Examining Our Faith: The Study of God’s Word

Jesus can find us in so many beautifully different ways.

I was born into a home where Christ was central, so I can’t remember life without him. My beliefs and understanding were shaped as I matured, but Jesus was always a part of my life. In contrast, I have a dear friend who was raised with faith at the edges of her upbringing. She recently became a follower of Christ in her thirties. Others have stories with a lot of pain and trauma before Jesus rescued them from the darkness.

I don’t know your story of how Jesus found you, and maybe you haven’t fully placed your trust in him yet. But either way, being a disciple of Christ requires a consistent bending of our thinking to his because our thinking never wins. We know when we give our lives to Jesus that we’re giving him our hearts, but do we relinquish our minds as well?

Allowing Our Faith to Be Shaped by Jesus

For the sake of our own discipleship, we must start with the Bible. God has laid out his plan for humanity there, and it’s full of truth and

wisdom. Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (NIV).

Most pastors and theologians believe the Bible teaches primary doctrines on which it is important to agree to be true Jesus followers. This is why we have documented creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed. A variety of denominations ascribe to these creeds.

But we need not agree on secondary doctrines. A good example is the one some find in 1 Corinthians 11:6, where women are instructed to cover their heads. Most modern churches don’t uphold this command. They view it as relevant to the culture present when the letter was written but not to today.

Many doctrines are somewhere in between. My list of what is primary and what is secondary may vary from yours; my doctrinal categories have also changed quite drastically as I’ve matured in my faith. I grew up in a fairly conservative Christian subculture where the list of things to do and not to do was fairly lengthy. (My dad will appreciate me sharing that I wasn’t allowed to wear pants to Sunday night church for years. That is squarely in the secondary category for me!)

In my twenties, I thought I had my faith figured out. I had settled on what I thought was right and wrong, and I viewed it all as black and white. If you had disagreed with me then, you likely would have been met with an argument. Today, you are far more likely to hear me answer “I don’t know” if you ask me how I feel about a challenging biblical doctrine. Or you may get an answer completely contrary to what know-it-all twenty-year-old me would have said. I feel fine and comfortable with both.

I believe I am now significantly more mature in my faith, and I couldn’t have come to this point without holding my own convictions about Jesus with an open hand. Our beliefs about the Bible can, in and of themselves, become idols. If we’re not willing to open our minds and our clenched fists and examine them in light of the gospel and what we know about Jesus, we’re putting our beliefs above Jesus himself. Does that convict you like it does me?

Examining Our Faith with Others

 If we’re truly following Jesus, then, through community, we’re leading others to do the same. What is your gut reaction when someone states a belief about the Bible or about Jesus that’s different from yours? Is it defensiveness and judgment? Or is it compassion and love?

I heard Bible teacher Angie Smith at a conference recently. She said she’s practicing saying “I love you” in her mind every time she encounters another human—be it a stranger, a family member, or a friend. I love this idea, and I’m also trying to practice it.

Someone who says something political I disagree with on Facebook? I love you. A homeless man on the corner whose story I don’t know? I love you. A previous church member who did a hurtful thing toward my family? I love you. A person at work who puts personal success above that of the team? I love you. A difficult family member who can lack self-awareness? I love you.

When we think about those we’re discipling, especially those who are newer to following Jesus than we are, we can carry this concept over to how we treat the exploration of our faith. I can share where I’ve landed on a secondary faith topic with my friend and explain why, but I should respect the process my friend must go through to come to her own conclusion. And we should be able to discuss it openly and honestly even if there’s disagreement. We can pray together, asking God to lead us both, by his Spirit, to a conclusion that aligns with his heart. We can also get okay with the tension of disagreement.

I have truly come to believe many doctrines can be addressed by the challenging but simple commands to love God and love people. In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus said everything hangs on those two commands. So did creation truly take seven days as we know them? Or was a day a different length of time then? I don’t know, but I will aim to love God and love people. Has God preselected those who will know and love him and spend eternity with him? Love God and love people. Will the tribulation occur before, in the middle of, or after Jesus’s return? Love God and love people.

Let me affirm this: we can and we must study God’s Word to know his heart and see the overarching story of who he is and how he laid out his redemptive plan. I believe we must hold fast to primary doctrines such as the full humanity and full divinity of Jesus. However, may we be willing to reexamine what we hold as primary versus secondary and sit in loving tension with other Christ followers as we all work out our faith and seek to become more like him.

Amy Wiebe is a Jesus follower, wife, mom of three, church planter, finance director, and lover of sarcasm and deep conversation with friends. She also loves camping, rafting, skiing, sewing, and having people over. Amy blogs with her husband at fringechurch.com.

Photograph © Bethany Laird, used with permission