“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5, ESV)
In New Testament times, the Jewish leaders were split on whether or not certain types of activity were allowed on holy days. Some Jewish groups fought with each other over how many steps were allowed on Sabbath Days. Jewish authorities were split on whether or not taxes were allowed to be paid to the Roman Government. Debates occurred in the Jewish courts over which sins were better or worse. All these arguments, debates, and issues led to some Jewish people being wishy-washy in their faith. All too many Jewish people at the time, not wanting to anger God, took both sides of the argument!
These debates and issues spilled over into the early Christian church. There were leaders who said you had to be circumcised on order to a Christian. Others disagreed. There were Christians who worshipped at synagogues and others who would only worship in Christian churches. Some Christians wanted people to become Jews in order to be baptized as Christians. Others believed a Christian didn’t need to be Jewish to be right with God. Just like the Jewish authorities at the time, the Christian churches seemed indecisive, split, and wishy-washy in their beliefs.
In the midst of all this indecisiveness, the Apostle Paul wrote the scripture for today to the Roman Church. In Romans 14:5, Paul noted that one group of Christians “esteemed one day better than another”, this is, one day more holy than another. For another group of Christians, they “esteemed all days alike”, thus all days were equally holy. Amidst this seeming indecisiveness among Christians, Paul then ended the discussion with this sentence from the scripture for today: “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind”. Paul knew there would be issues that were not so easily characterized as black and white, holy and unholy, righteous and unrighteous. Despite the gray areas of life, Paul wanted Christians to be “convinced”, decisive; to stand firm in their beliefs. Paul wanted no hesitancy and wishy-washy beliefs among the faithful. He wanted you to have a rock solid faith! Is it no surprise that he wrote as many letters of explanations of the faith as he did?!!!
Imagine if Jesus had been wishy-washy about his faith. Imagine if Jesus wasn’t sure about His own teachings. What would have happened if Peter had stood up to preach saying, “I’m not sure why Jesus came to save us, but I think he did it for good reason”? When people do not take the time with God to get right their own beliefs, they become wishy-washy and indecisive. As long as Christians have a shallow relationship with God and no desire to grow in the certainty of scripture, all kinds of indecisive behaviors and decisions will ensue. Then, doubts will take hold and questions will plague those who need to have answers for life!
“Former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready.”
When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,” the cobbler said to his indecisive customer. “I learned right then and there,” Reagan said later, “if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.””
(“Today in the Word”, MBI, August 1991, p. 16)
When doubts cloud your thinking and indecision rules in your heart, you will have a difficult time making up your mind. It’s hard to have strong conviction or dedication or a steadfast faith when you are on shaky ground, unable to make a clear stand on where God needs you to be. When you lack information or are not sure what to do next, doubts will plague you. When you lack direction, it is time to search God’s Word for wisdom, listen to God’s voice, and feel for the direction of the Holy Spirit. BUT don’t remain indecisive. Work through things faithfully and then make a stand.
Several places in scripture show the dangers and folly of remaining indecisive when God wants you to take a stand. In Genesis 19, Lot’s wife died escaping the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. What caused her demise? As she fled the cities, she looked back, unsure of where she was going. God had told Lot and his family to flee and not look back. God was direct, insistent, commanding. Lot’s wife wasn’t sure if she was ready to leave her city behind. Maybe she was afraid to move on to where God had planned to protect them. It’s easy to become afraid when you don’t know the future, but that doesn’t mean that you must remain indecisive when God clearly shows you the path you must go!
When the Israelites questioned why Moses was gone too long on Mt. Sinai, they sinned. Their lack of steadfast trust in God was their undoing. When Elijah confronted King Ahab, he said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! If Baal is God, follow him?” (1 Kings 18:21). The Jewish King Ahab was wishy-washy in his belief in God. Baal looked enticing! This left Ahab in doubt. His lack of faith, his lack of taking a stand with God, caused war to break out among the people. When the Apostle Paul visited Felix, and presented the gospel, Felix also refused to make a faithful decision. He told Paul he wanted a more “convenient” time to make a up his mind (Acts 24:25). Felix could not take stand with Christ. Jesus warned people that “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Jesus wanted his followers to take a stand of faith, not be full of doubts. You can’t share the gospel when your mind is not made up that God’s way is the right way! When your thinking is clouded with doubt and indecision, others can see your lack of commitment and weakness of heart!
James 1:6 says those who doubt are like the waves of the sea, “driven with the winds”. When your heart is full of doubts and you lack conviction, when fence-sitting is all you do, when you want to please others so much that you are willing to compromise your values, what good are you? That doubtfulness and indecisiveness will only further express to others that your faith does not matter much. Your relationship with Jesus will be shaky at best!
Social media is full of all kinds of opinions today. They will gladly spread doubt and misinformation wherever it suits the powers that be. Businesses like Facebook, Google, the New York Times, and the CDC have substituted opinion for the truth and passion for conviction. You do not need a “hard and fast opinion” on every subject. BUT, when it comes to the basic beliefs of your faith in Jesus, you do not want to be indecisive. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches that scripture is not only “inspired by God” but a source of “teaching, correction, and training in righteousness”. God’s Word completes your training and gives you more than enough to stand firm in faith.
I find it very insightful that when the topic of indecisiveness came up on the Christian web site, gotquestions.org, the answer they gave was: “Indecisiveness about what God has declared to be true has no place in the life of a Christian.”
Are there some issues in your life where God wants you to take a stand? Do you come across to other Christians as wishy-washy in your faith? Are you too hard-nosed to realize when you lack biblical understanding? When hard-pressed to defend his faith, Martin Luther was questioned about where he stood on issue after issue by authorities of the Inquisition. After their questions and doubts about his beliefs, Luther simply pointed to the Bible before him and said, “HERE, I STAND, AND I CAN DO NO OTHER!” Luther stood with Jesus. His faith was based on the Bible, on God’s Word. He wanted to remain a Roman Catholic who still held the Bible as the ultimate authority next to Jesus Himself.
Do you stand firmly with Jesus? Have you replaced doubt with a true and proven faith? Do others see your beliefs as a firm rock or like drifting sand?
These debates and issues spilled over into the early Christian church. There were leaders who said you had to be circumcised on order to a Christian. Others disagreed. There were Christians who worshipped at synagogues and others who would only worship in Christian churches. Some Christians wanted people to become Jews in order to be baptized as Christians. Others believed a Christian didn’t need to be Jewish to be right with God. Just like the Jewish authorities at the time, the Christian churches seemed indecisive, split, and wishy-washy in their beliefs.
In the midst of all this indecisiveness, the Apostle Paul wrote the scripture for today to the Roman Church. In Romans 14:5, Paul noted that one group of Christians “esteemed one day better than another”, this is, one day more holy than another. For another group of Christians, they “esteemed all days alike”, thus all days were equally holy. Amidst this seeming indecisiveness among Christians, Paul then ended the discussion with this sentence from the scripture for today: “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind”. Paul knew there would be issues that were not so easily characterized as black and white, holy and unholy, righteous and unrighteous. Despite the gray areas of life, Paul wanted Christians to be “convinced”, decisive; to stand firm in their beliefs. Paul wanted no hesitancy and wishy-washy beliefs among the faithful. He wanted you to have a rock solid faith! Is it no surprise that he wrote as many letters of explanations of the faith as he did?!!!
Imagine if Jesus had been wishy-washy about his faith. Imagine if Jesus wasn’t sure about His own teachings. What would have happened if Peter had stood up to preach saying, “I’m not sure why Jesus came to save us, but I think he did it for good reason”? When people do not take the time with God to get right their own beliefs, they become wishy-washy and indecisive. As long as Christians have a shallow relationship with God and no desire to grow in the certainty of scripture, all kinds of indecisive behaviors and decisions will ensue. Then, doubts will take hold and questions will plague those who need to have answers for life!
“Former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready.”
When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,” the cobbler said to his indecisive customer. “I learned right then and there,” Reagan said later, “if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.””
(“Today in the Word”, MBI, August 1991, p. 16)
When doubts cloud your thinking and indecision rules in your heart, you will have a difficult time making up your mind. It’s hard to have strong conviction or dedication or a steadfast faith when you are on shaky ground, unable to make a clear stand on where God needs you to be. When you lack information or are not sure what to do next, doubts will plague you. When you lack direction, it is time to search God’s Word for wisdom, listen to God’s voice, and feel for the direction of the Holy Spirit. BUT don’t remain indecisive. Work through things faithfully and then make a stand.
Several places in scripture show the dangers and folly of remaining indecisive when God wants you to take a stand. In Genesis 19, Lot’s wife died escaping the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. What caused her demise? As she fled the cities, she looked back, unsure of where she was going. God had told Lot and his family to flee and not look back. God was direct, insistent, commanding. Lot’s wife wasn’t sure if she was ready to leave her city behind. Maybe she was afraid to move on to where God had planned to protect them. It’s easy to become afraid when you don’t know the future, but that doesn’t mean that you must remain indecisive when God clearly shows you the path you must go!
When the Israelites questioned why Moses was gone too long on Mt. Sinai, they sinned. Their lack of steadfast trust in God was their undoing. When Elijah confronted King Ahab, he said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! If Baal is God, follow him?” (1 Kings 18:21). The Jewish King Ahab was wishy-washy in his belief in God. Baal looked enticing! This left Ahab in doubt. His lack of faith, his lack of taking a stand with God, caused war to break out among the people. When the Apostle Paul visited Felix, and presented the gospel, Felix also refused to make a faithful decision. He told Paul he wanted a more “convenient” time to make a up his mind (Acts 24:25). Felix could not take stand with Christ. Jesus warned people that “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Jesus wanted his followers to take a stand of faith, not be full of doubts. You can’t share the gospel when your mind is not made up that God’s way is the right way! When your thinking is clouded with doubt and indecision, others can see your lack of commitment and weakness of heart!
James 1:6 says those who doubt are like the waves of the sea, “driven with the winds”. When your heart is full of doubts and you lack conviction, when fence-sitting is all you do, when you want to please others so much that you are willing to compromise your values, what good are you? That doubtfulness and indecisiveness will only further express to others that your faith does not matter much. Your relationship with Jesus will be shaky at best!
Social media is full of all kinds of opinions today. They will gladly spread doubt and misinformation wherever it suits the powers that be. Businesses like Facebook, Google, the New York Times, and the CDC have substituted opinion for the truth and passion for conviction. You do not need a “hard and fast opinion” on every subject. BUT, when it comes to the basic beliefs of your faith in Jesus, you do not want to be indecisive. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches that scripture is not only “inspired by God” but a source of “teaching, correction, and training in righteousness”. God’s Word completes your training and gives you more than enough to stand firm in faith.
I find it very insightful that when the topic of indecisiveness came up on the Christian web site, gotquestions.org, the answer they gave was: “Indecisiveness about what God has declared to be true has no place in the life of a Christian.”
Are there some issues in your life where God wants you to take a stand? Do you come across to other Christians as wishy-washy in your faith? Are you too hard-nosed to realize when you lack biblical understanding? When hard-pressed to defend his faith, Martin Luther was questioned about where he stood on issue after issue by authorities of the Inquisition. After their questions and doubts about his beliefs, Luther simply pointed to the Bible before him and said, “HERE, I STAND, AND I CAN DO NO OTHER!” Luther stood with Jesus. His faith was based on the Bible, on God’s Word. He wanted to remain a Roman Catholic who still held the Bible as the ultimate authority next to Jesus Himself.
Do you stand firmly with Jesus? Have you replaced doubt with a true and proven faith? Do others see your beliefs as a firm rock or like drifting sand?