FINDING THE RIGHT HILLS TO DIE ON:
The case for theological triage
By Gavin Ortlund
Crossway / TGC. 152 pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 433 567 421
This is a brilliant book on a vital subject. On which doctrinal hills are you prepared to die? Can we rank Christian doctrines from top-flight essentials through to disputable and insignificant?
I was taught – and have often quoted – the adage attributed to Augustine, or Meldenius, or various others: ‘In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.’
But that only gives two categories: esssentials or non-essentials (sometimes called ‘adiaphora’). Gavin Ortlund says that won’t do; we need more categories. He proposes four:
• those that are essential to the gospel
• those that are urgent for the health and practice of the church
• those that are important to Christian theology
• those that are unimportant to our gospel ministry
He uses the analogy of medical triage, which he picked up from Albert Mohler. Faced with multiple casualties, how are the paramedics to know which patient must be treated first, and which can safely be treated later? There is an order of priorities, and so it is with our doctrines. He argues this Biblically, theologically and convincingly.
Ortlund does not claim to give all the answers (good thing too!), but he really helps with quotations from the Scriptures, and from Luther, Calvin, Baxter, Warfield, Gresham Machen, Packer, and others, to make us think about the issues where we may disagree with the church next door, or the Christian in the next chair, or our own pastor, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses … Why do we disagree with X and call them heretics? Why do we disagree with Y and call them fellow-Christians – yet in another denomination? Why do we disagree with Z and argue with them ferociously while remaining in the same fellowship? At what point do we need to separate? At what point do we need to stop fighting and join hands for the gospel? As a member of the Church of England, I found plenty of challenging food for thought!
He comments on areas of disagreement such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, premillennialism, spiritual gifts, men’s and women’s ministry, creation, and others.
He urges us to stand firm and fight for the essentials with no compromise. But his principal aim is to stop us tearing at one another over doctrinal matters that are not at the heart of the gospel. His conclusion is a plea for humility. Towards the end, he addresses us: ‘Friends, the unity of the church was so valuable to Jesus that He died for it. If we care about sound theology, let us care about unity as well.’
This is really a stimulating book. And if you still need convincing, it has a Foreword by Don Carson, and it’s short.
