Scripture Over Sides: Learning to Hold the Tension

Yo, what up, man? Uh, so for you all that have been rocking with me, uh, know that I've talked a lot about tension, uh, not just in the scripture sense but even leadership. But anywho, I'ma just try my best through the power of God to navigate this, uh, as I'll probably be addressing this for a season. Not the only thing, but definitely something I believe that I'm called to, uh, in this space. And I'm only one voice. I'm not saying I'm the only one to see it this way at all. Uh, but it's a burden that I believe that the Holy Spirit is putting on me, and I just want to be obedient, uh, to that. And then I'll clarify as time goes on. So this is not one that I think you can just kind of zone in and out. I think you have to look at the totality of what I'm saying. Uh, yeah, we'll go from there. Uh, so, uh, man, with this, let me just say this. Uh, so I, I'm actually speaking through ultimately submitting to Scripture, but I'm also asking to see the humanity. And my counselors have, you know, biblical counselors have helped me just see things differently, not experience more superior Scripture, but they have helped me see things differently. And, you know, one of the things I've been— just get to the point— wrestling with lately is how easy it is for conversations around Scripture, justice, culture, sin, politics and just theology, um, how they're reduced or they immediately, uh, get flattened into extremes. It's like you almost feel the pressure to pick a side, uh, before you even had time to think, pray, study, or just really listen to the person. And this is not just in the local church. Like, I, I coach in the secular, so it's in leadership topics, management topics, just about anything. I've shared a post, it's like people will literally argue over anything. And, and that's not a bad thing inherently. Like, we should be sharpening one another and inviting perspectives and things of that nature. Um, but anywho, Stan, Stan, true to the topic is that, uh, it's a— it's just a real tension there. And I think it's something that we, we have to ask God to help us put language to. Um, so, you know, again, I'm not arguing that experience, uh, replaces scripture at all. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not even saying like there's gray area when it comes to the clear things that Jesus, uh, that God gave us in his word. I'm not saying culture becomes our authority. I'm not, I'm not saying at all. Scripture is still the authority and will always be for me and my belief. The whole counsel is still the final authority when it comes to everything. Um, but however, what I am saying is that sometimes our background, tradition, experience denomination, pain, our politics, you know, even our environment, it can shape parts of Scripture that we naturally emphasize. Help me out, say this right, that we naturally emphasize parts that we may unintentionally overlook is what I'm trying to say. Like, that's what I'm asking us to anchor this in. Because, for example, you have some people that become so focused on social issues that Scripture becomes secondary. Like they start with an ideology and then they look for verses to support it. In other words, they sprinkle scripture in it. But then there's another danger too, where sometimes we become so focused on defending the truth— defend— let me say, defending doctrine— that we stop wrestling with real conditions, you know, suffering, injustice, partiality, exploitation, and brokenness., that scripture itself addresses. Like, um, this is where I believe we can just look past people because we're not really sitting with them. And even our Lord and Savior didn't model that. Even he got categorized as, look at him, you know, sitting with sinners. And again, I'm not saying that's a license. I hate I even have to keep doing this in this climate, but sound bites are real and you get took out of context. But he was there. He came. He was sitting with them to help. Jesus never became like they were. Either they stop following him, or they eventually submitted to him, submitted to his teachings and things of that nature. And that's because I just believe our Savior, man, when he was in the flesh, when God became flesh, he taught us what to do. And a lot of times, man, we just— we have no capacity to do that. Um, so, um, I, I just believe, man, like, you know, when it comes to Navigating this world, like, help me, Holy Spirit. Uh, listening carefully to another believer's perspective is not the same as compromising doctrine. It is just, I am listening, I am seeking to understand the person, I'm trying to be where my feet are, uh, I'm trying to allow the Holy Spirit to help me, uh, ultimately point to Jesus, whether that's in word, whether that's in presence, whether that's just sitting in the messy middle with life, just as people said with me. And then sometimes another believer helps you notice that, you know, hey, what's been there the whole time? Like, but our context— thank you, Holy Spirit— our context kept us from seeing it. Like, it's dialogue. It can be to, again, like, hey, man, that's some systemic stuff over there. That's really injustice. Like, hey, brothers and sisters, like, we should be confronting that with the heart of God. Um, and we can be like, no, no, no, not, not that. And it's like, okay, we're not listening, I'm not with that race-baiting stuff. Okay, is it— again, this is a person with the heart of God. And then on the other side as well, hey man, um, you know, no, that's, that's not what that— that I'm trying to think. Lord, help me, Holy Spirit. It could be like, hey man, like, you need to grow, you need to mature, uh, you need to kind of come out of, um you know, that hatred. It's, oh, I don't hate nobody but the, you know, white man or whatever and stuff. And so it's like, no, no, bro, that's, that, that's hatred, you know. You need to come out of that. That's sin, man. That's, that's iniquity in your heart residue because, you know, all the things that have happened have led you to hate another person. And then we go on and on and on, um, and same with the white man. Like, that, you know, let's be honest, like, uh, a lot of people have hated Black people because, uh, of their skin. So this thing— but see now it's just grounded more in experience, and we're actually elevating these things over— it's not that I can't name it, it's not that the experience, you know, with dealing with certain things— I'm not trying to go explain it away. But anyway, what I'm trying to just say is that sometimes it just needs to be an iron sharpening iron conversation, especially if it is two believers that faithfully hold to the text. Now it gets different and diluted when people are not faithful to the text. Um, it can get dangerous. Not saying you can't have the conversation,. But just, you have to be careful because that's a whole different topic. So I'm just speaking in the context of believers right now. So, you know, if you go study Acts 6, okay, like in context, like the widows, they were being overlooked and the apostles, like they didn't say, hey, stop talking about this because doctrine matters more. No, they addressed the issue. Hear me, they addressed the issues while protecting, still protecting devotion to prayer and the ministry of the word. They held the tension correctly. And that is something that I believe, that we really sit in the context of Acts 6, that man, the Holy Spirit can teach us what to do in such a time like this. James is one of my, personally one of my favorite, I love the whole Bible, but James, like I do have books that I really, really like. And one of the main reasons I like James is because like I do wrestle with it. But I love that it's kind of like up in your face, man. James is one of them books to be like, ay, Tim, it can quickly tell me, yeah, bro, you drifting. This is how you live the Christian life. Yes, the whole Bible. I'm not, you know, discrediting the whole Bible, but I'm saying I just personally really like James and just like how many people like going through Proverbs. So I feel like James is like one of the wisdoms of the New Testament, the wisdom literature of the New Testament. So but again, like in James 2, when we talk about partiality, like He doesn't treat favoritism like a minor social issue. He treats it as like valid violation of the faith. And we do it all the time. Like we show favoritism when the Bible has consistently showed us not to do it. There is a difference between honor and favoritism. But sometimes when we're honoring people here— hear me, thank you, Holy Spirit— is that when people are honoring people if all we see is favoritism and we're grounded and being formed by that, as soon as someone is just legitimately honoring someone, it can sound like, hey, don't go too far, it sounds like favoritism. And it's like, no, no, no, I'm just honoring because that's a part of the council, that's a part of the whole council as well. But then also too, it's like, uh, sometimes legitimate that favoritism can leak into, uh, I mean, honoring can leak into favoritism. It's like, no, that's not honor, man, that's just your favorite. And you're not really listening to other voices because, um, you're not honoring the whole integrity of the Bible, the whole counsel. You are now idolizing someone. So I hear you saying this honor, but that's really favoritism. So it could be— look, but again, what is the posture? What are you seeing? And we have to make sure that we aren't being informed by what we are consistently taking in and seeing. Thank you, Holy Spirit. This is why we have to guard our hearts, man. We really do. But another one, Galatians 2. Give you, give you— I'm not going to give you just little bits and pieces of scripture right now. I want you to study Galatians 2 with Paul confronting Peter. You know, Peter's theology, like, it really sounded right, but his behavior created division. Here it is. His theology sounded right, but his behavior created division. We have to be careful with that because sometimes behavior exposes blind spots., that doctrine alone does not reveal. Uh, this is what I mean by, um, thank you, Holy Spirit. Like, when you see a lot of teachers and preachers that get up and they, they— and I'm not saying Peter was doing this, but in this context we have to be careful because just because something sound biblical on the surface— and again, I'm not saying this was Peter, this was a different thing— but the principle of the matter is that, okay, hey, how are they living? Like do they life model what they're teaching? Like, what's going on there? We have to examine these things closely. Like, I want people to watch me, test what I say, and watch me close. Don't ever get to a point where like, man, you know, Tim just good. No, pray for me, watch me. Uh, I'm not saying watch me so much with suspicion and always like looking, uh, for correction. Like, heck, I have to be on guard of myself because any given time Tim can surrender and submit to this flesh. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Look at Peter. When Jesus asks, who do men say that I am? And Peter gives Jesus the answer. And Jesus essentially tells him, you know, this was not revealed to you through flesh and blood. This was revealed to you from my Father. Okay. Paraphrasing. Okay. Then not even a little bit longer, Peter tries to rebuke Jesus. Okay. Just imagine if we take that principle just because someone gives a sound word one time, uh, if they are not consistently in the heart of God, and now we're just following that person. So what I'm trying to say is that, say, if you're following someone, it's because they got it right once or twice or whatever, but now they drifting, and now they speaking from the devil. They're allowing the devil to use them, but because they got it right that first time, you took your eyes and you're not following them as they follow Christ. You're just following them because you're personality-driven. So Man, that's, that's why we have to be careful. And I'm not saying Galatians 2 say all of that. This is more me. This is just really the, the, the ramblings coming out. But, but, but, but it's just again, something to be mindful of. And, you know, one of the things is, is that I think online culture has truthfully discipled us into reaction instead of wisdom. I think Online culture has discipled us into reaction instead of wisdom. In other words, conversations that should require patience, humility, context, and actual Bible study, you know, immediately becomes labels and sides. Hear me. Like, it kind of goes back to the beginning, like somewhere in all of it, like we've lost the ability to just wrestle, like just sit again with the messy things of life, to listen well and grow faithfully with one another. Not trying to outdo one another, not trying to prove points. It's just, man, like, sit back and be like, wow, I never really considered it like that. Never really thought about it like that. Dang, that's interesting. Like, we don't really do that anymore. It's because, again, we're consistently being formed and we're not careful, we're being shaped. So yes, have a zeal to call out whatever God has you calling out, but always make sure that it's balanced there because sometimes, man, hear me, we can come off— yes, people, that they will hate us because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He's already told us that. But sometimes people just hate us because of how we're coming off. And we might need to sit and have somebody to help us. Like, okay, spiritually, hey man, you solid. You are— you, you in that vein. But emotionally, mentally, and physically, you off. And a lot of times people can't sit with us, not because, uh, it's— they hate us because of Jesus. It's like, man, they really just can't get with us because of how we come off. And I can live with people hating me because they hated my Savior. I can live with people hating me because they hated my Lord. But, uh, I gotta wrestle with people just hating me because I'm, I'm coming off, uh, very mean and harsh and, uh, no patience, nothing, no fruit of the Holy Spirit. Like, that's not okay, and that needs to be wrestled with, needs to be submitted to. And you're starting to see a lot of that in this whole back and forth, man. You, you're preaching— like, I see people, man, um, like, truthfully, like, I don't have a problem with call-out culture, but when I see videos of 4 or 5 hours of just ripping someone, it's like, okay, man, 4 or 5 hours, like, yeah, you sprinkle scripture in there, but do you really think— I digress, because that's not what this is about. So feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit to stop. Um, but again, man, I'm just, I'm just saying that, um, You know, balance matters. Balance matters. It really does. But now let— so what I'm saying— thank you. Good transition. But now to be very careful, not every perspective is biblical. And just because, again, it comes from pain, it comes from lived experience or strong emotion, that does not mean it can override scripture. Hear me, please hear me again. Just because you have a strong pain or lived experience or a strong emotion about something, um, does not mean it can override scripture. It cannot. The Holy Spirit is— he, he is who— uh, illuminates truth through the word of God, not apart from it. Hear me, the Holy Spirit illuminates the truth through the word of God not apart from it. So we need the word, like we need the word of God. So again, not every experience, uh, is biblical just because it comes from pain, lived experiences, or strong emotion. Uh, all it is is that experience can sometimes help expose a blind spot, but experience alone cannot override scripture. God can use the experience, but he will never override the scripture. And we have to just be mindful of that. So it is the Holy Spirit that illuminates through the word of God. And yes, he also works through other believers, not apart from it. So, man, I just believe truthfully in the context of Scripture, biblical maturity ultimately is not ignoring doctrine for— it's not ignoring doctrine for compassion at all, or ignoring compassion for doctrine. It's submitting both to Christ. Thank you, Holy Spirit. It's submitting both to Christ and the authority of Scripture. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I'm gonna say it again: biblical maturity is not ignoring doctrine for compassion or ignoring compassion for doctrine. It's submitting both to Christ and the authority of scripture. And some people— again, there are some people that use scripture to avoid hard realities, and they don't want to address these realities and have these conversations. And others use hard realities to reshape scripture. Both are dangerous. Some people use scripture to avoid hard realities of what's going on. Well, I don't want to engage with that, so I'm gonna find scriptures to help me not engage with that. You're just as dangerous. And then to the person that, um, use hard realities to reshape scripture to be more informed by the reality than what scripture is saying, like how we should approach it, how should I be postured— it's the fruit of the Holy Spirit. I'm angry and that's an injustice, but can the fruit of the Holy Spirit still be presented even as I confront this injustice. Come on, man. Like, we got to— we got to grow up and mature in the things of the Lord. And when we are operating in either one of those extremes, it is very dangerous. It is like— and we just have to be careful. So, so on that note, man, I would just say maybe part— I'mma close with this and I shouldn't be telling you because I just should have closed it out, but maybe part of maturity is recognizing that, oh man, I can love scripture, I can honor God, and I can still have blind spots shaped by my context. And maybe, just maybe, growth sometimes looks less like reacting faster and more like, hey, I'm gonna slow down enough to listen, to study, to pray, to think. It's nothing wrong with thinking. If your thinking is informed by scripture, if you are submitting your thinking by scripture— and I could really go into this, man, where I was challenged by, um, a community, man, when we— I'm not gonna open it up, but it's not a bad thing to think. Just make sure that it's in alignment with scripture. When thinking goes against scripture, yeah, hey, come back, let's, let's book, chapter, and verse in context. But you gotta know who you're talking to. And always support your argument, man, or whatever. For like, I shouldn't say argument, but always support your position with scripture. Back it up in context, not cherry-picking verses. But there's nothing wrong with thinking, as long as that thinking is refined and consistently submitted to scripture. It's like we're penalized for the intellectual part of it and only want to prioritize the spontaneous. Uh, but anywho, let the Holy Spirit refine you through the word of God and through community. This is the beauty of the local church. This is the beauty of the church in general. This is the beauty of local community in the house and fellowship with just another brother or sister in the faith. Uh, this is the beauty of just all things. Do not let this world taint you for what Jesus is asking of us. Do not let this world taint you for what Jesus is asking of us. People are always going to manipulate the Bible. They have done it since— they was doing it right after the gate. But stay postured, man. I want to encourage you, all of us— pray for me too— that we stay postured that we have the same zeal. You know, one of the things I'll say is that if you have a zeal to call out sin, have a zeal to also call out the things that's leading to a lot of the stuff that you're calling out. Call it all out, just not one side, not one side. And just make sure that you're not being formed by a world that wants to keep us divided. I'm never saying unite around false teaching, um, I'm never saying unite around people that, um, are, um, what's the word I'm looking for, uh, that's just only God in name and not in deed. I'm not saying that. Hey, call it out, call it out, cast it out, as they say. Uh, like for real, do it. But at the same time, also to ask God to help you. And who am I sitting with? Who am I in the presence of? Um, God, what does this person need in this moment? Because the moment that I read into and bleed into, uh, certain things, I just believe sometimes we're losing people because we're not aware of what we're being formed and shaped by. So, man, I, I hope this helps and just sharpens a little bit. Uh, but if you want to have that conversation, it's kind of hard to kind of unpack it all. But, uh, man, I just was compelled to share this, and this was on my heart, man, as I'm just navigating a lot right now and sitting with people from all walks of life as well as myself. I'm consistently growing, consistently being corrected, consistently being refined. So God is faithful, man. And I'll just really say this: incomplete doesn't mean unfaithful when it comes to the Bible, because I will never have a complete understanding of God's word. Not on this side, at least for sure. But I'm consistently striving, man, and being open to seeing things, not compromising, but just being open to see things more holistically. And that's the beauty in that. And I will always sit in that no matter what. I would never pick a side unless it's only you put me in a position where I have to choose the Lord and his word versus the world. But when it comes down to sitting with people and like, hey, you know, the tensions that we have to wrestle with, no, I'm not. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat is what I'm trying to say. I'm a child of God, man. I don't have a problem with people that choose to have conservative views. I don't even have a problem with people that choose to have, uh, like, I, I have friends that are Democrat that we can actually have a conversation, nuanced conversation. It's like, I don't agree with that, I don't agree with that, don't like that, but man, I still believe in this. And I have people that are conservative, but that's not the world that we live in today. It's not. So anywho, I'm about to open up another can of worms, so I'll leave it today, man. Love you all, praying for y'all, uh, as well as I actually pray for me. Be blessed.