"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God...." (2 Corinthians 10:5a, NASB)
I was 21 years old, student pastor of what the E. U. B. denomination called a charge. It was comprised of 4 small churches. In a Bible study that first year, I asked a discussion question. One of the prominent members opened with, "Well, I've always believed." Fine, that is, if what "I've always believed" aligns with the Scriptures. If not, one needs a conversion, which means a repentance from what "I've always believed" to what the Godhead declares.
Somebody once joked, "Everybody's entitled to my opinion." While this is a joke as far as you and I are concerned, this is a true statement in our relationship in Jesus Christ. Some may never have considered wrong opinions/thinking as something from which they need to, "Repent therefore and be converted...." Yet this reality is the reason the Holy Spirit tells us, "We are destroying speculations...," which is integral to the conversion process in life. Conversion means, "to turn back, turn towards." Conversion is initiated by the New Birth, but does not stop with the New Birth. It is a life-time process, always learning of the ways of Jesus and turning back from, "I've always believed," viz., "speculations," and turning,"towards," Jesus and His Words.
I repeat emphatically that this attitude of repentance and conversion is a life style, not just a one time "prayer." Our pride does not like it, especially when the Holy Spirit brings something to our attention from which we need to, "turn back," comes after we have walked in Jesus for decades. Our text reveals just how critical it is to know that I will act as I believe; therefore, right believing is essential to right living. This is a key reason that, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that "I've always believed" continues to undergo conversion. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
