Unity of faith: Non-Negotiables & Non-Essentials?

[Willa]

FresnoJoe posted this a while back... I think it's a really good summary of what I believe are non-negotiable:

 

There are five fundamentals of the faith which are essential for Christianity, and upon which we agree:

1. The Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8-9).

2. The Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27).

3. The Blood Atonement (Acts 20:28; Romans 3:25, 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12-14).

4. The Bodily Resurrection (Luke 24:36-46; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 15:14-15).

5. The inerrancy of the scriptures themselves (Psalms 12:6-7; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20).

Can we agree to these 5 points?

God bless,

GE

Please add Col. 2:9 to #1

[Guest shiloh357]

It is important as we seek to define what is essential or non-essential that we are careful to define what "essential" means.  My point is that when we talk about what is "essential," we need to ask "essential" for what? 

 

When we talk about what "essential" is, there are different categories.   I think we often limit the term to apply only to what is essential for salvation.   But there is more to doctrine than salvation and we need to expand our application

 

To illustrate my point...   Having an active prayer life and memorizing Scripture are not essential for salvation, but are essential for spiritual growth.   There are certain doctrines that we hold to that are not essential for salvation, but are essential to having a healthy Christian worldview, a healthy relationship with other believers and essential to having a correct view of God.   Having a correct view of God is essential for our prayer life, spiritual growth and our worship.

 

So it is important that we not be one dimensional in our understanding of the concept of what is essential to the Christian faith, means.