Disputable Matters
I love the honesty of Scripture. When we find ourselves in disputes within the church today, we can be comforted (? is that the right word?) that struggles have been going on in the church since the early days. This gives me confidence that we can attempt to work things out as we seek the wisdom and direction of God through His Word, Spirit, and people in addressing our concerns. One passage that is very applicable to working things out in the Body of Christ is Romans 14. It also gives us some help in dealing with our own double-mindedness. It was Anna's comment to the August 29th blog that helped me formulate this blog.
Romans 14:1-8
This passage talks about some of the areas of controversy in the early church: dietary restrictions (or not) and observing special days (or not). Paul's encouragement is to accept each other (vs 1) and to not judge God's servant (vs 4). In the next part, Paul tells the Romans that "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." (vs 5) and that whatever you do, it is to be done unto the Lord (vs 6). These are great guidelines for us when we find ourselves double-minded about disputable matters, about things that the broader church can't fully agree on. I think that we could also transfer these principles to times when we are wrestling between good options that are supported by good reasons.
There are a few things that I find challenging with being fully convinced in my own mind. First is that I need to go the process of figuring out what exactly I think/believe/feel and make up my mind. Of course I might look to others for input but ultimately, I need to trust that "the Lord is able to make [me] stand" (vs 4). Secondly, I need to acknowledge that "whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (vs 8). The process of surrendering our lives to God often starts with a crisis or event in which we say "Lord, my whole life is yours" but the practical outworking of surrender can be seen when we are faced with a challenging decision. Am I willing to surrender this issue to the Lord? Finally, the passage is very strong in exhorting us to not judge other believers who make different choices than we do on these disputable matters. Why this is particularly challenging to me is that in order to be "fully convinced in my mind", I want the security of thinking that I'm right. If a sister or brother in Christ does something different than me and I'm suppose to accept them, does that mean I was wrong? No. Paul is very clear that there is room for differences of perspective but I still need to be able to give an account of myself to God (vs 12).
But the challenges don't negate what the passage says and I look forward to applying these guidelines the next time I find myself double-minded about something that others would tell me that "God is okay with whatever you choose" but I still am uncertain about what to do.
Romans 14:1-8
This passage talks about some of the areas of controversy in the early church: dietary restrictions (or not) and observing special days (or not). Paul's encouragement is to accept each other (vs 1) and to not judge God's servant (vs 4). In the next part, Paul tells the Romans that "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." (vs 5) and that whatever you do, it is to be done unto the Lord (vs 6). These are great guidelines for us when we find ourselves double-minded about disputable matters, about things that the broader church can't fully agree on. I think that we could also transfer these principles to times when we are wrestling between good options that are supported by good reasons.
There are a few things that I find challenging with being fully convinced in my own mind. First is that I need to go the process of figuring out what exactly I think/believe/feel and make up my mind. Of course I might look to others for input but ultimately, I need to trust that "the Lord is able to make [me] stand" (vs 4). Secondly, I need to acknowledge that "whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (vs 8). The process of surrendering our lives to God often starts with a crisis or event in which we say "Lord, my whole life is yours" but the practical outworking of surrender can be seen when we are faced with a challenging decision. Am I willing to surrender this issue to the Lord? Finally, the passage is very strong in exhorting us to not judge other believers who make different choices than we do on these disputable matters. Why this is particularly challenging to me is that in order to be "fully convinced in my mind", I want the security of thinking that I'm right. If a sister or brother in Christ does something different than me and I'm suppose to accept them, does that mean I was wrong? No. Paul is very clear that there is room for differences of perspective but I still need to be able to give an account of myself to God (vs 12).
But the challenges don't negate what the passage says and I look forward to applying these guidelines the next time I find myself double-minded about something that others would tell me that "God is okay with whatever you choose" but I still am uncertain about what to do.
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