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In preperation for my youth group tonight, I opened the Bible and ended up at Romans 14. I thought it relevant to many of our discussions here on CD - at least for the believers.
Romans 14:1-4
Accpet him whose faith is weak, without passing jdgement on disputable matters. One mans faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everthing must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Where do disputable matters end and critical doctrines take over? Beyond the acceptance of Christ and the natural progression of changes that manifest as a result of that acceptance, what is critical? Are we allowing our denominational legalisms to divide us and is God using that division to serve different parts of his plan?
What would happen if we as Christians just simply accepted that we all have interpretations that lead to legalisms and said to those whose legalisms we don't agree with, "I'm glad you're a Christian, but I'm even happier that Heaven is big."
I wanted to clarify that this is not simply a, "Cant we all just get along?" discussion. There are some Christian doctrines which are simply wrong and have twisted and convuluted the teachings of Christ. I am speaking more to the notion of the differences in how we carry out the basic principles of Christianity.
Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
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A house divided among itself cannot stand.
Where exactly are people getting their individual interpretations from? They will answer "from the Holy Spirit". But in that case, how could one person's interpretation contradict a totally different one? Is there no authority with the sole ability to determine truth? Or do you believe it is up to the individual? Isn't that called relativism?
Where exactly are people getting their individual interpretations from? They will answer "from the Holy Spirit". But in that case, how could one person's interpretation contradict a totally different one? Is there no authority with the sole ability to determine truth? Or do you believe it is up to the individual? Isn't that called relativism?
That was part of the discussion my father and I had. I do believe there is one truth that God spoke into the words of the Bible. I think though that people put different things into it. Take Romans 13 as the only example I can think of at the moment: Christ said to submitt yourself to the governing authorities. Some people take that as seperating yourself from government and following only in as much as it doesnt interfere with your loyalty to Christ, others think some involvment is ok, and yet others see submission in participation and active political movement.
The only one with the ability to determine the absolute truth is Christ. However it is up to us to seek the truth that he has determined. I guess part of what I am getting at is that the truth is often revealed in different ways to different people. That doesn't mean it is a different truth, just that Christ has revealed a different aspect of the truth to different people. When we come across those differences, how do we know that it is truth and not the ideas of man? If it is truth, how do we know if it is a disputable matter which we shouldn't worry about as opposed to a critical doctrine essential to the core of Christianity?
I'm not 100% sure that I am interpreting your question correctly . But if I am, I will have to admit I am quite confused about this as well. We all seem to "KNOW" we are "right"...right?
It's all a matter of which denomination we are in. I think it's a matter of what our pastors, priests, reverends or??? are telling us. I'm Baptist, but that's because, so far, it is the closest I have found to my own personal beliefs, however, I still have many questions left unanswered that simply do not make sense. Sometimes I think the non-denominational churches are on to something. I've always been taught that it is important to be in a Bible believing church, that preaches right out of the Bible. Ok, yeah, I get that...BUT, you can have 20 different Bible believing churches telling you 20 different interpretations of ONE passage of scripture THAT is the confusing part, because most of those interpretations make sense in some way.
I hope I am making sense with this .
From the scripture you have quoted, it sounds like we are not supposed to condemn someone else for their beliefs...however, where does the difference lie between condemning and simply trying to correct something you see as error?
Where exactly are people getting their individual interpretations from? They will answer "from the Holy Spirit". But in that case, how could one person's interpretation contradict a totally different one? Is there no authority with the sole ability to determine truth? Or do you believe it is up to the individual? Isn't that called relativism?
Where do disputable matters end and critical doctrines take over? Beyond the acceptance of Christ and the natural progression of changes that manifest as a result of that acceptance, what is critical?
If you can accept the Creed, you've got the indisputable matters covered. It is the bare essence of Christain faith.
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I don't know how anyone can read Romans 14 and not realize there are gray areas in our walk with Christ. This is reiterated in various places in 1 Corinthians, especially 1 Corinthians 8. However, we are cautioned that whatever we decide about the gray areas, be sure to do it in faith, without doubt, because whatever is not of faith is sin. God will lead us in these gray areas for His purpose. We have liberty; all things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial (1 Cor 6:12, 10:23). We need to be careful, though, to think that nothing is a sin. Many sins are clearly delineated in both the Old Testament and the New.
Each of us has been given different talents and gifts for the benefit of the body; 1 Corinthians 12 tells how each part of the body is different, but necessary. Although that chapter is specifically about spiritual gifts, I believe the same principle can be applied to individual convictions (gray areas). God doesn't desire cookie-cutter Christians because then we wouldn't be able to minister to others. In 1 Cor 9:22, Paul states, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." This principle can also be found in 1 Cor 10:31-33.
The man who thinks it is OK to eat meat can minister more easily to a hunter than the one who doesn't think it's OK. The one who is convinced to be vegetarian might be able to share with a PETA member. The mature Christian will realize either position is OK; the immature might stumble over one of the areas, so the mature person is to conform to the immature (when around him) in order to grow him in the faith.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Babies in Christ (the immature) can only be fed milk. As we grow, we are fed meat. Some Christians never progress beyond the spoon-feeding stage, because they are not hearing much of the Word; they're not reading on their own, nor are they hearing much at Church. Therefore, they are unaware of the deeper truths contained in the Bible and are persuaded by the doctrines of man (clergy, authors, friends, media, etc.) rather than by the Word of God.
Enter the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Sanhedrin. They knew the law. They knew it so well, that they started interpreting the law and adding to it! They were the governing church authority, but boy did they blow it! Strict adherence to the Law--and its interpretations--was a problem with the early Jewish converts who thought the Gentiles had to adhere to the letter of the Mosaic Law, not its intent (obedience). Even Peter fell into this trap after he was given the vision of the sheet with the unclean animals and told to eat. There were areas of the Law that clearly didn't pertain to the Gentiles (clean vs unclean meat, circumcision). Both Jewish and Gentile converts were Christians; both had the Holy Spirit. However, they didn't always have to follow the same "law." With the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can individually be led by God. However, this leading will always conform to His Word (the Bible)! In matters that don't pertain to faith and salvation (that is, daily lives), God sometimes leads us in different directions (IMHO) so that we can best accomplish His mission on this earth.
Think about this concept: "No matter what the problem/subject may be, if it has no value to you, then it doesn't matter if it's true or not."
For example, is it important to you that the Heavenly streets are paved with gold and we will become angels? If it's not important to you, then it doesn't matter if it's true or not.
It's the same thing with a lot of Bible "truths." If they hold no value to YOU, then why waste time trying to prove or disprove them?
If they are of value to YOU, then it doesn't matter a bit what other people think.
I'm not 100% sure that I am interpreting your question correctly . But if I am, I will have to admit I am quite confused about this as well. We all seem to "KNOW" we are "right"...right?
It's all a matter of which denomination we are in. I think it's a matter of what our pastors, priests, reverends or??? are telling us. I'm Baptist, but that's because, so far, it is the closest I have found to my own personal beliefs, however, I still have many questions left unanswered that simply do not make sense. Sometimes I think the non-denominational churches are on to something. I've always been taught that it is important to be in a Bible believing church, that preaches right out of the Bible. Ok, yeah, I get that...BUT, you can have 20 different Bible believing churches telling you 20 different interpretations of ONE passage of scripture THAT is the confusing part, because most of those interpretations make sense in some way.
I hope I am making sense with this .
From the scripture you have quoted, it sounds like we are not supposed to condemn someone else for their beliefs...however, where does the difference lie between condemning and simply trying to correct something you see as error?
That is basically what I am getting at. I think it is actually a much deeper subject than some might think and I wasnt able to express that properly.
I wonder if all 20 of those interpretations are in fact correct. Even the ones which may seem to contradict each other in our limited understanding. Perhaps, once you accept God and submit to him, he puts you in place and gives you the knowledge you need to know to carry out your portion of his plan. Due to our human nature we naturally tend to congregate with similar people. Hence the Protistents were all given a very similar understanding of God's truth, the Catholics were given their understanding of God's truth, Evangelicals received their truth, non-denominationals received theirs, and so on.
All true believers receive their understanding and interpretation of God's word from God. They are then naturally divided up according to what God has revealed to them. Then God tells us, dont worry about how others may interpret things as long as the core beliefs are in place. Perhaps (and I hate to use this analogy, but I cant think of a better one) as believers, God is lining us up like soldiers or chess pieces, to execute his master plan and each denomination is a different soldier or chess piece.
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. But if I am, I will have to admit I am quite confused about this as well. We all seem to "KNOW" we are "right"...right?
THAT is the confusing part, because most of those interpretations make sense in some way.
