4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.The first half of this passage asserts that every created thing is good and should not be rejected, but this assertion is based on a condition: thanksgiving that arises from the word of God and prayer. The assertion that everything is good is important because it gives us the freedom to embrace and enjoy all that is not forbidden. It is analogous to the situation of Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis 2:15-17:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”Everything is up for grabs! All that is required is obedience to God's commands. This is essential to the Christian experience because it keeps us from creating man-made laws to improve our spirituality. When we forbid what God has not forbidden, we submit ourselves to a human system that only serves to frustrate without drawing us any closer to God. Paul talks about this in Colossians 2:20-23:
20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.The freedom that we, as Christians, have from the legalism of the world is refreshing, but, there is more to be said. Everything God created is indeed good, but we learn something new from Ecclesiastes 7:29:
29 This only have I found:In spite of the original nature of good in mankind and the rest of creation, several things that are good in nature have been misused by man for his own evil goals. This means that, despite our freedom to embrace all that God has given us, there is evil in the world that will misuse the good. One can think of this situation as a booby trapped candy shop. All the drawers are full of amazing candy that God has created for us to enjoy, but several of the drawers have been rigged by an evil man to hurt us. God did not originally intend for the candy to hurt us. However, Satan and other evil forces have and will use our desires to lure us away from God and into harm's way. Who would be willing to open a single shelf in the candy store?!? Some of the more daring would step out and try a few shelves, but would soon give up after being harmed the first couple of times. This is where 1 Timothy 4:4-5 comes in handy. It helps us to mark which shelves are safe or dangerous. Again, 1 Timothy 4:4-5 says,
God made mankind upright,
but men have gone in search of many schemes.”
4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.We can access the whole candy store if we approach it with the word of God and prayer. Carefully study the Bible and consider how it applies to your situation. Avoid what it tells you to avoid. Obey it. This is the simple (but still difficult) part. Next, pray about what God would have you do. Just because the Bible does not forbid something does not mean that it should be done. In 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, it says,
23 “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.Your freedom in Christ does not give you the right to act without thought. We are called to consider other people when we do anything. Take the topic of joking for instance. You might find several topics funny to joke about. As we have learned so far, joking is good. God created it; you should enjoy it. However, consider Ephesians 4:29:
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.Only joke if it will uplift other people. Consider their needs when you joke. Don't make racy jokes around a brother who deals with lust or jokes that will discourage or weaken the faith of those who are hurting in your midst.
In situations where it is not clear that you should exercise your Christian freedom, pray. I want you to consider a story from the book of Joshua. They were in the middle of conquering the land of Canaan and removing all of its peoples when they were approached by strangers. These strangers told Joshua that they were from a far away land. They claimed to have traveled a long way and had worn out clothes and moldy food to prove it. Pause for a moment. This is you out on the town with friends. They've invited you to their favorite restaurant/bar and you've stopped to consider their offer. In Christ, you have freedom to do whatever is not forbidden. Joshua, here, can accept or reject the stranger's offer without fear of breaking the law. Does your freedom give you the right to move forward without thought? Joshua thought so and, in this case, moved on without prayer. Joshua 9: 14-18 says,
14 The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.Their exercise of freedom actually took away their freedom to enjoy what God had originally given them. Similarly, your night out with friends at a bar might be within your Christian freedom, but it might not be as good a decision as you think. One of your friends may be dealing with an addiction to alcohol or other weaknesses that shouldn't be provoked. Temptations that God wanted you to avoid might cross your path. The idea here is not that you shouldn't go to bars, but that you should pray before entering a context where the consequences of your actions are unclear. I would claim very readily that the consequences of going to a bar are unclear. However, I wouldn't pray about entering a Burger King; there isn't normally a spiritual battle associated with burgers and fries. However, the culture of bars and the effects of alcohol have and can hurt many people.
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
In conclusion, embrace your freedoms in Christ. I've found great joy in expanding my horizons and trying new experiences. However, temper these freedoms with the word of God and prayer. As I said in my first blog post, combine your emotions with your mind. Give yourself the ability to choose something new, but don't assume that there aren't mines out there. Satan has been practicing deception for thousands of years. Instead of holing up in legalism or running out in naive freedom, practice scripture reading and prayer and allow them to transform, saturate, and guide you into all the goodness that God has created for you. As you go about your week, reflect on Psalm 37:4:
4 Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment