Misunderstandings

The line from the Animals' song was, "I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. O, Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood." When we're talking about the faith, however, that will be a given, won't it? Sharing with the world -- hostile to God (Rom 8:7) and blinded by Satan (2 Cor 4:4) -- it is a given. But even believer to believer, it seems like we will certainly be misunderstood.

My grandfather was a self-professed atheist who, every time he visited our home, heard the gospel in some form or another. Personal witnessing, Billy Graham crusades, even reading Evidence that Demands a Verdict -- both volumes. But he never budged. Then, when I was about 50 and we were visiting, he stopped us in the middle of a conversation. "Wait!" he said, "Are you saying that you get saved simply by believing in Christ???" I was stunned. How many times had he heard that ... without hearing? He figured all along it was the standard "be good enough and you'll get in" format and never heard any of the truth until that moment. Misunderstandings.

A believer I know came in contact with the doctrine of election and was outraged. "Well, if that's true," he said, "I'll just become a Hell's Angel because it doesn't matter what I think or want if He does the choosing." Mind you, election is not like that. God's choosing is not capricious or whimsical. God doesn't choose for no reason, but for His own purposes (Rom 8:29) and His own reasons (Rom 9:11) and not because we're so lovable or capable (1 Cor 1:26-27). "Well, if God denies others access to heaven simply because they're not chosen, that's not fair!" God denies no one access to heaven (John 3:16). All misunderstandings. (Note: Eventually, after my friend read more and heard more and thought it through more, he realized the truth and embraced it. Misunderstandings do not have to remain.)

"You Christians ... you operate on blind faith." That's a very common one, and we even hear it affirmed by Christians. It's not Scripture; it's a misunderstanding. Scripture refers to pistis -- to be persuaded by evidence or argument. Scripture affirms that we have reasons to believe. Credulity is the willingness to believe without evidence or reason. We're not called to that. Misunderstanding.

It is inevitable that unbelievers will misunderstand. We're told, "The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Cor 2:14). On the other hand, among believers, we are all in various stages of sanctification and renewing the mind, so we will all have a varying level of understanding. As such, misunderstanding among believers will also be inevitable. Unbelievers will require intervention from God, but we who are born again should be careful to be slow to speak and swift to hear (James 1:19), seeking understanding and unity among brethren. We should always be willing to have our beliefs adjusted by God's Word. We all, in fact, need it.