Biblical Standards

You heard of the Mason Dixon line, haven’t you?

You know what Mason said to Dixon, "You've got to draw the line somewhere."

We need standards in our:

(1) NEIGHBORHOODS

Illus: Sometime we read and hear about people complaining about standards in their neighborhood.

That is, before they moved into a nice neighborhood in which they have chosen to live they signed a contract that state clearly:

• Certain things they can do or can not do.

• Certain thing they can have in their yards and can not have.

But some people after they move into these neighborhoods they decide to completely ignore the contract.

When they are notified they are violating the contract and carried to court they say, “This is my yard and I can do with it whatever I want to do with my yard!”

No, you can not!!! If you signed a contract that limits what you can do and can not do you are bound by the contract that you signed.

We have COMMUNITY STANDARDS.

We need standards on our…

(2) HIGHWAYS

That is, we have SPEED STANDARS.

When we got our driver’s license part of the test we took was a driver’s test and agreed to certain SPEED LAWS.

We could not get our license until we agreed that we knew what the speed laws varied in the city and on the interterstate.

Now some when they get caught for speeding will look the patrolman in the face and say, “This is my car that I bought and paid for and I will drive it as fast as I want to drive it any where I want to drive it.”

No you want!!!

The test you took to get your license to drive on the road stated certain speeds standards for certain location.

We need standards in…

(3) EDUCATION

We need standards for students what is required to make a passing grade.

We need for teachers to take the national teacher’s exam.

But it is important that we have ACADEMIC STANDARDS for our STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS.

We need standards for our…

(4) SPORTS

For example, what would baseball be like if there were no standards? We have the standard THREE STRIKES AND YOU ARE OUT.

This same standard is used for every game for every team.

Football has a standard that a team must carry the football one-hundred yards before they can SCORE a touch down.

This is the same standard used in every game and for every team.

Standards are good!!!

BUT LISTEN IT IS IMPORTANT WE HAVE STANDARDS WHEN IT COMES TO GOD’S CHURCH.

WHAT IS THE STANDARD FOR God’s church? It is the Word of God!

Illus: I do not know about you but my wife and I get sick and tired of hearing people say on some of these news station always saying, “I think this or I think that!”

Without sounding rude, I really do not care what they think. When I hear the news I want to hear the FACTS not someone opinion. Once I hear the FACTS I can draw my own conclusions.

And the same thing when I go to church I do not want to waste my time hearing a preacher say, “Here is what I think!”

I want to hear the STANDARDS OF GOD’S WORD THINK!!!

But the problem seems to be that CHRISTIANS ARE AFRAID TO TAKE A STAND ON THE STANDARDS OF GOD’S WORD BECAUSE IT OFFENDS PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW!

Illus: For example, an umpire was standing behind the catcher calling the strikes and the balls. The fellow at bat was a very big fellow and so was the catcher. The umpire was a very small fellow.

• The pitcher pitched the first ball, and the umpire yelled, “Strike One”.

• The very large batter turned around and gave him a look like he was fixing to break the bat over his head.

• The next pitch he yelled, “Ball One” and the very large catcher got up, and looked like he was about to shove the ball down his throat.

• The umpire was very nervous. When the third ball was pitched, he yelled “Two”.

• And both of them said, “Two what”?

• He said, “Too close to call!”

God’s Word sets STANDARDS for what we must do to please the Lord. It is obvious that the STANDARDS OF GOD’S WORD are not being followed.

Let us look at two things

I. LET’S LOOK AT THE PROBLEM

When it comes to living by BIBLICAL STANDARDS, we need to consider-

A. ARE WE RIGHT IN OUR METHOD

Prov. 14:12 tells us, “There is A WAY WHICH SEEMETH RIGHT UNTO A MAN, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Our society in which we live, makes you think of Judges 21:25, where we read, “In those days there was no king in Israel: EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES.”