December 30, 2010
PC Teaching
The subject of tongues can cause as much debate today as it did when Paul was talking to the church at Corinth. As one member of our Sunday School class put it, “We all come together having grown up with different denominational veils that cover our understanding.” Believers are often guilty of trying to be PC and getting around conflict in fellowship by avoiding those Scriptures we think leads to conflict, such as the Spirit and gifts of the Spirit. We can grieve the Spirit with unwholesome talk, but I’m wondering if He’s not also grieved by our neglect in teaching about Him for fear of confrontation and division. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph 4:30 NIV)
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4 comments:
Gail;
-----“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (II Thes 2:15) “See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8) “But as for you, teach what befits sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:8) “Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (I Cor 3:12-15) “One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Rom 14:5) “...it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God; happy is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves.” (Rom 14:21b-22) So, what is one to do? Stand firm and hold to the traditions he was taught and confront the other who does not judge himself for what he approves? Is one to teach the sound doctrine of which he has become convinced in his own mind to the other who is just as convinced of the opposing doctrine in his own mind? So then do we all keep our faith to ourselves and the Lord and let fellowship crumble?
-----Life is not simple. All the information encoded in the entire universe has not been so much as scratched by the minds of each and every person who has lived. Nor will it be by the rest who are yet to live. The information contained by one strand of DNA would more than fill a library. Yet the mind of God contains it all. And even though all the minds of every person who has lived or will live until the end of this time have recorded every detail of human history, no one mind has either scratched the surface of it all, nor even remembered the larger portion of the details of its own experiences. Each one of us is pitifully constrained by the limitations of his own tiny mind. And by that limitation it is impossible for any one to be entirely correct about the fit of any one issue into the complexities of life.
-----God gave us simple and clear information about His basic plans for this physical existence, man, and salvation. It is not that this information is in anyway flawed that we all read the same book and come away from it with differing doctrines and viewpoints. It is that we all are flawed by egos and incredibly tiny minds. If I desire His grace for my flaws, I must extend that grace to the flaws of others. There is certainly a time and place for confrontation, but there is also a time for silence. I don’t know for certain, but currently I think the difference has to do with the importance of faith. If confrontation to build up another’s knowledge will destroy faith, as many noted the skyrocketing of atheism in England was sparked by her sixteenth and seventeenth century religious struggles, then it is best to take an approach of lower key, maybe like not judging one another, and like, “{the strong bearing} with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him.” (Rom 15:2)
Love you all,
Steve Corey
One of the things I see in others, and probably ignore in myself, is the willingness to pick out certain verses and ignore others. Paul seems to be saying that he speaks in tongues and yet puts it at the bottom of the list. People either emphasize one or the other and ignore the modifiers. We see the same when it comes to free will vs predestination, the poor, baptism, the second coming...The list goes on.
Grace and peace.
Pumice;
-----Gail is going to roll her eyes at this. I think it is the third time I’ve related it on her blog. But it is quicker to relate it again than trying to direct you through the archives.
-----I keep an object on my desk that I use when I get into a discussion about the Word and its use. This thing is somewhat egg-shaped with a hole through its center and is made of brushed wood soaked in linseed oil and hand rubbed to a finish. I stand it on end before someone and ask if they know what it is. Nobody has guessed right; so I offer that it is a candle holder. As soon as they look comfortable with that idea, I give it a slight flick with a finger, and it falls over. Not a good candle holder! It is a float for a seine - a fish net. By itself it will catch no fish, either. It needs a float line and dozens of other floats, too. But still, that will catch no fish. There must be attached thousands of strings, each knotted to another at precise intervals to form a net. Yet, it still catches no fish. To this net there must be attached a sinker line with dozens of lead weights. But lo! Still no fish. Tow lines must be attached to both ends of the seine. Now it is ready to catch fish!
-----God assembled His Word as a complete message. Any piece of that message is useful to a particular topic. But it is most effective when the whole of the seine supplies the meaning of the piece. It is least effective, and sometimes dangerous (as a candle holder) when we try to supply a meaning ourselves. So the more skilled we wish to be with the Word of God, the better we must know the whole of it and understand the whole meaning God is trying to relay.
-----Paul says we all see dimly as through a mirror. That is because only God knows the precise meaning of His whole Word. We only assemble that meaning into our understanding as we learn and obey it. But His intended meaning is far more than what the mind of man can perceive. Yet, it is not far more than what can make skilled fishers of careful people.
-----I have seined lakes for my dad hundreds of times. Handling that seine is an art. Too much pull on the float line will raise the weight line, and the fish escape under the net. Too much pull on the weight line will sink the float line, and they escape over it. If you draw it in too slowly, they escape around the ends. If the team draws it in too quickly and beats the seine to the landing point, it folds up. I have done it skillfully and filled that net to its brim. But I have also done it shoddily and have caught only a handful of fish. But I have always caught at least one. It is better by far to be skilled in the use of God’s Word, but His Word will never come back empty.
Steve Corey
Steve,
You and Paul are likeminded and your illustration is worth repeating.
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Phil 3:1 NIV)
Gail
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