What are the most important teachings of Scripture? The question is a vital one. If we know what is important, we will give it priority and will not waste our efforts on secondary matters.
The Scriptures clearly make a distinction between important teaching and less important teaching. Some of the primary truths are:
1. Love for God, love for believers and love for our neighbour, (Matthew 22.37).
2. The Ten Commandments.
3. It is 'of first importance' that Christ died and rose again for our salvation (1 Corinthians 15).
4. God hates pride (Proverbs 6.16-19, 8.13), Jesus was angry at hypocrisy (Matthew 23), and Paul was vehement in his opposition to any hint that works can be a part of salvation (Galatians 1.8).
5. Liberty of conscience combined with love for others (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 10.23ff).
Obviously, it is scandalous whenever a church officer denies the deity of Christ, a primary truth that our forefathers died defending. Similarly, whenever there is immorality, elders have the duty to deal with it. The fact that the Roman Catholic church still, at core, ascribes too much authority to the pope and the church traditions, and gives Mary much too high a place, means that there can be no compromise with the Catholic Church, for these are all primary truth issues. Elders, teachers and pastors have responsibility to teach and lovingly insist on what is important.
This may be obvious and self-evident. My concerns are, firstly, that this distinction seems never to have been clearly documented and explained. Secondly, but not maintaining it, we are in danger if devaluing primary truths such as the deity of Christ.
Trivial pursuits
If in the same breath we get upset about the ordination of women, and the deity of Christ, then people will assume they are equally important to us, which, of course, they are not! If people see that both issues are important, and then assess the women issue as trivial, then they will start to see the deity of Christ as a trivial teaching.
Therefore, whenever we mix primary and secondary issues, we are in danger of devaluing the primary issues. We will also tend to spend much time and effort on the secondary. Primary truth is given lesser importance whenever there is concentration on the secondary. Failure to distinguish between primary and secondary truth results in confusion as to who the enemies of the true faith are, leads to divisiveness and division on matters of lesser importance, and devalues Christ, his deity and his saving work on the cross. Should that not hurt us?
Sometimes the distinction is not easy to maintain, as in the question of women becoming pastors and elders. Some Christians are making a big issue of this, yet it is not an area of primary truth, though some to argue that the question involves the primary truth of the authority of the Scriptures.
The challenge
The distinction has wide applicability to all areas of life. For instance, when I started applying it in my marriage, I began to concede much more quickly on small issues. I also became more willing to face a confrontation when a matter of principle was at stake.
But where have you seen this principle fully expounded and explained? The creeds are often taken to be summaries of essential belief. but are evidently severely lacking. Someone needs to establish what truths are primary. Then comes the question: what bearing does the distinction and the content have on current debates?
Finally, I throw out the challenge to each reader to work out when they have been divisive over secondary matters, where they need to be firmer and fight harder on the essential, and where more humility is required in allowing others freedom to disagree with us on all secondary matters.
