Question: Are you willing to believe something is true, even though you’re 100% positive it isn’t?
We can all agree that’s silly. It would take a lot for us to know something isn’t true, yet think and live as though it absolutely is.
How about a different question: Are you willing to believe things without being certain that they’re true?
In a world where Google exists, that one may be a bit more difficult to answer.
From ignorant to all-knowing in 10 seconds
With a near-infinite amount of information available to us, it’s unthinkable that we can’t know everything. We can know big things like the travel time from the earth to the moon (3 days), all the way down to the origin of the word “nerd” (Dr. Seuss). If there’s something we don’t know, Wikipedia will fix it.
Yet there are important things in the world that are simply unknowable. Those things that we’re fairly certain about, yet people who disagree with us feel just as right as we do. Or perhaps some of us live with a belief that absolutely no one else around us believes, causing us to doubt ourselves.
Of course, we never want to admit we don’t know everything. If our beliefs are ever questioned, it only takes moments to whip out our phones and find someone online who has explained everything for us. Even if we don’t have a good reason to believe something, we can find enough comfort and support from certain people and websites to justify our beliefs.
The Certainty Scale
When I took the my church’s Theology Program, I had an assignment to ask people about several beliefs and they rated how certain they were that their belief was correct. I’d like to ask you, reader, to spend a moment and do the same with a few topics Christians may have to think about.
Here are 10 things people, even within Chrisianity, still argue about today. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “I have no idea” and 10 being “I’m 100% confident,” how certain are you that your views on these topics are correct?
- God exists
- God has chosen America as a new promised land
- Homosexuality is forbidden in the Bible
- Supernatural gifts still exist today
- Baptism doesn’t save us
- Your view on the end times (Is there a rapture? A literal 1,000-year reign?)
- The Bible is given to us by God
- Jesus could have chosen to sin
- Demons possess people today
- God created the earth in 6 literal days, 6 “ages”, or something else entirely
Perhaps you had a 9 or 10 for everything. I know most people I interviewed did, as did I for quite some time. Whether it’s because we heard it from a pulpit or a book, we often make up our minds on a topic when we’ve learned just enough to take a stance. When we have enough evidence to feel like we’re right, it becomes increasingly difficult to change our minds. And if someone else has disagreed with us in the past, we’re even less willing to admit we were wrong to them as well as ourselves.
Being right at the expense of truth
God has given us truth through His word, yet He hasn’t given us all knowledge. He tells us what we need, but doesn’t explain everything He does or will do. There are many things in the Bible that Christians will likely argue about until Christ’s return, and that can be an infuriating concept when we ponder it long enough.
For Christians, perhaps more than others in the world, it can be very tempting to insist that everything we believe, we know with 100% certainty. There may even be a certain fear in admitting we aren’t positive on some things, as though that somehow negates the truth of everything else in our belief system. Easy access to knowledge has so permeated our lives that we have become too embarrassed to admit we could possibly be wrong, leaving us no choice but to live with the belief that we’re always right.
As a result, the confidence we have in Christ’s saving power is held with as much fire and conviction as our belief on whether the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4 were mighty warriors or angel-human hybrids. We become so entrenched in certain ideas that to have them dislodged would shake our entire faith, despite them having nothing to do with sin, salvation, or the gospel.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
This verse is our rallying cry to understand our beliefs. How can we explain to others what we believe if we don’t understand it ourselves (1 Peter 3:15)? Yet belief isn’t just head knowledge that lets us rattle off a Sunday school answer that has other Christians nodding their heads in approval. While Christians who agree with us may make us feel all-knowing, “Sunday school” answers aren’t enough for those who have a reason to disagree.
It’s never enough to know what we believe. We need to understand why we believe what we believe. “What” we believe is just repeating knowledge we’ve stored up; “why” we believe is when that knowledge penetrates our hearts.
Being okay with a 6
The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly. (Proverbs 15:14)
God doesn’t call us to know everything, and even cautions us to never assume our salvation is genuine (Phillippians 2:12). Seeking knowledge is a journey, a long process of piecing through fact and fiction, holding ideas up against what you know to be true, and being convinced that what you’ve found is worth trusting… for now.
And that journey may end with us saying “There’s enough evidence for me to believe this, but I could be wrong.” That’s not weakness, but wisdom mixed with humility. We don’t have to be absolutely on every belief. We can be okay admitting that, with enough time and good Bible study methods, we could see an error in our understanding.
It’s when we’re able to admit a lack of knowledge that we’re able to grow, both individually and with others. If we’re convinced that spiritual gifts have ceased because we can reference 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, what need do we have to wrestle with the topic any further? Likewise, what meaningful conversation can we have with someone who doesn’t agree? Yet when we’re willing to admit our certainty is only at a 7, or if we can’t stand against someone else who disagrees with us, suddenly we have motivation to study it out and see if we can bump it up higher.
Holding everything at a 10 doesn’t make us more right, it merely limits our ability to seek what’s true. It makes us numb to the Holy Spirit’s goal of making us wise and spiritually mature. It sets us up for failure, even a crisis of faith, when we realize that a belief we held so dearly doesn’t have a solid foundation.
Don’t give up on real 10s
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:14)
Finding a balance of belief and humility presents a challenge to our pride. It’s vital for us to hold firm to the truth we believe lest we get swept away with anything that sounds good on the surface. At the same time, we need to be open to error in our thinking and judgment. Without that, our beliefs become little more than folklore, believed simply because it’s what we’ve always believed.
This balance is hard, yet it’s impossible without constantly seeking knowledge. That’s why we’re always told to read our Bibles. It’s not a guilt-based suggestion to make us feel like a good Christian, but a vital source of God’s wisdom and teaching in our lives. It’s how we become convinced of our 10s and start acknowledging it’s healthy and wise to have a 5.
There are things we need to stand firm on. Matters of adultery, salvation, or false teaching are clearly taught in the Bible. These are the matters of holiness and obedience that we can be absolutely certain of because they affect how we pursue Christ. And painfully, those are things that might require us to confront a believer in their sin (Galatians 6:1).
Teachable, or foolish?
Whenever we’re arguing for a belief, we simply need to ask ourselves why we’re so certain. Is it because the Bible presents absolute, clearly-taught evidence? Or do we hold to it because we’re too afraid of seeming weak and foolish? If we fight and die for every single belief, refusing to acknowledge the merits of any other perspective, we’ll remain stuck where we are and be completely unteachable. Worse, we’ll be useless God in bringing others closer to Him.
Let’s leave off with a passage from Proverbs. Notice the combative attitude of a fool contrasted with the wise person’s hunger for growing in truth. Does holding everything with absolute certainty make us a fool? Does fearing the Lord give us the humility to realize we can still learn much?
Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult;
whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.
Do not reprove a mocker or he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still;
teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning.
The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord,
and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:7-10)
Notice how combative a fool is, to the point that it’s advised not to give them truth. Also notice that a wise person wants more wisdom because they realize they don’t know everything. Most of all, notice the last two lines. If a wise person is focused on God, a fool clearly is not.
It’s okay not to be 100% certain about everything. It gives us a reason to study, seek wisdom from others, and continually turn to God in prayer. It allows others to bless us with the understanding God has given them, and from there we can be a blessing to others who are also struggling to know why they believe what they believe.
God receives the greatest glory when His people love truth, not just being right.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:9)
