We ended one series last week and begin another in two weeks. Next week Matt Tapie will be preaching. This week I want to speak about something that is important as we grow together as a church.
When someone acts a certain way, we must evaluate. Either they have a mental problem if they, for example, eat from the trash, or they are not crazy if they eat from the trash because they don’t have other food. My point is we assume people behave a certain way for a reason. Unless someone is crazy, their actions or behaviors stem from values and values usually stem from opinions, beliefs, and convictions that are deeply held. We know this is true as Christians because we talk about it all the time. We want people to be centered on God’s view of the world, so such a God-centered world view would produce a belief system that would produce values that in turn would produce good behaviors.
It’s important to see that “values” are generated by beliefs, opinions, and convictions. One of my opinions is I love my Macintosh computer. I think it is great, and I base that opinion on a mix of facts, emotions, and experiences. Yet, sometimes I get so crazy about this opinion that it starts slipping into belief and conviction. This is uncomfortable for my friends who have PC’s because they see what they thought was just a simple machine on their desk is oddly a conviction for me.
As Christians we do this as well. There are some things we have opinions about . . . the color of the carpet, the songs we sing, the order of worship. Those are opinions, driven by a mix of personal preferences and experiences. Then we have beliefs . . . such as whether or not we home school or think Halloween is a good holiday. These are much more than mere opinions; people who feel strongly about these give a strong defense for their belief.
But what are our convictions? What causes us to draw a line and makes Christian armies turn their guns on one another? There are many examples of churches where opinions, beliefs, and convictions get into a confused mix that ends up a mess. In fact, being a part of a group that has too many strong convictions is a sure recipe for strife.
In Philippians chapter 3 Paul addresses this issue. He talks about this mix of opinions, beliefs, and convictions, and he points out what our convictions should be. This week we look at what Paul says about these three things.
When someone acts a certain way, we must evaluate. Either they have a mental problem if they, for example, eat from the trash, or they are not crazy if they eat from the trash because they don’t have other food. My point is we assume people behave a certain way for a reason. Unless someone is crazy, their actions or behaviors stem from values and values usually stem from opinions, beliefs, and convictions that are deeply held. We know this is true as Christians because we talk about it all the time. We want people to be centered on God’s view of the world, so such a God-centered world view would produce a belief system that would produce values that in turn would produce good behaviors.
It’s important to see that “values” are generated by beliefs, opinions, and convictions. One of my opinions is I love my Macintosh computer. I think it is great, and I base that opinion on a mix of facts, emotions, and experiences. Yet, sometimes I get so crazy about this opinion that it starts slipping into belief and conviction. This is uncomfortable for my friends who have PC’s because they see what they thought was just a simple machine on their desk is oddly a conviction for me.
As Christians we do this as well. There are some things we have opinions about . . . the color of the carpet, the songs we sing, the order of worship. Those are opinions, driven by a mix of personal preferences and experiences. Then we have beliefs . . . such as whether or not we home school or think Halloween is a good holiday. These are much more than mere opinions; people who feel strongly about these give a strong defense for their belief.
But what are our convictions? What causes us to draw a line and makes Christian armies turn their guns on one another? There are many examples of churches where opinions, beliefs, and convictions get into a confused mix that ends up a mess. In fact, being a part of a group that has too many strong convictions is a sure recipe for strife.
In Philippians chapter 3 Paul addresses this issue. He talks about this mix of opinions, beliefs, and convictions, and he points out what our convictions should be. This week we look at what Paul says about these three things.
Mark
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