A bulk of the book is dedicated to “performing” theological triage—particularly in the chapters dedicated to second-and-third-rank issues. Drawing on his journey through various theological positions, Ortlund models what it means to define the faith from a posture of humility.

Gavin Ortlund wants to make you a better boxer—or at least help you pick better fights.
He opens his book with an observation about fighting: “It is easy to lose your balance when you’re standing on one foot. The strongest posture is one of balance between both feet: one of poise. That’s why boxers put so much care into their footwork.”[1]
Perhaps no other phrase embodies the task of Ortlund’s Finding the Right Hills to Die On than that of “theological poise,” and because of this, I think this little book needs to be bumped up to the top of your reading list. If it hasn’t come for your church yet, it’s likely on the way: doctrinal division lurks around the corner, and you’d be well-served to equip yourself with theological poise. Ortlund helps us do so.
A Tale of Two Impulses: Sectarianism and Minimalism
Finding the Right Hills to Die On begins with a section discussing the dangers of what Ortlund calls “sectarianism” and “minimalism.” Don’t get caught up in the vocabulary. What is suggested here is simple: doctrine is something we should divide over when appropriate; however, the church’s foundational call is to unity and peace with one another, secured by the blood of Christ. We should avoid both unnecessary division and unnecessary indifference.
Though a wide survey of healthy churches may find strong disagreements, “our love of theology should never exceed our love of real people, and therefore we must learn to love people amid our theological disagreements.”[2] Even in instances where healthy disagreement occurs, we must remember that our primary interlocutors are not flesh and blood but the cosmic powers over this present darkness, as Paul writes in Ephesians 6.
Again, it’s about poise. Avoiding sectarianism and minimalism is not about avoiding disagreements altogether—it’s about understanding when and how we ought to disagree.
But if only some hills are worth dying on, how can we know we’ve chosen the right ones?
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We draw near to God, not presumptuously, not as if we are the ones initiating worship, not inviting God to come down and join us, not concerned with pleasing ourselves, not concerned with making worship “feel” exciting. No, we come with humility and meekness, recognizing that we do not deserve to be in God’s presence; we come only at his command and through the means that he has provided to give him the glory he deserves and to renew our gospel covenant with him.

All five Solas of the Reformation find their fullest expression in the public worship of God’s people. We can see this in just two verses in Hebrews 12:
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
In previous articles, we have seen how Scripture alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and faith alone are all embedded in the biblical idea of acceptable worship.
Finally, acceptable worship is worship that brings glory to God alone. There are two ways in Hebrews 12:28–29 in which the public worship of God’s people is the fullest expression of this Sola as well as the others.
First, once again, the word “acceptable” highlight the fact that worship is for God’s glory alone. The word translated “acceptable” comes from a root that means, “to please”—we saw the same term in chapter 11—without faith it is impossible to please God. We are to offer worship to God that pleases him.
It’s his worship after all. It’s for his glory alone. God created all things for his glory alone. Before the foundation of the world he chose a people for his glory alone. He sent his Son to redeem that people for his glory alone. And he calls his people to worship him acceptably for his glory alone.
Worship is not for our glory; worship it not ultimately to please ourselves. Worship is meant to please God alone.
But second, worship is acceptable only when it is offered in a particular manner that brings God glory alone. Often Christians assume that as long as we worship the right God and we do so by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, then the manner of our worship does not matter. All he cares about is the sincerity of our hearts. We may worship in whatever manner pleases us. Whatever manner makes us feel close to God.
But on the contrary, what does verse 28 say? “Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”
There is a standard for the manner of our worship, and that standard is not us. The standard is not what makes us feel near to God. The standard is not determined by the culture around us, or what is familiar and comfortable to us.
According to the standard of God’s authoritative Word, there is a manner of worship that brings God glory alone, and it is worship in reverence and awe. This involves more than just the object of our worship, more than just the means by which we offer God worship, more than just the sincerity of our hearts. To offer God worship in reverence and awe encompasses everything about the manner in which we draw near to God.
We draw near to God, not presumptuously, not as if we are the ones initiating worship, not inviting God to come down and join us, not concerned with pleasing ourselves, not concerned with making worship “feel” exciting.
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While Noah wasn’t the serpent-crushing and curse-reversing victor, he was a type of the one to come. Jesus, the greater Noah, would bring us relief. He would bring blessing into the world laden with toil and curse.

Genealogies have rhythm. In the genealogy of Genesis 5, the refrain “and he died” is mentioned over and over again. The generations in Genesis 5 are tenfold, extending from Adam to Noah.
Generation 1—AdamGeneration 2—SethGeneration 3—EnoshGeneration 4—KenanGeneration 5—MahalalelGeneration 6—JaredGeneration 7—EnochGeneration 8—MethuselahGeneration 9—LamechGeneration 10—Noah
When studying a genealogy, it’s good to note both rhythms as well as any information that’s added when a particular person or generation is recounted. For example, we notice that Enoch didn’t die an earthly death. Instead, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24).
Another comment in Genesis 5 occurs with Lamech, the ninth name in the list. We’re told that Lamech had a son and named him Noah, saying “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands” (Gen. 5:29).
The name Noah sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest,” so there’s a deliberate echo in Noah’s name with the hope his father had in naming him. Lamech, like the generations before him, dwelled outside Eden and in a world needing rest from the curse and corruption of sin and death.
The words of Lamech in Genesis 5:29 mention “the ground that the LORD has cursed.” This alludes to what happened in Genesis 3:17, when God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you.”
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