OUR COMMON FAITH - Introductory Article
by Pastor Ron Gatrelle

Being a Christian is a wonderful thing but sometimes it can be embarrassing. For example, it is awkward trying to explain to a non-Christian why Christians are so divided and out of sorts with each other when the Bible says "they" will know "us" by our love. I think every Christian has been pinned to the wall at least once by that argument.

In thinking about this dilemma, I had an idea. Why not write a column each week emphasizing those areas where all Christians are in agreement. Then I wondered how many weeks I, or anybody for that matter, would be able to do this.

Are there 10, 20, 52 weeks worth of topics, doctrines, or social causes that ALL Christians are in agreement on? Is there even universal agreement on what a Christian is?

Perhaps the column should only be about those truths which are held by the majority of Christians, or just Protestants? Or one denominational group?

At this point in my reasoning, I decided it would be a lot easier to write about those things Christians disagree on--YEAH, are even at each other's throats about! No! Anybody could do that. I like the challenge of the original idea.

So here goes. First, when I use the word "Christian" I mean to include Roman Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Pentecostals--the whole schmizola (schmi zola's not Greek but modern English for "mess"). And that is the first thing all Christians can agree on - that we are in a discordant mess. We also agree that this discord exists primarily because of doctrinal disputes.

But what if these doctrinal disagreements are due to a simple lack of communication rather than actual substantive differences? Could it be that we have simply misunderstood each other's denominational "Christianeze"?

In Titus 1:4 the Apostle Paul speaks of "the common faith." In this phrase Paul is referring to a faith that is universal to all Christians. This common faith brings all Christians into what Jude 3 calls the common or universal salvation.

If we are indeed Christians, then we ALL have the same common or universal faith and salvation. Our problem, and our solution, lies in the way we express or define this common faith to each other. We must learn to verbalize our COMMON FAITH in such a way that others will understand what we MEAN not just hear the words we say.