Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Am I being judgemental...
It was another one of those conversations that leave me feeling a little uneasy. She is a dear friend of ours, and one of the nicest people I have ever known. If fact, she is one of the best people I have ever known and she deeply loves Jesus. She is searching for a church home and has visited Southern Hills with us often.
And we do not agree about how to come to Jesus. She is hurt because we do not endorse her conversion experience. We are hurt because we worry about being judgemental. And I hear so much these days about not building walls, and about unity in the body of Christ, and about how narrow we are to insist on baptism as the way to be crucified with Christ. I don't like conflict, I want everyone to like me, and I want all of God's people to be one.
I think the gospel is the one thing that matters. And I believe baptism is how you respond to the gospel. I have studied it, prayed over it, talked about it, and studied it again. I just can't get around it. It is there, and it is clear. I just can't feel good giving people assurance about things that are God's business without going to the source. And that source is the very word of God.
But everybody doesn't see it my way. And I do not have to answer to everybody else. I have to be faithful to God. And I have to speak His Word, not mine. And my friend does not have to answer to me. If she is confident in her response to God, it is between her and her God. I am not obligated to endorse her position; nor will I compromise truth to maintain our relationship. There are lots of things in God's Word that I do not clearly understand. However, the gospel and our response to it is clear. So I will teach and preach what I see as truth.
May God help me if I am wrong... but I will be faithful to His Word. As for my friend, she is smart and has a heart for God. We will continue to look at His Word together and I believe she will make her decision and live with it. Just like I have to do.
So am I arrogant and judgemental? I am sure there are people who think so, especially if they disagree with me. But they are not the final answer, nor do they determine what I believe. So I will continue to speak the truth with conviction and faith, and will continue living out the gospel every day in my life.
There may lots of room to disagree on many other issues, but the gospel is too impotant to compromise. Jesus died for my sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day. I was baptized in response to that gospel, and I remember that gospel every week when I commune with my brothers and sisters. It is wonderful, it is simple, and it is important.
And we do not agree about how to come to Jesus. She is hurt because we do not endorse her conversion experience. We are hurt because we worry about being judgemental. And I hear so much these days about not building walls, and about unity in the body of Christ, and about how narrow we are to insist on baptism as the way to be crucified with Christ. I don't like conflict, I want everyone to like me, and I want all of God's people to be one.
I think the gospel is the one thing that matters. And I believe baptism is how you respond to the gospel. I have studied it, prayed over it, talked about it, and studied it again. I just can't get around it. It is there, and it is clear. I just can't feel good giving people assurance about things that are God's business without going to the source. And that source is the very word of God.
But everybody doesn't see it my way. And I do not have to answer to everybody else. I have to be faithful to God. And I have to speak His Word, not mine. And my friend does not have to answer to me. If she is confident in her response to God, it is between her and her God. I am not obligated to endorse her position; nor will I compromise truth to maintain our relationship. There are lots of things in God's Word that I do not clearly understand. However, the gospel and our response to it is clear. So I will teach and preach what I see as truth.
May God help me if I am wrong... but I will be faithful to His Word. As for my friend, she is smart and has a heart for God. We will continue to look at His Word together and I believe she will make her decision and live with it. Just like I have to do.
So am I arrogant and judgemental? I am sure there are people who think so, especially if they disagree with me. But they are not the final answer, nor do they determine what I believe. So I will continue to speak the truth with conviction and faith, and will continue living out the gospel every day in my life.
There may lots of room to disagree on many other issues, but the gospel is too impotant to compromise. Jesus died for my sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day. I was baptized in response to that gospel, and I remember that gospel every week when I commune with my brothers and sisters. It is wonderful, it is simple, and it is important.
