepest placement and identity, he will help us hold our convictions with both confidence and grace.

“Many an error is taken up by going too far from other men’s faults.”1

If we isolate everything outside the gospel as a matter of indifference, we end up trivializing the majority of what God has communicated to us.

“Do not all children of God long, with the psalmist, to know just as much about our heavenly Father as we can learn? Is not, indeed, the fact that we have received a love for his truth in this way one proof that we shall have been born again?”

The cause of true ecumenism is not served by a nonchalant posture toward theology that trivializes or bypasses the issues that have caused separation in the first place.

It is perilous to dismiss a doctrine as pointless simply because it might not qualify as a first-rank point of theology.

it is dangerous to assume that so long as a doctrine is not part of the gospel, it is of no importance to the gospel.

“Why make much of minor points of difference between those who serve the one Christ? Because a pure gospel is worth preserving.”

a pugnacious, mean-spirited attitude toward theological controversy is antithetical to the gospel.

I do seriously promise and vow, in the presence of Almighty God, that in this Assembly, whereof I am a member, I will maintain nothing in point of doctrine, but what I believe to be most agreeable to the word of God; nor in point of discipline, but what may make most for God’s glory; and the peace and good of this church.17

It is God’s business to regulate entry to heaven, and ours to regulate entry to the church.

the acceptance or rejection of a first-rank doctrine is often part and parcel of the acceptance or rejection of Scripture itself

A healthy Christian will be continually corrected and repaired by God’s word, and will submit to—even delight in—this correcting process.

The gospel is always in conflict with “spirits of the age.”

We must not reduce gospel witness to a generic niceness that is accommodating in every circumstance. There is a time to fight. There are certain hills that must not be surrendered, even if the cost is losing our lives.

The gospel is simply too controversial, too disruptive, not to be attacked.

Are there hills we are willing to die on? Are we willing to take a stand, come what may, on those doctrines that separate the gospel from the spirit of the age? If not, we are not faithful servants of Christ, and will not be effective in advancing his kingdom.

“It’s not just about what you fight over but about how you fight.”

All told, there were probably more Anabaptist martyrs in the sixteenth century than Christian martyrs in the first three centuries of the church, prior to the conversion of Constantine.4 Let that sink in: more Christians were killed by each other over baptism during the Reformation than were killed by the Roman Empire over their faith in Christ.

This is a constant danger with the sacraments—that the outer rite replaces, rather than spotlights, the inner reality of which it is a symbol.

Much of what troubles noncharismatics about charismatic practice is not the presence of the gifts but their centralization and abuse.

It is tragic when the very gifts the Holy Spirit gives to edify and build up the body of Christ end up tearing us down.

We deeply need to cultivate greater doctrinal forbearance, composure, and resilience.1

divisiveness surrounding a doctrine involves not merely its content but also the attitude with which it is held.

“O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.”

Pride makes us stagnant; humility makes us nimble.

Some worry that too much focus on humility will make us wishy-washy. But humility is not the antonym of strength. On the contrary, those who tremble at God’s word are those most likely to stand against human opposition.

This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Cor. 8:2–3).

Kindness and civility are becoming scarce these days. More and more, outrage is the norm. Therefore, we can testify to the truth of the gospel by speaking with kindness and moderation as we navigate our theological disagreements.

Help us to be people who tremble at your word and therefore ultimately fear no one but you.