I am a mediator with the courts. I have been asked to teach a class on conflict resolution from a biblical perspective at a church whose views conflict with my own. I wouldn’t be paid. If I agree, would it be God honoring?

Whether one should be involved with a church whose doctrinal views differ from one’s own has divided many Christians. The answer depends upon a combination of factors, including how we define involvement, the nature of doctrinal differences, and the conviction of our conscience. The apostle Paul seems to have applied a flexible standard on some matters, keeping certain fundamental beliefs as his benchmark.

For example, when it came to the observation of certain days as sacred, he counseled that each person “should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Rom. 14:5). Paul taught that Christians ought to bear with one another’s differences in practice related to eating and drinking “without quarreling over disputable matters” (Rom. 14:1). Differences over core doctrines, however, were another matter, especially where the gospel was concerned.

When Paul took Timothy, whose mother was Jewish but father was not, on his second missionary journey, “he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area” (Acts 16:3). It is clear that the apostle did this for practical reasons as part of his missionary strategy to become “like a Jew to the Jews, to win the Jews” (1 Cor. 9:20). Part of Paul’s “mission” was to deliver the decisions of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to the Gentile churches (Acts 16:4). One of those decisions was that it was not necessary to be circumcised in order to be saved (Acts 15:5–11, 19–21). As a result, while Timothy was circumcised, Titus, who also traveled with Paul and whose parents were both Gentiles, was not circumcised (Gal. 2:3). When a practice violated the principle of salvation by grace and through faith, Paul refused to tolerate any compromise (Gal. 2:5).

Engagement with those whose doctrinal views differ from ours for the sake of instruction is not necessarily affiliation. Furthermore, the areas in which you teach are matters that benefit believers and unbelievers alike. However, if your conscience tells you that you should not teach in this context or your involvement will be seen as an endorsement of their views on those matters where you disagree, you may want to decline.