The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The wisdom of the wise will perish and the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. But what wisdom and intelligence does this speak of? That of the world. Too often I have found myself going to Church worshiping God, only to stop by debating old laws in the Bible with other people. When I say debate, I do not mean teaching someone when they do not understand the Scriptures. No, what I mean when I say debate is to argue over a topic that has no truly sound answer. It's arguing for arguing sake. When we start getting to this point, we use whatever ideas we can to prove we are right, and the other person is wrong. Very often this has led to the traditions that some churches have used in history and continue to. It was no different in the time of the passage. People would come worshiping God, but they would be far from Him because they would turn worship into debates that would set the rules. Resulting in the human rules for life. Through our "victories," we think we are righteous and wise. But the truth is that we probably just managed to irritate the other person. It took a long time for me to realize that even though I was winning debates, I was not actually evangelizing. There is the common mistake. We think that if we argue this case we can win the other person over to Christianity or to making a good change. But the truth is, debates do not win followers. God and His unfailing Love do.
Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in God's Name. Discipleship and baptisms and highly intimate and Loving spiritual acts. In order to evangelize then, we can't go around debating our way into people's hearts. We need to Love our way into them, just and Jesus Loved His way into ours. Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to Love God, and then Love others. We do this by sharing His Love with people, not our man made wisdom and intelligence. God's Love makes little sense when you truly think about how vast and unfailing it actually is. It gives me a headache trying to figure out. That subject itself has been the source of many of the debates I've ever had. Through those debates I have come to realize that debates are pointless. I will sometimes ride the trolley in San Diego to get around. I was spending a day talking with people and praying for them when a friend sent me an article about Christian tattoos. He and I started debating as we always had. But as I was thinking of my next comment, I realized, I had missed out on praying for all the people around me and the people on the trolley for over an hour, because I was arguing about something that I could already tell had no settling answer for either of us except one: God will call us to do what He will with the things He gives us. For me, I was not using the opportunity to share God with others on the trolley. So I ended the debate and went back to doing what God was asking.
We are not called to argue. We are called to Love and speak of God's Kingdom. If we argue, we are in the wrong. God can stick up for Himself in His own issues. If there is a debate between two Christians over what to do, first pray for a true answer from God, then go away and read through the Bible to see what ALL the Scriptures say on this subject.. If there is still an argument, leave it alone. If there was a true need for an answer, God would have brought it, for He gives wisdom freely to those who ask. But we must be ready to hear it, even if it's not what we want to hear. But if there is no answer, then it also might not be time for one. Either way, arguing over something does nothing and it is a waste of time that could be used for Loving others. If you and another Christian are arguing that whole time, who were you not praying for or Loving that you could have?
Debates and teaching are different. Teaching the Law to others is showing them exactly what the Bible says without a doubt. One example being that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. There is no doubt in that. But what about the things there are no solid answers for, such as whether everything really was made in 7 days? The best thing to do is to show what everything that follows along with Jesus teachings says about the subject. Share what you believe and why. But if the other person chooses differently, but still believes in Jesus just as you do, there is no point in the argument. Teach according to what God has truly taught you. Most of these blog posts now are things that I learn through experience, the week of reading, or even the day of the publishing. But I only type up what I know God wants to write. That way I might have confidence in His words, and not my own.
As always the solution is the same, focus on Loving the person, not arguing them into submission. It does not work. All we can do is tell others what God has told us. So do not instantly put up defenses when a new idea is put before you. Listen to it and see if God approves of it according to His Word. There are constantly new things to learn in this life about God and His Word. We must be willing to test and approve His Will. But we can only do so when we put ourselves aside and Love.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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