Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.

10 Mistakes Christians Should Avoid at All Cost

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  3. Sadly we’ve been on the receiving end of #6 recently. It broke my heart that fellow Christians should cut you off completely because you interpret Scripture differently than they do. I really wonder what will they do, when at heavens gates, we meet. Would they pretend that I don’t exist or will they act all surprised that by God’s grace, I made it as well. As did they…

  6. It really takes some growing up to do #2, especially if you’re a non-confrontational type person. It also helps to self-correct when thinking about things “from behind the beam in my eye.” Oh yeah. Could somebody help me get this thing out???

  7. All good advice. Been on the receiving end of #6 too many times.

    “I don’t think anyone can rightly claim to interpret all of Scripture correctly.”

    I wish more people would get this. We are not God. Even when we stay consistently in the Word and dig deep there are mysteries that we don’t really understand. If we would spend more time loving one another and praying for one another when we disagree and let God be God then we could accomplish so much more for His Kingdom.

  8. This should be life lessons for all of life situations, but especially for ALL Christians. The #1 should be: failure to speak of Jesus among the congregation.

    I have been in traditional denominational churches packed full where the pastor never spoke a single word of Jesus. I would always go speak to that person in love and correction. There is no excuse for anyone to not speak of Jesus freely, especially in the congregation.

  9. By #6, do you mean interpretation or translation? I would most certainly break friendship over an interpretation of the Bible (for example, Oneness instead of the Trinity), but definitely not over a preference for a particular translation.

    • Interpretation. Jesus was the friend of sinners. He had friends who didn’t even follow God, let alone have a wrong interpretation of the Bible. Note that the measure we set for others is the measure that God will set for us. I don’t think anyone can rightly claim to interpret all of Scripture correctly.

      • Thank you brother for making this clear to me. I’m personally used to take some distances from those with different interpretations. The question is how can one have edifying discussions with someone who almost always disagrees with him on subjets such as church among others?

        • Why do you have to talk about church with everyone you know? I have many friends, and we talk about many different things. Remember, Jesus was the friend of sinners who were drastically different from Him. He wasn’t “religious.”

  10. Number 3 is so true, Frank.

    And that’s so hard to be objective about when it’s _our_ cause, because we equate the cause with Christ. We tell ourselves that we’re “passionate about this because Jesus is!” We get a false sense of righteousness and value when we make a good point or shut someone down although we’ve ruined the relationship or alienated the person.

    Lord, give us ears….

  13. How about gossiping under the guise of, “We need to pray for…”

    I see that one a lot.

    • Larry Poole…that is a key point: gossiping under the guise of, “We need to pray for…”

      I did it once, I felt so ashamed when I reflected and realized what I did.

      As Christians, we all need to keep our tongues on a leash. Jame said who does so is a perfect man. And if we fail to do this, then we will be throwing water uphill, and undermining the work of Christ in our lives and others.