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 Many
years ago I sought to correct what I believed to be a fault in a
brother’s life, and he responded: "I do not live with
your conscience, but with my own." In effect he was saying
I should respect his convictions. In this case, I did respect
his convictions; i.e., I believed him to have honest convictions
— to be acting in good conscience. Because I respected his
convictions, I did not expect him to change his conduct because
I felt he was wrong. It was my hope that he would learn God’s
will more perfectly and, with this changed conviction, he would
make the change in life which honesty demanded.
Conviction"
is not truth. It is "a strong persuasion or belief".
The transitive verb "convince" is: "to bring ...
to belief beyond doubt". But this is wholly subjective —
it refers to what the person believes, and has no bearing
whatsoever — on what God has said about the matter. We could
respect one another’s convictions, and both of us be in error.
Divine truth is expressed in God’s word (JOH.17:17) and must
be approached objectively. This external source of truth is not
altered by what man believes about it.
Sometimes
folk claim to have "convictions" to escape the
responsibilities of examination and Bible study. They ask you to
"respect their convictions" — meaning, cease to
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, (2 TIM.4:2).
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They may even expect you to act contrary to
your own convictions "lest they be offended," or, they
become angry because you too have convictions, and must act
accordingly, even while you respect their convictions.
There
are those who deal in "vain jangling; desiring to be
teachers of the law: understanding neither what they say, nor
whereof they affirm." Paul warned Timothy about such,
saying that such evidenced neither pure heart, good conscience,
nor sincere faith (1 TIM. 1:3-7). There was no reason to
"respect their convictions" nor to believe they had
honest convictions. From such turn away.
In
the final analysis, respecting one’s convictions means
respecting the man, treating him as a man of integrity, an
honest man, of good conscience. When a man evinces a desire to
know truth and serve God; when he welcomes questions and
assistance in Bible study, and makes God’s word-not
"feelings" or popularity — his standard; when he
alters his practice in keeping with his growing knowledge; we
have reason to respect him.
It
is a pleasure to study with such a man, and with a little
effort, we might learn something from him.
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