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

by D.A. Carson

One note of caution: some of the most divisive issues among Christians concern not theological matters per se but cultural, wisdom, and political issues.

Errors in both directions can diminish our gospel impact.

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

better to be wrong than indifferent.

More simply: some first-rank doctrines are needed to defend the gospel, and others to proclaim the gospel. Without them the gospel is either vulnerable or incomplete.

We must distinguish between confused sheep and active wolves.

The truth is unchanging, but culture is constantly changing; so there will always be points of friction between truth and culture.

Craig Blomberg lists four kinds of errors that the New Testament most strongly opposes: (1) any denial of the full humanity and deity of Christ; (2) any denial of salvation by grace through faith (either through some form of legalism, nomism, or ethnocentrism or through antinomianism); (3) the denial of the future bodily return of Christ; and (4) various distortions of the doctrine of sanctification, such as defeatism or triumphalism.

The book of Galatians reminds us that there are hills to die on and that justification by faith alone is one of those hills. Again, there are nuances involved in the doctrine of justification that genuine Christians can disagree on. But the fundamental claim that we are right with God by faith in Christ alone, apart from our good works—this is integral to the gospel and to every practical aspect of the Christian life.

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.

Here I propose that our mentality concerning second-rank doctrines should be wisdom and balance.

These are issues outside the Apostles’ Creed but more important than, say, your interpretation of an obscure passage in Daniel.

There is a spectrum of doctrinal importance.

First, doctrines do not exist in a theological vacuum.

“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 means that baptism is intended as a blessing not just to the person being baptized but also to the entire church family that observes the baptism. When we witness a baptism, we receive a visible portrait of what Christ has accomplished for us in his life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. Baptism is, in the words of Timothy George, “a central liturgical act of Christian worship.”

The difference between a Baptist and a Presbyterian is not the same as the difference between a Christian and a heretic.

If you are currently wrestling with this issue, I have one piece of advice. Go above and beyond to show love to Christians who have a different view and to express your own view with humility and grace.

Complementarians and egalitarians not only can embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ who share the gospel, but we should live out the gospel in the way we treat each other. Sadly, this does not always happen. Too often, each side assumes the worst of the other or associates everyone who holds a particular view with its worst representations. Complementarians conceive of egalitarians as compromising liberals, and egalitarians regard complementarians as sexists who oppress women.

Second, complementarians must display sensitivity to the damage done to our sisters in Christ when we are overly restrictive with regard to this view.

Complementarians should humbly consider where we have at times gone too far. Our posture toward this topic should not show greater fear of affirming what is forbidden than of forbidding what is affirmed. We must celebrate the contribution that every member can make to the body of Christ.30

Unfortunately, real life is more complicated than neat categories allow. Many doctrines defy a once-for-all classification without consideration of context. So, just as courage is the great need surrounding first-rank doctrines, the great need surrounding second-rank doctrines is wisdom. Theological triage is not a matter of crunching the numbers. It is not a math equation. There are practical and relational nuances constantly in play.

Thus, premillennialism has been the minority view for most of church history, and dispensational premillennialism—the default view of the end times in many evangelical circles—did not even exist until the nineteenth century.

The Bible uses diverse literary genres to convey historical events, and many historical passages employ stylized, symbolical, or elevated language. David’s poetic descriptions of salvation in Psalm 18, the night visions of Zechariah 1–6, Deborah and Barak’s song in Judges 5, and John’s apocalyptic visions in Revelation are all concerned with events that happen in history. But it would be hermeneutically careless to read these passages in the same way we read, say, the Gospels, which are widely considered in the genre of ancient biography. We should work hard to identify and understand the literary character of each passage in which the Bible narrates historical events, including Genesis 1.43

Some Christians are eager to defend sound doctrine. Well and good. But is the unity of the body of Christ one of those doctrines we jealously guard?

Friends, the unity of the church was so valuable to Jesus that he died for it. If we care about sound theology, let us care about unity as well.

Honesty is not the same as volunteering your views at the earliest possible moment, regardless of context. There are times to be quiet; there are times to answer only the question you are asked.

Lord, where we have sinned either by failing to love the truth or by failing to love our brothers and sisters in our disagreements about the truth, forgive us and help us. For those of us who tend to fight too much over theology, help us to remember that you also died for the unity of the church, your precious bride. Give us softer hearts. For those of us who tend to fight too little over theology, help us to feel our need for courage and resilience. Give us stronger backbones. Help us to be people who tremble at your word and therefore ultimately fear no one but you. Lead us toward that healthy, happy balance of adhering to all your teaching while embracing all your people. Amen.