In order to make a God-honoring decision concerning a disputable matter, we must subject ourselves to four checkpoints:
Let's pretend someone is trying to decide whether or not drinking alcohol in moderation is right or wrong for them. They would have to ask is it beneficial for my spiritual growth? Is it good for me? For some the answer will be yes, and for others the answer will be no. For some, drinking alcohol habitually leads to drunkenness. For this person, drinking alcohol isn’t good or beneficial because it continually leads them to sin. But for the person who can drink in moderation, alcohol might be a nice compliment to a tasty meal, or a pleasant way to relax in the evening, or a nice addition to a romantic dinner with your spouse. For this person, drinking alcohol isn’t leading into sin, so there’s no problem.
But everybody is different, which is why God doesn’t make blanket statement rules for disputable matters. God allows freedom for those whose indulgence doesn’t lead to sin while requiring restriction for those whose indulgence does lead to sin. And God has given us a conscience to help us know the difference between when we should indulge and when we should refrain.
Checkpoint #2: My Character. "Should I do it?"
In this post we'll look at Checkpoint #2: My Character. Here we're asking "Should I do it?"
If you're going to make a good decision concerning a disputable matter, you better not stop at "Can I do it?" You must go on to ask "Should I do it?" The Corinthians made the mistake of thinking that just because they could do something (i.e. eat meat sacrificed to idols) that they should.
But Paul writes to them in 1 Corinthians 10:23, You [Corinthians] say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but [I Paul say] not everything is good for you. You [Corinthians] say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but [I Paul say] not everything is beneficial. NLT
If you're going to make a good decision concerning a disputable matter, you better not stop at "Can I do it?" You must go on to ask "Should I do it?" The Corinthians made the mistake of thinking that just because they could do something (i.e. eat meat sacrificed to idols) that they should.
But Paul writes to them in 1 Corinthians 10:23, You [Corinthians] say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but [I Paul say] not everything is good for you. You [Corinthians] say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but [I Paul say] not everything is beneficial. NLT
You cannot evaluate every matter by asking "Does the Bible condemn it?" There are many things the Bible doesn't expressly condemn that might not be good for you. After asking "Can I do it?" you have to also ask "Should I do it?" For example, when deciding what shows to watch on TV I don't ask "Can I watch this?" because the Bible doesn't give a list of acceptable and unacceptable TV shows. Instead I ask "Should I watch this?" and "Is this good and beneficial to my spiritual development?" If I find the show to be counterproductive to my character development, I do not continue watching that show.
But everybody is different, which is why God doesn’t make blanket statement rules for disputable matters. God allows freedom for those whose indulgence doesn’t lead to sin while requiring restriction for those whose indulgence does lead to sin. And God has given us a conscience to help us know the difference between when we should indulge and when we should refrain.
This leads nicely into our third checkpoint, which you can read by clicking here.
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