Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness

Addressing infighting within fundamentalist communities requires reframing the pursuit of spiritual maturity around virtues that build rather than divide. The pathway forward centers on cultivating character traits that naturally dissolve conflict.

The foundation is developing Christlike virtues—humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, love, and peace—which form an essential part of maintaining unity within the church.[1] This isn’t peripheral spirituality; it’s core to what faith demands. Simultaneously, believers must identify and eliminate characteristics that create defensiveness and tension within their communities.[1]

The practical work involves honest self-examination. Those prone to anger need to cultivate patience; those struggling with pride and arrogance should pursue humility; those who are insensitive or domineering must develop gentleness; and those intolerant of others’ weaknesses should work on bearing with one another in love.[1] Gentleness specifically—a meekness that avoids combativeness—directly addresses divisiveness by removing a primary obstacle to unity.[2]

Critically, carnality and ego investment drive most dissension and church splits; personal immaturity can transform resolvable disagreements into seemingly irresolvable conflicts.[1] The antidote is recognizing that where the will to unity is strong, even major disagreements can be resolved or managed in ways that prevent division.[2]

Additionally, church unity is strengthened by emphasizing Scripture’s sufficiency and distinguishing between essential and nonessential matters—since unity is frequently disturbed by imposing beliefs and practices that lack scriptural support.[2] Fundamentalists should avoid foolish arguments that produce quarrels and instead embody kindness and teachability rather than quarrelsomeness. (2 Tim 2:22–26)

The remaining biblical passages reinforce this vision: Timothy is urged to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (1 Tim 6:6–11), while believers are called to flee youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace alongside those of pure heart. (2 Tim 2:22–24)

[1] Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 238.
[2] Gregg R. Allison, Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, ed. John S. Feinberg, Foundations of Evangelical Theology Series (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 174–175.