Disputable Matters

I did two blog-worthy things tonight that kind of ran into each other.

First, I read through the end of Romans (chapters 13-16).

Second, I had a long argument with someone about various things, including the concept of the Trinity, that Jesus was fully God, and that the Bible is in fact the Word of God.

Needless to say the argument frustrated me very much on multiple fronts.

Its kind of funny that I was reading through Romans 14 and 15 as we started talking about these other things, especially where it says "accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" and "accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God".

Some notes in Romans 15 said this as well: "Can Christians agree on everything? No. But the goal is not to think alike or avoid all disagreements. The goal is to glorify God. It is very important to carefully distinguish between absolutes, personal convictions, and personal preferences. We can strive for a unity in Christ that supersedes our different preferences and personalities. Our differences need not divide us -- in fact, our diversity can enable us to multiply our praise and service for God."

This all made me wonder what constitutes a "disputable matter" and where the line is between applying acceptance/tolerance and standing firm.

When Paul wrote this part of Romans, he was only talking about whether or not it was okay to eat certain foods. We're talking about something a little more at the core of Christianity here.

The doctrine of the deity of Christ is very core, and so is the doctrine of monotheism. I don't see how it is possible at all to believe in the deity of Christ (i.e. that Jesus is God in the flesh) and in monotheism without accepting the Trinity! You cannot be a created being and still be God.

So I don't think this is a "disputable matter".

The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy is less core, but its still pretty important. Truth does matter. God's revelation does matter. If the Bible is not reliable, then what do we base our beliefs in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit on? Whatever we choose to make up? Whatever we take from the Bible that we like, ignoring the things we don't like? Absolutely not! The Bible's message must be taken as a whole. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ asks for trust, and that includes trust in what He says in His Word. Not liking something in the Bible is a bad reason to say that you don't accept it. God judges us, not the the other way around. The same should go for His Word.

So I don't think this is a "disputable matter" either.

"Disputable matters" today seem to be things more like drinking, smoking, clothing, dancing, acceptable movies, day(s) of worship, birth control, etc, and not key points of Christian doctrine.

Now does that mean that if two people are on opposite sides of this argument, one of them won't be saved because they got part of it wrong? I don't think so, as long as the have truly repented from their sins and have truly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If that is really true, does that also mean that we should just allow people to continue to hold incorrect opinions about key doctrines without correcting them? I don't think so either.

As Paul says in 2 Timothy "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". So as I see it from what I have read in the Bible so far, we should correct those who are out of line with key doctrines, but we must do it as an act of love, not an act of condemnation.

This is very difficult for me to do well at times, especially when the Bible itself is the source of the disagreement! I find that I fail so miserably in the area of calmly and graciously presenting the truth at times, especially to those who are already steadfast in opposing beliefs. All I can do is apologize to God for my failure and ask Him to help me do better the next time around.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you reader.

Representing Jesus

About a month ago, I bought some shirts from http://www.notw.com/ that focus on Christ and wear them fairly regularly. The reason was two-fold. First, I wanted to let other people know I was a Christian and who I (try to) represent. This was my more subtle way of doing it than randomly telling people. Second, I wanted a constant remember to myself who I (am trying to) represent.

Tonight I was exiting a little walkway in a restaurant as a gentleman was entering. He touched my arm briefly and said to me "great shirt, brother". That put a big smile on my face and reminded me how many brothers and sisters in Christ Jamie and I have.

Lessons From Geese

This is lifted from a video I saw at church on Saturday (I'm not this creative) and is also online here. Its not exclusively Christian by any means, but we would all certainly benefit if we could remember these lessons in our Christian walk. Plus, I thought it was really cool.

1) As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if one bird flew alone. People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the strength of one another.

2) Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. If we have as much sense as geese, we will stay in formation with those who are ahead of where we want to go and be willing to accept their help as well as give ours to others.

3) When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position. It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership.

4) The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging, and not something else.

5) When a goose gets sick or wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it is able to fly again, or dies. Then they launch out on their own, with another formation, or they catch up with their flock. If we have as much sense as geese do, we too, will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

Job 12:7-8 is particularly relevant in light of this: "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you."

If only I had the sense of a goose!