I like the
colour green! In fact, I think green is
the best colour in the world and anyone who likes any other colour (like Blue)
is silly! Green is the best. It is the
obvious choice and if you don't agree with me, then you are wrong!
Do those
statements seem a little out of line or maybe a little over the top? Maybe you read them and thought,
"What? I can like blue if I want
to!" (And it is true.... you can like blue if you want to ..... you would
just be liking an inferior colour because green is the best!)
Oddly, I
have been in several “religious discussions” that sound a lot like my like my
"green rant" above. Someone
comes along spouting some opinion or idea that has no basis in fact. Their argument is based solely on their own
opinion. However, if you disagree with
them, then you are labelled “unfaithful” or simply “wrong”. Too many times, "What I like” and “What
I think is best" is made the law, whether it should be or not.
This is not
a new problem though. Even back in the
Old Testament, it was said that the “Priests teach for a price, and her prophets
tell fortunes for money” (Micah 3:11).
In the New Testament, Timothy is warned that, “The time will come when
men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires,
they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their
itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).
The great danger is always that we will try to equate “What I think”
with “What God thinks”. As philosopher Jean-Jacques
Rousseau astutely observed, "God created man in his own image. And man,
being a gentleman, returned the favor."
So, what is
the answer? Well, Timothy was told to, “Preach
the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage —with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). In another place he is also reminded that, “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
While we
may sometimes disagree about what it means, if we all start from scripture,
rather than our own likes or dislikes, at least we will be starting on common
ground.
Bottom
line: If you want to know the God of the
word, you are going to have to know the word of God.
“Faith
comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of
Christ.” (Romans 10:17).
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