DECISIONS DECISIONS
PURITY CHECK-UP
1) When was the last time you made a crude joke or laughed at one?
2) When was the last time you sat thru a sexual scene on TV & didn’t change the channel?
3) When you look at someone of the opposite sex, does the way you look at them make them uncomfortable?
- Do you have off colored words in your vocabulary?
- Do you go to places of entertainment where the sexual atmosphere is thick & you are not troubled by it?
- Do you read books & magazines with immoral stories or pictures?
- Married: Are you attracted to someone who is not your spouse?
Single: Are you attracted to someone who is not Christian?
- How different is your entertainment from people who are not Christians?
- Do people feel free to be off-colored around you?
- What do you frequently do for entertainment that you would not do if Christ was standing next to you?
DECISIONS DECISIONS
Sociologists say we make 200 decisions everyday. Many of the decisions we make are routine & easy. Some decisions are overwhelming. Have you ever been overwhelmed with decisions & paralyzed by fear of messing up?
If the Bible specifically speaks to an issue, that settles it! 1 Thess 4:3-7
1 Corinthians 10 encourages us to make God honoring decisions. It gives us a framework of questions to run our decisions through. In areas where the Bible is silent, here are questions to help us when making decisions: 1 Cor 10:23-33
1) IS IT HELPFUL? 1 Cor 10:23
We have a lot of freedom in Christ. We are saved by grace. But exercising my freedom is not always helpful.
2) IS IT CONSTRUCTIVE ? 1 Cor10:23b
Does it build others up? If I do this, will it leave them better off? Gal 5:13-14 1 Cor 8:9 1 Peter 2:15-16
3) IS IT AN INVESTMENT IN OTHERS? 1 Cor 10:24
Seek the good & well-being of others. Does my course of action seek the good, the betterment, the blessing of my neighbor? Or is it purely selfish & detrimental to my neighbor’s good.
Where would all of us be if others had not taken an interest in us. Everybody in this building owes something to someone. We are to do good to others even if it cost us something. If it cost me something, where does that leave me?? It leaves you BLESSED. While we are seeking the good of others, GOD Himself is seeking our good. God will bless us with increased faith, joy, peace, & love. When we invest in others, God will feel so much nearer to us. Decisions based on helping others will always bring us a blessing.
4) IS IT OKAY? 1 Cor 10:25-29
10:25-26 These verses deal with specific problems. It was a common practice for the pagan priests to take the meat from animal sacrifices & take it to the markets for retail sale. Some believers were bothered by the fact that they might be purchasing meat which had been offered to idols. Paul said to buy the meat & ask no questions about its source, for the earth with all its creatures & provisions is the Lord’s. Animals were created by God for man. If there is a wrong, it was committed by the idol worshippers, not by the believer who uses the animal as God purposed.
10:27-29 Paul addressed the problem of Christians being invited to social events by unbelievers. If a non-Christian invites you to dinner & you feel like going, go ahead & enjoy yourself.
On the other hand, if he went out of his way to tell you that this or that was sacrificed to a god or goddess, don’t eat! You don’t want to send mixed messages to him about who you are worshiping.
5) IS IT HARMFUL? 1 Cor 10:28-29
If it is physically harmful, don’t do it.1 Cor 6:12 Heb 12:1
If it is spiritually harmful for you, don’t do it.
If it is spiritually harmful for someone else, don’t do it.
6) DOES IT GLORIFY GOD? 1 Cor10:29-31
We are to live for God’s glory, even if it means sacrificing something we enjoy.
Paul anticipates an argument in vv. 29-30. “Why should my strong conscience be judged by a brother’s weak conscience?”
The answer is: regardless of what we do, be it eating or drinking, we must do it for God’s glory & not just to please ourselves. Rom 14:21; 15:1
Humanly speaking, it may seem wrong for a strong Christian to bow to a weaker brother, but this is what glorifies God. Causing a weaker brother to stumble into sin would disgrace the church & the name of Christ. The stronger should always bow to the needs of the weaker.
7) IS IT OFFENSIVE? 1 Cor10:31-32
Is it generally pleasing to others? Does it make a good impression on others or does it make us look like jerks? Don’t be offensive on purpose. 1 Pet 2:19-21
SUMMARY
Test 1: Does it violate Scripture. If it does, the answer is NO!
Test 2: Is the thing or act expedient & edifying? It may be lawful, legitimate, & allowed…; but is it expedient, beneficial, helpful, & useful?… Does it edify & build up? Is it constructive?
Test 3: Does the thing or act seek the welfare of others?
Test 4: Is it courteous & kind?
Test 5: Does the thing or act violate MY conscience?
Test 6: Does it hurt the conscience of another person?
8) No believer should participate in an activity…
- that would violate his/her conscience.
- that would identify him as a worldly person. 1 Thess 5:21-22
- that would unnecessarily harm others.
The point of this passage is clear: if partaking of any activity or if participating in any function or activity offends a weaker Christian, then we are not to partake or participate. The weaker Christian’s conscience & life are far more important than any food or drink or any social event or activity. This is the test that controls all the others. Even if our own conscience is not bothered, we are to act for the sake of others. We are not to do things if they offend others—no matter how lawful & legitimate & acceptable they are. 1 Cor 8:13