Those of us who were members of the Worldwide Church of God went through quite a difficult time when, after Mr. Armstrong’s death, the new leadership started to change many, if not most, of the doctrines we were familiar with and had believed as being God’s Truth.
Many of the brethren and our friends accepted the changes and discarded what they appeared to have believed for many years. Could it be that their religious beliefs were preferences rather than convictions? When changes in doctrines were made that suited them better, things like no need to tithe or keep God’s Sabbath, or even clean and unclean foods, they preferred these new doctrines rather than the previous ones.
I was amazed how quickly some who appeared to be strong members welcomed the changes.
There is a vast difference between preferences and convictions. And to show that, I would like to quote from a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1972. The case was named Wisconsin versus Yoder. It involved three families, their fathers being Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller of the Old Order Amish religion and Adin Yutzy of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church. It concerned the question of whether the state had the right to force children of the Amish religious community to attend school between the ages of 15 and 16.
The parents argued that if the children had to attend school for two more years, they would have to go outside the Amish community and learn secular values that were not in accordance with the Amish beliefs. Up to age 14 they had their own Amish schools. Also, the Amish children learnt further skills informally by working with their parents on various tasks.
This appeal was based on the 1st and 14th Amendments of the Constitution of the U.S. that guarantees U.S. citizens the right of free exercise of religion.
In their determination for the families, the judges stated that the record in this case abundantly supported the claim that the traditional way of life of the Amish is not merely a matter of personal preference, but one of deep religious conviction, shared by an organized group, and intimately related to daily living.
In other words, the Amendments only protected religious convictions and not religious preferences. A belief, no matter how strongly held, is only a preference, and not a conviction, if, when circumstances change, the person will change their beliefs.
Many things can cause a person to change their preferences: Peer pressure, family pressure, legal pressure or even the threat of death. If any of these factors can cause a person to change their beliefs, then that person does not have a conviction, only a preference.
Let’s look at a few examples in the Bible which show the difference between preferences and convictions. Matthew 13:20-22 is an example of preferences of belief. Verse 20 reads: “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…” The Truth is exciting at first and he may embrace it enthusiastically and even live by it, but it becomes clear that it is only a preference and not a conviction, when future circumstances interfere with the new-found belief and he discards that Truth.
Continuing with verses 21 and 22:
“…yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” Such individuals have not been convicted but have merely exchanged their previous beliefs for a whole new set of beliefs. If life becomes too difficult to continue on the new path, then these beliefs would be changed again to avoid the difficulties that have arisen. Real conviction is sadly lacking.
A legal comment on this judgement by the Supreme Court stated, “A conviction is not a spurious-of-the-moment decision. It is a premeditated response to a situation that was likely to occur. This means that it does not matter whether other people stand with you in the crisis or not. Only conviction can enable you to stand alone. People with preferences will usually, ultimately, follow the crowd.”
A good example of conviction is in Daniel 3:16-18. The king had commanded everyone to worship an image he had erected when they heard a certain type of music. Three Jews refused to bow down to the image and so they were brought before the king. This is their response to the threatened punishment of death in a fiery furnace:
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’”
All three men were looking death squarely in the face. If their devotion to the true God had merely been a preference, they would probably have quickly recanted their “rebellious” position and reasoned their way out of the situation. Their decision was not an on-the-spot reaction. They had the courage of their convictions. They were not about to defile themselves. Remember, there were tens of thousands of other Jews in Babylon at this time. But the three men were not concerned about what others did or what others thought. They were willing to take a stand by themselves even when facing the death penalty.
They did not submit to the king to save their lives by using human logic and applying the principle stated in Romans 13:1-2, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves.” They knew that submitting to and obeying the king and bowing to the statue would go directly against the second commandment of God, and as Peter and the other apostles said in Acts 5:29, “‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” In other words, where there is a contradiction between men’s laws and God’s Laws, we must obey God’s Laws.
Over the centuries, God’s people have faced trials, tests, persecution and heresy. Regrettably, many compromised their beliefs. They gave up what they once proved to be true for a variety of reasons. Some couldn’t handle the ostracism they faced. Others gave in to pressure from family or friends and embraced false teachings to keep the peace. Still others were persuaded that false teachings were true, being convinced by clever arguments or false intellectual reasoning.
All had one thing in common. They proved that their previous beliefs were merely preferences, not convictions. Otherwise, they would have persevered in them. But those who are convicted of the truth do not compromise their beliefs for any reason. They prove, and then they live by the Truth. No amount of pressure from any source will convince them to believe another gospel.
When trials come, convicted Christians stand firm in their beliefs. Their foundations are not moved or shattered because such believers build on the solid Truths of God’s Word. They do not compromise with God’s Law and their understanding grows. Changes may come within the framework of the truth, but the basic building blocks of their faith never change. With God’s help, they stand fast in their convictions.
We all need to examine ourselves in the light of what happened to the Church of God just over thirty-five years ago. We all need to make sure that we are Christians of conviction and have not simply preferred God’s Church as opposed to another, or none. The Church of God will continue to face persecution and opposition to its teachings, intended to wear down our faith and undermine the Truth. As individuals, this will test our convictions. Our reaction will determine whether our beliefs are just preferences or whether we are truly Christians of conviction.