I believe you will not hurt me unnecessarily, and you will not own
me.
Such is the character of friendship among those who trust Christ. For the person who is trusted, the
self-control and self-denial implications are clear. This faith of friendship
also says:
I believe you will not mislead me.
Well, of course not. We’re Christians. We’re about Truth. We would
not mislead. Yet, many a conscience has been derailed by promoting some convictions (worthwhile or otherwise) as biblically revealed mandates.
Revealed mandates are express statements from Scripture which can
be clearly understood with basic principles of language and context. They have to be manhandled in order to mean what they do not say.
There are, however, revealed statements which are understood
differently because of presuppositions which affect interpretation. These
differences are important enough for groups to form around them. The
interpretation starting point of some of us leads us to understand that baptism is for
believers and by immersion. Others agree with us on the Truth of the person and
work of Jesus Christ but part of their interpretation starting point lets them
practice baptism differently. Conscience cannot ignore the matter. Jesus’
commission to baptize is inescapable. So, as we gather with people with whom we
agree, we must remember the biblical mandate concerning our attitudes toward all brothers in the faith.
Then there are personal applications inferred from revealed
mandates. We clearly are told to develop renewed
minds. Some may infer from that the
need to eliminate television, but they mislead if they press for a church
policy or make removal of the television a prerequisite for friendship. On the other hand it is also misleading to infer that having a television is what freedom in grace is about.
It is possible to cause a person's conscience to stumble by well-meaning misrepresentations of Scripture as well as by maliciously contradicting Scripture.
It is possible to cause a person's conscience to stumble by well-meaning misrepresentations of Scripture as well as by maliciously contradicting Scripture.
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