The New Testament uses words that were common for battle to describe part of our lives as Christians. Paul told Timothy to share in suffering as a good soldier. He reminded the Ephesian believers that their battle was not against flesh and blood but rather against spiritual wickedness in high places. As church history moved on, Christian writers and theologians began to develop two terms that helps us understand this battle. The church on earth was called the Church Militant and the church in Heaven was called the Church Triumphant. Verse three of the hymn “The Church’s One Foundation” states these truths this way; “Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war.” That verse emphasizes that the church on earth is in a tumultuous battle. The verse then goes on to address the second state of the church with is the Church Triumphant by reminding us that in Heaven, “the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.”
On earth, the church is at war. We fight on three fronts; against the lures and enticements of this present world, against the lusts and temptations of our own flesh, and against the great enemy of our soul, the devil, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. These are not physical but rather spiritual battles. This is why Christians have stated that the church on earth is the Church Militant and we on earth await our entrance into the Church Triumphant where the battle ceases.
If you have been in church very long, you have probably experienced Christians fighting the wrong battles. Rather than linking arms to resist temptation encouraging one another to love and good works, Christians often battle against one another over trivial matters. While we should be ashamed about this internal battle within many local churches, we should not be surprised. The siren song of the ways of this present world, our own proclivity toward pride and selfishness, and then Satan stirring the pot is a perfect recipe for many problems in the church. One of the ways this happens is by us moralizing and then weaponizing our own preferences. When we make our preferences a moral issue, we can easily dismiss or even fight another Christian thinking we are fighting the Lord’s battle when in fact we are simply being prideful, sinful, and even territorial. This often results in factions coming together creating division in the church. The results can be destructive to a local church. Instead of the real enemy, we begin to fight each other.
A lesson that we all need to either learn or remind ourselves of often in the church is the difference between what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable. Negotiables are not worth fighting over. Non-negotiables are worth dying for. An easy way to distinguish between negotiables and non-negotiables is to simply make one observation. If this thing that we are ready to fight over is commanded in Scripture, then it is non-negotiable. We have no right to change it. However, if it is not commanded in Scripture, it is negotiable.
This should simplify the way we think about life in the church. We are commanded in Scripture to worship, to serve, to fellowship, to evangelize, and to disciple. This is the mission of the church. These are non-negotiables. There are even non-negotiable aspects to each one of these commands. But everything else typically falls into that category of negotiables. Every church leadership team should make a list of non-negotiables. Then that church would be ready to deal with the issues that arise usually surrounding the negotiables. If we do this, maybe we will not moralize and weaponize our personal preferences and end up fighting the wrong battles.
Joe Tolin pastors the Kingman Presbyterian Church.
