Disagreements Between Believers

I have been troubled in these last days since I returned. Time and time again, brothers and sisters in Christ appear incapable of having civilized discourse about the nature of our faith.

A video is posted to TikTok with an artistic rendering of our Lord and Savior, quoting His words:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)

Faith without works is dead! someone shouts in the comments.

74 comments.

Then, it's nothing but walls of text. Everyone brandishing their pitchforks, putting on their armor, cherry-picking Scripture and flinging it at one another like digital bullets, ready to defend... what, exactly?

Their faith? Their God? Their family? Their friends?

...or their own understanding?

It's disheartening.

When I was a teenager and first became aware of the Bible, I thought I had found a gold mine. I was on fire for God. I remember going into YouTube comments and spending hours debating with atheists, going back and forth, over and over again. I would tell them how unfortunate they were, how much more enlightened I was.

I was boastful.

Not in Christ, but in my own knowledge of Christ.

And what do I have to show for it? More importantly, what good can God say that I brought about through it?

Did that bring Him any honor or glory?

Did my actions constitute worship?

Was I somehow opening their eyes through my holier-than-thou approach?

Absolutely not.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that I likely pushed many of them further away. I did more harm than good. Through my actions, some may never be saved now. They will likely never read this, but to those I argued with—I am sorry.

Now, this post isn't about my failures. I tell you these anecdotal things to offer some perspective.

I am not saying we shouldn't have theological discussions. I am saying that we need to be mindful of how we approach them. Far too often, our judgment is clouded by our emotions. They run high, and we become too quick to react. We fail to reflect and realize, in the moment, that not everything requires an emotional response.

We often fail to recognize the difference between disagreeing with someone and needing that person to acknowledge that we were right all along.

The example I gave at the beginning of this post is an authentic one. Real people, real comments, real disagreements. And at the core of it was a disagreement about how a person is saved.

One person says that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, paraphrasing Ephesians 2:8–10:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV)

Another says that faith without works is dead, paraphrasing James 2:14–26:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:14–26 ESV)

I will touch on this in another post, but this goes to show the kind of bickering we believers can get wrapped up in.

On one side, you have the person who does not believe works are necessary for salvation. On the other, you have one who does believe works are necessary. And both fear for the other's salvation.

Rightly so.

I don't dismiss their fears—we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God's wrath is not something you want to incur. But in that fear, they have lost sight of a core message of the gospel.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23 ESV)

In their fervor to open the eyes of the other, whom they perceive as deceived, they lose sight of those fruits. They step out in front of Jesus and say, "Be quiet, I'll speak for you," then begin weaponizing His words to prove themselves right.

Let's shift the perspective.

If one side conceded and said, You're right. I am wrong.

Who is glorified?

Jesus?

Or the one who won the argument?

Again, we can have discussions. But we must keep them civil. We must keep God as the central pillar. The rock. The cornerstone. The foundation of our discussions.

Otherwise, discussion drifts into battle—a war of attrition. Feelings are hurt, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and we are all worse for it.

Let us leave these petty squabbles behind. Let us put Jesus in front of us.

He's our Lord—let Him be our Lord.

Let's stop weaponizing Scripture and slinging it at one another in pointless comment battles after which everyone is worse off. Let us uplift one another through the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Let us act in kindness, peace, patience, self-control, and love.

And most importantly, let us glorify our Father, our Savior, and the Spirit in all that we do.

God bless, and be well.