Finding the Balance

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
Sudsy
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Re: Finding the Balance

Post by Sudsy »

It would be interesting to know what Jesus wrote in the sand in John 8 when the questioning of Jesus was to set a trap for Him. The question was - "In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” After writing something in the sand and listening to further questioning on this, He did say something -'“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” He didn't reply directly to that question about breaking the law of Moses that they questioned Him on. However, His response was quite effective causing the accusers to quit further pressing Him.

I think there are questions that deserve direct answers and those that don't. As a personal example, if someone says to me, doesn't the bible say that all adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of God so how can you claim to be saved as a remarried man, I could give a similar answer as the one Jesus did. In other words, God does not condemn us for our sinning but forgives us upon our confessing of our sin and says "go and sin no more".

I agree with Robert that Jesus provided answers or rather responses to questions except for those at the end where He fulfilled the prophecy about Him. Isaiah 53:7 - "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."

Now suppose someone asks me a question on a thread I started or was engaged in and after my response, they, in turn responded and it appeared to me to be combative in their disagreement with me. How should I respond to further questioning by them ? If I say I prefer not to respond to their questions to avoid possible conflicts, should they not accept that response as that is how I feel and either honor that boundary or the perceived offender should attempt to soften up what could be causing the offense. And if and when this 'softening up' is pursued and corrections are attempted, then, by the grace of God, I should attempt to forgive many, many times to try to reconcile. I believe this is what scripture is saying. If at all possible, we should remove boundaries between believers.
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