What Are Secondary Issues?

In the church there are primary issues and there are secondary issues. The primary issues are those that the church must agree on based upon the teaching of scripture. For example, the Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to the Father which has been clearly written throughout the pages of Scripture. Another one would be that God has revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which are distinct yet three in one.

Secondary issues are those where scripture does not give a concrete teaching on, which is based on a belief the church holds based on scripture. A secondary issue would be how Jesus will return. The Bible teaches that Jesus will one day return to this earth to make all things new. Jesus like a thief in the night, but there has been debate on how this will take place. We have premillennialism, postmillennalism, and amillennalism, which teach the promise will be fulfilled or is being fulfilled right now. We are all agree Christ will return, but on how these events will take place is another story.

Secondary issues should be ones where Christians are able to talk among themselves and see why we believe and use the Bible as backup. These discussions should not caused division, which sad to say, has already happen. Christians can agree to disagree on certain issues that the Bible does not make clear, however, what the Bible does make clear should not even be disputed among evangelicals.

Someone may ask, are Bible translations and style of music in worship services secondary issues? Yes and no. With Bible translations, it is a matter of preference and theological conviction. I use the ESV because it is a good literal translation that is not compromising theological terminology such as saint and propitiation, but it does not mean someone is a genuine Christian because they use the NIV. Type of music is also preference, but has become an issue that has divided the church. So much so, some churches have two services with different worship styles to cater to certain groups of people.

When people in the church discuss secondary issues, it should be a time of learning from one another, not bashing them. Can we disagree? Yes, we can, but not be divisive on these issues that does not make us sound like heretics. Such as end times, Christians should rejoice with one another that Christ will return and also learn from one another on what we believe God will do to bring about the promise.