Have you ever used the phrase – “Let’s agree to disagree”?

I think it is very important to consider the context and setting in which we might use that phrase. It is utilized to keep people from arguing, where both parties have very strong opinions on a matter.

I considered it with regard to my relationship with Jesus. Can you imagine saying to our great God, let’s agree to disagree? Yet, perhaps that is what we do when we sin!

What is sin? Isn’t it deciding that what we want is better than what God wants for our lives? Sin is an act of our pride. It is rebellion against God. 

When we sin, aren’t we disagreeing with God? Aren’t we saying that we have a strong opinion, and it is not in agreement with Him?

Consider this passage from Numbers 13:17- 30: 

“When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)” The backstory is that God promised the Israelites they would possess the land of Canaan. After God delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, they followed Him in the desert until they reached this point in their journey. 

Moses wanted to know what they would encounter in the land. The exploration by the twelve Israelite men would confirm God’s promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. 

“So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. that place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.” Can you imagine the size of the grapes described above? A single cluster had to be carried by two men on a pole. Amazing!!

There was more to the report: “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” This part of the report was discouraging and overwhelming. Why? Because the people did not have their eyes fixed upon God. He promised them this land. God always keeps His promises. 

But God will allow us to disagree with Him. I don’t believe He is agreeing to disagree with us. He is willing to let us learn to trust Him, the hard way. The hard way is the way of sin. This doesn’t mean trusting Him is always easy, but it is always better than disagreeing with God.

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Joshua attempts to redirect the ungodly thinking. He was trying to get the people to agree with God, and obey Him. “But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” That is likely true. But God was stronger than those who occupied the land. God had the power to defeat the enemies in the land….if only the people would obey Him.

The truth about God didn’t matter to these men. “And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” 

Please read Numbers 14. You will discover the rest of the story. The short version of the rest of the story is that God pronounced judgment on the people for disagreeing with His promise to take them successfully into the land. For forty years they would travel in the wilderness until all in that generation, but Joshua and Caleb, would die. Joshua and Caleb would then lead the people into the land. 

What stood out to me was that Moses and Joshua never agreed to disagree with the people. They stood firm in their disagreement. The others were wrong, and no matter their strong opinion, Moses, Joshua, and Caleb could not agree, because then they would not be standing firm for the Lord. 

There are times when we need to stand firm on our convictions, without giving any credence to what the other person believes. The Gospel is our reason to stand firm upon. It is more than a matter of present-day life or death. It is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. 

The Gospel is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of truth and fact. 

Are you ever tempted to compromise the Gospel, or any other Biblical truth for the sake of getting along? I’m not saying that we should be combative, but that we need to stand firm for all truths found in God’s Word. 

I cannot concede on any aspect of God’s Word. I never want to give anyone the ability to think that I accept what they believe, when it is contrary to the Word of God. 

Jesus didn’t agree to disagree with the Pharisees who challenged Him in His day. He presented truth, stood firm on it, and verbally chastised them for rejecting His words.

What about you? How firmly planted are you in standing for the Gospel, and the complete inerrancy and accuracy of God’s Word.?

If you don’t have this steadfast determination, please reach out to me so we could talk: Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please share it with others!

Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you. Also, please remember to look at the full context of the verses by reading the complete passage.

Copyright 2025 Donna Shappy   All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.