There are things that are preferences, but are absolutely not salvation issues. (For by GRACE are you saved through FAITH, and that NOT of YOURSELVES. It is the GIFT of GOD, not of WORKS, lest any man should BOAST. Ephesians 2:8-9) This is important, because everything that we do as an act of obedience is a WORK. These things don't save us, and because we put on Christ's righteousness when we are saved, they also don't make us any more holy.
There are things in every believer's life that are matters of obedience that we haven't allowed God to work on in our lives yet. And there are things in other people's lives that are important to them that God may NEVER convict us of, even if we are willing to hear the message and change.
Just because God has convicted us of something doesn't mean that every believer we know will be convicted of it, or perhaps it is not the right time in their walk of faith for them to work on that particular thing. We all have progress to make to be more like Jesus, and everybody can't work on everything at the same time. Also, it takes some people much longer to work through issues than others. Look how stubborn and resistant the Israelites were to change.
That doesn't mean we can't encourage others to think about certain issues or beliefs that we hold. It DOES mean we should not engage them to the point of arguments and anger that will put a wall between us and them. Not only is this counter-productive to relationships, people never change their minds on issues when forced or coerced.
We are friends with people from many different doctrinal viewpoints, some who never go to church but I am almost certain they are saved (this statement will show some of you one of your legalistic points). Alternately, we know people who are mainstream Christians who go to church every time the door is opened, who are involved in committees, studies, and other various church activities. We have friends who love Jesus with all their hearts and feel led to keep the Jewish feasts and days. We know believers who worship and have "church" in homes. We know those who meet outside under a portico, unless it is too cold, and then they all gather in a small upper room above the portico.
We know others who never cut their hair, and/or only wear skirts for anything including climbing trees and swimming. Christians who do and some who do not drink alcohol in moderation (This one will definitely snag some. I know the arguments and scriptures; not overindulging to the point of drunkenness is the most clear instruction given. Freedom to let people decide where to go from there is needed to avoid legalism.) I don't think there is going to be a "He never drank anything", and a "She occasionally had a glass of wine" section in Heaven.
Some believers see nothing wrong with tattoos, while others can make a strong case against them; same thing with body piercings. We know people who believe you have to be baptized in order to be saved. People who eat certain things, and people who don't have the freedom to eat certain things.
Believers who only use certain versions of the Bible, and those who don't care what version they use as long as it is a Bible. Those who do and those who don't celebrate Christmas, some with and some without Santa Claus.
We have friends who are as modest as the day is long, and others who let it all hang out without any apparent conviction. Those who feel led to only take the gospel to certain people groups, and those who want to take it to the whole world.
My family and I have strong convictions on all of the above mentioned areas of life, as I am sure most believers do. It becomes dangerous when our convictions rule our lives to the point that we begin to shut others out or disdain them because their beliefs on these non-salvation issues don't match ours. I have seen others suffer this disdain for not living up to someone's beliefs, have experienced it myself from others, and have been tempted to disdain others for not being convicted as I am as well. This is not a Godly attribute, and we will never fully display God's grace if we act this way.
I completely understand and agree that in our inner circles we will normally have those who are most like us. There are other issues to sometimes consider as well. For example, you have the freedom to be less than perfectly modest, but I may not allow you around my hormonal, pubescent son very much; however, I am not going to completely unfriend you because of it.
We can get so dogmatic in our beliefs (again, regarding those things that are not specifically addressed in scripture, or those that are addressed, but specific guidelines not given. Modesty is addressed in scripture, but the actual level of modesty required is not) that we are more concerned with others following our beliefs than we are about telling others about the great salvation that God the Father offers us through Jesus. In the end, these small things may affect our level of reward in Heaven, but they are not going to keep us from getting there. We need to preach the gospel, and let the Holy Spirit do the convicting and changing of a person's life and heart.
We can forget that we aren't the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of sin and gives us the power to overcome and change. There is nothing wrong with telling others of our beliefs on these minor (by minor, I mean non-salvation) issues. However, we need to understand that not everyone has to believe the same way that we do (gasp) on every issue, and that some people who have actually prayerfully considered those same subjects have reached different conclusions than we have, and that is okay.
God is a very big, complex God, and I don't think He wants every single believer to be a carbon copy of each other. He can use these varying beliefs on minor issues to accomplish His purposes. He will use you to do one thing, while He may use me to do another, even though we don't agree on anything but how to be saved (!!!)
We don't have the market wrapped up on what is right on every issue. Great theologians have pondered more serious issues than these, and have come up with vastly differing opinions that they can each support with scripture. Daily we need to remember that outwardly the gospel is the goal, and within our own lives letting Christ make us more like Him.
One thing Christians can be sure of: there is salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ and the blood that he shed for us on the cross, and His resurrection. This is the one and only way to eternal life. This is a non-negotiable for us because the Bible is absolutely clear on this subject.
There are other issues that scripture address clearly about what is sin: lying, cheating, stealing, lusting, adultery, homosexuality, murdering, gossiping, slander, and fornication. We can try to tiptoe around these subjects and convince ourselves that they are okay. As Christians, we have to accept what is clearly stated in Scripture as sin. These are the things that we can lovingly address in other believer's lives if we see them stumble.
For those things that are not clearly stated, as those mentioned in the first half of this post, we can grant freedom to the believers around us to prayerfully consider them and reach their own conclusions about them. Others may not feel convicted about things we feel very strongly about. They may change their minds someday about those things, or it is possible that we may change our minds about certain things that we now feel strongly about.
Instead of anger and rejection towards others who don't feel convicted about all of the same things that we do, let us offer grace, realizing that we are not always right, and also realizing that even if we are right, that it isn't our job to change them. We can pray for them, but we can't do the changing.
Let us walk through life humbly living out our beliefs, speaking of them humbly when given the chance, without the expectation that everyone must follow and agree on these minor issues, even if those "minor issues" seem very large and important to us.
Stand firm on Christ as the way to salvation; stand firm on those things God has clearly stated as sin; offer GRACE for everything else.
As always, please SHARE this post with others.
Blessings,
Debbie, Home at Serenity Springs (Facebook page)
No comments:
Post a Comment