Did you watch the Presidential debates a few months back? They sort of get on my nerves. Partly because it’s so often quite obvious they are looking to say whatever will get them liked and voted in office. Now don’t get me wrong, if you want to get voted in, it’s makes sense to “say the right thing.” I do have to give props to Mike H. though. Praise God for his firmness in his faith in Christ and unwillingness to waver. I know that God is richly blessing that man’s life, and I believe will also reward him in Heaven. Another thing I can’t stand about those debates is just that. Debating. They are often quick to disagree for the sake of disagreement. I don’t like it.

Some people love to debate. There are actually professional debaters. When I’m around a person who thinks they’re a professional debater, it bugs me. They just want to “discuss” something. Often times they don’t even care what it’s about they just want to debate. They don’t feel alive unless they’re in a debate and for me, there’s something weird about that.

I’ve given lots of thought to this lately. There seems to be dividing lines in churches today which although it seems strange, is really nothing new. But I believe certain things, and other people don’t. We get into “discussions” which often turn hurtful and maybe even ugly. Last week I was pouring my heart into one of these things when I realized that for me at least-this is wrong.

I began to think of the Bible stories about debates and what people in the Bible did.

Just to name a few:

Stephen: Acts 6-7
Paul: much of the book of Acts
And of course Jesus:  The Gospels

These men were against the “churched.” Do you and I understand that truth today? They were against people that society considered right and correct. These 3 knew with absolute certainty who God was and what He’d told them. Stephen and Paul told these men in detail about Christ and His love, and changed no one. I’m not sure if they truly believed they were going to change people’s minds, but they most certainly didn’t. But don’t we do the same thing? Don’t we think that we can surely make people understand “where we’re coming from”? But instead, they don’t, and we don’t understand them as well. We begin to become consumed with proving our point, and they do too. It’s all we can think about. It’s all they think about. When what we should be thinking about is the worship of God and Heaven and the things of God. **I want to give a little disclaimer at this point. I’m not saying that I’m correct and other people are not correct. I know some of you will try to hit me with that. But that’s fine.** What I’m saying is that I can’t change your mind no matter how hard I try, and you can’t change mind no matter how hard you try. Change comes from God. Change comes from God. Change comes from God. So the purpose of debating within the body for me is void. I’m wasting my time, and spiritual energy, and focus on the wrong thing if I try to do the work of God.

Matthew 27: 11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. 12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Do you think Jesus knew He was right? I think the point is why in the world would you debate what you believe is fact?

My heart’s desire is to get to this place in my life. Do what God tells me to do and love people whether they like me and support me, or despise me and make fun of me. Uh, no, I’m not there yet, I said I desire to get there. Remember what Stephen said, and Jesus said “Forgive them.” They loved. Nothing stood in the way of that. Opinion didn’t stand in the way of that.

My goodness.

Romans 6:1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.