Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Should we be pragmatic or biblical? Can we be both?



I don’t know about you, but I often run into situations that demand a clear, simple answer to very murky, complex questions.  Sometimes the Bible doesn’t directly address a situation.  What am I to do then?  Other times the Bible is very clear, but it is unclear how to apply it to a specific situation.  Now what?  Still other times I feel a pressure to act on something or to take a stand about an issue, but I am simply not sure what steps to take. 

How can I move forward in a way that pleases God?  Can I be pragmatic and biblical at the same time? 

Don’t know what I am talking about?  How about issues like: abortion, ethics in business, divorce, civil disobedience to the government, jobs Christians can take or not, relationships Christians can be involved in or not, how to act in a way that honors Jesus in an environment filled with sinful actions outside of your control, etc.

John Wesley came up with a way to address these kinds of issues and his method has been dubbed the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.  Here is how it works.  Wesley understood that whenever we face tough questions we must filter our decision-making properly or we will likely make a mistake and go in the wrong direction.  For him that filter comprised four “authorities.”  Each one of them are important, but they don’t carry the same weight.  Here they were:

1.       Scripture.  This is the obvious foundational authority for our faith and practice as Christians.  We want the whole Bible to speak into our lives and inform the way we think, speak and live.  When the course of our lives comes up against the teachings of the Bible, the Bible must speak to us and change us, not the other way around.  Everything must submit to this authority.  It is the central cog of the wheel for us.
2.       Tradition.  We don’t know everything and even though we may enjoy advances far greater than earlier generations, we are not the pinnacle of wisdom and knowledge.  Previous generations of Christians need to speak into our present context.  How the Church has lived with the Bible, spoken into the culture, practiced its faith, taken stands for justice and holiness, etc. throughout history matters a great deal.  While God continues to work and speak in fresh ways, we must be informed by our spiritual mothers and fathers from the past and how God worked through them as well.  In other words, we don’t act in isolation from the rest of God’s people.
3.       Reason.  It is true that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1Cor. 3:19).  It is also true that, “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1:25).  Our perspective is simply limited.  As Paul said, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).  Our reason and our ability to reason will be limited on this side of Heaven.  However, God has given us minds to use and we must use them.  We must reason through problems and questions with the best wisdom and discernment available to us.  In the end, though limited, reason is our friend and, when collectively embraced by God’s people, a very strong ally. 
4.       Experience.  We cannot forget what we live through in our day to day walk with God.  We each have a unique and dynamic experience with God that informs us.  Our journey with Him is real and it is directive for us and for those we have influence over.  The text is alive and speaks to us.  The traditions of the Church are alive and inform our individual walks.  The wisdom of God’s people is alive and broadens our worldview.  Quite simply, what we experience shapes us, either strengthening our resolve, breaking our spirit or steering our lives. 

These “authorities” are real.  They must be brought to bear in every question that we must answer as Christians.  They must be used to filter through all the possible options in order to come to the most God-honoring solution to our problems.  In short, I think when we do utilize them properly we can find the best answers and the clearest direction possible.  Will we always be absolutely sure?  Probably not.  That is why we must live and speak with humility.   However, we will have a much greater clarity and confidence as we move forward.

What do you think about these filters?