How to take a stand on difficult issues (part 7)

This the final part of the series. The purpose of this series was to help myself and my students and whoever might also read this blog to think about how we talk and debate about difficult issues in the church. This is not something that we always do very well. Some would rather not talk about difficult issues at all. Others enjoy arguing about difficult issues a little too much. I just think that we have to do a better job in this area. There are so many difficult issues that need some sort of principled position from the follower of Jesus. But how do we approach these issues in ways that honor the message of the Gospel? This series has been a small attempt to try and answer this question.

You can read the other posts here.

Part 1: Have I loved the person on the other side ofthis issue?
Part 2: Have I done my exegetical homework?
Part 3: Have I studied the opinions of the church bothpast and present?
Part 4: Have I clearly identified and defined the issue?
Part 5: Have I employed sound critical reasoning skills?
Part 6: Have I taken the time to understand the otherside of this issue?

Part 7: Have I humbled myself (and my tradition) enough to listen?

One of my mentors in ministry was Dr. Robert Lowery at Lincoln Christian Seminary. I had several classes in New Testament studies with Dr. Lowery, and in virtually every class he would drill into his students that the most important principle for biblical interpretation is humility. I teach in a place where it has been standard to say that “context is king.” While I understand the sentiment, context is certainly very important in biblical interpretation, I strongly disagree. Biblical study of any kind must begin with a basic choice. Will I listen to the Word or will I dictate to the Word? Will I submit or won’t I? This is part of what James was getting at in James 1 when he said that we should humbly accept the word planted in us which can save us. Such a humble approach leads us to be doers of the word rather than just hearers.

I can be an expert in the Greek and Hebrew languages, I can study the history and culture of first century Palestine and the Roman world, I can take note of the smallest point of syntax and grammar, I can be sensitive to the distinctiveness in genres and figures of speech, and indeed I can be a master at recognizing the importance of literary context both immediate and canonical – but if I don’t have humility I will continue to see only what I want to see and hear only what I want to hear in the text. Context doesn’t heal the human heart and fix our pride. Lest we become too mechanical and scientific, we should remember Paul’s exhortation in 1 Corinthians 2 that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. This doesn’t happen until we have humbled ourselves and have resolved to listen to the word of God in the text.

Sometimes my students roll their eyes because they hear it so much, but I still carry on Dr. Lowery’s legacy in my classes. The most important and first principle in interpretation is humility. Never is this more important than when it comes time to take a stand on a difficult issue. Too many times Christians will debate from an ideological position rather than a sound exegetical position. There is not an honest attempt to understand or explain an issue. There is only the attempt to win an argument and score points with our constituency. We are sometimes bad about constructing “shibboleth” type tests (Judges 12:5-6) to decide who’s in and who’s out rather than humbly and honestly engaging an issue. “What is your interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2?” “What is your position on inerrancy?” “What do you believe about baptism or the Millennium or glossolalia?” “Do you interpret Revelation literally?” Questions like these are too often not an invitation to a discussion or even a debate. Instead they are traps designed to see if you are safe or orthodox or “one of us.” It’s not really helpful or honest.

When discussing a difficult issue, we must learn to navigate the difficult terrain between rigid dogmatism and non-committal openness. We must choose to stand somewhere on difficult issues. (And some issues are of such importance that we must take a clear and public stand.) We should not be so afraid of being wrong or corrected that we never say anything at all. This is false humility. But at the same time, we should be humble enough to be willing to change or nuance our position over time. A person who has every issue resolved in their own mind either has a very closed and arrogant mind or hasn’t thought enough about the issue.