You ever notice how Christians can fight harder with each other than with the devil? We’ll argue for hours over stuff that won’t save anybody. Why? Because we’ve blurred the line between what God said and what we’ve decided He meant.
Doctrine means teaching—what we believe about God. But somewhere along the way, people started treating every doctrine like it’s the cornerstone of Heaven itself. We’ve got believers willing to die on hills God never even asked them to climb.
Let me make this simple. Some truths are black and white. No debating. No vote required. Jesus is God. The cross was real. The tomb is empty. Salvation is by grace, through faith—not your behavior, not your performance, not your denominational label. That’s the gospel. You mess with that, you’ve left Christianity and started your own religion.
Then you’ve got everything else—stuff Scripture gives room to wrestle with. Things like how the gifts of the Spirit work, when Jesus is coming back, who leads what, and how the band should sound on Sunday. Those things matter, but they’re not the gospel. They’re interpretation. They’re secondary.
And here’s where the trouble starts. Some people take those secondary issues and turn them into spiritual litmus tests. “If you don’t believe exactly like I do, you’re not really Spirit-filled.” “If you don’t do it our way, you’re missing God’s best.” Oh really? Last I checked, the Holy Spirit isn’t taking orders from church boards or YouTube prophets.
That kind of attitude doesn’t build unity—it builds egos. It’s spiritual superiority dressed up in Bible verses. It divides the Body of Christ while pretending to defend it. You can be 100% right on your theology and 100% wrong in your heart.
Now flip the coin. Some go soft. They treat everything like a secondary issue so nobody gets offended. “Let’s just love people, not talk about sin.” Great plan—until you realize Jesus died because of sin. Love without truth isn’t compassion—it’s cowardice. Unity that costs you the gospel isn’t unity; it’s surrender.
So how do you tell the difference? Here’s the rule of thumb: if changing your view changes the gospel, it’s primary. If it only changes how you practice your faith, it’s secondary. The essentials define salvation. The rest defines preference.
Primary doctrines come straight from Scripture—black and white, non-negotiable. Secondary doctrines are how we apply the stuff God didn’t spell out in detail. One demands conviction. The other demands humility. And when we mix those up, we either turn faith into a fistfight or truth into a suggestion box.
There’s an old saying: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Translation—stop making enemies out of family, and stop making opinions into commandments.
The Church doesn’t need more people defending their denomination like it’s a sports team. We need believers who know what’s worth fighting for and what’s worth letting go. You can disagree on end-times charts, worship styles, and the order of service—but if we agree that Jesus Christ is Lord, crucified and risen, we’re on the same team.
God’s not impressed with how many debates you win. He’s looking for people who love Him enough to stand for truth and love others enough not to weaponize it. Primary doctrines anchor us. Secondary doctrines test our humility.
So study deep. Stand firm. But for the love of the Savior—stop shooting your own teammates. The world’s watching, and they don’t need another argument. They need to see a Church that actually lives what it preaches: truth spoken with grace, conviction wrapped in love, and unity that outlasts opinions.