When concerning the gospel (which I have specified in my comments), this is exactly what we are instructed to do! We are to stand for the truth of the gospel and "avoid" those who teach a false gospel. I do understand what this thread is about, which is exactly why I felt it necessary to bring this point to the table for consideration. Do we follow the Word of God in this or not?
My heart in this thread was never to compromise the truth. There are certain basic tenets and truths that are the foundation of all Christianity, and every Christian denomination adheres to those truths. According to Paul, the chiefly important truth is Christ crucified. Jesus is the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man can come to the Father but by Him. He's the only way. His sacrifice on the cross paid the way for us to be reconciled to the Father, forgiven, reborn, and transformed into a new creation, and because of that, those who come to Christ are children of God. These are truths that are unwavering, and we should never bend from those truths or compromise them.
But aside from the central truths that bind the body of Christ together, we've seen right here on this forum that two people can read the exact same scripture, have completely different perspectives on what that scripture means, and both sides believe
strongly that they are the one who is right. So how do you judge which one is actually right? Is it the one who puts up a better argument and is better at using the Sword of the Spirit to cut off the other one's ear? The one who is more eloquent? Don't fool yourself into thinking you're the only one who is studied in the Word and in original languages, so that must mean you are always right about everything.
My whole heart for this thread was twofold:
1) To remind us all that even though there are doctrinal disagreements in the overall Body of Christ, we're still brothers and sisters, and we should love each other and desire to be in unity in our hearts (even though that doesn't mean we're always going to agree). We have a greater enemy to reckon with than each other. We have a greater cause out there than to argue with people who are already saved about whether you can lose your salvation or not, and that cause is to actually lead unsaved people to salvation.
2) To give people a thread to talk about the stuff we agree about that binds us together. The thread was meant to be a place for people to come and be encouraged that we have brothers and sisters who will encourage us and link arms with us through this rough life. We have plenty of other threads to argue doctrine and theology, and I just wanted to make a thread available where people could come and not have to worry about that. I didn't even really envision this only being a discussion on unity and stuff. It was just supposed to be a thread where we don't argue. But it has just turned into a thread where people argue.
So I just wish that people could use other threads for your arguments, and save this one for promoting unity in the Body. If you don't want to participate in such things, nobody is asking you to. Let this be a thread where people can be happy and love each other, which doesn't mean compromising. If someone is going through a tough time, and they just need to be encouraged and made to feel like people care, of all places, they should be able to come to a Christian forum for that and not leave feeling like they were ripped to shreds because their beliefs don't line up perfectly with yours. I completely agree about the vital benefits of being a part of a local church for those needs. But let us not forget that we are an extension of Christ's Church, even right here on this forum.
