I didn’t design this graphic, but aren’t the colors revealing? With the election just days away, these two colors are dominating the American landscape. People see blue and red as black and white.
Believe me, I understand. I have my own political views, which stem from my biblical worldview. But how much weight to assign to various issues, plus the manner in which one thinks is best to uphold and pursue certain values and ideals, ends up becoming the rub.
That’s how conservative evangelicals like John Piper and Wayne Grudem can be at odds with one another in terms of how they’ll vote (or not) in this year’s election. Sometimes Christians have serious disagreements over politics or other pertinent issues.
But all Christians at all times in all places in all situations should “agree in the Lord” and “rejoice in the Lord.” That’s precisely what Paul the apostle wrote concerning two women in a local church. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul writes,
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. (Phil. 4:2-5)
Two ladies in Philippi went down in history as two Christians who couldn’t get along. We don’t know what the disagreement was about; Paul doesn’t tell us. But it must have been festering for some time since everyone knew about it, even Paul who was in faraway Rome when he wrote this letter. Twice he uses the word “urge,” once in reference to each of them. It’s as if they had to be admonished separately, so great was the rift between them. Sinclair Ferguson writes,
Christian fellowships are at their worst when dealing with differences of opinion. In some ways biblically-based churches find it easier to deal with false teaching! But personal differences can be almost as deadly, dividing the church, sowing seeds of bitterness, … sucking energy that should be employed in building up believers and reaching out to the community. How effectively we handle these differences may say more about the biblical character of our church than how we handle heresy.
Paul tells them to “agree in the Lord,” without saying which of them was right or wrong. The issue wasn’t a matter of being right but doing right. If each of them would adopt the mindset of Christ, as Paul talked about in Phil. 2:1-11, then their disunity would vanish. If the secret to unity is humility, then the chief cause of division is pride (see James 3:13 - 4:6).
Paul asked his “true partner” in ministry to help these ladies, both of whom had stood by Paul for the sake of the gospel. But their legacy was being tarnished by their conflict with one another. To this day, when the question is asked, “Who were Euodia and Syntyche?”, the answer has always been, “They were the two ladies in Philippi who couldn’t get along.”
The key to keeping our relationships strong is to “rejoice in the Lord” (v. 4) and to let our “reasonableness [graciousness] be known to everyone” (v. 5). The term “reasonableness” or “graciousness” conveys a spirit of willingness to yield one’s personal rights and to show consideration and gentleness to others.
Why? Because “the Lord is near” (v. 5). I don’t believe Paul is referring so much to Jesus’ continuing presence as to His return (Phil. 3:17-21; see also James 5:7-11 for a similar connection between a gracious spirit and the Lord’s return). When the Judge returns, He will settle all disputes and subdue all things to Himself. In order to be kind, we must recognize who is King.
This is where Piper and Grudem, despite their political disagreement, set a good example for us. At the close of Grudem’s response to Piper’s article, Grudem writes,
Finally, just as John Piper in his article modeled respect for those who have another position, so I also respect him for the courage and clarity of his convictions, and for his characteristic willingness to advocate a potentially unpopular position because he thinks it is right. I hope that in what I have written here I have modeled a way to disagree with a friend graciously and in a way that will not damage our friendship in the future.
P.S. After I finished writing this article, I sent it to John for any comments. He replied that I had represented him fairly, and he assured me that he counted me as a dear friend. He also pointed out how I could make one of my arguments stronger! I think that only someone with a strong confidence in the sovereignty of God over all history would do that in the midst of a serious disagreement about the future of a nation.
May our worship of the one true sovereign God, our joy in Jesus Christ his Son, and the love of the Holy Spirit, govern our disagreements as well.
As we “agree in the Lord” and “rejoice in the Lord always,” we’ll know how best to relate to one another.