The Weight of Concerns

When having a discussion around things we see differently, there are multiple dimensions that are relevant: what the Bible actually says, how we interpret particular passages, how we understand the overall teaching of the Bible by integrating those passages, and how we apply that teaching practically into our different contexts. It’s possible to discuss all these aspects as they were purely academic questions.

However, as human beings we also have hopes and fears, concerns about dangers and values we want to protect - that is part of how God has made us. Many of these are not superficial but deeply held; I’m going to use the word concerns as shorthand for things that really matter to us, although some of them such as hopes are more positive than the word concern suggests.

Generally as believers we will hold many of these concerns because they are part of our Christian heritage; we shouldn’t just ignore them but should celebrate the fact that how we work out our Christian faith really matters to us. It is helpful to be aware of our concerns, our reasons for holding them, and the relative weight of our different concerns - and to be open to God’s word speaking into all of these.

When we come together as a diverse community, our differing concerns can result in conflict with one another - that’s part of being a community, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s anything wrong with our concerns! But for us to be a body that loves and cares for one another, and works out the will of God together, we need to see each other and understand each other in this area.^[1]

Most Christian concerns have some kind of basis in Scripture. And yet amongst sincere Bible-believing Christians we have different concerns, or differ in how much weight we would attach to different concerns. We need to try and see as far as possible the biblical basis for one another’s concerns, and understand why we each feel different weight attached to those concerns. It’s often too easy for us to reject other people’s concerns or Scripture interpretation simply because they conflict with our concerns. In order to hear one another, and see how we can learn from the Scripture together, we need to be able to take a step back and evaluate all of our concerns in the light of the Scripture together.

Here are some examples of concerns people may have about the work of the Holy Spirit and the way that is expressed and received within the life of the church:

• I long for us to be a deeply Bible-oriented church, where what characterises our daily lives is that we study the Word of God and apply it in our lives.
• I have a deep desire for the Holy Spirit to set people in our community free from fears, struggles, sin and oppression, so that they can live the life God has called them to.
• I am concerned that by allowing for or promoting contemporary expressions of spiritual gifts, we may stray into practices that I can’t see biblical warrant for, and end up in a place that feels unsafe because no-one can question what somebody claims to be from the Holy Spirit.
• I feel worried that we may quench the work of the Spirit by being too restrictive in what we allow in our church services, and miss out on amazing things that God has for us.
• I want us to be a praying church that consciously depends on God by bringing our challenges before Him in prayer, knowing that we cannot be who we are meant to be without God’s help.
• I often find space for contemplation and reflection to be spiritually significant, and I find the loudness or brashness of some charismatic practice quite disturbing.
• I find liturgical services very difficult to relate to as I am used to praying spontaneously from the heart.

Since the Holy Spirit’s work is profound and varied, one of the pitfalls we need to avoid is contrasting different aspects of that work emphasised by different flavours of Christianity. This can lead to unnecessary disagreement (“Group A says the Holy Spirit empowers believers, but Group B says the Holy Spirit renews creation” - both are clearly reflecting biblical truth) which prevents mutual learning and also may not clarify actual differences in understanding and expectation. It’s also likely that within every school of thought there are examples of more mature, biblically balanced and faith-filled approaches, as well as of less mature, unbalanced or unhelpful approaches.

Many of us may want us to see eye to eye as fellow believers about these things but not know how to practically do so when we come with such different perspectives. It’s good to acknowledge how challenging that can be, and then ask God for His help in understanding what Paul called “the whole counsel of God”^[2] as we wrestle through these things together. Most of us don’t anticipate suddenly changing our minds about deeply held values - and that is indeed rare. It’s more likely that over time sharing in community with people who differ from us, we gain insight from what they see, and are able to think about weighing up the strengths of others’ biblical values alongside the ones we already hold.

It’s also worth considering the role that Christian traditions might have in our approach to our faith. Though younger movements such as the Pentecostal or Charismatic ones may not use the word “tradition” as much as older groups such as Anglicans or Methodists, both of us will experience the pros and cons of inheriting beliefs and practices, attitudes and systems from previous generations. What does the Bible have to say about this?

The word “tradition” is used in the New Testament in both positive and negative ways: Jesus is scathing in his criticism of the Pharisees and teachers of the law for their replacement of God’s commands with human traditions^[3] . Peter talks about believers being redeemed from the futility of inherited traditions - and Paul’s pre-conversion persecution of the church came from him being zealous for his ancestor’s traditions^[4]. Paul warns the Colossians against the captivity of philosophies based on human traditions^[5]. But he also praises the Corinthians for holding on to the Christian traditions he passed on to them, and instructs the Thessalonians to do likewise, and even to keep away from believers who don’t^[6].

This contrast is important: we should actively hold on to what we have received that is in line with God’s will revealed in his Word, but be ready to let go of any traditions that are standing in the way of true worship. Jesus diagnoses the problem by quoting from Isaiah: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”^[7]. Since what we have inherited often just seems obvious and natural to us, we need hearts that are open to God so that we may continually move closer to him and to his will - the church should always be open to change. This is true of how we first receive the gospel (see Acts 17:11) but also of our growth in the faith. This is sometimes expressed in Latin as Ecclesia semper reformanda est - “the church must always be reformed”^[8], or in the words of Luther: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent’, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”^[9].

Being open to change in our entire life, under the Lordship of Christ includes this area of how we understand and put into practice Biblical teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit. To me, a helpful way to see this is that our lives are an offering to the Lord. In Romans 14, Paul teaches that where there are differences, we need to live in line with our consciences, and leave the ultimate judgement in the hands of God^[10]. We will need to draw clear lines on certain teaching in order to prevent the gospel being undermined through heresy or idolatry: that’s a biblical responsibility^[11]. But we must do so from a heart position that is humble and open to the Lord. And part of that is being willing to acknowledge the role that tradition plays in shaping our views of this topic, in order to enable a more open, Bible-centred discussion, where those who differ from us are not simply dismissed out of hand.

I’m bringing this up before getting into looking at the particular topic of the work of the Holy Spirit because reflection on this may enable you to get more out of this book. Can I encourage you to jot down some answers to the following questions before we begin?

Reflection Questions

1. When reflecting on your church community (or other primary faith context) working out a biblical understanding, experience and practice of the work of the Holy Spirit, what are your chief concerns (positive and negative)? Try to express each in a sentence or two.
2. Try to identify someone that you know to be a genuine Bible-believing Christian who thinks differently from you about the work of the Holy Spirit. What do you think their chief concerns are in this area? If possible, sit down with them and ask them, and try to reflect their concerns back to them in a non-judgmental way.
3. What have been the chief influences on you in terms of your approach to the work of the Holy Spirit? These could be particular passages of Scripture, individuals you know personally, Bible teachers you have listened to, or particular streams or movements within the Christian church.