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Personal convictions

Freedom&Light

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Hi everyone! :wave:

I just want to add a disclaimer- y'all hopefully know me by now, and know I wouldn't come in here to cause troubles or problems. I'm asking this question sincerely, seeking a conservative answer.

One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.

One of the reasons I lean more liberal is because of this issue.

Thanks for any light you can shed. :)

:groupray:
 
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£amb

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Hi everyone! :wave:

I just want to add a disclaimer- y'all hopefully know me by now, and know I wouldn't come in here to cause troubles or problems. I'm asking this question sincerely, seeking a conservative answer.

One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.

One of the reasons I lean more liberal is because of this issue.

Thanks for any light you can shed. :)

:groupray:

I'm thinking that God is working on different areas in our lives, and of course everyone is unique to God. Maybe in one area in my life he brings conviction to me to straighten up about something. And as to someone else, it may be totally different. He knows our hearts and thoughts so well that he knows where we need discipline in different areas. I'm hoping this makes sense...:) It makes me feel joy that God sees us as unique individuals and not a "crowd".
 
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Freedom&Light

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£amb;39876451 said:
It makes me feel joy that God sees us as unique individuals and not a "crowd".

:clap: Even the snowflakes are made unique.

I totally believe that we are all in different places in our spiritual life, and that leads to different convictions. The idea that God meets us where we are, but doesn't want us to stay there.

If, though, one thing is right for one person, but not for another, how does this ring for capital T truth? It just smacks of moral relativism, something I really don't like, believe it or not. But, we're talking some big things that some people are convicted about and not others- cursing, modesty, what is exactly considered premarital sex, etc.

Thanks for helping me with this guys. :)
 
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free2be

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£amb;39876451 said:
I'm thinking that God is working on different areas in our lives, and of course everyone is unique to God. Maybe in one area in my life he brings conviction to me to straighten up about something. And as to someone else, it may be totally different. He knows our hearts and thoughts so well that he knows where we need discipline in different areas. I'm hoping this makes sense...:) It makes me feel joy that God sees us as unique individuals and not a "crowd".
That makes perfect sense...I've tried explaining that in another conversation and didn't do as good a job. :hug:
 
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Izdaari Eristikon

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One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.
I'm curious about this too. I personally have never felt any conviction to dress any certain way or wear any certain hair styles. I was always of the opinion that it wasn't truly conviction, but simply the social pressures they were subjected to... a manifestion of Churchianity rather than Christianity... but of course I can't know what's going on inside somebody else's head or heart, so that was mere speculation on my part. £amb's theory makes sense to me, so perhaps she's right in some of those cases, and I was wrong.
 
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Rhamiel

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read some stuff from the now closed christian mysticism thread, this would fall under that.
Could be the spirit and all you pants wearing women are not listining to it, could be differant strokes for differant strokes and these women are helped in some way by following such a disipline, could be social pressure mistaken for the Holy Spirit, I lean towards answers 2 and 3 myself but who knows?
 
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Apollo Celestio

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£amb;39876451 said:
I'm thinking that God is working on different areas in our lives, and of course everyone is unique to God. Maybe in one area in my life he brings conviction to me to straighten up about something. And as to someone else, it may be totally different. He knows our hearts and thoughts so well that he knows where we need discipline in different areas. I'm hoping this makes sense...:) It makes me feel joy that God sees us as unique individuals and not a "crowd".
I agree with this. Different things for different people. Though of course we can't discount that some are misguided..
 
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WannaWitness

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It's fine for a person to have a special conviction regarding anything (whether it's wearing only skirts, using only a King James Bible, only listening to "traditional" styles of Christian music, and so on). What isn't fine is when the people with those convictions exalt themselves over others who don't think the exact same way. Then it would be on the brink of Phariseeism.
 
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Albion

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Hi everyone! :wave:

I just want to add a disclaimer- y'all hopefully know me by now, and know I wouldn't come in here to cause troubles or problems. I'm asking this question sincerely, seeking a conservative answer.

One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.

One of the reasons I lean more liberal is because of this issue.

Thanks for any light you can shed. :)

:groupray:

The problem here, if it is one, is that this is extraneous to Conservative Christianity. Conservative is a word that means to conserve something. The religious system you describe is of an offshoot of standard Christian thinking.

That said, sure, I'm interested in your questions. You probably will think that I'm coming from a foreign planet when I give a conservative answer, but here it is.

The Bible is the means by which God revealed what of himself and his will he meant for us to have. We do not get supplementary, personal brainstorms aside from the Word of God as though the Word doesn't suffice. The Spirit inspires and keeps us on course, but that course is set for us as it has been for 2000 years.

Strive not to wander through a sea of "what ifs" or "How comes." Consult the Bible (and Church history) and see what God's will on this and other matters actually is.

Thanks for asking.
 
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Nadiine

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Hi everyone! :wave:

I just want to add a disclaimer- y'all hopefully know me by now, and know I wouldn't come in here to cause troubles or problems. I'm asking this question sincerely, seeking a conservative answer.

One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.

One of the reasons I lean more liberal is because of this issue.

Thanks for any light you can shed. :)

:groupray:
I think the answer lies in INDIVIDUALISM. God Himself only knows the weaknesses and the temptations that one person has -- while another person doesn't have it.
In some you'll notice that they push the modest clothing - it could just be that they have a 'wild side' in them, that that modesty has to overlap to suppress so they don't fall into sexual sin... temptations etc.

Also, some people are "weak in their faith" (Paul defines this in Romans 14 I think)... people who have a weak faith, lean on legalisms to structure their spirituality.
RULES, format, strictness, regiment... that helps keep them comfortable & structured and "obedient"...

Paul also teaches not to judge or stumble that person who's weaker - that we don't "shove our belief" in their face, we graciously let them be who they are.

Remember Paul? the bible says he had a 'thorn in his side' to keep him from PRIDE. God knew his issue was pride (being a former pharisee), so God worked something onto him to keep that sin issue at bay.

Then there's just flat out SIN & error. Not everybody is mature in the faith. Some people forever never grow out of their false ideals & errors.
Some are stuck in LAW and never find the meaning of the law, "LOVE".
We are not perfect, and some are stubborn and unwilling to hear God's truth. They are like the pharisee that pushes law yet lacks love. They shut God out and won't let Him grow & mature them.
So, while they may actually be a Christian, they remain ignorant or rebellious to that aspect; unwilling to change.

If that's going on, we pray for other people to see the error (if it's error of course).

Sometimes things ARE sin that someone's pointing out to us and we SHOULD listen to them. It all depends and scripture's pretty clear on liberties & emphatic commands of God to us on our conduct.
 
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Simon_Templar

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it could be that they were hearing something other than the Spirit.

Or it could also very likely be that they had different needs than you do and so God gave them something different than what he has given you. God calls different people to different things and different disciplines etc.
 
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sageoffools

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Hi everyone! :wave:

I just want to add a disclaimer- y'all hopefully know me by now, and know I wouldn't come in here to cause troubles or problems. I'm asking this question sincerely, seeking a conservative answer.

One of the things that I have always struggled with is the idea of personal conviction of the Spirit. For example, being from a *very* conservative church and attending a *very* conservative college, I saw people who were convicted by the Spirit to wear dresses only (well, women. ^_^ The men didn't wear dresses) or to not cut their hair.

How can the Spirit convince one person of something like this and not another? I've *never* been lead to that, and I've asked and prayed, to make sure I was open to Him saying something about it.

One of the reasons I lean more liberal is because of this issue.

Thanks for any light you can shed. :)

:groupray:

I would also like to add something. The problem with the question that you are asking seems to be in the way you understand personal conviction. Honestly, the way most people talk about personal conviction is that their "personal conviction" is absolute right, and anything other than that is standards from Satan. (The "anyone with lower standards is a heathen and anyone with higher standards is a hypocrite" deal)
I also understand the idea that if their is this idea of "if you're convicted about it, then it's right for you, but if I'm not, that's right for me" which leads to moral relativism. The problem is that, in some sense, is setting up a false dichotomy.
It is not just a matter of right and wrong, it is also a matter of wisdom.

But if thy brother be grieved with [thy] meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.Let not then your good be evil spoken of:For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.For he that in these things serveth Christ [is] acceptable to God, and approved of men.Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed [are] pure; but [it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence.[It is] good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [any thing] whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.Hast thou faith? have [it] to thyself before God. Happy [is] he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin. Romans 14:15-23
Paul says here that if someone thinks that eating meat offered to idols is wrong, then he is wrong if he eats it, regardless of whether it actually is wrong or not, because in his heart he is doing something he thinks is wrong. For example, if my wife bakes cookies for our kids, and, while she is out of the room, one of them goes in, sneaks a cookie, and rearranges them so it looks like he didn't take one, then hides in the other room to eat it, he has sinned. Although he didn't technically steal, because the cookies were made for him in the first place, he did steal because in his heart he thought that what he was doing was wrong.
Again, this is not about moral relativism, taking the cookies, or eating meat offered to idols, or women wearing pants, or going to the movies, is not wrong in and of itself, but if you are not convinced that God allows it, it is wrong for you to do, because you are doing it despite the fact that you think it is wrong.
I do however, have a problem with people putting their convictions on the same level as the Bible, although it happens often. "If you go to the movies, you are a child of Satan" is foolish to say, and unBiblical. Personally, I do not go to the movies. You could say that is my "personal conviction". I don't think that going to the movies is a sin, nor do I condemn people that do it. I also couldn't show you from the Bible why you shouldn't go. I don't go for several reasons. The first being stewardship. I can rent a movie for 10% of what it would cost me to go to the theater with my wife. Secondly, control, if something objectionable plays on a movie at the theater, I am far less likely to get up and leave, than I would be to turn off a movie in my own home, specifically because I had spent $20 or $30 for a nice evening and I wouldn't want to waste it. So again, this is an example of how I view personal convictions. It's not about moral relativism or one person being right and everyone else is wrong. There are some things that are clearly spelled out in the Bible that are right and wrong, but some things are not. In those things God allows us the freedom to use wisdom from His Word to make those decisions for ourselves.
I hope this makes at least some sense. :sigh:
 
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synger

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Personal convictions are suspect. Everything must be weighed against the Word of God. Basically, I think that any "word" I receive must be measured carefully, because I know that I am a sinful woman and it may just be my own wishes coming to the forefront.

If the Scripture supports it, I agree. If the Scripture is against it, I know it's not of the Spirit. If the Scripture is doesn't speak of it, or teh context is not clear enough for me to discern, then I consider it adiaphora (neither required nor prohibited).

Things like wearing pants or headcoverings, to me, falls under adiaphora. It's a matter of personal piety, not required of all the Church.
 
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Albion

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Personal convictions are suspect. Everything must be weighed against the Word of God. Basically, I think that any "word" I receive must be measured carefully, because I know that I am a sinful woman and it may just be my own wishes coming to the forefront.

If the Scripture supports it, I agree. If the Scripture is against it, I know it's not of the Spirit. If the Scripture is doesn't speak of it, or teh context is not clear enough for me to discern, then I consider it adiaphora (neither required nor prohibited).

Things like wearing pants or headcoverings, to me, falls under adiaphora. It's a matter of personal piety, not required of all the Church.

My stance, almost exactly.:thumbsup:
 
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WannaWitness

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I just don't like it when someone will take his/her own personal conviction and rub it in someone else's face, complete with the arrogant "holier-than-thou" attitude. This is an all-too-easy trap for anyone to fall into.

But then we're reminded of Romans 14.
 
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synger

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It is easy. It is a trap. We are sinful people, and we like to be right. I think that's part of sinful human nature.

But our God calls us to submit to His Word, even when we think it's His Spirit convicting us. Just a simple test, really.

No nose-rubbing needed. *smiles*
 
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