TGCN 2025: How to be Right and Still be Wrong

So maybe you’ve been curious about the whole title “when you’re right if you can still be wrong or yet still wrong.” And I’m trying to work out I’m not trying but I’m find I’m trying to find some biblical principles for godly disagreement but also when do you stick to your rights in Christ? You know, we are free in Christ to do a lot of stuff. But when do we stick to that freedom or when do we welcome or when do we go back from that freedom? When do you show consideration and when do you give up your rights? The church is unique in in many ways. Maybe you have experienced that. But it is the only institution where ideally you will be born into the church and you’ll die in the church. You’ll get some will baptize the children or bless the children and in the end we’ll end up burying people. So so the church is made up of all generations and all sorts of people all nationalities and that kind of unity is unique. If you grown up in a church maybe you think that it is normal but it really isn’t. when we are in school or university or kindergarten or or the football club, we we will we will divide based on age or interest or different things. And the fact that we’re trying to bring everybody together in the body of Christ in the church can bring tension and uh and disagreement. And you don’t have to have been involved in pastoral ministry for long before you experience this. And maybe you don’t even need to be a pastor at all. Or church leadership at all. You will experience this. And how do we disagree in the church because in society we have we have different strategies, right? We can
polarize. That’s that’s very popular nowadays. So we will stick to our tribe. We will go hard on what we believe is right and then we will try to eliminate the other group. Right? That’s polarization. We can also try to convince or evangelize or do missions for our statement. That can be all sorts of ideologies. That’s not just it’s not just Christians doing mission. It’s the LGBTQ lobby. It’s Islamist. It’s a humanist. It’s atheist. It’s all sorts of thing sorts of organizations and people who are trying to convince. And then we can the last strategy would maybe be to relativize like well that’s your truth and if that’s good for you that that’s good for you. I believe something else. This is a very Danish way because it’s very nice. We don’t we don’t like disagreement. We don’t
like to be upfront about it. So we will we will try to convince each other that that in the end we agree or if this is good for you at least then that’s fine, right? And the problem for us is that those strategies they don’t really work in church. Um because we cannot we cannot polarize, right? We’re called to unity in the church and we cannot we cannot relativize because Christ is the way, the truth and the life. We believe in objective truth. So that strategy doesn’t work either. And at this point it will probably help to introduce some categories because there are things that we would need to agree on. Gavin Ortlund written a great book called “Finding the Right Hills to Die On” that I would highly recommend but it’s not Gavin who introduced this first. There are many who are speaking about primary issues secondary issues and tertiary issues so primary issues that is gospel issues like you need to believe in the trinity you need to believe in damnation salvation you need to believe in sin or Christ’s two natures or uh the Bible as God’s word and as having authority, being inspired by God. I would say that those issues are essential. We need to have unity on those issues. And then we can have some disagreement on issues, important issues, but we can disagree and still affirm each other as believers. That could be their view on the sacraments. Is Christ really in the bread and the wine? I don’t believe so. I think it’s a bit weird, but it’s okay if you believe that. Um, it could be the views on the gifts of the spirit. It could be leadership structures. It could be different things where it’s important issues, but we can still find disagreement. And then the territory issues, I would almost deduce that to almost preferences, right? You like this kind of preaching style, somebody likes another kind of preaching style. You like when people do this with their hands and somebody wants them to stand still or you like energy and worship. Some other people would like it to be more contemplative and so forth. That’s not about the Bible. That’s maybe more about you and and the
culture that you’re in. So the primary issues, we need to agree on them. There are things that are black and white in the Bible. There are things that the Bible speaks clear about. And we need to be clear where the Bible is clear. It’s very simple. If the Bible is clear, we can be clear. Um, but the
question but it it becomes dangerous when we make secondary or tertiary issues primary issues like you need to agree with me on worship on the sacraments on everything otherwise you’re not really a Christian. Have you experienced that? And that is I would say that’s a sign of polarization when we become sectarian or tribal in that sense when it comes to faith when personal preferences become gospel issues. And this is where we can be maybe we can be right on an issue. As a Baptist I
believe that I’m right about baptism. I sincerely believe that I have a very very good biblical case. But we can still be wrong in our application. Or I can believe that I have the freedom and right to drink a beer, but I can still be wrong in my application on how to use alcohol. Right? Or we can be right on the theology and still have it have the wrong implications for Christian fellowship. So what about convincing others that strategy? Yes, we can convince others when it’s clear, right? When it’s black and white, when it’s a primary issue, we should really try to convince each other. I urge that you see this thing as sin and repent of it, right? I urge that you don’t sleep with your stepmother as
in Corinth. And you know, that’s a that’s that’s a biblical example. I urge you that that that you stop this nonsense that you convert back to Christ that you repent. So let us be clear uh where the Bible is clear but there are also areas where it is not so clear. We could call it like a gray zone or maybe a question of conscience. And there will be many of these areas because in the end the only person that you agree with is yourself. Like I’ve been married for 10 years and some have been longer and I don’t even agree with my spouse and I tried to convince her many times. Right? So how then
handle disagreement on secondary issues? How do we handle each other’s personal sensitivities and how do we handle it when we are sure that we’re right? And to solve that issue, we’ll just look a little bit about some overarching principles from Corinth uh where Paul is addressing the issue of meat sacrificed to idols. We don’t sacrifice meat to idols. If you do, you’re weird. Okay?
Well, today it would be weird, but it was it was a big thing for them in Corinth that meat would be sacrificed to idols and then you could eat it, right? And um the context in Corinth, there’s much to the context, but for us it is important to understand that there are some very very strong intellectual Christians in Corinth. They know what they’re free to do in Christ and they demand their rights. And then there are some weak Christians, maybe financially, maybe in different areas. Maybe socially they’re in the lower hierarchy. And in some ways they even they’re even misled, right? They’re even wrong on some things the theologically. And Paul is trying to address the strong Christians. How should they show consideration for the weak Christians? So, we’ll just read. We’ll look at it. It stretches over three chapters. We’re not doing all of it, but we’ll just hit some of the texts. So, in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, I’m a bit ruthless because of time. Is that okay? Um
1 Corinthians 8:1-3. Um it says “now concerning food sacrificed to idols. We know that all of us possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know it as he ought to know. But if anybody loves God, he is known by God.” So the first thing that Paul tries to establish is that you are knowledgeable. You know stuff but that is not the primary issue. That is not the primary principle. It is not about who is right. It is not about what one has the right to do because knowledge is actually dangerous. Knowledge can puff you up. It can make you proud and it can create division. Does that mean that knowledge in and of itself is bad? Well, of course not. Knowledge is great but our knowledge must be accompanied by maturity and our knowledge must never exceed our humility and our love. Love is the overarching principle. If you have knowledge without love you’ll become inflated. You’ll become puffed up. You’ll become proud and you will become divisive and destructive to people around you. So love is the overarching principle because it builds off up where knowledge can break down or even create division. And then he continues in verse 4 through 8.
Therefore (it’s still the same chapter 1 Corinthians 8 and then now we’re in verse 4 to 8.)
“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but one. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we are all things, and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge, but some through former association with idols eat food as really offered uh to an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do.”
So in a sense, as as you saw in the text, maybe there are weak people, wrong people will not eat the food offered to idols because they have a weak conscience and Paul even says that they are wrong in their theology. He’s saying you and I we strong Christians we know this is nothing. This doesn’t add to spiritual life. It doesn’t take from spiritual life. This doesn’t matter at all. You’re free to do it. that is fine. Um, and it is it’s not a virtue to eat this meat. It’s not a it’s not a sin either. And do we have freedom in Christ to eat this meat or do other stuff? Maybe you think, can I travel with my boyfriend? Can I drink alcohol? Can I do this? Can I do this? Can I do this? And do you have freedom to do some of these things? Yeah, sure. Sure you do. Sure you do. If if your conscience allows it and in in that way we can have knowledge and freedom in Christ to act with a clear conscience but not I’m not recommending that you travel with your girlfriend or or boyfriend it something can be unwise right it can be on paper is this sinful no not necessarily but it can be a bad signal it could be and so forth but that’s that’s a whole another issue but not everyone has this knowledge. Some because of their life journey, what sin or life has done to them have a special sensitivity, right? A weakness could you could even say um a fragile conscience. They are weak brothers and they’re also mistaken. They’re wrong about this issue of meat sacrificed to idols. But because of their story, because of their conscience, they will be defiled if they eat this meat anyway. If they go ahead, if they act against their conscience and their good faith, then what in itself, we know from Paul, this in itself is nothing. But that which is nothing becomes sin to them if they act against their conscience. So what isn’t a sin to others can be a sin to you. Does that make sense? Yeah. So that is sin for them. So that complicates things because Paul in a sense he relativizes some sins that some things are sin to you and not sin to others. That can be a personal thing. It can also be a cultural thing like if I’m going to Pakistan next month with uh to train church planters and and don’t you you don’t put your Bible on the ground because it’s an Islamic country. So that is like extreme disrespect to the word. They have the Quran culture, right? So that might be sin for them or wrong for them that I don’t care. I’m Danish, right? I know this is just paper, right? Um, so there are things that are wrong for some and okay for others. And we mentioned it could be alcohol, it could be maybe some TV shows or it could be flirting or it could be spending money on yourself or the amount of money you can spend on yourself or it could be your your sense of humor. As you can tell, I have a great Danish northern Jutland humor. So that would be dark, sarcastic on the plate. That’s the way we like it. The best humor in the world. No. Yeah. And we’re not talking about clearly defined biblical sins, but we are talking about what our conscience dictates, what our life and our journey has done to us and even what the Holy Spirit impresses upon our hearts. And because of this reality of some sins being sent to some and not to others or being sensed to the weak ones, Paul is warning the Corinthians, the strong
Corinthians against exercising their rights, their gospel rights. So they’re right, but they can use it in a way that will make them wrong. That’s why I’ve chosen the title. So yes, they’re right. They’re free in Christ. Their conscience is not bound. They have no history with idols. They can do whatever they want. They could eat meat, sacrifice to idols morning, midday, and evening. Maybe it’s not good for the climate, but they probably didn’t care back then. They’re strong, but Paul thinks that they should become weak for the sake of the weak, right? And it’s the same thing with us. There are many things that are not sin for us, but for others who are clearly mistaken. We are right, of course. We’re always right. But we should not exercise our rights for the sake of the weak. We should not be guided by whether something is always theologically right or do I have the right to do it. But sometimes we should be guided by love for the weaker rather.
What is it that builds up? Okay. Love for others, not ourselves, our own rights, our own freedom. Verse 9 to13. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged if his conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed. The brother from whom Christ died. Thus sinning against your brother and wounding their conscience when it is weak. You sin against Christ. That’s wild, right? You sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat lest I make my brother stumble. This this is where it’s hard to believe that the Bible is is the word of God. I will never in eternity eat meat. That’s hard for me to understand, but that is what Paul says. So your correct theology, your correct opinions, your freedom in Christ can actually be used to sin against others, to sin against Christ and to destroy others. Your freedom in Christ can be a stumbling block to others. This is a
strong warning, isn’t it? If it is not exercised in love. So, if you have love in mind, you’ll probably be fine. But if you’re just focusing on yourself and your own rights, you can actually end up sinning against Christ. And you can of course ask should I really be guided by should I let myself be guided by the weak or should I let my should I be restricted by the weak and should I settle for the lowest common denominator and in a sense the answer is yes. Yes. There’s also a but it because there can be some things where we’re not just going for the most conservative opinions. Right. I’m a bit more restrictive here than you than you are or you’re a bit more restrictive than I am. So, we’re not just going for the lowest common denominator, but where this becomes a real stumbling block, where this really where this actually hurts you, I need to go back on my rights. So, we can disagree on a thing and it’s not just the most conservative that wins. Like, okay, you’re a bit more conservative than me. Okay, you win. No, but this if this really hurts you, if this really hurts your relationship to Christ, if this really is a stumbling block, do do you understand the difference the difference between genuinely hurting somebody’s faith and just disagreeing? Okay. Um, yeah. So, we don’t just submit to other sins. Of course, we don’t submit to sins or preferences or opinions, but we submit to where this will actually hurt their relationship to Christ. Where this really hurts or harms their destroys their conscience and push them away from Christ. In that case, we must always be weak even though we are right and even though we are strong. And of course it makes no difference to us whether we do or we don’t. Paul says these things don’t add to the faith nor does it deduct from the faith. So if my freedom to eat meat offered to idols, which we don’t do, or drink alcohol or maybe a way of exercising the spiritual gifts or jump and dance on a chair during worship or whatever it could be, right? If that genuinely hurts somebody’s weak conscience, then it becomes a sin to me as well. So what is my what originally is my gospel freedom in Christ? If it is used wrongly, it becomes sin to others. And if it is sin to others, it becomes sin to me. So what in itself was good can become double sin. Sin to them and sin to me because I now sinned against them. I know this is not encouraging stuff, but it’s true. And it’s good to be to know these things when we’re in a culture of of disagreement and we’re coming together uh between different traditions or maybe even in the same church. So in a in a sense things are turned upside down. Things that are nothing and can even be good in and of themselves. They can become sin to others and thereby sin to you. So therefore we need
to keep in mind love as the governing principle forever. Paul will abstain from his right if it causes his brother to stumble. And will you forever abstain from your rights if it causes a brother to stumble? What is most important to you? What is most important to me to protect people or to be right? Is it to have the correct opinions or to love people? or is it your freedom or is it other people’s even salvation? What’s most important? Um yes. And we could ask can does this mean that people can never be offended? Can we never offend people? I think we’ve heard talks about being counter cultural and can we never be offensive? And of course I think that people can be offended but let them be offended by the gospel. The gospel is is a good stumbling block. That is the right stumbling block and that is a stumbling block to most people. So let them be offended or even hurt by the gospel. Don’t let them be hurt by your preferences or your personal freedoms. Don’t let them be offended by you or me, but let them be offended by the gospel. And we see this to an extreme degree. We jump to chapter nine. We see this to an extreme degree in in these chapters and and and in the beginning of chapter nine, Paul is just telling them them about how he has all of these rights as an apostle that he has not used. He has so many rights and he has not used them. He could have taken a spouse. The other apostles, they have spouses and they travel with them and they get paid well. He has taken none of these rights, right? He could claim them, but he has not done it. And he’s showing that as an
example to the Corinthians. And then he comes down to verse 19 in chapter 9 in 1 Corinthians where he says, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all.” He’s free in Christ, but he has made himself a servant to all that I might mean win more of them. To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews. To those in the law, I became as one under the law. Though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. To those outside of the law, I became as one outside of the law. Not being outside of the law of God, but under the law of Christ that I might win those outside of the law. To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I’ve become all things to all people that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I might share with them in its blessing. So Paul is not bound by the law. He is not like a heathen either. He is bound by the law of Christ or he has he has been guided by something. He’s free and independent, but he has made himself a slave to all for the sake of the gospel in order to save some. So he does not only show some kind of people some kind of considerations, right? He’s trying to reach all sorts of people. In that sense, Paul’s extremely pragmatic in order to reach people for the gospel. He’s not just accommodating young people or Muslims or whatever group he’s trying. He’s trying to be everything to everybody in order to save some. He’s showing all kinds of considerations for all kind of people. So he’s constantly giving up his rights or restricting himself in order to be winsome for the sake of the gospel. And then he says something a little bit terrifying. He’s doing all of this that he might himself share in its blessing. In some translations, it would say that that he himself might be saved. Right? That is part of his gospel obedience to I’m not saying that he will necessarily be saved by works. That’s not my point. But that he will he will get a share in the gospel through faithfulness to go to the gospel and evangelization.
Okay. So, of course, we can say, “Aren’t there limits to what we can do to accommodate people?” And of course, there are. We cannot sin. You cannot sin to, “Oh, but these people, they’re having an orgy, so I might just No, no, no. You’re not going there, right? Oh, well, we’re doing drugs at this party. I just want to fit in so that I No, no. you you can’t sin in order to win people. So, we are still guided by the gospel. We’re still guided by love. We cannot sin. We cannot act selfishly. We cannot compromise the faith. We cannot compromise God’s word. We cannot compromise the gospel. You know, some people they will even adjust the gospel to reach people with the gospel, which doesn’t really make sense. But where it doesn’t in the areas where it doesn’t take away from the faith or
add to the faith and here we’re talking maybe about some of the secondary issues maybe and especially the tertiary issues when it comes to those things that doesn’t add or deduct from the faith we can be very very pragmatic.
Okay. And then the last text that I want us to look at is from 1 Corinthians 10 23-33 where he gives a specific example of this. So it says all things are lawful but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful but not all things build up. You know it’s love that builds up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you’re disposed to go eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it. For the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience, I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because for what? For which I for that what I did for why am I…this is not my first language. Why am I denounced? Because of that for which I give thanks.
Okay. So he is saying that in general we are not guided by the weak’s conscience and we are not we are not affirming the weak people’s beliefs by showing consideration. So we must not feel guilty when we do what we are free to do. But we must consider their conscience when they mention it to us. Right? So
he’s saying if you’re invited, go ahead. If you feel free to do it, go ahead. If it doesn’t defile you, go ahead. But if somebody mentions it, oh, did you know this is not good? This is actually offered to idols. Okay, I’ll not eat it because you sense that in that person there is a weakness. There is there is a there’s a conscience that is being defiled. So when you sense that in other people you abstain right? So that is the example that he gives and then he ends in verse 31-33.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God. Just as I try to please everyone in everything, I do not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. So if we seek our own good and do not act in love, we are not glorifying God. If we are using our gospel freedoms without defiling people, yes, we can glorify God in all that we do. But we must seek the good of others when it is appropriate for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of their own salvation. And maybe some good questions to ask yourself uh before you you make a decision to do something could be and maybe you you want to take it take some notes here if you want to remember it or you can ask me again. But you could ask yourself does the Bible allow this? That’s a good question to ask. Does the Bible allow it? And if you say yes the Bible allows it then the next question you could ask is does my conscience allow it? Am I free to do it? And if you say, “Yes, I am.” Then you could ask yourself, “How does this affect other Christians?” Well, it doesn’t affect them negatively at all. Okay, go ahead. How does it affect non-Christians and my gospel witness? Well, it affects them very, very positively. Okay. How does this affect my spiritual life? Does this draw me closer to Christ or maybe push me away? Right? Those would be some good questions to ask. Does the Bible allow it? Does my conscience allow it? How does this affect other Christians? How does this affect non-Christians? And how does this affect my spiritual life? Those are some good considerations to give before choosing to drink or before choosing to travel with your boyfriend or before you do anything because these questions they will guide you because they are guided by love. And then Paul is saying something interesting. He is saying be imitators of me as I am an imitator of Christ. So the whole idea Paul is saying look at me I’ve given up all of these rights. That idea of giving up your rights in order to win others it is not something that Paul has invented. He is just imitating Christ.
And we we we know it the the the hymn from Philippians, right? He who was equal with God and did not consider it a thing to be grasped. Isn’t that what it says in the English? He gave it up, became a human, obedient unto the death on a cross. So he was he had everything. He had every heavenly blessing full divinity. He gave up everything, took on flesh, became a man, died for what he had not done in order to save us. So it is truly it is truly that the thing about is this fair? No, it might not be fair, but it’s not about it being fair. It’s about winning people for Christ be because Christ, he actually did this for us. He gave up all of his rights in order to win you and me. So maybe we could give up just some of our rights that we have in him anyway just to win some people for Christ.

We made it in time and um I think the next session of worship whatever is next will maybe start in 15 minutes. Um, but if you want coffee, you’re free. If you want to chat or have some questions for me or each other, we have some time. I know I just I just blasted you. That’s how I do stuff. Example of how to apply this in like a current question.
How would it play out in reality? this principle.
Well, I mentioned some of the examples a few times. It could be, “Can I travel with my boyfriend?” Yeah, if you don’t sleep together, it’s technically not necessarily wrong. But how does it affect the other people in the church? Will they think that it sends a bad signal? Yes, it might. It might very well. Or what about the way that it affects non-Christians? Yeah, they will just look at you and think that it they’re sleeping together. They’re doing it like everybody else is doing it, right? So to in that sense that would be maybe guide you to say no or maybe you’re saying can I can I drink it? Yeah you can but if you’re with that person who has that history or if you yourself have that history you might not want to do it right or and if you’re in another company and you don’t have a history yes you can have you can have wine with the food or whatever it is right so that those could be some examples. It could also be is it against the Bible to use 6 hours a day on your phone or 10 hours or whatever?
No, it’s not necessarily a sin. The Bible really doesn’t talk about doom scrolling, right? Doom prompting. That’s the new one with AI doesn’t really talk about that. But you could say, “How does this affect my Christian witness?” Well, it sure will make you less available to love other people and make you less present and it will maybe also make you less present to Christ. So, it could also guide you there. Um, you could you could think of other examples. I’m happy to to play along. Yeah.
So, I think often when we read this passage, we put ourselves in the perspective of, well, I’m the stronger brother. Yes. But what if I’m the weaker brother? Do I have a responsibility to get stronger? And things that my conscience are maybe weak on how would you speak to that? Does the stronger brother have an obligation to help the weaker brother get stronger? Yeah. I think in a sense like if it’s your responsibility to teach and preach, you have it. You will try to make people strong, wouldn’t you? But I think things that are related to conscience that might be like this with these people they have a history with they have a history of idols right so it’s just something that is in their history so therefore it just it just hits them right and maybe they can mature out of that and maybe they they can’t so I think if you’re the weak brothers and to be honest we’re all weak in some areas at least we the weaker brother we’re not always the stronger brother we of course we have a responsibility to grow. It’s called discipleship. It’s called sanctification. But it’s not like now you just now you just go up to their level because now you’re a Christian. No, they will actually have to stoop down to you and maybe you will grow but they will have to be very patient with you probably. Yeah. That would be my best. Yeah. Yes. You have only probably one to two minutes to answer this question, but uh open my phone. How would you what would be your method to if you meet someone who puts a lot of the secondary or tertiary issues into primary, how would you handle that like in the Yeah. If I met someone like that in your own church maybe. I would correct them. No, I would try to correct them.
I would I would tell them that you’re make well it can be all sorts of things, right? Um view of baptism. Yeah. But are you saved on the basis of how you viewed your baptism or maybe is there is the earth 6,000 years old or a billion years old? Yeah. But how does this affect your relationship with Jesus Christ? Right? If you’re thinking that this is this is this is alpha and omega for whether you’re a Christian, well I would say that well in a sense that’s heresy, right? Then we can discuss how to read the passages, how to review the authority of scripture, but I would correct
them. And even if it was a a young believer or like a weak brother, you know, there’s just also pastoral wisdom because if you can sense this is really important to them and you know, yeah, they’ve been Christian for 6 months, they don’t know yet. I’ll just encourage them to be in the church to get discipled to sit on the preaching and then maybe when they were more mature I would try to correct them. Maybe I wouldn’t correct them immediately if I think that this would this would break their fragile little faith. I would try to guard them even though this is hopelessly stupid, right? I would still try to be nice and maybe guard them a little bit unless it is dangerous. If they’re saying
something that would go against primary issues like, “Yeah, I think Jesus became God. Jesus didn’t exist before he came to earth.” I would say, “Yeah, that that breaks the Trinity. You can’t say
that, right? You can believe that, but that is not Christianity. I would be if it’s a primary issue, I would be very direct. If it’s another issue, I would I would try to feel where are they? When can we talk? And are they mature enough? Are they strong enough?” So take let’s use baptism as an example. Yeah. Baptists belief that scripture is very clear. Yeah. America America. I guess it’s very clear. Presbyterian Baptist would say the same thing. Yes. We look at that and uh now we’re dealing with if scripture is teaching baptism then the cradle baptism is incorrect.
Mhm. To what extent is that lying or being like to what extent does being wrong cross over into you’re actually sinning? Yeah. So by not doing something I’m just doing some something controversial. Okay. So I had a talk with a Lutheran girl two days ago. Uh she had planned scheduled a zoom meeting with me before I came to the conference and she has been you know baptismal regeneration that’s the Lutheran position and she had been baptized and she had now come to the conviction that I think that this is wrong. I think that I should that I share the same baptism.
What what do I do? And I would say I don’t I consider you a believer because you’re saved on the basis of faith. That’s the that’s the first thing. And as long as you’re living with a clear conscience about your infant baptism, I don’t believe that you’re actively living in sin. But at the moment that your conviction changes, you can be held accountable. So when she realizes this is the wrong view in baptism. I think I should be baptized. Well, if that is now your new conviction and you’re still refusing to do it, then it becomes an issue. So, it also is a question of conscience, right? And if it could also be the other way around. If you’re in favor of infant baptism, that’s not the issue. But it’s just giving an example that if you evolve theologically or you come to another position, well, then you’re accountable to act upon it. And if you refuse to act and it’s against your conscience and your best reading of the Bible, then it becomes a sin. Not a grievous uh damnable sin that will send but it’s an issue. It’s an obedience issue, isn’t it? Yeah. Is conscience another word for Holy Spirit? Yes and no. Uh can you Yeah. Yeah. I think well Scotty talked about things are intertwined, right? So I think you can have a history that will just give you like a human conscience, an actual response to some things, but there can also be things working through your conscience or your mind that are prompings of the Holy Spirit. I really believe that. And that could also just it could even be the Holy Spirit guiding you. like you would never have an issue with this in your own conscience, but maybe in this situation you feel a bit bad and you wouldn’t normally, but maybe that’s the
the Holy Spirit guiding you because the person next to you really has an issue with it or whatever, right?