THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF HONEST WRONGNESS
Never despise what is spoken in the name of the Lord. By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good. 1 Thess. 5:20, 21, Phillips.
Americans love their freedom. However, conservatives contend that too many citizens are turning liberty into license. The "back to God" movements springing up everywhere are an outcry against such permissiveness. People are calling for "men of God" to take the helm of government and "get tough on crime." To many Christians this all sounds very good. Certainly getting "back to God" can only bring relief. Who wouldn't want fearless, Bible-believing statesmen? But wait! Might we trample on the vital principles of freedom of choice?
The Scriptures counsel us to "use your judgment" and "hold on to whatever is good." Another version says "test everything" (R.S.V.). The testing process in which we exercise judgment is absolutely vital in developing strength of character--even when we're wrong, very wrong! Take Paul, for example.
Paul was "convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth....I not only shut up many of the saints in prison, by authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them" (Acts 26:9, 19, R.S.V.). Paul had honestly weighed the situation in Jerusalem and had taken a terribly wrong course of action! What changed him?
Paul was confronted with the person of Jesus Christ. His conscience was not forced, but from this encounter he discovered his error and made an abrupt about-face, becoming the single most powerful witness in early Christendom. To this day God utilizes Paul's strength of character--his rock-firm stand on conviction--as an example to believers everywhere.
Paul's strength of character was not developed that day on the road to Damascus. It had been growing a long time. It was growing even when he was wrong, because he was wrong honestly! Only God knows when that is the case. We cannot know for sure. Therefore, it is better for us to preserve an individual's sense of integrity than to destroy it in the name of right.
Never despise what is spoken in the name of the Lord. By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good. 1 Thess. 5:20, 21, Phillips.
Americans love their freedom. However, conservatives contend that too many citizens are turning liberty into license. The "back to God" movements springing up everywhere are an outcry against such permissiveness. People are calling for "men of God" to take the helm of government and "get tough on crime." To many Christians this all sounds very good. Certainly getting "back to God" can only bring relief. Who wouldn't want fearless, Bible-believing statesmen? But wait! Might we trample on the vital principles of freedom of choice?
The Scriptures counsel us to "use your judgment" and "hold on to whatever is good." Another version says "test everything" (R.S.V.). The testing process in which we exercise judgment is absolutely vital in developing strength of character--even when we're wrong, very wrong! Take Paul, for example.
Paul was "convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth....I not only shut up many of the saints in prison, by authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them" (Acts 26:9, 19, R.S.V.). Paul had honestly weighed the situation in Jerusalem and had taken a terribly wrong course of action! What changed him?
Paul was confronted with the person of Jesus Christ. His conscience was not forced, but from this encounter he discovered his error and made an abrupt about-face, becoming the single most powerful witness in early Christendom. To this day God utilizes Paul's strength of character--his rock-firm stand on conviction--as an example to believers everywhere.
Paul's strength of character was not developed that day on the road to Damascus. It had been growing a long time. It was growing even when he was wrong, because he was wrong honestly! Only God knows when that is the case. We cannot know for sure. Therefore, it is better for us to preserve an individual's sense of integrity than to destroy it in the name of right.
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