Out-of-Balance or Out-of-Bounds – 03

The ancient motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity" reflects the admonition of Jesus found in Matthew 23:23-24.  Demanding the mint tithe while failing to weigh out the importance of mercy is to strain at a gnat while swallowing a camel. There are “gnat” issues and there are “camel” issues, and we must distinguish between the two.

John R. W. Stott expresses the genius of the ancient motto in these words:

In fundamentals [essentials], then, faith [doctrine] is primary, and we must not appeal to love as an excuse to deny essential faith [truths]. In non-fundamentals [non-essentials], however, love is primary, and we may not appeal to zeal for the faith as an excuse for failures in love. Faith instructs our own conscience; love respects the conscience of others. Faith gives liberty; love limits its exercise.  Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God’s good news for the world (p. 375). InterVarsity Press. [The synonyms supplied in brackets are my own.]