ArroganceChristian's, especially young men (myself included - especially myself), can often come across as arrogant and know-it-alls. And perhaps that can often, indeed be the case. I remember one friend giving a now infamous quote among those who know him; "I wouldn't be dogmatic about it, but your wrong".
Often I think it is more, that we seem arrogant because of our approach & tones in a discussion, stemming from a confidence in Biblical truth, or atleast what we see to be Biblical truth.
Don't get me wrong, there are truths that are unflinching & non-negotiable, things like God is Creator, We are sinners, Hell is a literally hot place, Jesus, The Cross, that He alone is the way to Heaven, all will be judged by Him etc...
But there are many other issues that we can often differ on, yet should not separate us from fellowshiping together.
However I think that whether we are talking about non-negotiable or negotiable, primary issues, secondary or tertiary ones, or as Driscoll says, closed handed issues or open handed issues, we can sometimes seem arrogant to those listening.
Whether its the Gospel we are preaching or a discussion about infant baptism or whether a woman should wear a satellite dish on her head thus blocking the back 5 rows from seeing the pulpit or not, music style etc... I think a tone or approach of arrogance will put others off listening to us.
Confidence vs Arrogance
So we come to the question, how can we have confidence yet avoid arrogance?
We Must Be Humble
I think that first we must realize that we don't know everything - arrogance is after all rooted in pride and we all know how much the Bible warns against pride.
We Must Be Biblical
I think another aspect that may help us is to have confidence in the Bible, not in our own debating methods or abilities to win a discussion/argument. The Bible itself says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." so I guess that this is where we begin & find grounds for whatever we are discussing.
By constantly referring to Scripture, what God says we throw attention off us, to His words. This is an example we find throughout the New Testament, in the life of Jesus, who is God, and in the Apostles as they time & again begun "It is written" or "Have you not heard" or when they pointed to other Scriptures to something back up.
We must be Biblical in our discussions.
We Must Be Loving
The Bible not only tells us what we must speak & preach & teach, but it tells us the manner & attitude we must speak in: "speaking the truth in love" Ephesians 4:15.
So then our motives & intent, our manner & approach ought to be of love for others, not of arrogance & pride.
What suggestions would you give for having a Humble Confidence rather than an Arrogance?
