Why don't Christians Always Agree?

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Christ-Confidence Coaching. I am Elizabeth Dyer and I'm your host for today. Today is just going to be me talking again and there's a topic God put on my heart. Why do Christians sometimes just not agree? There's lots of different reasons for that and we're going to explore a few of them today.

Sin

First of all, just because we're Christians doesn't mean we don't still fall into sin.

If we didn't sin, we wouldn't need forgiveness. And I know I need forgiveness. How about you? Have you ever done anything and need forgiveness? Have you ever had to apologize to somebody? Just because we've accepted Christ into our heart and have the Holy Spirit, doesn't mean we're gonna be perfect. In fact, perfection, that's an illusion. It's not gonna happen this side of Heaven.

While I may strive to live a sinless life every day, I'm still gonna fail many times. And I bet you've done the same. That's why God's mercy and His love and His forgiveness are new every day. And I so love that. And I so need that.

Yes, if we're Christians and we fall into sin, of course it's going to cause a disagreement because we're doing something God doesn't agree with. And sadly, that's going to happen in the best of relationships. Whether it's marriage or whether you've been best friends for most of your life, you're going to come a time when you're going to disagree on something.

Not Listening

Then, of course, there is the times when we're not listening to the Holy Spirit. No matter what the Holy Spirit is telling us, we go off and do our own thing. I know I've been guilty of that and I'm sure everybody else has too. It's just part of being human and part of learning to listen to that small, still voice.

When we're in tune with the Holy Spirit, there can be great communion and a great community. I know I went to Fear and to Faith, and the more we were all in the Holy Spirit, and the more the Holy Spirit was welcome. Wow, what a powerful event. If you haven't been, I welcome you to go. Summer Day, my good friend puts this event on, and we're going again in March. So I hope that you can join us.

It is fantastic to be in a room of fellow believers who just let the Holy Spirit take charge. And when we do that, we can be as one because God is not divided. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So his mind isn't debating things. It isn't wondering what he should do or what's right or what's wrong. He already knows. And the more we let the Holy Spirit take control, the more we can think and be as one. But again, that's not going to happen while we're living here on this earth, but I can guarantee you, it'll be the way it works in heaven.

Equal is Not the Same

And even then, we may have different roles. See, the Bible says we're all equal in God's eyes because we've all sinned. We've all fallen short. You, me, and everyone else were the reason Jesus had to come and be a sacrifice for our sins because we failed. We're not perfect and God still loves us. He still loves you. He still loves me. I hope that comforts you today. But yes, even as we are equal in God's eyes, we're not the same.

God's called me to be the Christ-Confidence Coach and I guarantee you He's called you to do something too. And it may be just talking to somebody in your day-to-day job. You may be excellent at laying brick, and God called people to be bricklayers. He called people to be carpenters. He called people to do everyday jobs, and still take your faith with you. You don't have to leave your faith behind. It is part of who you are, and it should be part of your everyday life.

The more we make it part of our everyday life, the better off we will be and the better off the world will be. In fact it's one of the key teaching points I do in my Christ-Confidence coaching. You are challenged every day to talk to somebody about God, talk to somebody about what He's done for you.

In my stores, I don't care to stop in the middle of everything and pray for somebody, pray over them. Ask God for anything that's bothering them to be made right. Ask God to heal their heart or heal their bodies or just to reach down and love them all the way down to their soul so they know just how much He's there for them. And that's it every single day. It's just part of life. And you should make it part of your everyday life too.

Know the Word

Another reason sometimes Christians don't agree is, we don't all read our Bibles. I know I was guilty. I would read my Bible and be really good at it, and then I'd quit. Now I've challenged myself, and I've made a covenant with God to read the Bible cover to cover every single scripture, every year for the rest of my life. You think of that, and that might sound daunting, but you know when I started doing it, I realized it only took about 20 minutes of my time a day.

That's right, 20 minutes a day, six days a week, and I can read the entire scripture, every word that's been inspired by our Holy Father. And I've learned so much, the more I do it, the more I realize some things I was taught aren't in the Bible at all. And some things I should have been taught are there, but they weren't mentioned.

Let God will speak to you on an individual level as you read it as well because it's the living Word of God. It's not just dealing with the past. We're not in the desert right now, but I can guarantee you there are times you feel like you are in the desert. And maybe even you felt like you were there for 40 years. But you can step into your promised land as you step into your Christ-Confidence.

I believe that with all my heart. But you've got to get there and you've got to go through that journey to see the end results.

Just for Us

Another reason we don't always agree is because sometimes we think what God tells us for us specifically should be for everyone else, too.

I did a health challenge before and God had told me to give up white potatoes. Now, I argued that for a long time. Lord, I eat potatoes all the time. I eat hash browns. I could eat chips, French fries, baked potatoes. I loved all of them. God told me to give them up. And so I fought for several months. And finally, I gave them up. I've not eaten white potatoes in, oh, 14 years now.

And it was interesting that about three years after I gave him up, I did some blood work and found out I was actually allergic to white potatoes. I think most of you are not. But see, God already knew that specifically about me because He created me. So He was asking me to give it up because it wasn't good for my body. And God may tell you to give up things specifically for your body because He knows you better than you know yourself.

It's important to stay in tune with that Holy Spirit and learn from it and listen and actually do what the Holy Spirit's guiding you to do. I can tell you it's not always easy, but with Christ, it's always possible.

Sometimes Division is Actually Multiplication

Now in the scriptures we actually find two very important people that disagreed and they both loved Christ and made great sacrifices and I'm talking about Paul and Barnabas.

And you can go back to Acts chapter 5 and find out how they eventually parted ways. The interesting thing is God used this division to create multiplication. That's right. That doesn't work in math, but it can work with God. So the division where Paul and Cyrus went one direction and John Mark and Barnabas went another actually increased the reach of Christianity and helped Christianity spread further, faster.

Because God can take what seems like a negative and turn it into something positive. So if you don't agree with somebody, that's okay. You don't have to agree with everyone all the time. There'll be things I say that you won't agree with.

Growth

And I would tell you there's things I believe and know with every ounce of my being now that I didn't 10 years ago or 20 years ago or when I was a young child. Because God is continuing to increase my knowledge and He will yours as well. So we have to take that in stride that everybody's not at the same point. God is teaching us all differently as we go.

So take it from Paul and Barnabas. Division can equal multiplication. So next time you find a friend you're disagreeing with, instead of arguing, first go in prayer and see what the Holy Spirit is telling you. Perhaps that friendship needs to go separate ways for a while. It's okay. God may be doing a multiplication through this division and it may not happen if you stay close together.

Forgive to Be Forgiven

Also be willing to forgive. If somebody doesn't agree with you, and they're completely wrong, and they're going in direction contrary to scripture, all you can do is pray for them. You don't have to point out the stye that's in their eye. You're supposed to focus on our own sins first, and make sure our hearts and minds are clear, and not worry about someone else's.

The Holy Spirit, will convict them, not condemn them, but convict them when they are wrong. And that gives them a chance to grow. And you don't want to be the one standing in the way of that. You don't want them to ignore it because you've argued. So we can just take those arguments to God and let Him sort them out.

Conclusion

I hope this helps you. Next time you're not agreeing with another Christian,

next time you may not believe exactly the way they believe, just let God take care of it and make sure you stay in close proximity to the Lord, reading His scripture, listening to the Holy Spirit, and talking to others about how much God loves them. This is Elizabeth Dyer for the Christ Confidence Podcast.

I hope that we have empowered your faith, elevated your life, and unleashed your Christ-Confidence. Go share the word with the world today. It needs you.