The Main and the Plain

This is a phrase that John Wimber used to say all the time. He talked about the Vineyard focusing on the main and the plain of the Word of God. This is one of the things that attracted me to the Vineyard.

Throughout the years I have analyzed the Church Disciplines or Doctrines of many denominations. I have been asked to join several. I really love some of the people and Pastors in those denominations and was sorely tempted to join them. What kept me back was that invariably I would come across something that I just couldn't reconcile with the Scriptures. When I asked about those points I never received a satisfactory answer. I know historically how they developed, the challenges that arose and the reasons for the response, but I felt it went beyond the main and the plain. I felt like they had taken 2+2 and come up with 5. I felt like what was in Scripture was good enough but they had felt the need to take it an extra step.

Often mistakenly attributed to St. Augustine (I myself have done this in the past, it is actually attributed to the German Theologian Peter Meiderlin) the phrase “in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all things charity (love)” is a great guide for Christian living.

There are certain things that everyone that calls on the name of Christ must agree on. In its’ most basic form it is what we know as the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

On this there can be no disagreement.

In tomorrow’s blog, I will talk about what happens when we depart from the main and the plain of the Word of God.

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