Ever said something that you wish you could take back? Or having left a conversation, hours, days, or months later you wish you had only said… I could probably fill a book with both categories. But, one continues to eat at me. The reason? It is at the core of what I do every day. It is a burr under my saddle. I know that God is sovereign over that time and that event. I know that I have learned from what happened. But, the reality of the failure still bothers me at times.
In the situation I was asked to tangentially address a persistent heresy in a ministry I will not name. A heretical view of God’s Word had permeated part of the organization. The research I did on this particular heresy and the counsel I got from historical theologians was that this was such a bizarre view that if it had occurred in history it burned out really fast. But here it was.
In the midst of my presentation I mentioned that the Word was foundational to any ministry. I was immediately challenged by one of those invested in the heresy with the statement that there was no other foundation other than Christ. He was quoting, accurately, 1 Corinthians 3:10. In the moment I did not process what he said well. I agreed with him, inadvertently, unintentionally, reinforcing the heresy.
How?
Those who embraced the heresy focused on Jesus primarily, which in and of itself is not a bad thing. The way it was applied was bad. They were picking and choosing which portions of the Word they felt were relevant. There are a lot of people doing that today, this was not unique to this group, but with their history it was an aberration. By agreeing I reinforced their choosing to focus only on the portions of Scripture they felt important.
What I should have asked, note the verb there, it is hugely important… Was something like, “Where did you come up with that idea?” The answer is, as I have already mentioned, 1 Corinthians 3:10. That is one of the books that is discounted by this heresy. The inconsistency is huge.
The reality they were denying, is that our understanding of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit is derived from the Bible, all of the Bible. It is His Word, it reveals His nature, it reveals His character. Not part of it. All of it. Not just the part we like, but also the parts with which we struggle. If we are to know Christ. If He is to be the foundation of our lives and ministry, we have no other option than to make His Word the foundation of our knowledge of Him.
What other choice is there? How else am I to know Him? By talking with others about what they know? How do they know what they say they know? Without the Bible as the foundation of that conversation, that investigation, I am reduced to base speculation based on my own understanding.
Not a solid foundation.
That is what I should have said. Or something very like this.
In the midst of my presentation I mentioned that the Word was foundational to any ministry. I was immediately challenged by one of those invested in the heresy with the statement that there was no other foundation other than Christ. He was quoting, accurately, 1 Corinthians 3:10. In the moment I did not process what he said well. I agreed with him, inadvertently, unintentionally, reinforcing the heresy.
How?
Those who embraced the heresy focused on Jesus primarily, which in and of itself is not a bad thing. The way it was applied was bad. They were picking and choosing which portions of the Word they felt were relevant. There are a lot of people doing that today, this was not unique to this group, but with their history it was an aberration. By agreeing I reinforced their choosing to focus only on the portions of Scripture they felt important.
What I should have asked, note the verb there, it is hugely important… Was something like, “Where did you come up with that idea?” The answer is, as I have already mentioned, 1 Corinthians 3:10. That is one of the books that is discounted by this heresy. The inconsistency is huge.
The reality they were denying, is that our understanding of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit is derived from the Bible, all of the Bible. It is His Word, it reveals His nature, it reveals His character. Not part of it. All of it. Not just the part we like, but also the parts with which we struggle. If we are to know Christ. If He is to be the foundation of our lives and ministry, we have no other option than to make His Word the foundation of our knowledge of Him.
What other choice is there? How else am I to know Him? By talking with others about what they know? How do they know what they say they know? Without the Bible as the foundation of that conversation, that investigation, I am reduced to base speculation based on my own understanding.
Not a solid foundation.
That is what I should have said. Or something very like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment