Formation of Belief

 

     I have been diligently studying Scriptures for some time, and over time I can see that the Holy Spirit is leading me to a more substantial recognition of the character of the Triune God we worship.  It is easy to adopt a particular study strategy that will give us slow and steady comprehension as the Holy Spirit guides us on our journey.  Just a few short years ago, it dawned on me to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance when reading God’s Word.  For most of my life, I was reading the Bible like it was a book of stories.  I never understood the significance of the Holy Spirit’s involvement to help me uncover the principles, patterns, and applications that would become my guiding light.  Most of my study habits came from my academic experiences in high school and college.  I needed to recognize that my previous endeavors were not the skills I needed to develop discernment.   

     This morning, my eyes rested on two passages found in the Scriptures: Deuteronomy 13 and the other from the first chapter of Galatians.  In both passages, God instructs us to use caution when listening to ‘spiritual’ teachers because they could have ulterior motives to draw us away from the Truth found in God’s Word.  In Deuteronomy 13:1-3, we read God’s instructions to the Israelites.  “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”   Shortly after my eyes passed over this Old Testament text, I was quickly greeted with these words from the apostle Paul.  “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”  (see Galatians 1:6-9)  What I found most fascinated was not the synchronicity of these lessons but that my mind has been recently fixed on thoughts of discernment while taking a Discipleship class at church where we are digging into Christian doctrines.

     Because I’ve been using the same study techniques for several years now, it hadn’t crossed my mind to incorporate another approach to my daily habits.  Over the years, I’ve uncovered many reliable resources that help me study Bible passages that I do not understand.  I’ve been immensely blessed this year to fall under the guidance of a teacher who brings cultural context and exposition to Old Testament passages.  Under the aid of this instruction, I am beginning to understand God’s organized strategies to move His followers from slavery to freedom.  Recognizing that God desired to organize a nation with cultural significance centered on the family unit is a catalyst for understanding that God promotes unity but does not appear to choose uniformity. However, that seems to be the direction our world is leading us in today.

     Over the past five or six weeks, I’ve been taking a deeper dive into Christian doctrine with the desire of recognizing how Scriptures guide our understanding on topics like the Trinity, Atonement, Election, Salvation, or the Church.  Although I have heard teaching that expounds on the importance of clarity on Major doctrines, it is okay to agree to disagree on Minor doctrinal thinking.  There is no shortage of discussions by Christ-minded pastors on the Internet where apologetic discussions take place. 

     My Christian journey has taken me through InterVarsity programs, many Interfaith gatherings, and various church denominations.  I have read books by many Christian authors and searched for answers to Biblical questions through podcasts, videos, or websites.  It now seems that many interfaith teachers have influenced my Doctrinal beliefs.  Scriptures warn us to develop skills of discernment as we will face more and more false teachings.  It seems like an excellent time to genuinely understand the doctrinal beliefs I hold and whether they are Biblical based or imposed upon me by man’s education.  Have I studied to show myself approved, or have I adopted the beliefs of humankind?

     Various theologies represent man’s ideas about the involvement of God and man in Salvation.  The Doctrine of Grace has several main evaluation points: (a) The Depravity of Man, (b) Election, (c) Atonement, (d) Effectual Calling, and (e) Perseverance.  These are concepts that may be unfamiliar to most Christians.  Many of these concepts are exhibited through a spectrum of thought like:  Full or Partial (Depravity), Conditional or Unconditional (Election), Limited or Unlimited (Atonement), Resistible, or Irresistible (Calling), and Secure or Fallible (Perseverance).  Many ideologies are present in our Christian community.  Do we understand that while we receive instructions from various teachers, one can easily become confused about how to understand what Scriptures reveal?  So with some level of excitement, I plan to allow the Holy Spirit to work on my discernment in areas that I’ve never made an effort to study.  By building a firmer foundation, I may encourage someone in their faith journey when questions arise or vague theology is exposed.

    I do not wish to expound on any new understanding in this article, as I still recognize that the Holy Spirit has much work to do in this area.