If All Christians have the Holy Spirit and the Mind of Christ, Why Do They Disagree with One Another?

As I was reading through the late John Stott's book Basic Christian Leadership, he addressed the above question in what I think is a fair and thoughtful manner.

His first point was that Christians "actually agree with one another a great deal more than we disagree..."1 and I could not agree more.  While I freely concede that there are many issues Christians disagree on,2 it has been my personal experience that we are united on the core issues that make one a Christian.  Those like atheist Matt Dillahunty who want to make much of so-called "inconsistent revelations," would do well to keep this in mind.

Stott continues by arguing that Christians would actually disagree with one another much less if they fulfilled the following five conditions.

1. We must accept the supreme authority of Scripture.

The big and painful Christian divisions are between so-called reformed and unreformed churches, that is, between those churches which are determined to submit to Scripture and those which are unwilling to do so or which elevate traditions and opinions to the same level as Scripture.  Among churches that do submit to the supremacy of Scripture we are perhaps 90 percent agreed.

2. We must remember that the chief purpose of Scripture is to bear witness to Jesus Christ as the Savior of sinners.

In the central truths concerning Christ and salvation, Scripture is plain or "perspicuous."  It is in the realm of the adiaphora, matters indifferent because of secondary importance, that we must give one another liberty of belief.

3. We must develop sound principles of biblical interpretation. 

It is often said that "you can make the Bible teach anything you like."  I reply, "Yes, you are right, you can make the Bible teach anything, but only if you are unscrupulous enough."  If we apply proper principles of interpretation to Scripture, we find that far from our manipulating it, it controls us.  In particular, we must learn to look for the natural sense (whether literal or figurative), the original sense (as the author intended and his readers would have understood him) and the general sense (in harmony with the rest).

4. We must study Scripture together.

The church is the hermeneutical community, in which God means his Word to be received and interpreted.  We can help one another to understand it, especially if we reflect on it cross-culturally.  This is what Paul meant when he prayed that we might be able "with all the saints" to grasp the full dimensions of God's love (Eph 3:18).  We could never do this alone.  We need one another. 

5. We must come to the biblical text with humble, open, receptive spirits.

We must be ready for God to break through our cultural defenses, to challenge and to change us.  If we come to Scripture with our minds made up and closed, we will never hear the thunderclap of his Word.  All we will hear is what we want to hear, the soothing echoes of our own cultural prejudice.

The spiritual discernment the Holy Spirit promises to the students of Scripture is not given in defiance of these five conditions; it rather presupposes them.3

Many unbelievers point to the problem of religious disagreement to argue against the validity of Christianity.  I think Stott is right when he points out that Christians agree on more than they disagree on; however, perhaps if we started implementing these 5 conditions he offers, we could disagree even less.  And give our atheist friends a bit less to complain about!4

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. John Stott, Basic Christian Leadership, p. 71.
2. Here, I am thinking of doctrinal differences such as how to baptize, whether or not one can lose their salvation, etc.  
3. Ibid, p. 71-72.
4. This is just meant in jest.  For my atheist readers, please don't take this personally!  It is all in good fun!

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