Compassionate Confrontation - Final Entry

I am so tired of competition and grumbling in the church. I can understand it in religious cults who have to prove who is right about how to please God, but in the Body of Christ, which is the true church, there should be unity. This is still a passion button for me.

By the way, this is the last of the excerpts from the book. I just got into some of these topics as I picked it up a couple weeks ago for a revisit.
No, there is no real logic as to how my brain functions. I'm really into Maxwell's Laws of Teamwork right now as well as reading through the Bible with some friends on Wednesday nights, which is really exciting.

Taken from page 164:

"Camps and confusion must end if we are going to allow the world to see the witness of a resurrected Christ. We are called to love the brethren and lay down our lives for them. This is how the world is to know that we are Christians.
I have many Christian friends who hold different doctrines in non-essential areas. We disagree, but we are not disagreeable. I believe there is a correct interpretation of Scripture. Two opposing views may both be wrong, but they can not both be right. I want to know what is right, so I listen to opposing views and continually search out the Scriptures.
One of the drawbacks of not associating with camps that have differing views on non-essential things is that we are not driven to the Scriptures, and we remain confident in our own traditions. A tradition is a preference that becomes an assumption that it is no longer questioned. Some believe that even the Scriptures must yield to a tradition. “I know that’s not what the Bible says but we . . .”
The disciples were accused of transgressing the traditions of the day. Today they might be charged with standing on the platform in church with no coat and tie, or using the wrong version of the Bible, or raising their hands during a worship service. Jesus asked the Pharisees why they transgressed the commandments of God for sake of their traditions. You see, our traditions often take the same profound significance. We run around judging others who do not walk by our traditions, while we stumble at walking in accordance with the Scriptures that say, love your brother. They even warn that the absence of love for the brethren may be a revelation of an unregenerate religious condition. (1 John 3:13-16)
If we can not have honest debate in the church family, how can we expect to engage a lost culture in debate?"

I hope this series of posts have been challenging to you. These truths always help adjust my focus and attitude. I pray they have done the same for you.