One of the marks
of true conviction is the ability to disagree with one’s closest family,
friends, and influences. It is not easy. Most of us, some undoubtedly more than
others, want to fit in, get along, and agree with those we most respect, whose
friendship we value most. We have too few heroes as it is. Our desire for
champions we can cheer for explains in the part the transcendent popularity of
heroic myths, from Homer’s Odysseus to Marvel’s Avengers. We long to have
notable persons with whom we can identify and celebrate.
Every Christian
has spiritual heroes. The list has to begin with Jesus Christ, but it hardly
stops there. We admire Abraham and Moses and David and Paul. Daniel read Jeremiah’s
prophecies and must have been encouraged by the older prophet’s faith. Elisha
acknowledged Elijah as his spiritual father (2Ki. 2:12). Surely Timothy would
have said the same of Paul (2Ti. 1:2). We admire those who have helped us walk
with Christ since the days of the apostles, even among our contemporaries. I
thank God for men like Augustine and Anselm, Luther and Calvin, Whitefield and
Spurgeon, and modern warriors like John MacArthur and John Piper. Each of these
men has, in varying ways and to varying degrees, helped me from afar to grow in
Christ.
The heroes who
have benefited me the most are those who actually knew me, discipled me,
corrected me, and encouraged me. My parents shared with me from the day of my
birth a love for God, faith in Christ, and a commitment to the authority of
Scripture. God sent many other godly men and women to mentor me, shape me, and
help me along the way. Some provided a godly example. Others gave me wise
counsel. Some helped me learn specific information. More often they contributed
by pointing me continually to Scripture where God’s wisdom and will could be
found.
A few people
stand out in particular. The brother who first attempted to teach me Hebrew and
another who first exposed me to extended Scripture memory are two of them. I
retained little of their specific lessons, but their influence brought me under
conviction that I should be a Bible student who happens to preach rather than a
preacher who happens to study his Bible. I will be eternally grateful for the
brother who taught me to read the Bible with greater thoroughness and passion than
ever before and exposed me to serious biblical exposition and scholarship. God
used the disciplines he taught me to eventually open my eyes to the gospel of
grace. These three were “mighty men” in terms of their influence on me, though
they may be largely unaware of or deny it. I am indebted to them all.
There have been
and will continue to be men and women who greatly influence my thinking and
spiritual development. They are my heroes in the faith. But sometimes my understanding
of the word of God compels me to disagree with my heroes, even sharply. It is
hard to do so. I would rather go along and agree, but conviction, conscience,
and consistency will not allow it. This was especially difficult during the
years when my convictions were changing in ways that would eventually lead me
out of the Churches of Christ. I did not enjoy being at odds with men and women
who had such a large and positive influence in my life. But their influence was
the very reason I had to do so. What had they endeavored to teach me? Was it
simply to recite the party line, or was it to trust and obey what was written
in God’s word? Was it to follow the crowd and my family’s religious tradition,
or was it to follow Jesus, no matter where he led, no matter what it cost? If I
had disregarded the counsel of God’s word in order to retain my former
traditions, I would have been untrue to the very truths my heroes had instilled
in me.
Unless we are
able to distinguish our appreciation for our heroes from specific commitments
to particular doctrines, we are destined to become idolaters. No man, save
Jesus Christ, is worthy of uncritical acceptance and affirmation. The godliest
man still makes mistakes. The most careful, conscientious scholar still has
undiscovered errors in his theology. Great men of God are still men, fallible
and faltering. It is no disrespect to refuse to follow them when and where they
stumble. On the contrary, it is to their credit when we stand on their
shoulders and learn from their mistakes in order to see farther and reach
higher than they may have done. Thank God for your heroes, but do not worship
them. Listen carefully when they speak for they still have much to teach you.
But do not confuse their voice and God’s. God uses them to bless you, but they
cannot save you. -JME
