WHAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHRISTIAN
UNITY?
With over 22,000 Christian denominations
in the world, is it possible to ever have
the kind of unity that will point the Non-Christian
to Jesus?
One of our visions at Old Town is to reach
into our community with the message of hope
and reconciliation that knowing Jesus produces.
There are over 200 churches in the Tri-Cities
and each of them teaches a little different
message. How can we bring a consistent message
to an unbeliever? One that will draw them
to Christ.
The answer is to focus on the essentials
of Christianity when we share our faith
with unbelievers. The essentials of Christianity
should be the same in every church.
THEY ARE:
1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He
is God.
2. He was born of a virgin.
3. He lived a perfect life and died a substitutionary
death on Calvary for us.
4. He rose from the grave on the third day.
5. He is now seated at the right hand of
the Father.
6. All who believe this, repent of their
sins and receive Him as Saviour, are now
saved.
The road to Christ is very narrow and He
is the only way to the Father (Matthew 7:13-14),
but once we understand this, He allows some
room for differences. The essentials are
necessary for salvation, but then what about
all our other doctrins, beliefs and teachings?
Do they matter?
It is important for the Old Town family
to understand that even if the teachings
and beliefs of churches are different from
ours, if these essentials are present, we
really are brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Whether or not they agree with this teaching,
the truth is still the truth.
There are many believers who extend their
inner essentials circle to include all of
their interpretations, deductions and feelings.
They feel that you must share all of the
same beliefs to be saved. We will always
have our interpretations, deductions and
opinions, but we make a great mistake by
not separating them according to their importance.
I have taught at four Bible colleges and
have taken seventeen mission trips around
the world. You would not believe some of
the things Christians call essential. Many
are confused about the subject of essentials
because they have never been taught otherwise.
Nonessentials are important, but they should
never become the sourse of our Christian
identity. When a person equates interpretations
with absolutes, sooner or later he/she will
enter a crises when one of his/her beliefs
is challenged or found to be wrong.
Is this really a problem? Yes it is. This
week a Christian brother from another church
stopped by Old Town to promote a ministry
he was involved in. He made it clear to
me that he felt reading from the original
King James Version of the Bible was an essential.
It is important that you know what you
believe and why you believe it. It is my
job to teach and preach the full and complete
doctrines from the scriptures. This will
help you develop your interpretations, deductions
and feelings about God.
But when we share outside the church, it
should be from the center circle, the essentials.
Hopefully, non-believers will hear the same
message from a Lutheran, Church of God,
Methodist or any other church. When they
hear us talking about Jesus, instead of
our denominational differences, they will
be more likely to want what we have.
Here are some common beliefs that some
feel are essential, while very important,
they are not essential for salvation.
FORMS OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT
1. The Episcopal form uses different levels
or degrees of ministry. They have 1st level
ministers, 2nd level bishops and levels
all the way to the top level of pope.
2. Under the Presbyterian form, the people
select the leaders or elders and these men
run the church. There is only one level
of ministry.
3. In the Congregational form, the local
church and local believers are the seat
of authority. The theme is autonomy and
democracy.
Actually the Bible doesn't dictate any
particular form of government.
At Old Town the authority remains with
the local church where our deacons are appointed
by the senior pastor and ratified by the
existing board. Paul instructed Timothy
to appoint, not elect, leaders in the churches.
END TIME PROPHECY
Our doctrines on this subject are found
in a variety of scriptures and from them
we can deduct or interpret what is going
to happen in the future, and, I might add,
much is quite clear, but not essential to
believe for salvation.
ETERNAL SECURITY
This subject can stir a lot of controversy
amongst believers. Some insist that once
saved, you can never lose your salvation,
while others strongly feel that you can.
While this is an important subject and my
teaching is quite clear that a person can,
in fact, lose their salvation, it is not
a center circle issue. One can believe either
way and still be saved.
WATER BAPTISM
This issue can cause much disunity and
division. Jesus told us to believe and then
to be baptized. The word baptize means to
immerse, but I don't believe the method
is an essential. However, some churches
teach baptismal regeneration as an essential.
Baptism does not save us; it is a repented
heart turned to Christ that saves us.
DIVINE HEALING or SPEAKING IN OTHER TONGUES
Both of these are for all believers, but
they are not essentials. There are many
born again believers who do not practice
or believe in either of these subjects.
COMMUNION
Four basic views:
1. Roman Catholic: Transubstantiation means
that when the priest consecrates the elements,
they change into Christ's flesh and blood.
An actual sacrifice is made during mass.
Only the priest can cause this to happen.
2. Lutheran: The Body and Blood are present
during communion and coexist with the bread
and wine. Communion is not a sacrifice since
Christ dies once and for all.
3. Reformed: (Calvinistic) Christ is spiritually
present in the Lord's Supper, but not physically.
Communion seals the love of Christ to believers.
4. Zwinglian: (Ulrich Zwingli). The Lord's
Supper is a commemoration. It brings to
mind the death of Christ and what He hs
done for us.
At Old Town we know Christ is present whenever
two or three gather in His name. Communion
is a time of proclamation and reflection
of what Christ has done. But again, it is
not a center ring issue.
For 2000 years these and various other
views have divided the Body of Christ. Let's
continue to study the scriptures and teach
our doctrines. However, when we are evangelizing
and witnessing to the lost, let's remember
to speak of the essentials in scripture
and win them to Christ.
If unsaved Saginaw ever sees churches sharing
the same message of salvation I believe
there will be people running to God. This
message is not pushing or ecumenticalism.
It is possible to share Biblical essentials
while maintaining our differences.
As we share the salvation message with
the unsaved, we must encourage them to find
a church home where they can grow and learn
the full council of God.
We share the essentials weekly at the Old
Town Soup Kitchen - Christians With Addictions
- The Baby Pantry - Praise in the Park -
The County Jail - Nursing Homes - as well
as door to door.
SAGINAW NEEDS TO HEAR A CLEAR, CONSISTENT
MESSAGE.
Let it start with us!
From a sermon by: Donald H. Dinninger, Pastor
Old Town C.O.C. Missions Ministry
The goal of the Mission's Ministry at Old
Town C.O.C. is to have a strategic part in
fulfilling the great commission by reaching
the lost by showing god's love in our communities
and beyond..
Find out how you can get involved in a
missions trip this year.
