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After reading my title, I have that song stuck in my head now, don’t you? “Just Give Grace a Chance…” Continuing Grace Month with excerpts from my article, “10 Quick Ways to Disagree in Grace” we come to numbers five and six. I pray these tips have been a blessing to you and I would ask that you please pass along the link to my blog posts as there are so many Christians struggling to find comfortable or more effective ways in which to disagree.x
Sometimes Christians find that they may disagree with other Christians over doctrine or how they interpret scripture. I have seen Christians lash out at a sister or brother in Christ and I have seen others stand idly by in fear of what their response would bring. This is a HUGE topic that I actually address in several of my communication studies, but I want to address a portion of this here today: new Christians.
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“5. Give new Christians a Chance
Before I ever came to accept Jesus, I didn’t know His Word. I cannot accept what I do not know. I had to spend time reading the Bible before I could grow in my faith. The closer I grew to the Lord, the more I wanted to live my life for Him. I didn’t start off witnessing. It wasn’t until later that I decided not to participate in things like Santa and the Easter Bunny. Be sure not to stumble a fairly new Christian because he is not yet ready or willing to make a change.”
Before I ever came to accept Jesus, I didn’t know His Word. I cannot accept what I do not know. I had to spend time reading the Bible before I could grow in my faith. The closer I grew to the Lord, the more I wanted to live my life for Him. I didn’t start off witnessing. It wasn’t until later that I decided not to participate in things like Santa and the Easter Bunny. Be sure not to stumble a fairly new Christian because he is not yet ready or willing to make a change.”
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We don’t want to stumble a new believer before he has an opportunity to walk with the Lord. It’s so important that we discuss things and not argue the point. Most new believers will need time to sit with an idea before they can really understand it. Most people have the same issue with almost any new idea. Nobody wants to be told they are doing things wrong, but often we do need to hear it. It’s so much easier to share what we believe than to accuse or badger. This allows us the freedom to speak. It’s also much easier for the recipient to hear us discuss our different belief. This allows the other person the freedom to listen and understand.
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Another issue we face with gracious disagreement, is when we notice the other party isn’t “buying it.” LOL As we attempt to discuss issues, we may notice that the other person isn’t accepting our facts.
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“6. Address their Concerns
If they ask you a question, by all means answer! Sometimes people may not come out and ask, but you can tell they have a concern by their body language or their facial expression. If they object, by all means address it. Calmly share what you know about their concerns.”
If they ask you a question, by all means answer! Sometimes people may not come out and ask, but you can tell they have a concern by their body language or their facial expression. If they object, by all means address it. Calmly share what you know about their concerns.”
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Some will come out and ask you how you know X to be true. Others will squinch up their faces or shake their heads from side to side. This is a red flag clue that something needs to be addressed. Do so. Remember, that addressing their concerns doesn’t mean telling them the are WRONG or getting them to agree you are RIGHT. It simply means that we should graciously attempt to clarify why they are having trouble with our idea and see if we can discuss it further. Along the way, the other party might learn you are right or YOU might learn something about the other person that will allow you to explain your position more effectively.
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I’ll be back on Wednesday with some more tips on disagreeing in grace. Check out our newsletter subscription below. We will have a free gift coming out tomorrow for all subscribers. It’s an activity book that helps parents and kids discuss what Jesus did for us.
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