CHRISTIAN DIVERSITY -   WHO’S RIGHT?  WHO’S WRONG? 

 The Biblical Testimony

“For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness… it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.”   (Romans 3:21-26) 

The Proclaimed Word

Someone said to me, “Pastor, there is so much diversity within Christianity. How am I to know who is right and who is wrong?” 

 Even a cursory look at the Christian landscape reveals the great diversity that exists within Christianity.    I did some quick research on the internet and found over 350 different expressions of the Christian Faith. 

 Each one of these “Christian expressions,” as I like to refer to them, looks and experiences Christianity from a somewhat unique perspective.  For example, from the perspective of:

             HISTORY:  Each Christian expression has a unique history, a historical context from which it was formed and shaped.    As Lutherans we know that our birth, as a church, was forged out the context of the 15^th century Germany focused around a protesting monk named Martin Luther. 

             WORSHIP:  Each Christian expression conducts worship in a particular way.  Not all Christian worship is the same.  In the Lutheran expression our worship is still deeply rooted in a liturgical, musical, ordered expression of worship with the central focus being the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments. 

             THEOLOGY:   Each Christian expression is built on a theological foundation, a set of God-beliefs based on a particular interpretation of the scripture.  These beliefs are blocks of a theological foundation. For Lutherans the core theological foundation is Luther’s insistence on being saved by “faith alone.”  There is nothing we can do to bring ourselves into relationship with God; nothing we can do to merit or earn God’s love; through Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross, the righteousness we receive is given to us as a gift “by grace through faith.”   (Eph 2:8)

             PIETY AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:  Each Christian expression struggles with the task and living out of the Christian life.  What does it mean to live in a real world; a broken world; an imperfect world; a sinful world?  What does it mean to be a Christian in this kind of world?  Some Christian expressions might emphasis a kind of separation from the world, a standing back from the world, a strict moral and ethical set of guidelines by which they live and sort out the world.  Some expression might lean more toward greater involvement in the world and interaction with the world, bringing the spirit of God’s grace in Jesus Christ into every situation and to every person; some expressions might lean more toward an intense quest for justice and fairness for the oppressed of the world, seeing that as a crucial extension of the ministry of Jesus in the world.   

 Christians have a wide range of viewpoints on the great social issues of the time:  environment, abortion, homosexuality, capital punishment, health care, war and peace issues, economic justice, race and ethnic issues and much more.    Right now in the congress of the United States, we see an intense debate, if not a raging battle over immigration issues.  As I have followed the story, I see that Christians are all over the map in terms of their individual positions on the issue.  Wjho’s right?  Who’s wrong?

 We began with the question, “Christian Diversity: Who’s Right?  Who’s Wrong?”  For me, seeking a definitive answer to “Who’s Right” and “Who’s Wrong?” is the wrong approach.  It is a dead end!  It is a dead end because if all the complex diversity comes down to a simple answer to this question, then I have to be right!  I mean, who wants to be wrong!   At that point dialog and exchange of ideas ceases, and I can only move toward a place of posturing myself over and against my Christian brothers and sisters who express their faith differently.  I am right.  They are wrong.   That is an unacceptable conclusion for me.  We can look into the pages of the New Testament, especially the Apostle Paul’s letters, and see there was anything but consensus over a wide range of issues even in the earliest Christian communities.

 So what are we to do?  How are we to live as Christians in a sinful and imperfect world, and how are we as Christians to live in relationship with each other as sisters and brothers in Christ with in so much diversity?  I have no easy answers, but I will conclude with five brief thoughts.

 KNOW YOUR CHRISTIAN EXPRESSION - First of all, know your own Christian tradition and expression.  How much do you know about the Lutheran expression of the Christian Faith?  I mean really know?  If the length and breadth of your understanding ceased when you were an adolescent in confirmation, it is not good enough.  In other words, know what you believe.  Read, study, join a class, participate in a study group.   The more you know about your own faith expression, the better you will be able to dialog with and understand other Christians of other expressions. 

 DISAGREEMENT WITHOUT CONDSCENSION - This is something that, as a whole, Christians are not always very good at, especially with the rise of fundamentalism.    Maybe it’s a pervasive sense of superiority, or even insecurity, I don’t know.  But I think a sad commentary on the Christian community as a whole is the way we often end up beating each other up.  In fact, it seems to be even wider that just the Christian experience nowadays.  All many circles of life, we hear that if you don’t agree with me then you are wrong; or unpatriotic; or deluded, or grossly misguided or immoral, or whatever. 

 Some months ago I had a dialog after worship with a young man from a very different Christian expression about some things of faith and belief.  We disagreed on the some things.  But, after a rather deep conversation we simply agreed to disagree.  I felt we concluded the conversation with mutual respect for one another, and could celebrate the commitment of faith in Jesus Christ that we perceived in each other. 

 BELIEVE WITH HUMILITY - In 1 Corinthians 13:12 the apostle Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but them we will see face to face.  Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have fully been known.”   (1 Cor 13:12)  I believe one of the tools Satan uses, especially in the church and among Christians, is the lack of humility; arrogance; a sense of superiority.  Paul is strongly suggesting that we never arrive in this life; never fully understand; never have an exclusive corner on the truth.  I believe, on the one hand, we are called to be bold, courageous and committed to the living out of our faith in Jesus Christ, because Christ was first committed to us on the cross.  But that bold and courageous commitment does not mean living without humility; acknowledging that we are all pilgrims on a journey; students along the way, always in training; never arriving at total understanding in this life, but yet always seeking to be more than we are.

 In Philippians 2:5 the apostle Paul says, “Let the same mind be among you that was in Christ Jesus.”  In the next 6 verses Paul goes on to articulate the most amazing picture of humility on the part of Jesus Christ.   Faith without humility eventually becomes rigid and self-righteous.

BE OPEN OT OTHER EXPRESSIONS -  A thing we may not realize as we should is that the varying Christian expressions really need each other.  I believe by appreciating other Christian expressions and understanding them, it helps me cover blind spots in my own expression and my own faith life.  When I take a serious look at other Christian expressions I often identify things that may be lacking in my own experience.

 CHRIST-CENTEREDNESS –   Finally, the New Testament is clear that the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross is the absolute center of the Christian Faith.  Christ is the head of the church.  The myriad of Christian expressions have different histories, different traditions, different expressions of worship, different expressions of piety, varying theological foundation stones, differing positions on many great social issues, on we could go.  But the glue that holds us together is not our consensus on these things; not in this life.  

 The glue that holds us together is the cross of Jesus Christ which testifies to the greatest truth of the Christian Faith, “That God so loved the world that he gave… that we might believe… and have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  The glue that holds us together is our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.