CONVICTIONS PT.2

Years ago I was a baby Christian and got invited to a bible study. The person who invited me was a friend and I was excited to participate. Everything was great until the end. We had group prayer and suddenly there were strange things I had never heard before coming out of people's mouths. After the bible study I found out what those sounds were - some of the people were speaking in tongues. I was more than intrigued. I was confused. Was this biblical? Thus began my first experience in navigating the non-essential issues of the Christian faith. I dove in head first. I talked at length with a friend who was firmly convinced and confident that speaking in tongues was strictly a first century gift that had passed away. He showed me verses and gave me a book by John MacArthur called Charismatic Chaos. I was in college at the time and worked at the library. In between checking out books I searched the computer catalog for books on glossolalia (fancy word for speaking in tongues). After a while I came to the conclusion that speaking in tongues was not biblical and the people I knew who did it were just faking. An experience of another friend confirmed my conclusions. He attended a prayer meeting where he felt pressured to speak in tongues. He said he faked it and nobody was any the wiser.

Fast forward almost 16 years. What do I believe now? Surprisingly, I've changed my opinion on the issue. I've read more on the issue and studied a little more and I'm just not so dogmatic about it. I used to be, and still tend to be, very concerned about getting all my convictions "right". I need to make sure I have all my theological ducks in a row. The orthodoxy (what I believe) needs to be correct AND the orthopraxy (how that belief is lived out) needs to be correct too.

It has been very easy for me to be a sheep and follow whatever new thing is out there. One of the main reasons for this is a fear of man and a perfectionism that is rooted in a works based faith. I will form my convictions based on what someone I respect is doing. If their family or their marriage looks great then I will buy whatever book they've written and go to whatever conference they're speaking at. Or maybe this pastor or teacher or author is totally on my wave length theologically. I can tend to adopt his/her views on a variety of issues without studying them on my own. That is not the way to form convictions.

Romans 14 speaks about principles of conscience. In the first century the questions were about whether to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols or whether to honor one day over another. Today we are confronted with decisions about education, birth control and a host of others. Paul's point is still the same though. He says that you must be firmly convinced in your own mind remembering that we live and die for the Lord and one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. That should sober us. We can get so myopic and miss the whole point. "So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another." (Romans 14:19) Are we ever told in Scripture to make sure everyone else holds the same convictions that we do? No, I don't think so, but we are told many times to love one another, accept one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, bear with one another, etc.

Without fail, whenever I have gotten so myopic and self-centered about my convictions, love for others has been the first thing to go. Satan grabs the foothold I've offered through my pride. I begin to regard others with contempt instead of compassion. My first reaction is not mercy but criticism. Paul called this being fleshly and acting like mere men in 1 Corinthians 3. They were boasting of being of Paul or Apollos. I boast of following Piper or the classical method of homeschooling. What is this other than jealousy and pride?

It is perfectly fine to be fully convinced of your position on non-essential issues. Romans 14:5 and 14:22 say just as much. In my opinion the trouble comes when confidence in your position elevates that issue to the level of an essential. There are some who are so convinced that homeschooling is right and biblical that they will almost declare those who don't homeschool to be in sin. They don't say it outright but their tone has the aroma of judgment and contempt. I raise my hand and confess that I've been guilty of the same thing in more than a couple areas, not just homeschooling.

Well, that's enough for now. Next time I'll write about some specific convictions I have and how I've come to have them and express them.

Please tell me what you think and what your experiences have been. I'll leave you for now with Romans 15:2-3 ~ "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself..."