Welcome everyone to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth! Lately, I’ve been looking at Christian sound bites. Bad argumentation is a problem wherever we see it and sadly, Christians can be quite guilty of it. I’m going to look at one tonight that does parallel what we covered last night.
Suppose you’re debating with a fellow Christian on a topic not explicitly discussed in the Bible. An example could be something political. Of course, what I’m about to say could apply to something in the Bible as well unfortunately. You have made your point and your opponent has no argument so they just say “Well you need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you.”
Pride once again, and one of the worst kinds, a spiritual pride. This person wants you to pray because they’re sure God will back them if you ask.
For the sake of argument, it could be that this person is entirely right in their position, but they’re just too lazy to develop a good argument. Let it never be thought that because someone uses one of these sound bites as a cop-out in a debate, that they are wrong in their point. It just means they’re being intellectually lazy.
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit helping us understand Scripture has not meant the Holy Spirit will tell us what a text means. It means the Holy Spirit will convict us on the meaning of the text. Otherwise, the job of commentators would be much easier and we’d never need to really wrestle with the text. God actually wants us to work to understand Him and His Word.
I also think that with decision making, the Holy Spirit is never to just decide for us. That can happen, but it is extremely rare. On the other hand, I think it’s entirely appropriate to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom in decision making so we can make a pleasing decision.
The kind of thinking we see today actually can lead to troubles for many Christians. Some people leave the faith because they don’t have the experiences they think they’re supposed to be having. I have wondered in churches when a vote comes up before a board and we’re asked to vote the way the Holy Spirit is supposedly leading, why it seems the Holy Spirit can’t make up His mind. Why is it we are to give the way we feel the Spirit leading? Why can’t we instead hear a sermon on 2 Cor. 8-9? Rather than wisely decide how we should vote or give, we just say “Hey God. Can you just tell me?”
Like last time, the person making this claim is being prideful. They have been lazy and instead of admitting they don’t know, this time, they’re actually punting to God and saying God will justify their laziness. It’s also dangerously assuming a hotline to God that many cult leaders have claimed to have.
This objection reminds me of what Francis Beckwith once said. “”If they can’t win with logic, they’ll trump you with spirituality.” As I said yesterday, holiness should not be used as a weapon. If you can’t win the argument, then say you’ll be glad to go back and study. Laziness is not an excuse and we should not use God to excuse our laziness.
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