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It sometimes happens to the best of us. Your pastor spends this Sunday morning on a 3-point sermon on his opinion on a particular matter of faith. But, wait a minute. Last night you were reading your favorite Christian author, or maybe the Bible itself, and they led you to precisely the opposite view on the save subject. Now you are confused. How do you tell which to believe? If it's your pastor versus the Bible – may it never be – how sure are you you simply didn't misread the text?
Fortunately, we are several centuries past the days where you had to take your leader's word on face value. There was a time when the Bible was only available in Latin, so most laymen had no choice but to assume the local priest had it right. But times have changed, and we have access to the Bible and a vast wealth of information about it. Perhaps we have too much information, but I digress. This means we have tools available to us to discern truth from error, if we are willing to do the hard work ourselves.
The first tool is, of course, the Bible itself. You can start by looking of the verses that were cited or are relevant to the subject. You can pick up a concordance or, in the days of Bible software, do a word search on the Bible to find other pertinent passages. A word of caution on word searches, different words may be used in different contexts that mean the same thing. So, if you are looking up “predestination,” search for “predestine,” “predestined,” “election,” “elect,” and others as well.
When you find the passages you think are relevant, I think commentator Greg Koukl's advise should be taken to heart: “never read a Bible verse.” If you read that statement in context, what he means is to not just read a verse, but read the passage the verse comes from, as well as the passages surrounding it. With the exception of Proverbs or a few other sections, the Bible doesn't offer a tidbit without it being a part of a larger lesson. Especially if it's from an epistle of Paul, arguments can run many chapters long, with one section leading to or being expanded on by another. A simple example would be “Don't handle, don't taste, don't touch.” (Col. 2:21) These can sound like noble, if not harsh prescriptions, but when you read the verse in context, you find that Paul is actually arguing against these sentiments, that they have no value in Christian religion.
Another tool in your inventory is prayer. This seems counterintuitive, since many of us see prayer as us talking to God, not the other way around, per se. However, prayer forces us to sort and structure our thoughts in our minds, before we pray about them, and that process itself can cause us to “see” something we missed before that solves the problem. Also and more simply, the Holy Spirit may just reveal an insight we didn't think of before.
Then there are the thoughts of other, trusted Christians. This can include good friends and authors. Pick up a good commentary. Google your favorite authors and see if any of them have essays or even books on the subject. When you are hanging out with your friends, bring up the topic. It can be a good ice breaker so long as they aren't anti-intellectual. Some may be uneasy about this, but I believe that God still inspires believers, though not in the same sense the Bible is inspired. Furthermore, we are supposed to support and edify each other. No man is an island, as the old saying goes.
With these and other tips, the discerning Christian can cut through the cloud of religious confusion. This may not only be a right to the believer, there are times when it's a responsibility. If you are confused, it's entirely possible others are. You may have to be a catalyst for change. This is all not to say we are to be disrespectful to pastors or other leaders above us. Certainly don't exasperate them, yet a good leader is one who is open to constructive critique, and if you are gracious enough, it may very well be a good dialog.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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