Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
The speaker resolves the “holiness vs. all things to all men” tension by saying Paul’s principle was “humility and temperance” and accommodating consciences without breaking “the law of Christ”; how do you discern the difference between humility that accommodates and compromise that decreases holiness, especially in friendships, entertainment, and speech?
Another way to ask: How can you tell the difference between being humble and flexible for someone’s sake, and compromising in a way that weakens holiness? How does this show up in your friendships, entertainment choices, and speech?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker’s discernment line is whether you are accommodating another person’s conscience to avoid needless offense and build relationship, while still refusing to “break the law of Christ” or “lessen…holiness.” Humility serves others and meets them where they are; compromise treats sin as acceptable or uses closeness to sin as a strategy.
- He says Paul’s principle is “humility and temperance,” accommodating consciences “so that he would not offend them.”
- Boundary: Paul “would never break the law of Christ…or even lessen his holiness.”
- He gives examples of accommodation: circumcising Timothy; making a vow and entering the temple; also preaching to Gentiles.
- He connects this to patience and servanthood: “be patient in all things and becoming a servant to all.”
- He rejects an approach that gets near sin to rescue people, calling it deception and insisting on repentance/holiness.