Bulletin Articles
WHO DECIDES MY BELIEFS?
WHO DECIDES MY BELIEFS?
When I preached in Kentucky, I was able to be involved in a radio program with some other preaching colleagues. I am sure that many who listened thought that we were espousing “church of Christ doctrine” on the radio. Those who felt this way probably wondered, “What makes the church of Christ right, and everybody else wrong?” Or, “Who made the church of Christ the final authority in religious matters?” Those are legitimate and fair questions! In fact, I wish more people would ask such questions -- and that they would listen carefully to the answer! Would you like to know my answer? Then read on!
First, let me say that I am aware of no one who says, “The church of Christ is always right.” Why, even the churches of Christ that we read of in the Bible were wrong sometimes! Paul said, in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Then, in the very next verse, he indicated that some among those churches of Christ would “cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned” (v.17). If the churches of Christ in the Bible were wrong sometimes, it would be foolish, indeed, to claim that modern churches of Christ are never wrong! A group of fallible men do not “add up” to an infallible church! Our standard must never be: “What does the church of Christ teach about it?” Instead, we should ask, “What does JESUS CHRIST teach?”
Now, consider our second question: “Who made the church of Christ the final authority over religious matters?” The answer is: No one! You should never accept what I, or any other church member teaches simply because we said it! Well, if that is true, then who decides what you are to believe? The answer is, quite simply, YOU DO! No one in this world can decide for you what you must believe. That is the fundamental error of denominational creeds. THEY decide what men must believe in order to be accepted into their group. This is sectarian -- and it is wrong!
The only rightful standard of authority is the Bible (2Tm.3:16-17). All preaching and teaching must point men to this common standard which shall judge us all (2Tm.4:1-2; Jn.12:48). Each one of us is personally responsible to seek, study, reason, and decide what we believe the Bible says (Ac.17:11). This is not to say that we can believe whatever we choose! On the contrary, it places upon each of us a solemn obligation to determine exactly what the Bible says. Indeed, this is what separates the true Christian from the denominational counterfeit! A Christian seeks truth. A denominational counterfeit blindly conforms to creed, tradition, or preconception – never questioning their beliefs, nor testing them by the Scriptures.
God demands more of us than a blind, sectarian faith. He demands conviction, determined by a patient investigation of truth (Rm.10:17; 2Cor.4:13). If that means that I must give up some cherished belief or practice, then so be it! It would not be the first time that someone gave up error in order to embrace truth (cf. Gal.1:23). If only more people were as honest as Paul!
Well, what happens when we disagree? Here is where many will cringe in mortal fear. They are scared to death of religious disagreement. But is this rational? If we disagree, then you can rest assured that at least one of us is wrong! I might be me, or it might be you -- or it might be both of us! In fact, I submit that this is what we TRULY fear! We are so afraid of being proven wrong, and having to change our lives, that we would rather avoid the whole thing. But we should not fear being proven wrong; instead, we should welcome it! For if we are wrong about what the Lord taught, we could lose our souls (Jn.12:48). So anyone who helps me to see my error is a friend! In the early church, religious differences were discussed until the brethren came to “one accord” (Ac.15:1-29). Does God expect any less of us? (Note: this presupposes a desire for truth by all parties; it does NOT require giving a forum to every kook!)
This also means that in the final analysis, we do not “settle” religious disagreements for all men. We settle them for ourselves. This is why study and discussion must continue. Each of us must study for ourselves to determine the beliefs we hold. And this must be done with the realization that TRUTH (not think-so’s) will be the standard of judgment. I alone must decide my beliefs; God alone will judge them; and the Bible alone is the standard. May we never surrender our thinking to anyone else, whether preacher, elder, church, or brotherhood paper!
--Lanny Smith
