Fully Convinced

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind."

Romans 14:5

As I continue to learn and understand more concerning God and His word, my grasp of theology has improved.  I have a much better idea why I believe what I do, having been convinced by the word of God, sound teaching, study and seeking the LORD in fellowship with Christians.  At a Bible study recently I heard quite a different perspective from mine, and it has been profitable to prompt people to seek the LORD and read His word to see where they stand.  God holds each of us responsible to know why we believe what we believe, and He patiently allows us time to grow and mature.  We should resist the temptation to tell people what to believe but explain what the Bible says.  This will help their faith to be founded in Scripture rather than in a study leader.

There are many essential doctrines Christians ought not budge on, especially concerning the deity of Christ and the message of the Gospel.  There is room, however, for people to have their own convictions and interpretations of Scripture that may differ from others.  Some churches in the same denomination may have a culture and approach that is quite distinct from one another, and this reflects the diversity within each one church fellowship in regards to individuals.  In God's wisdom He has seen fit to unite people by faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit in His body the church, people who have different gifts, perspectives and convictions.  It follows that at any given time, we are at different places on our journey in spiritual maturity and understanding--and we ought to be patient with others as God (and others!) has been patient with us.

It shows maturity when Christians can express different convictions without being divisive.  Knowing we hold a different view does not mean we ought to hammer away on others to change their minds by force.  Rather, we ought to look to the LORD and rejoice in all we share in common in Christ.  When I was a kid, I was a San Diego Chargers fan and my brother liked the Chicago Bears.  There was no confusion at all concerning where we stood, and we did not quarrel over which team was better; we did not taunt each another if the team the others supported came last.  We were still brothers who loved each other, and that was more important than our differences.  While sound theology is far more important than the team one supports, in the body of Christ we can stoop to the level of immature children by mocking one another for having a different view.  The person with a better understanding of Scripture can show less maturity and love by sowing discord concerning a Christian who was like Apollos who lacked understanding until the way was explained more perfectly.

Paul urged in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."  In our preaching, teaching and conversing with others, our aim should not to be to take shots at others with different views but to hold forth the word of God rightly divided, being patient with others who still need convincing concerning sound doctrines that took us years to grasp.  We might never be on the same page with others concerning their eschatological position or a great many other subjects, but we can walk in love and give grace as we stand on the word of God, knowing what we believe and why.  Paul wasn't pedantic about personal convictions God has given us freedom in believing, and we ought to extend this grace to others as well.  We should be fully convinced to love one another no matter what.

The Moving Miracles

Recently I was reminded of God's grace towards me many years ago when men from church and I helped someone move house.  There was a lot to move into the big truck before we headed to the new residence.  As we were loading boxes and furniture, the owner pulled us aside and asked us to be very careful with a particular piece of bedroom furniture:  a chest of drawers with a large mirror.  Apparently it had been passed down through generations and he urged us to take every precaution.  "I won't be upset if anything breaks--except for this," he said.  We assured him we would be as careful as possible.

Night had long since fallen when we arrived at the new place and quickly began to haul the belongings into the garage.  Due to the late hour (with midnight rapidly approaching) we did not have time to stage every piece of furniture in each room but piled everything into the garage.  The large truck had a hydraulic Tommy Lift that made the removal of items easier--but also more dangerous in the dim conditions for volunteer movers.  One of the workers who rode the Tommy Lift up somehow found his foot pinched when the deck reached the highest point.  After a loud yell and jumping around a few times, amazingly he did not suffer an injury or even damage his shoe.  That was a relief.

It was not long before God's grace was shown to our crew and the homeowner when the unthinkable happened.  I remember so clearly looking up to see the prized mirror, well out of reach and in slow motion, move away from the wall and accelerate quickly to the steel floor of the truck.  Nothing could be done.  It fell with a loud bang and we all looked at each other in disbelief, for we all heard how important it was to be careful with the mirror and dresser.  I have no idea how it fell because no one was in the truck at the time, but it fell.  We winced as we slowly raised the mirror from the deck, expecting the worst:  we were shocked when the mirror and wooden frame was found to be intact without a scratch!  We were overwhelmed with gratitude God miraculously preserved our bodies and precious cargo, even though our efforts were sloppy.

After all these years, I continue to marvel over the grace of God demonstrated to us during that move.  God's goodness to me didn't stop there, for I arrived home after 1 AM and needed to rise in a matter of hours to go to work a full day in construction.  As the LORD enabled Elijah to outrun the chariot of Ahab, God gave me strength for the day despite lack of sleep.  How good it is to reflect upon God's grace, miraculous power and goodness towards His people in the Bible as well as in our lives.  He has provided each of His people a testimony of His salvation, and may we never take His grace for granted.  As the LORD revealed to Paul, His grace is sufficient for us and His strength made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  Even when we imagined ourselves sufficient for the task, God made it plain the job was only done by His grace.  We didn't even need a broken foot or shattered mirror to learn this invaluable lesson.

Unclean and Clean

In the Law of Moses, God made a clear distinction between the clean and unclean.  He told the Hebrews which animals were clean to eat and ones they were to avoid eating--as they were unclean to them.  God also described many physical conditions or situations where a person was deemed unclean, and then outlined what was required for them to be ceremonially clean.  This perspective often governed the outlook of God's people, even those like King Saul who did not always honour or obey God.  When David's seat was empty during a feast, Saul said to himself, "Something has happened to him; surely he is unclean." (1 Sam. 20:26)

While some uncleanness was dealt with by washing in water and remaining unclean until evening, there were other conditions that left a person perpetually unclean--like leprosy.  Leviticus 13:45-46 says, "Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' ⁴⁶ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp."  Touching a person, dead body or any item that was unclean would render the one who touched it unclean.  Job correctly mused in Job 14:4:  "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!"  God spoke to the priests and Levites in Isaiah 52:11:  "Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the LORD."

Perhaps it is verses like these that led people to think "cleanliness was next to godliness."  What this cliche has very wrong is only God can cleanse what is unclean, and He is faithful to do this by His grace.  Our righteousness is not obtained by the foods we eat or avoid, nor are we cleaned by washing our bodies or hands in water.  Nightfall does not cleanse or make us pure in God's sight.  What is truly wonderful is Jesus--who alone is righteous, pure and holy--came to seek and save the lost, to cleanse the unclean, to raise the spiritually dead and give them eternal live, and adopt aliens of God's kingdom as children of God.  Jesus went to unclean, ostricised lepers whom people avoided like the plague, and He touched them without becoming unclean--having miraculously cleansed them.  He reached out and touched bodies of dead people who came to life, for Jesus remains pure and is able to cleanse those who were unclean by sin.

Matthew 8:1-4 reads, "When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. ² And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." ³ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  Leviticus 14 is a long chapter that outlines the elaborate ceremony required after a leper was cleansed of leprosy.  Jesus is able and willing to cleanse anyone who comes to Him of any uncleanness, and He has done so by His blood shed for us on the cross.  May our lives be a testimony of Christ by denying ungodly lusts and living soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, redeemed from all iniquity (Titus 2:11-14).  It is our reasonable service we present ourselves as living sacrifices to Christ who has cleansed us from all sin and uncleanness.

God Has Chosen Us

Years ago we enjoyed an annual Easter family tradition of an egg hunt at my grandparent's home.  This epic hunt required a lot of preparation and expense to buy and fill the plastic eggs--not to mention hiding them so well.  The "silver" and prized "golden" egg were always expertly hidden on an acre of property, and there could be a lull of more than 15 minutes when no eggs were found as the search area was whittled down to find that elusive golden egg.  As an adult it was fun observing the children (including my own) look around for hidden treasures, and I discovered some children (not my own) quickly grew impatient and complained when they weren't easily finding eggs.  They snatched eggs that lay in full view on the grass and quickly moved on for more.  When finding eggs meant moving grass or pushing past a prickly pine tree or crawling near a cactus, they begged to be told where the best eggs were.  In our family hunts, this sort of seeker never found the prized eggs.

The discouragement in children who are not easily finding eggs can at times bear a resemblance to what Christians can experience.  I have met many believers who are disappointed when they have sought a particular spiritual gift but have yet to operate in it.  Some feel left out because they are not aware of God's calling upon their lives, and want someone to tell them what to do or say--a formula to follow--to obtain what they are looking for.  Discouragement will come when we prioritise the search for a gift rather seeking the Giver, and we choose disappointment in pursuing a call rather than Christ who calls us.  Spiritual gifts and callings are not like eggs that contain a special prize we hold in our hands, but they are the divine fruit of our relationship with God who holds us.  As we are not our own, having been bought with a price, our spiritual fruitfulness, gifts and call are not primarily for our feelings of fulfillment but God's glory.

In his book The Call, Os Guinness made an excellent observation how being called by God "subverts the deadly modern idolatry of choice":

"Choice in modern life is central, powerful, unquestioned, and enshrined in how we think and all we do--so much so that it cannot be undermined merely by an appeal to another choice.  Choice for modern people is a right that overwhelms both responsibility and rationality...Arguments against choice need to recognize the special, godlike power of choice.  But ultimately only one thing can conquer choice--being chosen.  Thus, for followers of Christ, calling neutralizes the fundamental poison of choice in modern life.  "I have chosen you," Jesus said, "you have not chosen me."  We are not our own; we have been bought with a price.  We have no rights, only responsibilities.  Following Christ is not our initiative, merely our response, in obedience.  Nothing works better to debunk the pretensions of choices than a conviction of calling.  Once we have been called, we literally "have no choice." (Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. Thomas Nelson, 2003. Page 167)

It is good to realise choice can be idolised, and really this modern luxury is an extension of the ancient tendency to idolise ourselves.  We can be moved to seek a particular gift or calling because of how it could benefit us.  By God's grace disappointment and disillusionment by our preferences not being met can be the means God employs to draw us to Himself, to begin to know and understand God--and have our eyes opened to better recognise how much we need Him.  To be chosen and called by God is wonderful, and to know Him is greater than unlocking a new ability that will someday pass away.  While the focus in our family Easter egg hunt was finding eggs, the real treasure was those loving, generous women who made the effort to prepare, spend and oversee the event.  As we continue on our pilgrimage of faith in Jesus, may God open our eyes to see when we have been searching for and prioritising gifts over the Giver, a calling over the Caller, or our choices rather than God who chose us.