music :: worship :: life
Sometimes we are faced with choices where the answer is not clear. There are a lot of grey areas in this fallen world, and the Bible does not have an explicit answer to every question. New and improved forms of sin seem to be invented every day. But all of them are really just variations of the old forms of sin. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1:9:
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
But the Bible does have a set of guidelines by which you can make Godly choices in circumstances where there is no clear rule, even at those times when you could argue as easily for or against a course of action. Here are six questions you can ask yourself to help discern the right choice at such times. These are inspired in part by a sermon by Dr. Jim Reeve.
1. The Principle of Self-Control
Ask yourself, “Could this cause me to lose my self control?”
Intoxication is an example of this. The Bible has some clear instruction on this. Paul writes:
Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
—Ephesians 5:17-20
What he says about wine applies to anything that could lead to intoxication and cause you to lose control. Lust, anger, greed—is there something in the situation that puts you in danger of becoming intoxicated with strong emotions or desires? If so, stop.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
—1 Thessalonians 5:7-9
2. The Principle of Bondage
Ask yourself, “Could this become habit-forming?”
What is OK for some people may not be OK for you to do. Likewise, there are things you may be able to do that others should not. Many things that seem harmless can become addictive. And otherwise innocent things can become our masters if they are habit-forming. We all have unique weaknesses. Some people are not bothered by television; others become slaves to it. Some people can safely drink a glass of wine with dinner; but one out of ten who drinks alcohol will become addicted. Credit cards, video games, exercise, eating, dieting, text messaging, blogging—you name it. People become addicted to it. Useful and ordinary activities can enslave us.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
—1 Corinthians 6:12
3. The Principle of Edification
Ask yourself, “Will it build up, or tear down?”
There are activities that may technically be OK, but may lead you or those around you away from God. Is this an activity you can worship while you’re doing?
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. . . . So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. . . . I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.
—1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31, 33b
4. The Principle of Love
Ask yourself, “Will it cause someone to stumble?”
There are things that you think are OK, but that others think are wrong. For example, you may believe it’s OK for you to have wine with your dinner, but others believe it is wrong. If you are dining with people who think it is wrong to do so, refrain from it. If you can’t refrain from having wine with dinner one night, in order to prevent someone who Christ died for from stumbling, you have a more serious problem than you realize. (See item 2 above.)
For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.
—1 Corinthians 8:10-13
5. The Principle of Example
Ask yourself, “Will it set a good example?” or “Will it damage my testimony?”
Paul asked:
For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?
—1 Corinthians 10:29-30
You are called to be ambassadors for Christ. Someone has said that for many people, you may be the only Bible they’ve ever seen. What kind of example are you setting? Your every action in the world is your testimony. Is what you are doing spreading the message of Christ? Could what you are doing cause someone watching to miss an opportunity to receive Christ’s message of salvation?
6. The Principle of Faith
Ask yourself, “Am I certain this is right?”
Often people are more concerned with avoiding what is wrong, than with doing what is right. And sometimes we use the fact that there’s no law against it as an excuse to do something we are not sure is right. This in itself is sin. Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.” (Mark 7:20) It is not the act, but the attitude. We think that because it is not forbidden, it will be OK. But the law is not the issue. As Paul said:
We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious.
—1 Timothy 1:8-9
The law no longer applies to us, and if we are out to do those things we can get away with, just because they are not against the law, we have sinned before we have even done anything. We are called to “imitate Christ,” and to become more like Christ—to be perfected. We are not called to try to satisfy our own desires, as long as they are not explicitly forbidden.
The sin here is lack of faith. We simply do not trust God to do what is best for us. Despite numerous promises throughout the Bible, our flesh cries out for the things of this world. But we cannot serve two masters. Even when something we seek is good, even when it is not wrong, it may not be right. As someone said, “The good is the enemy of the best.”
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11
His plans for you are far better than your own plans. Sin always seems like it will be more fun than “doing right.” But sin always promises more than it can deliver. What about God’s promises?
You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
—Joshua 23:14
Do you trust God? Then let his word, his principles, and his character guide your decisions. Sometimes in the moment, doing the right thing seems hard. But over the course of your lifetime, you will never look back and say, “I wish I hadn’t done the right thing.” So—
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
—Proverbs 3:5-6
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. . . . This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
—Deuteronomy 30:15-16; 19-20
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
—Romans 6:1-2
I used to look at sin as acts of ugliness—vices—evil deeds. But sin is much more subtle than that. Sin is an obstacle to God’s grace—a roadblock on the path of righteousness.
Sin blocks us from connecting with God, from reaching his purpose for us, from receiving his promises, from fulfilling his plans to prosper us. Sins are the potholes on the highway to heaven.
The closer we get to God, and the further we travel in our spiritual journey, the faster we go. And the faster we go, the more damage a pothole does to our wheel alignment. Many of us came to Christ limping along with wheels pointed every which way from so much rough mileage on the world’s highways, and it has taken a long time to get back in proper alignment.
The more potholes (sin) we fall into, the more damage we do to our alignment, and the harder it is for us to steer, and to stay on the King’s Highway. If we leave the highway and venture onto those side roads and detours, we have to drive slow, and we do even more damage to our drive train. God may have to do extensive repairs to get us back in realignment.
All this metaphorical stuff is to illustrate the point: The closer we get to God, the more sin matters. When we are living worldly lives, we were surrounded by sin, and it saturated our hearts and minds. We didn’t notice it much; it was so much a part of the environment. But as we draw near to God, we become more and more sanctified. And as the more blatant sin is cleared from our lives, the more subtle sin becomes more obvious. The closer we get to God, the more his purity fills us. And his purity makes all our impurities stand out in sharp contrast.
As we draw nearer to God, the more his light fills our lives, and the more the darkness in our own hearts becomes visible. Layer after layer his light penetrates, and layer after layer the shadows are revealed and flooded with his light. This goes on for a lifetime, but it will never reach all the shadows in the deepest parts of ourselves. He is ever in the process of perfecting us, and he is never finished in this life. On the last day, the Bible teaches us, when we stand before him, all that is left to perfect us will be completed. We will be changed in an instant.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
—1 Corinthians 15:51-52
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
—Philippians 3:20-21
But for now, watch out for those potholes!
Come Judgment Day, it will not be your friends you stand before. It will not be your spouse; it will not be your boss. It will not be your clients, your neighbors, or your family. It will not be your church.
Nothing and no one in this world will be your judge.
Who are you living for?
A simple rule of thumb:
If you can’t worship while you’re doing it, you shouldn’t be doing it.
This was one of those messages that showed up unbidden during my class on worship. The topic was “worshipping all the time.” It seems like a good maxim for those times when we are looking for clear direction in unclear situations.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
—1 Corinthians 10:31
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
—Colossians 3:17
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
—1 Peter 4:11
The soul learns which activities bring God’s presence nearer. It remains in His presence by practicing those activities.
—Brother Lawrence
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
—Matthew 8:23-27
Most of us would probably prefer to cruise placidly across still waters with our Savior asleep in the back of the boat. But it is only amid the storms that we truly see him as he really is. Only when we need deliverance are we truly aware of our Deliverer. His name means “God-with-us” and he walks beside us every day. But it is when we walk through the furnace that we feel his presence most palpably.
When the path is smooth and well-marked, it is tempting to rely upon our own understanding, and forget who it is in whom “we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) God is master of all the storms and could easily prevent us from encountering any turbulence.
But God longs for relationship with us. And he has built into us a vacuum that only he can fill. It is in the storms we learn surrender. And it is in surrender we learn to trust fully in his love and protection.
It is when we can no longer carry ourselves that we see God as he really is—as he wants us to see him—not as an aloof stern God whose arms are folded, but as a loving Father whose arms stretch to enfold us; a God whose heart bursts with love when we call out, “Abba, Father,” like toddlers reaching upward to say, “Daddy, will you carry me?”
Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.The king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
—Esther 7:9-10
Just as Hamas was executed on the very scaffold he built for Mordecai, Satan was destroyed by the very cross he built for Christ.
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