RETURN TO MAIN MENU
GROW AND GO
FREELY COPYABLE BIBLE STUDIES
SERIES C - COMPLEX OR CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES.
ONE.
C1.1 UNITY - WHEN CHRISTIANS DISAGREE.
It is not only Christians who disagree, all human beings do so at times.
The Grow & Go series C deals with a number of issues about which Christians frequently disagree. The purpose of the series is not to put one side of each issue in order to convince everyone that it is right. Rather it is to demonstrate the way to approach such issues.
These studies have behind them, forty years of living with the Bible - but no authority.
C1.2 ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.
God will not let us choose our brothers or sisters. They come by birth.
When Christ is related to both of two people, they are related to each other whether they like it or not. The same Holy Spirit indwells both. At the very deepest level of the personality, spirit is joined to spirit by The Spirit. Christ is One and we are part of Him.
We are in fact, “members” of Christ, and that word has changed its emphasis. Today we think of “membership” of an organisation as consisting of many similar people. The older meaning emphasised the differences. An arm is a member of a body and so is an eye, a kidney and a heart. They are different but joined (unless the body is dismembered).
Unity in Christ is a unity of difference. It is the difference that puts the sparkle into the community. Everything God makes is multi-coloured and many-sided.
God actually wants His Church to range between extremes. It is part of His strategy to show the world the loving partnership that He can make from differing traditions and temperaments. Let one kneel in a pew with head bowed in silent worship while another dances in the aisle or raises hands in the air and shouts Hallelujah. Let one bring out his best suit or her best dress for Sunday morning worship while another comes in sweater and jeans. God loves variety.
To be a sample of Heaven on Earth a church must consist of mixed ages, mixed colours (they call them “races” but that is bad English - there is only one race in the world - human, unless we call angels a race) and above all mixed cultures. It must also be a sample of mixed viewpoints on almost anything other than Christ. It is He alone who unites.
This uniting of difference, this inter-dependence, this pooling of resources without quibbling, fulfils God’s strategy of showing the world a sample of Heaven. When groups with different traditions and doctrines are seen to unite for prayer or for proclaiming the Good News or for the relief of human need - people sit up and take notice. It is the kind of miracle that attracts attention and opens the way for the message to be received.
It would be ruined by any attempt to merge the differing church groups. Mergers produce insipid sameness and attract no one. People are used to them. In fact the very idea of joining up the denominations into one big one is a form of exclusivism on a grand scale. Lose the variety and the unity becomes meaningless.
The wider the difference, the more God’s power is demonstrated by unity. So a church that wants to run a mission in its neighbourhood should look for a joint venture with its most unlikely partner. Then pray together for the miracle that will unite them in the task.
C1.3 TRUTH AT ALL HAZARDS - LOVE AT ALL COSTS.
Commitment to Christ includes commitment to Truth at all Hazards, and to finding that Truth in fellowship with God. Throughout the Christian life God is our teacher. Every discovery we make or think we have made about Him or His Word, we will discuss with Him.
The hazards of being committed to Truth include the possibility that we may not be considered “good” Evangelicals or Catholics or Charismatics or Baptists or Anglicans or whatever other movement we may be involved in. So what? It pleases our Lord when we go for His Truth and also fellowship with all His people regardless of the consequences of either.
Every church, every team, every prayer group, every Christian organisation, and every Christian family can and must remain united even though its members hold widely differing beliefs about important issues.
Further, it means that they do not base their unity on keeping silent about their differences. When appropriate, with good manners properly observed, disagreements must be brought into the open, although time spent on them should be balanced by more time spent on what is agreed.
If Truth is permanently stifled to keep the atmosphere sweet, that is a betrayal of Truth and it also devalues unity. Real unity is strong enough to survive disagreement. Equally, if the disagreement divides, Truth is betrayed.
God’s Truth is nobody’s party line.
C1.4 FINDING THE TRUTH WHEN CHRISTIANS DISAGREE.
God’s Truth is known by listening to God, by reading the Bible over and over again, giving it time to sink in, letting Him make it clear what it means and above all living tuned in to the Heart of our Heavenly Father. To know Truth a person must know Him, and also take the time to read what he has given us to read. That reading must be part of the relationship with Him or it will be lifeless.
It is important not to begin by studying theological arguments. Give God a chance to get in first, read His Word, listen to His Holy Spirit and hear from Him the Truth that comes from His Word.
As soon as we begin to look for Bible arguments for or against a viewpoint, we have missed the real point. The viewpoint, if it comes from genuine Christians, is probably based on some truth, but if other genuine Christians disagree about it, is probably badly expressed and wrongly emphasised, or applied in the wrong way. Often when both sides hear a viewpoint which has come direct from the Bible, uninfluenced by either of the conflicting views, they suddenly realise that their ideas are not so far apart after all.
Another principle that is vital if Truth is to prevail, is to rephrase all viewpoints and arguments into plain simple language, or else to use Bible terms exactly as they are in the Bible.
Often the disagreement disappears when the terminology is changed.
C1.5 LABELS AND PACKAGES.
Christians should only have one label - Christian. Even that can be dangerous in places where it is thought to be a cultural term - perhaps we should all call ourselves Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and refuse any other label at all.
As soon as a label is put on a person, someone will assume they know what is in the package. People think they know what you believe without asking you.
There are no packages and no labels. Each person must learn from God as He speaks through the scriptures and hear what He has to say on every issue. I may find that on one issue one group seems to be teaching truth, but on another issue a different group has it right. The simple answer is not to acknowledge any of the groups, only God and His Truth.
When any teacher or commentator (including Grow & Go notes) tells us a point, the useful service they perform is to draw our attention to it. After that we must learn from God through scripture whether it is right or not.
And we may never assume that we know what a person believes just because we think we can find a label to put on them.
C1.6 HOW TO KNOW TRUTH - FOUR PRINCIPLES
To know God’s Truth a man or woman needs: -
1 A chosen direction to go God’s way and do what He wants. Jesus said, “Anyone whose choice is to do God’s will, shall know of my teaching whether it comes from God” (John 7:17).
2 A life tuned in to God, to hear what He has to say and to talk over with Him our questions and ideas. The Holy Spirit will lead us to all Truth, but not drop it into our heads.
3 The Bible - keep reading it through and through. It will give the Holy Spirit the raw material, from which to teach.
4 Time. Truth needs to sink in slowly and then mature like vintage wine. Experience of life will confirm it as we go, or cause us to re-examine our ideas.
C1.7 NO ONE HAS AUTHORITY OVER TRUTH.
It is of course, right to listen to others. We are to each other “As iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17) - discussion sharpens and strengthens us. But it is wrong to let anyone take from us our independence of thought.
In the middle ages, the Church claimed the right to tell people what to believe. Today there are theologians who claim so much expertise that they expect not to be questioned. I suspect that the authoritarians of tomorrow will be commercial companies who choose what to publish (mainly on the basis of what is profitable) and so manipulate people’s minds.
Not even God forces beliefs on anyone. Ask Him and He explains, enlightens, clarifies, guides, teaches, but never imposes. So if even God will not do it, no human has the right to dictate what we believe.
C1.9 BUT TRUTH ITSELF HAS AUTHORITY.
On the other hand, we cannot invent Truth to suit ourselves. Fact does not change in obedience to our will. Truth has to be true to be true.
The “New Age” approach that we can each find a different truth and it be true for us is nonsense when applied to questions of fact. Truth is not a matter of taste.
C1 10 UNITY DOES NOT DEPEND ON AGREEMENT.
Finally, our relationship with each other does not depend on agreement. We do not choose our brothers and sisters, they come by birth, and so do our brothers and sisters in Christ. He has miraculously joined us to each other by His Spirit. He tells us to love one another, not to agree with one another.