Reasons We Are Wrong – Part 2

I was wrrrrr… He tried again, “I was wrrrrr …” But it never fully came out. The speaker seemingly, couldn’t bring himself to form the word. It’s challenging to truly convey the flamboyant behavior of the TV character on the written page, but if you’re old enough, then you’ll recall the perfect-haired and pretentious, Arthur Fonzarelli. It’s hard to believe it’s been some 40 years since Henry Winkler portrayed the iconic character “Fonzie” on the sitcom Happy Days. Allow me to stir your memory by recalling in one particular episode, “The Fonz” had made a mistake and his friends were standing by impatiently waiting for him to admit he was wrong. However, his egotistic nature just wouldn’t allow him to frame the words. Those of us who’ve been around long enough to remember this show can easily imagine the way-too-cool character struggling to own his error.

Unfortunately, this arrogant attitude is not limited to egocentric TV personalities from decades past. Rather Christians (and non-Christians) often stubbornly behave this same way. Whether trusted professors or preachers or people in the pew, far too frequently, when faced with overwhelming evidence proving we’ve been wrong, human pride swells and people simply refuse to frame the words, “I was wrong.” But we are. We are often mistaken about vital truths, and in particular spiritual truths which are of utmost importance. In this series of articles, I want the reader to consider not only the “possibility” that we’re wrong about Biblical matters, but also to think seriously about why we are wrong. Doing so, I believe, will help us learn more truth, make us humbler and certainly make us more teachable. Last week we stated the primary reason we’re often mistaken about spiritual truths is that we haven’t been diligent in studying God’s Word for ourselves to see what it teaches. This leads us to the second reason why we are wrong about Scriptural issues.

Here it is: those who have earned our trust, and whose opinion we greatly respect, have taught us wrong. In my estimation, this may be the most painful pill for us to swallow. When it comes to being wrong about the Bible, I think most of us would concede we haven’t spent nearly enough time investigating spiritual truths on our own. However, it is incredible difficult for any of us to face the fact that people we love, admire and those who have earned our trust taught us wrongly. Believe me, I am writing from a voice of experience. One of the single greatest hurdles we ever have to get over isn’t admitting we got it wrong … but mom and dad got it wrong. Or, Pastor such-and-such taught us wrong. Or that teacher who you really admire and made a major impact on your life, was mistaken. Perhaps you find it hard to concede some certain clergyman who you love and who has faithfully ministered to you and your family for years, was mistaken about some things?

But allow me to say to you, what I frequently say to the church I pastor – the best of men are men at best. I first heard this from Alistair Begg, who I am sure heard or read it from someone else. Regardless of where it originated, this simple statement has proven itself true time and again, the best of men are men at best. In other words, no one gets it right all the time. Not parents, not preachers, not Sunday School teachers, not that TV evangelist, not grandpa or memaw, not your best friend, not even the Fonz. No one is always right about everything. Especially about spiritual truths.

One of the most challenging parts of growing as a person (and as a Christian), is not learning new things, it is unlearning old errors. Being willing to admit people we hold in high regard, however unintentionally, mislead us … is an incredibly hard thing to do.

I don’t think it is really going out on a limb here to suggest, every single person reading this article was taught wrong about something by someone you love and admire. The question is, are you willing to admit it? I am not saying you necessarily have to confront that individual; I am asking are you willing to confront the possibility something you have believed all your life is wrong because someone you trust taught you wrongly? Are you willing to come to grips with the fact that you’ve been misinformed by someone who should have known better? Although you still love and adore this person, do you also recognize they’re just fallible people like the rest of us and albeit unintended, they led you away from truth? Seriously, will you acknowledge that regardless of how highly you value these people or this affiliation, their wrongness actually hindered your maturity and growth as a person or a Christian?

Or does blood run thicker than truth? Confessing Christian, does your commitment to this person exceed your commitment to Christ? Is your devotion to some denomination more valuable to you than your devotion to the Divine? Which is greater, your loyalty to some system of beliefs or brotherhood, or your loyalty to the suffering Savior?

One major reason why we are wrong about spiritual matters, is simply that we have been taught bad theology by good people. Friend, you cannot wait for this other person(s) to admit their mistake. They may be like the “Fonz” and never come to terms with their error. However, we all owe it to the Lord to stand for truth, even if that means we stand apart from people we admire and adore.

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