Comments on: Freedom of beliefs vs. uniformity of beliefs

By: For His Sake

For His Sake — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:24:11 +0000

Greetings Beth,

Been thinking about you and your situation and wanted to share a website that I found very edifying. Sam Storms is Calvinsitic Charismatic and a friend of John Pipers. God has truly gifted him with a Pastor’s Heart. I thought it might encourage you to check out his website and all the online resources:

Here is his website: http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com

Blessings to you and your family.

By: bethduncan

bethduncan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:09:04 +0000

Thank you both for your comments!

For His Sake, I like what you said about rejoicing in the fact that the church I’m attending is faithfully proclaiming the gospel and teaching the whole counsel of God. My husband and I are going to try to find a church we both agree on, and it helps in the search to zoom in on the majors like that.

By: For His Sake

For His Sake — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:09:23 +0000

Greetings Beth,

I am in a similar situation and actually call my blog “A Fish out of Water”. This issue is impacting churches and individuals at every level. Even the debate going on between Piper, Grudem, Duncan, Dever, etal (The Togther for the Gospel guys) as really exposed just how far reaching this attitude is. The consequences of making like-mindedness on secondary doctrines a requirement for membership can have very painful and sometimes disasterous consequences. I pray that Pastors will see that the benefits do not outweigh those possible consequences. Where to draw the line has been debated for decades and it will take God’s intervention to open the eyes and hearts of those in leadership who lack wisdom in this area.

Patience and prayer. As long as the church you are attending is faithfully proclaiming the gospel and teaching the whole counsel of God-rejoice. That (in and of itself) has become a rare thing.

May God richly bless you, comfort you and strengthen you. If you haven’t read much Lloyd-Jones, I highly recommend it.

For His Sake,
“A Fish out of Water”

By: Seth

Seth — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:14:06 +0000

I don’t think doctrines are so important that they need to be kept pure at the expense of contemporary thought. As humans evolve more and more, some old ideas begin to feel outdated. Old Testament rules about cleanliness just don’t apply anymore, not that they weren’t good ideas. Similarly, 100 years ago, women couldn’t vote in the U.S. This was completely rationalized and agreed upon by society until a few dissenters spoke up. They were in the minority, but since they happened to be right, their persistence paid off. Of course, the Word of Truth remains timeless, but fundamental views tend to change and become more inclusive as time goes by. Doctrine wasn’t 100% right then or now, but we are moving in the direction of perfection.