In families and churches, how do we live in love and peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ when we disagree? (Note: scripture references will be at the end of the post, if you would like to look it all up.)
I have aunts and uncles and cousins who attend a church where the women all wear hats to church and do not speak or sing at all during the services. My Aunt Sarah also covers her head whenever she prays, even in private. In every other area of doctrine and all major issues, we agree.
I believe that the head covering is about authority (being under her husband's authority), and that a woman's hair is a sufficient physical covering (as it says just following one of the scriptures that speak about this), and that the verses that say that a woman should not speak in church can not mean that women are never to speak, because if she were to never speak that would contradict other scriptures where it says "your daughters will prophesy" and other scriptures.
Yet, when I visit in my Aunt and Uncle's home and go to church with them, I show respect by covering my head and being silent during the service. I have learned alot from my Aunt's godly example in her home. She is someone I respect and honor because of her faithful example of love and hospitality and submission to her husband. It makes no difference that we disagree on the interpretation of scriptures that honestly will have no bearing on whether or not we make it to heaven. There are scriptural reasons why I respect their way of doing things while in their home and neither of us impose our interpretations on the other.
We are called to live in peace with one another, to consider others more important than ourselves, and to maintain the bond of love between the brethren in Christ. We are told not to be quarrelsome and not to cause divisions and factions in the Body of Christ (the universal church, made up of all true followers of Jesus Christ). If (and when) we cut people off from our fellowship, we need to be absolutely sure that we have a solid scriptural reason for doing so. Jesus Christ does not take it lightly when people divide and cut off parts of His Body, which is also called His Bride.
In my family, we maintain love and unity in 2 ways. First, we focus on what unites us, what we do agree on, Jesus Christ and His Words, and His command that we love one another. When we visit in one anothers' homes or visiting one anothers' churches, we refrain from doing or saying anything that would cause our brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble. Second, we recommend that each person or family studies God's Word for themselves and prays about it, and when they are strong in their faith and knowledge of the Bible, each obeys what each believes the Lord is leading them to do, as their convictions dictate.
These principles are clearly seen in how Paul tells the Corinthian church how to respond to those who believe that they shouldn't eat meat sacrificed to idols, and he also covers similar topics in the book of Romans.
Let's make a big deal out of the things that affect people's eternal destiny, not the minor things that will not make a difference when we stand before Christ. Paul said that we neither gain nor lose anything by eating or not eating, and the same applies to whether or not a woman prays with her head covered, and other minor differences of Bible interpretation. Let's remember that man judges by external appearance, but God judges the heart.
Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 8:1-13, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Romans 12:3-16
Romans 13:8-10
Romans 14:1-23
Romans 15:1-8
Philippians 2:1-4
Titus 3:1-2, 9-10
No comments:
Post a Comment