A. WHAT GOD EXPECTS OF YOU
1. Separate from sin. “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16).
2. Perfection. “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven” (Matt. 5:48).
B. WHAT IS THE LINE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG?
Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must as a Christian turn away from it” –J. Wilbur Chapman 1859 - 1918
I KNOW AN ACT OR ATTITUDE IS WRONG
1. If it is against a Bible statement.
a. Sex outside of marriage (Ex. 20:14).
b. Anger (Eph. 4:31).
c. Stealing (Ex. 20:15).
d. Cursing (Ex. 20:7; Matt. 5:34).
2. If it is against the purity of the mind.
a. We sin with the mind before the body. “As the serpent deceived Eve, so your minds may be corrupted” (2 Cor. 11:3).
b. We look before we leap. “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery . . . in his heart” (Matt. 5:28).
c. Is it wrong to entice as to be enticed?
3. If the association will pull me down. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14).
a. When their decision is your decision. “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Cor. 6:17).
b. When their influence overwhelms you. “What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).
4. If it offends Christ who lives in me. “Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
a. Our testimony is involved. “Christ in you the hope of glory. Him we preach” (Col. 1:27-28).
b. Our fellowship with God is involved. “He will keep my word and my Father will love him, as we . . . will make our home with Him” (John 14:23).
5. If it harms my body. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Cor. 6:19).
a. Contaminate the body with disease, pre-mature death, etc.
b. Use of the body for evil purposes, i.e. “How can light live with darkness . . . what harmony between Christ and the devil?” (2 Cor. 6:14-15, NLT).
6. If it hurts weaker Christians, i.e., the stumbling block principle. “Because lest somehow this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block” (1 Cor. 8:4). “You sin against the brethren” (1 Cor. 8:12). “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat” (1 Cor. 8:13).
7. If it offends my conscience, i.e. the moral regulator principle.
a. You must live by the positive. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
b. You must not violate its negatives. “Conscience of sins” (Heb. 10:2).
c. Your conscience is not always right, but by practice you can teach it that wrong is right. “Their consciences seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:2).
d. Be careful of the corporate conscience, i.e., when the church considers it wrong.
8. If it doesn’t follow the example of Christ. “Christ . . . leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
a. What would Jesus do is a question of character.
b. WWJD a question of actions.
9. If it hurts my faith. “He who doubts is condemned . . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).
C. PRINCIPLES TO APPLY QUESTIONABLE ACTS OR ATTITUDES
1. Know the priority of principles; some are more important than others.
Know what mountains to fuss about,
fight about,
die for.
2. Know the timing of principles. “Be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside.” – Alexander Pope
3. If it’s doubtful, it’s dirty! Question: if shirt is too dirty to wear.
4. Why be concerned about questionable things? Because He is concerned.
