Don't Even Think About It!

By John Stallings


When I was growing up, there were five things you just didn’t do.

You didn’t drink
You didn’t smoke,
You didn’t cuss,
You didn’t go to the picture show.
You didn’t go “mixed bathing/swimming.”

Maybe you can relate to that.

I came from a long line where the DON’TS were stressed. I came from a line of sincere Christians who emphatically said—“you don’t drink wine or beer, you don’t smoke, or use mouth- baakie, & you don’t go to the high school prom.”

I attended a college with a very, very strict set of rules. Drinking was out of the question. Movies? Don’t even think about it. TV? You couldn't have one in your dorm room. Holding hands on campus? Don’t let anyone see you do it. Our rule book must have gone on for close to twenty pages. Juniors & seniors could date without chaperons.

RULES CAN’T TOUCH THE HEART

Rules didn’t hurt us; as a matter of fact we respected rules. Rules had a way of making you feel safe because you knew where the boundaries were. But rule keeping has one big weakness; it can’t change the heart. Rules are just insufficient.

Some things are beyond debate, & are necessary to salvation. We all know what they are; the virgin birth, the Deity of Christ, salvation by faith, the efficacy of the blood, water baptism etc. However, disunity & disagreement about non-essentials [things not necessary for salvation] have been a significant problem in every era & among God’s people. Squabbling over non-essentials was a problem in the New Testament church. It was a problem among the disciples of Jesus. The Corinthians were divided. The Galatians were “biting & devouring” one another. [5:15]

If two Christians agree on 79 out of 80 points, they will usually focus on the area where they disagree. Often the smaller the point the more likely they are to argue about it. We can disagree on the craziest things. It’s been happening since the beginning & goes all the way back to the days of the New Testament.

Rome was cosmopolitan with all that implies, & so was the church there. There were Jews & Gentiles in the church who had major differences in what they believed to be proper & improper. As you know, when you have people you have diversity & when you have diversity you have clashes. Some of these Romans had been saved fifty years & others less than a year. Some were liberal & others were legalistic. Evidently some of these folk were very scrupulous about food, drink & days.

The “hot button” issues the Romans were looking at wouldn’t be considered hot buttons today. They had more to do with disagreements over dietary issues.

Look at what we have today

Obviously we have a multitude of church denominations. This is fine, probably even healthy. People within these groups disagree about what kind of music is appropriate in church services. Some folk go to the movies, others don’t. We have differences about dress, such as skirts, ties, swimwear, modesty, jewelry, makeup, hair-length & hair styles, women wearing pants, entertainment, movies, plays, TV, dancing, birth control, medicine-including alternative medicine, beverages, schooling, moms working, dating/courtship, luxuries, eating in church fellowship halls, saleable items in the church, Bible translations, etc.

People get at each others throats over what movie rating is acceptable for a Christian. The larger the church the more likely there will be factions & groups. Some want Sunday School & others prefer small group ministry. They reason; why build buildings when we can meet in homes. After all, Jesus is coming soon. But how soon? Will He come before the Tribulation, in the middle of the Tribulation or after the Tribulation? Some Christians think there should be no hand -clapping in church. Some like Purpose Driven Rick Warren & some don’t. Some want to start a Saturday night service. Some people think it’s shameful for a church to borrow money. Others borrow money for everything.

And so it goes. Consequently we have arguments, hurt feelings, church splits, & a host of other problems.

PAUL’S POWERFUL PRINCIPLES

Paul addresses these issues in Romans 14, but Instead of laying down a long list of DO’S & DON’TS, he establishes powerful principles. Paul stresses to these Romans that the key elements they’re missing are tolerance, patience & most of all love. In non-essential areas, believers are free to make their own choices, guided by their conscience & The Holy Spirit. This idea makes some people fearful out of concern that it will be used as a license to sin.

Romans 14 is perhaps the greatest chapter in scripture to guide Christians in a Godly lifestyle. It also explores the whole area of how to handle disagreements among believers. How do we get along when we don’t agree on everything? There’s a wide divergence of opinions on many things among believers today & we all need to have a keen listening ear to what the Spirit is saying to each of us.

Paul lays out 4 principles in this great chapter.

1.THE PRINCIPLE OF LIBERTY

Paul twice enunciates this principle very clearly in Roman 14.

I know & am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.-v.14. Everything is indeed clean.-v.20

Do you realize how strange this sounds coming from a man like Paul, raised as an Orthodox Jew? From the moment of his birth Paul had been taught the difference between clean & unclean foods. Leviticus 11 contains a long “Do not eat” list & it included all pork products, camel meat, rabbit meat, birds such as ravens, owls & vultures & most shellfish. The Jews were permitted to eat animals with a split hoof that chewed the cud, such as cows. Fish with fins & scales were permitted as were certain insects such as locusts & grasshoppers.

“Kosher” foods or permitted foods have lasted to this day. Truly observant Jews wouldn’t even think of eating pork or serving it to others. But Romans 14 overturns the entire Levitical law with two phrases;

Everything is indeed clean: - & nothing is unclean in itself.

Nothing could have ever been more revolutionary for the converted Jew than learning that the kosher laws no longer applied. Paul was on the horns of a dilemma; should he teach that folk should just keep the old laws out of habit, or change their diet to demonstrate their new freedom in Christ? What should he say to good people who were wrestling with these questions?

Simply stated, the doctrine of Christian liberty says; - “redemption in Christ sets the believer free from trying to please God through a system of rules & regulations.”

Basically it’s just good old common sense; “you are now free to unbuckle your seat belt & move about the cabin. You’re free to eat anything you want, just don’t eat too much. Your standing with God won’t be affected by the food on your plate.”

The doctrine of Christian liberty says; - “Eat what you want---but you are free to follow the kosher laws too, that’s alright.”

Carrying it a step further, you can also- marry or stay single, take a new job or keep the one you have, live wherever you wish, observe a holiday or not, eat meat or go vegan, & attend the church of your choice.

Be advised, you’re now free, truly, absolutely & honestly free. You’re free from the law, free from rule keeping & free to make responsible choices.

Now Paul doesn’t leave us here with no follow-up because if he did it would sound too much like hedonism-“Do whatever blows your hair back.”

The fact that the 10 Commandments were under the law, & we’re free from the law still doesn’t mean that you & I can trample on any of the Commandments & walk away. We still have no right to hate, steal, lust, covet, lie, commit adultery or disobey God.

WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO WRONG!

Christian liberty never means we’re free to sin with impunity because sin always brings its own punishment sooner or later.

With all this in mind, let’s now go back & re-state what Christian liberty really is;

In those areas where the Bible does not give a specific command or principle to follow, believers are free to make their own decisions, guided by God’s wisdom & the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In the essentials of the faith, we all must unite, but in the non-essentials we’re totally free to do as we want. In the day-by-day choices of our life in which the Bibles doesn’t speak, we exercise Christian liberty. Next Paul states:

2.THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSCIENCE

Paul states this principle very clearly in two different places in Romans 14.

But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats because the eating is not from faith. For whatever doesn’t proceed from faith is sin.

Sometimes your conscience will tell you “Don’t do that. Don’t touch that. Don’t take that job. Don’t go to that movie. Don’t date that guy or girl.” In those cases the Bible says you should follow your conscience.

Is the conscience always reliable? No, not always because our conscience can become seared or dulled by sin. But when the conscience is informed by the Word of God, guided by the Holy Spirit & submissive to the will of God, we can follow it with confidence. Paul said;

Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. [v.23]. If you & I act against our sanctified conscience we’ve sinned even if the activity in itself is not sinful. We did what we believe to be wrong. That’s what sin is; violating the standard of right behavior.

This is why two people can do the same thing & it be wrong for one & right for the other.

I have a friend who was saved & called to preach out of a Rock-n-Roll background. In one large city where he went to conduct a revival, there was a local T.V show that featured Country & Rock music. Occasionally they invited a visiting Christian singer to be a guest on the program. As you know, a good gospel song is always apropos in a Country format.

For years it was the custom of a pastor friend of mine in that city to have his visiting guests, if they were musical, to appear on this show. This appearance would literally be worth a fortune in free advertisement for the church.

When the pastor told my evangelist friend about the program & that his appearing would help with free advertisement, my friend respectfully declined, explaining to the pastor that being on this show would compromise his convictions. It might also put a temptation in front of him he felt better off avoiding. The pastor explained that every visiting singer who came to town for years had appeared on the show & it was instrumental in boosting attendance in the services. Still the evangelist declined explaining that the others were perfectly right in appearing on this show, but for him, it would constitute a serious violation of his conscience.

Sometimes our Christian liberty or lack of in a certain area will cause us to cross swords with another Christian, & that’s why we need another principle;

3.THE PRINCIPLE OF PEACE

According to Romans 14, when liberty & conscience come into conflict, believers are to follow the path of peace, love & edification.

We believers must exercise special care lest we hurt another with our freedom. Verse 13 speaks of—putting a “stumbling block” or “obstacle” in the path of another person. A stumbling block would be like a book you dropped that might cause someone to stumble & an obstacle would be like pulling a rope across the road to cause someone to fall. Whether by accident or design we may hurt others by thoughtlessly eating or drinking. Listen to verses 15-16;

If your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be evil spoken of.

We should never flaunt our liberty at a brother who sees things differently, nor should we entice him to change his standards. If they need to be changed, God can do that.

Paul says further;

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating & drinking but of righteousness & peace & joy in the Holy Ghost. V.17

V.19 sums it up;

Let us pursue what makes for peace & for mutual upbuilding.

Why raise “old Ned” over eating pork or sushi, or putting onions on our cheeseburgers, when our goal should be unity, love & peace. Why become self-appointed inspectors of each others warts & carbuncles?

FIVE BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN WHEN WE MISUSE OUR FREEDOM.

1. Our behavior may be a stumbling block to another Christian.[13]
2. Our brother may be grieved.[15]
3. Our behavior may cause him to fall away from God.[21]
4. We may destroy his spiritual life altogether. [15]
5. God’s work may be destroyed in his life. [20]

Is our freedom worth demanding our own way even though it may negatively impact others? What will we say to God when He says, “Look at all the people you hurt by your careless lifestyle?” Then there’s;

4.THE PRINCIPLE OF SILENCE

God has given us tremendous freedom hasn’t He? We don’t all have to think alike, dress alike, walk alike, or act alike. There is incredible diversity on such matters as whether to get married or stay single, where to work, the friends we choose, what we eat & drink, the books we read, the music we prefer, the clothes we wear, the places we go & the habits we acquire. Our only limits are imposed by the principles of the Bible. But in so doing, how will we get along with all this diversity? Listen to Paul again;

Hold your convictions & hold your tongue.

You don’t have to broadcast all your habits & preferences for general discussion. Keep them to yourself. If you have a favorite translation of the Bible, don’t try to convince everyone else it’s the superior translation. Keep it to yourself. Do you prefer natural child birth, well & good but keep it to yourself. Do you think a vote for ---------------- would be a sin against God? Do you feel that it doesn’t make sense for a Christian to vote for someone who espouses many non-Christian beliefs? If you think a vote like that can’t be justified, it’s O.K. --It’s O.K as long as you don’t open that suitcase full of nukes at prayer meeting or the next family gathering. Do you think “standing up for what you believe” in an area of non-essentials like that is going to make you look spiritual? Please!!

Keep your convictions between you & God.-v.22

I started preaching as a kid, & believe me I was God’s “gunslinger” in those days. For a few years there I was “Heaven’s hit man.” I sent people to hell right left & center. If I came on a group of kids having too much fun playing marbles, they went to hell. If a lady had on make-up, she was consigned to the hot place below. If you smoked, you not only were going to hell but “you smelled like you’d already been there.”

One day God seriously dealt with me about the fact that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. God began to deal with me like this; -Is it any worse to smoke than to worry all day every day? By His grace I don’t intend to do either of those things. I could be wrong but I would argue that worry kills as many people as do cigarettes. I’ve never smoked in my life but could smoking be any worse than gluttony? Some folk are digging their grave with cigarettes & others are doing it with a knife & fork. Both are destructive to our bodies which are the temple of God. If we’re going to condemn folk for drinking coffee, & call them “coffee fiends” shouldn’t we watch the other caffeinated drinks we consume? God thought enough of our brain to wrap a skull around it. Surely He won’t hold it against us if we use it occasionally.

TALKING TOO MUCH

On the subject of holding our tongue, let me somewhat broaden the issue for a moment or two about talking. If I can speak authoritatively here it’s only because of the many bloopers I’ve made in my life in the area of talking too much. I guess this will sound redundant when I say- “I talk a lot about talking too much.”

When I think back over my life I can trace many of the problems I’ve had to words I spoke too quickly, an opinion I offered that wasn’t asked for, a time when I was trying to impress someone with my “knowledge,” or a judgment uttered impulsively & in haste. To be totally candid, sometimes when I think about some of the unwise things I’ve said I can get one of those “full body shudders.” Then, like the country song suggests, I say to myself, “I know what I was doing, but what was I thinking?”

Have you ever spoken too quickly or rashly or foolishly & then regretted it. I thought so. It happens to all of us when we talk too much. That’s why James said, - “Be slow to speak.” Don’t run off at the mouth. Have you ever noticed how rare it is to get in trouble by listening?

Proverbs 10:19 says;

Don’t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow. NLT

There’s no peripheral context for this verse, no study that can alter it’s meaning, nothing that can soften the impact. This verse must be understood exactly as it’s stated. Jesus & His apostles followed this verse when they spoke. They spoke briefly, concisely & directly & you & I should do the same.

Listen to Ecclesiastes 10:12---Words from a wise man’s lips are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips…and the fool multiplies words.—NIV

Do you talk too much? Have you noticed that since your friends got “caller I.D,” most of them are almost never home anymore? Have you noticed that your listener’s eyes are beginning to glaze over & their pupils are fixed & dilated, & you have to physically restrain them to prevent their walking away when you talk? Do you find yourself finishing people’s sentences, hurrying them on so you can make a point, interrupting other people frequently & even talking over them? Can you actually see pain on a person’s face while you’re talking? If so, you might need to loosen up a bit & listen to what others are saying.

LOOKING FOR COMMON DENOMINATORS

A couple was getting a divorce & were going through their home picking out things each would like to keep. They did o.k. until they got up in the attic & opened an old trunk. Both of them lunged for an article in the trunk so fast you’d have thought it was a big bar of solid gold. But they weren’t grasping for gold, the object of their attention was a small pink baby booty. Both these parents wanted the booty because it was a memory of the product of their union, their small daughter. They’d finally found something they could agree on.

When you & I stand before God the only thing that will matter is what we did with His Son Jesus Christ. Did we love Him? Did we serve Him? Did we believe on Him as Lord & Savior & did we follow him to the best of our ability.

Nothing else really matters. Jesus is the central issue-always has been, always will be. Like the couple & the baby booty, let’s look for things that will unite us, not divide us.

It would be nice if all of life were scripted for us, if there were no questionable areas, if there were no weak brothers to accommodate. Such isn’t the case. As we go through this life there will be many situations when we will be called on to make decisions about things that aren’t exactly crystal clear.

What we decide in those moments reveals the truth of the condition of our hearts. When we have come to the place where the Lord Jesus & the needs of others come before our own wishes & desires, we have begun the process of maturing in the Lord.


May God help us all to get there. He will!


Blessings,


John