mens small group
Tonight, during Men's Small Group, we were having a discussion on "Getting a Grip of Your Spiritual Life". We were talking about our spiritual lives. TJ made a comment about how sometimes he loses faith and he doesn't believe in the Bible 100% or all the time. These comments would have been fine, but he had the audacity to make a blanket comment about how everyone loses faith once in awhile. He also commented that the Bible is just some fairy tale. I was shocked that he would have the nuts to claim such things.
First of all, the only people who know where you are in relation to God is you and God. No one else can sit there and say anything about other people's relationships with 100% accuracy. Sure, you can see and guess some things, but in the end, you just don't know. So, TJ was basically claiming that he knew as much as God.
Not only was he claiming He knew as much as God, but he claimed that he knew more than God by saying that some of the things in the Bible are not true. It's one thing to not believe in it, but to have the nuts to say it's just not true is insane.
TJ's argument that he was right, was that we were being defensive about our faith. As if our defense was enough proof that he was right. Against my better judgement, I moved in for the attack. We started tearing apart his arguments and showing how he was not only making illogical statements, but contradicting himself as well. Of course, whenever you talk or discuss things with people like this, we didn't get really far. His opinion and his belief was unwavering no matter what sort of logic and reason we brought to bear on the topic.
Trying to bring some meaning to the whole discussion, Ray asked TJ why he was at the small group. For some odd reason, TJ refused to answer. Tony brought up the point that we, as a small group, had the right to know why he was there. TJ started going off on some thing about free speech. As if the first amendment protected him from not sharing with us. Granted, he does have the right not to answer us, but we also have the right of not allowing him to join us.
The argument would just have gotten more heated if Jeff didn't come in and give us a natural break.
The whole time, I felt like I was wrestling with Satan. Not only were his beliefs totally wrong, but his judgement of us and people he didn't know was completely unwarranted. It wasn't like talking to a believer who seeks to draw closer to God, but it was more like talking to a non-believer.
At the danger of judging him, it doesn't seem like TJ's saved right now. Of course, no one knows that but him and God, but everything that he does and everything that he says leads me to think this.
Granted, our relationship with God isn't predicated on our specific beliefs, but some things are absolutely necessary: 1) belief that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God 2) Jesus Christ died for your sins 3) only faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection can grant you eternal life.