The Right Way to View the Rules

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Right Way to View the Rules</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id260.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How To Be Focused For Spiritual Growth"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Faithfulness Through Flexibility and Foc"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“The Right Way to View the Rules,” Berean Bible Church, August 18, 2002am, </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1+Cor+8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>1 Corinthians 8</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div>      In Lexington, Ky., there is an ordinance forbidding anyone to carry an ice-cream cone in his pocket. In Carmel, N.Y., a man can’t go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match. In Nicholas County, W. Va., no member of the clergy is allowed to tell jokes or humorous stories from the pulpit during a church service. In Zion, Ill., it is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats and other domesticated animals kept as pets. In Greene, N.Y., you cannot eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks while a concert is on. (Campus Life, March 1973). There is a sign in the middle of the Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado, the tallest suspension bridge in the world, rising 1053 feet above the water level: “No Fishing From This Bridge.” Some people love to make up rules!</div> <div>      Many times Christianity is seen as a list of rules, nothing more. A young man asks: “I am in earnest about forsaking ‘the world’ and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?” “Colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don’t eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to lie against Him who created us, to attempt to improve on His Work.” The most celebrated schools of the 2nd century gave this answer! (Elizabeth Elliot, <I>The Liberty of Obedience</I>, Nashville, Abingdon, 1968, pp. 45-46). And Christians have been making up rules ever since.</div> <div>      Christians can go to one extreme or the other. On the one hand is <I>legalism</I>. Regarding the non-Christian, legalism is thinking you can earn God’s favor (salvation) by keeping the rules. For the person already saved by faith, legalism is keeping and enforcing a list of man–made rules (beyond that which God intended) as a condition of spirituality. For example, “good” Christians don’t go to movies, they don’t dance, they attend church 3 times a week, read the Bible one hour a day, they don’t listen to modern music, don’t drink any alcohol, etc. <I>Legalism elevates man’s commands to the level of God’s commands.</I> On the other hand is <I>license</I> or permissiveness. This is the view that because God loves you no matter what you do, it does not matter what you do; <I>license minimizes God’s commands to the level of optional human commands.</I></div> <div>      In order to be a maturing follower of Christ, it is important to view “rules” in the Christian life in the proper way. What is the right way to view the rules surrounding the Christian life?</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. The Balance Between Legalism and License (1 Corinthians 8:1-13).</B></div> <div> A. We have freedom in Christ (vss. 1-6). </div> <div>      We do not have to make up rules to feel more spiritual. Christ is our righteousness. He has saved us; we must seek to please <I>him</I>. We are obligated to do what makes <I>him</I> happy, according to his word. In this case, eating meat from that which was offered to an idol is not a big deal, because meat is meat. Worshiping the idol is wrong, but to eat the meat is not to support idol worship.</div> <div> B. We must exercise our freedom with concern for weaker Christians (vss. 7-13). </div> <div>      Knowledge is to be balanced by love. The weak brother is one who would be inclined to follow your example, maybe even go beyond into sin (e.g., from drinking a glass of wine (allowable) to getting drunk (not allowable)). The weak Christian is not just someone who disagrees with you about a particular issue. Romans 14:23 says, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” For one to violate his conscience is wrong. The weak brother needs to be taught (patiently) to enjoy his freedom in Christ. He is a person, not just a abstract possibility ; it is not: “somebody, somewhere might have a problem with this.”</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Three Principles:</B></div> <div> A. Obey God’s laws from the heart.</div> <div>      Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mark 7:8-9: “‘You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.’ And he said to them: ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!’” In a cartoon of “Jeff MacNelly’s Shoe,” one character is at the diner or bar, and the waitress says, “What are you reading?” He says, “The Bible.” “Looking for information?” she asks. He replied, “No...I’m looking for loopholes.” This is how the Pharisees approached the Bible. They ignored God’s commands and instead made up their own. We are to seek to know God’s laws and obey them, from the heart.</div> <div>      God’s laws include: Be truthful, maintain unity, meet together with other Christians, avoid sexual immorality, avoid complaining and greed, be humble, be loving and forgiving. God’s principles provide a framework where the Bible is silent (in areas such as TV and movies).</div> <div> B. Don’t hold others to a higher standard than God intended. Be flexible with others where the Bible is flexible.</div> <div> C. Be careful not to influence someone with a weak conscience to violate their conscience.</div> <bR> <div> <B>III. Application examples:</B></div> <div>      Our goal is to discover and follow God’s principles and laws in order to please him. Neither legalism nor license is appropriate. This section offers some of God’s clear principles, followed by the legalistic extreme, then the license extreme. Use this section to discover how to discern God’s principles and how they apply to your life.</div> <div> A. <I>Principle</I>: Spend time with God in his word and prayer regularly (Psalm 119, 1 Thess 5:17). <I>Legalism</I> – every good Christian spends 1 hour with God first thing in the morning. <I>License</I> – I read the Bible when I get around to it; I read the Bible and pray occasionally. </div> <div> B. <I>Principle</I>: Avoid drunkenness (Eph 5:18; be controlled by the Spirit, not by a substance). <I>Legalism</I> – no good Christian would ever have a glass of wine. <I>License</I> – I am free in Christ, so who cares if I get a little drunk now and then.</div> <div> C. <I>Principle</I>: Spend time with God’s people in worship and the word (Heb 10:25). <I>Legalism</I> – all good Christians are in church every time the door is open. <I>License</I> – I make it to church when I can; or, 1 hour is enough to last me a couple weeks; or, once I have fulfilled my duty to go to church, there is no reason to go back and take advantage of other programs the church offers.</div> <div> D. <I>Principle</I>: Avoid corrupt or hurtful communication (Eph 4:29). <I>Legalism</I> – I don’t swear or use God’s name in vain, therefore I must be a good Christian. <I>License</I> – Even if I don’t swear, it is acceptable to gossip, complain, and criticize.</div> <div> E. <I>Principle</I>: Don’t open yourself up to ungodly, unhealthy, unhelpful influences (not just words and images, but world-views; Phil 4:8, Rom 12:2). <I>Legalism</I> – Good Christians don’t watch TV, go to movies, use the internet, or listen to secular music. <I>License</I> – It is OK to watch less-than-helpful movies, TV, etc.; you are not actually doing what they do; what harm is it, especially if there is no nudity and little swearing? In reality, filling your mind with garbage is as spiritually dangerous as playing in traffic is physically dangerous.</div> <bR> <div>      Driving a car is about reaching a destination, and keeping the rules helps you do so safely. Christianity is about becoming like Christ, keeping God’s rules helps you stay on the pathway and avoid danger. You cannot do enough God things to earn God’s salvation; you have to accept it by faith. If you think keeping your own set of rules is what being a good Christian is all about, you are wrong. Keep God’s rules, from the heart, to please him. If you think that it is legalistic to be forced to do the right things, you are also wrong, at the other extreme. God cares about your actions, and he wants you to grow in him by becoming like Christ, from the heart into your actions.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2002, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>