4 Categories of Doctrinal Weight in Christian Theology

Some Christian doctrines are weightier than others. When discussing Christian theology, many of us have heard the helpful quote attributed to Augustine, “In the essentials, unity, in the non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.” There is much to be learned from this quote, but did you know that many Bible teachers identify four different categories of doctrinal weight?

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel (Matthew 23:23-24)! In this passage, Jesus says that some teachings of Scripture have more theological impact than others.

One way to describe a doctrine’s weight is by understanding the consequences of being wrong about it. Believing the wrong thing about some doctrines could send us to hell, while being wrong about others has little impact on our spiritual life.

The categories have different names depending on who you ask, but they are essentially the same regardless of what we call them. Graham Cole names the four categories this way.

• Level 1 Convictions
• Level 2 Convictions
• Opinions
• Speculations

Those are valuable categories and might be what you have heard. My professor, Craig Hawkins, taught me the following: these are more descriptive.

• Essential Doctrines
• Cardinal Doctrines
• Non-Essentials
• Tertiary and Peripheral

Essential Doctrines are doctrines that put you outside of the faith if you deny them. To reject these teachings means you are not a Christian, and the word “Heresy” is usually invoked for this category of error. Examples of essential doctrines are the deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, and believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Cardinal Doctrines Are extremely Important and have significant ramifications in our lives, but Christians can disagree and still be Christians. However, a wrong view could put you outside of the faith if you push these false beliefs too far. Examples would be the inerrancy of Scripture. It is possible to be a Christian and deny the inerrancy of Scripture, but in doing so, you are chipping away at the rock upon which you stand. And, if you believe the Bible is in error on any of the essential doctrines, you are now outside of the faith. Many of these doctrines are so significant that listing them here would cause some people to argue that they might actually be essential.

Another example would be free grace theology. This doctrine teaches that as long as you have said the sinner’s prayer and had faith at one point in your life, you are eternally secure, even if you live a life of sin and blaspheme God until your death. You are still saved. Most people who believe this would never curse God because they love him, so they can still hold this belief and be saved. However, the person who goes forward believing this and lives in rebellion of God is outside the faith. Cardinal doctrines are incredibly weighty, but they are not necessarily essential to salvation.

Non-essential doctrines are the ones that usually distinguish denominations. The Baptists, the Presbyterians, and the Pentecostals are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Still, they hold doctrines that are significant enough to impact how they worship and, therefore, opt to attend different churches.

Examples of non-essential doctrines include questions such as, “Does the gifts of tongues continue or cease after the Apostles? Predestination or libertarian free will? Baptism—infant or believers? Covenant theology or dispensational? And questions surrounding the rapture. These can significantly impact our worship, but the wrong answers to these questions rarely put us outside of the faith.

One thing to keep in mind about non-essential doctrines is that some churches can put so much emphasis on them that they neglect the weightier teachings of the Scripture. For example, a church that practices tongues can make it such a significant focus that it seems more important than the doctrine of justification. This distortion would be like swallowing a camel while straining out a gnat.  

The final category is tertiary or peripheral beliefs and practices. Scripture does not explicitly promote or prohibit these teachings, but they do shape our worship traditions. Examples include such things as should church choirs wear robes. Should pastors wear a clerical collar and make the sign of the cross when we baptize? These should never be practices that cause us to break fellowship unless they are tied to one of the more weighty doctrines.

When doing theology, keeping these categories in mind will help us know where to place the most emphasis and when to know when a brother or sister’s soul is in danger or when we can agree to disagree.

-D. Eaton