ONE BAD DECISION: LIVING WITHOUT RESTRAINTS

November 9, 2014 at 7:43 AM (Christian Living, One Bad Decision)
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INTRODUCTION

In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. But, if you’re like me, we make many of our decisions spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but also for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? Sometimes a single decision will change us for the better. And sometimes a single decision will change us for the worse.

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the singular decision that some people in the Bible made that changed their lives forever…for the worse. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word it’ll give us reason to stop and think about both the long-term and short-term ramifications of the decisions we make. Lots of forethought and prayer, I’m convinced, will save us from the pain and regret of a hastily-made decision for the worse.

LIVING WITHOUT RESTRAINTS

I’m a minister and, for as long as I can remember, from the start, really; I’ve depended on God to give me my sermons and lesson plans. It’s been such a gratifying way of ministering because God’s people get a fresh word of encouragement and instruction from the Lord. Just as importantly for me, relying on God to tell me what He wants to say to His people has been good for my prayer life and walk with God. It keeps me constantly in His presence, waiting, listening, and writing down the words that minister life, encouragement, and hope to God’s people.

I can count on one hand the number of visions and dreams that I’ve had from the Lord. God’s never spoken audibly to me. And I’ve never been transported in spirit to Heaven to see the Lord and the unspeakable splendors of God’s very own City of Splendor.

God speaks to my spirit through His still, small, inaudible voice. The words and thoughts gently flow to my mind, much as if I was getting a mental letter from the Lord. When the Lord speaks to me I am renewed and revived in spirit. His presence and anointing are so precious and real, so heart felt, that I am truly gratified and humbled that God would even bother to speak to me and through me. When you multiply this single divine encounter over and over again, week by week through forty-plus years of ministry, I feel so richly blest and privileged to be the object of God’s love and the steward of a fresh word from the Lord.

As richly as I’ve been blest, I can’t imagine what it would be like to get visions of the Lord on a regular basis. I can’t put into words the unimaginable experience of actually getting to see the Lord face-to-face, or hear Him speak audibly to me. I look at the great men of faith in the Bible who had regular visits with the Lord—men like Moses, the prophets and apostles, and Paul—and I can’t help but imagine how privileged and blest they must have felt to be actually speaking face-to-face with God.

Put yourself in their shoes. If the Lord appeared to you in a vision or dream and you actually got to hear Him speak to you, how would you feel? Better yet, what if the Lord actually appeared to you in person? Or brought you in the spirit to His Heavenly City. Would you ever forget your personal encounter with the Lord? How would this single moment of epiphany or theophany affect you for the rest of your life? Would it make you a life-long, loyal believer living with the realization that one of these days you’ll be living in God’s presence forever? Or would you eventually lose your vision and excitement for eternity and become distracted, rather preoccupied, with yourself?

Solomon was a young man. He recently ascended the throne of Israel and was now King in place of his father King David (1 Kings 1).

Like his father before him, Solomon had a real heart for God. You might say he was on fire for the Lord. 1 Kings 3:3 describes his zeal and love for the Lord: Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. The high places don’t mean that Solomon offered sacrifices to false gods. It simply means that, instead of offering sacrifices wherever the Tabernacle happened to be, people built altars on mountains or hills and offered their sacrifices to God there. So Solomon was definitely, totally consumed with God.

Verse 4 goes on to tell us the awesome extent of Solomon’s offerings: And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that alter. How Solomon loved the Lord! Can any of us see ourself in Solomon? On fire for the Lord?

God decided He was gonna pay Solomon a visit. He appeared to him in a dream and invited Solomon to ask anything for himself. Wow! I can think of a thousand things I’d like to ask God for. But do you know what Solomon asked for? Wisdom to be a good King.

I see nothing but humility and sincerity in Solomon’s prayer: O Lord my God, You’ve made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. {8} And here I am in the midst of Your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! {9} Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern Your people well and know the difference between right and wrong (1 Kings 3:7-9).

God was soooo pleased with Solomon’s request that He not only gave him wisdom, but long life, fame, national peace, and wealth to boot (1 Kings 3:10-13). No other ruler in history has been singularly and spectacularly blest as Solomon!

With the nation at peace and many of Israel’s enemies paying Solomon tribute, Solomon’s wealth increased enormously. With his wealth he built himself a grandiose palace. He also built an exquisite Temple for the Lord.

Upon the Temple’s completion, he offered his thousands of offerings to God and asked God to continually watch over His people and bless them (1 Kings 8).

God, once again, was moved. And He appeared to Solomon a second time (1 Kings 9). Here’s the gist of what He told Solomon. He said, Solomon, if you remain faithful to Me you will always have a descendant ruling on the throne and I will watch over Israel. And this Temple that you’ve built for Me will always house My presence. However, if you turn your back on Me and serve other gods, I will destroy both this land and this Temple and Israel will no more be feared or respected among the nations.

Can you possibly imagine just how blest Solomon was to have been gifted twice with God’s appearance and to have all worldly might, fame, and riches? Do you think it’s possible for a man so singularly and spectacularly gifted to forget the Lord and turn his back on God? If you didn’t know the story you’d think it was impossible for a person who’s seen the Lord and talked to Him to eventually turn his back on God. But happen it did.

For all his love and zeal for the Lord, Solomon had one major problem. He loved women. All sorts of women from all sorts of nations. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And all these women turned his heart away from the Lord. In his love for his wives, he built shrines for their false gods. And, sadder yet, most astoundingly of all, he worshipped these false gods too (1 Kings 11).

Solomon obviously didn’t have any self-control. He didn’t practice self-restraint in his romantic and sexual life. He didn’t obey a clear command of the Lord: The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them (foreigners), because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway (1 Kings 11:2). This last sentence haunts me. It evinces Solomon’s intent to do as he pleased despite the Lord’s command. Like Solomon and a lot of you, I’ve insisted on having my way in spite of whatever God has to say about it.

GOD’S COMMANDS ARE FOR A VERY GOOD REASON. THEY’RE FOR OUR GOOD. AND WHEN WE INSIST ON DISOBEYING GOD WE’LL END UP PAYING DEARLY FOR OUR DISOBEDIENCE.

Solomon did. The whole nation did. To this day, Israel is a mess. Because there was no godly king reigning on the throne.

Let me turn a corner here and speak about the sad condition that we’re in today. I’ll speak for myself. But maybe I speak for you too. We hear very little about the cross today. I’m talking about crucifying and denying self. Saying No to self. Not doing what self wants to do. We just don’t hear a whole lot of sermons about putting self to death. About obeying God no matter what. About not sinning or not disobeying God.

We pretty much live in a time when we do whatever we want to do. We do whatever we think or feel is right in our own eyes. A lot of Christians no longer regard the Bible as a Divine, Authoritative rule of law and life. Astonishingly, many Christians-so-called don’t regard Jesus as God. To them He was human, sinful, and imperfect as ourselves. The God that we grew up believing in no longer exists. He isn’t who we were taught He was. He’s all sorts of gods. He is who we want him, and make him, to be. We disobey God freely and regularly. And we have a thousand and one reasons and excuses why we’re right and the Bible’s wrong.

I’ll say it just so that you’ll hear it. IF WE DON’T PUT CURBS AND LIMITS ON OURSELVES WE’RE HEADED BLINDLY TO HELL. You can think whatever you want to think about me. But the words aren’t mine. Not really. They’re my adaptation of what Paul said in his Epistle: If you live according to the flesh you will die (Romans 8:13).

Solomon had a sin problem that he wouldn’t deal with. He didn’t practice self-restraint. He didn’t put his cross to use. He didn’t stick close to God. He lived flagrantly in disregard and disobedience to God’s command.

Solomon was a pretty smart fella. God gave him more smarts than any one man to date has had, Jesus excepted. But in choosing to live to satisfy his fleshly indulgences he made a pretty dumb mistake. NOT CRUCIFYING OURSELF, YOU SEE, HAS A DUMBING EFFECT ON US:  it makes us spiritually dumber to our unbeknownst.

Instead of loving God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, Solomon gave his heart and his love to someone else. He lived to satisfy himself and his flesh. Does he remind any of us of ourself? Do we live as Solomon?

Friends, if you don’t put your cross to good use and die out to self, then, like Solomon, you’re making your worst decision ever. You may not believe me. You may think me wrong to your dying day. But rest assured, you’ll know the truth when you meet up with God. EVERYBODY MEETS GOD FACE-TO-FACE AT LEAST ONCE (Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:11-12). I pray your meeting doesn’t make you an obedient-believer-too-late.

Friends, let’s learn from Solomon. Let’s not duplicate his mistake. Let’s return penitently to our Lord for He is ever ready and willing to forgive us. Let God dictate how we live our life. And at the top of our To-do list, let’s find the cross that we’ve lost and get back on it. That’s where we Christians belong. That’s where we can be found. May God bless you richly and empower you to live obediently for Him.

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CHRISTIAN LIBERTY PART 7

February 25, 2013 at 9:51 AM (Christian Liberty, Doctrine)
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CLARIFYING SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM

PART V

In my last post I dealt with the adverse effects that our exercise of freedom can have on ourself or on others. Not everything that we’re free to do is edifying us or others. So what do we do with a freedom that isn’t edifying?

First, the wrong way. For a lot of conservative Christians and churches, the easiest thing to do with freedoms that have undesirable consequences is to deny and confiscate those freedoms, take them away from people, and outlaw them. Dating, credit cards, television, internet, beer, caffeine, meat, sugar, salt, and women engaged in a professional career outside the home, are just a handful of the countless prohibitions that some Christians  legislate over God’s people.

The fact that some liberties can be misused and thereby end up hurting others and ourselves isn’t a valid argument against the abandonment or confiscation of those liberties.

Consider the example of wine. We’re all familiar with alcohol’s tragic and deadly effects. Christ could have come right out and outlawed it. But He didn’t. What He does instead is He limits a Christian’s intake of the stuff (1 Timothy 5:23). Yes, God prohibits drunkenness. But He didn’t prohibit the drink itself.

Just so you know, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages. I can’t stand the taste of alcohol. I’m not advising or encouraging people to drink the stuff. I’m just honest enough to recognize the fact that Christ didn’t outlaw it, therefore, I see no Scriptural precedent to outlaw it myself.

Eating meats is another example. This was a big, divisive issue in the early church. It was causing all sorts of problems among the brethren. So did the Lord forbid the eating of meats? Did He tell His people to become veggans? No. He told them it was alright to eat meat as long as they didn’t do it in the presence of those who thought it was wrong (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8-10).

 THE BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO A FREEDOM THAT’S CAUSING PROBLEMS IS NOT TO CONFISCATE OR OUTLAW THAT FREEDOM. Rather, the biblical response  is a command for us to put limits or curbs on that freedom so that the freedom doesn’t lead to problems down the road.

Freedom isn’t the problem. It’s the misuse of freedom that’s the problem and this misuse begins in the heart. It’s called intemperance, not crucifying the flesh, not resisting temptation, and a whole lot of other things.

What do we do with a freedom that’s having an adverse effect on us and others as well? We put restraints on that freedom. This brings me to a fifth popular misconception that many people have about freedom.

5. WHEN YOU PUT RESTRAINTS ON FREEDOM IT’S NO LONGER FREEDOM. Many Christians wrongly believe that freedom must be left free and not subject to controls or restraints. They believe that the moment you put limits on freedom you’re putting yourself and others under legalism or law.

But this is simply not the case–not in the spiritual realm and certainly not in the natural realm.

In the natural realm, we’re free to own and drive a car. But our country puts all kinds of restrictions and laws on that freedom: we can’t drive without a driver’s license, we’ve got to have insurance, we’ve got to register our vehicles every year and pay taxes on them, our driver’s license must be renewed every four to six years and we’ve got to pass the eye test or else wear eyeglasses if we want to drive; we can’t drive unless we’re at least fifteen years old, all drivers who are sixteen years old and younger can drive only if there’s an adult in the car, and if student drivers get caught driving drunk, under the influence, are out past curfew, or get bad grades, their licenses will be taken away from them for a period of time; we’ve got to buckle up in both the front and back seats; infants and toddlers up to the age of five have to be in car seats, we can’t place these car seats on the front seat of cars with airbags, and children under the age of twelve aren’t allowed to seat in the front seat of cars with airbags; there are laws as to how fast we can drive, which lane of the road we must drive on, and when we can pass a slow moving vehicle. In some states, you can’t drive a car unless it passes an emissions test. You see, we’ve got all these restrictions and laws placed on driving. Yet we acknowledge the fact that we’re free to drive in this country.

In much the same way, the Lord puts restrictions on our liberties. Here’s a few.

  • We’re not to indulge in our liberties in the sight of those who are unenlightened to the truth and who would therefore stumble or take offense at our liberties, Romans 14:14, 20-21, 1 Corinthians 8:9, 10:25-29, 32. I wrote about this in my previous blog post.
  • We’re not to give place to the Devil or flesh and use our freedoms as an occasion to sin, Romans 13:13-14, Ephesians 4:27.
  • We’re limited to just a little bit of wine, not a lot, and certainly not so much of it that we become drunk, develop a drinking problem, and become alcoholics or drunkard, Ephesians 5:18,1 Timothy 3:2-3,8, 5:23, Titus 2:3.

We’re not supposed to be enslaved to our freedoms. If we ever come to a point where we’re compelled or addicted to do something that we’re free to do, then at that point we’ve become slaves to our so-called freedom and we’re no longer free.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (literally, I will not be ruled by any one thing, I will not become a slave to anything that I’m free do to).

You see, THE REASON WHY THE LORD PUTS RESTRAINTS ON OUR FREEDOM IS BECAUSE UNRESTRAINED FREEDOM CAN RESULT IN SIN AND SLAVERY. When our freedoms lead us to sin and slavery we’re no longer free. We’re slaves. And in order to avoid this entrapment of liberty and sin there has to be restraints put on liberty. In other words, THE FREEDOM TO DO SOMETHING ALSO MEANS THE FREEDOM NOT TO DO IT. For us to truly remain free we must apply discipline, control, or restraints on our freedoms. Freedom unrestrained leads to slavery. But FREEDOM RESTRAINED KEEPS US FREE.

We’re supposed to practice temperance, Galatians 5:23. What is temperance? It is self-control.

Now self-control is two things. First, it is control. It’s putting limits, restraints, regulations, rules, or laws on yourself so that while you’re free to do something, the freedom isn’t absolute and unrestrained. YOU PUT LIMITS ON THAT FREEDOM IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THAT FREEDOM AND NOT USE IT TO BECOME A SLAVE TO SIN, THE DEVIL, AND THE FLESH ONCE AGAIN.

In the example of wine, you limit your intake of wine, you don’t let yourself get drunk, and you don’t drink wine in the sight of  weak Christians.

You see, brethren, THE FACT THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE TEMPERATE IN ALL THINGS, INCLUDING OUR FREEDOMS, IS PROOF POSITIVE THAT THERE’S NOTHING WRONG, LEGALISTIC, OR UNCHRISTIAN WITH PUTTING RESTRAINTS OR CONTROLS ON OUR FREEDOMS. Freedom, dear friends, demands restraints.

Self-control, as I said, is two things. In the second place, it  is strictly personal or voluntary: it’s something you put on yourself, something that you freely choose to do for yourself (1 Corinthians 6:12, 8:13). No one forces you to put restraints on your freedom. No one puts those restraints on your freedom for you. You do it by yourself and on your own because this is something God  wants you to do (1 Corinthians 9:25-27, 2 Peter 1:5-6). You do it willingly because you see the value of putting curbs or restraints on yourself and your freedom.

Some people wrongly interpret not doing something that we’re free to do as a confiscation or abolishment of freedom. They view it as legalism. But that, brethren, is not the case. The restraints that we put on our freedoms are not laws against freedom. They’re not a denial or confiscation of freedom. We’re not outlawing our freedoms, nor are we taking those freedoms away. In no way do I advocate legalism.

THE RULES OR LAWS THAT WE PUT ON OUR FREEDOMS ARE NOT MEANT TO ABOLISH OUR FREEDOMS: THEY’RE MEANT TO ENSURE OUR CONTINUING FREEDOM. WE GOVERN OUR USE OR EXERCISE OF FREEDOM TO MAKE SURE WE DON’T BECOME ENSLAVED TO SIN ONCE AGAIN. 

Self-control is what keeps us from becoming enslaved to sin. Brethren, what kind of restraints or laws do you have on your freedom? What sort of guidelines or limits do you observe when engaging in your freedoms? Can you name them? Can you write them down so that you know what they are? Do you have any at all?

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 8. This final installment of freedom looks at the sensitive, if not controversial, issue of other people applying restraints to our liberties. Is that legal? Stay tuned for this exciting, eye-popping finale.

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