Faith or Opinion

1. Faith or Opinion

2. FAITH pistos {pis-tos'}; objectively, trustworthy; subjectively, trustful: -believe(-ing, -r), faithful(-ly), sure, true.” pistis {pis'-tis}; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself

3. Opinion “1.a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter b: approval, esteem 2. a : belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge..." {Webster} gnome {gno'-may}; {knowledge}; cognition, i.e. (subjectively) opinion, or (objectively) resolve (counsel, consent, etc.): -advice, + agree, judgment, mind, purpose, will.“ 1 Corinthians 1:10 “judgment” {opinion}

4. What Are The Principle Differences Between Faith & Opinion? What does Faith Require? Romans 10:17 John 20:30,31 EVIDENCE! How Do We ‘Understand’ Creation? Hebrews 11:3 BY FAITH!

5. Judges 15:1-5 “Samson caught 300 Foxes” FAITH! “He caught them with a net!” OPINION!

6. John 3:2 “Nicodemus was convinced that Jesus came from God.” FAITH! “Nicodemus worked all day, so he could only come by night.” OPINION!

7. John 8:1-11 “Jesus wrote the seventh commandment on the ground.” OPINION! “Jesus forgave the woman’s sins.” FAITH!

8. Opinions Are Not Binding As Authority Matthew 28:18 Colossians 3:17 2 John 9

9. Romans Chapter 14 • Individual Matters – Not Work of Local Church • Things Morally Neutral • Not Speaking of Things Revealed Through Apostles

10. Where Should We Draw The Line On Honoring “Opinions” In The Work of The Local Church? “I don’t like having a song leader.” No Scripture “I don’t like meeting more than once each week.” No Scripture “I don’t think we should use song books with shape notes and parts.” No Scripture

11. These are NOT Matters of Individual Action Nor Are They Matters of Indifference

12. Either They Are Authorized By God’s Word or They Are NOT! “No Christian should push his opinions and personal rights to the disturbance of the church.” R.L. Whiteside

13. Attempts To Apply Romans 14 Today Diversity of “Opinion” on Remarriage after Divorce Must extend Fellowship to those who believe it is alright to remarry after being put away for the cause of adultery. IS There Really A Parallel Between Romans 14 & Divorce & Remarriage?

14. Romans 14 Matters of Indifference • Herb eater “weak in faith” not Sinful • Equally right to eat or not eat meat • Sinful to condemn the meat eater • Could eat or not “to the Lord” • Eating meat was “clean” • Eating meat was “good” • Meat eating included in “all things pure” • God “received” the meat eater • Meat eater made to “stand” by God • One could eat meat as long as he did not cause the “weak” to stumble

15. Does Romans 14 Include Adulterous Marriages? • Is man who commits adultery “weak in faith” or sinful? • Is it equally right to commit or not commit adultery? • Is it sinful to condemn the man who commits adultery? • Can one commit adultery “to the Lord?” • Is adultery “clean?” • Is committing adultery “good?” • Is adultery among things included in “all things are pure?” • Does God “receive” the adulterer? • Does the adulterer “stand?” • Can one commit adultery as long as he is not an occasion of stumbling to the “weak?”

16. No Stopping Place For This Type Of Thinking!

17. Where God Has Spoken, Faith Draws The Line! Where God Has NOT Spoken, There Can Be No Authority!

18. Our Faith Rests In God, His Son Jesus Christ, & The Written Word Which Was Delivered To us By The Power Of The Holy Spirit