I thought I had strong convictions. Maybe you do, too. What I learned was that many of my beliefs were borrowed from other people and hadn’t been tested, applied, or internalized. What I thought were convictions were loosely held ideas that wouldn’t hold up. I’ve come to recognize the cheaper substitutes to convictions that we often mistake for the real thing. As you consider them, reflect on your own beliefs and try to discern whether they’re truly rooted or just borrowed.
1. Things we don’t have strong reasons to deny
Maybe it’s something you heard from your parents or picked up in a sermon. It sounded right, so you assumed that you believed it. In reality, though, you just didn’t deny it. You may not have thought deeply enough to test it against alternatives you might face.
The example of the Bereans is helpful here – they took the things they heard and then personally examined them in light of Scripture “to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). When we skip this step, true conviction isn’t formed.
2. Things we go along with when others around us do
When we’re surrounded by people who act and speak in certain ways, our tendency is to mirror them. We may not be birds, but we tend to flock together. There are certain truths that we think we believe because we like a preacher who believes them or because we attend a church that teaches them. And it’s a positive thing when your beliefs and actions are shaped by the people around you, but unless you take the time to personally own those beliefs, you’ll find them slip away when you’re in the company of people who oppose them. In Jesus’ day, John tells us, “Many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it” (John 12:42). If you’re a different person depending on who’s watching, you don’t have convictions, you just have opinions.
3. Things we might deny if it costs us something to believe them
Jesus talked about people who are genuinely excited when they hear the good news, but he warned of the person who “has no root in himself” and so “endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21). It surprises many today to hear about individuals deconstructing their faith. We assume their enthusiasm reflected deeply held convictions, but often it didn’t. But the real test of a conviction is how it stands up to testing. Today, Christian beliefs in North America are being tested in ways that they haven’t been for a long time. It costs something to hold to biblical truth today and many are unprepared to pay the price.
Jesus’ disciples faced the same challenges we do. At one point, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66). When Jesus asked the twelve whether they wanted to turn back as well, Peter showed us the path to true conviction. He replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). You build convictions by recognizing that the alternatives are counterfeits. Convictions are founded on “the words of eternal life.” And they form as you choose to follow “the Holy One of God” when other voices compete for your loyalty.
True convictions take time, testing, and trust in Christ. May we pursue beliefs that will stand when the pressure is applied to them.
In awe of Him,
Paul
