May

23

Speaking up for what we believe

May 23, 2008 |

Posted by ben hind · Filed Under Problems in the Church, General Discussion 

I have for some time now wanted to speak out against a belief that I think is wrong in my church. It is not fundamental to Christianity. It is not essential for salvation or orthodoxy. But it bothers me. It’s the kind of thing that frustrates and irritates me whenever I hear it and see it being put into practice. My question is, at what point do we, as Christians, speak out against something we think is false?

I can tolerate other peoples views, even non-Christians. When they tell me that they believe a naturalistic evolution world-view better explains reality, I can tolerate them. As long as they know what I stand for, what I believe, and know the gospel, that’s their decision to make. But when another Christian believes something that I completely disagree with, for biblical reasons, I get a bit frustrated! Should I speak out against it? Or should I tolerate their view, and not challenge them?

The line seems easier to draw when it comes to essentials; the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Trinity, those kind of things. If someone was preaching at my church and denied the death and resurrection of Jesus in their sermon, they’d get a lot of heckling ;) . If I knew another Christian had a completely wrong view of the Trinity, I’d be talking to them about it. Not in a nasty, condescending, judgmental way; we need to do things irenically, peaceable. It seems we should all stand up and speak out for the truth, especially when it comes to the essentials of our faith.

There are some things that don’t matter. Seriously. Is the rapture pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation or post-tribulation? Who cares?! Does the average Christian even know the difference? It just does not matter. It doesn’t affect how we live out our Christian lives. It doesn’t affect any part of our theology other than when we’re going to expect Jesus to be whisking us off in the clouds. It’s a minor detail. One I don’t even think we can be certain about.

But there’s some grey areas in the middle. How do we rightly interpret the bible? Do we all sit in a circle and ask ‘what does it mean to you’? Or are we supposed to be finding out what it originally meant in it’s historical-grammatical context, and then and only then we can see how it applies to us today? This issue isn’t an essential for salvation or to be an orthodox Christian. Many Christians through the ages have disagreed on how exactly we go about interpreting the bible. It wasn’t even agreed upon in the early church. Some schools of thought used an allegorical approach, especially in Alexandria… the literal historical-grammatical meaning wasn’t even taken into consideration. Some schools of though used a literal (and probably Evangelical!) historical-grammatical approach. Well, I say some, it seems it was mostly just Antioch.

So let’s ask the question; at what point do we, as Christians, speak out against something we think is false? I mean really speak out. Challenge other Christians on. Spread the word. Debate it. Talk to the preacher afterwards about when it turns out he preached exactly the opposite to what you believe is right. Preach against it. That kind of speaking out.

This is what I’m struggling through at the moment. I see a belief I don’t agree with being held by some Christians in my church. What should I do about it? It doesn’t seem like an easy decision; I’d be going against a lot of Christians I know. I’d probably be challenged on it from other Christians who disagree with me. Don’t worry, I’m not thinking about denying anything essential, it’s a very minor issue. One that I think is important, but I wouldn’t split a church up or stop going there over.

Of course there’s a right way of doing this and a wrong way of doing this. We should be known for being irenic; peaceable, doing it in a loving way, and not condemning others over. Christians get bad press all the time because of petty fights over seemingly nothing. Churches are split over the layout of the chairs (seriously!). I’m not one for splitting churches, having arguments (I don’t think arguments are the right way of doing things), ‘breaking fellowship’, or condemning others for their opposing beliefs. But sometimes beliefs need to be challenged, and truth needs to be stood up for… even if it means going against the status quo.

Where do we draw the line? When should we stand up for our beliefs? How should we go about doing this?


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. lisa robinson on May 24, 2008 8:32 am

    Ben, I really hear you on this one. I had always been an avid bible learner but a little over 2 years ago, I was introduced to bible study methods and hermeneutics. This resulted in a paradigm shift, which also created a sensitivity to how the bible is approached. So when issues of incorrect interpretation come up, I’m all on it like stink in a pig farm. So I say this because I think we are going to want to chime up for the areas that have touched us personally.

    But what I’m learning is to think (and pray) before I speak and ask the question of what will likely be the fruit of my comments or corrections? Am I defending myself and my beliefs or do I have a sincere interest in the growth of the commenter that I am wanting to correct? You’re right though, it is a tricky line.

  2. ben hind on May 26, 2008 5:02 pm

    Lisa,

    I think you’ve got it right by thinking and praying before you speak. Talking to convince someone of your beliefs is only ever good when you genuinely want to see that person benefit from what you have to say. I know a few people who should probably stop and think about the other person before they go off on a rant. Ranting is not what I’m on about, I just want people to be believing and thinking rightly about things.

    I’m sure we can be nice about it at the same time! ;)

    - Ben

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