A few years ago, theologian Albert Mohler popularized the idea of “theological triage.” Just as hospitals prioritize patients in an Emergency Room, Mohler argues that Christians need to prioritize which doctrines are the most important, and which ones, while still important, are not the core truths of the Christian faith. While Mohler captures well the need and importance of theological triage, he does not actually cite any Scripture to support his case. So is prioritizing various doctrines actually biblical? Does it have any grounding in the Scriptures themselves?

When we examine the Scripture, we will find that, yes, the Scriptures themselves draw distinctions around various doctrines. Two key passages help us to draw out Scriptures teaching: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and Romans 14.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the apostle writes, “I delivered to you also of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Paul believes that there are doctrines which are “of first importance,” or, the most important thing. What is the “most important” thing for Paul? It is the gospel! Paul clearly defines his gospel to include Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. So the gospel is something that should be considered a “first-tier” issue, an essential of the faith. While Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are the foundational truths of the gospel, many other doctrines also intersect with these beliefs, forming a constellation of other “first-tier” issues.

If Jesus’ death for our sins is an essential truth, it implies something about human nature: namely, human beings are sinners. They need to be saved from something. If human beings are sinners, then they must have violated the standards of a just and holy God. What is this God revealed to be in Scripture? Scripture reveals that there is one God who eternally exists in three persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 1:3-14). So the Trinity would rightly be considered a “first-tier” issue.

Beyond these first-tier issues, the biblical authors also conceive of other tiers of beliefs. Most clearly, the apostle Paul demonstrates that there is a tier of belief called “opinions”:

“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions” (Romans 14:1).

In context, Paul is writing to a church struggling to get along. The Jewish believers in the church were still holding tightly to their traditions and limiting their freedom in Christ. These Jewish believers had a “weak” understanding of their freedom in Christ. The Gentile Christians who came out of a pagan background had fewer inhibitions and could enjoy their newfound freedom in Christ. They had a “strong” understanding of their freedom in Christ. While Paul clearly sided with the “strong” in this conflict (Romans 14:14), he also does not allow the opinions of the strong to run roughshod over the convictions of the weak. Instead, Paul advocates that the strong and weak need to demonstrate love for one another (Romans 14:19). Paul believes that there are certain issues that Christians can disagree about but remain united in a local body of believers. These are third tier issues.

Therefore, Christians who attempt to prioritize their doctrines are on strong Scripture grounds. The healthiest believers will be those who hold fast to the essentials, the first-tier issues of the Christian faith while simultaneously showing love and compassion towards believers who have different opinions than they do.