Oh, th edepth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable are His ways! Romans 11:33 (NASB)
I need to remember that verse more often. It seems I am quick to offer an opinion in any area, even if I must hastily form the opinion on the spot, based solely off of a few Bible verses taken from memory and not from scriptural context.
I act as though I have all the answers when in reality I am very much rough-around-the-edges in most areas of biblical study. I count myself twice blessed that my fellow BTIers bring questions to me to find out what I think!
So, in light of the above verse, I want to take a few steps back and look at areas in which I’ve been sharing my opinion–areas in which I probably shouldn’t be, yet.
Is self-defense permissible under the New Covenant? If so, under what conditions and to what extent? What about on the national level?
What about those who have never heard the gospel?
How much does one need to know and believe to be saved? Must one understand the fundamentals of the faith? What is the minimum if not the fundamentals? And if not the fundamentals, salvation seems to be open much more widely to the groups commonly referred to as cults: the Mormons, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Roman Catholics.
Is war under the New Covenant ever permissible outside of the events of Revelation?
What did John mean when he said that those he wrote to had no need of teachers? (1 John 2:27)
Are man-made traditions and religious practices permitted in an assembly? If so, to what extent? If one desires a wholly biblical assembly, what would it be like? And if such an assembly does not exist in your area, should one be formed? If so, how?
Is grape juice to be preferred over wine? Even in communion? If not, why has the then obsolete word “wine” (which implies alcohol) with the apparently more accurate “juice” in Bible translations?
And so on…
I’m not even sure all of these questions have a clear-cut answer, and certainly there is much uncertainty surrounding them as a variety of answers can be found online.
At least I know I’ll never run out of things to learn about.
Feel free to share your opinions on any one of these questions that you want in a comment. I’ll appreciate any insights!