Strange Things to Our Ears, Part 2

How Do We Listen Wisely?

In our last post, we learned at the feet of Peter how to present truths to believers that they have not heard before or that they have not heard clearly before. But what about when we hear something “new” and “strange” from a leader? What steps can we take to be both open to new, truthful ideas and careful to guard against false ones? Taken by inference from the Acts 11 passage and elsewhere, there are many wise steps to take.

First, those believers matched Peter’s words to the prophecy of Jesus, grounding their primary acceptance of something “new” on something old and reliable – what they already knew (known only by memorization, by the way!) They already knew that Jesus had taught “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 11:16), so when Peter referenced it, it authenticated the new application of the Gospel, the full acceptance of the Gentiles into baptism (Acts 10:47-48) and fellowship (Acts 11:2-3).  When we hear something “new” that matches what God has already said, we can relax and know it is not “new” but something we did not know.

Second, they knew Peter’s calling as an apostle, even more, as the chief apostle. While we have no apostles today, God has called gifted teachers in every church. Listen carefully to what those gifted teachers are telling you and ask them about the “new” you hear. God has not left you alone to discern new things.

Those teachers are not infallible, so you must rely primarily on the authority of Scripture. If you have teachers in your local church whose lives show godly truths (“good fruits”) and they have a history of teaching you God’s word accurately, you can hear their teaching with the inclination to accept it, unless proven otherwise. Since Jesus taught that you would recognize false teachers by their "evil fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20), certainly a mark of a true teacher is godly fruit (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Tim 2:24-26). Notice that they must be local teachers so that you can evaluate their lives up close!

Third, they discerned the foundational evidence of every genuine doctrine: Peter’s teaching brought glory to God: “Glory to God for saving the Gentiles” (verse 18). Since we live for the glory of God and seek to glorify Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31), when something “new” brings God more glory, that is a great sign of its truthfulness. They went silent in their criticisms and loud with joyful praise of God. Every minor doctrine on which I have changed my mind (that is, having been persuaded by better teaching) resulted in a better and more glorious view of God. Better theology equals better praise! What a life-long and increasing joy we discover when our enlightened theology leads inevitably to enlightened praise!

Fourth, we can study the wonderful fields of systematic and historical theologies. What does the whole Bible say about a subject (systematic theology), and what have Christians believed (historical theology)? Even if something is truly novel (which is unlikely, since generally there is “nothing new under the sun” – Ecclesiastes 1:9), having the foundations of deeper theology will help us apply truths to new areas. Imagine an unprecedented theological controversy. Wayne Grudem assures us that we can be prepared:

Whatever the new doctrinal controversies are in future years, those who have learned systematic theology well will be much better able to answer the new questions that arise. The reason for this is that everything the Bible says is somehow related to everything else the Bible says (for it all fits together consistently, at least within God’s own understanding of reality, and like God and creation as they really are). Thus, the new question will be related to much that has already been learned from Scripture. The more thoroughly we have learned earlier material, the better able we will be to deal with those new questions.¹

If you have been reading this blog, you may already have guessed the fifth and sixth ways to evaluate new claims: The deep spiritual disciplines of meditation and its twin, memorization. The spiritual maturity that “night and day meditation” on God’s word brings (Psalm 1:2) grants discernment, and if you memorize what you meditate on, you carry in your heart a ready defense against evil teachings and quickly embrace true ones. Jon Bloom colorfully describes how meditation leads to rejecting “hooey.”

You need to memorize large portions of the Bible because doing it will fine tune your hooey gauge… we’re talking about lies. Lies are lethal. Lies destroy souls, and the world is lying to you all the time. The devil is lying to you all the time. The world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Your sin nature lies to you. False brothers lie to you. And sometimes, in a heartbreaking way, true brothers and sisters will lie... So having a lot of God’s word in your mind, stored in there, functions as a filter, and your hooey gauge, your lie detector inside, is fine-tuned, all right?”2

       So, we do not have to be afraid of hearing strange new things. They might just be biblical applications of the “strange new things” Gospel (Acts 17:20), like what Paul was preaching in Athens, the very Gospel that saved “Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them” (verse 34). Or it might be something heretical and evil, but God will show you, especially as you daily go deep into His word and reach out to Him in prayer! Every good human father teaches his children the truth. How much more will our loving Heavenly Father teach us what is true if we have “ears to hear” (Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43) and want “to do God’s will” (John 7:17)!

        Did you check it out or let it slide? :) The first post mentioned “dichotomism” and “trichotomism!” Those are terms in a minor Christian doctrinal debate, and the pastor of your church holds of these views, as do you, even if you do not realize it. You should think about the arguments for both and decide which is right. So, pick up a systematic theology book, read this article and this one, and pick your pastor’s brain on the subject so that you can put these principles into practice!

Personal and Humorous Note

    Not that it matters much as you read this article, but I was raised in my home church as a trichotomist and have become a dichotomist by study and Scripture. As a young seminary student, I did not even know that I had changed views or that some pastors get “hot under the collar” about such small things until a fiery, older visiting evangelist cornered me one day and told my 23-year-old self that I was at risk of perdition for being wrong! Thankfully, kinder and gentler teachers who exhibited the traits lauded in the first post encouraged me to keep calm and carry on!

^[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 10.

[2]Jon Bloom, "Ten Reasons to Memorize Big Chunks of the Bible," Desiring God 16 May 2014. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/ten-reasons-to-memorize-big-chunks-of-the-bible

For non-southerners, “hooey” means “nonsense.”