As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“As Steve Horwitz argues in a preview of his forthcoming book, Hayek’s Modern Family, our newfound liberty and accelerated activity in the Economy of Creative Service has actually freed us to devote more to other spheres of stewardship, not less”
“Because the Nauglers wouldn’t let the police officers or a representative from CHFS speak with their children without a warrant, the parents were deemed to be not cooperative, according to the report.
When I first saw it, it was all jumbled up with grocery ads and direct mail fliers that urged me to consider the metaphysical significance of my current gutter system. But this piece of mail, this greeting-sized envelope postmarked from Long Island, NY, was less noisy, unassuming somehow. I recognized the handwriting as belonging to my husband’s grandmother—a carefully-formed script that she’d learned through hours of instruction in elementary school, back before the ubiquitous keyboards and touch screens that now dominate our lives.
http://www.centralseminary.edu/resources/nick-of-time/who-redefined-mar…
Where are the sermons being preached and the articles being published against divorce as a redefinition of marriage? Where are the churches that refuse to accept unrepentant divorced persons as members—or, for that matter, who refuse to keep them out of public ministry and leadership? Where are Christians drawing a line over this issue?
Practice is from position, never to position. The ethical mandates of the New Testament are decisively clear that believers are to walk in the richness of the position we have been given (Eph 1:3), and that the position is actually necessary for the walk (Heb 11:6). Never is a believer warned that their position as a child of God is in danger because of their walk.
I appreciate all of the spirit, and much of the substance, of Ed’s work on this topic yesterday. It’s just reality that even in historically total-abstaining circles, ministry leaders are going to be working with Christians who believe Scripture allows them to consume alcohol. That being the case, we should do more to help these believers exercise wisdom and restraint—or to recover, if they’ve stumbled into problems with drunkenness.
My friend and I have been talking significantly about dating and Christians using dating websites! We have realized after long discussions and many years of talking and counseling young people that they are significantly turning to dating websites! One potential problem is that the “Christian” aspect of many of these dating websites are not really Christian or they are very loosely Christian!
Today I am going to take a stab at applying convictions and preferences to the subject of drinking. Let’s begin with convictions.
A conviction is a belief or value we embrace as a crucial part of what we stand for and who we are. It is very different from a preference—or merely assenting to a belief or value.
For the believer, there are two levels of conviction. The first level—the deepest level—involves biblical conviction, although some deep convictions may extend beyond the Bible (e.g., a soldier surrendering his life for our country’s freedom). Our biblical convictions should be first and foremost. Where the Bible is emphatic, we must be clear and take a firm stand. This does not mean we must demand others to take that stand, but we certainly must urge fellow believers to follow what the Word actually says. This is not necessarily what we think it says, but what it actually says.
The difference between a biblical conviction and a preference is that we would suffer loss rather than disavow our biblical convictions. It may mean we lose a job, flunk a class, or be ostracized. In some nations, it means imprisonment or even death.
Discussion