Strange convictions come forth from strange circumstances.
I realise that such a statement can be interpreted as vague but mull it over. Think about the last time your convictions changed on a subject and ask yourself what changes were taking place around you.
Given that we are all affected by the people and events that come and go from our lives, we should not be surprised when our convictions are challenged. It is natural for our conscience to be engaged in assessing the impact of the myriad of actions, thoughts and feelings that assail it.
The prepared Christian sees the spiritual landscape. They will enjoy that which uplifts but will eschew that which damages. All the while their spirit is seeking to be in agreement with the Spirit of God within.
To list here the non-Biblical views that fill the minds of some in the Lord’s church would be both cumbersome and distracting. Suffice it to say that our capacity for tolerance is greater than what some of our critics claim it to be.
The church in Corinth was proud of its disagreements and divisions. The apostle Paul called them to order:
“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
These brethren were just rebranding themselves as “The Church of the Tolerant.” Of course, it was just another way of saying, “You do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Such mutual tolerance of dysfunction ends with everybody thinking that they can secretly get away with sin.
The only way for us to “all agree” is for our consciences to agree with the Holy Spirit.
So, when our convictions are being challenged during strange circumstances, we must think with our new mind—“The mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
John Staiger
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