This past week I did something I have not done in 3 years –
took 7 days in a row off – which included no Internet. It has been
very refreshing! While I was away quite a few questions have come to me – one
I will deal with today – the other is about how secure our salvation is. That is a long
paper and I will post it soon as an article.
Several questions revolved around questionable areas and
maturity – with this in mind I share this:
When my son Chris was about 3 years old, we lived in
Hawaii. Our Condo was a three bedroom, so I kept office there at first. Next to
my office, to the left was Chris’s bedroom and to the right was our bathroom.
Our toilet had a leak inside the tank, so you had to jiggle the handle to make
the plug drop all the way. One day I was typing in my office, when Chris…being
only 3…had to announce to me that he needed to “potty.” I told him to remember
to jiggle the toilet, he said ok. After a while I noticed I still heard the
tank leaking, so I called to Chris and told him to jiggle the toilet. He said
he did, but I told him to do it again.
Again, after sometime I noticed the
noise, so we went through this again. On the third time…now being irritated
with the interruption, I said firmly, Christopher Alan Leigh…that’s why
Americans have three names, so their parents can let them know they are in
trouble! He said “what dad?” I explained that I needed that toilet jiggled, he
said “but I did” – I said, “show me”. We went into the bathroom…and my
3-year-old son straddled the toilet and tried to shake it as hard as he could!!
I just laughed and showed him what I meant, which of course he replied “why
didn’t you just say so!”
I assumed my son could discern what I meant, I was wrong. Truth
must be discerned properly or we can do some pretty silly things.
Christian life begins with Truth and how you deal with it.
The believer that is committed to Truth – will find the real
battleground revolves around Liberty Issues
What are Liberty Issues? They are the majority of our life.
Very small parts of our life consist of black and white commands from God. Most
of our life involves issues that God did not directly speak to – so
we are left with the freedom and the responsibility to make a decision.
How we dress, what we eat and drink, listen to, watch, spend
our time on.
This is the battleground. If we handle Liberties correctly we mature, if we do not, they will become the hindrances to our walk with God.
Discernment -
Ln: discernere - to separate, divide, distinguish between
Defined: (1)
To see distinctly
(2)
To distinguish mentally
For the committed believer
the issue of maturity revolves around Liberties. If you have a problem obeying
black and white commands of scripture, you are not serious. However, if you are
serious about your walk, the flesh and our adversary concentrate on the liberty
issues
The key passage that deals
with this issue is found in the book of Romans
Romans 14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue
with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person
believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive
conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must
not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must
not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn
someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge
whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is
right and will receive his approval.
In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while
others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that
whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord
on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to
honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who
refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to
God. For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to
honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die,
we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be
Lord both of the living and of the dead.
So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another
believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the
Scriptures say, “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will
confess and give praise to God.’ ”
Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop
condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not
cause another believer to stumble and fall. I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus
that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is
wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you
are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for
whom Christ died. Then you will not be criticized for doing something you
believe is good. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or
drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will
approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to
build each other up. Don’t tear
apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable,
but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. It is better
not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another
believer to stumble. You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are
doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel
guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts
about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead
and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you
believe is not right, you are sinning.
We will look at this text
in future devos, but first I want to give you three essential questions we
should consider when we deal with liberty issues.
Three Key Questions that will give you discernment.
·
1. Does it glorify God?
1 Corinthians
10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory
of God.
How can we do this? You can eat chocolate to the glory
of God, He is the one Who gave us our taste buds. When we enjoy the gift He
has given us we glorify Him. The problem comes when we become gluttons and enjoy
6 Pounds of chocolate!!
·
2. Am I walking in love – How does this affect
others around me?
Romans 14:15 For
if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to
love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
One time I remember I was on a treadmill and a Filipino
got on one next to me. They can be quite blunt. He said, “Wow, you sure are
fat”. To be honest my first thought was “Oh yea, well you are ugly, and I can lose
this fat, but you are stuck with that face!” Obviously I knew right away that the
Lord would not want me to say that. I chose to NOT respond in a way that would
not show the love of our Lord.
·
3. If you doubt = don't!
Romans 14:23 But
he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith;
and whatever is not from faith is sin.
If you need to ask you need to wait!
Meditation Questions: Have you thought about what
your liberties are? What are they? If you don’t know, what does that say? Do
you seek other’s opinions to find out what you can and cannot do? What does
that say? What is the difference between seeking counsel and seeking
validation? Why should we care what others think if we have the “right” to do
what we want?
