Priorities & Doubtful Disputations

 

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:23-26)

“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” (Romans 14:1)

In 1453 the troops of Mahomet II surrounded Constantinople, and while it was being determined whether the Balkans would be under Christian or Muslim dominion for centuries to come a local church council in the besieged city was busy discussing important issues, such as: What colour are the holy virgin's eyes? What gender are angels? If a fly happens to fall in Holy Water is the fly sanctified or is the water polluted? It is possible that this is merely a legend, but my experience with religious people makes me tend to believe it is probably true. In Christian circles issues and questions just as unessential are often made into major issues while important matters are neglected or ignored, and all too many either adopt an anything goes philosophy or are against so much that they are not really for anything.

I was raised in a pseudo-Christian cult (Jehovah’s Witnesses), was a dedicated and baptized member of that group for five and a half years, disassociated myself when I could no longer accept it as “the truth,” and was saved a couple years later. By definition a cult is legalistic, but legalism is not limited to cults, and many evangelicals are just as legalistic as the cults. Legalism involves more than salvation by works; a believer who insists that believers must conform to his or his group’s arbitrary rules or extrabiblical taboos to live a life pleasing to God is a legalist.

Instead of viewing sanctification as a means to an end, that is, preparation for service, holiness standards often become an end in themselves. Both the anti-everything mindset and the anything-goes philosophy are wrong. (Ecclesiastes 7:16; Isaiah 5:20-21) It is not wrong for a Christian to hold to various personal convictions or traditions, but it is important to be careful not to let personal opinions and preferences negatively affect Christian fellowship, and it is important to remember that there is a difference between purity and maturity. (Romans 14:1-19; Ephesians 4:1-3. Modern liberals often use Romans 14 to condemn church discipline, but church discipline is clearly taught in Scripture. Romans 14 deals with conscientious differences of opinion.)

Consider your response to a few examples:

·        A large satanic church offers animal sacrifices to Satan on a regular basis, after which the meat is sold to Joe’s Butcher Shop where Joe sells it for $2.00 per pound. George buys meat from Bob’s Meat Market at $2.50 per pound because Bob only buys meat from Christian farmers and George would feel that he was supporting idolatry if he bought from Joe’s Butcher Shop. John buys from Joe’s Butcher Shop because he is careful about the family budget and buying from Joe’s Butcher Shop is not participating in idolatry. Which brother is doing right, and which brother is sinning? (Both are correctly applying Bible principles.)

·        Is it a sin to go fishing on Sunday if this does not interfere with church attendance and other duties and responsibilities?

·        Is it always a sin to divorce, and is it always a sin for a divorced person to remarry? Food for thought: http://abercrombie.cc/ds/q0806/q0806.html  

·        Is it a sin to dine at a restaurant that just happens to serve alcoholic beverages?

·        Is it wrong to celebrate religious holidays? (Romans 14:5-6)

·        Is it immoral or dangerous for first cousins to marry? (Incidentally, the USA is the only country with restrictions against first cousin marriage, and those States that restricted it did so based on claims and data that were later disproved.)

·        How long should teenagers be required to attend school, and how old should they be before they are allowed to date and marry? Food for thought: https://www.gotquestions.org/marriage-age.html  https://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell050198.html

·        Are you unable to enjoy fellowship with a dedicated, Bible-believing Christian if his interpretation of a difficult passage of Bible prophecy (e.g., Revelation 20) differs from your interpretation? Food for thought: https://newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin773.htm

These are just a few examples of conscientious differences of opinion. Remember, this is not about standards you set for yourself or standards the head of a household may set for his family; this is about respecting conscientious differences of opinion.

Along with regular Bible reading and study, making a habit of applying these questions to specific beliefs, teachings, and issues will help you discern between truth and falsehood, and help you distinguish between moral or doctrinal absolutes and conscientious differences of opinion: Have you prayerfully studied to learn what the Bible teaches about this, and what would be your response if an unbeliever asked why you believe this or why this is true or false or right or wrong? (Proverbs 2:6; 3:5-7; II Timothy 2:14-15; 3:16-17) How important is this in relation to other matters and what Bible truths and principles or standards apply? (Matthew 23:24; Romans 14; I Timothy 1:5-7) Was this true in the distant past and will this still be true in the distant future? (Psalm 33:11; 119:89; Proverbs 19:21; Ecclesiastes 1:9-10; James 1:17) Is it necessary to use the arguments of the world? (Psalm 33:10; Romans 12:2; I Corinthians 1:20; 2:5; Colossians 1:9; 2:8)

The separation taught in the Bible is separation unto God and godly distinctions, conduct, and relationships within society (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:3-11; I Timothy 3:7; I Peter 2:11-12), and worldliness is the spirit of the age or the mindset of wicked human society. (Romans 12:2; Colossians 2:8) For example, is it sin for a woman to dye her hair purple? If she does this in defiance of headship (father or husband) it would be rebellion and thus be worldly, or if this identifies her as available for sexual immorality in the culture in which she lives it could be considered worldly. Otherwise, it would simply be a matter of preference.

Are all secular amusements evil? (I Corinthians 7:31) Being secular does not necessarily mean that something is evil. (Psalm 24:1; 33:5; Acts 17:24) For example, note the Apostle Paul's use of quotations from Greek plays in 1 Corinthians 15:33 & Titus 1:12.

It is important to study to learn what Scripture clearly says and pay attention to context, grammar, and the meanings of words. (II Timothy 2:14-15) Consider: If you ignore the context of Genesis 6:14-17 it could appear that a Christian has a duty to build an ark in preparation for the coming worldwide deluge. In the Middle East in Bible times it was customary for men to greet by kissing each other on the cheek and this was equivalent to a handshake in our culture; ignoring this detail could make I Thessalonians 5:26 & I Peter 5:14 appear to mean that on Sunday mornings you are supposed to kiss everyone at your church.

Let us suppose that I repaired, restored, or rebuilt an automobile, and got all the details correct and got everything in good working order except for leaving the fuel line uninstalled or disconnected. How far would I be able to travel with it? Not far. What might happen if I put everything together right except for leaving the brake lines disconnected? I might be able to travel faster but disaster would be inevitable. However, if the only thing neglected was a decal or a passenger side windshield wiper blade screw it could serve me well. We need to be careful to focus on the right priorities and major concerns and avoid chasing rabbits.