Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Against Induvidualism

“We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” – 1 John 4:6

In today’s society of American individualism, it’s easy to hold our personal opinions more highly than the majority. In fact, post-modernism goes even farther by saying that two opposite opinions can equally be true.

But, John says something very different. Ideas and doctrines are either true or false. Not only that, but behind each idea, there is a spirit: the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit. How can we know the difference? John explains that the truth resides within the church congregation because the church body is those who are born of God and have God’s Spirit indwelling them.

John’s point is that individuals who spout off their own novel theological ideas are dangerous because truth dwells within the community of believers, not within one individual. The early church father, Tertullian claimed that the scriptures belonged to the church and only within the church could they rightly be interpreted.

That is why it’s important to study God’s word with other believers and under the guidance of a local church. Christianity is not just about you and God, it’s about God and His people. You are not the church. You are one part the church. You need other Christians and they need you.

No comments:

Post a Comment