Smart Christian is questioning those who want to hone the gospel down to its mere essentials and argues there is a danger in preaching a "reduced gospel". I am with him on this. I understand why some would want to say that the gospel is only about personal salvation, it seems much easier when we are talking to fellow believers. We can all be happy and say "Well that person says he trusts in Jesus so I can welcome him as a brother".

But the bible doesnt single out parts of itself as being less important than others. It is important to recognise that the gospel is much much more than an individual trusting God for his or her salvation. God does have much more to say to us than that. It always bothers me when people ask me "whats the least I can do to become a christian?" as I think its the wrong question.

The bible is about all of life and it has so much to say to us about our family and business lives, and yes the whole cosmic kingdom of God. Why should we leave any of it out as being less important? Of course it does mean that there are issues that we as christians will disagree on, but I do believe that we should disagree and do so honestly. It is ok for me to think I am probably right on most of the theological issues I have come to conclusions on, provided I am willing to recognise that other genuine believers think I am wrong, and am ready to be proven wrong by the bible.

Conversations such as the ones that this whole gospel debate (particularly around penal substitution) have generated can be painful and difficult for us. We should at times disagree with tears in our eyes (and trust me, there are times when that is the case for me). But ultimately it is healthy. Many of our great theological statements only came about because of heretics who pushed the boundaries of the christian faith too far and needed correcting. It is often easier to recognise error than it is to formulate truth.

There are certain doctrines that just dont smell right to me. In discussions wether online or in real life I am looking for a certain heart attitude which quite frankly I do not always see in other christians, or indeed in myself. This attidude is a humble submission to the word, a respect for the views of others who have studied the bible before us, and a great reluctance to criticise people who are held in high esteem by christians. I disagree with great theologians often on specific issues, but I am always slightly cautious when I do so and recognise that these men of God are much wiser than I am. Mutual respect is one of the things I love about the conversations I have with David Wayne over at Jollyblogger- there is so much mutual admiration there that people might think we didnt disagree on anything. As time allows I would like us to explore some of the issues we do disagree on, because I can trust David (and my reaction to him!) so much that our disagreements will always be those of brothers who love each other and want whats best.

I believe there is a middle ground between angry denouncements (which I can surely be tempted to make) and merely pretending truth doesnt matter. At times it means not posting for a while until you have had the chance to calm down (I have had to do that several times) or not following up on an argument because you know it will be fruitless. I make no promises to interact with every point or question raised to me. I will surely try and read every email sent, but I cannot guarentee a reply. Sometimes I may positively choose NOT to reply as I do not have the grace for that conversation.

We need more grace with each other. May God grant us the ability to be true to his word but full of love for one another. The man I know who most embodies that is Terry Virgo the leader of the family of churches I am thrilled to be a part of. I would strongly recommend you read his autobiography if you havent already done so. Please pray for Terry at the moment as he has recently lost a real right hand man in Simon Petit who died suddenly in Jan 2005. Suddenly even greater responsibility has been sent his way to lead a whole family of churches through such a loss. Please pray for him that he will continue to have the grace, wisdom and faithfullness to Gods word that he so personifies, and pray for each of us that we too might learn how to speak the whole truth in love.