When we engage in conversation with others about matters over which we have some sort of disagreement, in the course of a discussion someone might say, “That is just your opinion.” There are some statements which humans make that definitely do fall into the category of opinion, but others are declarations of fact.
I do not want to give my personal opinion about what the word “opinion” means. That would be silly and non-productive. One dictionary defines “opinion” as “ [www.yourdictionary.com]. Note the subjective element of an opinion: it is what “seems” to be true. The same source says, “An example of opinion is purple is the best color.”
Fact and fantasy are different. So are opinions and objective truth. In the spiritual realm, God’s word is truth. Jesus said so (John 17:17). God’s word is our non-changing, objective, established standard of authority in all religious and moral matters. There are occasions when we tell someone what the Bible says about a particular matter and their response is, “That is just your opinion.” If it is a message from God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2), then it is not falsehood, it is not fable, and it is not fantasy. What God says is fact/truthful revelation; not opinion, but fact.
God created all things in six days. “That’s just your opinion.” Actually, the Bible says it. “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them . . .” (Exodus 20:11).
The flood in the days of Noah was a world-wide catastrophe. “That’s just your opinion.” In fact, the Bible says, “Now the flood was on the earth forty days . . . And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered” (Genesis 7:17,19).
When Isaiah foretold that a virgin woman would give birth to a son by the name of Immanuel, he was talking about Mary and Jesus. “That’s just your opinion.” In truth, after an angel told Joseph that Mary had conceived and would give birth to a child that he would name “Jesus,” the Bible declares, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated,
‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22,23).
It is tragic that there is so much divorce today, because God hates divorce. “That is just your opinion.” The Bible says, “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce” (Malachi 2:16).
In God’s arrangement for marriage, the husband is the head of the wife. “That’s just your opinion.” Actually, the Bible declares, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23).
It is God’s will for wives to submit to their husbands. “That is just your opinion.” It is written, “Wives, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18).
A husband ought to have sacrificial love for his wife. “That’s just your opinion.” Well, the Bible says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25).
A homosexual/same-gender sexual relationship is not acceptable to God. “That is just your opinion.” Please hear this: “. . . Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).
Children need to learn to respect their parents and be ready to care for them. “That is just your opinion.” In fact, the Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord . . . Honor your father and mother . . .” (Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:2). It also says, “But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God” (1 Timothy 5:4).
If an idea is merely our opinion, then we ought to admit that and not consider our viewpoint as something that others must accept. On the other hand, if God has revealed a truth in the Bible, let us not try to dismiss or downplay it by saying to the one who points out that biblical truth to us, “That is just your opinion.”
— Roger D. Campbell