Monday

Practicing Hebrews 5:14


I’ve become aware that a number of the doctrinal details that I’ve always assumed were true have, in fact, been unsupported in Scripture. God being a grumpy old man, quick on the “Smite Button” is one of them.

Discovering such error makes me question an awful lot of my doctrine. What else have I believed that is not true? 

Not the basics, of course: Jesus is the Son of God, who died for me; that stuff is settled. But so much of the rest, the “not critical” doctrines, I have to test them all; I can no longer trust the “Everybody knows that!” declarations about doctrine. I'm figuring out that  “Everybody” has been wrong before! Imagine that!

And it’s inevitable: in the process of testing what really IS true, I cannot help but stumble across what really is NOT true. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to tell: that just smells bad (think Westboro Baptist Church). Some doctrine is best suited for fertilizing the petunias.

But sometimes we’ve gotta look pretty closely. This is where we really have to rely on Hebrews 5:14: “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” The clear implication is that without constantly using “solid food,” we’ll never be trained to distinguish good (καλός, “sound, whole, nourishing, magnificent”) from evil (κακός, the root of “kaka,” the stuff we fertilize petunias with). In other words, unless we jump in and test stuff, we’re unable to tell good, nourishing spiritual food apart from plant fertilizer. It's NOT alright with me if I can't tell prime rib from sewage. 

Therefore, you’ll find me testing things, and some of it will be on this page. I do this publicly for two reasons: a) those who wish to train themselves are invited into the process with me, and b) to reveal my reasons to those who want a foundation for the hope that I’m walking into (a la 1 Peter 3:15).

Some will say (and have forcefully said!) that those of us who ask questions must do it in a place or in a way where new believers can’t see, lest they be confused or misdirected. To which I answer, a) how else will they learn, b) who am I to decide that they do not have the right to learn?

If I may be so bold: the one person on this planet who is responsible for your spiritual growth is YOU. It’s NOT your pastor, your parents, your favorite conference speaker, or me! We can (and must!) help equip you, encourage you, provide you resources. But it is you who will be accountable before the Lord for your growth.

So MANY believers are already getting this and taking up that responsibility. If that’s you, GOOD FOR YOU!

If you’re not taking personal responsibility for your spiritual growth yet, please hurry up: you’re living in a fantasy, and the real world is calling you; Heaven is calling! We’re calling! We need you!




No comments:

Post a Comment

Please feel free to add your own raves, rants, or discoveries: biblical, theoretical or personal.
Off-topic or disrespectful comments will be removed.
And most anonymous comments probably won't make it either.