Not Negotiable

There are some things in life that just aren’t negotiable. If you live and work in the United States, you must pay taxes. It is not a negotiable thing. Taxes are based upon what the law says. Certain parts of the tax law pertain to everyone while other parts are left to interpretation. Now people will find ways around paying their taxes or just simply avoid paying their taxes but sooner or later it will catch up.

In many ways Christianity is the same. There are specific commands and references in the Bible, if you are to consider yourself a God-loving Christian, that are not negotiable. They include such statements like Mark 12:30-31 where Jesus says “And he said to him, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” or Romans 10:9 where Paul says “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. 

There are other things in the Bible which I believe God has left to our own interpretation. In doing so, God has said that those things are for our own personal exhortation and conviction and not to cause division. These include things like election versus free will, the time of the rapture, and even the consumption of alcohol.

So what’s my point? Two things.

1. There are certain things that you have no option to lend your own opinion to. God has made it clear that when it comes to areas such as who He is as part of the trinity and how you inherit salvation, there are NO OPTIONS. Quit trying to tweak God’s word for your personal interests.
2. There are certain things that you need to settle down about. It is great to constantly challenge our heart and intellect in studying scripture, but if it doesn’t keep someone from understanding who God is and how someone is saved think twice before challenging others. As Christians, we end up causing more damage to each other than the world could ever do.

Not sure what to think of certain areas of scripture?

• Pray and ask God for wisdom
• Read your Bible yourself instead of solely relying on others to tell you what it says
• Seek advice from well leaders
• Pray and ask God for wisdom
• Pray and ask God for wisdom
• Oh, and pray and ask God  for wisdom!