Part One: August 2022

We’ve all heard the saying, usually expressed as a question: “Is this a hill to die on?” Here’s the definition of this phrase I like best: “An issue to pursue with wholehearted conviction and/or single-minded focus, with little or no regard to the cost.” Often, we use it in a military context … the practice of capturing and holding a hill (or other high ground) seen as strategic or essential for military success.

In the Christian faith we have hills to die on—beliefs important enough to risk death to defend—but too often we end up taking our stands on issues NOT essential to our faith. Using another expression, we “make mountains out of molehills,” which tends to confuse and water down what we really stand for.  

Most church splits happen over nonessentials—beliefs that we feel strongly about, even see justification for in Scripture, but in the end are not essential doctrines. Next month we’ll touch on some of these and look at Scripture to see how to deal with them in a way that pleases God. But here I want to look at the spiritual hills that ARE worth fighting for. As our Western cultures abandon the biblical foundations they were built on, it’s important for us to hold fast the truths on which our faith stands.   

Why is it important to identify which doctrinal beliefs fall into which camp? So “the body of Christ may … reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature” (Ephesians 4:12-13). One of the marks of intelligence is being able to make fine distinctions, to discern subtle differences between concepts that are close but not identical in terms of meaning and significance.

We know from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Finding God’s principles that will prepare us for “every good work” in the purity laws and animal sacrifices of the Old Testament and the cultural context of the New Testament isn’t always easy. However, our relationship with Christ Jesus enables us to make these judgment calls as we study His word and rely on the wisdom and revelation of the Holy Spirit.

In the early days of church history, the apostles and other followers of Jesus had to hammer out the basic tenets of the Christian faith. They faced many enemies in this process—false teachers (who sought followers for their financial gain), Judaizers (who wanted to blend new covenant faith with Jewish traditions), and heretical ideas borrowed from other cultures like Greece (who felt their philosophers had the handle on truth). Church leaders had to decide what truths would affect everyone’s faith going forward.

They wrestled through questions like the nature of Jesus, what our deliverance from sin was based on, and the historical facts of the Gospel. We take many of these doctrinal truths for granted, but our spiritual forerunners had to defend some strategic “hills of truth” for us to be where we are today. We owe them our deepest gratitude.

Have you ever given any thought to the doctrinal hills you would die on? The list of “essential Christian truths” for some Christians might be longer than others’ but, as a minimum, I think we can all agree on these critical doctrinal points:

1. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God. As such, it defines reality, reveals truth, and is authoritative on all matters it affirms. Without confidence in the written word, we would not know anything about God or ourselves. It contains all we need for life and godliness.
2. The one true God exists as three distinct, transcendent, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ is God the Son who became fully human through the Incarnation. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and carried by a virgin (Mary). While on earth Jesus lived a sinless life and fulfilled all Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah. He voluntarily gave His life on the cross, becoming our substitutionary atonement through His shed blood. His bodily resurrection proved His power over sin and death. When He returns, He will establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness. He is the ONLY way to be saved and reconciled to God.  
4. The Gospel declares the good news that salvation has been fully provided for through Jesus Christ. It is by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith in His atoning sacrifice. We need not add anything to what He has done. In addition to salvation, those who repent of their sins and receive Jesus’ new life receive the Holy Spirit, who indwells, empowers, guides, comforts, bestows spiritual gifts, and reminds them of all they have in God. By His presence and power, Christians can overcome all their spiritual enemies and rest in God’s love and grace.

The implications of these essential truths from Scripture are enormous. They keep us grounded and move us forward with confidence, even in tough times. They also provide the groundwork for fellowship with others who claim to be Christians. When we share the new birth experience and these basic truths, we can work with and enjoy people from all parts of the world. We may differ on minor doctrines, but such differences need not and should not separate us or keep us from acknowledging our spiritual unity in the Lord. Writing to Christians about their “common salvation,” Jude urged the early church to “contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints” (vs. 3 NASB). This admonition is for us as well!

When we consider how God has miraculously preserved his written Word through so many centuries, we are reminded of those who laid down their lives so we might have a copy of the Bible to read in our own language. We are so indebted to people like John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Bunyan, and many others, who were persecuted, hunted down, jailed, even burned at the stake as heretics for holding firmly to the truths revealed in the Bible. We don’t worship the book itself, of course. We worship the One who provided it for our encouragement, spiritual growth, and moral correction. But we do study it, honor it, and obey it, recognizing the gift it is to us. And we do all we can to preserve its truths for the next generation.  

I’ll end this devotional with a great summary statement that teaches us HOW to stand for God’s truth in every age. It’s been attributed to Augustine and John Wesley, among others. While we may not know its origin with certainty, we can safely put it into practice:

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

Lord Jesus, help me to reaffirm my commitment to you and all you stand for today. As your disciple, I want to be able to discern the hills worth dying on and to be brave enough to defend them against all enemies, even the ones that sometimes rise up in me! Help me to put Paul’s words into practice … “My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Amen.